Which buzzer-beater was better?

The 2011-2012 season isn't over just yet. But it's quite possible that we've already seen it's two most-signature moments.

Indiana wasn't supposed to beat Kentucky. Sure, it was at Assembly Hall, but this Hoosiers team was still a year away, right? Yeah, Kentucky and Indiana are two legacy programs, but even with Assembly Hall on the brink of eruption, there was no way Indiana was going to beat the Wildcats.

Duke dropped back-to-back home games against Florida State and Miami. The Blue Devils had no superstar leader. Austin Rivers, their all-world freshman, was struggling. People started to doubt Duke. Hell, Duke started to doubt Duke. The North Carolina Tar Heels just had to much size, too much talent, too much everything. Duke was going to keep the game close, but North Carolina would win.

Then Christian Watford happened.





Then Austin Rivers happened.



But which was better?

That question is much more difficult to answer than you may think.

If you are a fan of Kentucky or North Carolina, it's probably a bit easier.

But really, which was better?

The conventional wisdom will suggest that River's shot was best, as it should. That's a shot that kids in North Carolina emulate in the backyards, in their driveways, and on the playground. That's a shot that will forever be stored in the highlight videos for future Tobacco Road showdowns. His team was trailing late, somebody needed to step up. That shot will be replayed, re-aired and rehashed from now until forever.

But Rivers' shot was nailed in the unfriendly confines of The Dean Dome. His shot wasn't set up, rushed or hurried, there were certain elements of "the moment" that were lacking from this shot.

What Watford's shot lacks in historical significance, it makes up for in "spur-of-the-moment" pandemonium.

His shot was the result of a nice drive to the basket by Verdell Jones. His release had just a hint of "step back" to it. When his shot went through, he struck a pose. A beautiful, beautiful pose. Then there was the court-storming. If you ever want to know when/why/and how to storm a court, use that video as a guideline. It was magical. It was marvelous. It was the perfect court storm.

But both of these shots explain why sports are better than any movie or any TV show. You can't script it. You don't want it scripted. The best things in life happen when you least expect it.

So maybe Watford's was better, and maybe Rivers' was better.

And maybe, when it's all said and done, there will be another moment, one we don't know is going to happen, one we can't explain, that will trump both of these shots. Continue reading...

Duke needs Austin Rivers to be 'the man'

Before we get into the meat of this post, before we spend anytime analyzing what happened in Duke's 85-84 win over UNC in the Dean Dome or how the Blue Devils were able to erase a ten point deficit in the final two minutes, let's all sit back and admire how the game ended:
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Don't jump to conclusions after Ohio State's beatdown of Duke

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

Aaron Craft hit a three. Then William Buford and Craft made layups on back-to-back possessions. Buford followed that up with another layup of his own, and after Duke used their second timeout of the half less than three minutes into the game, Jared Sullinger hit a short jumper.

It was only 3:38 into the much-hyped battle between two of the teams ranked in the top four, but with the score already 11-0, they may as well have called the game at that point.

Duke was able to get within a point on two separate occasions in the next five minutes of gametime, but the Blue Devils never tied the game and they never took the lead as they watched -- almost literally, based on the lack of effort Duke displayed on the defensive end -- Ohio State carve up their defense like a Thanksgiving turkey, taking a 47-28 lead into the break and cruising to an 85-63 win.


The loss was equally embarrassing and impressive, depending on what colors your favorite team wears. Ohio State looked every bit as good as last year's team. They played like a team that deserves to have their name mentioned with North Carolina and Kentucky when talking about this year's national title contenders. Blowing out a team ranked in the top four will have that effect on people.

And Duke? Well, all of the flaws that this team possesses were exposed on a national stage. They lack playmakers. Their bigs aren't physical enough. Their defense would struggle to stop good high school teams.

But how much perspective does the 40 minutes that the Blue Devils and the Buckeyes shared a court give on the season as a whole?

How much weight can we put into a win like this?

Frankly, not a ton.

Look, games like this happen. Don't believe me? Last year, Duke went into Garden and got pasted by St. John's 93-78, a game where the final score didn't indicate just how badly they had been beaten down. That Duke team lost the ACC regular season title on the last day of the regular season, but got their revenge on North Carolina by winning the ACC Tournament. The year before, Duke went into the Verizon Center and got worked by Georgetown, trailing by as much as 21 in the second half, just 10 days after losing to NC State by 14. That Duke team won the national title.


Still need more evidence? Last season, Ohio State, who went into the NCAA Tournament as the favorite to win the national title, beat Wisconsin and Purdue in Columbus by a combined 51 points. The Buckeyes lost to Purdue by 14 at Mackey Arena and blew a 15 point second half lead to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. The year before, Ohio State lost by 22 at Wisconsin before avenging that loss at home and going on to win a share of the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament title.

Like I said, games like this happen.

The same way that players can be on fire or ice cold, teams have off nights and teams have great nights. And when the visiting team is having an off night while the home team, especially a home team as talented as Ohio State, is having a great night, blowouts happen.

So take this result with a grain of salt.

Ohio State is not as good as they looked on Tuesday. And Duke is not as bad as they played.

But that doesn't mean we can't learn from this game:

Ohio State:

- On nights when the Buckeyes have their Big Four going, they are going to be extremely difficult to beat. Jared Sullinger had 21 points and eight boards. Aaron Craft went for 17 points, eight assists and five rebounds. DeShaun Thomas had 18 points -- including a stretch where he scored 12 straight. And William Buford went for 20 points, five boards and four assists.

- William Buford is as good as any shooting guard in the country. And he's an NBA player. He comes off of screens so well and he has become a lethal three-point shooter. He's also a much better passer than anyone gives him credit for.

- While we're on the subject of passing, what makes Ohio State so dangerous is how well they move the ball offensively. They space the floor and swing the ball incredibly well for a team that has so many quality offensive weapons. They give up good shots to get a great shot as well as any team in the country because they know that on the next possession, their teammate will make the extra pass to get them a wide-open look.

Duke:

- The Blue Devils are going to go as far as Austin Rivers takes them. He's the only player on the roster than is capable of creating his own shot, and he's as good as any player in the country -- regardless of age -- at using his dribble to create space for himself. He still has plenty to learn, however, and he has to get better at finishing the looks that he creates. That will come with time. But for Duke to be a top ten team, Rivers has to have the kind of impact that Nolan Smith had last season. Rivers finished with 22 points, but he needed 18 shots to do so and finished with just three assists.

- Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins cannot disappear like they did tonight. There's nothing else to add here. Those two have to be offensive weapons, because they bring very little to the table on the other end of the floor.

- Mason Plumlee continued his excellent play from Maui and looks like he may be the first Plumlee to come close to living up to his potential. But Duke is in trouble is Ryan Kelly is their best option at the four. He's not physical enough to battle in the paint and he hasn't shot the ball well enough to be effective as a face-up four.

- The biggest issue with Duke, however, is on the defensive end of the floor. I don't think its unfair to say that the only starter they have that can even be discussed an above-average defender is Mason Plumlee. If they are going to win, they are going to have to beat teams with a powerful offense based on their three-point shooting. They won't be doing much of that if Kelly, Curry and Dawkins play the way they did tonight.

- Duke is ranked way to high as the No. 4 team in the country. But don't ignore who they have already beaten this season -- Belmont, Kansas and Michigan. This is still one of the 10 or 15 best teams in the country, and when their threes are falling and Austin Rivers is playing like the all-american he was in high school, they are going to be a tough team to beat.
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Tom Izzo says MSU will get better, wouldn't change schedule

NEW YORK - Tom Izzo has never been one to back down from an early season challenge.

While most programs are scheduling cupcakes and tune-ups to begin the season, Izzo has taken his Michigan State team and put them on the floor in the two biggest games of the season thus far. Last Friday, he lost to North Carolina 67-55 at the Carrier Classic, the most-watched college basketball game since North Carolina played Duke in March of 2006 that counted President Obama as a member of the crowd. Last night, his Spartan team became the answer to a trivia question, going down in infamy as the team on the losing end of Coach K's record-setting, 903 victory, 74-69.

