March Madness Thread

[evildallas]

Thanks for the info, but not my sort of thing. I'm not much of an autograph guy. Or much of a road trip guy anymore. Anyway I'll be here as we prepare to start the playoffs around that time. Got to have my priorities in order.

[evildallas]

I saw an interview with Steph Curry where he said that the doctor's told him when he injured his hand that he has a couple inches of growth that should still happen. Just that I'd bring that up as a taller Curry becomes a better NBA prospect.

[HMFFL]

Final Four:
Michigan St.
Connecticut
Villanova
UNC

Championship: Connecticut vs. Villanova

[HMFFL]

Dallas, some good news for you.

Duke didn't waste any time sulking over its Sweet 16 loss to Villanova Thursday night in Boston. Instead, the Blue Devils picked up the most coveted transfer available when the nation's top scoring freshman, Seth Curry of Liberty, decided to transfer to Duke for next season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4026095

[evildallas]

Dallas, some good news for you.

Duke didn't waste any time sulking over its Sweet 16 loss to Villanova Thursday night in Boston. Instead, the Blue Devils picked up the most coveted transfer available when the nation's top scoring freshman, Seth Curry of Liberty, decided to transfer to Duke for next season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4026095

Wow. That is shocking. I can only think of two transfers taken in by Duke in the last 20 years (Rashown McLeod and Dahntay Jones). Welcome aboard Seth. I'll be watching you play year after next. Thanks for the news.

[LL Cool Scott]

Heels over UConn for the championship. It's a lock. Louisville might have changed things if they hadn't **** the bed today.

Evil - when is the last time Duke made a final four? Do you see them ever attracting the type of athletes necessary to get them back to the final four? Outside of Henderson, it's been a LONG time since they've had one of those difference-making stars.

[evildallas]

It really hasn't been that long, just that expectations are so high. Duke was last in the Final Four in 2004. They had a big lead over a heavily favored UConn (Okafor and Gordon) with a front line of Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams. Looked like they were going to pull the big upset and UConn came storming back in the 2nd half and won 79-78. UConn then easily handled a surprising Georgia Tech in the championship.

Athleticism isn't the real issue with Duke although they were steamrolled by Villanova. As for athletes they had Gerald Henderson, Nolan Smith, and Elliot Williams. Lance Thomas is a very athletic PF as well. I'll admit Paulus isn't that athletic, but his role was minimized of late. The game was over against Villanova before he saw time on the court. Scheyer isn't a speedster PG, but as a 2 guard he isn't such a horrible athlete. At the start of post-season the expectation was that lack of size was going to do them in because when they couldn't shoot from outside they had no other options. Well the shooting did fail against Villanova. It was actually the same thing that people predicted would be their downfall it's just because it came against Nova it looked like athleticism was a problem. If it had occurred against Texas or Pittsburgh it would have looked like they couldn't handle a big guy down low.

Next year they add 2 big players to the rotation with Mason Plumlee (6'11") and Ryan Kelly (6'10"). Miles Plumlee should play a bigger role next year as well although his younger brother is supposed to be better. If they can make through an off-season without losing a big to transfer (Taylor King, Eric Boateng, Jamal Boykin) thay might actually have some big guy depth next season. I expect to lose Henderson to the draft, but there is a possibility that they land a 1 and done player like John Wall (Memphis is the leader for him right now, but would he follow Calipari to UK?) as a replacement. If not look for coach K to adjust to having a big lineup for a change with Smith, Scheyer and Williams providing a 3 man rotation for the 2 back court spots, Singler moving to SF, and Thomas, Plumlee, Plumlee, Zoubek, Kelly, and Czyz providing a deep big man rotation to challenge opponents down low. Actually, Kelly is more of a Dirk PF, but having actual height isn't something Duke has had since the late 80s, early 90s (Ferry, Adelnaby, Laettner, Parks). Brand, Boozer, and Williams gave them beef, but were essentially solo acts underneath during their stays in Durham.

