Interesting Quote from Coach K

[marinbobbyduhon]

I was reading an article from Andy Katz today over at ESPN. Andy was talking about what a great defensive team Duke has this year. While I have heard many talking heads espouse the "Duke isn't very athletic" mantra, none of them seem to realize that our defense will determine how far we go this year in the tourney - not whether or not we have great athletes ala John Wall, who can create their own scoring opportunities.

I think this is Coach K's focus with our team. I realize that defense is usually his emphasis, but the article ended with this telling quote from K:

"This is the first team in seven or eight years that really understands defense so well, not individually, but together,'' Krzyzewski said. "Our veteran guys, they just know how to play. That veteran group in the first half did not let them score when we got that double-digit lead.''

I am betting that Coach K feels very good about the ceiling for this team, because if they continue to play such great team defense, this Duke team can go very far this year!

[RainingThrees]

This team can only get better if the Plumlee's can learn the defensive schemes better. Once they become in tune with the rest of the team on both ends of the court this team will be very good.

[DukeDevilDeb]

I was reading an article from Andy Katz today over at ESPN. Andy was talking about what a great defensive team Duke has this year. While I have heard many talking heads espouse the "Duke isn't very athletic" mantra, none of them seem to realize that our defense will determine how far we go this year in the tourney - not whether or not we have great athletes ala John Wall, who can create their own scoring opportunities.

I think this is Coach K's focus with our team. I realize that defense is usually his emphasis, but the article ended with this telling quote from K:

"This is the first team in seven or eight years that really understands defense so well, not individually, but together,'' Krzyzewski said. "Our veteran guys, they just know how to play. That veteran group in the first half did not let them score when we got that double-digit lead.''

I am betting that Coach K feels very good about the ceiling for this team, because if they continue to play such great team defense, this Duke team can go very far this year!

I agree. We have heard the DEFENSE mantra always in Cameron. In fact, the players run onto the floor through a room that is dedicated to defense and has great posters of Wojo, Amaker, Battier, Battier, Battier (for his three NDPOY awards)... great teams, those who win over the entire season, do it with defense... and obviously no one believes that more than Coach K!

[devildownunder]

K isn't any more concerned about defense this year than he is in others. The difference is the style of defense that this unit plays. K and company have observed that this year's group is long and deep inside and has experience and know-how, though not necessarily game-breaking physical prowess, on the perimeter. Accordingly, K has adjusted the team's style of D to make the help-side D more interior oriented and more aggressive (see the block-shot totals) and to focus more on positioning on the perimeter, rather than trying to jump the passing lanes on the wings and smother guys man-to-man, as has been more the case much of the time in the past. We tried a similar tack in 2005 and 2006 with Shelden in the middle but I think that (for defense only) this group has a higher ceiling with that approach because of the amount of interior depth the team has. Such depth inside has been a rarity for K in most years but that hasn't stopped him from making the appropriate adjustment upon observing it.

This, IMO, is the paramount strength of coach K. Much like another favorite coach of mine from another sport, Joe Gibbs, K allows the strengths and weaknesses of his personnel to dictate his strategic approach to a season, unlike many other coaches who fall in love with systems and stick with them, even in the face of plenty of evidence that it's time for a change.

I actually wish K were a bit more flexible with his strategy WITHIN the course of each season but during preseason preparation and gameplanning, nobody does a better job of assessing and deploying talent than K. I think Duke's record under Krzyzewski during the first 20 games of the season supports that claim.

[flyingdutchdevil]

This team can only get better if the Plumlee's can learn the defensive schemes better. Once they become in tune with the rest of the team on both ends of the court this team will be very good.

Such a good point. I feel that unlike other Duke teams of recent past, our ceiling between December and March is enormous - and that is a great thing. If the Plumlees and Kelly improve as we want them to, then this team will be devastating. It's a big "if", but I feel that this year is so much different than years of past.

[jv001]

Such a good point. I feel that unlike other Duke teams of recent past, our ceiling between December and March is enormous - and that is a great thing. If the Plumlees and Kelly improve as we want them to, then this team will be devastating. It's a big "if", but I feel that this year is so much different than years of past.

in the list of players who have room for more improvement. Let's hope his defense catches up to his offense. And he has some room to improve there as well. Go Duke!

[flyingdutchdevil]

in the list of players who have room for more improvement. Let's hope his defense catches up to his offense. And he has some room to improve there as well. Go Duke!

