I didn’t really notice or take exception to anything he did in terms of having a bad attitude. Having said that, i didn’t really look too much so maybe it just went over my head. I will say the point about Zion is a fair concern- however i think Zion does a great job of finding RJ when he is open so on the court Zion does his part to share the love. RJ also has the ultimate green light. Now the exposure Zion gets might be tough for the concensus number 1 kid, but he is his roommate and i do have the ultimate trust in K that he will handle it fine. Will be something to look at tomorrow.
RJ's Attitude
- Thread starter dukefan5566
- Start date
It’s a fair topic- whether it’s his first post or not. Discuss the topic- if it gets out of hand or things get “exposed” we will deal with it.
I welcome new people and encourage open discussions. However creating an account and waiting 11 months to start this topic seems fishy to me, that is all. It was a contentious topic during the in game thread and seems like a trollable topic for an opportunistic. If I’m wrong I apologize.
Chov, we suppose to be trying to gain people for next years CTC. You're trying to subtract before we can add anybody lmao, j/k man.
I don't think the OP was meant to troll, at all. Now I highly disagree with most of what was said, but I felt like it had good discussion/intention.
RJ is this team's alpha/best scorer. He has sooooo much Kobe (yes, KOBE) in the way he carries himself, it's pretty crazy. He KNOWS he is the best player on the floor at all times (other than when Zion is doing things that humans shouldn't be able to do.)
Being the alpha carries a certain burden, people that occasionally watch or frankly don't understand basketball may catch a game and think that RJ is selfish. Not the case at all, this Duke team NEEDS RJ to take at least 25 shots a game.
The last thing we need is another Kennard/Tatum "your turn-my turn" scenario. A great aspect of this team is the veterans know who the best players are. Its November 13th, we have a longgggg way to go defensively, but an impressive part of this team is the roles are already defined.
Tre- The commander on offense, apply heavy ball pressure on defense.
RJ- The alpha. The #1 option on offense, the guy we need scoring 25+ a game.
Cam- The shooter and wing defender. Cam do sooo much more than stand in the corner and shoot 3's, but frankly, that's part of his role, and he should excel.
Zion- The unstoppable X-Factor. He just isn't fair, and his effort is the most impressive thing about this Duke team 2 games in.
Marques- Blocks and boards...blocks and more boards.
Jack- Hustle on D, rebound, and hit open 3's.
Javin- Energy.
AOC- 3 pointers and more 3 pointers.
RJ is this team's alpha/best scorer. He has sooooo much Kobe (yes, KOBE) in the way he carries himself, it's pretty crazy. He KNOWS he is the best player on the floor at all times (other than when Zion is doing things that humans shouldn't be able to do.)
Being the alpha carries a certain burden, people that occasionally watch or frankly don't understand basketball may catch a game and think that RJ is selfish. Not the case at all, this Duke team NEEDS RJ to take at least 25 shots a game.
The last thing we need is another Kennard/Tatum "your turn-my turn" scenario. A great aspect of this team is the veterans know who the best players are. Its November 13th, we have a longgggg way to go defensively, but an impressive part of this team is the roles are already defined.
Tre- The commander on offense, apply heavy ball pressure on defense.
RJ- The alpha. The #1 option on offense, the guy we need scoring 25+ a game.
Cam- The shooter and wing defender. Cam do sooo much more than stand in the corner and shoot 3's, but frankly, that's part of his role, and he should excel.
Zion- The unstoppable X-Factor. He just isn't fair, and his effort is the most impressive thing about this Duke team 2 games in.
Marques- Blocks and boards...blocks and more boards.
Jack- Hustle on D, rebound, and hit open 3's.
Javin- Energy.
AOC- 3 pointers and more 3 pointers.
Welcome to the boards. I think too much is being read into this. RJ was making some very difficult shots against Kentucky that were not falling against Army. We have 2 alpha dogs who will be fine playing together. RJ just seemed frustrated with his play.
Last edited:
I understand where this thinking may come from. Whether this guy is a troll or not, I don’t know. But go back to the game day thread against Army and read some of the posts during the first half about Barrett.
If there’s a freshmen on the team that may put off that vibe of “needing to get his,” RJ would be my guess. I hope we don’t have that issue as the year moves on, but he is the one that has the rep of being an alpha and the lead dog. Personally, I think we have 3 lead dogs.
I also believe K thinks this team can be special, so he will keep a close eye on each player. I don’t think we have anything major to worry about, but we have a ways to go, and nothing is guaranteed. They are only 18 after all.
If there’s a freshmen on the team that may put off that vibe of “needing to get his,” RJ would be my guess. I hope we don’t have that issue as the year moves on, but he is the one that has the rep of being an alpha and the lead dog. Personally, I think we have 3 lead dogs.
