This is how it’s been for any player that’s not a one and done candidate. Everyone has a leash that’s not a Zion/ rj type player. It’s absolutely scary to me that we are legitimately a two man team at this point, being halfway through the season. Cam has made strides, but shooting wise he is still terrible percentage wise, O’Connell can’t get a chance on the floor, jack white is in a funk, bolden is good for 2-4 baskets a game and Javin bless his heart adds nothing more often than something. Zion is unstoppable, but barret isn’t in my opinion. This could prove deadly in March.
***DUKE VS PITT OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***
- Thread starter krzyzewskiville
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This is how it’s been for any player that’s not a one and done candidate. Everyone has a leash that’s not a Zion/ rj type player. It’s absolutely scary to me that we are legitimately a two man team at this point, being halfway through the season. Cam has made strides, but shooting wise he is still terrible percentage wise, O’Connell can’t get a chance on the floor, jack white is in a funk, bolden is good for 2-4 baskets a game and Javin bless his heart adds nothing more often than something. Zion is unstoppable, but barret isn’t in my opinion. This could prove deadly in March.
Terrific dialogue about development of bench players and less heralded starters! I am totally convinced Jack's shooting woes are between the ears at this point- he simply thinks ball is not going in hoop...Javin has obviously regressed last few games, a foul machine, to's and just doesnt look as comfortable....Blew an easy gift last nite...
AOC....What can I say? I honestly feel this kid has more potential/ability on the team than anyone after the fabulous foursome. He was lights out vs Syracuse, and that shot going out of bounds from corner as shot clock was going off??? Thats pure hoops skill you dont teach!!! He was on fire vs Cuse because he knew in that shorthanded situation he could just play!
I agree he needs more PT, needs to know his leash is longer. The kid can play. I call him Marty Pocius II, who was gifted but didnt see much court time. Agree with Show- hes in hot water w/K for something hes done in locker room, practice, etc...(I am sure dancing w/the Wake cheerleaders prior to the Deacon game in W-S didnt win him any points.) I think however Bolden is blending in well (deserves to start), and was pleased w/Goldwire's handling of the offense during his stint last nite....
Ultimately of course its up to K- he's our fearless leader and those FIVE RINGS cannot be challenged....
#InKweTrust
AOC....What can I say? I honestly feel this kid has more potential/ability on the team than anyone after the fabulous foursome. He was lights out vs Syracuse, and that shot going out of bounds from corner as shot clock was going off??? Thats pure hoops skill you dont teach!!! He was on fire vs Cuse because he knew in that shorthanded situation he could just play!
I agree he needs more PT, needs to know his leash is longer. The kid can play. I call him Marty Pocius II, who was gifted but didnt see much court time. Agree with Show- hes in hot water w/K for something hes done in locker room, practice, etc...(I am sure dancing w/the Wake cheerleaders prior to the Deacon game in W-S didnt win him any points.) I think however Bolden is blending in well (deserves to start), and was pleased w/Goldwire's handling of the offense during his stint last nite....
Ultimately of course its up to K- he's our fearless leader and those FIVE RINGS cannot be challenged....
#InKweTrust
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I understand what you guys are saying about a balanced offense but putting things in perspective here is my take.
We beat a great Virginia team without our PG. We pretty much dismantled Pitt in their house against great coaching that knows Duke's system inside and out. Teams KNOW that they have to stop RJ and Zion and they CAN'T. I think it's a great luxury to have the two unstoppable studs night in and night out. Tre is out, Jack's in a slump, AoC is getting little burn and we would still make the FF with this formula and are still kicking mucho ass.
What I do know...We are getting Tre back, Jack will break out of his slump, Cam will show up and balance the offense, we have a GREAT defense (even with Tre on the bench) and we have the G.O.A.T
We are growing every game. For every F-up I see on the court I know at film session it is being addressed. I know our kids are hitting it hard everyday and every morning when they wake up they are better than the day before. We are young but we grow and get better each and everyday.
I have NO concerns whatsoever. We will take a few more hits and more than likely a couple of more losses but come tournament time we will be ready. At our very best there is no team in the country that we wouldn't blow out and come tournament time we will be at our best and fools are going to get hammered. It's ours for the taking and K will have our boys ready.
I am a half is glass full type of Honkey I guess.
