Elliot Williams Leaving Duke, Rumored to Play for Memphis
This is obviously huge news for the rest of the ACC, and Duke obviously, but we'll get to that later. Via Scout:
Elliot Williams, who started 12 games as a freshman, will transfer from Duke in order to be closer to home sources confirmed to TDD.
An official announcement from Duke is expected Wednesday.
Not a lot is given after that. From what I've heard, he's transferring to Memphis (he's from Memphis, after all, and it says he wants to be closer to home) and will be able to play immediately, claiming hardship. His mother is apparently terminally ill, and he wants to be close to her, understandably. That's gotta be tough for him, and condolences go out to him and his family if this indeed is the case.
Condolences also go out to Duke (not really), because they're in a bad and somewhat hilarious spot right now. They have two scholarship guards on their entire roster. Yes, their entire roster. There's Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, and everyone else on the team is above 6-8.
Remember last year when we were making fun of them for having no bigs outside of Brian Zoubek? And even he didn't really count, because he was terrible. How ironic is this?
Of course, when we were making fun of them for having Zoubek and a bunch of freshmen, they won 30 games and came in 2nd in the ACC. This team's starting five is still very good. A Smith-Scheyer-Singler-Plumlee/Thomas-Zoubek lineup is pretty imposing and very white. But there is literally 0 depth at the guard spots. An injury could be killer. As it stands, if a team can push the tempo and tire out the guards, Duke is eminently beatable.
I said this earlier, but this is the year to make a move in the ACC - UNC is, if not in a rebuilding process, then a reloading process - but even reloading takes a second. Duke is more vulnerable than any time in recent history. Wake lost their two best players. Clemson lost their two best 3 point shooters. FSU lost their best player by far. No team stands out. I legitimately think the Terps could challenge, if everything breaks right.
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Probably wrong about Duke
I hate Coach K as much as any Terp fan, but you gotta hand it to him: the guy can coach his ass off. How he coaxed 30 wins out of last year’s group is sold-his-soul-to-the devil amazing.
After many, many years of examining their roster on paper and declaring them less than great, I think I learned my lesson. F***kers will find a way to win 25 or more… again. And with the ugliest white guys you’ve ever seen.
by KnoxBox on Jun 24, 2009 3:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, I know
I mentioned that they won 30 starting Brian Zoubek at C. But this year’s team is even worse than last year’s and it remains to be seen if Kelly/Plumlee are going to be valuable additions. They’ll definitely win 20+, but this is not a strong team by Duke’s standards.
by Ben Broman on Jun 24, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pray for the days...
that a 20+ win season is a way down season for UMD.
I wish nothing but losing streaks to Duke and hate them for reasons I probably can’t put into words (or really understand myself for that matter) but the wierdest thing is that I respect K so much I can’t bring myself to “hate” him. The PLAYERS on the other hand…oh yeah. (notable exceptions: Grant Hill, Elton Brand)
by jaypee on Jun 24, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Since he hasn't been mentioned in about a day or two...
How does this affect Lance Stephenson? No way he wants to go to Memphis with Williams there, right?
by superjuan on Jun 24, 2009 7:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Possibly
But I wouldn’t say that’s certain. I don’t think it makes a big difference – I’m relatively confident that if he can/could be a Terp, he will/would be. If not, he can find a place.
I heard one guy say he could land at Duke, cause they have no guards. Fat chance.
by Ben Broman on Jun 24, 2009 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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