Duke is the defending National Champion, and figures to be even more physically imposing during this 2010-11 season.
The Blue Devils lose Jon Scheyer’s 18 points per game, the bulk of Brian Zoubek, and the offensive rebounding and defense of Lance Thomas. Still, they return plenty and have added talent as well. Kyle Singer, and Nolan Smith both averaged over 17 points a game, and are poised for even bigger Senior seasons. The Plumlee brothers are skilled, with the younger Mason being the better athlete. They represent good options to step-up and replace Zoubek, and Thomas. Freshman Joshua Hairston (Montrose Christian – Vasquez, Bowie) was a a Top 20 recruit, and should contribute to the rotation immediately.
The strength of this Duke team is going to be their guards. After Smith, you have Sophomore Andre Dawkins who received good playing-time during the year (12.6 minutes), and knocked down 37.9% of his 3 point attempts. While his minutes were significantly cut during the NCAA Tournament, I expect they will be increased this coming season. Dawkins will have plenty of competition for minutes though from Freshman Kyrie Irving, and Sophomore transfer Seth Curry. Irving is recognized as one of the Top 5 recruits in the Country and is supposed to have an explosive first-step. While you respected Scheyer’s all-around game, you were never going to be wowed by him as an athlete. Curry (the younger brother of NBA star Stephen), officially joins Duke after sitting out last-year due to transfer. In his Freshman season with Liberty (Big South), he averaged 20 points a game (including 26 at Virginia, and 24 at Clemson). With a year to prepare in Coach K’s system, he is going to be ready to produce from Day 1. Freshman Tyler Thorton (Gonzaga, D.C.) is going to struggle to find minutes, but not due to a lack of skills.
Quite obviously that is a very-good Duke team, and it is clear to see why they are seen as the favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Nationally. With their combination of talent, game experience, and having won last-year; you would expect them to win 13-14 games in ACC play.
I do not expect Maryland to match that, but I do think the Terps are being underrated by many.
As I review the prognostications of National college writers, the consensus is that after Duke, there is not a lot within the ACC. The order varies, but most people are picking North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Florida State as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th best teams in the league.
When the writers get around to talking about Maryland, they do so with the Terps as an afterthought. I guess part of me enjoys that. There are a lot of players on the Maryland roster with something to prove, and lowered expectations are only going to motivate them further to prove themselves. Gary Williams talked at-length last-year about how hard that team had worked in the off-season as preparation for the year. So it was very telling last-night when Williams stated this group of Terrapins had worked even harder.
The defending Regular Season Co-Champion of the ACC, and the last team to have beat Duke is not going to roll over quietly. There are too many questions existing to believe Maryland can again compete with Duke for the Conference title. There are enough answers existing though to believe the Terps can win 10-11 games in league-play, and be a very dangerous team next March.
If Duke is the accepted best, than you have to feel good about the Terps. It is possible that Singler stays at the 3, but I expect him to probably spend more time at the 4 this season. That will allow Duke to have Irving, Curry, and Smith on the court together. It also gives Duke better depth in their front-court.
2010-11 Blue Devils:
1) Irving,Thorton
2) Curry, Dawkins
3) Smith
4) Singler, Hairston, Kelly
5) Ma.Plumlee, Mi. Plumlee
2010-11 Terps:
1) Bowie (Senior), Howard (Frosh)
2) Tucker (Senior), Stoglin (Frosh)
3) Mosley (Junior), Parker (Frosh), Palsson (Frosh)
4) Gregory (Senior), Padgett (Soph), Pankey (Frosh)
5) Williams (Soph), Weijs (Junior)
Irving, Curry, Smith > Bowie, Tucker, Mosley
Thorton, Dawkins = Howard, Stoglin, Parker, Palsson
Singler, Ma. Plumlee = Gregory, Williams
Hairston, Mi. Plumlee, Kelly = Padgett, Weijs, Pankey
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.