TruthBegins

Preface:  This is NOT a debate whether Jon Scheyer’s high minutes/game average throughout the season is causing him to wear out.  Those who know me already know that I find that argument ridiculous, and K has inferred as much himself in recent post-game press conferences.

When a player is “tired,” I expect to see shots being missed short, resulting in generally sub-par field goal percentages as the season progresses.  So, how are Jon Scheyer’s shooting percentages holding up?  Let’s take a look…

A few interesting notes:

• Over the last 1/3 of the season (11 games), Jon has shot below his season average on 2-point FG’s on 8 occasions; however,
• he has also shot above his season average on 3-point FG’s 6 times in the same period.
• Disturbingly, he has shot below his season average on both 2-point and 3-point FGs in his last three consecutive outings.

This “tired” debate has undoubtedly arisen because Jon’s 2FG% is substantially worse over the last 1/3 of the season.  If his 3FG% continues to slide as well, this argument will gain additional merit; however, the “tired” label cannot be justified if his 3pt shot starts falling again.

So I ask again: Is Jon Scheyer tiring?

The jury is still out.

With the NBA departure of Gerald Henderson and the unexpected transfer of Elliot Williams to Memphis, Duke was staring into a backcourt abyss with only two recruited guards, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, remaining on the roster for the upcoming season. While both players are undoubtedly talented, having only two legitimate options to play two positions is certainly an undesirable position for any program — surely one of the players will need a rest of at some point in the season!

Enter Andre Dawkins.

Dawkins is an acclaimed 5-star recruit that had already committed to Duke, expecting to matriculate for the 2010-2011 season. However, with a plethora of minutes available at the guard position, Andre Dawkins finds himself in position to capitalize on having already fulfilled his high school graduation recruitments.

This is an amazing turn of events for the Devils in the upcoming season.  While Duke is by no means deep in the backcourt now, the addition of a first-rate player at the guard position will go a long ways towards solidifying the backcourt rotation and helping Scheyer’s prognostications come true.