Another new arrival is F Rodney Hood.
He played for a year at Mississippi State
before transferring to Duke. He saw
playing time against the likes of Florida
and Kentucky so he should be more
than ready for ACC primetime. After
Parker, he is Coach K’s best talent.
As previously mentioned, Duke needs to
establish their post play. The only true
center on their roster is Mason’s “little”
brother 7 foot Marshall Plumlee, who is
a sophomore and a work in progress.
The other option is another second year
man in 6’9” Amile Jefferson.
Duke needs to establish a down low
presence and fill the 3 point void that
opened up with the exit of Curry and
Kelly. There are a few able candidates
for that position with the starting
backcourt of PG Quinn Cook and SG
Rasheed Sulaimon. Tyler Thornton is
capable as well and don’t be surprised
to see Parker and Hood hoisting their
share of treys.
It won’t take long to see how good this
team will be as they meet Kansas in the
season’s second game on November
12th. They begin the season with a
“gimme” versus Davidson.
Now back to the 6’8” Parker. He is the
total package on offense. He is
explosive to the rim and his jump shot
improved incrementally during his high
school career. His passing ability is
above average as is his overall
knowledge of the game. As he adds size
and strength his defense should
improve and he is a top NBA lottery pick
waiting to happen.
Sports Passion Magazine | 25
Their first intra-state affair will be against
the Wolfpack on January 18th. This
could be a prototypical “trap” game with
a huge matchup awaiting 4 days later
against Miami of Florida. They don’t
meet North Carolina for the first time
until February 12th and then end the
regular season against them on March
8th.
Duke will score points as they always
have. The difference between an early
exit in March and a shot at the Final
Four will be dependent upon how they
match up with the bigger and stronger
teams.
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