Page 50 of 50 FirstFirst ... 40484950
Results 981 to 982 of 982
  1. #981
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Cali
    Quote Originally Posted by dcar1985 View Post
    They ran that high screen in roll to death and Lehigh played it perfectly all night...
    Yup. Duke offense became so predictable, easy to guard. Everything was in slow . All the players seemed like they were more concerned with running the right play and not make a mistake, rather than attack the defense.

  2. #982
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.
    Quote Originally Posted by superdave View Post
    If someone can point out to me the lack of opportunity afforded to Mason, then I'll buy into this line of reasoning. That guy has had the ball in his hands as much as any big man at Duke for a long, long time. He's been featured in the low post, the high post, as a faceup guy, with his back to the basket. I do wish we got to see him on the break more and on the receiving end of some more alley-oops with a great distributor. But he's had plenty of opportunities. Sure he's set screens but Anthony Davis set a lot of screens this year too. This is sort of whiny stuff. It's not like anyone is preventing him from dunking on people or developing a drop step. Yes, I want him to get more touches but only he can post up deeper. Only he can stop bringing the ball down in the post. Only he can give up the desire to take a dribble to gather himself. I'd love to see him grow exponentially, but any suggestion that he is being held back is just plain dumb.
    I've been pointing out how the offense has shortchanged Mason and his brother all season. Duke has not run an offense that has featured a big man since Sheldon left, and, in Sheldon's case, the aim was to get it to Sheldon in the middle of the paint, not in a static low block position. Sheldon was able to get a step on his man and the ball was delivered as soon as he did. He then had at least three scoring options. We saw most all the tournament teams with two big men on the court utilize some type of motion and two-man play between them in the context of an overall motion offense, like the Flex--that is, an offense that has a variety of motion options all of which have as a priority creating passing opportunities to interior playerpositioned to score. Some of the more prominent teams that did this were Kansas, Ohio State, North Carolina, Florida State, Michigan State, Baylor, Georgetown, and I believe also Kentucky when it wasn't running people to death. In fact, even teams tht played small ball did not have their bigs stationary and outside the flow of the offense; rather, they were on the move, were integral to ball distribution, and had a variety of spots within offensive sets that were "go" positions for them if the opportunity was present. Even on the 2010 team, Lance was given plenty of opportunities to catch and shoot or catch or drive at the right elbow. The few times Mason caught it on the foul line, he showed an excellent lefty drive and an excellent drive to the right with a spin back to the left. Miles showed that he was a better 15 foot shooter than Lance, and given the support, might have been quite the scorer from that position and also from the high post--Miles has a smooth motion off seemingly effortless elevation but often seemed to try to be too perfect then he needed to, instead of just trusting his shot. Inside passing opportunities between Mason and Miles, or one of the two and Kelly, were almost non existent. Miles made some outstanding passes to his brother from the high post that resulted in scores; for some reason, the offense being run did not create many opportunities for such two man play (compare Ohio State).

    If anyone has the first few games on DVR, check them out. In at least one, the imperative was to get it to Mason inside as a first option after receiving a pass. Passes were thrown with cleverness and touch, Mason showed real timing, feel for how to use his body, and terrific body control and hands in making receptions that made a score impossible to stop.

    I can see why K chose to feature the three-ball. He had four really good shooters from that distance, was ridiculously thin up front, and the number one priority for the Plumlees and Kelly was to defend inside and defensive rebound. That said, the way the Plumlees were utilized on offense seems to me to have done them and the team a disservice. And, once the offense by design became a one man show, I think that that had to be deflating to others on the team and produced the general lack of intensity noted by so many during the stretch run at the end of the season. I aluded to this early on in this tread by asking if "Mason's decision might not turn on what others do," but I'll say itmore clearly now--if Rivers had stayed, I think Mason would be gone. I think that Mason has been given assurances that he will be featured in the offense in ways other than the hold and shield game that he was relegated to this year. The question it seems to me is whether WoJo and Collins can coach the sort of offense I have made a poor attempt to describe. I think that that has very little to do with whether Duke has a "good big man's coach" or not. Rather, I think that it has everything to do with whether WoJo or Collins can see or feel that type of game and therefore can coach it--that is, educate players so that they see and understand play from each of the positions on the court. I have long expressed my doubts, but believe we will soon see.
    Last edited by greybeard; 04-12-2012 at 02:17 AM.

Similar Threads

  1. Miles' Plumlee Senior Profile
    By bluedevilfan1998 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-30-2012, 10:50 PM
  2. Mason Plumlee Interview -- Duke Blue Planet
    By airowe in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-22-2009, 05:39 PM
  3. VO returning to Duke for one more season
    By Mike Corey in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-23-2008, 09:59 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •