Open basketball practice

[ricks68]

Pleasantly surprised I assume. What did you like about him?

It appeared to me that he had an air of confidence about him and acted very comfortable out there, as did Jeter. Both had a similar style. Smooth and not herky-jerky. Both blended in well with what was going on around them. I think all, except Obi and Brenner(sp?) fit extremely well together and are on the same page already.

ricks

[mgtr]

I was impressed with Marshall. Well, not Nick Horvath impressed, but impressed. He looked smoother, more confident than in the past. Hope he keeps it up. His shot continues to be a two-handed stuff, however.

[duke blue brewcrew]

It appeared to me that he had an air of confidence about him and acted very comfortable out there, as did Jeter. Both had a similar style. Smooth and not herky-jerky. Both blended in well with what was going on around them. I think all, except Obi and Brenner(sp?) fit extremely well together and are on the same page already.

ricks

The positive initial reviews on Robinson are as encouraging as the negative initial reviews of Obi are depressing. I continue to remind myself that it was only one practice, and there's a long way to go. A lot of growth to be made through the blood, sweat and tears of practice, season and tournament rigors. I believe the saying goes, "You're never as good as your best day, or bad as your worst day." I think there's a lot of truth to that, and it helps with keeping things in proper perspective.

[Troublemaker]

What happened in the scrimmage? Who won?

The GoDuke broadcast did not supply a visual or audible score, but it did seem like Marshall's team won on the strength of Grayson and Derryck's play. Brandon played a lot of point for Amile's team, and their offense wasn't functioning as well. Maybe someone who attended could provide better details about the score. They were supposed to play til one team scored 20, but I really doubt that number was reached. I think the scrimmage was cut short because all the players were tired. Coach K got on them a bit for playing raggedy while tired.

Sorry for the lack of individual player breakdowns. My attention had to be split between the open practice and work, and my ears only perked up when Amile and Marshall were drafting players. I hope to re-watch it with full attention over the weekend.

I will say I liked what I saw from Derryck. Fast, great handles, finished well, so-so shooter, true point guard, engaged and vocal, which was nice to see from a freshman that arrived to school much later than his teammates. I had previously estimated a 75% chance he'd be the starting PG and will up it to 90% after this open practice.

From a coaching perspective, Duke is still icing ball screens, preserving the change they made at the beginning of last season. Even with my attention divided, I could hear Marshall screaming "ICE, ICE, ICE!" The team worked a lot on the full-court press, maybe with an eye towards the new 10-second rule this season. Coach mentioned they would install a zone and a zone press the next practice. So, the variety of defenses we saw last season is something that should carry over to this season.

On offense, Duke ran tons of pick-n-roll.

[jimmymax]

My takeaways:
- Obi did not play with energy and did not scrimmage at the end. But he peeled off his numbered jersey before the picking was over, so he may have been ruled out for some reason. Given that Matt Jones was picked first (3rd captain), I would not read much into the sequence of picks.
- Not expecting much from Obi or Robinson _this_ year.
- Not obvious that Plumlee and Jefferson will kick it up a notch as seniors.
- It will be nice to have Ingram (and Allen and Thornton) at the end of the shot clock.
- Thornton is smooth, calm and not prone to showboating.
- Jeter is probably not ready to bang down low.
- Kennard's shot is sweet but his release point is low. He will have to be JJ-like to get his shot.
- Free throw shooting was not a point of emphasis.

[Troublemaker]

Some highlights from open practice: http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/pl...bml?id=4489596

A couple of vines as well:

Matt pocket pass to Marshall for nice catch and dunk - https://vine.co/v/eQEUx9EZ055

Amile's teammates respecting his jumper, leading to him driving by for a tough layup, although he should've just passed to Matt in the right corner for a corner 3 instead of driving - https://vine.co/v/eQET0p0iatb

[BD80]

... a little weird that Brandon and Derryck were the 3rd and 4th picks, but maybe the captains agreed on the down low to pick the veterans ahead of the rookies? ...

Understandable selections. Matt provides defense, communication, experience, 3-point shooting. Once he was picked, Grayson had to go next or he and Matt would have been unstoppable.

