Marty Pocius will be starting by the time we get to conference play, if K knows anything about basketball.Quote:
Originally Posted by killerleft
Book it.
Marty Pocius will be starting by the time we get to conference play, if K knows anything about basketball.Quote:
Originally Posted by killerleft
Book it.
National championship...and that's not just my duke blue glasses...
what do we have?
a great core of bigs, one who can turn defenses inside out and upside down by shooting 40% from 3...and another who will be a force down low...
a phenomenal shooting guard
two point guards...with quinn poised to be really good if he worked on his defense...
and a 5 star wing who spent a year learning the ropes...i think people are underestimating alex murphy...
#5 is the ceiling for this team, absolutely...
Show me the defense, and I'll sign on. Scoring should not be the issue this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by uh_no
Yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPhiKap
- Chillin
a fully healthy quinn cook, and a real wing should take loads of pressure off...i would imagine those guys spent a lot of time on defense in the offseasonQuote:
Originally Posted by OldPhiKap
Does a Final Four birth trump a mediocre, by Duke standards, regular season?
Would you rather:
-22-8 regular season, 3rd place ACC regular season, ACC tourney first or second round loss AND Final Four with loss in semis
-27-3 regular season, beat Kentucky, win Bahamas tourny, ACC regular season title tie, win ACC Tourny, lose in Sweet 16
I guess it comes down to whether you think the FF or ACC Tourny/Regular season have more meaning. I am tempted to pick the Final Four season, but a 22-8 regular season would be tough as it was happening. Would it be overcome by the joy of seeing the team go on a magic run? Tough call, but I think the answer is yes.
This year?
The defense, point guard and athletic wings, essentially the calling cards of Duke Basketball under K, are all question marks. Our most consistent returning veterans are a 2 guard, a center and a pick and savvy pick and pop ~7 footer. There is so much up in the air that it is hard to make pre-season predictions. So, rather than look too far ahead, I'll say this:
-It would feel great for the team to beat Kentucky in Atlanta
-It would hurt terribly for the team to lose its non-con winning streak against Ohio State
-I would love for them to get a chance to play Pitino's Cardinals in the Bahamas
So, to get technical, my hopes for this year, 2012, are that we go 3-0 in those games. If that isn't possible, give me wins over Kentucky and Ohio State.
Perhaps we are quibbling over the semantics of what constitutes "evidence" in our eyes. I too have high hopes for Rasheed but as you admit he and Alex have neither played a minute of college basketball. Other than Youtube highlights I've never seen Rasheed (or Alex for that matter) play so I'm generally cautious before laying such lofty expectations on frosh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kedsy
ESPN had this to day about Rasheed's "weaknesses": "Sulaimon is a capable defender but tends to loose focus at times which gets him out of position or he will gamble and pick up a cheap foul. (emphasis mine)
Similarly for Alex's "weaknesses": Defensively, he needs to establish a position for himself either by becoming strong enough to guard a 4 or laterally quick enough to contain a 3. (emphasis mine).
To me that to some extent could have been said about nearly all of our perimeter defenders last season (i.e. we appeared to lack focus for stretches and also lacked lateral quickness to really pressure the ball well).
We know Alex worked on building up his strength last year the question remains (in my mind at least) is he quick enough to contain a "3"?
Cook is another interesting variable as I have no idea how much he will improve given that he is now 100% healthy coming off his knee injury?
I guess I just want to actually see it first from Rasheed; Murphy; and Cook first before declaring we are a solid team on defense or even better than last season.
This could be a repeat of 1999, with both the men and the women making it to Monday/Tuesday night. Hopefully one or both will win this time (if EWill can stay out of foul trouble against Griner ...).
You guys are way more postitive than I thought anyone would be. Afterall, this is the same squad that got kicked out of ACC Tourney in the 2nd round by Fla St after nearly losing to a bad Va Tech team in the first round. Then a small squad like Lehigh beats us in the tourney because they had 2 quick guards and we Curry and Thorton/Cook couldn't handle them. We lose Rivers and we gain Suliamon. We lose a lot offensively in that swithc but we gain defensively.
If, as K has done for 9 out of the last 10 years, and plays a 3 guard lineup, we're going to once again have a smalll lineup out there and Curry and Thorton/Cook will have to guard someone. Plus even though Mason and Miles had a distinct advatage over Lehigh's short, chubby inside players, we continued to shoot 3's all night while Mason got 9 shots (hitting 8) and Miles got 4. They should have got a combined 20-25. That has to change this year. Quit having Mason and Ryan 20-25 ft from the basket setting screens and get them in the paint where they can use their height and length to Duke's advantage. Maybe set screens in the paint for them.
Defensively, it we continue to play agressive half court man-to-man defense and have Mason and Ryan straying from the paint, we'll struggle against teams with quick guards. Mason and Ryan should never be more than 7 ft from the basket.
And I would love to see a front line of Mason, Ryan and Alex. We'd be a strong rebounding team and would block and alter a lot of shots in the paint. Could Mason, Ryan and Alex play man to man defesne against a smaller, quicker front line. Probably not. But there are ways to play man to man defense without playing to another teams strengths.
