Player Zion Williamson

[sjsj2448]

I'm just very passionate about this stuff, AxeS24. That said, I've pushed it a bit too far lately. I sometimes forget - we're all on the same team! My apologies.

Also, the AIRBALL chant is sweet. My bad.

I hope we can move on from this. Let's let bygones be bygones.

Sure thing. We're good. We are all on the same team! Further, we all have different experiences/backgrounds/education levels and I think we can all collaborate here and learn from each other (I believe I am the biggest beneficiary here, make no mistake). And I even agree with you on the airball chant- I'm just not going to make fun of a bunch of 18-22 year olds. They're just youngsters having fun.

 

[rhfarmer]

I just threw up in my mouth.

 

[sjsj2448]

Axe, I can't speak for Sivar but a lot of the animosity towards the Neu-Crazies is because we remember what they used to be like, before they were neutered by a combination of changing student demographics, policies of the administration, and other factors. They used to have creative chants, not tired generic shit. There used to be antics that were genuinely assholish but funny, and pushed the envelope. Now it's about dressing up in blue Disney costumes (ooh ooh look at me on the jumbotron!) and embarrassing gimmicky shit like calling for Crazy towel guy.

I mean it's always been kind of corny to some degree, and it's nice they still get rowdy for the big games, but its entirely generic scripted 'antics' now that don't stand out from any other college crowd.

That's fair. I took it as something more vicious than it was, so my apologies. In any event, Sivar and I are good.

Back to Zion.

Greensboro Day has a really good team. 23-6. They feature John Newman (Clemson commit), Will Dillard, Carson McCorkle (freshman who is on Duke's radar), and a couple of 6'9/6'10 guys in the post.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Hmm, Reid Travis is really not that good at basketball. Seems like a prime transfer-out candidate as a sophomore if he had picked Duke. Maybe he makes a leap next season as he gets further away from his prior injuries. He would be a good backup, and Duke will continue to need competent bodies every offseason as long as OAD is going on.

His rebounding numbers from last year are far better than this year. He also leads Stanford is usage, which wouldn’t happen at Duke. Maybe he’s not the best example of the point although I do think that if he can get back to last year’s form on the glass, and if you assume that he’d be more effective than someone like Zion on defense based on him having four plus years of experience, he can function as a valuable garbageman five on next year’s team. Which is probably exactly what they need from that position.

 

[sjsj2448]

Hmm, Reid Travis is really not that good at basketball. Seems like a prime transfer-out candidate as a sophomore if he had picked Duke. Maybe he makes a leap next season as he gets further away from his prior injuries. He would be a good backup, and Duke will continue to need competent bodies every offseason as long as OAD is going on.

His rebounding numbers from last year are far better than this year. He also leads Stanford is usage, which wouldn’t happen at Duke. Maybe he’s not the best example of the point although I do think that if he can get back to last year’s form on the glass, and if you assume that he’d be more effective than someone like Zion on defense based on him having four plus years of experience, he can function as a valuable garbageman five on next year’s team. Which is probably exactly what they need from that position.

He doesn't block shots and his DBPM isn't good. Zion blocks shots and is way more athletic. Will he be a better defender? Who knows for sure (I think so), but I'm willing to take the risk based on upside on both ends of the court.

Also, Bolden is a MUCH better defender (even better at rebounding!) at the 5 and I have hope for lots of garbage buckets for him next year. Montgomery can spell Bolden- he is taller and longer and more athletic than Travis and therefore has higher upside.

Bolden has a 7 DPBM and a 95.6 DRtg. Travis has a 1.1 DBPM and a 104.3 DRtg.

Travis also doesn't rebound or block shots. Bolden can improve his rebounding (although still better than Travis), but Bolden's BLK% is even higher than Wendell Carter, Jr.'s at 8.1!

#BelieveInBolden #BullishOnBolden

 

[LastHearth]

My main concern with Bolden is that both seasons now he's had to miss significant time to injury. I don't know if he can stay healthy to count on him to be the starting center.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

1. We don’t even know if Bolden will want to continue his career at Duke. He has 26 fucking career points in a year and half plus of acc play. How do we keep penciling this guy into lineups with any level of confidence?

2. Zion is going to be such shit on defense. Any argument to the contrary is absurd.

 

[deepdarkblue]

Hmm, Reid Travis is really not that good at basketball. Seems like a prime transfer-out candidate as a sophomore if he had picked Duke. Maybe he makes a leap next season as he gets further away from his prior injuries. He would be a good backup, and Duke will continue to need competent bodies every offseason as long as OAD is going on.

His rebounding numbers from last year are far better than this year. He also leads Stanford is usage, which wouldn’t happen at Duke. Maybe he’s not the best example of the point although I do think that if he can get back to last year’s form on the glass, and if you assume that he’d be more effective than someone like Zion on defense based on him having four plus years of experience, he can function as a valuable garbageman five on next year’s team. Which is probably exactly what they need from that position.

