Coach K would switch to a zone the last few years for short spurts. It's nice we did it, but it's really not that big an adjustment lol. My high school coach would do this. You have to try something different when you are on the ropes like that.
Official game day thread- Duke vs Wake
- Thread starter pisgah101
- Start date
Still got to get more out of he back court besides just defense . There will be that one game where they double team Flagg and dare the other four players to score . Need more out of Proctor, Foster, Sion and Evans on the scoring end . Gillis has been a plus and Duke will need Brown moving into the NCAA and against Carolina .
Sion is more of a jack of all trades guy. Which is fine, but with Foster falling off and Evans not scoring it would have cost us against a better team. I do think we need Brown back to make the final four. And a healthy Brown, not a hobbled Brown. We do have a lot of weapons, especially with Gillis playing like this. Evans seems like an all or nothing type freshman; he will give you zero or 15. I remember AJ being like that.
The staff did a great job by getting Sion, Brown and Gillis. All are versatile and can almost guard every position. So lucky to have them all to be able to switch things up when we need it.
A+ to the Duke Coaching Staff on the Roster Construction of the 2024-2025 Duke Blue Devils
Totally agree. Gillis has really settled in. He scored 11, and was all around the ball down the stretch.
Evans played 4 minutes and had 2 rebounds no shot attempts. May have not been good situation to play him today but Foster did nothing Kon was turnover machine start second half so it probably would not have hurt to see Evans play few more minutes. Sure he had some fans there playing high school 1 hour away
Gillis may end up being the best of the transfers, especially if Brown is not 100 percent. Brown was not the same guy after he hurt his toe. Gillis seems to be improving every game lately
I think they’re holding Brown back until he is 100% - we have the luxury of being able to do that without going into a tailspin. I would guess another 2 weeks.
Until 3 weeks ago, i thought Gillis was not a great transfer, but figured he probably brought a veteran presence that was useful, even if only in practice. But he has really come on strong on the court the last 4-5 games. I think he’s pushing Foster further down the bench and will likely also get some of Ngongba’s minutes when Brown returns (of course, Brown will get most of Pat’s minutes in any event). But I’m not sure I’d annoint any of Brown, James or Gillis as the transfer of the year - they each have brought special strengths to the team. I’d just say that Scheyer did a hell of job getting all three. Huge contrast to the prior 2 years.
I’d give Sion the title of best transfer. He’s been a starter and has logged big minutes. If he’s not here, Caleb is starting and he’s been a major disappointment.
Gillis is the man though!
Gillis is the man though!
I watched Mason during pre-game shootaround and he’s standing at the “WF” logo at mid-court and he comfortably hit three long bombs in a row standing on the F just over mid-court. That guy can shoot the ball and he hit two critical late shots, one 3-ball to cut Wake’s lead from 4 to 1. Another to make it 59-52 Duke when it was 52 secs left.
There are trade-offs, you don’t have a terrific defender right now with Brown, but you gain more offense with Gillis without a significant compromise defensively thanks to Mason’s strength and experience.
One wonders the future of the season with Caleb Foster. To me there are times when he just doesn’t seem playable and he seems to have no impact on the game whatsoever when he’s in there. I know he got a late start because of the injury from last year. (wasn’t it actually suffered at Wake but not reported until later?) he had off-season surgery on his foot, I’ve heard them say he has steel in his foot and I believe he wasn’t able to play again until around September. Anyone know the exact injury/surgery repair? little did we know how critical getting Sion James was in light of Caleb’s situation.
Bottom line, as we saw last night, this Duke team has a wide margin for error. To shoot that bad as they did for that long stretch and appear totally dead in the water and then suddenly just turn it on and shut the other team down is impressive. Payback for the court storming was nice, now let’s payback the wuffies for that painful Elite 8 defeat Monday followed by some ram chops in Cameron next weekend.
Gillis is shooting 48% on 3s in ACC games.
So Coach S hasnt taught any zone in practice....and then throws it out hoping for the best.....not sure that is sending the message he thinks it is....Flagg saying hes NEVER played zone....
Foster reminds me of a player in the local adult rec league.
He is bringing nothing to the team.
He is bringing nothing to the team.
Several of us have been saying for a while, there is going to be a night when we shoot poorly, and a lesser team gets hot, and Duke will go down. Starting that second half 1-18 (how does that even happen) with Wake hot and the crowd fueling them, I thought yesterday was the day. Gotta give this team tons of credit for getting knocked back (thanks Coach K) and not giving up in a hostile environment. This team sure has a lot of weapons, and Cooper is a beast, getting better and better.
I get the wall of silence around injuries but I think it would help some players with fans and the media if they knew the extent of the injury. If Caleb's injury was serious and set him back significantly, fans and the media wouldn't be wondering wth is wrong with Foster. I know I would have been easier on him. Not that this is Jon's priority. I did mention over the summer that we needed a portal guard due to Foster being out a while. Luckily Sion can play PG; I didn't realize that when he got him as he looks like a forward. I agree he is a huge pick up, as are Brown and Gillis. Last year and other years we would have folded yest. but we didn't. I hope Foster sticks it out at Duke and doesn't transfer like Schutt/Power/Stewart did. Right now his role is a 10 minute guy to give Proctor and Sion a breather. It is a plus if he doesn't hurt the team in this role. He only took 2 shots I think yesterday and was moving the ball well, so he did his job against Wake.
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Many forget he missed all summer and is pretty much playing on a reconstructed ankle , speaking of Foster.
It could be very mental to him which it appears to be . He’s got to believe in himself . He looks like a freshman with deer in the headlights at times but he will put it together . This I’m sure of .
Really wish some would watch all of basketball. Yes, Evans went off on Auburn and when he’s on he has nothing but the green light . The flip side of the Auburn game is he’s not a secret and teams are not gonna let him light them up. Especially good defensive teams. This imo is why Gillis has been scoring well. He’s mixing it up not just shooting three’s. I believe Evans knows this as well and is adapting to it . In order for Evans to get open shots the other shooters on the floor need to be hitting shots to keep the defense spread.
Agree on Foster Chris. I don't think he's even close to 100%. He has shown flashes of excellent play, but generally he seems a little slow and hesitant to attack. I also hope he comes back next year.
It is strange how many layups Sion misses. He gets to the rim very effectively but then misses a lot of bunnies. It's like he is surprised he made it all the way to the rim. To be fair he does make a lot as well. He reminds me of DeMarcus Nelson. I think Jon has found the right mix and young talent and strong vets due to the portal.
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