Big Man Perception

[kostar]

The hiring of Capel and the concerted effort to feed the big men as Coach K said during the summer has definitely shown. The Mason/Ryan is really developing quite nicely, and is really showing the wonderful skills sets that both players have. Mason I hope has finally broken out, a very solid 17/12 night verses a physical front line. It may only be for a season, but I hope these 2 guys with Capel's help are able to shed the recent Duke big man perception, of set screens and rebound, because these 2 guys are making their presence felt.

[Newton_14]

The hiring of Capel and the concerted effort to feed the big men as Coach K said during the summer has definitely shown. The Mason/Ryan is really developing quite nicely, and is really showing the wonderful skills sets that both players have. Mason I hope has finally broken out, a very solid 17/12 night verses a physical front line. It may only be for a season, but I hope these 2 guys with Capel's help are able to shed the recent Duke big man perception, of set screens and rebound, because these 2 guys are making their presence felt.

So Wojo gets no credit for Ryan and Mason's improvements? I am glad to have Coach Capel on the staff and hope he sticks around awhile, but all 3 of our bigs played well down the stretch last year, and have built on that this year. I find it quite unfair to attribute all of that success to Coach Capel when Wojo is the coach of the bigs. The change in the offense to put more emphasis on post scoring was going to happen this year no matter what. The hiring of Coach Capel didn't have anything to do with that. K said even before Capel was hired that he felt the bigs were now ready and capable of taking on more scoring responsibility and that was going to be a focus.

I love Coach Capel and I think we have the best assistant coaches in the game, but I feel Wojo gets way too much unwarranted criticism. He certainly got the most out of Zoubek and Lance Thomas in their career's where the end result was a National Title that never happens without those two guys...

[verga]

Wojo not Capel is the big man coach, praise him, he certainly has had his share of grief from message boards. I guess if Duke gets a new janitor they will be responsible for the bigs good play, anyone but Wojo, please.

[Bob Green]

What is Jeff Capel's role? I'm not being snarky, this is a legitimate question that I'm hoping someone on the board can answer.

[Devilsfan]

I find it hard to believe that Capel had a huge influence on our bigs development. Wojo is their coach. One thing though they put the ball on the court more than I would like to see. This a skill that should be left to our guards and wings IMO.

[NovaScotian]

Wojo not Capel is the big man coach, praise him, he certainly has had his share of grief from message boards. I guess if Duke gets a new janitor they will be responsible for the bigs good play, anyone but Wojo, please.

well, as long as the janitor is taller than 5-11.

[OldPhiKap]

well, as long as the janitor is taller than 5-11.

How many cinder blocks is that?

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Are we really having this discussion again? My gosh...

[davekay1971]

Are we really having this discussion again? My gosh...

It's the day after Thanksgiving. It's the perfect day to pull leftovers out of the fridge, reheat them, and have another heapin' helpin' of something you've had more than enough of before...

[sagegrouse]

With the losses from last season, it made sense that Duke should look inside for increased productivity. We should be pleased with how well our big men have played.

• Ryan is the best all-around player on the team.
• Mason, maybe with Austin, is proving to be the most talented player on the squad. If he starts "demanding the ball," he could be the highest scorer as well as the best rebounder.
• I've got no problem with Plumbeard -- he's a tough and agile performer that gives us defense and a bit of offense.

But let's "go to the videotape:"

Player	 PPG	 RPG
Mason	 11.4 	 10.0 
Miles	  5.6 	  5.3 
Ryan	 14.6 	  4.6 
Total	 31.6 	 19.9

Anybody else happy with our bigs rolling for 32 and 20 through the first seven games?

sagegrouse

[OldPhiKap]

It's the day after Thanksgiving. It's the perfect day to pull leftovers out of the fridge, reheat them, and have another heapin' helpin' of something you've had more than enough of before...

Someone has set the "post of the day" bar pretty high this morning. Well-played.

[JMarley50]

I haven't seen practices or games in person this season, nor am I privy to any inside info, just what I read here. But based on what I have seen on tv thus far I would somewhat agree with the OP and say Capel is working closely with the big guys. He is the one I have noticed talking to them and coaching them the most during games, not Wojo. I'm not saying Wojo doesn't deserve credit, but I am saying Coach Capel should be getting some of the credit too.

Let me also add that I think the players themselves deserve the most credit. They've obviously been working hard! That hook that Mason developed don't just happen overnight.

[OldPhiKap]

With the losses from last season, it made sense that Duke should look inside for increased productivity. We should be pleased with how well our big men have played.

