Saw some highlights of him and this young fella can fill up the basket. I think he will average between 16-18 ppg for Duke this season.
Looking forward to watching Luke Kennard play.
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If he puts up those kinds of numbers he'll definitely be one and done. IMO he'll be more around 8 or 9 ppg because he'll be coming off the bench behind Thornton, Jones, Allen, and Ingram. I'm not even sure anybody except maybe Ingram will average 16-18 ppg and even he might not be at that level
His RSCI rank is 21. Historically guys in that range don't play much as freshman at Duke unless they meet a critical need. Given the depth in front of him, don't think he'll be on the court enough to average close to that many points...
Luke will play, regardless of who is listed in front of him....it'll be more of a healthy rotation IMO.
Let's be real careful about our expectations of all our freshman. It may take a while before all of them adapt to the college game. Let's just take what the fountain gives us and let things play out as the season goes and be thankful we have Coach K over seeing thr process. OFC
I'm not expecting Scheyer-like numbers, but I used the two as a comparison because I think Luke, like Jon before him, does so many things well and is so fundamentally sound that it will be difficult to keep him off the court.
I really hope we get to see a bunch of Grayson and Kennard on the floor together.
I see Kennard having a couple of games where you see his potential, but getting playing time this year will be tough, and unless he is really good it might be even tougher his sophomore season. I think he will have a breakout year his junior season and be a fan favorite by then as well.
We have 4 returners who saw significant minutes. Put Thornton in the lineup with a quill pen. That means somebody else has to play. Luke and Brandon are candidates as are Obi and Chase. Luke is not a defensive stopper, so I'm thinking it's a solid hypothesis to assume Luke will be asked to score. Time won't be an issue IMO.
I feel he will play just has to get use to the college game and what coach k wants from him.
K has always played the best player. I am not saying time is an issue, I just don't expect Kennard to outplay the players ahead of him. If I am wrong, it will mean good things for Duke. I think if he was an only option he would excel, but he is on a team that will not rely on him and will develop his game. This use to be the expectations of players coming out of high school but now we judge a player's success based on being a OAD.
I see what you are saying, I'm just looking at it as to what identity this team will take on. If they want bigs in the game at all times, then some guards are going to lose minutes. If they want versatility, some big guys won't play. If they want to go defensive, then Matt should win out over Luke. If offense is the ticket, then whoever is producing points will play. I just think for now expectations can rightfully be tempered, but at the same time, judgment should be reserved. There's only 4 guys who've proven anything at all and 1 who was asked to show up early to lead a team. The others will have to prove something. You may very well be right about Luke, but I really feel like he'll be hard to keep under 20 mpg all season.
From a related thread...
"The ACC Sports Journal has a page dedicated to the TOP 50 incoming basketball recruits this season as it relates not to NBA draft potential, but to who will make contributions on the floor next year. The Number One player who will make a contribution next year in the ACC, according to their expert Brick Oettinger is Luke Kennard. They make the point that Kennard will be a more powerful scoring threat than JJ Reddick..."
"The ACC Sports Journal has a page dedicated to the TOP 50 incoming basketball recruits this season as it relates not to NBA draft potential, but to who will make contributions on the floor next year. The Number One player who will make a contribution next year in the ACC, according to their expert Brick Oettinger is Luke Kennard. They make the point that Kennard will be a more powerful scoring threat than JJ Reddick..."
I think he will have a Taylor King type frosh season where some games he hardly plays if at all and others (probably mostly while winning big) he comes in and hits 6 of 7 3's and everyone is wondering why he doesn't play more. I do hope he proves himself to the point where when Duke needs offense because the D isn't playing great he can come in for Matt Jones and have Grayson and Luke in at the same time. Again, that's all on Luke to show that.
Other than seniority and defense, why would Matt Jones be in the game more than Kennard?
Kennard isn't a top 10 player by national rankings. The defense played on him and that is required of him will be a transition. Kennard has much more potential than Matt so I hope he ends up playing more because he earned it, but I would bet that Matt plays more because K is about chemistry, and defense first. Look at how little grayson played last year. You have to earn it with K, and he definitely favors seniority over potential.
I'll be surprised if Luke plays a great deal this season.
I know K likes the 3 guard lineup, so I'd expect when Brandon comes off the court, you might see Luke come in.
I know K likes the 3 guard lineup, so I'd expect when Brandon comes off the court, you might see Luke come in.
