Greg Anthony vs Jason Williams - Advantage Duke No contest, Jason Williams will be the #1 pick in the draft and probably an instant star at PG. Fred Hoibergvs Chris Duhon - Advantage Duke Duhon is a playmaker who can also shoot 3's. Hoiberg is almost utterly worthless. Ron Mercer vs Dahntay Jones - Advantage Chicago Jones is a good college scorer. Mercer is a proven NBA scorer. Right now, Mercer is better, though that could change. And Jones does have more raw athleticism already. Charles Oakley vs Mike Dunleavy - Advantage Duke Mike Dunleavy is the American answer to Pau Gasol. Charles Oakley's a slow guy who couldn't score to save his life. Brad Miller vs Carlos Boozer - Advantage Chicago Boozer is more talented, and will almost certainly have a better career than Miller. But in this match-up, I give the edge to Miller's sophistication and the fact that he's a true C. Chicago does have a better bench, since Duke barely has one... but I think that if the Duke starters could go most of the full 48, Duke would beat Chicago more often than not. Especially since: Coaching: Coach K vs Coach Floyd - Huge advantage Duke. Thoughts?
No way, Duke couldn't beat the Bulls. Duke had trouble with Ball State a majority of that game. I don't think last year's Duke could beat Chicago, and this year's Duke isn't any better. Granted the Bulls aren't all that much better experience wise, but no way could Duke beat the Bulls. There's no way that Dunleavy could out play Charles Oakley, Oakley is bigger, more experienced, stronger, and is a far better defender. Oakley could shut down Dunleavy, Dunleavy couldn't stop Oakley. Oakley isn't a great scorer, but he is a still a good one. He also has a nice outside shot. Oakley has faced and stopped far better player both offensively and defensively then Mike Dunleavy. Oakley is a seasoned veteran and very good NBA player. I also have a feeling that Hoiberg wouldn't start, you'd probably see Mercer and NCAA player of the year candidate 2 years ago Marcus Fizer playing. And don't be so quick to give the advantage to Jason Williams. Anthony is one of the best defensive PGs in the league who has a ton of experience. Anthony is a guy who was putting the clamps on the best PGs in the league, including down the stretch in key playoffs games, including PGs like Stockton, Avery Johnson, Terrell Brandon, and the numerous PGs he faced while a member of the Knicks. He has size, speed, athleticism, defense, decent offense and a ton of experience and confidence.
RocksM: I'd rather have Pau Gasol on my team than Oakley right now. Watching both Gasol and Dunleavy, I think they're very, very similar. Dunleavy couldn't guard Oakley, but Oakley can't score and Duke could play help defense. NO way on earth Oakley could stay with Dunleavy. Dunleavy's just too quick and can actually shoot, something Oakley's never figured out. Duke defeated Ball St. easily... but the score wasn't by 45 points. Just like the NBA Olympic team defeats the college All-Americans easily... but the score is often very close.
I listened to that Duke-Ball State game, that game was closer then the score showed. Ball State actually led a good part of the first half, including as much as 9. And in the second half when Duke was pulling away Ball State made another run and made the game interesting. That game was a ton more competitive then the score showed. I just don't see Dunleavy hanging with Oakley. Oakley is a veteran who has played against the best players in the league, and he still has something left. People underestimate the difference between college and the NBA. The difference in size, experience and court awareness is staggering, especially when you're talking about Dunleavy and a long time veteran in Oakley who can still play. I'm not sold on Dunleavy outplaying experienced NBA players. People said the same thing about Duke and Chicago last year, and Battier isn't one of the elite players. He's good, but not great.
Duhon over Hoiberg? Hoiberg's a guy who was a star player in college, was drafted in the NBA, and has played several seasons now. He averaged 9, 4, and 4 last year while shooting 41% from three-point territory. At 29, he's not exactly old. Not a great player by any means, but far from "worthless". Duhon, on the other hand, is a good college player who is probably the 5th best player on his team. He's what, 6'1"?, so not big enough to play the 2 in the pros. He's also a college sophomore, and I don't ready for the NBA. I think the Mayor has the edge in this matchup. People have a tendency to underrate NBA role players, forgetting that they are still better than 99.99% of the basketball players in the world.
