Is Big Z Suddenly As Important As The Big 3?

On February 10th, the Duke Blue Devils took on rival UNC.  Their center Brian Zoubek was merely a reserve playing only ten minutes.  In this short playing time he was only able to grab three rebounds and no points.  He pretty much had little to no impact on the game.

Three short days later, Duke took on out of state rival Maryland, in a game that could really shake up the ACC standings.  Coach K inserted Brian Zoubek into the starting rotation and the move hit a nerve.  Zoub had the best game of his college career scoring 16 and grabbing 17 boards.  The Duke center was truly relentless down low seemingly grabbing anything that went his way.

Many Duke fans applauded the performance, but none really expected him to continue this type of play.

In his next game against Miami he only pulled down 5 rebounds but was able to score ten points.  A solid game, but nothing close to his Maryland performance.  It appeared that the big man had returned to earth.

In Duke's latest game they took on a tough Virginia Tech team that needed a win over Duke if they wanted to tighten the ACC race.  Something Brian Zoubek would do everything in his power to avoid.

Everything in his power meant another huge rebounding night!  Zoub was able to pull down an amazing 16 rebounds in 29 minutes of play.  He only scored three points, but these were three big ones.  Especially since outside of Duke's big three, the team only scored four points.

When teams game plan for Duke they pay special attention to the big three of Scheyer, Singler, and Smith.  They are one of the top two scoring trios in all of basketball.

In the future Brian Zoubek may be as important to this team as either of those three.  Duke's offense has struggled throughout this season.  They are often out shot by their opponants winning only because of their stringent defense.

If they continue to struggle scoring points big time rebounding games by Zoub could become vital to a March run.  Every time he pulls an offensive rebound he gives his team another chance at scoring.  Ask Allen Iverson, if you shoot forty times a game, you will rack up some points.

No, Brian Zoubeck is not your typical dominating center.  His name will not be mentioned with the best in basketball, and he will more than likely not be a pro prospect in the future, but he understands his role.  He knows that his heart, passion, and competitive nature could help lead this team a long way in the upcoming NCAA tourney.