Tag Archives: Elliot Williams

Olek Czyz To Transfer From Duke

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UPDATE | 10:30 a.m.: Sophomore forward Olek Czyz will transfer from Duke, the program announced in a statement this  morning. A native of Poland who went to high school in Reno, Czyz is expected to matriculate to another Division-I school.

“Olek has a bright future ahead of him and we wish him the best of luck,” Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. “He has been a valued member of the Duke Basketball family and we will support him through his impending transfer.”

With Czyz’s departure, Miles Plumlee remains as the only Class of 2008 recruit. Czyz is the fifth Duke transfer in five years, joining Elliot Williams, Taylor King, Jamal Boykin and Eric Boateng as players who have left the Blue Devils to join another programs.

11:30 p.m.: TheHoopsReport.com is reporting that Duke forward Olek Czyz has been released from his scholarship and will seek to transfer before the second semester begins. If Czyz is able to find a new school before the start of the semester, NCAA rules will allow him to begin playing midway through next season, instead of forcing him to wait until the 2011-2012 campaign.

Sophomore forward Olek Czyz started Dukes first two contests this season and has averaged 2.5 points per game this year.

Sophomore forward Olek Czyz started Duke's first two contests this season and has averaged 2.5 points per game this year.

If Czyz completes his transfer, it would leave Miles Plumlee as the lone remaining member of Duke’s 2008 recruiting class. Guard Elliot Williams transferred to Memphis over the summer in order to be closer to his ill mother.

Despite being rated a four star prospect by Scout.com and a key member of the 2008 recruiting class, Czyz’s potential and athletic ability never materialized into tangible results on the floor. Czyz averaged 0.6 points in only 3.9 minutes of playing time per game last year, and despite playing solidly while starting early this season in the place of a suspended Nolan Smith, Czyz’s production waned when Smith returned to the starting lineup. Czyz has improved noticeably this season; however, the sophomore has still averaged just over 10 minutes of playing time and 2.5 points per game.

Czyz’s departure is yet to be confirmed by the Duke athletic department, and Sports Information Director Matt Plizga declined comment to The Chronicle earlier today. The Chronicle will continue to follow this developing story and any response from Duke Basketball.

Andre Dawkins Confirms He’ll Suit Up For Duke This Year

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The Cameron Crazies won’t have to worry about not seeing No. 20 on the court this season.

No, Elliot Williams is not reneging on his decision to transfer to Memphis. Instead, the number will be bestowed upon Andre Dawkins — formerly a top recruit from the class of 2010 and now, the newest Blue Devil who will officially matriculate a year earlier than anticipated.

While packing for his move to East Campus, Dawkins confirmed to The Chronicle that he had passed his last class needed to graduate, English 12, and was expecting his high school diploma to arrive Friday. The five-star shooting guard, ranked third in the Class of 2010 at his position, talked earlier in the week to Mike Krzyzewski, who called to ask about his final class.

He also received another call — this one from associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski, who asked what number he wanted to wear. Dawkins, anxious to start practicing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, told The Chronicle that he’ll be inheriting Williams’ number.

“I’m going to do whatever they need me to do,” he said. “I’m just really excited to get to that first game.”

Catching Up With Chris Collins

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This week I got the chance to speak to associate head coach Chris Collins about the especially busy off-season for the Blue Devils coaching staff. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation on Wednesday afternoon:

Taylor Doherty: With Gerald Henderson being selected in the lottery of the NBA Draft and Elliot Williams deciding to transfer due to family medical issues, it has certainly been a summer filled with news for Duke Basketball. Do you see this summer so far as a significant one for this program?

Chris Collins: Sure, I mean. For us, losing Gerald was not a surprise. We knew coming into the year it was his goal to have a great year and put himself in a position to be a lottery pick. Once we thought that that was the information, and that’s kind of where he was, we fully supported and expected him to leave.

And obviously in Elliot’s case, it was very disappointing because we loved Elliot and Elliot loved being at Duke. It was just the circumstance that was unforeseen and, you know, those things happen in life. Certainly we want him to be with his family and be with his mom as she goes through a tough time. And with his desire to be close to home, we weren’t going to stand in the way of that because obviously as much as we would have loved to have him and he would have helped us and been a big part of what we are doing, sometimes family comes first.

TD: Next year, will it be difficult going into the year with nine scholarship players on the roster? One thing I was thinking about was whether or not there was an effort made to convince Marty Pocius come back for one more year?

CC: Well Marty was ready to go back and become a pro in Europe. He signed with an agent as soon the season was over. He was able to graduate in his four years, and that was very important to him and actually he is very sought after in Europe to play with the different clubs over there. We knew at the end of the year he was wanting to get back home and to become a pro and start that process. It never really got that far along with trying to get him to come back.

Now you know with Jordan Davidson, that was a difference circumstance. We actually redshirted him this past year just to have him just in case something were to happen where we would need an extra guy because we had a lot of guards this year. He’ll actually be back for a fifth year, adding another guy to the mix which will help as well.

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Elliot Williams is Heading Home

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As expected, Elliot Williams will be heading home. Five days after receiving his release from Duke in order to play closer to his ailing mother, Williams made official his transfer to play for his hometown Memphis Tigers. The St. George School product didn’t see much action in his first few months as a Blue Devil but came on strong after assuming a spot in the starting lineup during the final third of the season.

Williams’ addition to the Memphis program stems a steady stream of personnel losses for the Tigers, who will return with a new coach (Josh Pastner, who replaced new Kentucky coach John Calipari) and only one player (Doneal Mack) who averaged at least 25 minutes played last season.

Season Recap, Part II: The Bad

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The Chronicle’s Sports Blog’s second part of a three-part video series recapping Duke’s 2008-2009 basketball season. This segment deals with what went wrong in the Blue Devils’ season and why they were eliminated before the Final Four for the fifth straight year.

How to Solve Duke’s Reliance On The Three

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Every Duke fan has heard announcers criticize Duke for its live by the three, die by the three mentality. While the strategy can be nearly unstoppable when the Blue Devils are shooting well (see: Tournament, ACC), it can easily backfire if the team is on a cold streak (see: Villanova).

Unfortunately for frustrated fans, though, the strategy doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. Next season Duke will return the same core rotation, and although the Blue Devils will be welcoming two of the top forwards in the country in Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee, it seems unrealistic to expect freshman to immediately give Duke the post presence they’ve so long desired.

Despite the expected similarities between this year’s team and next year’s, though, it is possible for the Blue Devils to find new ways to score from inside the arc. So, here is a three-step process to minimize Duke’s reliance on the three ball next year:

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