Cam's struggles

[TheDude1]

So, I think everyone sees that Cam is struggling. It seems like the game is moving too quickly for him right now, as his drives seem a bit "loose" and his shooting form looks a touch rushed. His D generally looks good, but otherwise...

Now, he isn't the first frosh to struggle a bit. I'd be shocked if he was a top five pick as of right now. But he has a TON of time to turn it around. I don't think last night will be his "turn around" Zoubek-vs-Maryland game, but I am sure it will come.

 

[DukeRev]

At our house we noticed that he played yesterday in the 2nd half without a shirt under his jersey which he has done all year. Anyone know when he switched, was it at the half or did he start the game like that. Seems like a little sign that he is mixing things up a bit to find his shot back. I am hoping a 15 day break to clear his head and get some shots up will help and he lights up acc play. The last 5 minutes of the game last night is the Cam we need.

 

[jwill133]

Most updated mocks now have Cam anywhere from 4-6, he's slowly been passed by Bol Bol, Rui, or Nassir depending on the mock.

Cam is in a tough spot, remember, he committed before both RJ and Zion did. I'm sure he's happy with the players on his team, but it's gotta be tough being the 3rd WING option. It wouldn't be an issue if Cam, RJ, and Zion played vastly different positions (say PG, wing, post), but they all kind of do the same thing, Cam happens to shoot it the best of all them though.

I'm not worried about his shooting, he's just ice-cold, better now than middle of January, right?? The form isn't perfect, but his form was the same against UK and he was on fire. What I am worried about is he needs to get a lot stronger with the ball, I knew he was gonna fumble the ball last night before it even happend.

The bright side....he doesn't let his poor offense influence his defense. He's long, athletic, has the potential to be an A-list defender.

 

[Canadian Dukie]

Let's hope it comes,without him getting going our 3 point shooting is going to be an Achilles heel all year.Alex is not getting enough good looks,Jack's doing ok but he only takes 2-3 a game,R.J.and Zion are not very good,and are not expected to be,its not a big part of their games..We really need Cam to figure it out.

 

[Guffeys]

Cam Reddish played great defense and helped create turnovers when it really mattered. He’s a baller.

 

[dukiejay]

The bright side....he doesn't let his poor offense influence his defense. He's long, athletic, has the potential to be an A-list defender.

This is the biggest thing for me. He hasn't let the rest of his game go. He's still making an impact.

Having said all of that, we really need him to find his stroke. Right now, this isn't even just a below-average shooting team. I'd take below-average.

 

[DukeDenver]

Justise will be served by Feb, March and April.

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

Most updated mocks now have Cam anywhere from 4-6, he's slowly been passed by Bol Bol, Rui, or Nassir depending on the mock.

Cam is in a tough spot, remember, he committed before both RJ and Zion did. I'm sure he's happy with the players on his team, but it's gotta be tough being the 3rd WING option.

I'm not worried about his shooting, he's just ice-cold, better now than middle of January, right?? The form isn't perfect, but his form was the same against UK and he was on fire. What I am worried about is he needs to get a lot stronger with the ball, I knew he was gonna fumble the ball last night before it even happend.

The bright side....he doesn't let his poor offense influence his defense. He's long, athletic, has the potential to be an A-list defender.

I don't think RJ and Zion being on the team hurts Cam at all. They all have a lot of freedom on the court.

I'm def worried about his shooting. As of right now, his Offensive Rating is 10th on the team, WAY behind AOC who's 9th.

With a third of the season done, I think we can identify what guys can and can't do. I think Cam's role is going to be 3 and D. His Defensive Rating is 4th best on the team, and we have to hope he can get his 3P% up to the high 30s at least. But he doesn't have the handle to break guys down off the dribble, and doesn't have the strength to finish at the basket. Fortunately we kept recruiting after we landed Cam, so him being a more limited offensive player than expected doesn't hurt us too much if he can focus on what we need from him.

 

[crazyduke3]

He’s stays focused on defense and I love him for It. Really sign of his quality of character. It’s really cool.

As highly regarded as he was for his offensive capability I wonder how he looks so awful at driving the ball. It’s just bad.

I AM curious how much his injury affected him that regard/ still is, to give him a lil benefit of the doubt. But if your on the court no excuses.

 

[PatrickYates]

I am going to throw out something that a lot of folks won't like.

Harrison Barnes.