I also believe K thinks this team can be special, so he will keep a close eye on each player. I don’t think we have anything major to worry about, but we have a ways to go, and nothing is guaranteed. They are only 18 after all.
It's definitely a good problem to have. Will our 3 superstars get along? I like our role players, who are nicely filling in the gaps. My only concern is that the big 3 are handling so much of the scoring load. If 2 are off, is that good enough against a Virginia or Gonzaga? We need a bit more from our other guys, but I think that will come.
The topic to me is so incredibly premature that it’s not even worth debating. Could it become an issue down the road? Well I guess. But it could also be an issue with Cam or Zion or Tre or any of the non freshman. There is such little evidence to establish such an opinion that IMO we look silly discussing it.
What irritated me the most about this topic and what has happened similarly in the past with our fan base is the moment things go sour the entire board turns. We can’t control the emotional disappointment of the game and we start lashing out. After the Kentucky game we tried to control our excitement but it was pounded into our heads all week how great we were. I didn’t think 40-0, but I’ll admit that I bought into some of the hyperbole. When we do this and our team comes out flat or shows signs of struggle as they did against Army, it is a disappointing dose of reality. But the lashing out against RJ is textbook and comes off as extremely juvenile to me.
What irritated me the most about this topic and what has happened similarly in the past with our fan base is the moment things go sour the entire board turns. We can’t control the emotional disappointment of the game and we start lashing out. After the Kentucky game we tried to control our excitement but it was pounded into our heads all week how great we were. I didn’t think 40-0, but I’ll admit that I bought into some of the hyperbole. When we do this and our team comes out flat or shows signs of struggle as they did against Army, it is a disappointing dose of reality. But the lashing out against RJ is textbook and comes off as extremely juvenile to me.
Rj is the type of player thats coming for everyones neck that steps in his path. The dude is a straight dog in every sense of the word. But i do see what you are pointing out. I, like most here, dont think it has to do with any jealousy towards his teammates. R.J. wants to be one of the greatest, as a result he is really hard on hisself. When his shot isn't falling or when he blows a defensive assignment you can see the steam coming off of him. He wants perfection in a non perfect game.
This teams chemistry is really strong, even in RJ's off game he is still putting up moster numbers. I dont think the draft is in his head. He knows he is a lock for a top 3 pick, he just wants to destroy his competition at this point.
There were rumors about recruits out of this classs not wanting to play with R.J. because of his personality and style. R.J. is a true alpha dog and Duke has done a great job this summer getting Zion and Cam and R.J. to buy into the team first mentality. I bet you every one of R.J's Duke teammates will tell you they love playing with him and his attitude.
Coach K. Is big on body language. Never let the other side see you look defeated. R.J. will grow and mature as a player. We will see some of those bad habits of getting mad at hisself go away as the years go on. But R.J. attitude is a good thing for now. I rather have a player whose motor runs too hot sometimes then a guy whoes motor never even starts.
This teams chemistry is really strong, even in RJ's off game he is still putting up moster numbers. I dont think the draft is in his head. He knows he is a lock for a top 3 pick, he just wants to destroy his competition at this point.
There were rumors about recruits out of this classs not wanting to play with R.J. because of his personality and style. R.J. is a true alpha dog and Duke has done a great job this summer getting Zion and Cam and R.J. to buy into the team first mentality. I bet you every one of R.J's Duke teammates will tell you they love playing with him and his attitude.
Coach K. Is big on body language. Never let the other side see you look defeated. R.J. will grow and mature as a player. We will see some of those bad habits of getting mad at hisself go away as the years go on. But R.J. attitude is a good thing for now. I rather have a player whose motor runs too hot sometimes then a guy whoes motor never even starts.
Wow, I was actually going to welcome you to the board and give some input as to what you were mentioning but if you’re gonna go off like that cause one poster questioned you, this probably isn’t the board for you cuz.
We all notice that RJ tends to play like its his team. He’s obviously been given the green light to be ball dominant. Is this selfish or just aggressive? None of the posters here know.
I don’t see why OP would care if someone thinks he’s a troll. It is odd to introduce yourself to a board by posting a thread slightly critical of a player’s attitude after 2 games, but I certainly don’t mind the take. I haven’t made up my mind about Barrett yet except that he’s clearly very good at putting the ball in the hoop.
Be ready for skepticism about this kind of post. No need to get so defensive about the icy reception. It was always going to raise eyebrows. Have some good humor about it.
