If you have questions for our Tuesday mailbag you can either tweet us @rockchalktalk or send an email to rockchalkmailbag at gmail.com. Here's this week's installment:
Will Embiid play on Jabari any? RT @RockChalkTalk We are doing a twitter mailbag for the Duke game, so feel free to ask us whatever you want
— Spencer Layman (@NBA_Spen) November 11, 2013
I think the defensive matchup on Duke's Jabari Parker will likely be Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins and some more Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins and Parker have had a few notable matchups over the last couple years, and went at each other a bit in the McDonalds All American game. Parker is a really smart offensive player who can get his shot a lot of different ways, as well as get to the basket, but Wiggins is athletic enough to stick with him and has the wingspan to bother him on jumpers. When Wiggins is out I think we will see Wayne Selden on him, despite the height difference. I would also look at the possibility of Kansas playing some zone, though it does appear that Duke will be a pretty good three point shooting team this year.
@RockChalkTalk how many pts does duke put up? I'll put the o/u at 87.5
— KanelJayhawk (@4biddendonuts) November 11, 2013
Neither Duke nor Kansas played all that fast last year, with Kansas having slightly longer possessions on offense than the Blue Devils. Obviously Duke put up over 100 points against Davidson and Kansas scored efficiently against Louisiana Monroe as well, and with neither team defending very well (Duke actually gave up more than a point per possession against Davidson, Kansas gave up 63 in 70 possessions) it could get very high scoring. The environment and magnitude of the stage will probably drop scoring down a bit, so I think both teams will be right around the high 70s.
@RockChalkTalk is it down to either Cliff or Okafor/Jones or could all 3 possibly come?
— Chase Says™ (@CGAZ1986) November 11, 2013
The three biggest fish in the 2014 class, Chicago natives Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander and Minnesotan Tyus Jones, are all announcing on Friday. Rumors abound in the recruitment of all three guys, which has been one of the stranger recruiting sagas since, well Andrew Wiggins. Jones and Okafor are thought to be a package deal and with Jones being a heavy Duke lean, that could push Okafor there as well. But there are also a ton of rumors that Okafor, and just as notably his father, were very impressed by Bill Self and Kansas could be in the lead for him. And Cliff Alexander hasn't cut his list yet, but it appears that it is down to Illinois and Kansas, pitting home state loyalty against the fact that his girlfriend goes to Kansas, and he appears to be friendly with the guys on the team already.
Ranking them in order, I think the likelihood is Alexander, Okafor, Jones. It just doesn't appear that Jones is going anywhere but Duke, and people definitely seem to think that by announcing on the same day, he's convinced Okafor to join him. I don't necessarily think that's true, but it is part of what makes him a bit less likely than Alexander in my opinion. As I mentioned on twitter, I am preparing to get none of the three, expecting to get one of the three, and hoping to get two of the three.
@RockChalkTalk @PhogAdvisory U think KU will keep Selden n Embiid at least 1 more year, or r they 1 n done
— brian burns (@dagr8184) November 12, 2013
I don't see a way that Embiid stays another year, unless he gets buried on the bench. Obviously he's relatively new to basketball, but guys who are 7 feet tall who can score with both hands, have a repertoire of post moves, and can shoot from the outside are really rare, and some GM would take him in the top 10 - and maybe top 5 - on the chance that they just took the next Hakeem.
As for Selden, with all of the guards who should go pretty high next year it's possible he sticks around for his Sophomore year, but like Embiid he's gotten a lot of buzz around him as a guy who could sneak into the top 10. With all of the eyes on Andrew Wiggins, some of those scouts are going to naturally have their eyes wander, and they could settle on Selden, who I think could play either the 1 or the 2.