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Official game day thread- Duke vs Pitt

Great comment by Boeheim. "You don't need a rim protector if you play great D. You only need a rim protector if you get beat." He may be grumpy but he knows his stuff.
Players like williams and lively are a great asset to have on defense but none of dukes national championships had rim protectors. They had players that could bother shots by being in right place but none were rim protectors. Okafor could have been but he was out of position a lot. Zoubek bothered shots by being in the way and being smart
 
Players like williams and lively are a great asset to have on defense but none of dukes national championships had rim protectors. They had players that could bother shots by being in right place but none were rim protectors. Okafor could have been but he was out of position a lot. Zoubek bothered shots by being in the way and being smart
Zou was a rim protector. Jefferson, Battier, Lang and Thomas played great interior defense, you would think they protected the rim.
 
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I don't know why they needed 3 announcers in the booth last night. If you have Boeheim you don't need Cory. At one point there was so much noise coming out of the announcers I thought I had switched on The View.
 
I am loving the 4-5 headed monster right now. Flip goes for 7 against ND and 26 last night. Mitchell 23 against ND, 4 last night. Similar for Roach, McCain, Proctor. Keep that up and play good team defense and we are a final four caliber team.

The question I have is how will we respond on a night when the shots aren't falling? Will be hang tough and let our D win those games?
 
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I noticed in the game Mark Mitchell seemed to have tweaked his knee or leg and he missed most of the second half. Any update?
 
Ball pressure was terrific
Guards crashing the defensive boards was huge, led to moving it quickly down the court
Ball movement (swinging it around in particular) was magnificent, got lots of open looks (conversely, when we tried to dribble through the lane we often lost it)

Rinse and repeat please
 
Finally got to watch this game...very relaxing knowing it was a blow out....what a Jeykl and Hyde team....if the shots fall we look unbeatable...then we have games like the ND game....fitting as the rest of the teams this year seem to be locked into the same mode
 
Finally watching the full game.
Flip just looks dominant. If we get this Flip, sky is the limit.
Pitt's first 3 shots were awful. Took the crowd out of the game.
Flip and Young are abusing the Pitt bigs. Love it.
Blakes with a bad foul and then missed an open dunk. Comon man you're a junior.
Duke's D is dominant.
33-13 lol. The Zoo has become a silent petting zoo.
McCain with a 3. No one within 15 feet of him. Yikes Pitt. They look shellshocked. Their gameplan was to play hero ball and then give up. We are becoming an elite team from 3.
Boeheim needs to do more games. He is very good. And funny!
 
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Zou was a rim protector. Jefferson, Battier, Lang and Thomas played great interior defense, you would think they protected the rim.
I don’t disagree because he bothered a lot of shots but his senior year (when finally getting starter minutes) he was averaging less than one block per game. Flip is averaging almost 2 a game so maybe he is a better rim protector than some give him credit. Mitchell is very much like those other defenders you mention.
Jeffersons interior defense on kaminsky in the second half was an underrated reason for duke winning in 2015.
 
I don't know who got on this kick about Duke needing a rim protector. That's not true. Sure, someone who blocks or alters shots is nice, but it's not a requirement to be a title team. Out of Duke's 5 title teams, 'maybe' 2 had someone like that. Zoubek on the 10 team, and Okafor on 15. Look at the other teams that have won the title. Villanova, the holes, Virginia...

What's needed is solid defense. Period. Which is what Duke is playing right now. Let's just hope that continues.
 
I don't know who got on this kick about Duke needing a rim protector. That's not true. Sure, someone who blocks or alters shots is nice, but it's not a requirement to be a title team. Out of Duke's 5 title teams, 'maybe' 2 had someone like that. Zoubek on the 10 team, and Okafor on 15. Look at the other teams that have won the title. Villanova, the holes, Virginia...

What's needed is solid defense. Period. Which is what Duke is playing right now. Let's just hope that continues.
So let's not say just a 'rim protector'. 'Weakside' defense is a better analysis. Does Duke have enough athletes 6'8 and taller that can either block a shot or defend on the weak side?
 
Finally watching the full game.
Flip just looks dominant. If we get this Flip, sky is the limit.
Pitt's first 3 shots were awful. Took the crowd out of the game.
Flip and Young are abusing the Pitt bigs. Love it.
Blakes with a bad foul and then missed an open dunk. Comon man you're a junior.
Duke's D is dominant.
33-13 lol. The Zoo has become a silent petting zoo.
McCain with a 3. No one within 15 feet of him. Yikes Pitt. They look shellshocked. Their gameplan was to play hero ball and then give up. We are becoming an elite team from 3.
Boeheim needs to do more games. He is very good. And funny!
The Pitt BIGS were skinny and inexperienced.
 
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So let's not say just a 'rim protector'. 'Weakside' defense is a better analysis. Does Duke have enough athletes 6'8 and taller that can either block a shot or defend on the weak side?

jam, I would say yes. Mitchell (Duke’s best defender), Flip (I love when he steals the ball from opposing guards in the backcourt), Young (he’s similar to Zoubek from an athletic standpoint, Zoubek was a little bit more athletic, but we have seen Young body up and block/alter shots, Young is a smart player), and finally if everything comes together for Stewart. That’s 4 interior defenders, that’s what Duke had in 2010 with Thomas and Zoubek as the starters and Miles and Mason off the bench.

