Musketeer Madness

Hi guys,

My name is Nico, I'm from France.

I may inform you that Josh Duncan finally signed a 1-year contract in Pau-Orthez, France. This club is one of the most successfull french ones, with former players like Mickael Pietrus or Boris Diaw, but our best seasons are now behind us ...

As I'm a Pau-Orthez fan, could you please tell me more about Josh ? Strengths/Weaknesses ? Why was he not drafted finally ? Why did he lose his position in the starting lineup during his senior season ? Is he strong enough to play as a PF ?

We have a new manager this year, he defined the target way of playing as follows : athletic and quick. The new players are expected to be smart and altruist. Do you think Josh could be a good recruit for this project ?

Thanks in advance, and good luck for next season !

Nico

Assuming what you say is on the up and up, congrats to Josh. Duncan is a very good offensive player. He has a very good outside shot but can also play inside as well. His inside game is something that really developed this last year. He is 6'8 and is very strong. (strongest guy on the team). He can play on the perimeter but is also strong enough to play inside. He's a good free throw shooter.

He's a decent but not great rebounder. He's a decent but not great defender. His defense improved over the last year as he learned to defend better on the inside without fouling as much.

His shortcomings are that he's not overly quick or athletic and doesn't have great leaping ability. I suspect that these are the reasons he wasn't drafted. That being said, he's not in any way some stiff who can only shoot from the outside.

Xavier arguably had three MVP's this year. Josh was one of them (I think he did win the MVP award). And for the most part, he played a lot of 5 at Xavier, which is not really his position.

He lost his starting job after an injury. There was some speculation that he lost his starter's job to motivate him to play tougher.

In short, he's a very good player.

Here's the link. Unfortunately it's in French...
http://www.sport.fr/Basket/bas/Josh-Dun ... 30325.shtm

If Josh keeps working and growing as a player (stronger inside, better knack for rebounds) he could easily make it to the nba. This past year someone,coach miller or something seemed to set a fire in josh. Through the stretch run he played with incredible passion and got better every minute on the floor, I always thought he seemed shy from a far, but clearly was an emotional leader of XU08, also a clutch free throw shooter.

a few years of 15-20ppg, improved d and rebounding Josh will be in the NBA...with the hornets

last time I checked Doellman was playing in France... Doellman and Duncan head to head might be something to watch.

http://thedoellmans.com/

Duncan (2,03 m) est un intérieur-ailier fort doté d'un bon shoot (12,4 pts et 7 rebonds par match) qui vient juste de finir son cycle universitaire à Xavier (NCAA), dans l'Ohio.

University of Xavier in Ohio? ****Sarcasm****..... I know people are always getting pissed about that.

Bon chance avec Josh, Nico. Il est un bon shooter.

That is my poor attempt at the French I learned in High School and @ X.

Thanks for your messages. I decided to trust you that Josh is a good choice for us !

Doellman signed a new contract in another french team, Besancon, after one year in Cholet :
http://www.bbcd.org/dossier.php?id=2106 ... au-poste-4

broadripple wrote:

Duncan (2,03 m) est un intérieur-ailier fort doté d'un bon shoot (12,4 pts et 7 rebonds par match) qui vient juste de finir son cycle universitaire à Xavier (NCAA), dans l'Ohio.

University of Xavier in Ohio? ****Sarcasm****..... I know people are always getting pissed about that.

Bon chance avec Josh, Nico. Il est un bon shooter.

That is my poor attempt at the French I learned in High School and @ X.

there are probably quite a few Frenchmen that don't know where Ohio is let alone Xavier but with Doellman and Josh and other over there I am sure some are getting to know about X.

Josh was definitely dominant in league play and was the reason we won several games as everyone else seemed to fade away during a stretch. He is an intelligent player which makes up for his lack of athleticism. He has a great shot but can play big when needed. He guarded Oden with no problem when everyone thought he was too soft. He would be a great asset to most teams but his style of play would not make him a great fit for every team. Had he been on Cleveland's roster he would have had a better shot at making the NBA given their need for outside shooting.

He wants to win and will give it his all to make that happen. Great attitude and great range for a big man. In the NBA he would have likely had to guard players much bigger than him as a power forward or quicker at small forward so it was completely dependent on finding the right team fit. I'm sure he will have a positive impact on his French team regardless of what the stats show but I'd expect him to put up solid numbers as well.