Duke University Men's Basketball Preview Part 2: The Backcourt
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by Wrmjr
Last week, I wrote about the frontcourt for Duke University this year, but any watcher of this team knows that its success or failure will depend on the play of the backcourt. Without an established inside scorer, the Blue Devils will look to play a perimeter game, often with 3 guards on the floor at a time. If these players can’t perform to their expectations, then Duke will falter. If they do play well, however, Duke will be among the most dangerous teams in the nation.
Naturally, any discussion of Duke’s backcourt has to begin with Junior guard Greg Paulus. Paulus has been a disappointment to some. He averaged 11.8 points per game last year, though his scoring increased late in the season. He also averaged 3.8 assists per game, but his assist-to-turn-over ratio of 1.2:1 is too low for an elite point guard ( Josh McRoberts, for example, averaged 3.5 apg with a 1.4:1 assist:to ratio). He will need to increase his production while continuing to develop as a defender.
Joining Paulus in the backcourt will be Duke’s only Senior, Demarcus Nelson, and John Scheyer. Nelson led Duke in scoring last year (14.1 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg). Nelson is a good shooter, but his real strength on offense is as a slasher to the basket. With a more spread offense, he should have ample opportunity this year. Scheyer returns after a freshman campaign that saw him average 12.2 ppg and shoot 37% from the 3 point line (second to Paulus’s 45%). He needs to improve on that percentage on offense, and on defense he needs to increase his strength to face some of the larger guards. If he does, he will be a solid performer this year.
Also returning this year is Sophomore Gerald Henderson, who averaged 6.8 ppg last year. He showed himself to be a good rebounding guard, and at 6-4, 210, he can muscle in with the big men. Nolan Smith, the lone freshman in the backcourt, is known as a bit of a slasher and an excellent defender. How he will fit into this deep backcourt remains to be seen, but expect him to log minutes early in the season as Coach K tries out a variety of lineups to see which ones work well together.
Overall, this is a backcourt with lots of potential, but not a lot of proven success. This group was torched a few times last year, including the loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament. If they can make the strides we are used to seeing Duke’s players make, it will be the Devils doing the torching this year.