Agreed. But Duke has a defense stopper (not an ace, but a stopper) at all 5 positions. While never enough, it's an amazing start. I really like Andre and think he is the next big thing at Duke (to follow Jwill, JJ), and his defense will definitely come around. But, IMO, his defensive development is important, but not key to the season.

[SoCalDukeFan]

I really like this team and was amazed at the final score against Gonzaga.

However I still think excellent quick guards will be a problem, as in the Wisconsin game. Maybe less of an issue as the Plumlees improve.

With the right match ups we will go far.

SoCal

[Kedsy]

With the right match ups we will go far.


This is a good point, and one that many people don't appreciate. In the late '80s and early '90s, we got a lot of favorable matchups on our way to the Final Four. In the last five years, not so much. While it's possible the recent teams just weren't good enough to make it and wouldn't have taken advantage of favorable matchups (I believe that's true about the 2007 team, for example), it's also possible that several recent teams (2006, 2009, maybe 2008, possibly 2005) could have made the Final Four if they'd faced the right matchups.

I think this year's team is the best team we've had since 2006, and we have as good a chance as anyone to make the Final Four. But I also think we could run into a buzz saw and not make it. The difference is if the less desirable result occurs it won't change my opinion of the team.

[superdave]

However I still think excellent quick guards will be a problem, as in the Wisconsin game.

I still cannot figure out why Bouldin didnt just take over the offense and try to penetrate every time down court. He is capable and Duke played him well. But still, the guy is good enough to shake off some bad play and create a lot more than he did. He didnt even try to assert himself. Curious. I guess the news reports of illness were true.

But yes, I fear quick guards a la Villanova.

[Tim1515]

I still cannot figure out why Bouldin didnt just take over the offense and try to penetrate every time down court. He is capable and Duke played him well. But still, the guy is good enough to shake off some bad play and create a lot more than he did. He didnt even try to assert himself. Curious. I guess the news reports of illness were true.

But yes, I fear quick guards a la Villanova.

I don't think it's just quick guards...but quick guards that can shoot. Nova is still a really bad matchup for us because they can break us down and score inside or out.

[Kedsy]

Nova is still a really bad matchup for us because they can break us down and score inside or out.

That may be true, but if we play smart we're a bad matchup for them, too.

Last year, if you double-teamed G and the S's didn't shoot well, we were going to have problems. This year, not so much. Last year, if a quick guard got into the lane, our defense was scrambling. This year, I think we're much better equipped to handle it. Only time will tell, of course.

[NSDukeFan]

I don't think it's just quick guards...but quick guards that can shoot. Nova is still a really bad matchup for us because they can break us down and score inside or out.

I agree that their quick guards could be a problem, but Cunningham was a heckuva player last year and I don't know if they have the interior this year. (It's too bad about their freshman Yarou getting hurt.) I think we would do a much better job rebounding against them this year and (related to this thread) I think our defense would be better as well. The difference between Reynolds and at least one of the Coreys and many other guards IMO, is that the Nova guards are quick can shoot, but also have pretty good mid-range games so they can pull up for shots before getting near shot-blockers.

Mind you, the biggest problem in the game last year was 2 of our big 3 had terrible shooting nights and we didn't have many options offensively. Hopefully, this won't be an issue as this year progresses. I like our chances against a team like that this year, but I also did last year.

[roywhite]

Call me cynical, but a team where Taylor King is playing 24 minutes per game does not seem intimidating defensively.

[DU Band Prez 88]

This is a good point, and one that many people don't appreciate. In the late '80s and early '90s, we got a lot of favorable matchups on our way to the Final Four. In the last five years, not so much. While it's possible the recent teams just weren't good enough to make it and wouldn't have taken advantage of favorable matchups (I believe that's true about the 2007 team, for example), it's also possible that several recent teams (2006, 2009, maybe 2008, possibly 2005) could have made the Final Four if they'd faced the right matchups.

I think this year's team is the best team we've had since 2006, and we have as good a chance as anyone to make the Final Four. But I also think we could run into a buzz saw and not make it. The difference is if the less desirable result occurs it won't change my opinion of the team.

Your observation about matchups in the Final Four teams of 15-20 years ago is generally correct, I think. Agree with your assessment of bad matchups for Duke in the last 5 years, especially MSU in 2005, LSU in 2006 and last year vs. Villanova. I'd add the 1998, 2000 and 2002 teams to the list of teams that definitely could have made the Final Four (the 2002 team is a no-brainer), but each ran into "buzz saws" of Kentucky, Florida & Indiana, respectively.

I agree with you 100% that this team will as good as the 2006 team, and actually will probably be better by year's end, and with a great chance to win their region at least.

