Official game day thread- Duke vs George Mason
- Thread starter pisgah101
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Just not sure two games in a row with Dukes lowest scoring half’s is the thing to make any fan get out and shout . Especially against Word and George Mason. ( 28 and 25). Think it’s time to play some sort of offense .
Kon is in a shooting slump and is Dukes rotation locked up now ? No Harris yet Flag played most the game against George Mason .
Kon is in a shooting slump and is Dukes rotation locked up now ? No Harris yet Flag played most the game against George Mason .
Whatever happens to Harris, hope it doesn't affect us with the Paul VI pipeline especially with Smith in the 2026 class.
I’ll say it again, I like Cooper. The kid plays hard. I just think we rely too much on him on offense. Kon has to shoot better, but he doesn’t need to be benched as a starter. He does so many things well. On Evans? He’s a great weapon off the bench.
We need better out of our guards too. There’s no reason Maluach can’t get a few easy dunks.
We need better out of our guards too. There’s no reason Maluach can’t get a few easy dunks.
It makes sense. The half court offense plays like the 246th fastest tempo in the nation too. They take forever to do anything and most of the time we barely have 1-2 guys in motion. Our offense is so simple it’s easy to guard imo
Foster is playing himself out of the 6th men position. No idea what's going on with him lately
He’s borderline unplayable right now. I just don’t get why he gets more pt than evans and kon has such a long leash to throw bricks up the whole game. Evans deserves more time
So much for shooting fewer threes. 
In the end it was 33%, but for the first 30 minutes it was 20ish. Why shoot 27 of them when they aren't going in and we have big men inside??
I agree that our guard play seems to be regressing. We do not seem to have any guard who can penetrate and dish, and when they are not hitting threes, many of them open looks at home (BTW), it's not a good look. I do think we see Foster slide down into the 8-9 spot on the bench. I wonder if he's still feeling the effects of his injury? Kon definitely is in a slump, and yes, I agree he gets a very long leash. He plays hard and does good things on the floor, but it sure would be nice if he starting hitting shots at a better clip.
Anyway, a 20 point win. Next!
In the end it was 33%, but for the first 30 minutes it was 20ish. Why shoot 27 of them when they aren't going in and we have big men inside??I agree that our guard play seems to be regressing. We do not seem to have any guard who can penetrate and dish, and when they are not hitting threes, many of them open looks at home (BTW), it's not a good look. I do think we see Foster slide down into the 8-9 spot on the bench. I wonder if he's still feeling the effects of his injury? Kon definitely is in a slump, and yes, I agree he gets a very long leash. He plays hard and does good things on the floor, but it sure would be nice if he starting hitting shots at a better clip.
Anyway, a 20 point win. Next!
Yeah, Kon needs to shoot better, and our guards need to get their feet in the lane more. But, I think our offensive struggles are more due to Cooper. I'm not blaming him, but I am blaming him, if that makes sense. When he's on the court, which is 97% of the time, it's like the others look to him first, and if he's not available, then they'll go to another teammate. I'm sorry, but his offense isn't anything to brag about. His defense and rebounding are though.
The sample size is small, but go back to the Louisville game. Think we had a 2 point lead, with roughly 10 or so minutes left in the game. He picked up his 4th foul, went to the bench, yet suddenly the lead grew to double figures. I think that's because the ball moved better. It's as if each guy on the court were looking at all their options.
This falls on Jon.
The sample size is small, but go back to the Louisville game. Think we had a 2 point lead, with roughly 10 or so minutes left in the game. He picked up his 4th foul, went to the bench, yet suddenly the lead grew to double figures. I think that's because the ball moved better. It's as if each guy on the court were looking at all their options.
This falls on Jon.
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Not sure why some folks keep labeling Evans as being better coming off the bench. Just because thats been his role, doesn’t mean it’s best for him to remain there. I could see if those ahead of him were playing in such a way that it warrants it but this is not exactly a 1999 situation with Corey Maggette coming off the bench.
