Senior DeMarcus Nelson will captain the 2007-08 Duke basketball team. No shock there except that he'll be handling those duties solo this season.
Nelson has the credentials as the team's lone senior and an All-ACC honorable mention last season after leading the team in points (14.1) and rebounds (5.4 per game).
But this is a departure for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who likes the idea of delegating captain's duties to several players. The last time the Blue Devils were captained by one player was when Chris Duhon led the Blue Devils to the 2004 Final Four.
Nelson shared captain's duties with sophomores Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts last season. The Blue Devils lost some close games without a firm leader to guide them. Having too many options didn't help.
McRoberts was drafted by the Portland TrailBlazers in June and Paulus faces a stiffer challenge for playing time in the backcourt this season so Nelson was the obvious choice.
The Duke backcourt is loaded, almost loaded down, with Nelson, Paulus and sophomore Jon Scheyer all returning as regular starters from a year ago. Other backcourt players on the team are sophomore Gerald Henderson, junior Martynas Pocius and freshmen Nolan Smith and Tyler King.
Smith, who has great, quick feet, specifically clouds the picture for Paulus. He may already be a stronger defensive player, at least one-on-one, than Paulus has shown in his two seasons. Duke has not been able to challenge the point very well the past two seasons and that has affected the Devils' ability to force turnovers.
Occasionally, Krzyzewski has compensated by taking Nelson off the opponent's big scoring guard or small forward in order to attack the point. It's not a long-term option. They need Nelson to defend the big scorers. The Devils are going to want to force the tempo defensively so, if Smith can disrupt the point, he'll get his playing time.
A healthy Henderson gives Krzyzewski options and clouds the picture even more because he will earn a lot of playing time this season. He played very well down the stretch and was only slowed by his one-game suspension for flagrantly fouling North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough, breaking Hansbrough's nose during the Duke-UNC finale in March.
