Demarcus Nelson Broken Wrist

Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson will be sidelined at least six weeks after surgery to repair a broken bone in his left wrist.

I feel bad for the guy. He can't seem to catch a break, no pun intended. I'm getting antsy for the season so I may do a preview soon.

Zoubek Injured

Duke center Brian Zoubek will be sidelined for at least eight weeks after surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot.

The 7-foot-1 sophomore was injured during a pickup game Monday. He had surgery Tuesday to repair a fifth metatarsal fracture. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Zoubek should be fine when practice opens in the fall.

What's sad is I had totally forgotten he was on the team. That's the impact he had as a freshmen. I was sitting here the other day wondering how we would match up size-wise with other teams. He did guard Hansbrough well in limited duty. Maybe he can build on that. He's not very, um, quick.

Patrick Patterson to decide soon

Patterson to announce May 16; Duke in hunt

Patrick Patterson, the nation's top-rated uncommitted senior and a Duke basketball recruiting target, plans to announce his college plans May 16, his high school coach said Tuesday.

Patterson, a 6-foot-8 power forward, will take time this weekend to decide between Duke, Kentucky and Florida, said Huntington High coach Lloyd McGuffin.

Rated the No. 11 prospect in the nation by scout.com, Patterson would be an important addition for Duke after 6-foot-10 Josh McRoberts left for the draft following his sophomore season.

Duke already has a highly regarded recruiting class that includes McDonald's All-Americans Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Taylor King. But Smith is a guard and Singler and King are wing players considered unlikely to address the void left in the post by McRoberts' departure the way Patterson could.

Patterson is one of just three uncommitted players on scout.com's top-100 list. The others are point guard Jai Lucas of Bellaire, Texas, and power forward LaRon Dendey of Hope Christian Academy in Kings Mountain.

Duke McDonald's All Americans

Duke has three McDonald's All-American players this year. The game is tonight on ESPN. I'm sure they'll replay it multiple times.

The three:

Taylor King, F, 6'8 218 from California
Kyle Singler, F, 6'9 210 from Oregon (?)
Nolan Smith, G, 6'3 190 from Maryland

Perhaps King and/or Singler will turn into the athletic swingman Duke's been missing since the Battier days.

I'm anxious to see how they perform. Interesting note on the list, there doesn't appear to be anyone going to UNC. How nice.

Duke's McRoberts declares for NBA draft - NCAA Basketball - Yahoo! Sports

Duke's McRoberts declares for NBA draft - NCAA Basketball - Yahoo! Sports: "Duke forward Josh McRoberts declared himself eligible for the NBA draft Thursday."

Kind of surprising, but not completely unexpected. I was actually beginning to think Duke would have everyone back next year. Can he take Paulus with him?

final four

Here are my final four picks for this year. Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas A & M. I have Kansas over North Carolina in the finals. I really wanted to pick Texas over North Carolina, but I just don't trust Rick Barnes and I think UNC has the players that can match up with Durant. At least enough to slow him to about 28 or 29 points. I have Duke going to the Sweet 16, but that's probably more wishful thinking than anything. This VCU first round matchup has me terrified.

Ugh, this from The Sports Guy from last Tuesday:

If you missed the end of the George Mason-VCU game Monday night, you missed the greatest random clutch performance in college hoops since Henry Steele came off the bench to win the climactic game in "One On One." Here's what happened: GMU is leading by five and bringing the ball across midcourt with two minutes to play. Suddenly, VCU guard Eric Maynor strips the ball DJ-style, drives down for a layup and draws a foul for the potential three-point play. Maynor makes the free throw, hounds GMU's point guard off the inbounds pass, then pulls off another DJ-style pickpocket steal (this one was even better because it happened in the middle of the court) and flies in for the game-tying layup. You might see a pickpocket steal 10 times all season; Maynor did it on back-to-back plays in a do-or-die situation. Incredible. Amazing. Now it's a tie game. GMU comes down and misses. Maynor brings the ball up, keeps it in his hands the entire time, works the clock down, beats his guy off the dribble and makes an impossible jumper in traffic for a two-point lead. Timeout, GMU. The Patriots are reeling. Now they need a 2-pointer to tie ... and they miss a wide-open 3. Who comes flying in for the rebound? Maynor. Who gets intentionally fouled? Maynor. Who makes the clinching free throws with 20 seconds left? Maynor. If you're scoring at home, that's nine straight points, two pickpocket steals and the game-clinching rebound in the final two minutes of a must-win game, as well as an inevitable ESPY nomination. If you missed it, check out the highlights. Robby Benson would have been proud.

That's exactly what Duke needed. A guard they can't stop.