Posted On: June 25, 2009 By: Cliff Comments: (2)

Gerald Henderson won’t have to travel very far when he moves into his new place in Charlotte. The Charlotte Bobcats drafted the former Duke Blue Devil with the number 12 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft on Thursday night. Henderson was in attendance in New York City during the draft to take it all in.

Some people think it is ironic that Henderson was drafted by the Bobcats since they are headed by two former Tarheels. Michael Jordan and Larry Brown both are in the Bobcats organization and Jordan said after the draft that it is sometimes hard to draft a former Duke player just because he knows how big the rivalry is.

“I think he has a big upside – really athletic,” Brown said. “He has a (natural) position – he’s a legit 2-guard with size and with that athleticism he can cover.”

“I like his physical capabilities and his (willingness) to listen to the coach,” Jordan said. “Last year in the NCAAs there was a lot of talk about him that he couldn’t go to his left. So he immediately started working on his left hand.”

I think the Bobcats are a great fit for Gerald and I hope he continues to improve his game and have a long lasting career in the NBA. Congrats Gerald!

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Category: Former Duke Players

Posted On: June 25, 2009 By: Cliff Comments: (0)

Wow, kind of a shocker today when I learned that Elliot Williams has departed the mens basketball team for family medical reasons. It has been said that Elliot’s mom has not been doing good and that Elliot even thought about transferring during the season so he could be closer to her. You can’t fault a kid for wanting to move closer to home when they have a family member with health problems, so we wish the Williams family the best.

Elliot has also said in printed reports that he would be looking at attending Memphis, Vanderbilt, Tennessee or Kentucky. My guess is Memphis, and I sure hope it isn’t Kentucky. Elliot will be seeking a waiver from the NCAA so he will not have sit out the upcoming season and be eligible right away at his new school of choice.

So where does this leave the Blue Devils? Basically with two guards on the roster. Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith are going to have to play a lot of minutes and this really hurts the overall depth for the Blue Devils. This is a huge hit that the Devils will not make up this season as there really isn’t a way to add another top rated player to the roster. Time for someone on the team to really step up!

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Category: Duke Basketball

Posted On: June 4, 2009 By: Cliff Comments: (1)

Hey everyone, things have been pretty slow as late as they usually do during the summer turn down in the college basketball world. We have a little bit of news today however as ESPN.Com reported that Coack K might coach the Olympic team in the 2012 games.

“I’m going to be with the Olympic team in some capacity,” he said, according to The Raleigh News & Observer. “It’s just that the NBA season hasn’t even ended. I think once the NBA season has ended, I’ll have an even more clear picture of who’s going to go forward, maybe, from the players, how we’re going to do coaching.”

There is no question that the national team’s managing director, Jerry Colangelo would love to have Krzyzewski coach the team. The two are expected to meet in Chicago and talk things over once the NBA Finals have completed.

My personal opinion is that I would rather not have Coack K partake in the 2012 Olympics and concentrate more on Duke Basketball and recruiting. The coaches are missing out on some players that would make a difference. Like going from the Sweet 16 to the Final Four type of players.

What’s your thoughts on the Olympic deal?

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Category: Duke Basketball