Andre?

[ldavid1]

What's going on with Andre?

[wilson]

He's suffered a dip in his confidence, owing primarily to some cold shooting, which has in turn led him to bring less than 100% effort and focus on every possession and at both ends of the floor. He has allowed a few bad calls and other moments of frustration to affect his demeanor way too much.
This, as we know, is the easiest route to Coach K's (temporary) doghouse. Long-term, he will be fine, but for now, he's (probably rightfully) sitting and thinking a little bit, while watching others (namely, Seth Curry) parlay solid practice and continuous resolve into starter's minutes and strong contributions to the team.

[Rudy]

What's wrong? He's young. He's susceptible to mood swings in his game. I have faith in what we've seen of his character and Coach K's ability to motivate kids that he will find his shooting touch again and work hard on other parts of his game, too.

People who've watched Duke for three years or more may remember similar crises in confidence of its guards in their freshman or sophomore years, including our current NPOY candidate.

[ldavid1]

Rudy, I agree with you. I'm not worried about his shot at all. IMO he just has not seemed happy all year. I could be, and probably am wrong, but I worry about his confidence and hope the fire is burning hot within.

[Devilsfan]

He don't move without the ball. He stands on the wing and waits for a pass. He needs to watch Kyle and start moving to get open.

[MCFinARL]

I only know what I see on TV, but Andre didn't look all that unhappy before the last week or two, when things were going well--in fact, he usually looked excited and focused.
The shooting problems seemed to start in the NC State game--where he came out blazing, going 4-4 in the first half and providing a lot of our early points. But the foul trouble he got into seemed to slow his momentum, and he went 0-4 after coming back in from the bench. In the two games since then he has seemed less effective on the court and played many fewer minutes.
Whatever he is working through, I hope he figures it out soon (with the help of the coaching staff). His height means he can do some things, and guard some people, that Seth can't, and we will need both of them to be playing well as we head toward the postseason. And he seems like a good, likeable kid--so I'd like things to work out well for him as well as for Duke.

[Cockabeau]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Dawkins has a problem in that he has very short arms and he is very slow laterally for a guard his size. This is not a good combination for defense. Also he appears to have problems dribbling the ball.

Curry is a Dawkins with much longer arms and better ball handling skills.

[Bluedog]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Dawkins has a problem in that he has very short arms and he is very slow laterally for a guard his size. This is not a good combination for defense. Also he appears to have problems dribbling the ball.

Curry is a Dawkins with much longer arms and better ball handling skills.

Let's not forget that a month ago people were saying Dawkins has "it", while Curry was off. Things sure can flip flop in a hurry. I think the lesson is that all players go through slumps. He is still making some good plays and certainly will have the opporunity to get back in great form. Andre is shooting nearly 53% for the season. That's not too shabby. By the way, Curry is shooting second-worst on the team (above only Hairston) at 39%. I'm not saying Curry is playing badly, but I wouldn't say he has solidly outperformed Andre. I also wouldn't say he has longer arms - does he really? I'd say Curry has quicker hands for sure though. He's averaging 1.4 steals per game, only 0.1 behind the Nolan who plays 12 minutes more per game. By the way, Kyle is shooting 43.9%. I don't think any of us would say he's playing poorly, but that's not a great percentage. It's the third worst on the team. I realize shooting percentage is a small picture, but even in that regard I expect Kyle to turn it up a notch. Even Kyle has gone through some shooting slumps (although he contributes in many other ways).

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I'll say that he looked better last night than he did in the second halves against State and Wake. In both of those games, his reactions to adversity seemed to be the problem, not his shooting touch. His attitude seemed better against BC, even if his PT didn't go up.

Shooters go through slumps, he'll be fine. I also think whatever else is going on will get fixed, our coaches are too excellent not to correct it.

[MChambers]

I also wouldn't say he has longer arms - does he really? I'd say Curry has quicker hands for sure though.

Hard to tell without cinder blocks.

[magjayran]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Dawkins has a problem in that he has very short arms and he is very slow laterally for a guard his size. This is not a good combination for defense. Also he appears to have problems dribbling the ball.

Curry is a Dawkins with much longer arms and better ball handling skills.

I think it's a little early to toot your own horn on this one. For stretches this year Andre has been more effective than Seth and for stretches Seth has been more effective than Dre. In fact, barring last night's awesome performance from Seth, their numbers are pretty comparable over the last 5 or so games.

In terms of size and arm length. They are two different sized players (Dre has a couple inches and 20 lbs on Seth) and two different types of athletes (Dre has explosive leaping ability and Seth is obviously quicker.) They won't necessarily be guarding the same players and won't necessarily have the same defenders matched up against them. I think it's possible that the opponent might dictate which player is more effective in a given game.

Remember, it was only a few games ago when Andre helped spark a nice Duke run that helped put Virginia away. The following game against NCSU saw both players with so-so performances although Andre was important in the first half. Seth got more minutes against Wake but neither player was setting the world on fire. Then last night Seth catches fire which is great but not necessarily a sure sign that he is now more important than Dre. We've got two incredibly streaky shooters on our team with amazing form. If Seth continues to shoot lights out over the course of the year then I will be happy to give you props on your correct prediction but until then, let's hold off on declaring one more important than the other. Up until this point I would say that they've been equally as important with Andre maybe having a slightly better year. I mean he's played 70 more minutes and has about 60 more points than Seth...

[Chitowndevil]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Dawkins has a problem in that he has very short arms and he is very slow laterally for a guard his size. This is not a good combination for defense. Also he appears to have problems dribbling the ball.

Curry is a Dawkins with much longer arms and better ball handling skills.