For those keeping score at home, that means that the entire college basketball watching world has now seen the Spartans get smacked by two of the top six teams in the country in the season's first ten days.


And while the outcomes of the games wasn't ideal, Izzo wouldn't go back and change this season's schedule.

"I'd sign up for the same schedule tomorrow," Izzo said in the bowels of a newly renovated Madison Square Garden after the game Tuesday night. "We're going to be a better basketball team in one week, in two weeks, in three weeks because we knuckled down and played these games."

Izzo finds himself in a bit of a unique situation this season. Michigan State is recognized as one of the top basketball programs in the country, and rightfully so. That's what six Final Four trips and a national title in the span of 13 years earns you. But Izzo doesn't have a powerhouse on his hands this season. This year, the Spartans are the scrappy underdogs, the team with players that are learning new roles and relying on effort and hard work to remain competitive.

Michigan State does not have a roster full of McDonald's all-americans and future first-round picks this season. They have a team that will be successful when they defend and they battle on the glass, but in order for the wins to come, the Spartans need to eliminate the mistakes offensively.

Derrick Nix cannot miss three or four point blank layups like he did against Mason Plumlee on Tuesday night. Travis Trice cannot commit four turnovers without an assist if he's going to be playing the point.

More importantly, Draymond Green has to be better offensively. Against Duke, he finish 4-15 from the floor with five turnovers and just two assists. More importantly, he had just one offensive rebound after grabbing seven against North Carolina. Green forced the issue too much. He's the best player that Michigan State has, but he's at his best when he's facilitating the offense, not playing as the Spartan's go-to scorer.

That role has to fall at the feet of Keith Appling, who finally looked like the dominant scorer everyone expected him to be in the final eight minutes of the game. He finished with 22 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, getting to the rim with ease late in the game. The Spartans need Appling to provide that offensive aggressiveness for 40 minutes, not at the end of the game when the outcome has been decided.

"We're going to get better," Izzo said.

And he's right. Everyone that has watched this team will agree. Its built in the mold of the an early-2000's Tom Izzo team, and there may not be a elite coach out there that is better in the role of the underdog than him. But with so many players taking over new roles this year, its going to take time.

"I'm trying to build a team for the year," he said, "not just for one or two games."
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Coach K's 903rd means less to his legacy than the resume he's built

NEW YORK - This morning, every website you go to is going to have story up about Mike Krzyzewski's 903rd, and rightfully so.

The narrative is perfection. Coach K sets the all-time wins record at Madison Square Garden in an event called the Champion's Classic with his mentor and previous record-holder Bobby Knight sitting courtside as he called the game for ESPN with one of K's former players in Jay Bilas.

If, thirty years down the road, a movie gets made about the life of Coach K and this scene is included, it won't be believable; everything fits together too well.


Which is why tomorrow morning you are going to have at your fingertips thousands and thousands of exquisitely written words -- stories that have been planned since the summer, when it became clear that Coach K was on pace to set the record in this fashion -- about how impressive a feat this is, or how this all but solidifies Coach K's standing as the greatest college basketball coach of all-time, or how this is a record that may never be broken.

I'm not here to argue any of that.

What Coach K has accomplished is truly incredible. Think about it like this. Winning 25 games in a single basketball season is considered an accomplishment for any coach at the collegiate level. This is Coach K's 37th season as a head coach, meaning that in order to get himself into this position, he averaged -- averaged -- 25 wins a year for 36 years. That includes the 1994-1995 season where he left the team 12 games into the year to get back surgery and deal with exhaustion.

The only guy that most people believe even has a shot of breaking this record Brad Stevens. Stevens has amassed 117 wins through his first four years at Butler, roughly 29 wins a year. If he kept up that pace -- which, keep in mind, is nearly impossible and bolstered by 10 wins in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons -- he would have to coach into the 2037-38 to set the record. That's assuming Coach K retired today. He's obviously not retiring today, which means that Stevens will need 27 seasons in which he averages 29 wins per year starting after Coach K retires to catch him, something that doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon.

My grandchildren will be alive to see Coach K's wins record get broken.

And I don't even have kids yet. Less than a month ago I finally decided I was responsible enough to get a cat.

So yeah, it will be awhile before someone approaches the number 903 again.

But what does it mean? What is the significance of passing Bobby Knight to move to the top of the career-wins list? Does this vault Krzyzewski atop the college coaching pantheon? Does this one win -- a 74-69 victory over an over-matched Michigan State team -- really change Coach K's standing alongside the likes of John Wooden, Adolph Rupp or Dean Smith? Can one win truly make that much of a difference?

"I don't know yet," Krzyzewski said when asked what the milestone means. "I just coach ever game the same and they just start adding up. I think it will mean a lot when its all over, but I don't know when that'll be."

Milestones are a tricky subject in sports. Being the career leader doesn't necessarily equate to being the greatest. Sometimes it does, but its just as likely the result of being really good for the longest time. Pete Rose is Major League Baseball's career hits leader, but how many people consider him the best hitter of all time? Emmitt Smith is the NFL's career leader in rushing yards, but would take him over Barry Sanders or Jim Brown in their prime.

The same can be said for Coach K. Does the fact that he has more wins than Bobby Knight mean that he was a better coach than Bobby Knight? Does it mean he's a better coach than Jim Calhoun? Or Tom Izzo?

Krzyzewski has his own standards for how to measure a season.

"I wanna win a championship with each team that I coach," Krzyzewski said. "I'm more into that, because that's the moment you want for a group."

Krzyzewski's had plenty of those moments in his time at Duke. He's won four national titles and been to eight title games out of the 11 Final Fours that his team's have reached. He's won 25 different ACC titles -- 13 tournament titles and 12 regular season championships. He's won the Gold Medal in both the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Championships. He's a member of both the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Hall of Fame. He's won a national coach of the year award in six different seasons and won five ACC coach of the year awards.

Whether or not that resume makes Mike Krzyzewski the greatest college basketball coach of all-time is debatable and a different post for a different day. What isn't debatable is that his list of titles and award is a hell of a lot stronger of an argument than simply stating that he is the career wins leader.

As for Coach K, he's not worried about any of that. He simply wants to be left alone.

"Maybe now they'll take specials on me off TV," he said. "I'm getting tired of see me on TV."
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2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: No. 6 Duke Blue Devils

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.

Last Season: 32-5, 13-3 (2nd ACC), lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16

Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

Key Losses: Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Kyrie Irving

Newcomers: Austin Rivers, Michael Gbinije, Quinn Cook, Marshall Plumlee, Alex Murphy,

Projected Lineup:

- G: Seth Curry, Jr.
- G: Austin Rivers, Fr.
- F: Alex Murphy, Fr.
- F: Ryan Kelly, Jr.
- C: Miles Plumlee, Sr.
- Bench: Marshall Plumlee, Fr.; Mason Plumlee, Jr.; Ty Thornton, So.; Quinn Cook, Fr.; Michael Gbinije, Fr.; Andre Dawkins, Jr.; Josh Hairston, So.


Outlook: The Blue Devils had a wild ride in 2010-2011. With essentially everyone returning from their 2010 National Title team, Duke was the consensus favorite to repeat as champs in 2011. Early in the season, that prediction appeared accurate, as Kyrie Irving was having a Player of the Year kind of season. Irving went down with a toe injury in December that eventually kept him off the court until March. In the meantime, Nolan Smith turned into a legitimate Player of the Year candidate. All of this happened while Kyle Singler continued to have his standard, ho-hum, first-team all-ACC caliber season.

But despite all that talent, the Blue Devils had a crippling flaw -- they never got the production for the interior that they needed. Combine that lack of balance with the disarray that Duke was thrown into when Irving returned from his injury, and Duke bowed out of the NCAA Tournament after their worst defensive performance of the season against Arizona.

This season, the Blue Devils are almost devoid of hype. That's what happens when you play in the same conference as the team everyone is projecting to be the best in the country (UNC this year). And while the rest of the country is talking about UNC and Kentucky, UConn and Ohio State, the Blue Devils have quietly reloaded.

