***DUKE VS VIRGINIA OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[DukeDenver]

Not gonna rag on Carey for not going up stronger or hesitating. Tre missed him cutting to the basket and got him the ball late. Get him the ball a half a second earlier and he's got a wide open dunk.

I’m not going to rag on him either because he’s the main reason our record looks like it does. That said, He’s operating on muscle memory alone. He is not reacting to what is given. You’ve got to have the awareness on that play to realize nobody’s near you and that going straight up quickly is the best option.

Of course this is coming from a 5’7 wannabe basketball player. What the hell do I know?

 

[Devilinside]

Coaching

One certainly seems to be doing a much better job than the other at this point in the season.

 

[Quavarius]

It’s funny certain fans who are pissed when K is doing everything they said they wanted to see. We need more experienced players. Got that. K needs to play a deeper bench (because AOC and Joey Baker were actual difference makers per some posters). He did that. Why don’t we play defense like we used to? We are. And y’all still complaining.

Hopefully, K goes back to landing 3-4 OADs, playing only 7 players throughout the year and stop listening to inconsistent “fans.”

 

[QC Dukie]

Yessir I get it. It’s the reason why I’m spending less and less time here....

Me too 14......me too

 

[Quavarius]

But but but, we need to stop recruiting OADs

 

[Quavarius]

A team that is 23-5 shouldn’t be ranked?? What shouldn’t happen is you sharing your opinion around grownups

I swear it feels like we have UNC’s record according to some “fans.”

 

[QC Dukie]

I swear it feels like we have UNC’s record according to some “fans.”

I’m glad you put fans in quotations.....good lord.

 

[Quavarius]

I’m glad you put fans in quotations.....good lord.

On purpose

 

[duhondukie]

I’m glad you put fans in quotations.....good lord.

Just out of curiosity are people not allowed to be fans if they don’t say Duke and K are the best basketball team and coach in the country every year?

 

[bullettoothtony]

Just out of curiosity are people not allowed to be fans if they don’t say Duke and K are the best basketball team and coach in the country every year?

This is pretty much where I am. Surely we can find a middle ground between, "I love everything I'm seeing and I wouldn't change a thing," and "I despise everything about Coach K and I want him fired yesterday."

I'm not sure why this team has regressed but the coaching staff has to bear the brunt of the culpability. That doesn't mean I now hate Coach K.

I'm honestly at a loss for how to right the ship at this point. I still have concerns about our defensive strategy (extended ball pressure, ball screen defense, overplay), and I still think we're way too stagnant on offense at times (too much iso and hero ball).

What say you?

 

[denverexpat]

This is pretty much where I am. Surely we can find a middle ground between, "I love everything I'm seeing and I wouldn't change a thing," and "I despise everything about Coach K and I want him fired yesterday."

I'm not sure why this team has regressed but the coaching staff has to bear the brunt of the culpability. That doesn't mean I now hate Coach K.

I'm honestly at a loss for how to right the ship at this point. I still have concerns about our defensive strategy (extended ball pressure, ball screen defense, overplay), and I still think we're way too stagnant on offense at times (too much iso and hero ball).

What say you?

Ditto

 

[acc hoops]

Did not see 1 play being run to give 3 pt shooter an open look.

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

It's funny 2 weeks ago I said this team has regressed and got hammered for it and was even told I'm not a real duke fan....fast forward 2 weeks and I see a bunch of people saying we have regressed...and instead of hammering them some are now agreeing with them ...hypocrites

 

[denverexpat]

It's funny 2 weeks ago I said this team has regressed and got hammered for it and was even told I'm not a real duke fan....fast forward 2 weeks and I see a bunch of people saying we have regressed...and instead of hammering them some are now agreeing with them ...hypocrites

What I have found interesting is input from my other friends who follow, coach or have played basketball for a long time. They root for other teams, yet the comments they have on Duke are very similar to the concerns raised here regarding the offense and the lack of organization. If its apparent to non-Duke fans then there has to be some credence to the criticism

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

What I have found interesting is input from my other friends who follow, coach or have played basketball for a long time. They root for other teams, yet the comments they have on Duke are very similar to the concerns raised here regarding the offense and the lack of organization. If its apparent to non-Duke fans then there has to be some credence to the criticism