[dragoneye776]

I was at the practice and it was really interesting to see sometimes it was Ingram vs. Derryck at PG. And it wasn't just to bring the ball up in transition, it was to actually initiate the offense. I don't think Amile has developed a jumper. Chase Jeter did some good work in the post, but nothing even close to Jabari, Jahlil, or senior year Mason level. Matt Jones looked much better and more aggressive. There were some terrific sequences of defense by our guards... from both Matt Jones and Grayson Allen. Also one play Luke Kennard was guarding Matt Jones one and one and made Matt Jones airball a midrange jumper.

[neemizzle]

I was there today as well. I was impressed by Kennard's shot. I had seen video and such of him but in person his release is so quick its hard to defend it. He can shoot it, that's for sure. Also, Grayson hasn't changed his style of aggression. He drove in one time and got popped in the chin, and he felt that. Amile also backed down on him one time in the post and Grayson fell on his back. He's going to take some bruises this season, by the looks of that. Plumlee, Jefferson, and Jones were very vocal. Plumlee is a great motivator. Jefferson makes sure they know that play being called.

Also, Derryck Thornton is an unreal ball handler. His drills he runs before practice with a tennis ball are just, I don't know how to describe them but he's very impressive.

If the defense they ran today is the new system, I can't wait for that. It was a full court defense that looks like it only works when everyone communicates. It's in your face and they trap a ton. It worked on the freshman (notably Ingram) more than once, and had them throwing it in different directions.

Also, did anyone else notice the man himself David Robinson sitting at the scorer's table? He's mighty proud of that kid. I was kinda impressed with Justin. Should be a fun year!

[Furniture]

Thanks for all the info and thoughts. I thought several times about going today but just couldn't shake off work obligations. Worrying to hear the comments about Obi and his body language at the end of the GoDuke link isn't very encouraging.

[Furniture]

I was there today as well. I was impressed by Kennard's shot. I had seen video and such of him but in person his release is so quick its hard to defend it. He can shoot it, that's for sure. Also, Grayson hasn't changed his style of aggression. He drove in one time and got popped in the chin, and he felt that. Amile also backed down on him one time in the post and Grayson fell on his back. He's going to take some bruises this season, by the looks of that. Plumlee, Jefferson, and Jones were very vocal. Plumlee is a great motivator. Jefferson makes sure they know that play being called.

Also, Derryck Thornton is an unreal ball handler. His drills he runs before practice with a tennis ball are just, I don't know how to describe them but he's very impressive.

If the defense they ran today is the new system, I can't wait for that. It was a full court defense that looks like it only works when everyone communicates. It's in your face and they trap a ton. It worked on the freshman (notably Ingram) more than once, and had them throwing it in different directions.

Also, did anyone else notice the man himself David Robinson sitting at the scorer's table? He's mighty proud of that kid. I was kinda impressed with Justin. Should be a fun year!

Re Dave Robinson. Did you watch this?
http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/pl...bml?id=4489596
He's proud alright even jealous!!!

[Steven43]

Did anyone else notice the play where Matt Jones was guarding Luke and said 'Brick!' just as Kennard released a long jumper? Well, the shot was perfect and as Luke ran back on defense he said a defiant and angry obscenity. A clear response to Matt's comment. I was surprised to see that kind of intensity in a practice, and by a frosh, no less. I like him already.

[neemizzle]

Did anyone else notice the play where Matt Jones was guarding Luke and said 'Brick!' just as Kennard released a long jumper? Well, the shot was perfect and as Luke ran back on defense he said a defiant and angry obscenity. A clear response to Matt's comment. I was surprised to see that kind of intensity in a practice, and by a frosh, no less. I like him already.

I too saw this, and that shot he took was a very very long 3, was it not?

Did you see the defensive play from Grayson on Thornton? He clapped in his face numerous times. I love it!

[Steven43]

I too saw this, and that shot he took was a very very long 3, was it not?

Did you see the defensive play from Grayson on Thornton? He clapped in his face numerous times. I love it!

Yep, I saw it all right. Grayson was very physical and aggressive on defense. Were he not, Thornton would blow by him virtually at will. His ballhandling skills are out of this world and he is super quick and athletic. I know it may sound blashphemous, but he reminds me of Kyrie with more leaping ability. He's even left-handed like KI. Look out ACC, because this young man is even better than advertised. Duke will go as far as DT leads them.

