Amile
- Thread starter Guffeys
- Start date
Yeah I agree. Everyone's known that he's been practicing for a little while now, so to me a photo of him sitting in a tunnel with the rest of the team during a tornado warning in his practice jersey doesn't offer definitive proof that he'll play tomorrow night
would love to see amile out there. but its hard to know what is best for him. hard to estimate what his presence could do for this team.
also have to look at next year - and how he would or could fit into the team and its needs.
right now i don't think we know what amile could have accomplished this year if he had stayed healthy. he was very impressive early.
also have to look at next year - and how he would or could fit into the team and its needs.
right now i don't think we know what amile could have accomplished this year if he had stayed healthy. he was very impressive early.
Boozer and Kyrie both came off the bench after recovering from injuries... although Ryan Kelly started right away. But I think with Ryan, it was more of a necessity.
Yes, in Ryan's case, we didn't have anyone to play at the 4 other than Amile -- who was physically getting overwhelmed against bigger teams and clogging up our offense b/c nobody respected his offense. Even a 70% of Ryan was far better than what we were playing there. I don't think this is the same situation. While we certainly need Amile back to provide badly needed depth and help us counteract certain lineups, I don't think it probably makes much sense to radically rework our team around a version of Amile that -- at least at the start -- will likely be playing well below his top level of performance.
Greetings Duke world. I have been an avid follower of this board for 5+ years now, but due to my day-to-day work schedule, I thought it was best to avoid posting, did not want it to become habitual. I now have my own little office so I am here to stay. I did not attend Duke, however Duke has been my favorite sports team since I learned what sports were. I am in my late 20's, and my first Duke memory was the 94 NCAA tournament (sigh.)
Let me break my posting cherry by saying this, I predict an Amile return Sunday at Pitt. I believe there would be slightly more "positive vibes" if he were to return tonight. Plus, Amile is from Philly, not saying it's down the street from Pitt, but same state nevertheless. I have lived in Philly before, and Amile seems to fit the bill of - " I am from Philly and damn proud of it."
Amile's importance of being on the floor for this Duke team cannot be understated. I do not believe he is the #1 or #2 most talented player on the team, but a STRONG argument can be made that he is the most important player on the team (along with Marshall.) The 4/5 position is obviously our thinnest, mainly due to Chase not being "there" yet, and Amile can play the 4 AND/OR 5. Not to mention, he seemed to be the "captain" of the defense, and had improved tremendously on ball fakes/ post moves.
When Amile does come back, I do not think he should start, but should play 20-25 min a game backing up Brandon and Marshall. I have not checked KenPom since right after the UNC game, but at that point in time, we had the #1 Offense in the country. I believe the main reason is that Brandon playing the 4 makes us almost "unguardable." I understand Brandon playing the 4 will probably never equate to a top 20 defense. But with Amile (our best defender) coming off the bench and playing the 4/5 (along with an improved Chase for 5-10 min a game), we can crack the top 30, MAYBE top 20 KenPom defense by the end of the year.
If we have a healthy "eight," no team in the tournament will want us in their bracket.
Let me break my posting cherry by saying this, I predict an Amile return Sunday at Pitt. I believe there would be slightly more "positive vibes" if he were to return tonight. Plus, Amile is from Philly, not saying it's down the street from Pitt, but same state nevertheless. I have lived in Philly before, and Amile seems to fit the bill of - " I am from Philly and damn proud of it."
Amile's importance of being on the floor for this Duke team cannot be understated. I do not believe he is the #1 or #2 most talented player on the team, but a STRONG argument can be made that he is the most important player on the team (along with Marshall.) The 4/5 position is obviously our thinnest, mainly due to Chase not being "there" yet, and Amile can play the 4 AND/OR 5. Not to mention, he seemed to be the "captain" of the defense, and had improved tremendously on ball fakes/ post moves.
When Amile does come back, I do not think he should start, but should play 20-25 min a game backing up Brandon and Marshall. I have not checked KenPom since right after the UNC game, but at that point in time, we had the #1 Offense in the country. I believe the main reason is that Brandon playing the 4 makes us almost "unguardable." I understand Brandon playing the 4 will probably never equate to a top 20 defense. But with Amile (our best defender) coming off the bench and playing the 4/5 (along with an improved Chase for 5-10 min a game), we can crack the top 30, MAYBE top 20 KenPom defense by the end of the year.
