I'm pretty new to this board, mostly spent my time at DBR til they changed and then mostly at TDD. But still, not a huge poster. But couldn't love Duke anymore than I do, I assure you of that. So I posed this question at TDD but that place is about as active as a mall these days.
I started getting a sinking feeling during the Canada tour that I wasn't seeing a consistently good attitude from RJ. Little too emotive on fouls, body language when shots didn't fall, and just a lot of negative intangibles from his expressions. On the other side, he was super excited for his teammates to succeed and hit big shots and make plays. So there is obviously tons of good to be gleaned as well.
But this last game, I really started to see his attitude take a turn in the wrong direction. And I am going to make the big assumption that it has to do with Zion. RJ forced shots (which is fine, that is his aggressive nature) but completely passed up open passes that he had previously been willing to make. Especially one to Zion on a fast break.
His frustration was showing all over his face. There was a particular point on a stoppage where Alex goes to give RJ a five and he COMPLETELY ignores him and Alex just kind of does it anyways haha. His body language was really quite bad. If it weren't for his pointing out Zion on that wild tip-oop and still chest bumping him after one of his blocks, I would be really worried.
I don't like being a downer, I LOVE RJ and our entire squad. I just hope that if there IS something there, that it is easily fixable and provides a good teaching opportunity. I feel like this team has a truly special chemistry, and I hope that we don't see that crumble because of ego. But I wouldn't blame RJ in the slightest if he felt like ALL of his shine was being taken by Zion. It isn't like its Zion's fault, but as a kid, I could totally see feelings of envy and jealousy forming.
Maybe it is way too early to tell. Maybe I am nitpicking and delusional. But I figured it was worth a discussion. So, do y'all see any attitude issues worth keeping an eye on or addressing by the staff?