I still think Duke is vulnerable to an older physical team. We are bound to see one of them in the NCAA tournament. Refs seem to have no interest in keeping the game clean by calling non-shooting fouls in the tournament.
Can this team be a contender?
- Thread starter Mac9192
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This team is super talented, it’s refreshing to be a good shooting team, which I believe we are. The downside to that is we don’t get a lot of easy baskets and some older stronger teams could see us as soft.
A big key to making a run in March will be how the games are officiated. We want a tight whistle, if the refs allow for a physical game (like Tennessee last year) than I’m not sure we have the enforcers to hit back. Generally the whistle in March is tight; however it wasn’t last year in our loss.
Proctor, man. He has to be a contributor, he needs to hit shots and not turn the ball over. We need him on the floor for his defense. Foster and Roach are small, Proctor is not, we need him.
A big key to making a run in March will be how the games are officiated. We want a tight whistle, if the refs allow for a physical game (like Tennessee last year) than I’m not sure we have the enforcers to hit back. Generally the whistle in March is tight; however it wasn’t last year in our loss.
Proctor, man. He has to be a contributor, he needs to hit shots and not turn the ball over. We need him on the floor for his defense. Foster and Roach are small, Proctor is not, we need him.
I don’t think it’s being unfair to state that Flip struggles against big opponents- if that’s not in every opponent’s scouting report, they’re not doing their job. That’s our Achilles heel, IMO. That said, we need to be hot from the outside on O, and on D our guards and wings have to apply great ball pressure to make it difficult for our opponent to get easy low post entry passes. Tall order ( no pun intended), as we’ve had difficulty pulling off both pieces this year.
Latest mock draft has Flip and McCain solidly in the first round, Mitchell and Proctor not in either round. Although these things can change quickly. If Proctor has some 20 plus point games he will probably be back on there, and that would be a huge boost to us. If we could somehow get Proctor and Mitchell back (with Foster and Stewart) we could be dominant next year. My guess is Proctor improves and goes, but you never know. Flip was 11th, so clearly the scouts like him.
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The down side to McCain being in the scouting report now is Does a team take away his shooting and force him to drive ( which he is crafty at if ) or does he take focus by the opposing team over Roach ?
It’s a good problem to have shey. It would be fantastic to have all of the offensive weapons clicking at once like they showed in the game at Pitt in January.
Great All Around Win! The Blue Devils are Rounding Into Form!
These guys love playing for each other!
These guys love playing for each other!
I'm not trying to get all giddy about this team yet, but, they have something in common with all of our title teams, or the one's that reached the final four. Which is, all five starters are averaging double figures, with Foster (6th man) at about 8 a game. The one exception was the 10 team.
The part that is still up in the air is our defense. If we really are trending, it will be what gets Duke to Phoenix on April 6th.
The part that is still up in the air is our defense. If we really are trending, it will be what gets Duke to Phoenix on April 6th.
Mac as always you really broke it down to the realistic, nitty-gritty!! Having threats to score at all positions is key, and of course DEFENSE!!
Wake can really score the ball. Saturday in W-S will tell us a GREAT DEAL about our D.
OFC
I’ve enjoyed the defense all season, it’s strong, but still can Improve and become Elite. This season Duke has held all of their opponents to their season lows in points scored with the exception of 3 games, that is very good defense imo.
Duke needs to cut down on the boneheaded turnovers they are making. There were 2 or 3 turnovers last night which were simply the player receiving the pass not going towards the ball to receive it, as a result Miami had 2-3 uncontested breakaway dunks, have to clean up those unforced errors!!!
If we beat Wake they will be 17 and 10, which is very much on the bubble. They are undefeated at home though and beating us probably gets them in. To me the second UNC game will tell us more. We also have to go to NC State, which has been a house of horrors for us.
This is fun, but I am not going to ecstasy land yet. Good job! I shall enjoy!
A win at Wake will show if we're for real or not.
They talked about it during the Miami game, but I like how Scheyer has taken his own philosophies on defense and not just adapted K’s philosophy. For much of the 2010’s, I thought K’s “overplay everything, get in passing lanes, take them out of their offense” didn’t particularly work. The rule changes where you can’t touch anyone are the main reason for that, along with playing a lot of freshman. His style was great when you could hand check.