We beat a great Virginia team without our PG. We pretty much dismantled Pitt in their house against great coaching that knows Duke's system inside and out. Teams KNOW that they have to stop RJ and Zion and they CAN'T. I think it's a great luxury to have the two unstoppable studs night in and night out. Tre is out, Jack's in a slump, AoC is getting little burn and we would still make the FF with this formula and are still kicking mucho ass.
What I do know...We are getting Tre back, Jack will break out of his slump, Cam will show up and balance the offense, we have a GREAT defense (even with Tre on the bench) and we have the G.O.A.T
We are growing every game. For every F-up I see on the court I know at film session it is being addressed. I know our kids are hitting it hard everyday and every morning when they wake up they are better than the day before. We are young but we grow and get better each and everyday.
I have NO concerns whatsoever. We will take a few more hits and more than likely a couple of more losses but come tournament time we will be ready. At our very best there is no team in the country that we wouldn't blow out and come tournament time we will be at our best and fools are going to get hammered. It's ours for the taking and K will have our boys ready.
I am a half is glass full type of Honkey I guess.
Excellent post, Honkey.
We're winning, and we're winning without our leader on the floor. We're winning on the road, we're winning with players in slumps, we're winning without making 3's, and we're winning without making a good percentage of fts. In summation, we're just plain winning. I can live with that.
OFC
I think Jack’s problem is he a has slowwwwwww release. Given the ACC caliber athletes, he went through a stretch where he was getting his 3 point shot blocked.
He was fine taking his time against the Princeton’s and Yale’s and UK’s of the world. But FSU, Syracuse, UVA he needs to fire that shot up quicker. It’s in his head now.
Also. Shout out to Cam’s defense, he was the defensive star at the top of that zone. Don’t get how we’re a 2 man team right now? Cam is excellent and we’re missing our leader?
He was fine taking his time against the Princeton’s and Yale’s and UK’s of the world. But FSU, Syracuse, UVA he needs to fire that shot up quicker. It’s in his head now.
Also. Shout out to Cam’s defense, he was the defensive star at the top of that zone. Don’t get how we’re a 2 man team right now? Cam is excellent and we’re missing our leader?
Agree with you and Honkey. But we have Zion, and no other team has anyone close to him. The kid is so freaking good, he’s able to hide some of our weaknesses.
I pretty much agree with @HonkeyT. We have the best player in the country and two of the top five or six. They make us really good, regardless. Marques continues to grow, Cam is starting to come around and Tre should be returning to the lineup soon.
Jack is struggling with his shot right now, but I don't really think it's causing other parts of his game to disappear. I like what he's doing....although making a couple shots would make me like it more.
Javin is in something beyond a slump right now. I'm not sure if part of that is due to the emergence of Marques, but he just looks like a fish out of water. He had fit perfectly into his role and then the Florida State game happened. Since that game, he looks like a completely different player. As another poster alluded to, playing ACC teams is a little different than playing some of the teams we played in December.
As for AOC, yeah, I'm not real sure what's going on. I don't think the issue with him has ever been about shooting or scoring. We know he's capable of those things....what else does he offer? His +/- against Syracuse (his best game) wasn't good. While he made some shots and showed his ability as a scorer, he made two atrocious turnovers late in that game, too. Playing for K can be hard. He's been known to break kids down and build them up again....maybe that's what's happening here? I don't know.
Lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge Tre and just how good of a player he is for this team. What was the stat they showed last night? We shoot 51% with him in the lineup and 43% without....from three we're 34% with to 23% without? I know it's something like that. My point is, those numbers are pretty significant. Oh yeah, assists are way down and turnovers up. It's possible we're just de-valuing Tre's importance. Two weeks ago we were talking about how good he makes everyone around him both on offense and defense. Is it a complete coincidence some of these 'issues' are shining through more brightly in his absence?
Jack is struggling with his shot right now, but I don't really think it's causing other parts of his game to disappear. I like what he's doing....although making a couple shots would make me like it more.
Javin is in something beyond a slump right now. I'm not sure if part of that is due to the emergence of Marques, but he just looks like a fish out of water. He had fit perfectly into his role and then the Florida State game happened. Since that game, he looks like a completely different player. As another poster alluded to, playing ACC teams is a little different than playing some of the teams we played in December.
As for AOC, yeah, I'm not real sure what's going on. I don't think the issue with him has ever been about shooting or scoring. We know he's capable of those things....what else does he offer? His +/- against Syracuse (his best game) wasn't good. While he made some shots and showed his ability as a scorer, he made two atrocious turnovers late in that game, too. Playing for K can be hard. He's been known to break kids down and build them up again....maybe that's what's happening here? I don't know.
Lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge Tre and just how good of a player he is for this team. What was the stat they showed last night? We shoot 51% with him in the lineup and 43% without....from three we're 34% with to 23% without? I know it's something like that. My point is, those numbers are pretty significant. Oh yeah, assists are way down and turnovers up. It's possible we're just de-valuing Tre's importance. Two weeks ago we were talking about how good he makes everyone around him both on offense and defense. Is it a complete coincidence some of these 'issues' are shining through more brightly in his absence?
I forgot to include Jordan Goldwire. He deserves mention. Last night he provided just enough defense and allowed RJ to move off the ball some. To his credit, the kid isn't short on heart. He reminds me a bit of a young Tyler Thornton....probably neither the defender or offensive player (and Tyler wasn't great but made himself an adequate shooter) as Tyler, but he gives you absolutely everything he can. I wish he could have made the layup last night....I really think if he saw the ball go through the hoop a time or two it might help to ease his nerves some.
Marques deserves a ton of praise right now, he is playing great basketball and using his length on both ends of the floor. He's really playing hard and with a high motor which was a legit criticism of him the previous two years. His shot blocking and ability to alter shots is invaluable to our defense and he is doing a much better job finishing strong in the paint.
As many have included we must also keep things in perspective. We are winning basketball games and doing so against some really good teams. We have issues, we aren’t perfect, but would we trade places with any other team in the country? Hell no.
I would be more worried about our scoring distribution if we weren’t getting easy looks. Teams are literally scheming, trying to take away the lane from RJ and Zion and can’t. They are each very good at creating contact and finishing around the rim. I’ve said it a lot lately, the only thing that scares me is if we start getting 3 happy. When we drive good things happen.
I would be more worried about our scoring distribution if we weren’t getting easy looks. Teams are literally scheming, trying to take away the lane from RJ and Zion and can’t. They are each very good at creating contact and finishing around the rim. I’ve said it a lot lately, the only thing that scares me is if we start getting 3 happy. When we drive good things happen.
getting Jack back into his role of first off the bench may help as well
I don’t understand the idea that we’re a 2 person team right. Yeah Zion and RJ have been our top go to scorers the last few games since Tre has been out but that’s not really any different than before Tre got injured but over the last few games Cam has been scoring around his season average. Also Bolden has been playing pretty good recently. Overall I think we’ve been playing pretty good as a team but we’ve still got some areas to improve on but I think we’ll see improvement in those areas once Tre is back.
Throw RJ and Zion on any roster in the country, and that team is now a 2-man team.
The thought is stupid...they are just THAT much better than everyone else. The others are fine, they just aren’t these two.
The thought is stupid...they are just THAT much better than everyone else. The others are fine, they just aren’t these two.
I guess some think that we need to have everyone score about 10 points a game and then we would be a 5 man team. Lol
You want your best players taking the majority of the shots. This ain't rec ball!!!
Quoting yourself is lame!
So is responding to said quote
And they aren’t handing out participation trophies either.
Exactly we have two guys that will have a chance to be nba hall of famers. Would some of these guys rather javin or goldwire average 10 shots a game
“It’s not the fact that RJ takes shots, it’s the fact that he forces way too much...except against Florida St. I loved him after Florida St. because all of the shots dropped.”
- Duke fanbase in a microcosm
Just wanted to type it before someone else could. It sounded dumb as I was typing it and looks just as dumb when I read it back.
Best team in the country hands down. That’s just what it is. We won’t play our A game every single game. They’re young so they’ll take it easy on weaker teams. But when the lights come on they’re ready. Is it just me or RJ is that good of a defender to where he never comes close to being in foul trouble? Zion and Cam always get 2 fouls in the first. RJ never had fouls. Whatever he’s doing he need to keep it up. But I do wonder how Cam would look without RJ on the floor
More importantly, IMO, K now has a D that will work when Tre comes out for rest. WIth the rest of the team out there, the zone becomes insane because of the absurd length and quickness with RJ and Cam at the top of the Zone.
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Our half court O was never going to be great this due to the lack of perimeter shooting. When our D is generating steals and bad misses, this isn't as obvious because we got down on O before the other team was set in their D, even if it wasn't a true fast break. This lead to more easier shots for the guys.
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With Tre Back, the D will pick back up, and we'll get a few more easier buckets.
