Le sigh. What might have been.
Le sigh. What might have been.
Hats off to Depaul for an excellently executed game. They made 13 threes, that is insane. One of the ways they improved their chances was by creating wide open shots by spreading the perimeter, and doing a great job of moving the ball. By the third or fourth pass, someone was ready with no defenders close by. I'm not blaming Duke's D for that, it was just a solid job on offense creating the opportunities that they needed.
The other thing that helped them and hurt us, was their press. That is where our lack of a true PG really showed; we struggled in escaping it, I think at one point we turned it over three straight times before we even got across midcourt. I think we still could have done a better job of getting it to our end, but that is where not having Alexis or Chelsea was glaringly a detriment.
I'm looking forward to next year, and I hope Alexis gets through rehab well. I would love to see us make it through one season healthy for a change. LGD!!!!
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Agree. 3's and turnovers appear to be the difference makers. Injuries are awful.
With the lack of depth/speed in the backcourt, we couldn't play any of the other defenses P has in her arsenal. It was a 2-3 with a 1-2-2 thrown in at the beginning. The only way DePaul wins that game is if they go bonkers from deep, which they did. The team is just so depleted at this point in the backcourt that both they and the coaches were really handcuffed. Offensively, Jackson, Johnson, and Liston made some pretty ill-advised plays, but like others have said, they have little to no experience running the point. Tricia has often initiated the offense, but not been the point guard. I guarantee you if there was a press, Chelsea or Lex was bringing the ball up the court. The girls worked hard tonight, like they have all year, and you can't fault them for much.
Haley, Tricia, RJ, Chelsea, and Amber came in with all the makings of a national championship contender and got bitten by the injury bug, badly, every year they were here, which is a real shame. But if Dawkins and co on the men's side can go 4 years without winning, you can't be surprised by anybody not winning a ship, not to mention the juggernauts that were Britney Griner and UCONN respectively.
I'll miss watching these seniors play, Haley is one of the smartest people at Duke period, that girl seriously might be a Senator or something.
Whatever the hell "it" is, Jabari found it.
-Roy "Ole Huck" Williams
If it's any consolation, more than half of our scoring and almost exactly half of our rebounds tonight came from players who will be back next year.
Is it November yet?
Turnovers.
I don't about you, but as I get older, the basketball season seems to get shorter and shorter.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Amber wasn't in that class. She started with Elizabeth, but redshirted twice so this year she's technically only a freshman. Chloe Wells was the fifth player who came in with the others you mention. But either way, I'm really going to miss this year's senior class.
DePaul was just a really bad matchup for a team with no healthy guards. It's a shame, but it was just a hard game for Duke to win, especially if DePaul is hitting 25-foot threes. Oh, well. I'm proud of the fight we've showed in the last several games.
True, but we should be in pretty good shape. Our returning frontcourt of Elizabeth, Oderah, Kendall, and Amber is extremely strong, and our returning backcourt of Alexis, Ka'lia, and Rebecca Greenwell should be pretty darn good, too. Plus, we're bringing in the 2nd rated recruiting class in the country (four players plus redshirted Rebecca to replace the five who are leaving). No idea how it will all pan out, and as I said earlier I will really miss this year's seniors, but I'm amped up for next season.
DWHoops enough blame to go around and not one play run to get Liston a open look.
http://www.dwhoops.com/1314/1403241-...74-duke-65.php
Did they blame injuries? Did they say that Tricia wasn't going to be open against anybody because she was our only three-point threat? Just what play would you have run that could have possibly gotten Tricia open when the other team knew she was our only outside threat? There is a misconception (evidently) that teams can just plug anyone into the point guard spot and things will magically happen.
The defense suffered just as much as the offense from the guard quickness we lost.
There's your blame. With good ballhandlers we were a threat at all positions on the floor. Without them we were not. No DWHoops for me, either.
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!
You know, it would help if you people actually read what Rob wrote instead of projecting.
This. Rob C and DWHoops are VERY even handed in reporting. Extremely even-handed in fact. If you can't handle the well researched and factually stated analysis, then you really are a "head in the sand" "defend this coach against a feather of critique" kind of fan.
I saw a glimpse of the kind of coaching I expect against UNC in the ACC tournament. I want more of that. I want game plans that are carefully constructed based on watching hours of tape regarding the tendencies of the other team. I want players prepared to execute the gameplan. This team - with the current players - was not ready for this game. When your strength is a shot blocking defense, make that the heart of your defense and trust them to do their job. That means not collapsing in the paint and staying on shooters. That's a coaching decision that is based on watching tape. Or, you didn't need tape, just watch the second game on Saturday. You know they can shoot lights out and you know our post defense is better than they faced.
I remember when we had Ali Bales in the paint and the defense was actually geared to funneling the offense into her and covering the outlets. The cutter had nobody to pass it to and had to shoot it (blocked shot) or dribble back out. That, my friends is trusting your post defense and using it well. The guards on that team (other than Harding) were not quick, but they stuck to the game plan and were very successful. Getting to the Elite Eight was a great overachievement for what was essentially a re-building team.
This team, even depleted by injuries, is WAY more talented than the DePaul team. Their players can do two things and two things only - pressure defense and shooting threes. Other than that, they aren't especially skilled or talented. They had a gameplan that took advantage of both things to the max. Conceding this game due to the injuries, to me, is a sign of continuing to lower expectations for this program. We got out-hustled and out-played from the coach to the players on the floor to the bench. There is no excuse sufficient to justify what I saw. Enjoy yourselves next season. Until this coach prepares the team to succeed, I won't be there and I know a whole bunch of longtime season ticketholders who aren't renewing.
There are two ways to introduce an article. In the first intro, it was made to seem as if it was a negative piece, which I have no interest in reading. If Aswewere had said "check out this 'very even-handed' report'", I would have not hedged at all.
I love DWB, accept their faults and failures, and don't shy away from criticism. (I'm an artist, after all, I'm used to it.) But there is negative criticism, which this was made to appear to be, vs. constructive criticism, which you do a better job of enlightening us on. I'll read it knowing it is not simply a bash party.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."