It will start with the back court for Duke. Austin Rivers is going to be the guy that gets all of the attention, and that isn't necessarily wrong. A superstar freshman that will remind folks of a young Jay Williams, Rivers is the total package when it comes to being a scorer. He can shoot from anywhere on the court, he can get to the basket and finish above the rim, and he can score in the mid-range. He tends to be a bit streaky, but when he gets it going, Rivers can put on some absolutely incredible scoring displays. If there is a knock on Rivers, its that he may be too cocky. He carries himself with an arrogance that will instantly make him hated by every rival fan. Sometimes that cockiness can lead to Rivers being, for lack of a better term, a ballhog. Shot selection and limiting turnovers will be a key for him this season.

While Rivers gets all the press, Seth Curry may actually end up being the more valuable back court player. Steph's little brother will get the chance to start this season at the point, and there are some that are predicting a huge year out of the fourth-year junior. I'm not as sold as them. What we do know about Curry is that he is a lights-out shooter that is dangerous when he gets in a rhythm. We also know he is a capable creator than doesn't turn the ball over. But is he truly a point guard? Is he prepared to run a team? He may be, but we will have to wait and see.

Duke's back court will have quite a bit of depth as well. Sharp shooting Andre Dawkins will see time on the wing, as will talented freshman Michael Gbinije, a fundamentally sound, 6'7" small forward. Another talented freshman, Quinn Cook, and a gritty sophomore, Ty Thornton, will back-up Curry at the point. The x-factor of this perimeter attack may end up being Alex Murphy. Murphy was a top ten recruit in the Class of 2012, but he decided to enroll at Duke a year early. He's a versatile forward with range and surprising athleticism, a guy that Duke fans are already comparing to Kyle Singler.


The Blue Devil's front court will be much more of a question mark, however, but its not due to a lack of size or a lack of potential. Enter the Plumlees. With Marshall entering the fray this fall, there are now three Plumlees on the Duke roster, and they will play the majority of the minutes at the center position for Coach K this season. Mason is probably the best out of the group, as he led the Blue Devils in rebounding and blocks last season. He needs to become more of an offensive threat, however. Miles has been inconsistent throughout his career, but early reports have said that he's impressed as much as anyone. Marshall is probably the tallest and the most athletic of the trio, but he'll need some muscle and weight before he's really effective in the ACC.

The x-factor will be Ryan Kelly. Kelly is a stretch four, a 6'11" forward with three-point range. He has a lot of expectations coming into the season, as he has apparently bulked up during the summer. Kelly was terrific during Duke's trip through Asia and the Middle East, as being stronger has allowed him to become a more physical and aggressive presence in the paint. He'll never be Quincy Acy, but if he can provide a strong rebounding and shot-blocking presence -- he averaged 1.4 bpg last year -- it will make Duke that much tougher inside.

There is, unquestionably, loads of talent on this Duke roster. But so much of that talent will be connected with an 'if' heading into the season. 'If' Seth Curry becomes a point guard; 'if' the Plumlees can live up to their potential; 'if' Austin Rivers is as good as advertised; 'if' Ryan Kelly truly did get better. There is no question that Duke is the second best team in the ACC. They can be much more than that on a national scale if everything breaks right. One this we do know -- it will be a fun ride to follow.
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You know how I know hoops season is close? The videos

The anticipation of the 2011-2012 season has been building up these past few days. The practices have finally began, and the first tip-off is not too far down the road. While the NFL and World Series occupy the majority of the public attention, die-hard college hoop-heads are starting to gear up.

In less than just 12 hours, we've been privy to not one, but two entertaining promotional videos to get us excited for the upcoming season.

First, Stanford University pulled out all the stops (i.e. Andrew Luck and Mark Madsen) to recreate one of the mid-90s most recognizable commercials:



Spoof-videos are becoming more and more commonplace in the college hoops realm, and I think we can all agree that videos like this are welcomed addition.

Unfortunately, not all videos are meant for everyone. More specifically, Not everybody likes Duke. In fact, most people either love Duke or they hate them, so producing a video titled "Duke Worldwide" is probably going to elicit some strong opinions.

Roll the footage:



Auto-tune went out of style in 2008, right? Didn't Jay-Z publicly call for an end to it? How much more official can you get?

Good or bad, videos like these help to bide our time until the first tip-off. And once the games do begin, more videos will surface providing us with filler-material between Big Monday and Super Tuesday.
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Coach K's limo: why is everyone so impressed?

Every Tuesday night, from 10 pm to 11 pm, I am indisposed. You see, that's when the new episode of Sons of Anarchy comes on FX every week, and while I love TiVo as much as anyone, SoA is one of the few shows where I need to watch it live. Its that good.

So you can forgive me for missing out on the hub-bub surrounding Coach K's decision to roll up to see Class of 2013 studs Jabari Parker and Julius Randle in a limo yesterday.

But can you also forgive me for not understanding why this is such a big deal, especially considering he actually showed up in a Yukon Denali with a driver? Frankly, it would be more surprising to me if Duke showed up in something other than a limo.

Now, Coach K -- and two other member of his staff -- were far from the only coaches in the gym yesterday. Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State and Kansas were among the other coaching staffs reportedly watching Parker's workout. Now, I've been in my share of limo rides. I went to prom and I've been in wedding parties. Hell, Troy was able to talk his dad into expensing our ride to the airport to go to the final four in an escalade with a driver.

I get how cool it is -- and how cool it seems from the outside -- to be riding in a limo.

But it also makes me wonder just how the rest of these coaching staffs are getting around. Is Thad Matta stuck waiting in the absurdly long lines at Hertz like the rest of us Joe Schmoes? Does Bill Self roll up to workouts pushing a Prius? Honestly, I think I'd be more impressed to see a coach roll up like Xavier's Chris Mack did in Vegas two summers ago.

One thing I did notice as I went back through my twitter feed last night was that people were saying this is exactly what Duke wants, people talking about their recruiting tactics. I disagree. Coach K probably wanted Parker and Randle to know he took a limo, but now that the entire college basketball world knows, doesn't this also mean that Coach K is going to have to take a limo to see every recruit he visits this fall? Otherwise, won't a recruit -- and a recruit's inner circle -- start saying they don't want us as much, they didn't show up in a limo?

Maybe its a good thing Glen Rice took our attention away from this.

It also gives a whole new meaning to this commercial:


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Sorry Coach K, I don't buy it

The final 2.1 seconds of the 1992 NCAA East Regional Final between Duke and Kentucky is the greatest 2.1 seconds in the history of college basketball.

Game. Set. Match. Take It to the Bank. Bar-none. Fuggedaboutit.

Whatever or however you want to say it, you know it's the truth.

Duke will be celebrating the 20 year anniversary of the 1992 National Championship team this season, and will also be celebrating the induction of Bobby Hurley into the Duke Athletic Hall of Fame. During the promotion of Hurley's induction, Coach-K noted that he believes the point guard's shot against UNLV in 1991 was a bigger shot than the one Laettner made a year later.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying it.

I mean, just watch the video.



It wasn't just the pass. Which, by the way, may be the most beautiful one-handed full-court pass in the history of college basketball.

It wasn't just the drop-step to fade-away jumper. Which, by the way, may be arguably the most beautiful drop-step to fade-away jumper in the history of college basketball.

And it wasn't just the post-shot pandemonium. Which by the way, may be arguable the most pure moment of disbelief and utter joy in college basketball history. Seriously, show me 1.3 seconds of Thomas Hill crying in disbelief and I won't not get choked up. The gleeful high-stepping of Laettner after the shot sank? You can't script it, or re-script it (Well, you can try to re-script it, but it's not as good as the original. Well unless you are Chris Farley).

But what makes it great is the whole moment. Four beautiful sequences placed one after the other, to make arguably the most iconic March Madness moment in March Madness history.

Maybe Coach-K doesn't think it's the biggest shot in Duke history because he was worrying about the win instead of embracing the sheer madness of the moment spill out on live television.

At least I'm not the only person who thinks Coach-K is wrong. Usually, I agree with what Coach-K says and does. But I couldn't disagree more with the multi-time National Championship-winning coach.

