I will have lengthy reports over the next couple of days about the freshman arrival on campus.  In the meantime, see exclusive pictures to your bottom left or the link below.  I will say that Brian Zoubek played great in his first night out.  The kid can run the court, has good footwork and battles hard down low.  He'll surprise a lot of people.  Be patient, much more coming.  Briefly, we are young, but talented and I am looking forward to the season where we will be underestimated by many early on.

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Saturday's Take-

I can't say I am totally shocked at Brian Zoubek's performance, in that I put some faith in old timer Howard Garfinkel's analysis which said Duke fans would be very happy with it's seven footer.  Brian quickly grabbed attention, holding the ball out from other players with his wide wingspan, which enabled him to draw many cheap hacks before he even got a shot off.

I am not ready to anoint him to All American status after his first set of pick ups, but it is obvious that he came to play.  Brian showed a nice drop step and an ability to battle on the boards.  At times he was double teamed inside, but still managed to battle a shot in.  For much of the pick up games, he was pitted against Josh McRoberts.

Josh seemed surprised by Brian's abilities, sometimes showing frustration in his face.  Nobody expected the big kid to confidently call for the ball, point to screens and ball location to teammates or be able to run the floor very well, seldom lagging behind on a play.

There were times in the game where he rejected shots, hit the basket despite a hack, out hustled veteran players or threw down a dunk or two.  If the first evening is any indication, he will play a role in his very first season, provided he picks up on the motion offense and defensive assignments. Afterall, game situation and real practices often bring out players weaknesses and we have yet to see him at the free throw stripe or pitted against an ACC opponent on the road.

The aforementioned McRoberts seemed to tire slightly down the stretch, but seemed leaner, quicker and as always, when determined hard to stop.  He threw down a windmill dunk with authority and showed range from the outside.  He let Zoubek go under the basket on the baseline on a reverse, enabling him to use the rim, but lets see how he reacts tnight, knowing the tall newcomer will not back down.

I have seen a lot of threads on various Duke sites pumping up McClure's game, and while he played solidly as far as positioning and defense, he did not impress me as much as he did some.  OTOH, he seems healthy and this was one set of pick up games.

Paulus has also been knocked around by many observers, but I think some are looking for too much out of him and not realizing he is trying to get the newcomers into the games.  It is true that he needs to reign in some passes, but I feel he will be okay and he is still shaking of season wrist surgery.  So be patient.

Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson battled hard all evening long.  Nelson will be a leader of this years team in my opinion.  Despite missing on some shots, mainly due to Hendo's defense, Nelson seemed to improve in all areas of the game.  He still struggles slightly with his handle, but he will not face the defense he did in the ACC night in and night out and still is but 90% recovered from injuries.

Henderson showed great all around ability.  He showed flashes of brilliance, but was worn down from battling Nelson.  I like his defense, which will land him in the starting line up in my opinion.  I will look to see how round two goes between these two warriors this evening.

Boykin had his moments and truly hustles, but is met with his shot blocked on the glass more often than I'd like to see.  He should kick the ball back out in some instances.  He has shown range on jump shots and is always around the play, but he is at times a step slow.

Jon Scheyer was trying to let the game come to him and played the consummate teammate role.  He was in the passing lanes on D a couple of times and shows various moves to the hoop, adjusting his shot well.  He has good range, but again, played unselfishly.  He also threw a nice no look pass.

Jordan Davidson is way ahead of his brother at this point and hustled a lot, once hitting the game winning shot.  I was impressed that he seemingly belonged on the court with the talented freshman, etc.

Lance Thomas is wrapping up playing for the team US U18 squad and will be available for view until September or so.  Former players such as Chris Carrawell and Camp staff filled the gaps, where there was always a team of five waiting to play in the next game.

I am not as concerned on how which team wins, as I am watching individual skills.  I will elaborate further after Sunday games.