This is why I’m holding back my expectations until I see him against an opposing team. The plus note for Roach is that him and Keels have played in the same back court which will allow Roach to trust in his teammates more. I really like how Keels got on his self for the reach in on Johns and getting called for the foul it means he’s learning and adapting at this level at a good pace .
He’s a big body but so was Moore his freshman year. I want to see can he hold his own against opposing guards his same size .
You still keep saying the bigs will be set. I don’t know why you keep saying that. I said have Paolo be the initiator. He doesn’t have to bring the ball up the court. No coach is going to put a guard on him because if they do we will have him give the ball up then go post up the guard. Come on now
Did you watch the scrimmage from Friday night? How many time did you see Paolo as the initiator ? Maybe four times . When the guards were guarding him he either shot the ball or past it off allowing the bigs to get set down low and leaving Mark to battle two bigs. Paolo is going to do the bulk of his scoring from 17 foot and in. When Jones went out to guard him it caused a guard to have to come over to attempt to help defend on the entry pass to Williams allowing for a blow by of Jones to a straight dunk for Paolo. If you watch every time Johns and Jones were set Paolo didn’t attempt to go to the lane he shot the ball . How many times when he gave up the ball did you see a guard reset down low on him? If he initiates the offense every coach will send a guard to the perimeter allowing time for their bigs to get set this in return will not allow for Paolo to pass off and get set in the post because it won’t be a guard it will be a big. No coach who has watched tape on Paolo will want their bigs going beyond 17 feet to guard Paolo . It allows him to either blow by them or pass the ball into Williams for a one on one . Also not to many teams have the bigs to allow them to leak out of the post.
Once again initiator doesn’t mean him bringing the ball up. He can initiate from the elbow. Now if he sets a pick and they switch then a guard is on him. But if someone else bring the ball up and he gets the ball at the elbow or top of the key in a triple threat position then he can be a decision maker. Moore is not the guy to be handling the ball which was my original point
I didn’t say him bringing the ball up court. I simply said initiating the offense. Which is what you said , you would like to see him initiate the offense . I think he’s more effective roaming from the 17 foot line in. With Moore, Roach and Keels on the court all they need to do is show they can be consistent at scoring and it will allow Paolo to flow more freely at his strengths . With out trying to initiate putting more pressure on his self at this level.
That last sentence is the key part. If Keels and/or Roach is shooting well from outside, Duke could really punish any team that uses a guard to pick up Banchero because it forces their PF or Center to at least keep an eye on Keels or Roach. If either are hitting outside shots, opponent has to decide to either have the normal defender for Banchero switch onto Keels or Roach, or it allows them to have wide open outside shots.
Good point. Players are going to have to show they can hit jumpers. This Duke team needs every player scoring not much but the more the rest score the more it opens the court up for the others .
I got this far into your post and was like, SON OF A B...........!. LOL
I’d be fine with that. I’m like you Chris and the rest of the board. I hope he’s got that chip on his shoulder .
I think being familiar with Keels actually rubs off on Roach. If Keels performs well I see Roach’s confidence skyrocket
If keels gives us a Gary Trent type of season, we will be just fine and should be a top 10 team all year. That game he had at Miami was unbelievable and I was lucky enough to be there.
Yep, same here. I'd say it's one of the worst calls in Duke history. If not for the last 3 minutes and change of the 2004 Final Four game I would give the Carter call the nod for worst in Duke tourney history. But we had what seemed like 83 people foul out in that game.....
Lol, it's all good. We have just had some tough injuries the past few seasons, so I feel like we all hold our collective breaths when we see that
Yeah, it's really nice to have a BIG (and talented) guard. He looks like the type of Flint Michigan guard that Izzo routinely has, someone who can really overwhelm other guards physically.
