Coach K has done this many times. Makes no sense. 2 walk ons, Blake’s, Baker and Jones should have played last 5-6 minutes. I wish a reporter had the balls to ask him about this but it won’t happen.
***DUKE VS SYRACUSE OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***
- Thread starter krzyzewskiville
- Start date
You are right but if we play 3 games in ACC tournament and he doesn’’t use the bench only bad things will happen in game 2-3-4 of NCAAs
We handled business as we should have against a depleted team. It was nice to see us respond every time that it seemed Syracuse had a little momentum. Let's keep it going against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. We should be top 5 Monday with the losses by Auburn, Purdue and Kentucky. Rooting for Baylor now to beat Kansas
I think we have enough weapons to at least make the elite eight. We are playing great. But I am referring to next year. I feel bad for Baker and Blakes. Throw them a bone.
I have no complaints. We played fantastic, save for the last 3 or so minutes of the first half. Banchero's passing was exquisite at times. Mark was a beast. I'm grinning from ear to ear. Got a great shot at winning the regular season. 25-4 overall and 15-3 in the conference. That's nothing to sneeze at!
You're right. I think this team can win it all. Great win. Banchero with some great scoring and assists to Williams. We were up 48-18. That's 1999 level dominance.
Last edited:
ALOT of top 10 teams take an L today. The best of all? That horrible kentucky fan base. We could get a 1 seed, but should get a 2 at worse case scenario
We win out the rest will take care of itself but we HAVE to win out. Let's not have a let down Tuesday. The last time we crushed Syracuse we almost had a let down the next game to Clemson at home
I mean no doubt this team can win it all. We have already beat UK and Gonzaga and that was pretty much without AJ.
AJ and Mark are our two most impactful players. I know Paolo gets the most hype and might put up the biggest box score numbers, but ya AJ and Mark are our 2 main guys.
AJ's shooting does so much for this offense. This is why I think Roach plays so well with AJ on the court. He pretty much gets to play 4 vs 4 because AJ's defender has to be glued to him. Which allows Roach to attack and facilitate. Mark is just a flat out beast, in the running for NDPOY. And the biggest thing, he isn't a liability on offense. He is one of our best FT shooters and is a good offensive player.
AJ and Mark are our two most impactful players. I know Paolo gets the most hype and might put up the biggest box score numbers, but ya AJ and Mark are our 2 main guys.
AJ's shooting does so much for this offense. This is why I think Roach plays so well with AJ on the court. He pretty much gets to play 4 vs 4 because AJ's defender has to be glued to him. Which allows Roach to attack and facilitate. Mark is just a flat out beast, in the running for NDPOY. And the biggest thing, he isn't a liability on offense. He is one of our best FT shooters and is a good offensive player.
I am ecstatic with the way we played, and especially pleased to see Paolo have a good game! How about the way he was lighting it up from the corner on those 3s???!!!
A few other comments: Mark Williams RATHER QUIETLY continues to be one of the best bigs in the nation. We continue to be pounded with Bacot from the talking heads, but give me Mark anyway.
Jeremy's play this week!! Double digit points off the bench in two ACC road games. We may as well have 6 starters. Kudos to Jeremy for accepting his role so well!
Also, props to The G.O.A.T. He really had us ready. Their crowd packed the place like sardines in hopes of an upset, but our preparation and execution out of the gate was phenomenal!!!
OFC
A few other comments: Mark Williams RATHER QUIETLY continues to be one of the best bigs in the nation. We continue to be pounded with Bacot from the talking heads, but give me Mark anyway.
Jeremy's play this week!! Double digit points off the bench in two ACC road games. We may as well have 6 starters. Kudos to Jeremy for accepting his role so well!
Also, props to The G.O.A.T. He really had us ready. Their crowd packed the place like sardines in hopes of an upset, but our preparation and execution out of the gate was phenomenal!!!
OFC
Duke could win it all if every team they play uses the zone defense. Two games against Syracuse and twenty point wins. Looks like this is a team built to break the zone . Now they just need to continue this offensive game plan in a half court and man to man defense.
I really think the writing is on the wall with Baker . At the end of the game he came in with all the walk ons wasn’t even barely moving with out the ball. A fresh start will do him good.
