Nike Hoop Summit, 4/13 10pm ET ESPN2

[CDu]

Isn't that typical Coach K this year? Excellent offense, questionable defense? And Coach K either fixes the D (2015, 2018) or he doesn't (2012, 2016, 2017).

Yes, exactly.

While I am not worried about our offensive efficiency, I am worried about our 3pt shooting. There are some things that coaches love and teams will be good regardless of the personnel. RoyWill loves rebounding. He had an undersized team this year and his team did a great job of rebounding. Coach K loves 3pt shooting. But can our personnel hit enough 3s? I have no idea. My gut tells me one of Zion, RJ, or Tre will be better than expected 3pt shooter (like Trent this year). I just have no idea who.

If you are not worried about our offensive efficiency, why are you worried about our 3pt shooting? The latter is just a subset factor contributing to the former.

That being said, while I doubt we'll have two guys shooting 40% from 3 next year, I think between O'Connell (who I DO expect to shoot over 40% on 3s), Reddish (I'd expect over 35% from him), and Williamson and Barrett (I'd expect 30+% from them) I think we'll shoot it well enough. And if either of Williamson or Barrett joins Reddish and O'Connell as good shooters, then we will be more than fine on 3s.

I think we're going to get a lot of open looks from 3 just by virtue of defenses having to overcompensate to defend our myriad of talented drivers. That's going to make guys look better than they "really" are. In-game 3pt %s are always well below uncontested rhythm 3pt %s like you see in warmups/practice. But with next year's team, I think we'll get a higher percentage of attempts that are closer in nature to those practice 3s. So while I don't think we'll have as talented a shooting team, I think the easier looks will help hide some of that deficiency.

And you never know. We've had many guys who got better at 3pt shooting after coming to Duke. So it isn't unheard of for a guy like Barrett or Williamson to become an option after arriving.

[Troublemaker]

FYI, Sam Vecenie and Cole Zwicker break down some Hoop Summit players at the end of their latest Game Theory Podcast.

If you have it downloaded, the Hoop Summit stuff starts just after 1 hour, 22 minutes into the pod.

They rave about RJ, fyi.

https://gametheorysam.libsyn.com/nba...ummit-scouting

Zwicker goes in depth on several of the Team USA Hoop Summit players for an article he wrote at The Stepien.

Both Cam and Tre are covered pretty extensively.

Here's his article for the World Team, which I haven't read, but I assume he'll go in depth on RJ.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Zwicker goes in depth on several of the Team USA Hoop Summit players for an article he wrote at The Stepien.

Both Cam and Tre are covered pretty extensively.

Here's his article for the World Team, which I haven't read, but I assume he'll go in depth on RJ.

Thanks for posting. These are great. Nothing really new, but I like how the author went into the negatives of each recruit. Sounds like Tre isn't any

The "Cam v RJ" debate will rage on for a long, long time. Scouts make it seem like they are polar opposites of each other: one plays with a competitive fire that few can match, the other plays with no competitive fire. One has incredible size and solid athleticism but doesn't really use it to his advantage all the time, the other has good size and incredible athleticism and relishes contact.

The NBA scouts are going to be in Cameron on mass next year.

[proelitedota]

What's interesting is that all the 2-4 position of next year can be pretty switchable on offense too if the players made big improvements before and at Duke.

Zion slimming down to 230-240, getting quicker, and improving his shooting.
Barrett adding a reliable 3.
Reddish putting on weight and becoming more assertive.

It's like having Winslow (Zion), Tatum (Barrett), Reddish (Ingram) on one team.

3 Winslows would also be fine.

Theoretically how well would a team with 3 Winslows work in the college game?

[Rich]

Thanks for posting. These are great. Nothing really new, but I like how the author went into the negatives of each recruit. Sounds like Tre isn't any

Not sure if this is intended to be a fill in the blank, but I would finish it with "anywhere near the shooter his brother is at this point, according to Cole Zwicker."