• Ryan is the best all-around player on the team.
• Mason, maybe with Austin, is proving to be the most talented player on the squad. If he starts "demanding the ball," he could be the highest scorer as well as the best rebounder.
• I've got no problem with Plumbeard -- he's a tough and agile performer that gives us defense and a bit of offense.

But let's "go to the videotape:"

Player	 PPG	 RPG
Mason	 11.4 	 10.0 
Miles	  5.6 	  5.3 
Ryan	 14.6 	  4.6 
Total	 31.6 	 19.9

Anybody else happy with our bigs rolling for 32 and 20 through the first seven games?

sagegrouse

. . . and posted against very good teams. Even the "easiest" team we have played so far beat #20 Cincy in Cincy.

We are very balanced, and I noticed Mason just demanding the ball a lot in the championship game. Which is outstanding. And a confident Ryan is a very dangerous thing. I agree that Miles is solid, and hope he has a Zoubek-like realization that he is a damn good player who can finish at a whole other level.

[devildeac]

Are we really having this discussion again? My gosh...

Sounds like it, so I will trot out this story again from the team hotel in Indy at about 2AM after the 2010 NC, as relayed to me from a friend of mine (looong time respected DBR poster) who was the 3rd party (silent) in this conversation between Mr. Zoubeard and Wojo. (Paraphrased)

Mr. Z-We'd like to thank you for all the time, patience, understanding and teaching/coaching you provided Brian over his 4 years at Duke.
Wojo-No, thank you for alllowing us the opportunity to work with Brian during his time here and see him grow and mature as a person and player.

He said the tone/voice of both parent and coach were as sincere and humble as he could imagine. Shame that story can't be taken on the recruiting trail. I know folks will be able to counter with stories/examples of fathers named Ken and their experiences with the staff, but I'll always fondly recall the Zoubeard story at Duke and how his 4 years culminated.

[Kedsy]

I haven't seen practices or games in person this season, nor am I privy to any inside info, just what I read here. But based on what I have seen on tv thus far...

But did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

[uh_no]

But did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

Lets just say this: tyler zeller might be in for a surprise when the team from hell runs into the kelly/plumlee buzzsaw

[JMarley50]

But did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

I didn't... Why? Was that my last chance at being qualified to comment on the matter?

[duke09hms]

I find this topic to be very interesting, and I don't think it to be an easy open and shut case. Nor does it boil down to a blanket statement like "Wojo is a great/terrible big man coach."

Here are a few of my observations:
1. Let's put it to bed - you don't need to be a big man to coach big men. It doesn't matter that Wojo was a guard.
2. Because he was the only coach they over had, Wojo gets full credit for the development of Zoubek and LT who became defensive and rebounding beasts AND learned not to foul.
3. Given observation #2, neither Zoubek nor LT developed a reliable post game, mostly scoring on put-backs. Never truly could create their own shot, especially against physical big post players.
3. The quotes a few entries up between Brian's dad and Wojo doesn't really add much because they've only ever had Wojo. Perhaps with the average big man coach out there, the could have been a lot better or a lot worse. No one knows - we only know Wojo helped them become essential pieces to a national championship.
4. Prior to this year, Mason, Miles, and Ryan showed great rebounding, good interior defense, but no real dependable post offense - similar to Zoubek and LT before them.
5. This year, Mason and Ryan (Miles a little bit) have displayed greatly improved post offense. Mason with his hook shot, ability to create and seal post position, and be a reliable creator of offense in the post. Ryan with his almost Kevin McHale-like post moves in his arsenal to go along with his inside/outside abilities.
6. This year also marks Coach Capel's arrival to the Duke staff.

I think these are the conclusions we can draw:
Wojo can certainly coach defense and rebounding out of the bigs - no small feat given how important those skills are to team success, especially when we see so many teams that are lacking in those areas. However, up until this year, none of our post players showed the ability to consistently score the ball in the post. Seems like the big question is: Are Mason's and Ryan's improvements due to the 3-year cumulative effects of Wojo's coaching, or is the main reason they finally took a huge leap forward this year because of Coach Capel coming on board?

[Devilsfan]

K gives Mason praise for the win against Kansas, but others put their (Kansas) loss squarely in the hands of Rivers. He stays in the game and perhaps a different ending. Post Thanksgiving "food for thought".

[UrinalCake]

Capel was a 6'4" combo guard. What makes him any more qualified to coach big men than Wojo? He might have put on a few pounds since his playing days but I don't recall him ever posting anybody up. For some reason there's this need to find a big guy to be our big man coach.