Maybe I'm biased because I was a 90's child. Sure I'm an 80's baby, but my passion for college basketball was born in the early-to-mid 90s. I didn't have the luxury of seeing the Lorenzo Charles put-back and Jim Valvano's subsequent dash to find a hug. For me, and probably countless other kids during the early 90's, the Laettner shot was the one I recreated countless times in my driveway.

The crazy thing about that shot is that we've seen shots like this since then. Ali Farohkmanesh's shot against Kansas was more unpredictable. Kemba Walker's buzzer-beater against Pitt was a bigger dagger. We've definitely seen buzzer-beaters more crazy than "Laettner in '92".

So maybe coach-K is right. Maybe it's not the best shot in Duke history.

But it's certainly the best moment in Duke history.


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Nolan Smith, twitter, and how building a brand helped build a charity

Nolan Smith's story is one that has been told over and over again.

Derek Smith, Nolan's father, was a great basketball player three decades ago. He won a national title in 1980 with Louisville, cutting down the nets in the same city that Nolan did thirty years later with Duke. But when Nolan was eight, his father tragically passed away at the age of 34 on a cruise with his family.

The younger Smith persevered. With the aid of a strong support system -- his family and father's teammates and friends -- Nolan persevered. Using a tattoo of his father on his right arm as motivation, Nolan managed to work his way from backing up Greg Paulus to becoming the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, ending up in Portland with the Trail Blazers.

But perhaps his greatest achievement will be his charity, the Sydney and Nolan Smith Foundation.


"Our foundation is for kids who lost a parent -- mother, father, guardian, any person who has been taking care of them their whole life," Smith said in a phone interview Monday night. "Its something that we can relate to, my sister and I. Its something that is very close to our hearts and its the reason why we started the foundation. We're very, very, very passionate about it, about changing kids lives who lost someone."

"We're going to be doing camps, dinners, all different things to just bring these kids together and let them get out their emotions. Let them see that there are other kids like them. And through myself and my sister, let them see that even without that loved one, you can still be successful and do positive things in your life."

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For quite possibly the first time since Renardo Sidney joined his program, I'm going to complement Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury.

In February of last season, Stansbury banned his his team from using twitter and suspended forward Ravern Johnson for a game after an outburst from Johnson on twitter. Following a loss in which he scored just 10 points in 40 minutes, Johnson referred to former teammates Twany Beckham and Elgin Bailey when he tweeted "Starting to see why people transfer you can play the minutes but not getting your talents shown because u watching someone else wit the ball the whole game shooters need to move not watch why other coaches get that do not make sense to me (sic)." Sidney retweeted what Johnson said, and it wasn't long before the blogosphere picked up on it and Johnson's tweets were all over every college hoops site on the internet.

Stansbury allowed his players back on twitter once the season ended, but that decision appears to have come back to bite him. Freshman guard DJ Gardner was kicked off the team after a string of profanity-laced tweets criticizing the Mississippi State coaching staff, in large part due to the fact that Gardner was upset for getting redshirted.

Stansbury, however, made the absolute correct decision in allowing his team back on twitter.

It wasn't the easy decision, mind you. If you are a coach of a college program, banning twitter is the simplest solution to what amounts to a complex problem. For a coach, the benefit received from allowing a group of college aged kids access to social media platforms is far outweighed by the risks involved. Whether its the Mississippi State players ripping their coaches, Scoop Jardine tweeting about basketball groupies, Tyshawn Taylor's facebook rant after fighting with the Kansas football team or Tyree Graham scooping the Rutgers Sports Information Department on his torn acl, its always going to be a point of concern for coaches when their players -- who are just as emotional and dramatic as you were in college -- have the ability to communicate with the world.

Living in the information age makes one slip-up -- one ill-advised moment of honesty, one tweet that was supposed to be a direct message, one frustrated tweet about playing time or number of shots or team success -- a topic on SportsCenter and a link on the front page of Yahoo!

Its so simple for a coaching staff to cut that issue off at the source, to restrict social media access for their players.

But banning an entire team because of the immaturity of a few is a mistake.


Following college athletes on twitter is fairly pointless. Generally speaking, they are tweeting about working out or playing ball, they are communicating with friends -- which is kind of what twitter was originally intended for -- and they are responding to fans, be it trash talk with rivals or retweets for their supporters. Every once in a while, to help support the notion that they truly are student-athletes, you'll see a tweet about a class that a player is enrolled in.

There are some truly terrific tweeters in the college basketball ranks, however, and they make being a fan of the program that much more fun.

Missouri senior Kim English is fairly well-known for his twitter prowess. Last summer, he made waves across the blogosphere when he translated the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling -- line by line and tweet by tweet -- into basketball terms. Just last week, English, who has been dribbling a tennis ball around campus to try and improve his handle, tweeted for students to try and steal the ball from him if they saw him.

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State's sophomore center and all-american, found a sign that a Minnesota student made to mock him funny. After failing to get the sign from the student after the game, Sullinger was able to connect with the kid over twitter. That sign is currently hanging in Sullinger's mother's house.

North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall has become the darling of the college hoops media in the last couple of days after tweeting out things like "Not a big fan of the expansion of the conferences in college sports. Feel like we're losing tradition." and "McDonalds tried to give me an extra BBQ sauce "on the house". I said no no, I wanna play this season."

Perhaps the best story of a college athlete on twitter comes from the Ivy League. Keith Wright is Harvard's center and currently the reigning Ivy Player of the Year. Throughout the season, he had been tweeting about a girl in his class that he had a crush on, the "section heroine". On the last day of classes, he live-tweeted the thought-process -- and nervousness -- of finally going up and asking her out. Unfortunately, she turned him down, but Wright survived. He's currently searching for "section heroine 2".

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Nolan Smith understands the pitfalls of social media. He knows the trouble that tweeting the wrong thing can get you into. Its something that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski ingrained in his team from day one.

"Coach K trusted us to carry ourselves the right way," Smith said. "And if I was a college coach, that would be the first thing [I'd talk to my team about]. On the first day of team meetings, its something that you have to address. If you have facebook and twitter, be smart. Don't let people take pictures of you out at a party and put them on facebook. The same thing with twitter, don't go saying dumb stuff at three or four in the morning. They warned us about little stuff like that, and that one warning on the first day was all we needed."

College coaches should treat twitter as a privilege, because there are benefits to having their players accessible to fans. It allows the people outside the team -- the kids that wait in line for hours just to sit in the student section for a guarantee game or the boosters whose donations allow the coaches to travel in private jets to recruiting events -- a chance to really get to know the players they are cheering for. When used correctly, it helps build the program's brand.

"Twitter is who you are," Smith said. "If you don't want people to see you saying certain things, then leave it off of twitter."

"For college players, if they're on twitter and they're handling themselves the right way, they make [their school] look good. They make some fans say 'Duke has some really cool players, they connect with their fans.'"

That privilege can be taken away. There is nothing wrong with suspending a player's twitter usage or forcing them to open a new page, one that is private and only for use with friends and personal acquaintances. Anonymity is not difficult on the internet.

For the coaches that truly care about developing the kids in the program as people -- and not simply as basketball players -- than teaching the opportunities involved with building their own brand on twitter is just as important as engraining the principles of help-side defense in their heads.

Smith may never again reach the level of fame that he had as a national champion and player of the year candidate at Duke.

That's not a knock on him, either. When you're a star for the Blue Devils, you are one of the most recognizable faces in all of basketball. You play every game on national television, you have highlights on Sportscenter every morning and every 30 point outburst is going to get you talked about on by every college hoops scribe, be it on twitter or in an article. Even if he does becoming a starting point guard in the NBA -- which is certainly possible, assuming the NBA eventually ratifies a new CBA -- he'll never receive as much attention and publicity as he did the past two seasons at Duke.

The fact that he was one of the great stories in college basketball the last two years only magnified that fact.