In 2010 they already have a couple of big time athletic commitments like Andre Dawkins (6-5 SG) and Joshua Haiston (6-8 PF) as well as Tyler Thornton (6-2 PG) who's an above average athlete although not elite. Add to that mix Seth Curry and I think you'll see that Duke's future isn't that dark.

[evildallas]

Does anyone else mute the television every time Dick Vitale gets to speak? Or is it just me?

[raleigh]

The Plumlee brothers have been in a high school just a few minutes from my house. I've seen them on TV several times.

They're both *really* skinny, but talented. At this point, they look like the typical college stars who don't have NBA positions.

[evildallas]

The Plumlee brothers have been in a high school just a few minutes from my house. I've seen them on TV several times.

They're both *really* skinny, but talented. At this point, they look like the typical college stars who don't have NBA positions.

Miles was already at Duke this year, but minutes were limited for him. The other Plumlee you saw in the high school games with Mason was probably Marshall. The youngest brother who is 6'8" sophomore and hasn't picked a school yet.

Neither of the new recruits (Plumlee and Kelly) are true C types. They're both more like European F's, but they provide length that Duke hasn't had in a while. Being able to play Singler at SF rather than C is going to help him and the team do better.

[HMFFL]

Scouts have no questions about Davidson guard Stephen Curry's shooting ability. They do wonder how he'll hold up in the physical NBA game. He's supposed to huddle with his father, former Cavs and Hornets guard Dell Curry, and decide whether he'll skip his senior year and throw his name in the 2009 NBA draft. "I think he has the talent (to play in the NBA)," Cavs forward LeBron James said. "If he needs advice, he has my number." http://www.news-herald.com/articles/200 ... 683279.txt

[raleigh]

Miles was already at Duke this year, but minutes were limited for him. The other Plumlee you saw in the high school games with Mason was probably Marshall. The youngest brother who is 6'8" sophomore and hasn't picked a school yet.

Neither of the new recruits (Plumlee and Kelly) are true C types. They're both more like European F's, but they provide length that Duke hasn't had in a while. Being able to play Singler at SF rather than C is going to help him and the team do better.

I've actually seen all three, but Marshall is too young to really comment on at this point. Word is that he is likely to be the most "traditional" player of the three...

They're not from here. Not sure why they chose the school they did...

[evildallas]

^^^ They're originally from Indiana. Mason chose Duke as a Junior. Not sure if that was before or after relocating to NC for career development. Miles (oldest) had chosen Stanford, but when Trent Johnson left to coach LSU he switched to Duke to get to play with his brother this year.

[evildallas]

As I watch the biggest championship game blowout since 1990, I can't help but think that Ed Davis is propelling himself into the draft and the high lottery based on a coming out performance and Lawson will probably be long gone by the time we pick.

EDIT -
Well, I guess that Ed Davis isn't going to test the waters based on what he said so far. I'm a little surprised that he and Cole Aldrich are both publicly spurning the draft given their strong draft buzz. With little difference between likely draft position in 2009 or 2010, I'd probably opt for getting an extra year of salary in my wallet in case 2011 does have a lockout.

[LL Cool Scott]

Yep - I'm happy my team dominated the past couple weeks, but I'm kind of bummed that Lawson isn't going to be around at 19 anymore. I wasn't that high on him a month or so ago, but he really showed me something during the tournament. He might go top 10 now. I'm fairly confident one of the point guards will drop to 19. There's a lot of good points in the draft this year. I think Blair might be available too. And for the first time in probably 20 years, I'm not dreading who our GM is going to make a mistake on.

[evildallas]

I was thinking the same thing about Lawson. He's shown enough that we won't get a shot at him cheaply anymore. His game has really developed this year and he seems to be a lot quicker than he looks capable of.

[evildallas]

The more I think about it, I am probably overreacting to a great tournament from Lawson. I still have some concerns about aspects of his game and would want to check those out before investing a pick in him.