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Lots of sensible discussion here. My son and I were talking yesterday, and we agree there definitely is a chemistry issue with this team. As mentioned, we have a lot of guys who were the focal point of their team in high school coming to the bright lights and magnifying glass that is Duke basketball. Coach K was a tremendous coach, but even he struggled with team chemistry a couple times recently. I think Jon will learn how to better manage it in due time.

My expectations are certainly tempered for the tournament. Yes, we certainly could go on run and make it interesting, and I will be rooting hard for us to do just that. However, I think this team has bigger issues that I know about, and I would not be surprised by a first weekend flameout.
 
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In other words , Dukes biggest opponent is Duke .

Side note , Flips brother has entered the transfer portal .
 
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I know we all hail K as a legend, and he was, but he put Duke in this position. He made Duke into a brand, that is on tv all the time. We love that. The part that's not so good in my opinion though, is that in his last few seasons, other than a year or so, he was chasing titles based solely off relying on freshmen. Generally, that's a low chance to win a title, because there's always teams that are good and experienced.

Jon has to change the identity at Duke. It's not an easy fix, because Duke has become a top landing site for the elites, and it's hard to say no if one (or multiple) is interested in coming.
 
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Mac9192 said:
I know we all hail K as a legend, and he was, but he put Duke in this position. He made Duke into a brand, that is on tv all the time. We love that. The part that's not so good in my opinion though, is that in his last few seasons, other than a year or so, he was chasing titles based solely off relying on freshmen. Generally, that's a low chance to win a title, because there's always teams that are good and experienced.

Jon has to change the identity at Duke. It's not an easy fix, because Duke has become a top landing site for the elites, and it's hard to say no if one interested in coming.
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That's a tough sell. The causal fan wants to see young, elite players.
 
There certainly seemed to be a good chemistry during the Zion/RJ/Cam year. In fact, looking back I kinda wish Zion was more of an alpha. It's possible if the players buy into the concept. That's a lot of work on Jon and his staff I think.
 
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jamsession2 said:
That's a tough sell. The causal fan wants to see young, elite players.
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There's nothing against having young and elite players. I just prefer to see it blended with some solid experience. The comment "take the talent and figure it out" is close to impossible, unless the goal is 20-25 wins. You're asking multiple alphas to come in and play team ball in a short time.

The name on the front of the jersey has to outweigh the one on the back.
 
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Other than the shooting, the Zion team seemed to have the right mix. Although at crunch time against MSU we were doing hero ball. But it almost feels like a tease the last 9 years. We've been good for sure. But it seems like we're always knocking on the door, but never experienced enough to finish the job. It's frustrating because we then have to see multiple starters leave every year. 2015 was the right mix. I did find 2010 very satisfying, even with a few subpar years before that. This year we may have a subpar year, and yet guys may leave anyway. Not sure what the answer is. On DBR the rumor is more guys than expected are leaving, so last year we may have been lucky. A final four run would make it worth it, but I don't know if this group has it in them.
 
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AlanInNJ said:
There certainly seemed to be a good chemistry during the Zion/RJ/Cam year. In fact, looking back I kinda wish Zion was more of an alpha. It's possible if the players buy into the concept. That's a lot of work on Jon and his staff I think.
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The team had good chemistry because they understood the mismatches. RJ and Cam wanted to be scorers. Zion knew he was the MAN. There is a difference. Also, the team played relaxed. Bolden was the center, Tre was the pg. There was never any confusion of roles! Yes, that last game HURT. RJ forgot who was the MAN!
 
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sheyduke said:
Yes but two of those players are true impact players and Evans is coming to Duke to take on the Villian role . Give me alphas with the same goal any day of the week .
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I like Cooper and Evans a lot. I like the entire recruiting class. I just have to adjust to the transfer portal being the new 'Free Agency'. Furthermore, the coaching staff must be aware of their shortcomings talent and chemistry wise. Recognize the mistakes made this season, as well as the adjustments that can be made early.
 
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Isn't the football team getting multiple portal guys? We need 2 tough role players unless a lot of guys return.
 
Mac9192 said:
There's nothing against having young and elite players. I just prefer to see it blended with some solid experience. The comment "take the talent and figure it out" is close to impossible, unless the goal is 20-25 wins. You're asking multiple alphas to come in and play team ball in a short time.

The name on the front of the jersey has to outweigh the one on the back.
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Mac, hitting um with the mic drop with his last paragraph . Get um Mac !
 
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christophero said:
Other than the shooting, the Zion team seemed to have the right mix. Although at crunch time against MSU we were doing hero ball. But it almost feels like a tease the last 9 years. We've been good for sure. But it seems like we're always knocking on the door, but never experienced enough to finish the job. It's frustrating because we then have to see multiple starters leave every year. 2015 was the right mix. I did find 2010 very satisfying, even with a few subpar years before that. This year we may have a subpar year, and yet guys may leave anyway. Not sure what the answer is. On DBR the rumor is more guys than expected are leaving, so last year we may have been lucky. A final four run would make it worth it, but I don't know if this group has it in them.
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That 2019 team was a lot of fun. But 329th in division 1 in three-point shooting percentage is not gonna get you a national championship. That shot is too important these days. Outside shooting is always a staple of K coached Duke teams, but that one particular year he was short on quality shooters.
 
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Neue Regel said:
That 2019 team was a lot of fun. But 329th in division 1 in three-point shooting percentage is not gonna get you a national championship. That shot is too important these days. Outside shooting is always a staple of K coached Duke teams, but that one particular year he was short on quality shooters.
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I would never argue that point. However, I watched Ant Edwards dunk on John Collins last night. Completely Disrespectful. Zion's game was Disrespectful. The old fashion 'and - one' with Cam, Jack, and RJ shooting the 3pt shot got us far. Execution down the stretch was the issue!
 
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That's a bit of revisionist history as far as Cam, RJ and JW's shooting prowess. Cam was average, at best, RJ was not good at all, and Jack went thru a colossal shooting drought.

That teams late game execution issues had a lot to do with teams daring them to shoot the 3, because they couldn't.
 
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t-towndomer said:
That's a bit of revisionist history as far as Cam, RJ and JW's shooting prowess. Cam was average, at best, RJ was not good at all, and Jack went thru a colossal shooting drought.

That teams late game execution issues had a lot to do with teams daring them to shoot the 3, because they couldn't.
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No one could defend Zion. Just keep giving him the ball.
 
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jamsession2 said:
I would never argue that point. However, I watched Ant Edwards dunk on John Collins last night. Completely Disrespectful. Zion's game was Disrespectful. The old fashion 'and - one' with Cam, Jack, and RJ shooting the 3pt shot got us far. Execution down the stretch was the issue!
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That was a nasty dunk. Jalen Johnson also had an all balls in the face dunk over Austin Reaves too.
 
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Zion could have scored 50 a game. Dang shame we didn’t just give him the ball and go. Terrible coaching that year IMO
 
Chris off topic, is it in California you live? Just curious because I’ll be out in Pala on April 13th doing a Spartan 5K Sprint.
 
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