Smith capitalized on his stardom in the collegiate ranks. He's friendly, funny and intelligent, on twitter and in person, and isn't shy about satiating the throng of fans he gets requesting retweets because its their birthday or because they love Duke or because their dogs have the same name, even if it comes at the cost of a clogged timeline or two. Its part of the reason that, as of this writing, he had over 51,000 twitter followers and a verified account.

That twitter presence allowed him a venue for announcing his foundation. With a couple of keystrokes and a click of his mouse, Smith instantly alerted his 51,000 followers to his newly established charity. That number only grows with you consider how many of those 51,000 followers retweeted his announcement.

"I think so," Smith said when I asked if his twitter following helped him launch his charity. "Ever since I've been on twitter, its helped me build my brand."

The Sydney and Nolan Smith Foundation is still in its infancy, and regardless of whether or not Nolan was on twitter, there is little doubt that the charity will be a successful one. But there is also little doubt that the exposure he received through social media at its launch will help to expedite that success.

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Twitter certainly is not for everyone.

As the saying goes, there are always a few bad apples that spoil the bunch. Whether its due to a lack of maturity on the player's part, a lack of understanding of the power of social media, or a lack of education on the downside of having a public profile, there are always going to be mistakes made on twitter.

Smith has some advice for college athletes that decide to get on twitter.

"Be smart. It shows the character and the class that you have, and if you don't have that, don't get on it. Twitter's not for you."
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Did Coach K commit a recruiting violation?

Jeff Borzello has been doing a terrific job in his inaugural season as CBSSports' recruiting guru.

Mini-scoop, we'll call him.

He also may have inadvertently broke his first NCAA recruiting violation story. Take a look at this excerpt from a recent blog he published on five-star recruit Alex Poythress:

On Tuesday night, after the AAU Super Showcase, the 6-foot-7 Northeast (Tenn.) forward picked up an offer from Duke and head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“It felt pretty good,” Poythress said Thursday morning. “It was pretty exciting to talk to Coach K. He said he saw me play at the Super Showcase and Peach Jam, and he liked what he saw.”

We bolded the key sentence.

You see, the July recruiting period is an evaluation period. Coaches are not supposed to be figuring out who they think can play at their level and fit into their system. They are not supposed to be contacting or speaking to recruits that are playing in tournaments. The hangup, however, was that the Georgia Stars' team that Poythress plays for was eliminated from the Super Showcase in Orlando on Tuesday and played in the ESPNU exhibition that night. According to Brian Snow of Scout.com, coaches can call recruits once they have been eliminated from tournament play.

John Infante of the Bylaw Blog weighed in on twitter by providing this link which says:

"The academic and membership affairs staff confirmed that after a prospect reports on call to travel with his team at the beginning of an extended road trip that occurs during the July evaluation period, it is not permissible for an institution's coaching staff member to have any type of communication with the prospect, the prospect's parents or legal guardians, the prospect's coach or any individual associated with the prospect as a result of the prospect's participation in basketball [except for telephone contact with a prospect's high-school coach (or administrator) who is not in attendance at the prospect's events] until the prospect is released by the appropriate authorities after the completion of the team's final competition of the road trip."

By that definition, Coach K is in the clear if the call came after the last competition of the road trip for the Stars. Poythress is currently competing at the Nike Global Challenge, which isn't an AAU event. So, for Duke fans, you better hope Coach K got on the horn late Tuesday night.


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NBA Draft Profiles: Kyrie Irving, Duke

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 17.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.4 rpg, 1.5 spg, 46.2% 3PT, 56.9% 2PT

Age: 19, freshman

Size:

• Listed: 6'3", 190 lb
• Official: 6'1.75" (no shoes), 6'3.5" (with shoes), 6'4" (wingspan), 8'3" (reach), 191 lb

Strengths: While he only played 11 games at the collegiate level, its safe to say in watching Irving that there is not much that he cannot do at the point guard position. For starters, he is a terrific shooter with NBA range. He is lights out when he is able to catch and shoot with his feet set while also being a serious threat off the dribble. That ability to shoot will force defenders to go over a screen in a pick-and-roll situation. He's also terrific at getting to the basket. He's not an overwhelming athlete like a Derrick Rose or a Chris Paul. Instead, he has a great understanding of how to use hesitation moves and crafty dribbling to get his defender off balance. Irving is able to penetrate with either hand thanks to his ability to change speeds. He is a very good passer, capable of throwing darts to the screener on a pick-and-roll or hitting a teammate cutting to the rim or open on the perimeter. He is excellent at pushing the ball in transition as well. But most importantly, Irving seems to have the demeanor to be a point guard. He runs a team well, he was able to be the focal point of the Duke offense early in the season while managing to keep two all-americans happy with their production, and he has the work ethic and leadership ability to back up his quiet on-court confidence.

Weaknesses: If there is a weakness in Irving's game, its that he lacks overpowering physical tools. He's 6'3" in shoes, but he does not have an overwhelming wingspan and could stand to put on some upper body muscle. He's quick, but he doesn't have blazing speed. He can jump, but he's not in the same league athletically as Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose. Will he be able to get by defenders with his change-of-pace style attack in the NBA? Will he be able to defend the more athletic point guards at the next level?

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Irving is a tough comparison. The recent point guards that have been drafted at the top of the lottery -- John Wall, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook -- have been freak athletes. He's not as quick as a Chris Paul and he's not as solidly built as Deron Williams. Williams may actually be the best comparison based on style of play, as Irving appears to be more of a scorer than the kind of distributor and facilitator that Paul is.


• Worst Case Scenario: Irving is as close to a sure thing as you will find in this draft. Swish Scout says that his worst case scenario is Kyle Lowry while Draft Express says a rich man's Eric Maynor. I don't love either of those comparisons. I'm going to go with Raymond Felton, a starter that averages somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 points and seven assists.

Outlook: Irving is going to be an interesting prospect to watch develop in the NBA. He probably doesn't have quite the upside of some of the more recent point guards that have gone No. 1, but that doesn't mean that he can't be a franchise-changing player in, what appears to be a given, Cleveland. Part of the reason that he doesn't have the same kind of upside as either John Wall or Derrick Rose is that he doesn't have the same kind of elite physical tools, but what makes him such an intriguing prospect is that he does have a very well-developed skill set. He is a deadly jumpshooter, he can handle the ball, he can get to the basket going either direction, and he understands when to attack the rim -- where he is terrific at getting to the foul line -- and when to give the ball up to an open teammate. Irving will make players around him better, but I also think he will get better as the talent in his supporting cast increases. Irving is the kind of point guard that you want leading your franchise, but I'm not sure that he is the kind of talent will carry a team by himself for an entire season.

Draft Range: No. 1

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "Irving announced that he will declare for the 2011 NBA Draft. Irving may have only played 11 games this season, but he enters the draft as the odds on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Irving is one of the most complete prospects in the draft. He has speed, quickness and range on his jumper. He's excellent penetrating to the basket, sees the floor well and is a leader on the court. He's not particularly elite in any one category, but the overall package is pretty impressive."


• Draft Express: "Irving is already one of the best distributors in the NCAA, ranking highly in both PPR as assist to turnover ratio, but he's only really scratching the surface on how good of a point guard he can become in the half-court. Although he's clearly a willing passer, the ball tends to stick to his hands just a tad too much at times, and he has been responsible for a handful of sloppy possessions. His turnover rate (24%) is probably a little higher than Mike Krzyzewski would like, but considering his age, lack of experience and how dominant of a ball-handler he's been for Duke this season, it's more than understandable that there will be some growing pains."


• Swish Scout: "Classic point guard with an NBA skill set in terms of athleticism, passing, dribbling, and the rare ability to take over a game. Solid jump shooter and creator who looks like a 'top three Draft prospect,' but can needs to focus more consistently on being a pass-first type player where he excels."

Highlights:


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Kyrie Irving, Miss Hawaii, and a post I wish I never wrote

Twitter was abuzz on Monday night with people talking about Kyrie Irving, and not because he is about to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Because of what may happen the night before the draft.

