MBB: Duke 72, Fla St 88 Post-Game Thread

[FerryFor50]

What happened to Grayson to make him leave the game? On the ACC Network telecast, no replay was shown. Of course had Grayson caused another player to leave the game with an injury at least one or two replays probably would have been shown. I hope Grayson is not seriously injured.

He dove after a loose ball and came out after. Dunno what happened.

[jbay201]

kicked in the balls seriously wtf no replays of that but anytime a player falls near him its a trip! this is absolute BS!

[Kjeffrey]

I don't mean to sound harsh, but if this is Capel's audition to replace Coach K, it's not going well so far.

said the same thing to my husband about 10 minutes ago

[Les Grossman]

1 on 5 play on the Offensive end.Tatum trying to do too much
Needed to see more grayson and luke in 2nd half.

Oh well, hurry back coach k

[FerryFor50]

Great learning experience. We took our lumps obviously, but that will make it sweeter when the team comes together later on. Plenty of season left.

Most disappointing aspect was our turnovers and poor offensive decision-making. Their pressure defense beat our offense in this game, and our defense isn't at a place where we can overcome bad offense.

Yup. They looked like they wanted to pass, just weren't very good at it tonight.

[kshepinthehouse]

Don't you think that early January is a little late to write off this team's prospects? Especially given their lack of time together? If thing aren't substantially better in a month, then start worrying. But this was a conference game on the road against a top 10 opponent who had won 11 in a row coming into the game. They're big, deep, and play tough defense. We have talent, but some of it - especially Giles and Bolden - are still recovering from injury and trying to figure out how to play effectively with their teammates. Our team captain and best interior defender is on the bench.

Let's give it a bit longer before declaring this a lost season. Sheesh.

We've also had plenty seasons where we start it 15-0 and then end up sputtering down the stretch. Maybe it's our year to start slow and improve as we go along for a deep run in March.

[cruxer]

Don't you think that early January is a little late to write off this team's prospects? ....

Let's give it a bit longer before declaring this a lost season. Sheesh.

Word. I distinctly remember the 2015 champs getting their hats handed to them at home in January when Winslow was a little gimpy. They seemed to pull it together.

[subzero02]

Our freshman need to grow up in a hurry... if Jeter could finish in the paint, he'd be all conference 3rd team maybe. I liked the full court followed by some zone play. I hope this Tatum's worst game of the season, he really tried to do too much.

[mattman91]

This team is very weak and seems to lack leadership without K and/or Amile.

Tatum needs to play smarter. He is incredibly talented, but turns the ball over and takes way too many bad shots.

[jacone21]

Word. I distinctly remember the 2015 champs getting their hats handed to them at home in January when Winslow was a little gimpy. They seemed to pull it together.

This isn't the 2015 team because... point guard.

[Emerrick]

All in all, I thought Jeter played well. Tatum, meh... forcing it. No other bigs really stepped up. Lots of heart, not great execution.

[mattman91]

Hope Allen's jewels are OK.

[Fish80]

A loss in Tallahassee. Always tough. They are good this year. We had some challenges we weren't able to overcome. Video, weights, practice, next game.

Hope Grayson is okay.

[Coballs]

The injuries to the freshmen and the resultant inability to get the full squad practicing together early and then playing as a complete unit in the pre-ACC games is now coming back to rear it's ugly head. The freshmen are all totally lost, most significantly on the defensive end, and this team has developed absolutely no chemistry nor ability to play team ball. Unfortunately, it's starting to looking as if they are way too far behind the curve at this juncture of the season to turn things around and become a legitimate contender for the NC, let alone the juggernaut that many of us were expecting to see this season. I hope that I am very wrong, but all I'm seeing right now is an extremely flawed team.

[Troublemaker]

First game without Amile. 2nd without K. Played in a hostile environment. Against an FSU team that ALWAYS plays physical. With Teddy Valentine as an official.

What could go wrong?

Well, for one, the defensive communication was bad. Predictable with Amile out.

The offense was having trouble with consistency. Could have been nerves. Could have been legs. Or... maybe the constant holding, grabbing and hacking that went uncalled. Who knows?

Despite that (and Duke foul trouble), Duke was in it all the way until the 2nd half when Tatum got called for a phantom travel that probably could have been a foul. From there, FSU was unstoppable and Duke was all out of sync.

Maybe the L'ville game will be better. But make no mistake - this FSU team is good. Solid offensively. Athletic. No shame in losing to them.

I will say that the game chat was a bit of a chicken little fest. Lots of complaints about this team - all similar to the ones from 2015. Lack of interior defense despite having an elite freshman big man. Lack of cohesion. "We're just not that good." Complaints about one and done players. It's all kind of silly, really. They're 14-3. Lots of season left.

Couldn't spork, but thanks for that post, Ferry.

I'm going to have fun looking back at this thread later on in the season.

[dukelifer]

Great learning experience. We took our lumps obviously, but that will make it sweeter when the team comes together later on. Plenty of season left.

Most disappointing aspect was our turnovers and poor offensive decision-making. Their pressure defense beat our offense in this game, and our defense isn't at a place where we can overcome bad offense.

Tough game against a pretty decent team. The defensive woes are a big issue and may not be correctable quickly. Hard to win on the road and ever harder when you have key guys that are hurt or just coming back from injury. We have seen glimpses from this team but losing Amile is so critical- particularly on D and putting pressure on the other team's bigs. Losing K is also not great when this fragile. I hold judgment until I see the complete team back. If that doesn't happen- the only chance is a late season run.

[CameronDuke]

It seems Grayson was kicked in the crotch, but does anyone have proof or a video? Still can't find where he got hurt. Was it intentional? Was it done by an FSU player?

[Devilwin]

Don't you think that early January is a little late to write off this team's prospects? Especially given their lack of time together? If thing aren't substantially better in a month, then start worrying. But this was a conference game on the road against a top 10 opponent who had won 11 in a row coming into the game. They're big, deep, and play tough defense. We have talent, but some of it - especially Giles and Bolden - are still recovering from injury and trying to figure out how to play effectively with their teammates. Our team captain and best interior defender is on the bench.

Let's give it a bit longer before declaring this a lost season. Sheesh.

You may be right, but again, so much was expected of this bunch that people feel let down. They have little offensive cohesion, and have no clue how to play inside defense. How much longer must we wait? It was "Just you wait til Christmas". Just you wait til January." Now it's February....

[jipops]

Maybe there was no reading too much into the last 25+ minutes of the BC game. Without Amile we just aren't a very good team. We looked flustered and under prepared the entire game. Almost nobody looked more lost and out of sorts than Tatum.

On the positive side I do think Grayson did a great job distributing in the 1st half. But it eventually wore him down and fsu's guards got into the lane whenever they wanted.

We're just a team without a lot of options. Giles and Bolden are way behind. With them and Jeter there are 3 big guys that aren't able to contribute much at this level. As a result we don't have any options in the front court with Amile out. And to top it off we showed some glaring weakness on perimeter D.

I do believe things will get better. We've been down some similar roads before. But there are a number of tough losses ahead and hope of finally capturing an ACC title has just about evaporated.

[FerryFor50]

It seems Grayson was kicked in the crotch, but does anyone have proof or a video? Still can't find where he got hurt. Was it intentional? Was it done by an FSU player?

airowe said it was a hand/wrist issue on Twitter. But I guess we'll know more later. He did seem to be holding his hand/wrist when walking back, and it was right after he dove for a loose ball.