He doesn't block shots and his DBPM isn't good. Zion blocks shots and is way more athletic. Will he be a better defender? Who knows for sure (I think so), but I'm willing to take the risk based on upside on both ends of the court.

Also, Bolden is a MUCH better defender (even better at rebounding!) at the 5 and I have hope for lots of garbage buckets for him next year. Montgomery can spell Bolden- he is taller and longer and more athletic than Travis and therefore has higher upside.

Bolden has a 7 DPBM and a 95.6 DRtg. Travis has a 1.1 DBPM and a 104.3 DRtg.

Travis also doesn't rebound or block shots. Bolden can improve his rebounding (although still better than Travis), but Bolden's BLK% is even higher than Wendell Carter, Jr.'s at 8.1!

#BelieveInBolden #BullishOnBolden

When using Zion's high school games to make mental projections for him in college, please take into consideration the tiny little children he's often playing against. SC isn't exactly a hot bed of high school basketball competitiveness.
I am thankfully free of any expectations for him, so Zion has zero chance of disappointing me. I'll just stick to being disappointed by whatever terrible things K does instead.

 

[sjsj2448]

It's not just HS, though. You are right- he plays terrible competition in HS. But Zion has been the cream of the crop at Team USA against the best of the best and in AAU against the best of the best. He does the same things he does to the children in The Palmetto State. Also- the Slater post isn't getting enough (any) attention. Slater is probably the best when it comes to evaluating HS talent these days (he has learned a lot from the legendary Tom Konchalski) and Zion is his favorite 2018 recruit.

 

[bdotling]

My favorite player in 2015 was Winslow.


But more so for his penis size than basketball play

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Trey Porter from Old Dominion is the kind of grad transfer or new-rules transfer that could help Duke in the frontcourt.
https://kenpom.com/player.php?p=25700

Part Chase Jeter, part Dave McClure, part Javin DeLaurier - exactly the mix Duke fans are yearning for.

 

[best4heisman]

1. We don’t even know if Bolden will want to continue his career at Duke. He has 26 fucking career points in a year and half plus of acc play. How do we keep penciling this guy into lineups with any level of confidence?

2. Zion is going to be such shit on defense. Any argument to the contrary is absurd.

I really hope Bolden stays. I've been beating this drum for a while now, but for all the shit we give him he's basically a good center. Defends well, block shots, finishes reasonably well, and his defensive rebounding has progressed from horrendous to acceptable (his offensive rebounding rate is best on the team). As LastHearth said, it's just a matter of him being able to stay on the court at this point.

 

[rome8180]

He's supposedly had a great attitude and been a good locker room presence this year. I don't really see him transferring. But the injury history is definitely an issue.

 

[CMon85]

I think it'll really "click" for him next year. Having that confidence that he won't be yanked will do wonders for him imo.

 

[sjsj2448]

Zion's game will be televised on ESPN2 HD tonight, not ESPN HD. Apologies.

 

[rhfarmer]

As long as it's HD. Fat jiggling in SD loses some of it's impact.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

It's not just HS, though. You are right- he plays terrible competition in HS. But Zion has been the cream of the crop at Team USA against the best of the best and in AAU against the best of the best. He does the same things he does to the children in The Palmetto State. Also- the Slater post isn't getting enough (any) attention. Slater is probably the best when it comes to evaluating HS talent these days (he has learned a lot from the legendary Tom Konchalski) and Zion is his favorite 2018 recruit.

Have you come across any scouting reports that specifically address his defense? Something like that would probably be of interest to most on this board.

 

[sjsj2448]

It's not just HS, though. You are right- he plays terrible competition in HS. But Zion has been the cream of the crop at Team USA against the best of the best and in AAU against the best of the best. He does the same things he does to the children in The Palmetto State. Also- the Slater post isn't getting enough (any) attention. Slater is probably the best when it comes to evaluating HS talent these days (he has learned a lot from the legendary Tom Konchalski) and Zion is his favorite 2018 recruit.

Have you come across any scouting reports that specifically address his defense? Something like that would probably be of interest to most on this board.

Not a ton. There are articles out there about his highlight blocking ability, but not really the nuts and bolts of actual defense. He is obviously absurdly athletic and will block a lot of shots, IMO (as he does everywhere). A lot of defense is mental/experience and effort-based, no? So we really won't be able to tell completely until he's at Duke next year. I am optimistic because of his generational athleticism and brute force. Here's to hoping coach K really rams home defense in Fall practices, and I hope we take a summer tour.

 

[LastHearth]

I would guess given the level of competition he's facing in HS it's hard to judge if he can play defense against TOP 50 division I college players. I do think if we can get a summer tour thing going it would really help. I really wish we could have done DR this year.

 

[torontoduke]

Trey Porter from Old Dominion is the kind of grad transfer or new-rules transfer that could help Duke in the frontcourt.
https://kenpom.com/player.php?p=25700

Part Chase Jeter, part Dave McClure, part Javin DeLaurier - exactly the mix Duke fans are yearning for.

So you're saying he should be ahead of Justin Robinson in the rotation?