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It's time to talk about the first real game of the season. Woohoo! Basketball season has arrived and the football team is still in contention for the Coastal Division Championship, it is a great time to be a Duke fan. Actually it is always a great time to be a Duke fan.

So what is everyone excited about? And what is everyone concerned about?

I'm excited about the freshmen. Amile Jefferson has drawn comparisons to Antawn Jamison and Rasheed Sulaimon to Nolan Smith. One of my Great Expectations for the season is that one of the two, or better yet both of them, rapidly develop into a star.

I'm concerned about team health and only having eight scholarship players 100 percent healthy. The injuries to Curry and Marshall Plumlee force us to start the season shorthanded.

Georgia State should be a nice warm-up but then we play #3 Kentucky before traveling to the Bahamas to face some tough competition. There are several marquee match-ups in November. We should know a lot about this team by the end of the month.

I watched the last game online, but was also running around doing some other stuff, so I didn't get to pay much attention. I'm looking forward to seeing how the freshmen look (as well as putting a face to a name). I hate it for Marshall that he picked up the injury before his debut..and I also hate it for the team. I like having the height and size underneath but I've never actually seen him play. I'm waiting anxiously to see what he brings to the team. It sounds like Seth will play, but in a limited role..that sucks too. At least he will be available but I'm not thrilled at the idea of being on the court if you aren't 100%. Sit and get healthy now, bring all of your game when we need it. A loss now won't bother me; a loss in March bothers me.

CameronBornAndBred wrote:I like having the height and size underneath but I've never actually seen him play. I'm waiting anxiously to see what he brings to the team.

I watched Marshall Plumlee via streaming video when he was a senior at Christ School and wrote a player analysis article for Blue Devil Nation. Marshall scored 10 points in an offense that rarely looked to give him the ball. Christ School launched 3-pointers all game long. He held his position in the low post pretty good on defense. He was rail thin two years ago but is much bigger now when I had the opportunity to briefly talk to him at a tailgate.