Do you think he see's time at PG to spell Thornton in a role similar to scheyer in 2010?
When Luke was being recruited to Duke her was told he would run the offense at times with the ball in his hands and facilitating the O. Once Tyus declared, Luke was told to be prepared to have some PG duties. I believe Luke will have the ball in his hands to play make for both himself and others .
I'm talking productivity/stats only, I do not see any of King's baggage/issues. Both are lefties, gun slingers, can light it up, and I think will struggle on D. Now I expect Kennard to work his butt off, be a great student athlete, and improve over the years.
Luke is a ten times better athlete than Taylor was though. Kid can throw it down. He can also slash and is more of a scorer where Taylor was a shooter.
again, not saying they are the exact same just I would expect similar productivity (my take). Some games hardly any time or none, and other games he hits for 15-20 like it's nothing. I think the D will hold him back from playing consistently high minutes. Hope i'm wrong as he can light it up.
Sounds like another SG we had last year that blew up in the Final Four. I will definitely take that that kind of season and that kind of result.
I think Kennard is an excellent prospect who, at the same stage, is a better prospect than either Scheyer or Taylor King. He reminds me a lot of Scheyer because of his basketball IQ, tough shotmaking off the dribble, and length -- but with clearly better explosiveness and athleticism, and a better frame to put on weight. With that said, I doubt he'll put up huge numbers as a freshman because of the depth of talent around him.
With regard to the post about Matt, I think that partly misses the point. Matt will play a role. He'll be asked to defend the opposition's best wing / combo guard, bring some toughness on the boards from the wing position (which I think will be a bit of an issue b/c of who we have at the 4/5), provide on court leadership, and make timely glue-plays -- which he had a knack for doing. Regardless of how much we all like scoring, there's no real substitute for what Matt can do on the court. The real trouble for Kennard is not Matt IMO. It's Grayson and Brandon Ingram -- who will likely play the same role that Luke is suited to play as a true frosh. In the end, I think kennard plays a decent amount at the point (10+ minutes) and some minutes on the wings -- but I'd be very surprised if he's above 20 min. per next season (barring injuries of course).
With regard to the post about Matt, I think that partly misses the point. Matt will play a role. He'll be asked to defend the opposition's best wing / combo guard, bring some toughness on the boards from the wing position (which I think will be a bit of an issue b/c of who we have at the 4/5), provide on court leadership, and make timely glue-plays -- which he had a knack for doing. Regardless of how much we all like scoring, there's no real substitute for what Matt can do on the court. The real trouble for Kennard is not Matt IMO. It's Grayson and Brandon Ingram -- who will likely play the same role that Luke is suited to play as a true frosh. In the end, I think kennard plays a decent amount at the point (10+ minutes) and some minutes on the wings -- but I'd be very surprised if he's above 20 min. per next season (barring injuries of course).
I just cant get over how interesting this year is going to play out. So much flexibility and versatility on this roster. Going to be completely different than last year and i think we'll play very similar to how we played with Rodney and Jabari on the wings. I think everything will go through Grayson and BI on offense. On defense we should be really really good (the top flaw of that 2013-14 squad).
We'll see, but I don't think we'll be nearly as reliant on Grayson / BI as we were on Rodney / Jabari because (i) Grayson / BI are not as good at this point, and (ii) we have more talent around them. Notably, unlike that team, I think Thornton gives us a true playmaker / creator at the PG position who can also defend the position, and we've also got a lot more depth and ability in the post. Also, I think our key role guys of Jones, Jefferson, and Plumlee will be significantly better than their counterparts from 13-14 (i.e., Thornton, Dawkins, Hairston, and a Soph. version of Jefferson).
I don't think any of us has it all figured out right now. I don't think K does either. The best thing about this season, there are SO many options. This team has several ways it can go and almost all of them are good. I personally think it's gonna be DAMN hard to keep Amile off the floor. Fellas, he is getting better and he's a worker. My other excitement is what does Obi come out looking like. He is so dedicated to this team and hard work. He's a load in the paint and a lot of talk has been going around about how hard it is to score on him and rebound against him. Could get very interesting this season for sure.
Certainly won't be as reliant on them as we were on Jabari and Rodney, but I do think the offense initially goes through those guys. Thornton should be a pretty good playmaker for us, creating opportunities for our other role players- Matty, Luke etc. It'll be interesting for sure, but like show said, no one really knows. Just so much flexibility, let's see how it plays out.
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