College Basketball in August: What I hope to learn about Duke's overseas trip

Duke has already played one game in China as I write this; they won 77-64 over the Chinese Olympic Team.  From the sounds of things, Austin Rivers led the team scoring 18 points on 8-15 shooting.  Andre Dawkins added 15 points with 4 three pointers, Seth Curry had 13 points and Ryan Kelly had a double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  All of this is very nice and I am happy to hear they played well.  I want to see it though.  I am in luck, ESPNU will be showing three of the Duke games overseas and I can’t wait to see it. 

How good is Austin Rivers going to be for Duke?

I know he is talented and I know how good he was in high school, but as all Duke fans saw (with great glee…for a while) last year Harrison Barnes, also talented with a great high school past, struggled initially with UNC.  There is a lot of pressure on freshman coming into huge programs, and with more attention being paid to these recruits prior to them enrolling in college the pressure seems to be increasing every year.  We will get a good look in the three televised games at Rivers and how he is fitting in with his Duke teammates.  So far so good with the untelevised 18 pt effort in his first game with Duke Wednesday.

What is the backcourt going to look like?

We all know that K likes to change things up mid-season and just because one guy is starting early in the season at this position doesn’t mean he will be there come March.  Yet I am excited to see the crowded backcourt and how K will be managing it.  Who starts at PG?  Tyler Thornton, Quinn Cook (will be out with a bum knee until September), Seth Curry and Austin Rivers could all get a chance at it.  In the games overseas we will get a good look at who is looking the best as the main ball handler.  Then you have the issue of the wings, who starts if you put Cook (when healthy) or Thornton at PG?  Andre Dawkins, Seth Curry and Austin Rivers all would start at 98% of other schools, so who is the odd man out?  Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins seemed neck to neck last year in Coach K’s eye on whom deserved more playing time.  Coming into the year I’d say Curry had the lead over Dawkins but you just never know…tune into ESPNU I guess and hopefully we’ll get a clue.

The Plumlees…

Talk about a bunch of talent in the trio of brothers Plumlee, from oldest to youngest Miles, Mason and Marshall.  How will their playing time be handled?  Mason has the highest upside at this point with Marshall a close second and many believe Miles to be a bit further back.  At times last year you would see flashes from both Miles and Mason, but consistency is one thing you cannot attribute to the Plumlees.  How has their offseason gone?  Are they going to be more consistent this year?  More aggressive offensively?  Make less bone headed plays? If they can put it together Duke can make a run to the title, if they (Miles and Mason) continue to play erratically and Marshall follows suit, then Duke will be good but not great again.

Who will be the most improved?

I know it will look like I am cheating on this answer after Ryan Kelly’s double double performance, but I would’ve predicted Kelly.  He showed huge improvement last year and I expect him to continue that improvement.  The kid is the classic Duke player that anti-Dookies hate, he isn’t that good looking of a kid, has the preppy prick look down and isn’t NBA crazy talent yet will kill on the court with smart plays and good shooting.  Kelly will be driving anti-dookies crazy again this year I think and will start taking even more time from the Plumlees unless they step up.  Will he be a starter?  Not sure, looking forward to seeing where K is starting with that question overseas.

I know there is much more to look at in these games, and as a Duke fan I am really excited to get his very early preseason look at my team.  Most fans will still be waiting until Midnight Madness in mid-October at their campuses to have some of their questions answered.  Many things I think are answered can change after the trip is complete and Duke goes back to work getting ready for the NCAA season, but this early look into Duke Basketball 2011-12 will answer some questions and if nothing else give us an early college basketball appetizer for which I am very hungry for.

TV Schedule of Duke Games on ESPNU and ESPN360.com:

August 18 – 8 am vs. China

August 22 – 8 am vs. China

August 25 – 1:30 pm vs. United Arab Emirates in Dubai