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View Full Version : Further thoughts about next year: what our guys need to work on this summer



CDu
03-22-2014, 12:29 PM
Okay, so I started a separate thread on the big picture for next year. Now I'm moving on to the micro stuff: individual players. I wanted to talk about what we think is most important for our returning players to work on this summer. So here are my thoughts:

Cook: I see a few things for Cook to work on. Some are physical, some are emotional/mental. I'll start with the physical. I think the one thing missing from Cook's game is explosive quickness. On defense, he is a bit slow laterally which makes him less effective in guarding change-of-direction guards. On offense, he doesn't have that "blow-by" first step that allows him to regularly penetrate deep into the defense to create shots for others. Aside from that, there's very little physically for Cook to work on. He's a solid shooter (could shoot a higher percentage, but that is more a decision-making thing than a technique thing), sees the floor well, has great ballhandling ability. If he could just get a bit quicker, he'd be dynamite.

But perhaps the bigger part of Cook's game where I see room for improvement is on the mental/emotional side. He's a bit too much of a roller-coaster. When he's on, he's really on. But when he makes mistakes, he really gets down. This has become evident in each of the past two years. He came out like gangbusters to start both last season and this season, only to have his confidence shaken as he entered ACC play when the going got tougher. As a PG and a senior leader, he needs to be able to channel the "peaks" but eliminate the "valleys" of his emotions. If he can do that, perhaps he can be the floor leader that we lacked this year.

Sulaimon: As with Cook, I see both physical and mental/emotional areas for improvement. Again, I'll start with the physical. I see two areas of physical improvement for Sulaimon. One is that I think he needs to get a little stronger. He struggled this year in playing/finishing through contact. A little more muscle might go a long way toward turning some of those turnovers into shots and some of those misses into baskets and and-1s. Added strength will also help him on the defensive end, where he may get asked to guard more SF next year.

In addition to the strength, I think Sulaimon (like Cook) also needs to improve his lateral quickness. People have praised his on-ball defense over the last two years, but to me he's seemed a bit lead-footed at times. He clearly has the desire to be a great defender, but he just seems a bit plodding in his reactions to change of direction. If he can get a little more shifty/fluid, I think he could be an absolute defensive terror.

On the mental side of it, Sulaimon needs to get a little less sour. He just seems so angry out there, and I thought it played to his detriment at times this year. I like his aggressiveness and desire, but he needs to work on using that as a positive and not letting it turn negative. We need him to be a leader along with Cook, and that can't happen if he's perpetually pouting.

M. Jones: Jones is a weird case study for me. He came in with the reputation of being a marksman. But in his freshman year, he was nothing like that. His shot was awful: not only did he miss frequently, but he missed BADLY. So the biggest thing for him is to work on that shot and regain confidence in his stroke. Given the position he'll play (SF), I don't see anything else from a skills perspective that is missing. And I see nothing in his attitude on the court or off that needs work. Great tenacity, great energy, great willingness to defend. Just needs to find his shooting stroke.

Hood: By most indications, he's probably going pro. And as essentially a junior and coming off an all-ACC season, I completely understand that decision. If he does return, I think the biggest thing for him offensively is to be more aggressive going to the rim. He seemed too passive and too willing to take the jumper. On the other side of the ball, I think he really needs to improve his off-ball defensive awareness. On the ball he was pretty solid. But he frequently lost his assignment off the ball.

Ojeleye: Firstly, I would say that he needs to put this year in the rear-view mirror. He was unfortunately stuck behind two amazing players at his position, with seniors ahead of him filling in the backup minutes. That is not an indictment of him. Hopefully he sticks around (in this era, nothing can be assumed as given). If he does, he has a very clear opportunity to find a role as a backup SF/PF next year.

With Ojeleye, he played so little this year that it is hard to tell what he needs to work on. But I'll venture a guess. I think (you may be sensing a theme with this) lateral quickness is again the biggest physical thing he needs to work on. Clearly strength and leaping ability are not a problem. And for his position, his 3pt shooting touch doesn't seem to be a concern. Ballhandling could probably be improved, but if he's playing PF it is less necessary.

I guess the one thing I'd say is most important would be to really understand the defensive principles needed to succeed at Duke. He has the combination of size and athleticism to be an absolute monster defensively at 2-3 positions. Let's hope he can figure it out (and let's hope he's here when he does figure it out).

The interesting thing with Ojeleye is that I think he could be a PERFECT pairing with Okafor. On offense, he spaces the floor as a perimeter shooting threat. On defense, he can block shots from the weak side while Okafor is a space eater and rebounder, and he can also defend bigger guys and allow Okafor to challenge shots. I REALLY hope he sees the opportunity in front of him next year and decides to stick with it.

Parker: I'm not exactly counting on Parker returning, either. While I'd LOVE to see him back, I will be a bit surprised if he does return. Hard to turn down a top-3 pick in the draft. Maybe the "unfinished business" will make him want to return. If so, great. If not, that's fine too. With Parker, I think there a few things physically to work on. One is strength and conditioning. He still has a bit of baby fat on him, and given how much energy he would have to use next year, he could use dropping a few pounds and getting in slightly better shape. Adding a little bit of strength (both upper and lower body) would also help him finish in the paint a bit better, given that he is going to get hammered when he goes in there (and it is only occasionally going to be called).

But the physical side is not where Parker can make the most improvement. It's on the mental side that things can get better for him. On offense, he needs know what is a smart shot and what isn't. Next year's team - like this year's team - will have lots of VERY capable scorers. So we'll be able to get "good" shots from any number of spots on the floor. The key is taking the right shot. In other words, working for the best possible shot rather than taking the first available "good" shot. Parker was a bit too "hero-ball" happy. Taking fadeaway jumpers early in the shot clock. Taking on 2 and 3 defenders to try to force a basket inside. Just not always making the best decisions with the ball. If he can improve that, his offensive game becomes outlandishly effective.