Scheyer seems to be teaching more of a pack-line style defense where not many turnovers will be forced but you also aren’t getting beat off the dribble constantly and the goal is to make the opponent take contested jump shots.
I think our defense is fine this year. We sit at 22 in KenPom, if we make a run, we will be top 20 which is the recipe for a champion. I do think we are still very vulnerable to get destroyed inside versus a dominant big man, but there just isn’t many of them out there. Bacot in Cameron will be another great test as he got whatever he wanted last game.
Scheyer seems to be teaching more of a pack-line style defense where not many turnovers will be forced but you also aren’t getting beat off the dribble constantly and the goal is to make the opponent take contested jump shots.
I think our defense is fine this year. We sit at 22 in KenPom, if we make a run, we will be top 20 which is the recipe for a champion. I do think we are still very vulnerable to get destroyed inside versus a dominant big man, but there just isn’t many of them out there. Bacot in Cameron will be another great test as he got whatever he wanted last game.
But that’s because Ingram was hitting every shot he took . Play a bigger guard/person on him and he’s not gonna show out and Bacot will have to carry the load which I don’t think he can .
Good discussion here. IMHO unless we come up against an Edey type big, we should be fine guarding the 5. I think the bigger concern is if we come up against a big, strong, old 3,4,5 lineup that outmuscles us in a physical game. But as is always said, so much of the NCAA tourney is about matchups.
I sure do like the way we are trending! A convincing win Saturday would set up a really big UNC matchup which I am begging to see.
I sure do like the way we are trending! A convincing win Saturday would set up a really big UNC matchup which I am begging to see.
I think Flip has started showing positive signs to adjusting his post defense. He’s staying out of foul trouble, now if he will quit with the dribble - spin move 15 feet from the basket I’ll be happy. I know Miami was without two of their starters (according to Bilas), but our team is definitely playing better team ball both on offense and defense. Defensive communication was great against Miami.
I’m looking forward to seeing the Wake game.
I’m looking forward to seeing the Wake game.
Mitchell was guarding Ingram for the most part, that’s our best option IMO. All of Ingrams 3’s were wide open except for 1 ridiculous one. And they were wide open because we doubled Bacot everytime he caught the ball down low because Flip just doesn’t have the strength and would get in immediate foul trouble.
Flip must make Bacot pay on the other end, he’s too slow to guard Flip. He didn’t hurt them enough at UNC, let’s hope he does in Cameron.
Tomorrow should tell us all if we are a good defensive team. Wake is dangerous. Just ask Pitt.
We’ve got two weeks before we play the holes. A lot can happen between now and then.
We’ve got two weeks before we play the holes. A lot can happen between now and then.
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I am very interested in whether we come out strong against Wake and play competitively the entire game, or shrink from the pressure Wake will put on us and lose by 10 or more.
Wake is capable of a great shooting night and other than guard all over the floor and switch everything, there's not a lot we can do about that. But it's a good measure of where we are.
Wake is capable of a great shooting night and other than guard all over the floor and switch everything, there's not a lot we can do about that. But it's a good measure of where we are.
I don’t see us shrinking. If they shoot lights out and beat us, it wasn’t our day.
What I do want to see us clean up is the stupid and unforced turnovers. That to me is where we need to clean up the most. Don’t beat ourselves.
No Mitchell was not guarding him for the most part . McCain and Foster and Roach were switching on him . If Mitchell had been guarding him for the most part no way he goes off like he did .
That was my biggest arguement in the game day thread was why did Duke have small guards on him
No lazy half court passes. Make an effort to box out. Limit our spin moves in traffic (!). Dive for every loose ball (i.e., play as hard as Ryan Young does every single play). Do that, and I'm good with the effort.
Game tomorrow at Wake first sell out in 7 years. Giving away tie dye shirts the whole 9 yards. We need to spoil their day tomorrow
Duke will always be the biggest show in college hoops. I also saw Wake is -1.5 which I hope fires us up. Duke is never the underdog
We're 2.5 point underdogs tomorrow. A win tomorrow will be huge
I’m surprised by that line but no matter. Anything could happen on the road, but I really think we show up tomorrow and pull out a solid win.
