Jordan Tolbert (Texas Tech transfer) visits SMU

[StandUp]

Harry - Neither Jabari Parker nor Rodney Hood played center for Duke this year. I am an avid Duke fan, have followed Duke since Quin Snyder and Tommy Amaker were point guards at Duke. Amile Jefferson started most games at center. Marshall Plumlee played backup minutes. Jabari Parker played the PF. Rodney Hood played the SF. There is a small chance that Jabari Parker played Center with smaller lineups on the floor, but typically not the norm. So to answer maybe the underlying question, what position would MK play at Duke, probably PF coming off the bench. Just keeping it real.

[smu2004]

Harry - Neither Jabari Parker nor Rodney Hood played center for Duke this year. I am an avid Duke fan, have followed Duke since Quin Snyder and Tommy Amaker were point guards at Duke. Amile Jefferson started most games at center. Marshall Plumlee played backup minutes. Jabari Parker played the PF. Rodney Hood played the SF. There is a small chance that Jabari Parker played Center with smaller lineups on the floor, but typically not the norm. So to answer maybe the underlying question, what position would MK play at Duke, probably PF coming off the bench. Just keeping it real.

Jabari played a lot of center this yr. It was a cbb talking point for a decent portion the season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

[hoopmanx]

Harry - Neither Jabari Parker nor Rodney Hood played center for Duke this year. I am an avid Duke fan, have followed Duke since Quin Snyder and Tommy Amaker were point guards at Duke. Amile Jefferson started most games at center. Marshall Plumlee played backup minutes. Jabari Parker played the PF. Rodney Hood played the SF. There is a small chance that Jabari Parker played Center with smaller lineups on the floor, but typically not the norm. So to answer maybe the underlying question, what position would MK play at Duke, probably PF coming off the bench. Just keeping it real.

And amile Jefferson is barely big enough to play PF. His point stands

[StandUp]

Jabari Parker playing center was never a talking point in College Basketball this year. Don't know if either of you actually watched any Duke games this season, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Again, there is a possibility that Parker played some center with smaller lineups at Duke, but this was rare and definitely not the norm. Parker definitely never started at Center.

Answer me this... who started at center for Duke in the ACC Tournament? in the NCAA Tournamt? Amile Jefferson. With Plumlee as his backup. This is not about size, it about ability. Don't be hypocritical hoopmanx. Amile is more of a shot blocker and not much an offensive force. Amile Jefferson would be the best shot blocker on our team if he were at SMU. Duke got their offense this season from Hood and Parker (at 3 and 4) and either Sulaimon or Dawkins (at 2). All due respect to MK, but MK is not a shot blocker and honestly has no business playing center.

[Harry0569]

Harry - Neither Jabari Parker nor Rodney Hood played center for Duke this year. I am an avid Duke fan, have followed Duke since Quin Snyder and Tommy Amaker were point guards at Duke. Amile Jefferson started most games at center. Marshall Plumlee played backup minutes. Jabari Parker played the PF. Rodney Hood played the SF. There is a small chance that Jabari Parker played Center with smaller lineups on the floor, but typically not the norm. So to answer maybe the underlying question, what position would MK play at Duke, probably PF coming off the bench. Just keeping it real.

Jabari played a lot of center this yr. It was a cbb talking point for a decent portion the season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

If you watched Duke games this year, you would know that Parker played at the center for decent stretches.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1763 ... lue-devils

Like I said in an earlier post, the game has changed. More and more teams are playing small ball to space the floor. Hell LBJ even plays center occasionally for the Heat (and for team USA - see below) and he is shorter than MK.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-trian ... ll-defense

I'm not trying to pile on, but when you say you watch something avidly and I believe that you are incorrect I am going to point it out.

[Harry0569]

Jabari Parker playing center was never a talking point in College Basketball this year. Don't know if either of you actually watched any Duke games this season, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Again, there is a possibility that Parker played some center with smaller lineups at Duke, but this was rare and definitely not the norm. Parker definitely never started at Center.

Answer me this... who started at center for Duke in the ACC Tournament? in the NCAA Tournamt? Amile Jefferson. With Plumlee as his backup. This is not about size, it about ability. Don't be hypocritical hoopmanx. Amile is more of a shot blocker and not much an offensive force. Amile Jefferson would be the best shot blocker on our team if he were at SMU. Duke got their offense this season from Hood and Parker (at 3 and 4) and either Sulaimon or Dawkins (at 2). All due respect to MK, but MK is not a shot blocker and honestly has no business playing center.

It most certainly was a talking point, and I would expect someone who watched all of the games to notice that.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1906 ... all-lineup

Markus averaged more blocks per game than Amile Jefferson. (1.3 vs. 0.6). rejected.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sch ... /2014.html

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sch ... /2014.html

[StandUp]

I know that you don't mean to pile on... just healthy conversation..., but come on, mentioning that LBJ played center at times is not the same as saying that LBJ is a center. Of course there are going to be times when coaches decide to play small ball, play 3 guards. Sometimes, but rare playing 4 guards.

Answer me this question... Who played center for Duke in the games in the ACC Tournament? in the NCAA Tournament? With all due respect, let me help you, his name is Amile Jefferson. Look it up. I watched the games. Not Jabari Parker. If you don't believe me, that is fine, but let's don't act like Jabari Parker was Duke's center this season. Not by any stretch am I saying that Amile is a better player than Jabari Parker, just pointing out that Duke actually played a shot blocker at center. SMU should do the same.

[StandUp]

You cannot really compare stats between MK and Amile Jefferson. Two different players, two different leagues, two different systems, two different lineups. The talent at Duke is off the charts and only gets better next year (Okafor, Grayson Allen) MK would not even start on this year's Duke Team. And my main point is that MK would definitely not play center for Duke. MK would probably come off the bench to spell Jabari Parker at PF.