First, some back ground. Some of you may not remember this, but during the NCAA Tournament, the twitter account @dukelvr1989 (since deactivated) began tweeting some absolutely dreadful stuff to Irving about his family, specifically his sister and his deceased mother. It led to Irving getting off of twitter, but not before a woman known as Miss Hawaii received a tweet from Irving that made it evident she was the person behind the deactivated account.

From here, the story gets, well, strange. Duke blog Seth Curry Saves Duke ran a post on the background of the relationship between Irving and Miss Hawaii. (For what it is worth, the information is taken from an anonymous commenter on the blog and supported with tweets from the Miss Hawaii account. I have no idea if it is true.) According to SCSD, the two met online and began some sort of relationship, enough that it convinced Miss Hawaii to make the trip from New York to Charlotte for Duke's opening NCAA Tournament weekend. When the two met in person for the first time, Irving blew her off, upsetting Miss Hawaii enough that she filed a police report against Irving, accusing him of, amongst other things, harassment.


There's more. For starters, Black Sports Online published a post saying that Miss Hawaii was actually a Craigslist hooker with the ads and photo gallery to back it up. Reading through her twitter timeline, its not hard to make that assumption. When word got back to Miss Hawaii, she claimed that the listings on Craigslist were made by Devin Ebanks' girlfriend because she (the girlfriend) was jealous of Miss Hawaii, who claims she (Miss Hawaii) was "with" Ebanks. BSO also reported that there was a similar twitter-battle between Ebanks and Miss Hawaii late last year.

But wait. There's more.

You see, Miss Hawaii claims to have video of Irving masturbating, which she will apparently be "releasing" the day before the NBA Draft. Given this (NSFW) video posted by Miss Hawaii, there may be some validity behind those claims. She also posted three youtube videos -- here, here, and here -- discussing Irving. (The third of those videos is, well, quite ridiculous with some very, very NSFW language.)

Ugh.

I need a shower.

But before I do, there is a lesson to be learned here, one that you think people would have learned by now. Be it Brett Farve, Greg Oden, Anthony Weiner, Santonio Holmes, or any random Joe Schmoe with a camera phone, if you are going to make the decision to send a picture of yourself sans clothing, make sure you trust the person. We live in a digital age. Tweets, texts, pictures, emails, or anything else that is sent digitally gets recorded. Its will be saved by the person on the receiving end. And should you piss that person off enough, there is always the possibility that those images will make it online.

That possibility is only magnified when you are a person in the spotlight.

For the females out there, Miss Hawaii gives you a perfect example of how not to carry yourself. By posting 40 minutes worth of ranting about an 18 year old (she's 30) explaining how you aren't crazy -- for what its worth, I watched maybe 30 seconds of those videos -- only proves that you are, in fact, out of your mind. Being a minor internet sensation shouldn't be a lifetime goal.

To be clear, I have no idea what actually transpired between these two individuals. Honestly, I couldn't care less. If guys like Kyrie Irving want to make homemade movies and send them out on Skype, then by all means, send them. If women like Miss Hawaii want to chase pro ballers, then by all means, chase away.

But remember -- in this day and age, once its online, its online forever.
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NBA Draft Profiles: Kyle Singler, Duke

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 16.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.9 t/o's, 32.1% 3PT

Age: 23, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'9", 225 lb
• Official: 6'7.5" (no shoes), 6'8.5" (with shoes), 6'10" (wingspan), 8'10" (reach), 228 lb

Strengths: The biggest strength to Singler's game is essentially what you would say about any player that spent four years in college and won multiple conference championships and a national title -- he's a proven winner, a well-rounded player capable of taking over in the Final Four while still willing to dive on the floor for a loose ball or take a charge. Singler is the kind of player that you want as your teammate. He's not going to disrupt a locker room's chemistry and, despite being one of the most highly-regarded players in the country throughout his career, was really nothing more than the nation's best role-player. That is the biggest reason that Singler projects as an NBA prospect -- he's already had to experience playing second, or even third, fiddle in college. Skillwise, there is a lot that Singler does well. He is a good, albeit streaky, shooter from deep, he is a capable ball-handler, he has solid size for an NBA combo-forward, and he is, at the very least, a hardworker on the defensive end.

Weaknesses: While there are a lot of things that Singler does well, there is not anything that he does at an NBA level. When Singler gets hot, he can knock down three or four threes in a row. But overall, he is quite an inconsistent shooter. He struggled for much of his junior season before playing like a first-team all-american the last month and a half. As a senior, his production dipped -- even with Kyrie Irving out -- and he finished the year shooting just 32.1% from deep. Singler is also stuck in that dreaded tweener category. He's not a power forward, but there are questions as to whether he is quick or athletic enough to defend on the perimeter in the NBA. There are also questions about what Singler's ceiling as a player will be. There hasn't been a drastic improvement to his game since his sophomore year in college, and at 23 years old, there is no guarantee that he will get all that much better. Is he ready to be a rotational player in the NBA right now?

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: I like the comparison of Shane Battier. Both former Duke products, Battier has a similar size and athletic profile to Singler. They also have similar skill sets. Battier has made a career out of being a defensive stopper and a knockdown three point shooter. Singler isn't quite on Battier's level at either of those skills, but for him to survive in the NBA, he'll need to take on a Batter-esque role.


• Worst Case Scenario: Brian Cardinal. Cardinal is a bench player for the Mavericks, a guy that comes in to commit a couple of hard fouls here and there, knock down a three if he is left open, and basically be the team's head cheerleader on the bench. High-character guy, good teammate, the kind of 12th man that every championship team in the NBA has. Oh, and he made $37.9 million in the NBA. Not a bad worst case, I guess.

Outlook: Singler doesn't have a huge upside. He'll likely never be an all-star, and may never start an NBA game. But he is still an attractive prospect to NBA teams because of the kind of intangibles that he brings. Singler has already shown that he doesn't have an ego as a player. He is willing to play a role. Its essentially what he has done throughout his career at Duke. He plays hard, he plays smart, and he learned under one of the most respected minds in the college game in Coach K. In other words, he's not only a mature player physically, but he is a mature kid mentally. There is zero risk is picking Singler, as he is a known-quantity at this point. He can come in immediately, provide 10-15 minutes a game as a rookie, play some defense, hit some threes, and limit his mistakes. That should be worth a late-first round pick for a playoff team looking to shore up their rotation.

Draft Range: Late 1st to Early 2nd

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "NBA execs look for similarities for help in projections, so anything Singler can do to separate himself from Hayward would be great, and that starts with his perimeter shot. [Gordon] Hayward was good his first season and bad as a sophomore, and Singler is working on an "average, good, good, average" run over his four years. Combine a sharpshooter with the fighter/hustler Singler has proved to be in the past against a team like Michigan State? That's a guy every team will covet."


• Draft Express: "Though Singler is a proven winner and a relatively complete player at this point in his career, there are questions surrounding the extent of his upside, as he doesn't seem to have improved a great deal over the past few years. Not possessing the size or strength to operate effectively in the post, or the quickness and ball-handling skills to be a great shot-creator on the wing, there are some concerns about whether Singler is destined for a role as a one-dimensional player, one who is not particularly consistent at that particular dimension—shooting."


• Swish Scout: "Multi-Dimensional forward that can shoot from anywhere on the floor, plays with great energy, hustles, defends, has a great bball IQ and flat out makes plays. A Swiss pocket knife on the offensive end who could be an underrated NBA shooter/defender throughout his career after being taken in the second round of the 2011 Draft."

Highlights:




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Austin Rivers must be a fan of Mortal Kombat

Austin Rivers, the top-rated recruit in the class of 2011, took to Twitter last night to make a few announcements regarding his freshman season at Duke.

Rivers, who wore the No. 25 jersey throughout high school stated that he would be donning the No. 0 uniform when he arrives in Durham, NC. He will become the first Blue Devil in school history to wear that number. He decided to change numbers because his high school number has been retired at Duke in honor of Art Heyman. So he chose the No. 0 to signal a fresh start at the next level.

That's all well and good. Zero isn't a bad number, and clearly he thought it out, so good for him.

Now, the announcement of his new number isn't new, but the second part is. And it's that part which really grinds my gears.