I think a top 3 finish in the ACC and hopefully get to a Sweet 16 and not get embarrasssed in Round 1 or 2 would be a decent year.
With all due respect, it's not exactly the same team. Ryan Kelly did not play in the post season and his loss was not negligible.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
And Duke adds more than just Sulaimon. Duke also adds Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee. The addition of Murphy and Jeffersongives K bigger options on the perimeter and makes this roster much more than just a Rivers for Sulaimon trade.
See, here's where you're wrong. It isn't close to the same squad as the one we trotted out in the ACCT & NCAAT. Of the six guys who played more than 11 minutes in the Lehigh game, three are gone and one (Tyler) could possibly be seeing a reduced role.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
Top six minute-getters in the Lehigh game:
Austin
Mason
Tyler
Miles
Andre
Seth
Depth: Quinn, Josh, Michael G
Projected top six minute-getters this season:
Seth
Mason
Ryan
Alex
Quinn
Rasheed
Depth: Tyler, Amile, Marshall, Josh
Doesn't at all look like the same team to me.
Well, first of all, Kyle Singler played SF in 2011 and 2010, so already what 9 out of 10 are you talking about? Also, our SFs in 2009 (Gerald Henderson) and 2007/2008 (DeMarcus Nelson) were pretty normal sized for the college SF position. Other than last season, we haven't played a true three guard lineup since 2006.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
Besides, unless Alex totally flops he'll be the starter and pick up the majority of SF minutes this season, so this concern of yours doesn't seem very apt.
I'm not sure what one game last year has to do with the upcoming season. We don't have nearly as many three-point shooters this year as we have in the recent past. Mason and Ryan may not get as many inside looks as you appear to want, but they'll get plenty.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
Again, unless Alex flops this is the front line people are expecting to see. If a team has a small, quick SF who Alex has difficulty guarding, then we should be able to go small (with Rasheed) without missing a beat on either side of the ball.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
You're talking about the future but you seem to be living in the past. Anything less than a top 3 ACC finish and a Sweet 16 would be a disappointment, but the probable results of the season should be much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
Last year's team wasn't as terrible as you make them seem...there were some low points, but also some highs. Last year's squad defeated the Big Ten regular season and tournament champs who earned a #1 seed in MSU, beat the National Runner-up in a championship game in Hawaii in Kansas, shocked its rival on a will-not-be-forgotten buzzer beater after coming back from 10 down with 2 min to play, had the largest second half comeback in Coach K history against NC State, and finished second in the conference in the regular season. Yes, they lost a close game ("kicked out of the ACC Tourney" seems a bit hyperbolic) by 3 in the semifinals to eventual champs FSU after having defeated them in Tallahassee the month before. It was a rough adjustment with Kelly out and certainly other circumstances led to the loss. And, then, of course, everybody played poorly against Lehigh. But one game doesn't make a season. Last year's squad was not an embarrassment at all - they had some quality wins and good moments throughout the season. Defense let them down at crunchtime and we couldn't make the adjustment in our personnel for a few games, which led to some head-scratching moments. This year's team has the potential to also have memorable moments like last season, but also finish the job with defense and hopefully play well in crunch time and at the end of the season.Quote:
Originally Posted by ohiodukefan
I'm a little split. On one hand, we weren't nearly as good as our record/seeding indicated last year, and we lost our best player from that team. On the other side, Duke seems to get unusually great seasons out of our seniors, was down a key player for some of our collapse last year (but, it should be noted, not all of it), and Murphy and Sulaimon sound like exactly the type of players to fit what we need. I guess if I was forced to make a definite prediction I'd split the difference and say Sweet 16 or Elite 8.
What is not serious about your first paragraph? Seems about accurate to me - and probably to Ozzie as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by blazindw
I want what Dave wants except with unc getting Lehighed in the round of 64.
If anyone is "friends" with SportsCenter on Facebook, check out the recent photo of Lebron, Phil Jackson and MJ...why is Cameron in the background? Or is my mind playing serious tricks?
ha, pretty funny. Nice find!Quote:
Originally Posted by noworries
Attachment 2856
I guess it's what they had in the stock photo pile or something.
Not only is it Cameron, there's tape on the court for volleyball or some other sport.Quote:
Originally Posted by noworries
I have no idea what our staff has in store, but I love the potential of this group.
Nolan took Quinn under his wing this summer, supposedly. Cook will have improved. How much? That'll be key, as ever.
Our team defense is bound to improve, as well. K has emphasized our length and athleticism--presumably that's a nod to better on-ball defending and denial defense, as well.
We have a first-round draft pick at center. Let's take advantage of him, and all the length/athleticism that will be around him.
I think the identity of our offense will be clearer from the get-go than it was last season. And the potential for a trio of reliable scorers, with another trio of consistent producers, is present, IMO.
And lastly, we have three seniors (not counting Dawkins). As Kedsy pointed out in the spring, that has been a very good omen under Coach K:
Our teams with at least three seniors: '86, '89, '90, '94, '06, '10.
In order to fend off the woof gods, let me note that the 1995 team also had three seniors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Corey
As did 1983. So, consider yourself placated.
For the record, in the K era, Duke also had at least three recruited seniors in 1981, 1985, 1997, 1998, and 2003.