I'll freely admit it isn't a perfect comparison. But, like HBFU, Cam is a guy who has ideal size, near ideal athleticism, and is a good shooter. Cam is probably a better perimeter shooter at the same point in his career, but I don't know if it is by a huge amount. Cam is also a much better defender, but HBFU was a more willing rebounder.
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HBFU's biggest problem was dribbling vs a quality defender, or dribbling into a crowd. HBFU dribbled the ball too far away from his body, inviting tip aways. I see a lot of that in Cam. If you can't dribble under pressure, your options on O dwindle.
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I think Cam is better, so far, than HBFU was. But a lot of that is because Cam played very well early on. The last few weeks he's been worse than HBFU's fr average level of play on offense.
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I can see why the recruiting services dinged his effort and engagement. He should be dominant. He should be the best player on the court, but the effort and consistency just isn't there.

 

[DukefanKY]

Justise will be served by Feb, March and April.

I see what you did there!!

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

I can see why the recruiting services dinged his effort and engagement. He should be dominant. He should be the best player on the court, but the effort and consistency just isn't there.

This line of thinking just isn't supported by data. Using Box Plus/Minus (basically, contributions on Offense and Defense relative to an "average" player), Cam is 10th (at 5.6). Solid on D, terrible on O. If you ignored high school rankings and the "eye test", Jack White should be starting over Cam (at 13.0).

Just looking at minutes played last night, Cam was our 6th man. As we get into much tougher ACC games, Cam may stay a starter but his minutes will continue to decline if he can't be much more efficient on O.

 

[dukiejay]

I am going to throw out something that a lot of folks won't like.

Harrison Barnes.

I'll freely admit it isn't a perfect comparison. But, like HBFU, Cam is a guy who has ideal size, near ideal athleticism, and is a good shooter. Cam is probably a better perimeter shooter at the same point in his career, but I don't know if it is by a huge amount. Cam is also a much better defender, but HBFU was a more willing rebounder.
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HBFU's biggest problem was dribbling vs a quality defender, or dribbling into a crowd. HBFU dribbled the ball too far away from his body, inviting tip aways. I see a lot of that in Cam. If you can't dribble under pressure, your options on O dwindle.
.
I think Cam is better, so far, than HBFU was. But a lot of that is because Cam played very well early on. The last few weeks he's been worse than HBFU's fr average level of play on offense.
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I can see why the recruiting services dinged his effort and engagement. He should be dominant. He should be the best player on the court, but the effort and consistency just isn't there.

I actually don't totally disagree with this. I do think Barnes was a better shooter coming into college, though.

They are very similar players.

 

[skysdad]

Did any of you notice when Cam came out of the game for the last time last night Coache K looked him right in the eyes and said something to him. I do not know what he said but it would show positive from the way Coach K was looking at him even though Cam's back was to the camera he reacted well. At some point this season Cam is gonna have some great moments and some of us will post. " I'm sure glad we got him. " OFC

 

[1156jack]

I can’t explain why, but this kid is one of my all time favorites.

 

[chov1125]

Kid just needs confidence. I think he’s putting too much pressure on himself to not get lapped by his teammates. Confidence works both ways, it can grow rapidly and it can snowball the wrong direction. He hit a shooting slump so he started to force drives. He may have been able to get away with a loose dribble in AAU or high school, but that will get your pocket picked every time at the DI level. I truly think he just needs to see a few shots go in. That will let some air out of the balloon and he can get back to being a dominant player. The longer this goes, the harder it becomes to break out. Like I said we try new things when old things stop working. Shot isn’t falling, let me drive. Drives aren’t working let me pull up. When everything isn’t working a defeated attitude starts to mount.

Coach K may need to handle Cam in a special way to coach him back up. If we can just see a shot or 2 fall I think he’ll be fine.

I have no problem with him being a 3&D guy. That is all this team needs from him.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

I can just feel he's not that far from breaking out, and when he does our Devils are going to be on another level. It's coming.

OFC

 

[Mac9192]

I like Cam, even though he’s struggling right now. I like Tre, RJ, Zion, Jack, Javin... I like them all. I’ll take what I’ve seen, good or bad, out of this team every day, and twice on Sunday.
A pleasure watching a bunch of kids that want to win, play hard, and want to please K.

 

[BlueDaveil]

I’m not at all worried about Cam breaking out of his slump. Ingram, Tatum, Justise, Gary etc. all went through cold spells and some shooting woes during their freshman campaigns (and none of them hit 7 3’s in a game like Cam already has). If anything, teams’ first and second focuses will be to limit Zion and RJs ability to penetrate. That should lead to plenty of space for cam to shoot as well as him often being guarded by a team’s 3rd best and undersized defender.