Exactly Sam. Just because a player is scoring like 10 ppg in the NBA doesn't mean he wouldn't light it up in college because more often then not the player in the NBA were very good college players. Cato was a good college player, until recently he struggled in the NBA, he'd probably tear it up in college. Take a look at some of these role players and bench players college stats and then magnify them because the NBA has made them bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, mentally tougher and a far better player then in college for the most part.
Sure...make it easy on yourself by starting Hoiberg instead of E-Rob. I'm not even sure I'd give K the runaway win in coaching. The NBA game is sooo different from the college game. In the NBA you spend most of your time hunting down mismatches on offense and gearing your team up to exploit weaknesses in other teams defenses. While they haven't won much---the Bulls are competative far more often than not with a severe lack of talent compared to the opposition. If this isn't a win for Floyd, then it's a wash--- And finally, the Bulls would be so incredibly insulted by playing a college team that they would manhandle them the way Minn manhandled them.
I was half-way joking . I think the Bulls would beat Duke more often than not, but I don't think they would win 10/10. More like 6/10. And I really don't buy the "pros are that much better" argument. Do you guys ever watch the games between college players and pros? Yeah, I'm sure that the pro players don't always give their A-game... but if the levels were THAT different it wouldn't be so close. Yes, Hoiberg was a star in college. But every single starter for Duke would be the best player on 98% of the other teams in college basketball. Heck, I think Duhon is better than Troy Bell, and I go to BC. And this is meant more as a compliment to Duke than an insult to Chicago. I think every single player on that Duke team will be a lottery draft pick, with Jones and Duhon being the only questoin marks. Put those five players on the same team, say, 6 years from now, and you very well might have a playoff team.
He went to Iowa State when I believe Johnny Orr was the coach. Does anyone know why they call him the mayor?
So based on all those 2-10 point wins that the US team had in the Olympics, Carter and the rest of that traveling NBA all-star team weren't much better than the Aussies and Lithuanians? The pro versus college games are exhibitions. I wouldn't read more into them than is there. BTW, Duhon right now is putting up college stats similar to what Hoiberg put up in the NBA (less in several categories, including scoring and rebounding). Except that Duhon is only hitting like 39% of his shots. He might be great someday, but that day isn't today.
I'd have to agree, while the Duke players may become NBA All stars, they aren't right now. The NBA game is on a whole different level. It's the best of the best. They would squash Duke. The only team that I think could have handled NBA type pressue was, and it would have been a long shot, the Ewing Hoyas. They had a very in your face style that might have translated.
Does anyone know why they call him the mayor? Because of his popularity in his hometown of Aimes, Iowa, where he played both high school and college hoops.
GB: You're absolutely right. He set up everything to graduate this next summer. Has it all planned out. Just curious, would you want the Bulls to draft him since they already have Crawford waiting? I can understand drafting Yao Ming instead, and playing Curry at PF... but if Ming isn't there, Williams would EASILY be the best available. So what would you do? Trade the pick? Or draft Williams and try to trade Crawford?
It all depends on how good Crawford looks when he returns from the ripped ACL. Baron Davis and Bonzi Wells give me hope. If he's well, I'd just as soon trade the pick for multiple first rounders in the future and quality guys to build the bench out. I think our drafted rotation of Crawford (6'7), Hassell (6'5), E-Rob (6'9), Curry (6-11) and Chandler (7'1) are all going to pan out and will cause a lot of mismatches night in and night out. Let him play somewhere and benefit from trading him down the line when you need flexability to replace players and arm your team for certain matchups.
What makes you so confident about Hassell and E-Rob? I've been an E-Rob critic for a couple years now (find a jump shot, buddy), but haven't seen enough of Hassell to make a judgement. Quick analysis of him?
