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

[K-oach Q]

Is this the worst team since 1995?

Only other team I can think of off the top of my head is the Team that lost to VCU in the first round. Think that was 2007?

The Austin Rivers team wasn’t great either but even that team had some talent better than this.

This team is certainly one of the worst in recent memory.....

 

[kingbluedevil]

Had our chances but the offense was not patient enough. Kept settling for the three

 

[JohnstonCDevil]

We ran out of gas! Second half effort was good but shot selection late in the game killed us!! On to Louisville!!!
OFC

 

[bullettoothtony]

Guys don't say anything negative or certain posters will hammer you for it....cause they never see anything wrong

Lol... I'm seeing Kevin Bacon in Animal House... "All is well!"

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

We just aren't good....zero good wins...people just need to deal with it

 

[wcu1113]

As I’ve said, Duke and college basketball are bad products right now. If you can’t see that, you’re in denial.

 

[denverexpat]

The lack of good scorers is perplexing...we recruit great players per the rankings yet they look very under developed as overall players. This team isn't very good given the overall rank of each individual recruit and the experience of our returning players. We look lost and this game was a step back not forward

 

[kingbluedevil]

I think this team has some talent with Stewart, Roache and Hurt but somebody else has to step up.

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

Other than Hurt we have no consistent shooters

 

[K-oach Q]

I’m not even upset. Quite honestly I expect them to lose....anyone that’s actually honest can see this team is going to struggle to beat anyone.

 

[bullettoothtony]

The lack of good scorers is perplexing...we recruit great players per the rankings yet they look very under developed as overall players. This team isn't very good given the overall rank of each individual recruit and the experience of our returning players. We look lost and this game was a step back not forward

This is basically where I am. Not blaming anyone or anything but I thought we'd be better, frankly.

But the season has been so bizarre... lack of games, missed practices... I mean it's tough building chemistry and cohesiveness in normal circumstances.

This year? Jesus.

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

I’m not even upset. Quite honestly I expect them to lose....anyone that’s actually honest can see this team is going to struggle to beat anyone.

Yep anyone with a pulse... BC Wake are not impressive wins

 

[DukeCE2006]

14 remaining games, assuming no cancelations, an optimistic record would be 7-7. So we would finish season 12-10 before ACC tourney. Not so sure that’s puts us in.

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

14 remaining games, assuming no cancelations, an optimistic record would be 7-7. So we would finish season 12-10 before ACC tourney. Not so sure that’s puts us in.

We damn sure better be better than 12-10 or we don't deserve to go

 

[bullettoothtony]

I'm not upset at all though, honestly. Major, major issues going on in the country so I'm just not really emotionally invested in this season at all.

I hate that in some respects because I always want to support our team and players, but it is what it is, I guess.

 

[wcu1113]

And many guys will still inexplicably leave for the NBA - and we get to do it all again next year.

Yay.

 

[tripleb71]

This is basically where I am. Not blaming anyone or anything but I thought we'd be better, frankly.

But the season has been so bizarre... lack of games, missed practices... I mean it's tough building chemistry and cohesiveness in normal circumstances.

This year? Jesus.

I think this incoming freshman class was terribly overrated. Especially when you look at Kentucky.

 

[K-oach Q]

It feels like there are a few pieces if put together could give us a chance on most nights. But you can’t play 4 vs 5 all night in today’s basketball.

I mentioned before Tyler Thornton. This is the same paradigm all over again. If Goldwire plays as our lead for thirty minutes a night this team is sunk imo.

We can’t defend anyways.....so hard to argue what the appeal is....

 

[skysdad]

I feel Hurt is playing great basketball and not just scoring. So happy he came back this year. Good decision for him and Duke. Don't know where we would be without him right now. Thought he got a couple of bad calls on him especially the fragrant. The other player was all up in him and gave him no space at all but I'm a Duke fan . OFC

 

[skysdad]

14 remaining games, assuming no cancelations, an optimistic record would be 7-7. So we would finish season 12-10 before ACC tourney. Not so sure that’s puts us in.

I don't want to go if we don't deserve it but I think we will be better than .500 in the ACC and better than 12-10. How many ACC games do we have? OFC

 

[AlanInNJ]

I disagree on the comment that Goldwire should not play 25-30. He plays solid D and can be a calming force on the floor. However, I agree 100% that tonight he should not take 4 shots in the last 5 minutes of a game where we fought and clawed to stay in striking distance. Why weren't plays run to get an open three for Baker? Or something to get DJ or Roach to the rim?? I think our lack of any sort of inside presence is glaring.

We have our challenges for sure, and It seems to me at this point we are going to have a rocky year. But this team is one that will surprise us some nights. Moore will have games where his brilliance will shine. Jalen will be back and pull a Cam Reddish for us more than once (see FL State, Louisville 2018). Goldwire WILL have a game where he hits big threes down the stretch.

Let's go Duke!

 

[Devilinside]

The problem is that we cannot put anyone on the floor who is capable of actually being a go-to guy that the rest of the team can look to to score. it's like we always have 5 guys out there who play like they are afraid not to lose, rather than busting there asses to win.

 

[kingbluedevil]

I think inexperience done Duke in once they cut it to two. They forgot what got them in the game. To be honest that first half Duke should have been down 20. Outplayed big time first half.

 

[Jtre]

Moore hasnt shown the break out we needed after his one great game, that's a major problem for this team. We need him to be a 15 pt a game player....not 4 pts

Wendell going a combined 3-13 in his two games since what I thought was his breakout game is a disappointment. We can see a major improvement if he can produce at a consistent 12+ points per game.