Now, Rivers may be the top incoming freshman in the country, but he still has a lot to learn.

You cannot give yourself a nickname. It's practically an unwritten rule of the schoolyard.

Dwayne Wade didn't tell people to call him "Flash". Earvin Johnson didn't legally change his name to "Magic". Harrison Barnes didn't ask people to refer to him as "The Black Falcon". And as much as we probably want to assume that LeBron James anointed himself "The King", some dorky high school kid probably did.

That is what makes nicknames so cool. A great one is never thought about, it just happens.

Again, Rivers is the top recruit in the country (well either No. 1 or No.2 depending on who you ask), but he's still a freshman. In fact, he's not even a freshman yet. Just imagine the scene if first-year Rivers walked into the locker room and asked junior Andre Dawkins to refer to him as Sub-Zero.

I'm certain Rivers would spend the rest of his freshman season being refered to as "Sonya Blade".
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NBA Draft Profiles: Nolan Smith, Duke

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 20.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.5 rpg, 3.2 t/o's, 1.2 spg, 35.0 3PT%

Age: 22, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'2", 185 lb
• Official: 6'1.5" (no shoes), 6'3.5" (with shoes), 6'5.5" (wingspan), 8'3" (reach), 188 lb

Strengths: There isn't much that Nolan Smith doesn't do well on a basketball court. He's got good size for a point guard in the NBA. He's not the best athlete in this draft, but he compensates for it; he has a very high basketball IQ and understands his strengths and limitations. He has a crafty and effective handle, understanding how to use a change of pace and a change of direction to create space. He's able to finish in the paint using a variety of floaters and short jumpers, but can finish at the rim using his body to hold off a defender. Smith is also capable of dunking on an opponent upon occasion. As a shooter, Smith is still a bit inconsistent, but he's gotten better throughout his career. Perhaps the most important aspect of his game is that Smith has shown to be capable of running a team this season, taking over the point guard duties this year for Kyrie Irving this year. He's a better passer and creator that you think, and has improved in the pick and roll.

Weaknesses: Smith is not a prototypical NBA athlete. He's not overly quick, especially on the defensive end of the floor, but he makes up for it but playing hard on that end of the floor and understanding positioning and rotations. He still needs to improve his jump shot as well, but he's gotten consistently better throughout his career. He did turn the ball over more than you would like out of your point guard, but some of that can be attributed to the amount of time he had the ball in his hands. Smith is a very well-rounded, intelligent player, but his biggest weakness may be that he is not great at any one thing.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Kirk Hinrich is the name that immediately comes to mind. They have similar skill sets and are both very intelligent players, but Hinrich had a couple of seasons where he averaged 16 ppg and 6 apg as a starter in the league. I'm not sure Smith will be able to reach that plateau. Mario Chalmers is another comparison that I've seen that I like, although I think Smith is a more well-rounded offensive player than Chalmers.


• Worst Case Scenario: Anthony Carter. Carter has made a career out of being a serviceable back up point guard. He doesn't do a lot, but he can create, he can knock down a three, and he's willing to fit a role. I can see Smith having a long career similar to that of Carter.

Outlook: Smith's longevity in the NBA is going to be determined by his ability to run a team. He's naturally a combo-guard, and the majority of his career at Duke was spent as a score-first player. He's not going to have that kind of impact in the league. The best thing for Smith's career may have been Irving's injury, as he was able to slide over to the point and prove what he was capable of doing as a primary ball-handler. Suffice to say, he impressed. Smith had some big games on national television and made quite a few big shots in crucial moments. Along those same lines, it is probably also a good sign for his professional prospects that he was willing to play off-the-ball for much of his career as a Blue Devil. Its pretty obvious that Smith is not only talented, but he's willing to play a role for the betterment of his team.

Draft Range: Late 1st round to early 2nd round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "Smith is a combo guard with solid athleticism and a knack for scoring. But for the last year and a half, the senior has gone a long way in shoring up his credentials as a legitimate point guard. He sees the floor better and better as the years have progressed and has shown he can have a big game even when his shot isn't dropping. The biggest term I've heard scouts use to describe him is "steady" and that's a major compliment in their book. Smith doesn't necessarily project as a NBA star (though scouts are hedging more on that than they were a year ago), but a number of teams covet him as a potential rotation player who could cover both backcourt positions coming off the bench."


• Draft Express: "Not a natural playmaker, Smith's ability to run an offense full time could be the key to whether or not he's seen as a legitimate starter down the line. Smith has a high basketball IQ and is a willing passer, and at the very least should be able to competently run an offense for stretches off the bench as a combo guard. The diversity of Smith's offensive game, even if he may not be dominant in any individual area, combined with his willingness and ability to defend the point should create a fairly limited floor and make Smith a reasonable bet to be a contributor at the next level, which will make him especially attractive to playoff teams picking in the second half of the first round."


• Swish Scout: "Dynamic combo guard who stepped up big time at Duke as a senior and became an elite NCAA player can do everything well, but nothing spectacular. Thrives as a compliment to a star player with his shooting, passing and creation skills, but will be questions in the NBA about his potential and size on the perimeter."

Highlights:




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Saying Goodbye: Nolan Smith

In this world of NBA Draft early entry and one-and-done freshman, it is difficult to become attached to a college star. They simply don't hang around long enough. But when they do, that player becomes the fan favorite. There is nothing like watching a kid develop from a overwhelmed freshman into star as a senior. Those are the players that the fans connect with.

We reached out to some of the blogosphere's best, and over the next couple of weeks we will be running a series of posts saying goodbye to some of the country's best seniors.

Our eighth installment of the 2011 series is being provided by Seth Curry Saves Duke. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, I highly recommend you do: it's insightful, entertaining, and well-written. You can hit them up on twitter at @SCurrySavesDuke

Eight points. 3-14 from the field. Two assists. Six turnovers.

That was Nolan Smith’s line in the last game of his college career. While the Arizona Wildcats celebrated their resounding Sweet-16 victory, Nolan stood on the sidelines with a shattered heart. In the two awful hours preceding the end, he could be seen staring ahead, unblinking, those huge, brown eyes held open in white alarm. It was the unmistakable expression of fear. His own baffling inability, along with the Wildcat barrage, left him shell-shocked.

It was a moment to make you question the cosmic justice of the world. As an ending, this was absurd, obscene, and existentially cruel.

Nolan was the humble kid with the ubiquitous smile who returned to Duke because he loved the school and coveted a second national championship. He was the player whose sheer resilience and willpower altered the course of his college career, transforming him from a timid freshman who nearly left his school into the ACC Player of the Year. He was the owner of a newfound swagger that somehow never strayed into arrogance. He was the guy with a rare but wonderful sense of humor, the oddball with the soft, almost delicate voice. He was the shooting guard forced to learn a new position when Kyrie Irving wounded his toe, and who played the point so well that Duke won the ACC championship and earned a 1-seed in the west region. He was the cool, powerful warrior who suffered the loss of his father at a young age and created a spectacular career in the wake of the tragedy.

Players like Nolan Smith deserve a storybook ending.

Instead, it all broke down. As Arizona relentlessly revealed every weakness of an imperfect team, Nolan displayed an odd passivity. An unlucky beginning snowballed into a nightmare—a final performance so meek, and so aimless, that empathetic Duke fans everywhere longed for the mercy of the buzzer. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving was back at the point, running a one-man offense and proving to the world that yes, his draft stock should remain sky high. Coach K watched stoically from the sideline as his team floundered under the new leadership of an admittedly wonderful prospect who had, when you thought about it, only cheered in street clothes during the formative days of February. It was almost like witnessing a coup; King Hamlet toppled, and Claudius the usurper leading Denmark to ruin.

But as quickly as the shock of Nolan’s failure set in, it wore off. The whistle blew, the loss was final, and the legacy was intact. Today, these descriptions of his saddest hour must be forcefully dredged from the murky regions of memory, and to those deep realms they shall now return.

