Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

Player Javin DeLaurier

Had a couple of surprising finishes (including that one the announcers insisted was a travel but was actually just one step).
 
I would guess that a kind Lumberjack gave him some sage advice at the end of that game which has transformed his season.
 
His only mistake I can remember from last night was a travel that shouldn't have been called (imo). He gets a lot of whistles simply for looking so damned awkward.
 
Much like Coach K, it seems like Duke fans no longer care about Javin. The last post in this thread was January 13th. Marques Bolden, Derryck Thornton, Quinn Cook, and Rejean "Boogie" Ellis all have more recent posts in their threads than Javin does. In our last 2 close games, Javin played 9 minutes versus Louisville and 4 minutes versus Pittsburgh.

This could be a result of the coaching staff feeling that Carey is in good enough shape now to perform at a high level for 30 minutes. He wasn't in the best shape coming out of high school, and it's possible he's worked himself up to a point where he can manage 30mpg without a drop off in performance due to fatigue. In Duke's last 4 games Carey played 31 minutes versus Clemson. He played 23 versus Louisville, but this was only a result of him being in foul trouble. He played 24 minutes against Miami, but this was a huge blowout. He played 35 minutes versus Pittsburgh.

Despite The Big Hoss having constant foul trouble in the Louisville game, Javin only played 9 minutes. With The Big Hoss ready to take on a bigger load, Javin's minutes will have to keep dwindling, along with his confidence. There is no scenario in which they can be on the court together, unless Coach K decides to run some zone. Barring an injury to Javin DeLaurier, this really seems like a sad ending to his Duke career. It's possible he can have one more shining moment at Duke if Carey gets injured, or is in foul trouble versus UNC's bigs and Javin saves the day. Or of course if we play Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, the Spartan Killer Javin will return for another beheading of Sparty, making it his 3rd in 3 attempts.
 
Javin will probably have one or two more moments to shine before he graduates, perhaps a stretch in the ACCT to win a crucial semifinal.

I would imagine the thread has gone cold because K is finally playing him in the low usage garbage bucket defender/rebounder role he's ideally suited for, after the awful Delajuwan impersonation he attempted very early in the season.

I would by lying if I said I didn't expect more from a senior as athletic and ranked as highly as he was coming in. Especially when 3* Garrison Brooks is thriving down the road, at least from an individual level.
 
It is what it is. Duke sucks at teaching raw bigs how to play offense. I feel like whatever moves/handle/touch you come in with is what you leave with as a Duke big. Off the top of my head, Shelden is only Duke big I can think of who developed a good offensive game after coming in raw, and he wasn’t nearly as raw coming in as a guy like Javin.
 
Phys - do you mean improve to become primary scoring option? I can think of several raw bigs who improved their offensive game at Duke
 
"Good" offensive game may be too high a bar to clear here, but I'd say the leap MP3 made was even greater than the one Shelden made.

Actually, speaking of Plumlees, I think what Mason did is pretty similar to what Shelden did.
 
torontoduke said:
Phys - do you mean improve to become primary scoring option? I can think of several raw bigs who improved their offensive game at Duke
Click to expand...
Not necessarily the primary scoring but more than just a very low usage, garbage man. Someone with some type of moves with the ball.

Mason isn’t the type of raw guy I’m considering. Coming in he was supposed to be a well-rounded former guard who would immediately contribute offensively. There was a reason he was ranked so much higher than the other Plumlees and is still so much better as a pro.

I’m talking about guys like Bolden, DeL, MP3, MP1, LT, Casey Sanders. These are guys who looked clumsy with the balls in their hands for four years. Some of them learned to not immediately turn it over, but that’s about it. Look down the road at guys like Brooks, Hicks, or Brice Johnson. Of course Roy has had his share of raw bigs flop offensively like McAdoo and Henson, and Roy definitely doesn’t develop guards/wings like K does.
 
childress22 said:
Actually, speaking of Plumlees, I think what Mason did is pretty similar to what Shelden did.
Click to expand...
I think that’s a pretty good comparison, but again, both weren’t exactly Garrison Brooks types as recruits. They were top-15 recruits who were expected by many to start from day one.
 
Mason may have the rep of having a well-rounded offensive game, but his footwork and touch were pretty bad entering Duke. He was little more than a dunker. He at least developed a few reliable moves by his senior year.
 
rome8180 said:
Mason may have the rep of having a well-rounded offensive game, but his footwork and touch were pretty bad entering Duke. He was little more than a dunker. He at least developed a few reliable moves by his senior year.
Click to expand...
I remember thinking he would be a stretch big. Looking back I’m shocked that he was able to make 2-8 from 3 that first season.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Chat users

  • No one is chatting at the moment.

Chat rooms

  • General chit-chat 0

Forum statistics

Threads
1,068
Messages
425,099
Members
624
Latest member
Bluegrass Blue Devil
Back
Top Bottom