Duke's trio of seniors, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry, are not participating in drills at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, but they did get measured along with the other draft hopefuls. Here are some interesting measurement notes, as per ESPN's Chad Ford. The official measurements—which are expected to match Ford's—will be released today.
- Duke prospects stand taller than expected: All three of Plumlee, Kelly and Curry recorded heights in shoes taller than the playing heights listed for them by the Blue Devils this season. Curry measured in at 6-foot-3, a full inch taller than expected. For a guard who will make his living as a shooting guard, every inch will count. Kelly was only slightly taller than expected, coming in a shade under 7-feet tall after being listed at 6-foot-11 this season. Plumlee's size may be the most important as far as draft stock is concerned. Plumlee was 6-foot-11.25 in socks after being sized at 6-foot-10 this season. Measuring half an inch above 7 feet wearing shoes, Plumlee was one of only seven big men to record heights greater than 7-feet, which may help teams see Plumlee as an option at the center spot.
- Injuries cause weight gain/muscle loss: Kelly and Curry dealt with injuries for much of the 2012-13 season, and now it's showing at the combine. Kelly recorded the highest body fat, coming at at 14.8 percent. Though his body fat is up, his weight is actually down two pounds from his playing weight. The expectation is that when healthy the body fat will be solved. The same can be said for Curry. Curry was tied for the fourth highest body fat figure—second highest among guards behind just Providence's Ricky Ledo. His weight, however, was almost six pounds lower than the number listed by Duke.
- Duke players have short arms: At least comparatively. Curry's wingspan is only 6-foot-4, which is only an inch longer than his height. The concern with Curry is that guards who need to create their own shot—as Curry will need to do as a 3-point shooter—need the length to do so. Kelly and Plumlee both had wingspans shorter than their heights. This could be especially problematic for Plumlee. Even though his height is impressive, he has a shorter wingspan than a number of shorter big men who could go in the first round, such as Steven Adams, Gorgui Dieng and C.J. Leslie. One player of note with a shorter wingspan than Plumlee was Cody Zeller, who was the same exact height as the Duke grad.
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