This week on Twitter, we used our account @dukebasketball to ask people if they had any questions they would like The Chronicle’s men’s basketball beat writers to try and answer before Duke basketball faces No. 4 Ohio State Wednesday night in the ACC Big Ten Challenge.
We thank everybody for their questions, and here are four questions and our responses.
@devildad12 asked, "@dukebasketball Who is going to draw defensive assignment on Thomas? Sulaimon? Not sure #Duke has an answer for him.#AskChron"
Brady Buck: For Duke, this is one of the biggest keys to the game as Deshaun Thomas will be one of the most potent scorers who the Blue Devils face this year. Currently, the versatile hybrid forward is averaging 24.0 point per game, which is the sixth-best scoring output in all of college basketball. He can score in a variety of ways, inside and outside, and he is superb from the charity stripe, shooting 94.1 percent through four games.
Given his length and lateral quickness, freshman Rasheed Sulaimon will likely guard Thomas for much of the night. At 6-foot-4, 'Sheed, however, will be giving up considerable size to Thomas, who stands 6-foot-7. So, the Blue Devil coaching staff will likely give Thomas variety of defensive looks with Amile Jefferson, Josh Hairston and possibly Alex Murphy.
@DaleDuke7 asked,"@dukebasketball #AskChron will the fatigue have any effect on how you play Wed? Do you have revenge on your mind from last year? #AskChron"
BB: Great question. Coming off the Maui Championship last year over Thanksgiving with short rest, Duke looked tired and lifeless when it played in Columbus the following Tuesday. The Buckeyes built an insurmountable lead from the get go and never looked back, cruising to a 85-63 victory, and it probably wasn't even that close.
This time around under similar circumstances, I expect Duke to come out with much more energy largely because this team has three senior leaders, and the game will be played in the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is easily the biggest home game on Blue Devil's non-conference slate, and thus the Cameron Crazies will be in prime form. With a unique electricity in the building and magnitude of a game between two top-five teams, I would think that Duke will find a way to forget about whatever fatigue it has, especially with payback on the minds of the Blue Devil players that were embarrassed in Ohio last November.
Another difference is the Blue Devils were dealing with a six-hour time change from Maui last year, whereas jetlag shouldn't be a factor against a tournament in the nearby Bahamas, which is in the same time zone.
@The_Moran_Man asked, ""@dukebasketball Will Duke's Quinn Cook be able to handle Aaron Craft's defense all night? #AskChron"
BB: Two weeks ago, the answer to this question would have been no. But after last week's performance, I believe Cook will be able to hold his own against Craft, though it will be difficult as the latter is one of the peskiest on-ball defenders in the country.
Cook silenced his critics with his coming out party at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, taking home MVP honors. On Paradise Island, he handled Louisville's and VCU's stingy on-ball defenses remarkably well to run the offense effectively—every Duke starter was in double figures in both games, except when Cook finished with nine points versus the Rams.
@westbmorecash asked, "Where's Dawkins #20 ? Why Hood Don't Play @dukebasketball #AskChron"
BB: This question was asked a lot, but the answer won't change throughout the season. Andre Dawkins is redshirting this year for personal reasons. The decision was made this summer by Krzyzewski, Dawkins and Dawkins' family. For more on the matter, read here.
As for Hood, he is forced to sit out for the 2012-13 season due to NCAA rules, which state that transfers must sit out for a year if they switch schools. The only exceptions to that rule is if the NCAA grants the player a hardship waiver or in the special case of a fifth-year graduate student switching schools for academic reasons.
Hood will suit up for the Blue Devils in 2013-14.
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