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***DUKE VS GONZAGA OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

Roach hit one of the biggest buckets of the game, so gotta give him some props for hangin in.

Yeah. He's really good at driving. So is Keels. He made a really good driving layup. But he also took some ill-advised 3s.

Keels is a really good player. My concern is his not taking good shots and that's the comp I see with Barrett is trying to do too much one-on-one. That's always the challenge with a OAD freshman.

Among the worst 3s for college players - which drives me crazy - is off the dribble. The pull-up jump shot 3 is simply a bad shot. Even unguarded. Yet, K just doesn't seem to hinder those. Both Keels and Roach take too many of those. Really no one on the team should unless it's a necessity. It's different if it's a 10-12 footer open in the lane. But I just don't think they even know the differences. A catch and shoot 3 has a much higher percentage - even for NBA players - than a drive and pull up.
 
Duke just beat the top ranked team in America, and we are still complaining? 😉

It's not a complaint about the game itself as a team. Lots of great play. It's about a weakness that needs some correction. We could have won that by 10-15.

But we smoked a ton of teams with arguably the two best players in the entire country in Zion and Barrett but the flaws, particularly Barrett's, were never corrected and they hurt us in the NCAA tourney.

We might get away with it but the flaws should be corrected (and in years past, esp. with OAD players, K has been unwilling to do so).
 
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It's not a complaint about the game itself as a team. Lots of great play. It's about a weakness that needs some correction. We could have won that by 10-15.

But we smoked a ton of teams with arguably the two best players in the entire country in Zion and Barrett but the flaws, particularly Barrett's, were never corrected and they hurt us in the NCAA tourney.

We might get away with it but the flaws should be corrected (and in years past, esp. with OAD players, K has been unwilling to do so).

Its decision making for me. read the game and the flow....Roach was not shooting well so try to be productive in other areas..don't just keep jacking it up...his drive and score at the end was the right choice...there were a couple of stretches where we lost that flow and it helped the Zags get close each time. The learning curve and experience from this game should be a great catalyst for us going into the rest of the season
 
honestly, keels didn’t have barrett’s pedigree so i’m a little more forgiving of he and roach’s play. especially relative to the consensus top recruit. he wasn’t a top 10 guy or even a projected starter before the season. keels is EXTREMELY solid defensively as a freshmen and his poise has impacted the team immensely even if he’s not hitting shots.

so i’m more willing to accept his early season lumps as a freshman guard who’s way exceeding expectations. is there room for improvement? yes. but unlike barrett, keels doesn’t have to be our #1, or even #2 best player for us to beat teams.

this team is a much better defensive team than RJ’s team, so i get it but K will get this team dialed in. i’m way higher on this team because they’re very well rounded from 1-8
 
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We’ve only played 7 games, but I don’t get the same feeling as a few on here about this team. This group just looks tougher, and more complete. Plus, we are a little more experienced. Moore seems to be the leader, something most of K’s prior OAD led teams lacked. We also have a big in Williams, who doesn’t need the ball, and seems to enjoy being a defensive force.

I don’t know what the rest of the season looks like, or how we will do, but, I like this team. A lot. I was skeptical going into Friday night. Honestly, I wasn’t sold on Wendell. I think I was wrong.

Hoping he’s “the guy” K always has had on his title teams. You know, the one that seems to always make the winning plays when it gets to crunch time.
 
It's amazing how much tougher the addition of Keels, Banchero, and Theo has made us. And AJ too, he'll get there. Williams and Moore and playing smart and physical. Ohio State may be almost as big a test as Gonzaga, if we can go into that hostile environment and get a W that would be very impressive. I think we could have used Steward's shooting this year, but that ship has sailed. And then we probably don't get Keels. And no more cramping please. I'd like to see Blakes get some minutes after the OSU game, Roach should not be playing 30 plus minutes a game. Or perhaps AJ getting more minutes helps with that. Or maybe coach is throwing Roach into the fire hoping for season long improvement.
 
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I do think our guards need to shoot better down the line, but we just beat the number one ranked team so these are nice problems to have. But a 5 for 24 performance in the tournament could send us home, so I expect that to improve. We have a month to get AJ into the regular rotation which is great.
Agree. I’m hoping that come January, we can count on both Griffin and Moore to shoot above 40% from 3 point range. Right now, I trust Moore over anyone to make a needed 3 pointer. Think Griffin takes over that role come our conference schedule but have to see it first.
 
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yeah i’m really hopeful griffin can develop and give us quality minutes because his talent could really make an impact in certain matchups. we can go huge with keels, moore, griffin, banchero, and williams.

really big shoutout to theo john. to have a tough physical senior who can come into a game against the number 1 team and hit smooth jump hooks is something to not take for granted. dude is an awesome fit for this team as a guy to give big minutes off the bench
 
wendell is also an absolute joy to watch. he’s a winning player without question. really has a complete game from all 3 levels. can drive it with power, hits midrange shots, and has solid range
 
It's not a complaint about the game itself as a team. Lots of great play. It's about a weakness that needs some correction. We could have won that by 10-15.

But we smoked a ton of teams with arguably the two best players in the entire country in Zion and Barrett but the flaws, particularly Barrett's, were never corrected and they hurt us in the NCAA tourney.

We might get away with it but the flaws should be corrected (and in years past, esp. with OAD players, K has been unwilling to do so).
Yea I’m just teasing a bit. I’m bullish on keels and roach now so maybe I’m not being critical enough....
 
Lots of great play in this game. Banchero was a beast in the first half, but sheesh can we get the kid hydrated? Moore was excellent in the second half. Great D played by many. Yes, I also love that we picked up John. He brings poise, experience and a big body that isn't going to be pushed around. A couple of those rebounds he was 1 on 3 and still came away with the ball! Beast mode! Agree that Roach's layup at the end was the game winner, that will build his confidence. And Joey with 2 threes (yes, the bank was open on one) was big.

Best part about the win for me was no dumbass, chest thumping comments from our players. I always thought it was a low class move by Hachimura when they beat the Zion/Barret team. I guess that's why we are Duke, and we know we belong playing and winning at this level, and some other programs just don't.

Bring on Ohio State! Should be another great test!
 
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