Could Zoubek be the Final Piece to this team?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

While I was watching the basketball game yesterday, one of Coach Cutcliffe's comments came to mind. He was speaking of recruiting big players for the line... 6'5" and taller, 300 lbs. +/-. He said he wasn't going to recruit a big guy who wasn't agile or couldn't bend over. Big guys would have to be strong and fast on their feet. These same characteristics seem to be applicable for basketball recruiting as well. It would be delightful to sign a guy who is not only tall, but also is agile and strong.

I love seeing Brian getting better and better, but I think his agility and relative lack of strength are challenges for him to deal with....

[Dbluedevils1530]

He plays great Defense. Hopefully he is the final peace to the team which could get us to the final four.

[dukestheheat]

I think this team is pretty well pieced together, I'm not sure there really is a "last piece" out there that we can see. One thing I noticed before his injury, was Zoubek's passing. I was really impressed with some of his plays getting the ball back out to the perimeter or in to a driving player. That being said, we were doing a real nice job without him. I think this team has a very good ability to overcome their physical weaknesses.
My vote for the last piece would be free throw shooting. If we can get our free throws to fall even 1/3rd more often, we will put ourselves in better chances to win.

BINGO! I'd say 'much better chances to win'....I don't see why we can't do that and I do expect this to happen. We've shown we can take punches from the other team (we have literally shown this) and also get waaay outrebounded and outscored in the paint, and still win.

We need some dedicated time on free throw stuff. We can do this! Teams are going to put us up there in the NCAA's and I'd like nothing more than to see the team go into the 80% range on free throws for that tourney. That gives us, on average, about 3 more points per game and if you apply that percentage to our season thus far, we win the games versus Miami and also Pittsburgh.

dth.

[Dukefan4Life]

After seeing the big Z play tonight. i dont understand why, when he is in the game we dont run zone and nothing but zone. we would use his size to our advatage that way.

[ChrisP]

Thought Z looked pretty good when he was in there. And...let's face it, I don't know that he was in there long enough to really judge him anyway. Five minutes? I certainly didn't see anything AWFUL that would cause him to get yanked. I know that one GT dude threw down a vicious dunk over Z, but that was just a really amazing, athletic play. Anyway, I was kinda scratching my head as to why he didn't get a few more minutes - especially toward the end of the game...

[Duvall]

Anyway, I was kinda scratching my head as to why he didn't get a few more minutes - especially toward the end of the game...

Towards the end of the game, Duke had the "hands" team in to run the delay offense - not sure how Zoubek would fit into that.

[Dukefan4Life]

I like Z i really do, but to me he just looks lost out there. He looks like he is moving in cement. He needs to learn to use his size more effectly

[ugadevil]

Towards the end of the game, Duke had the "hands" team in to run the delay offense - not sure how Zoubek would fit into that.

I think that is a good point. Duke's end of game offense is predicated on spreading everyone out and waiting for a mismatch for someone to drive the ball to the lane. If Zoubek is in, then he is in the post with a defender who would be able to provide help defense on anyone driving in from the perimeter. It seems like Kyle is much more effective in the slow-down offense because he can bring a bigger defender out to the perimeter and beat them with the drive.

[Richard Berg]

I think that is a good point. Duke's end of game offense is predicated on spreading everyone out and waiting for a mismatch for someone to drive the ball to the lane. If Zoubek is in, then he is in the post with a defender who would be able to provide help defense on anyone driving in from the perimeter. It seems like Kyle is much more effective in the slow-down offense because he can bring a bigger defender out to the perimeter and beat them with the drive.

Your analysis is good, but it's even simpler than that. With the delay game, the worst possible result is a turnover early in the shot clock. So you want your best ballhandlers on the court, period. (I mean that in the general sense: dribblers, passers, catchers.) Everything else is secondary, with the possible exception of free throw shooting once the game winds under 2min.

[fogey]

I like Z i really do, but to me he just looks lost out there. He looks like he is moving in cement. He needs to learn to use his size more effectly

Just looked a bit more difficult for him to move laterally than usual. He may have paid a price for the extended minutes against St Johns.

[Carlos]

Thought Z looked pretty good when he was in there. And...let's face it, I don't know that he was in there long enough to really judge him anyway. Five minutes? I certainly didn't see anything AWFUL that would cause him to get yanked. I know that one GT dude threw down a vicious dunk over Z, but that was just a really amazing, athletic play. Anyway, I was kinda scratching my head as to why he didn't get a few more minutes - especially toward the end of the game...

GaTech has a lot of bad matchups for Zoubek. Lawal and Smith are both very mobile post players as is Aminu.

Zoub's is shooting less than 50% from the FT line, isn't effective away from the basket, and - although improved in this aspect - is still more turnover prone than guys like Singler, Henderson, or Nelson. None of that makes a case for having him in the game when you're spreading the floor and running a delay game.

[tonymac]

Zoubeck didn't play very much, because he was a defensive liability. The interior players for Tech are far more athletic, and you could see their eyes light up when he came in. Let's face it, he doesn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of the opposing post players, especially the ones with ball-handling and driving skills.

[CDu]

Thought Z looked pretty good when he was in there. And...let's face it, I don't know that he was in there long enough to really judge him anyway. Five minutes? I certainly didn't see anything AWFUL that would cause him to get yanked. I know that one GT dude threw down a vicious dunk over Z, but that was just a really amazing, athletic play. Anyway, I was kinda scratching my head as to why he didn't get a few more minutes - especially toward the end of the game...