When Proctor gets back to being the Proctor we saw from February 2023 to the loss against Tennessee (he was the best Blue Devil in that game), Proctor is the best perimeter defender amongst the guards with his 6’5” frame and long arms. Throw in the quickness and depth from Roach, McCain, Foster, and Blakes. Duke has the guards to keep the opposition from throwing the ball into the post.

Duke has the rotation to become ELITE on the defensive end. The saying is ELITE DEFENSE leads to Transition Offense, which Duke is very respectable at the moment with their offensive transition game. It’s a back breaker for the opponent when they commit a turnover and Duke comes back on the offensive end with McCain, Roach, Foster, Flip, or Power hitting a transition 3 and setting back up Defensively.
 
Certainly like what I've seen during this run. A lot of guys have made small improvements. Flip, Mitchell, Young, Foster and McCain, who has made a big improvement. Proctor will get there, the injury has set him back. Roach has been steady all year and is playing like a senior should. I was taken aback by how easily we beat Pitt. Our O and D looked elite. We look like a 2 seed right now. If we can get Stewart playing well I think we can match up with anyone.
 
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I don't know who got on this kick about Duke needing a rim protector. That's not true. Sure, someone who blocks or alters shots is nice, but it's not a requirement to be a title team. Out of Duke's 5 title teams, 'maybe' 2 had someone like that. Zoubek on the 10 team, and Okafor on 15. Look at the other teams that have won the title. Villanova, the holes, Virginia...

What's needed is solid defense. Period. Which is what Duke is playing right now. Let's just hope that continues.
I think “rim protector” has just become another one of those cliché sayings like “dribble drive”. “Team defense” - help off the ball, hedging or switching on screens, proper rotation, and on ball pressure is a helluva lot more important than having the so called “rim protector”. I think we’re starting to figure it out on both offense and defense.
 
I think “rim protector” has just become another one of those cliché sayings like “dribble drive”. “Team defense” - help off the ball, hedging or switching on screens, proper rotation, and on ball pressure is a helluva lot more important than having the so called “rim protector”. I think we’re starting to figure it out on both offense and defense.
I agree that we don't need a "rim protector" per se, but I just remember last year when Lively started playing his best and the way he defended the Armando Bacot. He didn't have to be a rim protector but just simply alter shots and make it tough for him to rebound.

That's what I would like from our center. Can Flip do that while defending Bacot, not sure, but it would be nice to keep him from scoring or rebounding. I use Bacot because he's probably the best big we'll face before the NCAA tournament.
 
jam, I would say yes. Mitchell (Duke’s best defender), Flip (I love when he steals the ball from opposing guards in the backcourt), Young (he’s similar to Zoubek from an athletic standpoint, Zoubek was a little bit more athletic, but we have seen Young body up and block/alter shots, Young is a smart player), and finally if everything comes together for Stewart. That’s 4 interior defenders, that’s what Duke had in 2010 with Thomas and Zoubek as the starters and Miles and Mason off the bench.

When Proctor gets back to being the Proctor we saw from February 2023 to the loss against Tennessee (he was the best Blue Devil in that game), Proctor is the best perimeter defender amongst the guards with his 6’5” frame and long arms. Throw in the quickness and depth from Roach, McCain, Foster, and Blakes. Duke has the guards to keep the opposition from throwing the ball into the post.

Duke has the rotation to become ELITE on the defensive end. The saying is ELITE DEFENSE leads to Transition Offense, which Duke is very respectable at the moment with their offensive transition game. It’s a back breaker for the opponent when they commit a turnover and Duke comes back on the offensive end with McCain, Roach, Foster, Flip, or Power hitting a transition 3 and setting back up Defensively.
I totally forgot about Mason and Miles...what a luxury! I wish Kelly would've redshirt. That extra year would've been a lot.
 
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jam, I would say yes. Mitchell (Duke’s best defender), Flip (I love when he steals the ball from opposing guards in the backcourt), Young (he’s similar to Zoubek from an athletic standpoint, Zoubek was a little bit more athletic, but we have seen Young body up and block/alter shots, Young is a smart player), and finally if everything comes together for Stewart. That’s 4 interior defenders, that’s what Duke had in 2010 with Thomas and Zoubek as the starters and Miles and Mason off the bench.

When Proctor gets back to being the Proctor we saw from February 2023 to the loss against Tennessee (he was the best Blue Devil in that game), Proctor is the best perimeter defender amongst the guards with his 6’5” frame and long arms. Throw in the quickness and depth from Roach, McCain, Foster, and Blakes. Duke has the guards to keep the opposition from throwing the ball into the post.

Duke has the rotation to become ELITE on the defensive end. The saying is ELITE DEFENSE leads to Transition Offense, which Duke is very respectable at the moment with their offensive transition game. It’s a back breaker for the opponent when they commit a turnover and Duke comes back on the offensive end with McCain, Roach, Foster, Flip, or Power hitting a transition 3 and setting back up Defensively.
Having Mason and Miles gave you two athletic BIGs. Mason was supposed to be one and done. The kid enjoyed college. DUKE has truly been spoiled.
 
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