A little surprised about AOC

[TheDude1]

I don’t know, I expected him to play a bigger role on this years team. I didn’t expect Jack to be this good, or Javin, or Ques, so that might be where the minutes are going... but I really thought AOC would get consistent minutes at the 2 and would provide buckets. Maybe his size/defense is a part of it? Hoping that we get a bit more of what I thought we’d see at the start of the year from the kid... I do love his game!

 

[Jnood]

I think this might be a coach K teaching period. I don’t think he’s far off from being a nice contributor, but it seems like coach k is challenging him to improve on something in practice, like defense or shot selection, and until he see it consistently he has limited his court time. There is always that guy.

 

[dukehokie]

Defense.

Go back and watch him play at all. His offense is a nice mask for how out of position and bad he’s been on D. I want him to clean that up so badly, because he had good energy. He just has to put it in the right place.

 

[Jnood]

Defense.

Go back and watch him play at all. His offense is a nice mask for how out of position and bad he’s been on D. I want him to clean that up so badly, because he had good energy. He just has to put it in the right place.

He’s a spark plug. A really good shooter and underrated passer. I really hope he putting in the work. He has all the tools. Just buckle down and work on some of the less fun stuff!

 

[dukehokie]

He’s a spark plug. A really good shooter and underrated passer. I really hope he putting in the work. He has all the tools. Just buckle down and work on some of the less fun stuff!

Exactly. At times last year, take for what it’s worth, he looked like our best defender. This year, he looks uncomfortable on that end. We need his shooting.

He’ll play tomorrow because the guards aren’t as good off the bench. Auburn’s guard’s would have eaten him up. You saw what they did against good defense.

 

[Jnood]

Yeah, that was a veteran backcourt that was not a great match up for a guy that could be in his own head on that end of the court. Especially, if it has been made a point of emphasis by the staff. Tre and Cam both did a nice job up top, and they were still making tough shots, and getting into the lane.

I think we’ll see him come in and hit a few shots and see high level of energy from him on the defensive end afterward at some point, and he will become a huge lift when cam or tre are having freshman stretches, or foul trouble.

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

Hard to hide him on D if we're playing good M2M. Might need him to make free throws at the end of games, and against less athletic teams I hope he'll get more burn.

 

[dukehokie]

I bet he gets his chance tomorrow.

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

I think it could just be that he’s going through a sophomore slump like some players go through. He isn’t the first player that we’ve had that had a decent/solid freshman season then struggles his sophomore season. I’m sure he’ll get it going as the season goes along.

 

[IPSYCHOSIS]

I think it’s simple. He didn’t match up well against Auburn.

 

[dukehokie]

I think it could just be that he’s going through a sophomore slump like some players go through. He isn’t the first player that we’ve had that had a decent/solid freshman season then struggles his sophomore season. I’m sure he’ll get it going as the season goes along.

I wouldn’t say he’s in a slump yet. I just don’t know that he’s ready to play the type of man D Duke is playing. He fit well in the zone last season. He’s basically a freshman on D and last night was just not the night for him to be able to get “on the job” learning.

 

[Mac9192]

I think it’s a sign of what to expect out of K. In tight games, which we will have quite a few, he will do what he has always done. Shrink the bench. I don’t agree with that. But that’s K.
I understand Bolden playing most of the 2nd half, the kid was a defensive stopper. I don’t agree with Barrett only sitting one minute, especially since he was shooting bad. A couple minutes of Delaurier and O’Connell in the 2nd half of these games in my opinion go a long way towards March.

Isn’t that what we’re playing for?

 

[Jacket4]

As others have said. His defense at times is really bad. Consistently out of position. But his offense is elite but problem is this team doesnt need offense.

AOC will grow and develop. He will have a few moments this year, but his value will probably be shown next year.

 

[hart2chesson]

I think it’s a sign of what to expect out of K. In tight games, which we will have quite a few, he will do what he has always done. Shrink the bench. I don’t agree with that. But that’s K.A couple minutes of Delaurier and O’Connell in the 2nd half of these games in my opinion go a long way towards March.

Isn’t that what we’re playing for?

It is Classic K and as I checked the box score this morning saw where he logged only 3 mins, while Barrett and Jones registered 39. I would like to see more of AOC for fatigue's sake and his shooting to keep us fresher....

OFC

 

[QC Dukie]

I bet we see more of Alex tonight. As someone said earlier, last night was just a bad matchup for him.

 

[Quavarius]

Yeah AOC was supposed to be starting. Let the kid come along. I think he’ll be a better contributor next year.

 

[2 skerz 3]

He's an awful defender. Awful defender + questionable decision making offensively = 8 minutes per game. Pretty easy to diagnose really.

 

[Liftee]

I think AOC was always going to be a young guy who developed by his junior year. He played some last year as a specialist. It's still early in the season and if he toughens up on defense, he'll have the chance to play this year.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Goldwire got some minutes that normally would have gone to AOC. I like Goldwire getting some minutes because he's a good defender, just not a shooter, and Coach K will know when to play one as opposed to the other.

 

[jwill133]

AOC hasn’t improved at all defensively since last year is what it seems. I’ll be honest too, he’s still extremely thin, I thought he’d be a little stronger this year, maybe it’ll take longer than we all thought.

On a positive note...Goldwire’s defense is exceptional, he harassess the ball-handler just like Tre does and it’s led to a steal in each of the last 2 games.

 

[dukiejay]

I love Alex, but he really struggles defensively. As a team we're not particularly strong in that area, but the length of guys like Cam, R.J. and Zion gives them a huge advantage to make up for it.

Alex will get a lot of minutes between now and the new year. He might not get them later today, though.

 

[2004Audi]

I want to see how his minutes translate in ACC play. Thus far in 2 close games, Auburn, and Army (it was a close game before expanding lead in 2nd half) he has played less than 10 minutes per game. However, it wasn't just alex minutes that declined against Auburn. in the 2nd half it was 6 man roster with Jack being the 6th player. I really thought this year coach went out and said we need to do a better job of developing our bench. What does that mean? I will be interested to see what happens in ACC play, and how this developed bench philosophy plays out.

As far as defense goes, Jav has been prone to foul when he is in the game on defense and hasnt looked great. However, maybe out of necessity, he comes in and spells Bolden for periods of time. I dont understand why Alex cant get that same time for cam or rj during stretches. Perhaps my expectations were too high when coach said they were going to develop the bench more. If mid way through the ACC season sees a rotation of 7, with starters, outside of bolden due to endurance, playing 35 minutes and Alex only seeing 3-5 a game, that would be disappointing for me based on coach's comments at the beginning of the season.

 

[Dattier]

Jack's improvement and better shooting than expected are big factors limiting Alex's minutes right now.

In crunch time, we need our best players to be prepared to play close to 40 minutes. If we have multiple guys playing in the high 30+ minutes January 19th, 22nd, 26th, and 28th -- the mid-season slog -- I'll be more concerned. We're in a tournament right now, though.

Ultimately, there's very little chance we play 9-deep regularly. Right now, Alex, Jordan, and maybe Tony are auditioning for that 8th spot. If someone doesn't step up, we're likely to roll w/ 7 a lot.

 

[df64]

Love Alex' shooting. Very quick release and good accuracy. Jacks accuracy from 3 makes Alex less necessary, especially since he can play D on the perimeter and down low. Do love the way Alex seems to haul in rebounds on the defensive end. No where near as physical as Jack but winds up getting his share from the guard spot. Jack has just been awesome and very versatile. That is not Alex' fault.