 

[lyonhawk]

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I can see why the recruiting services dinged his effort and engagement. He should be dominant. He should be the best player on the court, but the effort and consistency just isn't there.

This is one of your worst hot takes. To say that Cam SHOULD be the best player on the same court as RJ and Zion is just plain wrong. And his continued effort despite his offensive struggles has been his biggest strength to date.

 

[chov1125]

This is one of your worst hot takes. To say that Cam SHOULD be the best player on the same court as RJ and Zion is just plain wrong. And his continued effort despite his offensive struggles has been his biggest strength to date.

I don’t think he meant it in that way. I agree with a lot of his points in that post, but the effort/engagement is definitely not one of them. If Cam stopped shooting or fell asleep on defense I would agree that his woes has led to a disengagement of sorts. But that isn’t the case. He’s shooting, he’s driving, he’s playing hard defense. His shots just aren’t going in.

 

[timo0402]

Justise will be served by Feb, March and April.

I see what you did there

 

[timo0402]

I don’t think he meant it in that way. I agree with a lot of his points in that post, but the effort/engagement is definitely not one of them. If Cam stopped shooting or fell asleep on defense I would agree that his woes has led to a disengagement of sorts. But that isn’t the case. He’s shooting, he’s driving, he’s playing hard defense. His shots just aren’t going in.

Only disagreement I’ll say with this and to Patrick is i think he has let missed shots cause him to not take some of the shots that he should take. I think that also causes you to rush and try to make other things happen that aren’t there bc you’re not confident in your shot- the charges he was called for were all charges (unlike Zions and RJ). Meaning it affects his decision making. The speed of the game then gets sped up for him. His handle certainly needs to get tightened up. All that being said i disagree with Pat and Hokie who think he’s the most talented player. He’s not- RJ is and it’s not close. Not to me at least. I do think it’ll click though.

On the no shirt under the jersey comment though, i want to say he started the UK game warmups and intros with one and then didn’t have it. I could be wrong on that from memory but can check. If that’s the secret sauce, let the T-shirt go.

 

[2 skerz 3]

I appreciate that he doesn’t pout and quit playing hard on defense when he isn’t scoring well. Almost everyone on our team is like that and I appreciate it as a fan. Now if we could get everyone to do that we will take another big step imo.

 

[df64]

I think Cam is trying too hard on offense. Like RJ and Zion, he forces too many drives. Unlike the other 2, he does not have the strength to get away with driving into traffic. To me he needs to be better at doing less. Take good 3s, use more shot fakes and side steps to get open looks, and develop a mid range game where he pulls up before he hits too much traffic and takes a good shot or dishes down low if he draws the D too him.
I agree with you Yates on the lack of strength and his loose handle dooming far too many of his drives. But his effort and success on D negates the lack of engagement arguement.

 

[timo0402]

I think Cam is trying too hard on offense. Like RJ and Zion, he forces too many drives. Unlike the other 2, he does not have the strength to get away with driving into traffic. To me he needs to be better at doing less. Take good 3s, use more shot fakes and side steps to get open looks, and develop a mid range game where he pulls up before he hits too much traffic and takes a good shot or dishes down low if he draws the D too him.
I agree with you Yates on the lack of strength and his loose handle dooming far too many of his drives. But his effort and success on D negates the lack of engagement arguement.

Use more shot fakes is probably the best thing about this post. Agree completely. Something JJ showed is an art to be utilized.

 

[dukefan5566]

I can’t explain why, but this kid is one of my all time favorites.

He's mine too. I just have a soft spot for him and really want to see him turn into a killer. The guy has all the measurables and talent. I think part of where my empathy for him comes from is because his struggles seem to be purely mental and that can be so unbelievably frustrating. I wonder if seeing a sports psychologist would be beneficial. I guarantee that if he can pull it together and hit three 3s a game at 40%, Duke is never out of a game this season.

 

[timo0402]

He's mine too. I just have a soft spot for him and really want to see him turn into a killer. The guy has all the measurables and talent. I think part of where my empathy for him comes from is because his struggles seem to be purely mental and that can be so unbelievably frustrating. I wonder if seeing a sports psychologist would be beneficial. I guarantee that if he can pull it together and hit three 3s a game at 40%, Duke is never out of a game this season.

Sports psychologists might be taking it a bit too far, but then again it’s nearly 2019. He just needs to see a few to in. When the light goes on (he’s only 12 games in) look out.