Are they we have regressed? Like I said 2 weeks ago

 

[duhondukie]

In my opinion part of the problem are the recruiting rankings and the hype on these kids coming in, heck I think the NBA feeds off of this as well with their draft stock. Expectations are high due to the recruiting rankings and maybe one game early and I forget these are 18 year old kids. On the other hand this is what K has signed on for, getting these kids for one year and they are gone so I guess I need to live with it.
If you look at college basketball, except for 2015, old teams have won the tournament and even then we had a senior point guard and older guys who knew their roles. The teams on top of the ranking now have seniors and experience who have progressed as players. The frustrating thing to me is we bring in these kids who are leaving after 9 months and the staff sells their souls to keep them happy and the kids who are playing behind them seem to be relegated to bench roles and very little opportunity especially when a mistake is made. Wendell and Cassius are not held to the same standards as Alex and Joey when it comes to mistakes made during games.

 

[hart2chesson]

I think yesterday was a hotly contested, good ol' fashioned ACC battle. Both teams tried to impose their defensive will on another, and two great coaches matched wits. (I've seen so many shots taken at Coach K last 24 hours its sickening.)

Like noses, everyone has opinions too however, and thats a good thing. I respect EVERYONE'S right to express their feelings! I just felt yesterday the Duke EFFORT was there. If Vernon is able to score off the pass from Tre, or Tre's shot go in at the buzzer, the narrative is much brighter. Its K's job to have us ready to play, and that argument can probably be applied to Wake Forest. I thought yesterday K made sure we brought our lunch pail. OFC

 

[dukiejay]

In my opinion part of the problem are the recruiting rankings and the hype on these kids coming in, heck I think the NBA feeds off of this as well with their draft stock. Expectations are high due to the recruiting rankings and maybe one game early and I forget these are 18 year old kids. On the other hand this is what K has signed on for, getting these kids for one year and they are gone so I guess I need to live with it.
If you look at college basketball, except for 2015, old teams have won the tournament and even then we had a senior point guard and older guys who knew their roles. The teams on top of the ranking now have seniors and experience who have progressed as players. The frustrating thing to me is we bring in these kids who are leaving after 9 months and the staff sells their souls to keep them happy and the kids who are playing behind them seem to be relegated to bench roles and very little opportunity especially when a mistake is made. Wendell and Cassius are not held to the same standards as Alex and Joey when it comes to mistakes made during games.

This isn’t the kind of freshmen class we’ve had recently either. I said back in November....be prepared for ups and downs. And I’m not just talking our freshmen class, I’m talking the entire freshmen class. Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore are playing like freshmen used to play 15 years ago. They’re very inconsistent.

Our problem is, the veterans we have just aren’t stepping up. Jack is really good in November and December, then he loses his verve. Alex has been three years of “he’s almost there.” When you think the light bulb goes off for Javin he trips over his own feet. Joey is still young, but he’s looked overmatched physically at times. Jordan is a nice story but we know his limitations.

Is some of this on development? One could argue that way. That said, all of those players have had plenty of opportunities. Plenty. If we’re all being honest with one another, we know that Matthew, Wendell and Cassius, while far from finished products are just better overall players. That doesn’t mean they’re great players, unfortunately. They’re just this teams ‘better’ options.

 

[timo0402]

This isn’t the kind of freshmen class we’ve had recently either. I said back in November....be prepared for ups and downs. And I’m not just talking our freshmen class, I’m talking the entire freshmen class. Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore are playing like freshmen used to play 15 years. They’re very inconsistent.

Our problem is, the veterans we have just aren’t stepping up. Jack is really good in November and December, then he loses his verve. Alex has been three years of “he’s almost there.” When you think the light bulb goes off for Javin he trips over his own feet. Joey is still young, but he’s looked overmatched physically at times. Jordan is a nice story but we know his limitations.

Is some of this on development? One could argue that way. That said, all of those players have had plenty of opportunities. Plenty. If we’re all being honest with one another, we know that Matthew, Wendell and Cassius, while far from finished products are just better overall players. That doesn’t mean they’re great players, unfortunately. They’re just this teams ‘better’ options.