Well, looks like quality teams on the road are hard to beat. Might need to start looking at next year.
We could still make a run. Sweet 16 would be my guess, maybe further with the right match up.
Good thing ncaa tournament games are played on Neutral Courts, right?
Funny how a lot of posters on here were giddy about how well the team has been playing and after sustaining a tough road loss to a team who needed this win to strengthen their resume everything is doom and gloom with this roster.
Relax, you would have thought Duke lost to a mid major this afternoon lol
Funny how a lot of posters on here were giddy about how well the team has been playing and after sustaining a tough road loss to a team who needed this win to strengthen their resume everything is doom and gloom with this roster.
Relax, you would have thought Duke lost to a mid major this afternoon lol
Chris, you did say earlier Duke can’t win games against good teams.
Every single team has losses this season, there is no team that is a cut above the rest. As long as The Blue Devils are Healthy in the Tournament they can play with any team in the country.
Purdue lost to Nebraska, Ohio State
UConn lost @ Creighton and @ Seton Hall
Houston has gotten blown out
Tennessee has gotten blown out
Kansas has gotten blown out
Unc has lost to Syracuse and has gotten blown out
Arizona has gotten blown out and swept by Washington State
^ if any of these teams are considered “elite 8 good” what is it exactly about them that makes them elite 8 good and not Duke elite 8 good? Is getting blown out an “elite 8” good team characteristic?
I’m Proud The Blue Devils have not gotten blown out at any point this season, which not every team can say.
Every single team has losses this season, there is no team that is a cut above the rest. As long as The Blue Devils are Healthy in the Tournament they can play with any team in the country.
Purdue lost to Nebraska, Ohio State
UConn lost @ Creighton and @ Seton Hall
Houston has gotten blown out
Tennessee has gotten blown out
Kansas has gotten blown out
Unc has lost to Syracuse and has gotten blown out
Arizona has gotten blown out and swept by Washington State
^ if any of these teams are considered “elite 8 good” what is it exactly about them that makes them elite 8 good and not Duke elite 8 good? Is getting blown out an “elite 8” good team characteristic?
I’m Proud The Blue Devils have not gotten blown out at any point this season, which not every team can say.
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I meant really good teams, not bubble teams. Beat UNC and we are fine. The turnovers in the last 2 minutes today are concerning. Still time to improve.
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I believe this team can contend. I know the role players are important, but it’s all about our core guys. And I hope they’re starting to click.
We have a few more regular season games to fine tune it, but other than a few sloppy turnovers at the end of today’s game, we could have easily won. In a very hostile environment. Very hostile.
Like I said in the game day thread, I’d like to see McCain have the ball in his hands a little more. He is unselfish, and loves the lights. Guys like that make winning plays.
We have a few more regular season games to fine tune it, but other than a few sloppy turnovers at the end of today’s game, we could have easily won. In a very hostile environment. Very hostile.
Like I said in the game day thread, I’d like to see McCain have the ball in his hands a little more. He is unselfish, and loves the lights. Guys like that make winning plays.
Every single championship Duke team has lost a game like today. The game isn't an indictment on our future. Sometimes a guy gets hot and you lose a home road game. I think we should be happy that our young guys are stepping up and hitting tough shots in big moments, win, lose, or draw.
Mac,
I was very impressed with how poised the team was with the exception of Duke’s last 5 possessions. Duke kept getting haymakers thrown at them throughout today’s game and every single time they kept responding back. Duke did not back down today and that’s what I am most proud of.
I was very impressed with how poised the team was with the exception of Duke’s last 5 possessions. Duke kept getting haymakers thrown at them throughout today’s game and every single time they kept responding back. Duke did not back down today and that’s what I am most proud of.
Spot on look at Duke’s two most recent National Championship Teams.
2010: Duke lost a nail biter @ Maryland in early March (would be Duke’s last loss that season).
2015: Duke lost in the ACC Semi’s to Notre Dame (The Irish won 2 out of 3 that season against Duke, again this would be Duke’s final loss of the season).
Failure is a part of life, it’s whether or not you learn from your failures that determines whether you experience success or not.
I hear you, but the last 5 possessions was the difference in the game. But overall this team is improving, and assuming Flip is okay has been playing well since the UNC game.
