Not peak in Jan/Feb by bombing 3's against bottom tier teams only to flame out in March.
Consistent inside game is the surest way to avoid this recurring scenario. But Duke bigmen have a significant trend of getting worse or hitting a plateau rather than improving.
My question is, what actually can change? We've recruited what we have and the style and bulk down low isn't going to change one bit. Zoubs is never going to be Brand or Boozer and until we start landing stud post players again, we will continue to see games like today when we freakin pass the ball around the arch and heave up 30 3's even by folks who can't shot the ball.
I see absolutely nothing that will make this team any different from a weakness standpoint than this year.
Cyzk isn't the answer, Williams isn't the answer...Who else is coming in?
Like I said in another thread, we'll win a ton of games next year but in the end we'll still be the same team, limping into the tourny on our name, with no presence down low to stop anyone and I promise we will bow out early again.
I see nothing changing for a few years. We'll continue to get 2-4 seeds and lose in the first or second rounds.
Count on it.
did we get one offensive rebound n the second half
Not typically - think about the conditioning programs JJ, Demarcus and others have done over recent years. I don't think that it is a question of conditinoing programs.
I have an idea of what may be happening to us, but I want to wait a little while before putting it out there. The main point of it, though, is that we are getting hurt a lot in recent years and I think I have a reason why. I want to get some data first.
I hope we go back to multiple captains. Perhaps 4?
remind me not too get excited when we win a bunch in the regular season...
we need 2-3 blue collar players. we have 0 now
I don't completely disagree with you, because I think it home and homes against good teams are a good thing. But playing in Blacksburg, Tallahassee, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, College Park, Miami, and Charlottesville is plenty of experience playing in buildings where the whole crowd hates us. We're "road-tested" by the time the tournament rolls around, and I'm not sure a December game at Pittsburgh, for example, would make us more likely to play well at tournament sites.
Next year we should have a game at Georgetown, and we'll be on the road (though possibly at a neutral site) for the ACC/Big 10.
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
In those years we had the go to guy...i.e. Laettner, Brand, Williams, Ferry, and Dawkins. We had balanced scoring this year, but no go to guy on the offensive end. In the game against WVU no one player looked like he wanted the ball in the clutch. To me, Scheyer was the best at putting the team on his back this season and driving the ball to the hoop, but we never saw that too much in late game situations (not a knock on just him). To me he was our most clutch player, with Paulus being the toughest.
On a side note, we need to follow our shots when we're jacking up 3s. We have one big inside to rebound b/c we spread the floor, but it'd be great to see shooters follow their shots.
It's always so hard to see them lose b/c we invest so much in the season, but remember, it is just a game and these kids ultimately need to be having fun. I hope to see more smiles next year, and later into March!
We had this for major parts of this season, not just the first half. Your other points are a better explanation of events than lack of commitment to defense. They just ran out of emotional strength (for whatever reason) but I doubt there was a lack of commitment. My belief is that they are too uptight to just relax and play their best, and they don't enjoy the game when the whole season is on the line. I believe that K's coaching style is a factor in this. It's kind of like doing well on the mid-term and quizzes, then being so uptight for the final that you blow it. It doesn't mean you don't have any commiment - you still want to ace the class, but you aren't able to perform at your best.
The last top-tier college C we brought in was in 2002 (Shel). The last top-tier PG we brought in was in 2000 (C-Du). Until this changes, we can't be considered a serious championship contender. When our shots fall and our D is strong we can hang with anyone but if either of those aren't we're in trouble because we can't generate easy buckets, we foul/tire out the poor guys dragooned in to the post, and we give up lots of easy buckets with no shotblocking or rebounding. It's getting REALLY hard to watch our guys play their hearts out in a futile effort because our staff fails to arm us with a full compliment of players.
Next season we add 2 guys, lose 1, and can hope for better health. I'd love to see a 10-11 man rotation that presses teams to death a la 40 Minutes of Hell. That's a high risk/reward approach, but I just can't see any better way to use the pieces the staff has brought in.
I hope (and expect) to see Gerald and Kyle back, and for each of them to make the jump to being top-flight players that they're capable of. Scheyer, too, has the opportunity to have a breakout year, and I hope he does. I also hope Zoubek and Lance become serviceable and reliable inside, providing reliable defense and rebounding; that Nolan returns to being aggressive on offense and a force on defense; and that TK gets his shot back and keeps it. I hope Dave gets back the decent jumper he once had. I hope GP keeps shooting well and improves on defense to the point where he's at least decent. And I hope the freshmen are good.
I also hope Marty comes back healthy and jumping over cars again.
Duke's gonna be really good next year. They may still lack a post option -- though Kyle could remedy that if he puts his mind to it -- and may still struggle to stop penetration and control the defensive boards; but they'll still be a very good team. And maybe they'll peak at the right time next year.
Just a note about three pointers: As a percentage of total shots, 42% (1057-2530) of the 2001 Duke team's shots were 3's, while 39% (794-2034) of the 2008 Duke team's shots were 3's. It's not necessarily a matter of the number of 3's taken, its the style of play that allows opposing defenses to lock down on the perimeter because they know there isn't a post presence inside.
No big changes. I'm not worried. Duke roster 2008-09: 2 Fresh, 3 Sophs, 4 Juniors, 3 Seniors. 10 returning players averaged 8+min per game (8 players averaged more than 10min/gm)!
We lose 1 player (thx DeMarc) but we add (PF) Olek, (G) Elliot and we get (hopefully) Pocius back. Duke will have the deepest squad in the ACC and possibly the NCAA. No doubt we will be a preseason top-10 squad and an ACC #1 (depending on UNC pro attrition). Additionally, Coach K and staff will have the added experience of using a deep bench from USA Basketball.
I'll put our experienced core of Paulus (Senior PG!), Henderson, Scheyer & Singler against any 4 players in NCAA next year. At least 3 of them will be contenting for 1st team ACC and possibly NPOY.
What about our big men? Thomas + Zoubs had measurable improvement between Fresh & Soph seasons. This improvement will continue. Thomas gained a lot of confidence towards the end of the season. He will be much better next season.
I'm not worried. I'll still put big money on <5 losses for Duke in ‘09. I'm already excited about our 2008-09 experienced Duke team!