I took my annual trip to the Duke Coaches Clinic this past weekend. They ended up having a practice Friday that was open for those attending the clinic. It was an opportunity for the coaches to see the new practice facility. Unfortunately, I didn't know about this practice until Saturday morning. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about the whole situation. Then on Saturday they did the usual - 2 practices, each two hours in length.


When the day started, Coach K said told us that Greg had recently done something to his finger and that he was going to have to wear a splint for the next 6-8 weeks. About 20 minutes in, he did something that knocked the finger pretty hard and had to come out for the trainer to look at it. He played the rest of the day though and actually hit a pretty high percentage throughout the day. Hopefully it doesn't keep him out of any games this year.

During the first 2 hour practice, they did quite a few offensive drills - some shooting, some penetration and kick, etc. and a lot of 5 on 0 and 5 on 5 drills. Everything was really competitive. They worked towards the end of practice on full court pressure and beating that pressure. It was pretty intense the whole morning.

Before the afternoon session, coach told us that he was wanting to work on a bunch of full court 5 on 5 stuff. They ended up working against some zones (1-3-1 and 2-3) and then at the end of the practice he had them run a short scrimmage for us.


One of the main things that's always asked is, "What were the lineups during the scrimmages?" Well, here's how it went most of the day...

White Team: Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler, Miles Plumlee, David McClure
Blue Team: Greg Paulus, Elliot Williams, Marty Pocius, Bruan Zoubek, Lance Thomas

At the end of the session, a question was asked about lineups and Coach K said [paraphrasing], "Right now, our starting lineup is Nolan, Jon, G, Kyle and Miles," but he did say something to the effect that all of that could change.


There were a few things that sort of stuck out to me...

1) This team is so much deeper and experienced. I said it earlier, but everything was just so intense. There's no way that they all aren't going to get better because there's really not any considerable drop off between the first unit and the second unit.
2) There are several guys on this team who have potential to be stars. It's just my opinion, but I thought the best player that day was Jon Scheyer. The guy is a flat out scorer. He can shoot from outside, he can get in the lane, and shoot from midrange. He just seems to always find a way to score. They other thing about him is that his IQ just seems to be getting better and better. I think that first year of playing the point is really paying off. If you're open, he finds you. He's just an all-around solid player... Of course there's Gerald. The guy should be an All-American this year. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants... Kyle, Nolan, Marty - they all look more poised. They just look like they know what they're doing a lot more this year as compared to when I saw them at the Clinic last year.
3) Coach K mentioned this at the end of the practice, but this team shouldn't have any problem being one of the better rebounding teams in the conference. They have 5 guys going to boards on every shot. Both units were like this during the scrimmages. It was a war every time there was a loose ball around the basket. That's something that's seemed to be missing the last couple years.
4) There was a quote from Coach K last week in an article I read where he said Miles was the farthest along for all the freshman. That was apparent this weekend. The other two just ooze with talent, but out on the court, Miles looks like a guy who already has a year or two under his belt. He still made mistakes from time to time, but unlike the other two, there was never a time when I thought he looked lost. BTW, Eilliot Williams is going to be a star eventually.
5) This team has so many weapons against pressure. I mentioned that they worked on beating full court pressure of all kinds. The luxury that Coach K has this year is that there are multiple guys in every unit that can bring the ball up the court. Greg, Jon, G, Kyle, Nolan, even Lance and Miles can handle it at least a little bit if they have to.
6) This team seems to have had no problem adjusting to the new three point line. They still love the outside shot, and they take it any time it's given to them. They generally knocked it down too, even the big guys like Dave and Olek.

I could go on, but that's the main stuff that I noticed. Again, if you get the chance to go to this thing in the future, be sure to make time. It's a great experience.

If you have any questions about any of the guys or the practices, just let me know.

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