I disagree with this. Strongly. Dre has tremendous raw athleticism to go with his great shooting form. It's true he doesn't have a great handle yet (again though I'd draw analogies to Nolan earlier in his career). But I think his getting beat on D has a lot more to do with footwork, positioning, and focus than quickness or body type. I actually thought it was Seth who looked very slow laterally at the beginning of the season (he compenated somewhat by being able to poke the ball out from behind). Anyway I think Seth and Dre's recent relative performance has a lot more to do with mental strength and limitations rather than physical ones.

[1999ballboy]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Correctly predicted? Apart from the last two games, Dawkins has contributed to the team as much as, and often more than Curry. It's a little early to be patting yourself on the back for your "predictions."

[OZ]

Run the tapes of the last two games and watch his defense. Right now the difference in Curry's time and Dre's is defense. It has been K's belief for a hundred years, that good defense leads to good offense. Simply put, play defense... you play more minutes.

[CDu]

Before the season I correctly predicted that Curry not Dawkins would be the key factor.

Dawkins has a problem in that he has very short arms and he is very slow laterally for a guard his size. This is not a good combination for defense. Also he appears to have problems dribbling the ball.

I find this amusing. You've been silent over the past several weeks on this matter, given that Curry had indeed not been the key factor. In fact, until last night, it was looking like Curry might have been overtaken by both Dawkins AND Thornton.

You had even started taking credit for Dawkins as part of your "small lineup" argument when it looked like Dawkins was emerging and Curry was not going to be the key guy.

Curry is a Dawkins with much longer arms and better ball handling skills.

He's also substantially shorter, slighter, and has less of a vertical. And he's not that much better a ballhandler.

In short, both players are streaky, and both rely heavily on their 3pt shot. A few weeks ago, it looked like Dawkins was an emerging star and everyone was questioning Curry. Prior to last night, people were questioning both players. Today, Curry is back in favor. I'd wait a few more weeks before patting yourself on the back on this one.

[Orange&BlackSheep]

I find this amusing. You've been silent over the past several weeks on this matter, given that Curry had indeed not been the key factor. In fact, until last night, it was looking like Curry might have been overtaken by both Dawkins AND Thornton.

You had even started taking credit for Dawkins as part of your "small lineup" argument when it looked like Dawkins was emerging and Curry was not going to be the key guy.

He's also substantially shorter, slighter, and has less of a vertical. And he's not that much better a ballhandler.

In short, both players are streaky, and both rely heavily on their 3pt shot. A few weeks ago, it looked like Dawkins was an emerging star and everyone was questioning Curry. Prior to last night, people were questioning both players. Today, Curry is back in favor. I'd wait a few more weeks before patting yourself on the back on this one.

I agree substantially with your post other than your comment on their respective ball handling. Curry really is light years ahead from what I have seen.

[BD80]

... Thus, IMO, if Duke wants to be as close to being a threat to win it all, without Kyrie, Seth has to run the point. ...

No, no, a thousand times no.

Seth will NOT be a primary ballhandler very much this year, if at all. Tyler will come in to handle if Nolan is on the bench, or Singler will be the primary handler. As long as Nolan is in, he will be the primary handler.

Maybe Seth's point guard skills will improve during his Duke career, but his ability to run the point will have NO impact on our success this year.

Bringing in Tyler and Quinn is a good clue that Seth is not projected as a lead guard for Duke. I think he will be a very important player at Duke, he can thrive in our system.

FWIW I think this issue will be moot in 3-4 weeks

[weezie]

FWIW I think this issue will be moot in 3-4 weeks

My Detroit pal, you're making me laugh and you are right.

De-fense clap clap, de-fense clap clap.

The one and only trend at Duke, yo' these 30 years...

[Newton_14]

No, no, a thousand times no.

Seth will NOT be a primary ballhandler very much this year, if at all. Tyler will come in to handle if Nolan is on the bench, or Singler will be the primary handler. As long as Nolan is in, he will be the primary handler.

Maybe Seth's point guard skills will improve during his Duke career, but his ability to run the point will have NO impact on our success this year.

Bringing in Tyler and Quinn is a good clue that Seth is not projected as a lead guard for Duke. I think he will be a very important player at Duke, he can thrive in our system.

FWIW I think this issue will be moot in 3-4 weeks

Agree. Seth in no way "ran the point" last night. He brought the ball up the court a few times to allow Nolan to start the offensive set off the ball, but that is not running the point. That is giving Nolan a little help with ball handling responsibilities. Nolan is our PG and has been since Kyrie went down. He will continue to run the point until we get Kyrie back.

Nolan has performed well in the role. He is leading the conference in assists and scoring afterall. His one key weakness at the point is creating easy shots for the bigs, mainly because he drives to finish vs driving to dish. Yet he is still getting enough assists to lead the league. Outside of that weakness he is doing a great job as the point guard and primary ball handler.

[77devil]

Agree. Seth in no way "ran the point" last night. He brought the ball up the court a few times to allow Nolan to start the offensive set off the ball, but that is not running the point. That is giving Nolan a little help with ball handling responsibilities. Nolan is our PG and has been since Kyrie went down. He will continue to run the point until we get Kyrie back.

Nolan has performed well in the role. He is leading the conference in assists and scoring afterall. His one key weakness at the point is creating easy shots for the bigs, mainly because he drives to finish vs driving to dish. Yet he is still getting enough assists to lead the league. Outside of that weakness he is doing a great job as the point guard and primary ball handler.

The issue of Seth at the point appears to have been pretty thoroughly dissected. I simply would add that if Seth was the best option, I'm confident that the coaching staff would have come to that conclusion already.