Blue Blood

This past week I've been reading "Blue Blood", authored by Art Chansky. The book is mostly about the UNC-Duke rivalry, both on and off the hardwood courts. I checked it out at the local library, and I'd recommend anyone to read it if you are a die hard UNC or Duke fan.

It's been over 2 months since UNC defeated Michigan State for the National Championship. I don't see UNC going back and repeating next year, but we will be competitive. Duke will be a force to be reckoned with, but they lost their best player, Gerald Henderson, to the draft.

A look at the 2009-10 Duke Blue Devils:

At Point Guard, I'm giving the nod to Eliot Williams over Nolan Smith. Both are solid point guards, but Duke seemed to be a tad better with Eliot in control. Both are an improvement over Greg Paulus.

At Shooting Guard I've got Jon Scheyer penciled in. He's a solid player, and he should have a great senior season. I see Nolan Smith subbing for Scheyer. Martin Pocius will fill in as needed.

Small Forward is a bit of a dilemma. The Blue Devils could go small and move Scheyer to the small forward position, or they could go big and have Kyle Singer play it instead. My gut feeling is that Singler is more ideal in the 3 position. Singler prefers the perimeter, and he's fast enough to guard smaller men, too.

Power Forward could be filled by the freshman Ryan Kelly, or Coach K could play Lance Thomas. Kelly has more athleticism, but Thomas has more experience and has savvy. Singler can also play this position, so power forward should be in good hands next year.

Center should go to Mason Plumlee, who is much better than Zoubek. The center must be able to rebound, and both candidates should get plenty of minutes next year.

I see the Blue Devils starting off with a 9 player rotation. However, most of the players are either unproven (Kelly, Plumlee, and to a certain extent Pocius) or they have been in Coach K's doghouse (Smith, Williams, and Zoubek). Thomas is a decent player, but he's more of a role player than a star. Singler and Scheyer are great college basketball players, and next year they will have to step up their game to another level.

When I made my predictions about next year, I had Duke leading the way. Losing Gerald Henderson hurts, but the Blue Devils didn't lose much more (Paulus, McClure). They should be better, but younger. They will have more size, but they won't be as fast. I still believe the Blue Devils will win the regular season, but it's more by default. If UNC can get solid production from the point, the Heels will be in the driver's seat. At this time, the point guard position is a question mark, so I give a small edge to the Blue Devils.