Duke’s last three games have been brutal offensively. Maybe it’s the breaks between games, Finals or whatever. But they need to figure this out because they aren’t playing good ball right now. Thankfully the competition has been down and they have one heck of a good defense. Still time to fix this and right the ship but can’t afford any letdowns in ACC play. Onto GT this weekend. Hopefully Coach Scheyer has some tough practices scheduled because they need it.
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On the plus side, our toe therapy is an early front-runner for the Most Improved award.
Totally agree. Foster brings you nothing off the bench. At least Kon will get in there with his hustle and battle for rebounds. Think Jon said in the postgame conference that he's got the teams best assist to turnover ratio.
I'm ok with Kon starting and having Evans first off the bench for the firepower.
I haven't watched many Cheater games this year but sounds like they have the same problem as us
Our offense is just painful to watch. Someone said it earlier, but we really lack a quick guard who can get into the lane and put pressure on the defense. Right now, Flagg is our only threat to drive the ball to the hoop. With that said, our defense is elite because we are huge everywhere since we don't have a little quick jitter-bug type guard. So it is what it is.
I watched closely when Maluach was in, and he doesn't even put his hands up when he's down in the post. Not sure if this is being coached or if he's just that unconfident in himself. This is part of the reason for our poor offense, along with missing wide open shots. And Foster, my god, he looked like he didn't even want to be there last night.
I'm not sure if Evans should start or not. But what I do know is our offense is really bad with our starting unit and he seems like instant offense. Jon played Kon 24 minutes last night and Evans 15. I think it should be more 20/20. The ACC is weak, and we need to be almost perfect, however I think Jon SHOULD experiment with Evans in the starting 5 during one of our easier home games (BC, VT, most of the ACC really). Lets give it a look at least.
Also, I love Maliq Brown.
I watched closely when Maluach was in, and he doesn't even put his hands up when he's down in the post. Not sure if this is being coached or if he's just that unconfident in himself. This is part of the reason for our poor offense, along with missing wide open shots. And Foster, my god, he looked like he didn't even want to be there last night.
I'm not sure if Evans should start or not. But what I do know is our offense is really bad with our starting unit and he seems like instant offense. Jon played Kon 24 minutes last night and Evans 15. I think it should be more 20/20. The ACC is weak, and we need to be almost perfect, however I think Jon SHOULD experiment with Evans in the starting 5 during one of our easier home games (BC, VT, most of the ACC really). Lets give it a look at least.
Also, I love Maliq Brown.
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Combo guards can work if you have Smith and Scheyer but our guards are very poor at getting assists unless its a lob to Mal.
I guess I’m with everyone else on Evans, he needs at least 15 mpg.
But, I do wonder what he can do besides jack up 3s?
We’ve not seen him drive the ball and he’s taken 44 shots, 40 of them 3s.
Can he finish at the rim? Can he make 15 footers?
Who knows…
But, I do wonder what he can do besides jack up 3s?
We’ve not seen him drive the ball and he’s taken 44 shots, 40 of them 3s.
Can he finish at the rim? Can he make 15 footers?
Who knows…
I forgot to add, I predict Foster will be somewhere else next year.
He’s just not very good, he wasn’t very good last year either to be honest.
If he was improving it might be different but he’s not, he may not be as good as last season. 😬
He’s just not very good, he wasn’t very good last year either to be honest.
If he was improving it might be different but he’s not, he may not be as good as last season. 😬
He is shooting 50% from three, and some of those have been really difficult attempts so that's super impressive. His scouting profile labels him as a "3 dimension scorer" so we will see, I do think his slender frame makes it hard for him to finish through contact. He's also labeled as a "disruptive defender due to his length" but he often looks out of position on defense.
