2nd Half Defensive Deficiency

[English]

correct.

I'm not sure if it's an appropriate parallel, but...Luke Maye. Does UNC make the Final Four without Luke Maye? Does Luke Maye gain the skills, timing, trust to be the best player on the court in the E8 game if he was buried on the bench all season, like say, Vrank? They are not analogous players, but they are both So. that didn't play much as Fr. When Duke needed a big man to help Amile in the post vs USC, we had Giles who got vaporized and Bolden who didn't even get off the bench (perhaps for health reasons), and we had Vrank and Javin, neither of whom were anywhere close to ready to deal with that situation.
Would we have won a couple more games this year by playing our bench more, therefore maybe moving to a #1 seed? Maybe.
Would we have lost a couple more games this year doing the same, and get a lower seed? Maybe.
In the long run though, i think it pays off to have players who have faced more game situations. Players get better in practice yadda yadda blah blah, but they also get better in games. Teams also get better in games, and they learn to trust each other and learn what each other's in-game skills are.

I don't really disagree with what you're saying here, but a pretty obvious counterpoint is: Is the second half of that Luke Maye coming out party even in question if Roy didn't trot out Stilman White and Nate Britt to run the show for appreciable portions of the first half while Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox were wasting away on the UK bench with early foul trouble? I know all the unc friends I can tolerate were all livid that Roy was scraping the bottom of the bench in that situation, and no one can argue that those two acquitted themselves well in the heat of the moment because they'd been fire tested in-season.

[Kfanarmy]

Jefferson grabbed 15 rebounds and had 6(!) blocks against SC. That is elite level play from a center and it doesn't happen if he is getting pushed around on the blocks. Jefferson bested teams with beefy centers all season, including UNC. We weren't beaten because our center couldn't push people around on the blocks. Jefferson was plenty strong. We lost because our perimeter defense was poor, SC's wings and guards shot really well from the field, and our offense wasn't quite good enough to compensate. If any players seemed weak against SC, it was our wing players. Luke and Grayson were unable to fight through the Gamecock's physical defense to get good looks. They were also constantly outmuscled/hustled for rebounds. Even Jayson, usually a solid rebounder, only grabbed three boards. Our center was probably the only player on the team that didn't get pushed around in that game.

I hate to tell you this, but Duke lost this game in the paint, unless you believe the 5 three pointers SC shot in the second half were the key. Yes Amile played a gritty tough game, but he is a F not a Center. Duke needed a Center and a PF, not two Forwards in the paint.

[CDu]

I hate to tell you this, but Duke lost this game in the paint, unless you believe the 5 three pointers SC shot in the second half were the key. Yes Amile played a gritty tough game, but he is a F not a Center. Duke needed a Center and a PF, not two Forwards in the paint.

When a player gets 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks in a game while playing center, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to say he is not a center.

We lost this game due to foul trouble (which forced us to play zone) and failure to stop transition baskets. Not the lack of a center. Our center was dominant. Jefferson and Gile ls got a combined 18 rebounds and 7 blocks at center. It was everywhere BUT center where we struggled defensively.

[Kfanarmy]

When a player gets 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks in a game while playing center, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to say he is not a center.

We lost this game due to foul trouble (which forced us to play zone) and failure to stop transition baskets. Not the lack of a center. Our center was dominant. Jefferson and Gile ls got a combined 18 rebounds and 7 blocks at center. It was everywhere BUT center where we struggled defensively.

A Forward playing the in the paint doesn't make them a Center. If Amile had played with Bolden or Vrank all season long, I believe you would have seen an incredible interior D that forced opposing teams into jump shots rather than one guy having amazing defensive stats while the opposing team had amazing offensive stats inside the paint. It is a team game and Amile alone is not enough to protect the paint. He can't wear down the heavier Centers, nor can he keep up with three or four from an opposing team.

[CDu]

A Forward playing the in the paint doesn't make them a Center. If Amile had played with Bolden or Vrank all season long, I believe you would have seen an incredible interior D that forced opposing teams into jump shots rather than one guy having amazing defensive stats while the opposing team had amazing offensive stats inside the paint. It is a team game and Amile alone is not enough to protect the paint. He can't wear down the heavier Centers, nor can he keep up with three or four from an opposing team.

Yeah, no. What did Jefferson do in three games against Kennedy Meeks?

In the two regular season games in which Jefferson averaged 33 mpg, Meeks averaged 8.5 points on 50% shooting and 6.5 rebounds. That was VERY effective work against one of the biggest men in college bball.

In the ACC tournament, in the third game in three days, Jefferson fouled out. And Meeks took advantage, going for 19 and 12 on 9-14 from the field.

Jefferson was a college center. He may not be your image of a college C, but he was a college C.

And again, we didn't lose because we lacked a starting C. Heck, our lineup was bigger than than South Carolina's. We lost because of transition defense and foul trouble, which forced us to play a weak zone that they exploited.

[azzefkram]

Yeah, no. What did Jefferson do in three games against Kennedy Meeks?

In the two regular season games in which Jefferson averaged 33 mpg, Meeks averaged 8.5 points on 50% shooting and 6.5 rebounds. That was VERY effective work against one of the biggest men in college bball.

In the ACC tournament, in the third game in three days, Jefferson fouled out. And Meeks took advantage, going for 19 and 12 on 9-14 from the field.

Jefferson was a college center. He may not be your image of a college C, but he was a college C.

And again, we didn't lose because we lacked a starting C. Heck, our lineup was bigger than than South Carolina's. We lost because of transition defense and foul trouble, which forced us to play a weak zone that they exploited.

Agree for the most part. I thought Amile did a great job in the regular season games in denying Meeks the ball. That is an area I thought Amile excelled at throughout the year. Once Meeks got the ball Amile was less effective which is not surprising given the size disparity and the fact that Meeks is a fairly good basketball player. In the ACCT Amile was not as successful in denying Meeks the ball. Probably a function of the 3 games in 3 days.

WRT South Carolina, they were 7-12 at the rim in the half court which is okay to maybe good. In transition they were 7-9 which is fairly awesome or horrendously bad depending on your perspective.

We had a really good year with a lot of bad luck. We had our issues. I think fewer than many seem to think. Amile playing the C or otherwise was not one of them.