If we have a healthy "eight," no team in the tournament will want us in their bracket.
We were #1 or #2 in offensive efficiency before Amile went down. He was averaging over 11 points on almost 70% shooting and something like 5-6 offensive rebounds a game. Offensive rebounds lead to wide open threes. We are better on offense with Amile in and much better on defense.
I attempted to look this up on KenPom, but you have to be a monthly member in order to look at stats from previous weeks.
Not that this is relevant anymore (as we have greatly improved on both ends of the floor) but I do not believe we were a top 3 offense before Amile went down.
The Kentucky loss was one of the worst offensive displays I have ever witnessed a Duke team play, do we score 50 without Marshall's early offensive putbacks?? We also only put up 79 against VCU (I know, "only" 79) but remember, VCU plays at an elite fast tempo.
Again, I have no way of proving what the offensive efficiency numbers were before Amile went down, but given my "eye" test, we were good with the chance to be elite.
We did put up 113 against Bryant and 94 against Indiana. So maybe there was some inflation with the Bryant game, however the Indiana game was just downright AWESOME.
Before Amile went down, Derryck was a shell of his current self, and Luke was ice cold, also Ingram was solid but not "superstar" status like he is now.
I agree with you about the eye test, but the prior poster was correct. On Kenpom, we fluctuated between 1 and 2 for adjusted offensive efficiency before Amile went down. (And I think we were at 40 for defense). I agree with you, though, that that's a bit hard to believe considering Kennard was ice cold and Brandon hadn't nearly hit his stride. But it's true.
I'm not sure what our offensive efficiency numbers were with Amile. But, against big teams that can fight us on the glass, I do agree that the big lineup of BI, Amile, and Plumlee is not as good offensively as the smaller lineups we've been playing with for the past couple months. The reason is obvious -- you can't have two non-shooters clogging the lane, like we did against UK, when you want to build an offense around guards / wings driving to the rim. Against IU, for instance, our efficiency in that game was driven by BI being scorching hot + our move to a smaller lineup where Amile was playing a lot of 5.
With that said, I think we're a much better team defensively with the big lineup of BI, Amile, and Plumlee -- so I'm not sure which one is better.
The UK game, IMO, was driven by general disorganization, Grayson repeatedly driving right at shot blockers, and some of our freshmen not being ready for the moment -- particularly BI and Kennard. While UK's shotblocking was partly driven by the clogged lane, I tend to think most of our issues were driven by our youth and inexperience -- rather than the lineup per se.
With that said, I think we're a much better team defensively with the big lineup of BI, Amile, and Plumlee -- so I'm not sure which one is better.
The UK game, IMO, was driven by general disorganization, Grayson repeatedly driving right at shot blockers, and some of our freshmen not being ready for the moment -- particularly BI and Kennard. While UK's shotblocking was partly driven by the clogged lane, I tend to think most of our issues were driven by our youth and inexperience -- rather than the lineup per se.
i agree with all of this. UK forced the young Duke players to drive right at the shot blockers. (good on them) You are also correct in saying "young" players. The oldest player who was driving was Allen as a sophomore. He was barely off a season where he averaged under 10 minutes a game. I think Duke would be better suited right now to play UK. Who conversely would be better this time around as well. Offensively anyway.
Regarding the part about the UK game. I agree with this 100%.
1. I HATE playing the Champions Classic so early (can we at least get through thanksgiving first??) Usually the mid- November game is to Duke's benefit, as we tend to be more experience and better prepared than our counter-parts. This year, obviously not.
2. Amile and Marshall on the floor together (obviously this helps our defense) really clogs up the lane, as neither are a threat outside of 8 feet. This seemed to make it become a UK block party.
3. Thornton was way in over his head, and Luke seemed outmatched too this early in the season. This made it virtually impossible to play the "dream offensive lineup" of DT, Luke, Grayson, BI, Amile. Which would not only give UK's defense fits, but any defense for that matter.
Problem with that lineup is this: who's going to defend the man, the myth, the legend, Skal Labissiere?
Welcome, jwill. I'm known as Will, so your handle will allow me to blame you when I get criticized for my sometimes unappreciated posts. You're off to an unprecedented start: 8 posts and no one has called you a troll yet (and neither am I).