[NovaScotian]

Call me cynical, but a team where Taylor King is playing 24 minutes per game does not seem intimidating defensively.

true dat.

[monkey]

Your observation about matchups in the Final Four teams of 15-20 years ago is generally correct, I think. Agree with your assessment of bad matchups for Duke in the last 5 years, especially MSU in 2005, LSU in 2006 and last year vs. Villanova. I'd add the 1998, 2000 and 2002 teams to the list of teams that definitely could have made the Final Four (the 2002 team is a no-brainer), but each ran into "buzz saws" of Kentucky, Florida & Indiana, respectively.

I agree with you 100% that this team will as good as the 2006 team, and actually will probably be better by year's end, and with a great chance to win their region at least.

Kentucky may have won the title in 1998 but it was hardly a buzzsaw. It still hurts to think we lost that game after the huge lead we had. If we had simply held onto our lead we would have MADE the final four as that game was in the Elite Eight.

[Hermy-own]

But yes, I fear quick guards a la Villanova.

Well, what happened last year against quick guards was:
1. Drive
2. Penetrate Lane
3. Zoub/Thomas slides over to cover driver
4. Underhand dish to open big man / take layup if Z/Thomas is late
5. Dunk

I don't know why, because our perimeter players aren't any quicker than last year, but this isn't happening nearly as much. If we get a bad matchup though, or if our help defense isn't sliding well, it might.

Actually, from an analytical standpoint, why isn't this happening? Is our help sliding over better this year so that open players are covered more quickly? Or are our big guys just doing a generally better job of blocking passing and shooting lanes due to their length? Or maybe because our guards aren't going for the steals and trying to block passing lanes, they are able to stay in front of their men better. That is my theory, though I'm far from an expert.

[ncexnyc]

I still cannot figure out why Bouldin didnt just take over the offense and try to penetrate every time down court. He is capable and Duke played him well. But still, the guy is good enough to shake off some bad play and create a lot more than he did. He didnt even try to assert himself. Curious. I guess the news reports of illness were true.

But yes, I fear quick guards a la Villanova.

Bouldin was coming off a concussion. Only he knows if that was the reason for his poor outing on Saturday. I'd like to think it was a combination of scrambled brains and some great defense.

[Kedsy]

Actually, from an analytical standpoint, why isn't this happening? Is our help sliding over better this year so that open players are covered more quickly? Or are our big guys just doing a generally better job of blocking passing and shooting lanes due to their length? Or maybe because our guards aren't going for the steals and trying to block passing lanes, they are able to stay in front of their men better. That is my theory, though I'm far from an expert.

I'm no expert, either, but I think it's about defensive rotation. If the defense is designed to funnel the driver to a certain spot, and/or the defense communicates really well, then the interior defenders are in the right place by design. They're not scrambling to make up for a teammate's mistake.

Put another way, if the expectation is the perimeter defender is going to stay in front of his man and he fails on the assignment, the closest help defender has to hustle over to the driving guard who then has an easy dump off to the help defender's man. Alternatively, if the expectation is the perimeter defender (if he's beaten) will funnel the driving guard to a certain area on the court, then when it happens the person assigned to help is already there, and the 2nd big has rotated over to the help defender's man. The driving guard can't make the easy pass he expected, and has to look around to see who's open, and hopefully by that time the ("beaten") perimeter defender has had time to rotate over to the 2nd big's man, so nobody's open.

I haven't studied this to see if this is what is actually happening in our games, but I believe it is a viable theory.

[Greg_Newton]

I'm no expert, either, but I think it's about defensive rotation. If the defense is designed to funnel the driver to a certain spot, and/or the defense communicates really well, then the interior defenders are in the right place by design. They're not scrambling to make up for a teammate's mistake.

Put another way, if the expectation is the perimeter defender is going to stay in front of his man and he fails on the assignment, the closest help defender has to hustle over to the driving guard who then has an easy dump off to the help defender's man. Alternatively, if the expectation is the perimeter defender (if he's beaten) will funnel the driving guard to a certain area on the court, then when it happens the person assigned to help is already there, and the 2nd big has rotated over to the help defender's man. The driving guard can't make the easy pass he expected, and has to look around to see who's open, and hopefully by that time the ("beaten") perimeter defender has had time to rotate over to the 2nd big's man, so nobody's open.

I haven't studied this to see if this is what is actually happening in our games, but I believe it is a viable theory.

I think that's right, and I also think it has a lot to do with having shot-blockers on the court. Last year, Kyle or Lance was usually our biggest help defender, and they basically had to rotate directly into charge position in front of the driving player to stop him from getting to the rim... which left a clear passing lane to their man.