This is it, it’s why i predicted 15-5 in conference before the conference season began. While our schedule was more than favorable we just aren’t that good. These freshmen outside of Vern, have been works in progress and inconsistent- much like the team in general. Now, the positives, they have shown flashes and have a good record. The overall landscape in conference and nationally is down, so we can still do something.

 

[Devilinside]

This isn’t the kind of freshmen class we’ve had recently either. I said back in November....be prepared for ups and downs. And I’m not just talking our freshmen class, I’m talking the entire freshmen class. Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore are playing like freshmen used to play 15 years ago. They’re very inconsistent.

Our problem is, the veterans we have just aren’t stepping up. Jack is really good in November and December, then he loses his verve. Alex has been three years of “he’s almost there.” When you think the light bulb goes off for Javin he trips over his own feet. Joey is still young, but he’s looked overmatched physically at times. Jordan is a nice story but we know his limitations.

Is some of this on development? One could argue that way. That said, all of those players have had plenty of opportunities. Plenty. If we’re all being honest with one another, we know that Matthew, Wendell and Cassius, while far from finished products are just better overall players. That doesn’t mean they’re great players, unfortunately. They’re just this teams ‘better’ options.

I still have trouble trying to figure out why Goldwire is playing the 2 guard. Trey is the 1 guard. So, we are left with a shooting guard who cannot shoot and is not a deft passer. Are our other players so abysmal on defense that we have no other choice? Goldwire is certainly not in there because he is close to the others offensively. I have no answers, do not know K's reasoning behind whom he plays and when, and for sure am not in a position to second-guess him.

 

[BNM79]

Our seasons become predictable every year the last 10-15 seasons. By the end of the season duke struggles with dribble penetration (if it doesn’t start that way). And the offense becomes predictable where they only play through one to two players and those players are not making the extra pass. I was hoping it would be different this year because the passing was better most of the year (playing through everyone and seemed to be doing more traditional motion vs sets focusing on specific players) and the defense was so much better (offseason it was a focus)

 

[jwill133]

1. We are on a message board, I think it's fair to question Coach K. Is he the GOAT?? Yes. However, it drives me freaking insane that he just sits on the bench and doesn't have the same fire that he used to. The last couple of years we had the best talent in the country, and we came up short, I'll forever question the way he coached the team last year, I believe it cost us the title. This year's team doesn't have the best talent out there, but were still damn good, and it's frustrating because we aren't getting any better.

2. We ran zero offense against UVA. Tre plays with the ball way too much, and we cannot play Goldwire with another non-shooter (Javin or Jack), we just can't, that is elementary coaching. It seemed like we came into the UVA game with no game-plan on how to attack them.

3. Player development, does it exist at Duke anymore?? Our 2 seniors have progressively gotten worse IMO. Alex has gotten worse as well. Baker, for an incoming 5 star kid, has been pretty underwhelming and I have seen zero improvement this year. I guess Goldwire has improved, but I think his improvement has more to do with heart/desire than skill.

4. I was real excited for this team. Thought having a veteran (soph) PG in Jones plus a nice blend of freshman and older guys would make us elite. It hasn't, screw this. Our team in 2021-2022 is gonna be K's best chance at a title. Were gonna load up on the ELITE OAD's and hopefully mix in a sophomore Steward for some shooting.

 

[dukecorp]

In my opinion part of the problem are the recruiting rankings and the hype on these kids coming in, heck I think the NBA feeds off of this as well with their draft stock. Expectations are high due to the recruiting rankings and maybe one game early and I forget these are 18 year old kids. On the other hand this is what K has signed on for, getting these kids for one year and they are gone so I guess I need to live with it.
If you look at college basketball, except for 2015, old teams have won the tournament and even then we had a senior point guard and older guys who knew their roles. The teams on top of the ranking now have seniors and experience who have progressed as players. The frustrating thing to me is we bring in these kids who are leaving after 9 months and the staff sells their souls to keep them happy and the kids who are playing behind them seem to be relegated to bench roles and very little opportunity especially when a mistake is made. Wendell and Cassius are not held to the same standards as Alex and Joey when it comes to mistakes made during games.[/QU

 

[Duke1783]

Just win fellas! I’m tired of waking up depressed