I think him and Kon should be getting around a 20 minute each split (a few minutes more depending on who has the hot hand.) Kon definitely understands defense better and is rarely caught out of position, but he lacks the length and athleticism of Evans. So I'd say RIGHT NOW Kon is a better defender but Evans has much more upside if he can just get the fundamentals down, being on the court will help this of course. The good teams we have played (mainly Auburn and Kansas) clearly had a game plan to constantly attack Kon, and it mostly worked.
Long story short, just having the threat of Evans on offense should open up lanes inside for our guards and wings which we desperately need. Teams are currently not respecting us from the outside.
I thought he was good last year
Yeah, I think we're being a little too critical of Foster. Maybe he's still having some issues with his foot? from the offseason. He was doing a decent job last season before he got hurt. Other than Evans, and maybe Proctor, no one is shooting the ball well.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jon's ability to recruit, and believe he has a sharp mind for the game. I think our main issue offensively is that Cooper is too much of our focus. It's like we have to get the ball to him every time down court. Yeah, he is our best player, but in my opinion, we don't look to be very balanced. To argue this, maybe he's trying to do too much because no one else is hitting shots. But he misses more than his fair share too.
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Evans is shooting 50% from 3
Proctor is shooting 42.6% from 3
I think Foster, Knupp, and Gillis will start heating up from 3 and once that happens look out!
Proctor is shooting 42.6% from 3
I think Foster, Knupp, and Gillis will start heating up from 3 and once that happens look out!
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The only issue is that Duke had Proctor and when Sion committed I don’t think there was any room for another guard. I still think Foster is over thinking to much when he’s on the court.
Maybe in hindsight we could have used a speedy backup pg instead of a Gillis but hindsight is 50/50.
The biggest thing I like about Evans he looks like he is ready and excited to play. As Chris said plays with passion. Most of our guys don't look excited to be out there. Coach K wanted his players to show it. Browns demeanor never changes
Agreed. However if we do come up short this year, it's not because of the roster or offseason. The roster or transfer portal cannot be an excuse this season. We are loaded, just have to get the job done, we don't have any glaring holes like years before.
Last year our glaring hole was a big-man, we never got one in the portal for whatever reason. Fast forward to the Elite 8 and DJ Burns obliterates us because of no true elite 5-man.
I like your optimism bullcity. I was very positive right before we played Kentucky, and went against my rule on waiting until December to make a claim about how good I think we will be. Our offense just doesn't look as smooth as some of the good teams. I know we aren't shooting the 3 ball well, but our numbers aren't much different from there than UConn's.
I think Jon has to alter his offensive approach. We hardly use the low post game, our ball movement is sometimes weak, which makes us look very predictable on that side of the court.
Mac, I agree the offense needs to be better. Specifically the ball movement and playing from inside out as you noted. I also read where you mentioned Flagg picking up his 4th foul in Louisville and then suddenly the ball moved better. I agree the ball needs to not stick in Flagg’s hands and hopefully Scheyer begins to emphasize the important of moving the ball around and having the bigs looking to score.
I remain optimistic because I believe Duke is ranked Top 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom.
As the saying goes, “Defense wins Championships”, if Duke’s offense is not showing any improvements from here to February then I will start to be worried.
I remain optimistic because I believe Duke is ranked Top 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom.
As the saying goes, “Defense wins Championships”, if Duke’s offense is not showing any improvements from here to February then I will start to be worried.
I do not believe this team has been anything like the Lively team so far. The Lively team lost to Purdue by 20 in November (it could have been worse) and also got destroyed at Wake on December 20th. They also lost to Kansas in a close one in the Champions Classic.
Yes, this team has 2 losses, but both of those losses we had the ball with the chance to win. Now, once the light bulb turned on for Lively in ACC play that team took a leap and became an elite defensive team and an average offensive team, similar to this current Duke team as of December. But talent and potential wise I don't think it's close, this team is head and shoulders above the Lively team.
And yes the shooting has been bad, but I'd rather our problem be we keep missing wide open three's instead of we can't keep anyone in front of us on defense or don't have a rim protector for example.
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