Ga Tech is a horrible matchup for Zoubek. They have a bunch of really athletic big men who can take advantage of him. The dunk was an athletic play, but it was on a pretty simple move. The guy just dribbled to his right and went right around Zoubek for the dunk. A more agile player prevents that dunk. But Zoubek is just too slow right now.

Moreover, he didn't really do anything in his five minutes other than hustling down court one time for a dunk. Otherwise, he had a pretty quiet game. He got a hook shot blocked (how does that happen when you have a 4-inch height advantage?). And despite being 7-feet tall, he got no rebounds in five minutes of play.

I'm fine with him getting limited minutes in a game like this. He wasn't productive, and yet he gave a few minutes of rest to Thomas and Singler.

[greybeard]

I still think there is an issue of TRUST or BELONGING that detracts from this team. That was best exemplified when Henderson threw the ball out of bounds because he seemingly refused to "get" the pace that Zoubek was moving at this night.

Now, you put Zoubek on a lesser team, anybody who misses him when he comes open five feet from the basket, I mean misses him big because he isn't moving the way a guy who isn't recovering from a broken foot is, the guy sits down. Period. There is no excuse for that play, if Zoubek is treated as the "man" out there. None.

Zoubek is not "the man" out there here, far from it. As long as a team treats the least of themselves with less than the best, the team is diminished. This really needs to stop.

[SilkyJ]

"It’s Not Easy Being Tall"

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...ATCLID=1399694

Enjoy

[Huh?]

All I know is that as soon as Zoubek came back we started playing bad. I think he messes up chemistry and our run run run mind set.

[greybeard]

All I know is that as soon as Zoubek came back we started playing bad. I think he messes up chemistry and our run run run mind set.

Chemistry that would exclude from the whole, that is made of an inflexible mind set, is alchemy that will not hold up when it counts. There are some things that are nice for a team to have; there are others that are essential. A commitment to fold teammates into the play is non-negotiable.

[Madrasdukie]

"It’s Not Easy Being Tall"

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...ATCLID=1399694

Enjoy

Nice article. I really think if Brian remains healthy he's going to be invaluable to our team.

[CDu]

I still think there is an issue of TRUST or BELONGING that detracts from this team. That was best exemplified when Henderson threw the ball out of bounds because he seemingly refused to "get" the pace that Zoubek was moving at this night.

Now, you put Zoubek on a lesser team, anybody who misses him when he comes open five feet from the basket, I mean misses him big because he isn't moving the way a guy who isn't recovering from a broken foot is, the guy sits down. Period. There is no excuse for that play, if Zoubek is treated as the "man" out there. None.

Zoubek is not "the man" out there here, far from it. As long as a team treats the least of themselves with less than the best, the team is diminished. This really needs to stop.

If there was ever a team in which the chemistry is impeccably good, it's this year's Duke team. I think you've misread something to be a negative where there is no negative. I don't remember this incident of which you speak, and I don't remember any situation in which any player failed to show trust in Zoubek. And if there were ever a coach that would IMMEDIATELY resolve such a situation if it arose, it is Coach "five fingers coming together make a fist" K. He coaches chemistry and togetherness more than anybody. The fact that Coach K showed nothing but love for Henderson's play (both during and after the game) last night suggests that you misinterpreted the situation, too.

[OldSchool]

Zoubek had a solid game against GT, especially on the defensive side.

People claim that Brian is a defensive liability because Lawal put a move on him in the post? Well, at the 11:00 minute mark and then again at the 10:30 mark in the first half Lawal put a similar move in the post and scored on Kyle, twice. So sure, Brian is not as quick as he could be now, but the fact is that Lawal has some very effective post moves. Putting aside that one play, even in the GT game where GT's post players are very athletic and quick, Z's presence was a positive on the defensive end.

Offensively, it seems clear they are just not used to having Brian in the mix. Z and Jon had a nice give and go at the 16:15 mark in the first half, and Jon drew the help defense to him, leaving Z wide open a couple of feet from the basket - and Jon took the shot himself, instead of feeding Z for the easier lay-up. At the 15:00 mark, Z was wide open cutting to the basket for an easy lay-up, and Nolan simply didn't see him (or wasn't looking for him). At the 2:00 mark, Z's man left to help on Jon's penetration, and Z put his hand up for a pass over the top for a lay-up, but Jon instead made a bounce pass that went out of bounds. These plays, to me, are just a lack of chemistry from not having enough practice and playing time together because of Z's foot injury.

In the post, I would like to see Brian bend his knees more and lower his center of gravity. He should use his hips more to create space and control his man, instead of standing straighter and pushing with his arms (which he occasionally gets called for). He should watch Kyle's form on the game tapes - Kyle has outstanding form on block-outs and rebounding.

Of all the players on the team, Brian is playing at the lowest percentage of his potential, and he needs more minutes to improve. He is not unathletic, he is simply undeveloped in terms of basketball skills. However, he does need to work on developing his foot-speed. If I were his conditioning coach, in the offseason I would have Brian chase chickens around in an alley like Burgess Meredith with Rocky --Big Z should be as quick as "greased lightning."