A Marshall Plumlee Read

We can’t think of a Duke player who has had a more interesting path than Marshall Plumlee. He came to Duke as a big man who might or might not turn out.

This was very different from his brothers.

Mason was always seen as a major prospect and Miles was seen as more talented than Mason (the questions about Miles were never about talent).

Marshall was seen as an uncertain prospect but someone who Duke ultimately took, partly because of his brothers and partly because he showed signs of great character.

At Duke, he was willing to redshirt, then spend his junior year as a backup (which helped Duke win the 2015 national championship) before emerging, in his senior year, as a key figure on a team that lacked an inside presence. He never became a great scorer but he did become a superior defender and rebounder and leader. He was no longer the giddy freshman he was when he came to Duke. He played with a burning intensity that few could match.

He became good enough of course to play in the NBA but in college he became interested in the military and now he’s the America’s tallest Ranger, a member of the most elite group of soldiers the U.S. Army has (fun fact: the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm had a division of very tall soldiers called the Potsdam Giants or, more sensibly by the locals, the Tall Guys).

His character has been the key for all of this. He’s not playing basketball now but if he wants to try to work his way back to the NBA, the Long Island Nets of the G League own his rights and would welcome him back.