I really think the writing is on the wall with Baker . At the end of the game he came in with all the walk ons wasn’t even barely moving with out the ball. A fresh start will do him good.
I actually think Blake’s will get a lot of PT next year, especially if Roach transfers. Who coming in would take PG?
I think we should be locked into a 2 seed. Still alot of hoops to be played, but sounds like a 2 seed. I'm fine with that.
First I have heard that Roach might transfer. He should be captain and play 32-35 minutes a game.
Yea not first time for me. I’ve heard that for a while actually, but nothing would surprise me either way.
Let’s say he does come back - who’s backup PG?
Man if Roach transfers, we are in trouble next year unless we get an A+ transfer. Hopefully he stays and is team Captain with Blake's as backup
If Roach transfers (I've heard no rumblings of this) then Foster reclasses. I'd rather Roach comes back.
I've heard nothing of Roach transferring. I suppose that rumor could have been started when he was playing poorly, but he is playing much better. We need him next year. I can't see a team starting 5 freshman making the tournament. The Fab 5 at Michigan had 4 or 5 returning vets they were playing with.
Yeah no chance Blakes is a starting pg at Duke next year. It's going to be Roach. If for some crazy reason he did leave, we'd be looking at a reclass or possibly a transfer of our own.
Mark had 28 points and 12 rebounds yesterday. Wow. He has really played great lately.
We fed him well yesterday, but I think he could have had another 10 points, because they missed him wide open a number of times. He is a difference maker for this team. Covers a lot of defensive mistakes.
I hope this team realizes that Mark is our best player. I don't care who the better pro will be. Mark should be our number one option.
Ya Mark and AJ have been our 2 best players in conference play. The crazy thing is, they're 4th and 5th in mpg on the team during conference play. Even with AJ playing 3 more conference games than Keels, he has only played 31 more minutes. Hell Keels has played 35 more minutes than Mark so far in conference play.
I dont mind still playing a lot of the offense through Paolo because he is a willing passer. I think playing through him a lot is needed to keep some pressure off of Mark down low.
I feel like the pecking order for this team is pretty obvious but it seems like for whatever reason the coaching staff is fighting against it. I feel like because Paolo and Keels were the main 2 guys early on, they want to keep riding that wave. But certain guys have proven they deserve different roles now.
Roach: He is by far the best floor general on the team. Ya he isnt a good scorer, but that is why we have plenty of scoring around him. He is able to penetrate a defense with ease and kick and find open shooters. The ball movement and overall offense just moves better when he is the main guy. Keels has his moments of being able to get to the line, but this shouldn't be his role anymore, it should be Roach.
Mark: Has proven he is more than just a defensive big. He has proven he deserves touches and shots on the offensive end, and not just a few but a good amount.
AJ: I mean we need to be treating him like he's JJ. We should be running sets to get him open shots every single trip down the court.
All that’s fine and dandy but it’s not like you can just feed him the ball. He doesn’t have a post up game lol. He’s definitely our MVP though.
He actually has a nice drop step move, and the few times he’s taken a 10 footer, he makes it. I don’t think it’s that he lacks a post game, I think it reflects how the team wants to use him, which is to keep him near the rim. Which is probably the correct thing to do, as you don’t want him competing with Paolo for space in that area. I would like them try to go to him more - he does a great job of positioning himself low.
The last game vs. Syracuse Coach K emptied the bench fairly early and Boeheim left his starters in to narrow the score. This time K waited a little longer to be sure that wasn't going to happen.
The minutes distribution was still in the low to mid 30's for our 6 starters (including Roach) which is manageable this time of the season. I don't know who Joey would have guarded since the young guy on Syracuse was having a career game and Buddy would run Joey ragged around screens. Luckily we didn't need Joey's shooting because the Syracuse zone is a sieve.
The minutes distribution was still in the low to mid 30's for our 6 starters (including Roach) which is manageable this time of the season. I don't know who Joey would have guarded since the young guy on Syracuse was having a career game and Buddy would run Joey ragged around screens. Luckily we didn't need Joey's shooting because the Syracuse zone is a sieve.
Does Boeheim ever go man to man? Putting Paolo in the middle of the zone with Mark ready to catch lobs just made that look silly. Please, please, please, may the tournament bracket gods put us up against teams that play 2-3 zones, exclusively.