I don’t see why OP would care if someone thinks he’s a troll. It is odd to introduce yourself to a board by posting a thread slightly critical of a player’s attitude after 2 games, but I certainly don’t mind the take. I haven’t made up my mind about Barrett yet except that he’s clearly very good at putting the ball in the hoop.
Be ready for skepticism about this kind of post. No need to get so defensive about the icy reception. It was always going to raise eyebrows. Have some good humor about it.
Damn Show, I was expecting a tongue lashing from you. Cuz, now that's a word I haven't seen since I was in high school. Lol
I got to say this is one of the strangest threads ever. If the OP is a troll he's pulled a fast one on us. If he is not a troll then we've over reacted. I keep going back to the post where he just went off. That's not normal and it's the thing that bothers me the most. I hope that if he is a Duke fan that he will log off and register under a new name. Crazy. OFC.
91, I’m trying to become a kinder, gentler Show. It’s like Swayze said in Roadhouse , be nice , until it’s time to not be nice. 
Still say JBsmoove. Been planning his attack for 11 months. Not so fast...
If you have spent a lot of time on DBR, try to act similar here and you’ll do fine.
Last edited:
Can’t really see 2 being off because they’re so aggressive and attack the basket. Plus I think if Tre needs to be aggressive he can.
No problem with RJ being jealous. He’s just ultra competitive and want to make every play and shot. That’s just the way it is. Only time I saw him visibly frustrated is when he was called for those travels. That really upset him. Outside of that he hasn’t shown any ill will towards his teammates. He’s a scorer so if he’s missing shots he feel like he should make, he’s going to start forcing shots to get himself going. All great scorers do that.
There was a time when he was a regular poster on RR but I’m not sure if I’ve seen him post anytime recently
I think that the biggest reason Zion is getting so much more media attention compared to RJ and even Cam and Tre is because coming into college he was known for his mind blowing dunks and being freakishly athletic, I have no doubt that RJ, Cam and Tre will get their share of the spotlight throughout the season. As far as their being any jealousy between RJ and Zion, I don’t believe that’s it at all because there was a video of a post game locker room interviewposted in another thread, I believe if was the Kentucky game thread and in the video during Zion’s and RJ’s interviews they both were cracking jokes during each other’s interviews and during Zion’s interview he talked about how much he and RJ hangout together when they’re not on the court. If they hangout as much as Zion said in his interview then I seriously doubt that there’s any jealousy issues because people that are jealous of other people generally don’t hangout with the people that they’re jealous of.
I don’t want to live in a world where we’re scrutinizing and counting how many high fives our BEST PLAYER gives out. I can’t live there.
I don't see any bad attitude. Alphas aren't for the fainthearted.
OFC
OFC
Easy there. I don’t think we have a “most important player.” But I would argue that if I had to pick one off of what we’ve seen, Zion without a doubt. Not even close.
Amen DH......can’t we just enjoy the season instead of nitpicking every little thing we see. Damn what’s wrong with Jack? Dude looks like he has diarrhea. Uh oh RJ missed a shot, now he’s pissed at Zion for not getting him the ball in a better position to shoot. The OP kinda struck me as odd also. Instead of introducing yourself to the board and easing in, he immediately started in about RJ’s supposed attitude. The next post he made answered any questions I had.
Yep, and I don't want to live in a world where we are scrutinizing a teenagers body language and saying he has a bad attitide based on a few seconds of television camera shots. It's just a major reach with very, very thin evidence.
And the OP made this exact same thread on TDD, just strange to make two identical threads about this topic on two Duke message boards on the same day.
It's better to weave these kinds of opinions into existing threads and not call so much attention to yourself with a thread title, especially when no one here knows who the heck you are. It has been entertaining though.
I gotta say, I know about as much of these guys as the rest of you. I watch the games, Earn Everything, the occasional interview, and press conferences. I don't know much else. But from what I have seen, both Zion and RJ (yes RJ) have brought the best attitude, the best demeanor, and are the most responsible for the team getting along.
Which leads me to my next topic...."Don't smoke crack."
I laughed really hard on this one.
Where you been 4plus 3?? your keen insight has been sorely missed!
I actually saw a little of what the original poster was saying. I think some of it had to do with him struggling early on and honestly think a little of it is him not being "the guy".
I immediately said to my 12 year old son after a couple of his mistakes that I thought his body language was bad and about 20 seconds later K pulled him. In all honesty, RJ's play in the Army game reminded me a little of Tatum and his early season struggles before he figured it out and was unreal.
I immediately said to my 12 year old son after a couple of his mistakes that I thought his body language was bad and about 20 seconds later K pulled him. In all honesty, RJ's play in the Army game reminded me a little of Tatum and his early season struggles before he figured it out and was unreal.