OFC
OFC
Well Hello back. I am as big of a Duke fan as they come, have not missed a game in 20 years, excluding very drastic situations.
I played division 3 college ball in the mid 2000's in rural Indiana. Fanbases don't get much more annoying than IU fans. Bounced around alot throughout these past 8 years, currently living in Covington KY, right on the river across from Cincinnati.
Deal with UK fans on a daily basis, need I say more???????
You wouldn't be criticized as much if you just read a comment a little more slowly before responding, perhaps? That or you are trying to joke and it goes right over my head....
Welcome aboard! Great group of guys that bleed Duke Blue and don't check their brains at the door.
Assuming Amile comes back at all during the regular season, I think it will be against Wake. If he's not ready for tonight, it's hard to believe that they'd throw him out there in a tough road matchup a couple days from now against a notoriously physical opponent (Pitt). Likewise, I'm not sure you want Amile trying to overcome his first game jitters with his foot while trying to defend Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Hicks. I think he either goes against Wake or we hold him out until the ACC tournament.
Yea, was just telling a buddy that he's gonna play in the Wake and Tarhole games. There's multiple reasons why that makes sense.
1.It's home and that's gonna be the most logical place where we would gain an advantage from the Crazies seeing him.
2.It's against the easiest team left so we can try a few things and let them adjust to playing with Amile again.
3.It gives him and the team a prep game before the huge game vs the Tarholes, AND that's his Senior Night, which leads into the next point...
4. Everyone, mainly Amile, wants him to be playing on Senior Night, and playing well so having the Wake game under his belt allows him to be more comfortable that his foot will hold up, thus letting him play for free and easy.
5. Getting him 2 warm-up games before the Acc Tourney starts is crucial!!
Wake and UNC just make sense.
1.It's home and that's gonna be the most logical place where we would gain an advantage from the Crazies seeing him.
2.It's against the easiest team left so we can try a few things and let them adjust to playing with Amile again.
3.It gives him and the team a prep game before the huge game vs the Tarholes, AND that's his Senior Night, which leads into the next point...
4. Everyone, mainly Amile, wants him to be playing on Senior Night, and playing well so having the Wake game under his belt allows him to be more comfortable that his foot will hold up, thus letting him play for free and easy.
5. Getting him 2 warm-up games before the Acc Tourney starts is crucial!!
Wake and UNC just make sense.
I will readily admit that I've gotten pretty frustrated with it as a fan (though I'm well aware that is completely idiotic). The regular season is slipping away, and with it his time to get re-acclimated before post season play. The recovery is taking longer than literally anyone anticipated. Obviously this sort of thing can't be rushed and he needs to only come back when healthy, it is just frustrating for him to see it continually drag on and for him to miss out on what should be a special experience for him (senior, captain, etc.).
The sad thing about IU basketball fans are they still think they are a "cream of the crop" program. Its been 25 years.........
Per Laura Keeley, still no Amile today:
Hope to see more good action from Jeter this afternoon.
Hope to see more good action from Jeter this afternoon.
Every game ppl think it's the one he'll be back for and yet....
I'll be very surprised if he's back for regular season. Maybe UNC.
I'll be very surprised if he's back for regular season. Maybe UNC.
Lol! Me too I from Kentucky and currently live here so I know exactly what u mean I think UK, and UNC are the top two most annoying fan bases in all of college basketball!
I just want what's best for Amile. If you as a fan think you are frustrated imagine what it must be like for Amile!?! I do hope we get to see him play again in a Duke uniform. And when he does, I am expecting nothing short of a Ryan Kelly type return!! Get well soon young man. We all want to see you back on the floor!
Alan
Alan
We are now to the point where I believe he HAS to come back for the Wake or UNCheat game. I just can't see him returning for the ACC tournament where we could potentially be playing 4 games in 4 days. Think he needs some game action before that.
I do not see a Ryan Kelly type return, but I believe Amile's return is just as important. This team does not need a scoring boost- it needs leadership, defense, and rebounding- and Amile excels at all those things.
I do not see a Ryan Kelly type return, but I believe Amile's return is just as important. This team does not need a scoring boost- it needs leadership, defense, and rebounding- and Amile excels at all those things.
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