However, when it's a Plumlee who is waiting around the rim, he doesn't have to fully commit to the driving player because he can rely on his length and hops to challenge the shot above the rim. This means he doesn't need to completely cut off the lane to the basket before the player can take off, so he can stay home a little longer and make the driving player commit before abandonig his man.

Kelly is learning he can do the same thing, although he got beat a lot in the above-described way earlier this season. Zoubek is also dramatically better at rotating this year... I almost fell out of my chair Saturday when he singlehandedly cut off a driving guard and then recovered in time to force his man to kick the dump-off pass back outside.

A lot of it is also just the general attitude of our frontcourt this year, IMO... I just can't remember them giving up many easy baskets inside, period. We've got enough size, athleticism and depth down low that we can risk a few extra fouls by physically challenging every shot taken near the basket, and I think it's really paying off. IMO, it's as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing - I've noticed that both that Zaga and UConn post players have looked very frustrated, double pumping, losing the ball on the way up, etc. Dare I say... Duke's physical front line is actually a little intimidating?:D

[COYS]

I think that's right, and I also think it has a lot to do with having shot-blockers on the court. Last year, Kyle or Lance was usually our biggest help defender, and they basically had to rotate directly into charge position in front of the driving player to stop him from getting to the rim... which left a clear passing lane to their man.

However, when it's a Plumlee who is waiting around the rim, he doesn't have to fully commit to the driving player because he can rely on his length and hops to challenge the shot above the rim. This means he doesn't need to completely cut off the lane to the basket before the player can take off, so he can stay home a little longer and make the driving player commit before abandonig his man.

Kelly is learning he can do the same thing, although he got beat a lot in the above-described way earlier this season. Zoubek is also dramatically better at rotating this year... I almost fell out of my chair Saturday when he singlehandedly cut off a driving guard and then recovered in time to force his man to kick the dump-off pass back outside.

A lot of it is also just the general attitude of our frontcourt this year, IMO... I just can't remember them giving up many easy baskets inside, period. We've got enough size, athleticism and depth down low that we can risk a few extra fouls by physically challenging every shot taken near the basket, and I think it's really paying off. IMO, it's as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing - I've noticed that both that Zaga and UConn post players have looked very frustrated, double pumping, losing the ball on the way up, etc. Dare I say... Duke's physical front line is actually a little intimidating?:D

I've also noticed that our length has broken up a ton of fast break or semi-break opportunities from the other team. There have been a number of times when Miles, Lance, Zoubs, or one of our other bigs has gotten back down the court and disrupted a 3-2 or 3-1 break by virtue of their wingspan. There were many times last year when either Kyle or a slower Zoubs was our tallest and longest player. Now, we've worked Miles into the lineup to go with a much more agile Zoubs, a stronger Lance, and the talented and tall frosh. When these guys are back playing defense on a fast break, even simple passes to a cutting offensive player are more difficult and, even when these passes are made, our guys are often recovering fast enough to force a second pass, which often leaves enough time for the rest of the defense to recover. I think this has been good enough to prevent at least 4 points from being scored on fast breaks each game . . . which is obviously complete speculation, but in the UCONN and Gonzaga games I remember at least two instances in each game where we were able to break up a fast break that would have resulted in a dunk the previous two seasons. Those four points will be huge in close games against efficient offensive teams.

[Skitzle]

Actually, from an analytical standpoint, why isn't this happening? Is our help sliding over better this year so that open players are covered more quickly? Or are our big guys just doing a generally better job of blocking passing and shooting lanes due to their length? Or maybe because our guards aren't going for the steals and trying to block passing lanes, they are able to stay in front of their men better. That is my theory, though I'm far from an expert.

2 Reasons

1) We've only played to games against teams with good quick guards. Wisoconsin and Uconn We lost one.

2) It appeared to me that Uconn had a lot of unforced turnovers in the game we won against them. They had 16 turnovers total. I can't find a breakdown of forced to unforced... does anyone know where to look?

[Kedsy]

2 Reasons

1) We've only played to games against teams with good quick guards. Wisoconsin and Uconn We lost one.

Wisconsin's guards didn't strike me as any better or quicker than Gonzaga's guards.

I don't know about forced to unforced turnovers, but I attended the UConn game and Dyson was able to get into the lane anytime he wanted, but once he got there he didn't have a lot of good options, ending up shooting 6 for 20 and getting zero (0) assists. He was not able to get any good looks from 3-land, so the guards played him tight out there.