Because what we’ll remember about Nolan Smith is the greatness, and how different it was from other forms of greatness. We’ll remember the utter lack of machismo, a rare absence he replaced with joy. We’ll remember the way he attacked, the lethal crossover giving way to the slicing drive. We’ll remember the pure shot, devastating and beautiful. We’ll remember the wizened face, as though a mischievous old man had possessed the liquid body. We’ll remember the euphoria; the inspired genius of his better days.

And I’ll remember three specific games long after the sound of his name has faded in Durham.

1. Duke vs. Baylor, March 28, 2010, Elite Eight.

Nolan led the team with 29 points, including 17 in the second half, to save Duke from what had become its annual tournament fate—an early exit at the hands of a surging, athletic opponent. This game raised all kinds of red flags, in particular because it was being held in Houston before a hostile crowd. With four minutes left, Duke trailed by two and seemed to be wilting beneath the roars. History was repeating itself with horrible precision. Then Nolan scored seven straight points, Duke regained the lead, and fate was cheated. A week later, the journey he preserved in Texas ended in Indiana when Gordon Hayward missed a half-court shot.

2. Duke vs. North Carolina, March 5th, 2011.

On that night, Carolina triumphed at the Dean Dome by double digits. They were hungry for a victory, and their fans were admirably rabid. Duke would later beat the Heels in the ACC Tournament to secure the season series, but they had to endure a shellacking first. Still, standing amid a sea of powder blue in the upper decks, I did experience islands of pleasure in the swelling misery. These came courtesy of Nolan Smith, who scored 30 points and proved beyond a doubt that whatever the outcome, he was the best player on the floor. His quality prompted brief lulls in the Tar Heel noise machine, forcing the exultant fans to pause, momentarily, and consider how the hell someone could be that good.

3. Duke vs. North Carolina, February 9, 2011.

Carolina rode a series of strong victories into Cameron Indoor Stadium, and their excellence was on full display as they staggered the Devils and took a 43-29 halftime lead. In every sense, Duke had been outclassed. Then Nolan came out ablaze and scored 22 second half points, setting off a series of increasingly thunderous detonations that culminated in Duke’s best regular season victory in years. Along with Seth Curry, he shot the Tar Heels right out of the building.

We’ve all seen great players make it rain, but that’s for mere mortals. On February 10th, the morning after, a light dusting of white covered the ground in Durham. You can believe what you want—I say Nolan Smith made it snow.


More from "Saying Goodbye"

2011: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech
2011: Josh Harrellson, Kentucky
2011: DJ Kennedy, St. John's
2011: JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
2011: Matt Howard, Butler
2011: Keith Benson, Oakland
2011: Preston Knowles, Louisville Continue reading...

It's time for DeAndre Daniels to make up his mind

(Ed. Note: Due to technical maintenance to Blogger's user interface, we have been unable to publish any posts for the last 36 hours. This post should have been published on Thursday afternoon. Thank you for your patience)

DeAndre Daniels recruitment took another surprising turn on Thursday, as Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com broke the news that Duke was no longer an option for the athletic, 6'7" forward from IMG Academy. There was a growing buzz that Daniels would end up in Durham -- particularly after Kyrie Irving inferred as much in an interview last month -- but that is apparently no longer the case. Academics seem to have played a part in that decision.

That means that Daniels will end up at Kansas, Texas, or, frankly, anywhere. That's what makes this process so confusing. No one really knows. Not even Dave Telep of ESPN.com, who is probably the most connected media member when it comes to recruiting. From his insider blog on Thursday afternoon:

After speaking with a few people, I've settled on the phrase "paralysis by analysis." To be clear, I have no hard hitting inside knowledge. Frankly, I can't even tell who is really in the mix. Could it be Texas? Duke? Kansas? Someone we've never heard of? All of the above are possibilities. Since no one knows where he's going to go, I asked a simpler question: will he sign?
Like Daniels' recruitment, no one is really sure.

"If I had to guess, I'd say no," one assistant who is recruiting Daniels said. "There's no real rhyme or reason to anything. It's as bizarre as a decision as I've ever seen. It could change on an hourly basis."

The spring signing period ends on Wednesday, the 18th, but that deadline isn't as much of a deadline as you might believe. Daniels cannot sign a Letter of Intent after the 18th, but he is free to go to any school that would have him. And I'm sure that anyone -- Kansas and Texas included -- would be willing to allow the 18th ranked recruit in our consensus rating to come to join the team, LOI or no LOI.

Daniels recruitment has been a roller coaster to follow. He committed to Texas back in 2009 but backed off in 2010. Since then, he's been rumored to be headed to Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke, changing high schools during the process.

There is no question about Daniels' talent.

But at some point, indecision and a lack of commitment has to outweigh that talent. Can anyone really be excited about landing a player that could not decide on a college to attend by May 18th of his last year in high school -- and keep in mind, Daniels is a post grad, meaning this is his fifth year of high school?

Can any coach really feel comfortable relying on Daniels' commitment to their team when he's showed the lack of ability to commit to anything during his recruitment?

Its time to make a decision, young man.

Continue reading...

Duke adds another five-star recruit

There have been rumblings for a while, but today it was made official.

Alex Murphy, a five-star prospect out of Rhode Island, has reclassified to 2011, meaning that he will enroll at Duke next season instead of the 2012-2013 season. Murphy is now finishing up his fourth year of high school after repeating his freshman year when he transferred from The Prout School to St. Mark's. He's completed all of the academic requirements to become a college student.

At 6'8", Murphy is a small forward that can slash to the rim, knock down a jumper with range out to the three point line, and he can also handle and pass the ball well. According to ESPN.com's profile, "Murphy brings great size, skill and feel for the game to the small forward position. He is a match up problem because of his size and even could be a face up power forward in a small line up."


This gives Duke an even more impressive recruiting class. Its headlined by Austin Rivers, who is the best perimeter scorer in the class of 2011. PG Quinn Cook, SF Michael Gbinje, and C Marshall Plumlee round out the class.

Duke's recruiting class can get even stronger if they are able to land another blue-chip small forward in DeAndre Daniels, who was on campus for an official visit this past weekend. But there is speculation that Murphy's early entry into the college ranks will make Daniels look harder at the other schools recruiting him, which includes Kansas.
Continue reading...

Did Kyrie Irving scoop DeAndre Daniels to Duke?

Yesterday afternoon, Kyrie Irving surprised no one in the world except for Chris Cusack by declaring for the NBA Draft.

It was the right move. He's going to be a top five pick. Lockout or not, Irving wasn't staying in school.

Today, Irving was on a teleconference to discuss his decision to enter the NBA Draft and he may have let a bit of inside information slip. First, the back ground.


DeAndre Daniels is a top 35 recruit in the country and, at one point, was ranked as high as top ten. In July of 2009, Daniels, who was at Woodland Hills High in California at the time, committed to Texas, calling it his dream school. He backed off of that commitment in August of 2010, and has since been rumored to be headed to both Kentucky and Kansas.

Now a part of the IMG Academy program, Daniels has an official visit lined up with Duke the weekend of the 15th. This is where Irving comes into play. During the conference call, the point guard said:

I think that this year’s team was really special. And I thought next year’s team would be really special if I were to return. I think we have five recruits coming in with the addition of DeAndre Daniels. So that would be really special. (Ed. Note: Our emphasis added.)

Was Irving merely speculating that Duke could land Daniels? Does Irving know something that the rest of us don't?

Who knows. But as Dan Wiederer points out, the Blue Devils have all kinds of connections with IMG Academy:

The basketball director at IMG is Andy Borman, who played at Duke from 2000-04. The director of basketball operations meanwhile is Greg Spatola, who is the brother of Chris Spatola, who is both Duke’s director of basketball operations and Mike Krzyzewski’s son-in-law.

All signs seem to point to Duke.

He'd be an interesting addition to Duke's lineup. Daniels is a slender, 6'7" small forward known for his ability to score. With Duke's current front court consisting of Ryan Kelly, Josh Hairston, a trio of Plumlees, and another freshman wing in Michael Gbinje, Daniels would be shot of athleticism and scoring punch, similar to what DeShaun Thomas provided Ohio State this season.

His visit is next weekend.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Continue reading...