Admittedly lost in all the hoopla over transfers (coming and going), as of yet unsigned recruits, the Mason Plumlee decision, and the general malaise of Duke's unceremonious exit from the NCAA Tournament, is the arrival of Rasheed Sulaimon.
I myself have neglected to give this kid the kind of promotion that he clearly deserves because of my own preoccupation with those other things mentioned above.
But when it is all said and done, no matter what other roster changes occur between now and October, the Blue Devils are getting one hell of a player in Sulaimon.
The 6-foot-3, 175 pound shooting guard form Strake Jesuit College Prep in Houston, Texas is simply a phenomenal looking basketball player.
Look up some of his highlight reels and you will see a player who is quick, has a nice handle and is every bit an athlete. He is a good shooter and by all accounts appears to be able to put the ball on the floor and create.
What you won't see and what may end up being one of his better features is his ability to defend. He showed that in the the McDonald's game and the Jordan Brand Classic but even more so at the Nike Hoops Summit. Events not know for a focus on defense saw Sulaimon show flashes of brilliance on that end of the floor.
Doing it in a regular high school game against sometimes less that elite talent is one thing, but doing it against the best seniors in your year is another. His ability to defend on the perimeter could be a huge factor for Duke next season.
He can be a guy that can apply on-ball pressure, something Duke did not have last season. Tyler Thornton tried but wasn't athletic enough. The fact that the Blue Devils did not have that guy hurt them a lot last season.
Sulaimon could be that guy that helps Duke get back to playing the kind of defense the Blue Devils like to play. He could potentially force the opposing team's primary play maker to start the offense further away from the basket.
This has always been a trade mark of the best Duke teams. That and help defense as well as getting hands in passing lanes and creating turnovers allows for fewer possessions from their opponents. Duke didn't do that last year and they paid the price.
If Sulaimon can do that I'd expect him to potentially start from day one.
But he is also gifted offensively and while he is primarily an off guard he could possibly play point guard, though with Quinn Cook and Thornton, he likely won't have to, still it is good to know he is versatile.
It is ashame that his addition, to an extent, has been lost in the discussions of Shabazz Muhammad, Tony Parker and Amile Jefferson. Sulaimon is already a Blue Devil and will be a fabulous representative of the program and an immediate impact player.
He has drawn some early comparisons to Nolan Smith, but it might be more accurate to compare him to a junior/senior Nolan Smith than a freshman version. It took Smith a couple of years to come into his own and I don't expect that from Sulaimon.
But if Sulaimon can be half as good as Smith was then I'd think all Duke fans would be very happy with the results.
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