Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Good, but with Reservations

Maryland: When they play well, they are very good and could easily make a tournament run, but, despite their enviable depth, they lack the frontline talent to dominate consistently in college basketball. The quality of the ACC this year may hurt their record while helping their tournament preparation.

Arizona: They’ll go as far as Salim Stoudamire allows. If he accepts that he’s the fourth-best player on the team, things should be fine. If Stoudamire insists on dominating the proceedings, Lute Olson must hope that Chris Rodgers, Ivan Radenovic, or Jawann McClellan offer him an alternative to having Stoudamire on the floor.

Duke: Let’s get one thing clear, JJ Redick can only do one thing: shoot the basketball. He does it well, but it’s relatively easy to slow a one-dimensional talent. If he didn’t play at Duke, he’d be recognized for what he is, a taller Jake Sullivan. Duke will be as good as Daniel Ewing and Shavlik Randolph allow themselves to be. Both have the talent to dominate college basketball games, though neither has yet acknowledged this fact consistently.

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