 

[Jtre]

Only other team I can think of off the top of my head is the Team that lost to VCU in the first round. Think that was 2007?

The Austin Rivers team wasn’t great either but even that team had some talent better than this.

This team is certainly one of the worst in recent memory.....

This team might be better than the '96 team that lost in the first round to Eastern Michigan.

Then again (and I know there is a difference in eras), Ricky Price and Jeff Capel might be the two best players on the court and Chris Collins would definitely be the best shooter on either team, so maybe 96 does have the edge.

 

[germantondevil]

This team is so small and weak!! Sad thing is we have a 7 footer that is fairly good but he is the one on the short list. If his player scores or of he misses a shot or two he is done for the night. You have to let your bigs learn during on the job training sorta speaking. Give it to Roy he recruits big and they friggin play. Unfortunately their size will prove huge this year and they will kick our ass twice this year unless some major changes come real soon. I am so sick of one on one isolation offense that I don’t even care if I miss games this year and I thought I would never be there in my life!!!

 

[timo0402]

This wasn’t a real surprising outcome. I don’t find myself losing much sleep after these games this season. Hopefully we can start cutting down on the boneheaded mistakes, only some of which come from the freshmen. If i see improvement in that area, I think i can live with it. There were multiple opportunities in the second Half when we could have surged into the lead If we had just played cleaner. Oh well, on to the next.

 

[springsportster]

If we are going to have a crappy season, this year is the year to do it. This season feels so.... blah.... for lack of a better word.

 

[timo0402]

If we are going to have a crappy season, this year is the year to do it. This season feels so.... blah.... for lack of a better word.

Exactly how i feel, hate saying it but i feel the same.

 

[K Coach]

This team is so small and weak!! Sad thing is we have a 7 footer that is fairly good but he is the one on the short list. If his player scores or of he misses a shot or two he is done for the night. You have to let your bigs learn during on the job training sorta speaking. Give it to Roy he recruits big and they friggin play. Unfortunately their size will prove huge this year and they will kick our ass twice this year unless some major changes come real soon. I am so sick of one on one isolation offense that I don’t even care if I miss games this year and I thought I would never be there in my life!!!

I totally agree!!

 

[geddoughton23]

Good to see Jalen Johnson play tonight. Only 4 minutes played. He looked good, but was breathing really hard. Made his only shot and had an assist

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

We ran out of gas! Second half effort was good but shot selection late in the game killed us!! On to Louisville!!!
OFC

I agree! Those silly three pt attempts by Moore and Goldwire were back breakers. Never recovered from it. We play Pitt next Tuesday, then Louisville after that.

 

[timo0402]

I agree! Those silly three pt attempts by Moore and Goldwire were back breakers. Never recovered from it. We play Pitt next Tuesday, then Louisville after that.

Those were killers.

 

[Rocketman101]

Exactly how i feel, hate saying it but i feel the same.

I agree with you guys, please don't fall for all the hype next season.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Tough....crazy start...Great fight to get back...poor choices at the end......Williams has to be in more purely for his size and rim protection.....these are the growing pains of a team that isnt star-studded...2-3 years down the road....this season should be about getting all the experience possible for everybody.....next game @Pitt 1/19, they have had several PPD.......wish we could do a 1/18-1/19 home and home or 1/19-1/20 home and home or just both games at their place?????

 

[BlueDevilStop]

Game recap.

Five observations.

Player of the game for Duke.

Duke Fails to Overcome Slow Start, Falls to Virginia Tech |

The start of this one was ugly for Duke. Virginia Tech jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. Hoping for a spark, Coach K inserted Jalen Johnson into the lineup at the 16:23 mark of the first half with Duke already trailing by seven. A Jaemyn Brakefield layup at the 13:31 mark cut Virginia Tech’s…...

bluedevilstop.com

 

[BlueDevilStop]

Duke shot 1/11 from three in the final 12:00 and the only make was a buzzer beater as time expired from Goldwire. Settling for jumpers down the stretch really hurt, that game was there for the taking.

 

[HuffyJB]

It is a little troubling to hear the same sort of comments after each game, as far as "still learning each other," "seeing a high level ACC game," "lax at the start," etc.

I think everyone assumed going into the year that the team would go as far as the triumvirate of Hurt, Moore, and Johnson took them. It is going to be incredibly difficult to beat a good team (which Duke hasn't done yet, and it's mid-January) with only one of those three - one because of injury and one because of general ineffectiveness - really contributing.

 

[christophero]

The goal of this team should be to improve and make the tournament. JJ back is a start. Tape could help us as well, hopefully his back issues won't linger. I expected a loss so I'm not upset. Moore struggling again is concerning. We need to beat Pitt.

 

[jwill133]

The slow starts have to end soon, we just aren't talented enough to continue to go down 10+ points in the first half. I'm glad we fought back, the game was there for us to take, we just took dumb shots down the stretch and started standing around on offense. I still think we are making the tournament with no worries, and who cares about seeding this year if it's all played in the bubble.

The biggest issue for this team is we don't have a single well-rounded do it all player. Hurt is our best scorer, but his defense is horrendous. We can't score when we play Williams at the 5, and we can't defend anyone inside when Hurt is at the 5. Goldwire bogs down our offense, teams don't guard him, but he's our best defender. Johnson is an athletic specimen but he can't shoot. Roach/Steward are rounding into elite offensive players but they are pretty bad defensively right now. I love Brakefield's effort, but the ball stops offensively when he touches it. Baker just can't get going.

Long story short, this is a team with a bunch of specialists, but no superstars. Wendell was supposed to be our "do it all, no holes in his game" type guy, and he's been the furthest from that.