 

[dachampishere2]

Cam will be just fine. Shots just aren’t falling. He’s trying to settle into a role. Naturally he’s someone that has the ball in his hands a lot. But now he doesn’t have the ball much and he’s struggling to adjust at the moment on the offensive end. He’s thinking too much when he has the ball. You can tell by how he just kind of look nervous when he has to dribble. His best moments this year has been when people start to trash talk him. His whole demeanor changes. That killer has to be brought out of him. He reminds me of Ingram. Ingram struggles early on to find a place. Once Coach K enabled him to be himself he took off. I think we should have times where when Tre comes out for a breather that we slide Cam to point guard. He’s scorer but a willing passer. That’s just my opinion from watching him play

 

[2 skerz 3]

Come on guys. A sports psychologist because a guy is struggling shooting the ball 10 games into his college career? The way some of you think, maybe an everyday run of the mill psychologist is needed on this board lol

 

[TheDude1]

Did any of you notice when Cam came out of the game for the last time last night Coache K looked him right in the eyes and said something to him. I do not know what he said but it would show positive from the way Coach K was looking at him even though Cam's back was to the camera he reacted well. At some point this season Cam is gonna have some great moments and some of us will post. " I'm sure glad we got him. " OFC

Yep, noticed that. K was smiling. It seemed like a good interaction.

I can’t explain why, but this kid is one of my all time favorites.

One of your all time favorites? I am hoping that is some SERIOUS hyperbole... I’d have a hard time putting him in my top five favorites on THIS team!

 

[LTDukeFan]

Hey Cam — just keep shooting the rock. Mojo is on the way.

 

[dukefan5566]

Come on guys. A sports psychologist because a guy is struggling shooting the ball 10 games into his college career? The way some of you think, maybe an everyday run of the mill psychologist is needed on this board lol

He has a history of streakiness, motivation issues, etc. Its not to suggest he is troubled. A sports psychologist could pull the best out of him. Sports are much more than thephysical. You train those all the time. Why not train your psyche as well.

 

[bmbritt]

Did any of you notice when Cam came out of the game for the last time last night Coache K looked him right in the eyes and said something to him. I do not know what he said but it would show positive from the way Coach K was looking at him even though Cam's back was to the camera he reacted well. At some point this season Cam is gonna have some great moments and some of us will post. " I'm sure glad we got him. " OFC

Pretty sure K said something like “I love you kid or Cam.” Saw exactly what you’re talking about.

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

Cam is forcing his offense. He was spectacular driving game 1, since then it seems his handle has continued to get looser and he’s continually driven to deep. It’s odd for sure. Usually you tell a kid struggling with his shot to go get easy buckets- it hasn’t worked here. We need Cam floating on the perimeter- we’ve got To have a legit kick out threat. He’s that guy. I fully believe Cam bust out and never looks back. Few homes games will help

 

[layneja]

I can’t explain why, but this kid is one of my all time favorites.

Not all time for me but definitely on this team.
Check the avatar.

 

[df64]

Let's not forget that he was willing to take that big 3 at the end of the the game when the pressure was on and he was working on an 0 for and BURRIED it! Clutch and ballsy.

 

[Jacket4]

Like you all I too feel Can at times forces his game. I also believe he is still hurt. The kid had a groin injury and a cracked rib prior to the season. Two types of injuries that can linger for a while and cause tightness. When Cam drives and moves he looks very stiff and not fluid at all, which has contributed to him turning the ball over. Go back and watch his high school film and he doesn't move the same making me think the kid is playing hurt.

Anyone that knows basketball can watch Cam for just a few minutes and drool over the talent and natural tools he has. I am not worried about his shot it will come and go all year long. I will be watching closely how Cam moves with/without the ball and see if he ever loosens up. If he does that I believe it will help hia game alot.

Also I would like to see Cam get the ball in the mid range/post more. His height and length should allow him to post up small guards.

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

The odds of a consensus top 5ish recruit continuing to play this poorly are pretty low. Unfortunately we have one recent example with Duval.

Hard to believe Cam won't improve from here, even if he doesn't get to the level we all expected. Agree that his attitude remains great and hasn't impacted his play on D.

There's a lot of love on this team, which, corny as it sounds, makes them a better team on the court and off.

 

[dukesince91]

Pretty sure K said something like “I love you kid or Cam.” Saw exactly what you’re talking about.

I noticed that exchange too. Cam smiled real big and I was thinking that as poorly as he shot, he still came through late in the game. I felt like he was probably feeling like he contributed more to this win than most of the recent games. I think it's about to click real soon!