[mgtr]

I got fooled in the drills. Marshall and Amile looked confident and smooth. However, they have been doing these same (or similar) drills for years. When they went to a full scrimmage, both looked less confident, in my opinion. The new guys, plus Grayson and Matt (MUCH improved!) looked better in those situations.
Based on this limited info, we may need to field more than five players to start in our exhibition games! We have four veterans who are good, plus four new guys who are very good. I suppose coaches die for such a situation.
Until I see differently, I expect that the starting five for the first game will be Marshall, Amile, Grayson, Derryck and Brandon. I am willing to be corrected, but those five are pretty good. By ACC time, I believe that we will have quite a fluid lineup with lots of interchanging parts. Matt, Chase, and Luke will be in and out of the lineup regularly. The starting lineup will be different, but I don't know how.
Sean, Justin and Nick may carve out time for themselves. I assume that Sean was ill/injured since I don't see Coach K recruiting a transfer who regularly dogs it.
This should be a most interesting season.

[MarkD83]

I got fooled in the drills. Marshall and Amile looked confident and smooth. However, they have been doing these same (or similar) drills for years. When they went to a full scrimmage, both looked less confident, in my opinion. The new guys, plus Grayson and Matt (MUCH improved!) looked better in those situations.
Based on this limited info, we may need to field more than five players to start in our exhibition games! We have four veterans who are good, plus four new guys who are very good. I suppose coaches die for such a situation.
Until I see differently, I expect that the starting five for the first game will be Marshall, Amile, Grayson, Derryck and Brandon. I am willing to be corrected, but those five are pretty good. By ACC time, I believe that we will have quite a fluid lineup with lots of interchanging parts. Matt, Chase, and Luke will be in and out of the lineup regularly. The starting lineup will be different, but I don't know how.
Sean, Justin and Nick may carve out time for themselves. I assume that Sean was ill/injured since I don't see Coach K recruiting a transfer who regularly dogs it.
This should be a most interesting season.

I rewatched part of the practice and Sean did get hit in the eye on the drill a couple before the scrimmage. It is the first practice so maybe that was enough to have him rest.

[Troublemaker]

He's even left-handed like KI.

I think I know what you meant by this; they both are very effective going left on their drives. Derryck seems to have a preference to go left actually, despite being a right-handed shooter. (Kyrie also shoots righty, of course). What's tricky about guarding Derryck is that he has an incredible left-to-right crossover dribble. So if a defender protects too hard against Derryck driving left, the defender will get crossed up easily and blown by. I'm telling y'all, that L-to-R crossover is going to be a signature move for Derryck throughout his career. He's going to put some people on the ground with it, including an incredible athlete like Ben Simmons.

Looks like GoDuke will not archive the open practice, which has me a bit ornery. I was looking forward to re-watching the full thing with full attention this morning with my coffee. Oh well. Can't wait for CTC to get another look at these guys.

[gam7]

I think I know what you meant by this; they both are very effective going left on their drives. Derryck seems to have a preference to go left actually, despite being a right-handed shooter. (Kyrie also shoots righty, of course). What's tricky about guarding Derryck is that he has an incredible left-to-right crossover dribble. So if a defender protects too hard against Derryck driving left, the defender will get crossed up easily and blown by. I'm telling y'all, that L-to-R crossover is going to be a signature move for Derryck throughout his career. He's going to put some people on the ground with it, including an incredible athlete like Ben Simmons.

Based on highlight videos, it's a bit more than being effective driving left - he also seems to finish well at the rim with his left, like Kyrie. I would go so far as to say that he seems to prefer finishing with his left. He also seems to dunk with his left hand (on his one-handed dunks) and tends to pass with his left too. So, basically, he plays left-handed, except for his shooting and floaters (though he can finish with his right at the rim too). Haven't seen him shoot free throws. As a lefty myself, I'm claiming Thornton as a member of the lefty club for now at least.

[BD80]

... As a lefty myself, I'm claiming Thornton as a member of the lefty club for now at least.

Very sinister ...

[subzero02]

I was impressed with Marshall. Well, not Nick Horvath impressed, but impressed. He looked smoother, more confident than in the past. Hope he keeps it up. His shot continues to be a two-handed stuff, however.

If... if he can hold on to the ball, he should have plenty of chances to perfect this shot during the season.