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I honestly think that the blue devils are going to impress everyone in the 08-09 season. Im not just saying this because im a die-hard fan, but because I truly think that they have a huge chance to make it far in the regular and post season. Johnny Dawkins is leaving and going to Stanford which is very unfortunate for Duke but fortunate for him and Stanford. When Coach K retires (I dont even want 2 think about it) someone is going to have to fill the extremely large spot that he will leave behind. I think that Dawkins would be that man. He's played for Duke, had 9 good seasons in the nba and then became one of the assistant coaches under Coach K. Stanford will be the first team that he has ever head coached and I think that if Coach K did ever ask Dawkins to fill his shoes, (again...I hope it wont be anytime soon) then Dawkins will have experienced the job and since Stanford and Duke are both very similar in basketball and academics, he will still be close to the program. So even though Dawkins is leaving, it may benifit Duke in some ways in the future. It may be hard to have a terrific season without Dawkins but I do believe that it can be done. Another loss is Demarcus Nelson but he had a great carreer at Duke and he benefited all he could. Finally theres Taylor King... He is probably transfering because of lack of PT but he played every game and even though it may not have been very many minutes, he still contributed a lot. This kid could make jump shots from almost the half court line. The only thing is, is that he is a streaky shooter so once he gets in the game and misses a few shots, his confidence shoots down and he misses more. But he was still a solid offensive player that was one of my favorites once he was in the game. Its a shame that he's leaving the program but best of luck to his future. Even with the huge losses...theres a lot of gains too. Paulus will be a senior and im positive that he will do all he possibly can to make sure he does his part in contributing to the team along with the other 3 seniors. Duke is getting some good freshmen, including the 6'8 Oleck. He's fairly big and can dunk like dwight Howard (almost). Elliott Williams also looks like a good solid player that can be used offensively and defensively. Duke is a 3-point team and once those 3's start flowing, no team has a chance. But they just need 2 prove that they can do more than just 3's. Everyone is talking smack bout the blue Devils and that's fine because I do the same with UNC but when Duke dominates the court next season...dont make excuses. Duke also needs to work on free throws which im sure Coach K is working on. Those percentages are going to go up dramatically. They haven't been the same since Redick and Williams but hopefully next year will be the year that they get back on track and come on top in the ACC and keep UNC out of the top 5 for once. Henderson like always just keeps getting better, Scheyer is not only knockin down 3's but getting better at every other position, McClure is defending like never before, Singler was rookie of the year (enough said), Nolan Smith is learning all he can from Paulus and will be a great PG to take his spot when he leaves, Lance Thomas will be awesome once he bumbs up his free throw percentage, Zoubek even after the surgeries has had some great games and has 2 more years to redeem his self which he is totally capable of, and Davidson, Johnson, and Pocius might see more playing time. Jon Scheyer will probably no longer be the sixth man, (which im sure hes happy about) and will start every game. You get my point...Duke is a great team in my opinion and the 08-09 will be a good one. Duke will continue to dominate at the line but they will also come back with a good free throw percentage and hopefully reflect more on defense and work on the ball handling skills that have lacked more than desired the last few years. Theyre gonna rock.
~Duke Fanatic ( & yes im a girl)
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