[flyingdutchdevil]

Not sure if this is intended to be a fill in the blank, but I would finish it with "anywhere near the shooter his brother is at this point, according to Cole Zwicker."

Whoops. That’s exactly what I was going to say. Tre and Duval may be more similar than we think.

[NSDukeFan]

Thanks for posting. These are great. Nothing really new, but I like how the author went into the negatives of each recruit. Sounds like Tre isn't any

The "Cam v RJ" debate will rage on for a long, long time. Scouts make it seem like they are polar opposites of each other: one plays with a competitive fire that few can match, the other plays with no competitive fire. One has incredible size and solid athleticism but doesn't really use it to his advantage all the time, the other has good size and incredible athleticism and relishes contact.

The NBA scouts are going to be in Cameron on mass next year.

At least for the Sunday games? Or mostly the heaviest scouts?

[Rich]

The NBA scouts are going to be in Cameron on mass next year.

At least for the Sunday games?

Psalm 132:13: For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place.

[CDu]

Whoops. That’s exactly what I was going to say. Tre and Duval may be more similar than we think.

I think they are probably similar as shooters right now. I think that's probably the only similarity on a micro level. I think Jones has a much better feel for the game. But he's far less gifted athletically. On a macro level, I think they'll provide somewhat similar production. Maybe fewer assists and fewer turnovers for Jones than Duval, and definitely fewer "wow" plays from Jones.

And there is a chance that Jones progresses on his jumper at Duke. I wouldn't expect the same progression his brother made (Tyus wasn't a great shooter when he arrived, but got there quickly). But hopefully that skill evolves for Tre while at Duke.

[CDu]

It's like having Winslow (Zion), Tatum (Barrett), Reddish (Ingram) on one team.

I don't think Williamson compares much to Winslow. He's way bigger (both height and weight) and a better leaper. He's not as quick as Winslow, and I don't expect him to be as versatile as Winslow was defensively (Winslow could guard 1-4 pretty darn well; I think Williamson will be more of a 3-5 defender, and more 4-5 than 3). I don't know if Williamson will be a good or bad defender, but I don't think he'll defend much like Winslow regardless of quality. Conversely, I'd expect Williamson to be a more effective offensive weapon due to his physicality, athleticism, and ballhandling (he's got a really low dribble, which should allow him to attack the basket inside more easily).

I think the three actually pair fairly well. Williamson and Barrett are more drive-heavy players, while Reddish is more of a drift around the perimeter type (technically, he can do all of it, but he seems happy to drift around the perimeter). I'd love to see a Williamson/Barrett pick-and-roll, or either of those guys running the pick and roll with Bolden.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I don't think Williamson compares much to Winslow. He's way bigger (both height and weight) and a better leaper. He's not as quick as Winslow, and I don't expect him to be as versatile as Winslow was defensively (Winslow could guard 1-4 pretty darn well; I think Williamson will be more of a 3-5 defender, and more 4-5 than 3). I don't know if Williamson will be a good or bad defender, but I don't think he'll defend much like Winslow regardless of quality. Conversely, I'd expect Williamson to be a more effective offensive weapon due to his physicality, athleticism, and ballhandling (he's got a really low dribble, which should allow him to attack the basket inside more easily).

I think the three actually pair fairly well. Williamson and Barrett are more drive-heavy players, while Reddish is more of a drift around the perimeter type (technically, he can do all of it, but he seems happy to drift around the perimeter). I'd love to see a Williamson/Barrett pick-and-roll, or either of those guys running the pick and roll with Bolden.

Actually, Zion measures 6'5" without shoes. Winslow measures 6'4.5" without shoes. To me, that's pretty much a wash. You're absolutely right on the weight and athleticism, but Zion and Winslow are both very physical dudes. I think that's what the OP was getting at moreso than their games.

I like the Cam/Ingram comparison a lot, but Cam is much more cerebral and Ingram is much longer. Ingram came into Duke with a similar reputation as Cam has now. To me, that bodes very well for Duke.