Look, I am an MK fan, but I accept and recognize that we need a shot blocker at center and we really need MK to play the 3 or 4, probably the 4. If we had a true shot blocker at center LB's lineup would have so many more possibilities. Give me Myles Turner and life changes for LB and SMU. Let's really be honest here, MK is not a shot blocker.

[Harry0569]

You cannot really compare stats between MK and Amile Jefferson. Two different players, two different leagues, two different systems, two different lineups. The talent at Duke is off the charts and only gets better next year (Okafor, Grayson Allen) MK would not even start on this year's Duke Team. And my main point is that MK would definitely not play center for Duke. MK would probably come off the bench to spell Jabari Parker at PF.

Look, I am an MK fan, but I accept and recognize that we need a shot blocker at center and we really need MK to play the 3 or 4, probably the 4. If we had a true shot blocker at center LB's lineup would have so many more possibilities. Give me Myles Turner and life changes for LB and SMU. Let's really be honest here, MK is not a shot blocker.

BUT YOU WERE TRYING TO ABOVE, and I pointed out that your statement was incorrect.

"Amile is more of a shot blocker and not much an offensive force. Amile Jefferson would be the best shot blocker on our team if he were at SMU."

I'm done.

[StandUp]

I guess you don't have an answer to my question of who started for Duke at center in the ACC Tournament? and NCAA Tournament? Are you afraid to find out that you might be wrong? It is ok, not that big a deal. All healthy discussion I guess? We can move on...

We went from "What position does Jordan Tolbert play?"....
to MK is not a center
to Who should play center at SMU?
to MK would not start at center for any other school, especially Duke
to MK is a PF (or SF)
to other teams play shot blockers at center
to Amile Jefferson is Duke's starting center
to Jabari Parker plays center
to Labron James plays center
to Amile Jefferson is not tall enough to play center (actually the tallest player on their roster other than Plumlee).
to Who actually started for Duke at center? (Amile Jefferson)
to pointing to bleacher report articles (Bleacher Report is entertaining and fun to read, but not always fact)
to comparing MK's blocks per game to Amile Jeffereson's blocks per game
to MK would not start at any position at Duke
Crazy.... 3 hours and counting till Game Time!

[malachi896]

I guess you don't have an answer to my question of who started for Duke at center in the ACC Tournament? and NCAA Tournament? Are you afraid to find out that you might be wrong? It is ok, not that big a deal. All healthy discussion I guess? We can move on...

We went from "What position does Jordan Tolbert play?"....
to MK is not a center
to Who should play center at SMU?
to MK would not start at center for any other school, especially Duke
to MK is a PF (or SF)
to other teams play shot blockers at center
to Amile Jefferson is Duke's starting center
to Jabari Parker plays center
to Labron James plays center
to Amile Jefferson is not tall enough to play center (actually the tallest player on their roster other than Plumlee).
to Who actually started for Duke at center? (Amile Jefferson)
to pointing to bleacher report articles (Bleacher Report is entertaining and fun to read, but not always fact)
to comparing MK's blocks per game to Amile Jeffereson's blocks per game
to MK would not start at any position at Duke
Crazy.... 3 hours and counting till Game Time!

And you still haven't answered how in the world MK would be effective playing the 3 spot - which you've been harping on for weeks. What is he going to do on defense when a swing forward is stretching him out to the three point line and driving past him? What about on offense? Are we going to have 3 guys with the exact same, back to the basket offensive skill set just clogging up the lane or are you going to send MK out to the perimeter to show off his awesome outside shooting abilities?

[StandUp]

The topic of MK playing the 3 or the 4 has been hashed and then re-hashed many times over the past couple of weeks. I understand that no one else seems to think that MK can play the 3. That is fine. To each his own. I don't want to open up another can of worms. I will answer your questions....

No one is giving MK enough credit for his quickness. MK could guard many 3s in the AAC. Many 3s could not guard him, advantage SMU. Not saying that he is as fast as Sterling, don't go there, just saying that we could play a taller lineup and truly have an advantage. Another advantage to playing MK at the 3 is that we could take advantage of MK's vision and passing ability. Many time LB puts MK in position on the offensive end of the floor to provide the pass leading to the shot. MK is a good passer down low, and up top. Yes he can play down low, but does not have to strictly play down low. I believe that MK actually has a pretty good mid-range game and could definitely improve with time. If we had 3 bigs in at the same time, of course we would not have 3 bigs all posting up down low (at the same time). With motion, picks, high-low offense, players move constantly in LB's offense. Watch tonight. No one is asking MK to fill it up from 3 at the offensive end. Something tells me that we have the 3 covered with Nic Moore, Keith Frazier, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Sterling Brown. Yes maybe MK is probably better suited for the PF Position, but let's don't settle on playing MK at center. Moving MK to the SF Position, (maybe even if it is for minutes at a time, not starting) allows for more Bigs on the floor and at the same time actually gives SMU an advantage on the glass, better picks, and allows us to take advantage of MK's vision.

[The PonyGrad]

Unless CC or YM get stronger and bigger during the off season there will continue to be a need to play MK at 5 whether you like it or not.

[ponyscott]

Someone here has diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain and doesn't know crap bout basketball and goes by the name of su...wow, quit wasting ours AND your time. M K a 3?....get real.

Onward....Pony up!

[indianamustang]

I can see Ben Moore playing a 3 long before MK plays that spot. I don't want a guy who two years ago had weight problems and lost 50 pounds just to get where he is now to be playing, arguably, the most versatile position on the floor.