RE: Marshall ready to return
How Big Of An Impact Will Marshall Plumlee's Return Make?One thing that is being drastically overlooked by observers throughout the young college basketball season is that the Duke Blue Devils have so brilliantly guided their way through a brutal early season schedule without Marshall Plumlee, a guy who was expected to be one of their most valuable bench players heading into the season.
Marshall, the 7'0, 225 lb younger brother of Duke phenom Mason and Indiana Pacers' Forward Miles, has yet to return from a foot injury he suffered in mid-October. The redshirt freshman had drawn praise from coach Mike Krzyzewski in the early stages of training camp, as evidenced by this tweet from Stephen Wiseman:
@StevewisemanNC: Coach K said Marshall Plumlee was playing well enough to be team's 6th man before his injury.
This isn't much of a shocker. Plumlee, like his two brothers, is an athletically gifted big man who is capable of making an impact on both ends of the court, although his current skill-set makes him much more a force on defense. This isn't a problem, as Duke's offense revolves around their guards, adjusting this season only because of the emergence of Marshall Plumlee's offensive output. Meanwhile, Duke is badly in need of someone who can spell Mason, as the star forward is averaging roughly thirty-four minutes a game. Typically, you only want your best big men playing around thirty minutes per game and Plumlee is already way past that.
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