Duke Basketball: Will Andre Dawkins Ever Be the Star He Was Born to Be?

When people look at LeBron James, they wonder why he hasn't had several NBA championships by now.

I look at Andre Dawkins with a similar zeal and wonder why he is not on track to destroy J.J. Redick's all-time leading scorer record.

As we draw nearer to the season opener, a clearer picture of how Duke will look is emerging.

According to the Sporting News, Miles and Mason Plumlee will be joined by Ryan Kelly to form one the tallest front courts in the nation. All three players are listed at 6'10" to 6'11".

Meanwhile, freshman Austin Rivers will team up with junior Seth Curry in the backcourt.

I was hoping Andre Dawkins would start, but he can also be a very valuable contributor.

He is above average athletically and has one of the sweetest releases on his shot. In his two seasons at Duke, he has always started the season with promise but usually fades by the end of the season.

Coach K seems perplexed about the outlook of the team, so this lineup is not the ultimate starting five for next season. Mason and Kelly are juniors and Miles is a senior, but they are inconsistent productively.

“Austin (Rivers) is our best guy to break people down,” Krzyzewski said. “How do you incorporate that and try to get Andre (Dawkins) good shots? That’s where we’re starting from, and we’ll see where we build to.”

Coach K will look to get Dawkins involved in the offense, but a player as blessed as Dawkins should have been able to create his own shot by now and not need someone to do this for him. I read this quote from Chris Carrawell, which kind of sheds light on Dawkins.

""I like competitors. A lot of people when they ask you about players, they want to talk about [how] high can they jump, is he a great shooter or [how fast he is or isn't]. But the one thing that never gets talked about his does the guy win. I like winners. I like players who win.

"Take a guy like Kyle Singler, he wins. Is he the most athletic? No. Is he the best shooter? No. Does he win? Yes. So I want him on my team."

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He is talking about winning games, but before a player gets into the rotation he has to win the coach’s trust. Win the fan base over. Win the trust of his teammates. Winners compete no matter what weapons they have in their arsenal.

Winners carry a certain air of expectancy about them. Some do this with a quiet dignity (Singler); others shout it louder than a bomb (Austin Rivers). It’s like playing poker. If you have a royal flush you know you own that game.

Dawkins has a straight flush but is playing as if he has much a lesser hand.

There is no doubt that Austin Rivers is a phenomenal player, and he deserves that starting shooting guard spot.  However I was hoping that Dawkins (and his game) would have forced Coach K to start three guards. Look at Seth Curry—if you weren't sure about him as a leader and the starting point guard, he left no doubt that he was such after the Blue-White scrimmage game.

Curry claimed that point guard spot and as Shane Ryan put it, "The ease with which he beat [Quin] Cook all night casts serious doubt on the idea that the freshman will gradually assume the starting point guard role."

Coach K did not start Curry. The 6'1" guard's game demanded that he should be a prime time player. Just like Nolan Smith did before him. Dawkins needs to find that killer instinct, or as Duke Basketball Report puts it:

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"His predecessors imposed their will on the game; Dawkins has not yet learned to do that, at least not consistently."

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I like the kind of weave offense played by Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer and Singler during the 2010 championship season. Teams struggled to keep track of them as Scheyer would penetrate and pass the ball back to the the perimeter to either Smith or Singler who would then do the same thing.

They would continue this until eventually one got a relatively clear drive to the basket or an assist for an open three-point shot. I see Curry, Dawkins and Rivers in a similar role.

Duke will be fine with Dawkins as a role player, but if he can play to his potential Duke will be great.

With the talent level at Kentucky, Ohio State, UConn and North Carolina, Duke needs to be great if they want to compete for a national championship.

If Dawkins wants to be an NBA player, time is running out for him. He needs to play this season with some urgency. I am rooting for him to be that guy.

Not just the guy that will score big against lesser teams in non-conference play but a player will show up in big games as well at the end of the season.