On the defensive end, I think it is focus and awareness. He's a willing defender right now, but he is just not a very good defender. He doesn't fight for position inside until too late. He misses rotations. He overcommits to help defense too early leaving his man open under the basket. These are all focus/awareness issues, and they all can be fixed. So a summer spent watching tape of his breakdowns would go a long way toward helping him identify where he needs to improve on that end.

Jefferson: It's funny. Last year, the talk was that he needed to gain about 30 pounds of muscle because he would have to play a lot of center. He gained maybe 10 pounds, which is pretty impressive. But he was definitely undersized. Next year, he'll be playing his natural position of PF, as Okafor and Plumlee will be our centers. So he is probably big enough to play his position now. Maybe another 5 or so pounds of muscle would help, but that's not a big deal either way.

With Jefferson, I think the single most important thing for him to do is to improve his shooting. This year, he could get away with being a non-factor as a shooter because we had nobody who wanted to be a post player. Well, next year Okafor changes that in a big way. With Okafor on the floor, it will be a bit harder for Jefferson to do his work around the basket on offense. So he's going to need to get at least that 15 footer in his arsenal in order to be a consistent weapon offensively.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jefferson really needs to work on his rotations and his hedging/switching. A lot of our guards' defensive breakdowns were the result of Jefferson (or others) being a bit late on the hedge and getting caught in a switch and being unable to prevent the drive. Jefferson has the length and shiftiness to be an adequate defender against the dribble, but he has to recognize the screen and get out there and defend it with certainty.

Plumlee: First and foremost, Plumlee needs to stay healthy. This is a big offseason for him. He needs to get stronger and also get his conditioning up to snuff. He needs to be ready to play 15-20 productive mpg every night in case Okafor gets in foul trouble.

From a skills standpoint, he could really use a few go-to moves in the post. Being able to knock down the 10-15 foot jumper would be huge. So would a little baby hook. He doesn't appear to have great hands or touch, and his footwork with the ball seems suspect. So perhaps a trip to a big man camp (or two) this summer would do wonders for his game. Give him confidence in 1 or 2 go-to moves, and he can be a real presence as a key backup C next year.

On defense, he already does a good job of the hedge and recover. I think he needs to continue to learn how to play off-ball defense (not losing his man in the paint). And he needs to figure out when to challenge the shot and when to stay home and box out for the rebound.

So there are my thoughts on reasonable areas for improvement. What are your thoughts?

jv001
03-22-2014, 12:52 PM
First of all thanks for the threads. It helps get my mind off the loss yesterday.
1) Quinn..Totally agree about Mr. Cook. He's a good shooter when taking quality shots. Getting quicker could help on defense. It seemed that Quinn was quicker at the beginning of the year. Injury not disclosed? 2) Rasheed...gain strength as you said. He could be a stud guard if he could do a better job of finishing at the rim. 3) Matt. please work on your shooting. Very good defender. It hurt that he was limited offensively(putting it midly). He and Tyler together really held back our offense. 4) Amile...He could be a great defender at the 4 if he adds more strength. A bank shot close in could also help his offense. A 15 footer would be a God-send. 5) MPIII...needs to get stronger and say healthy like you said. Learn the jump hook that his brothers developed while at Duke. Maybe he could develop a jumper. His free throw form looks good even though the results weren't as good. 6) Semi...couldn't really tell what he needs to do to get better for lack of playing time. My guess would be learning the Duke system on defense and offense. He seems to be a good shooter and he has a stud body that should translate to the 4 very well. I would also think he needs to work on his handle. Good post, Cdu. GoDuke!

richardjackson199
03-22-2014, 12:52 PM
Okay, so I started a separate thread on the big picture for next year. Now I'm moving on to the micro stuff: individual players. I wanted to talk about what we think is most important for our returning players to work on this summer. So here are my thoughts:

Cook: I see a few things for Cook to work on. Some are physical, some are emotional/mental. I'll start with the physical. I think the one thing missing from Cook's game is explosive quickness. On defense, he is a bit slow laterally which makes him less effective in guarding change-of-direction guards. On offense, he doesn't have that "blow-by" first step that allows him to regularly penetrate deep into the defense to create shots for others. Aside from that, there's very little physically for Cook to work on. He's a solid shooter (could shoot a higher percentage, but that is more a decision-making thing than a technique thing), sees the floor well, has great ballhandling ability. If he could just get a bit quicker, he'd be dynamite.

But perhaps the bigger part of Cook's game where I see room for improvement is on the mental/emotional side. He's a bit too much of a roller-coaster. When he's on, he's really on. But when he makes mistakes, he really gets down. This has become evident in each of the past two years. He came out like gangbusters to start both last season and this season, only to have his confidence shaken as he entered ACC play when the going got tougher. As a PG and a senior leader, he needs to be able to channel the "peaks" but eliminate the "valleys" of his emotions. If he can do that, perhaps he can be the floor leader that we lacked this year.

Sulaimon: As with Cook, I see both physical and mental/emotional areas for improvement. Again, I'll start with the physical. I see two areas of physical improvement for Sulaimon. One is that I think he needs to get a little stronger. He struggled this year in playing/finishing through contact. A little more muscle might go a long way toward turning some of those turnovers into shots and some of those misses into baskets and and-1s. Added strength will also help him on the defensive end, where he may get asked to guard more SF next year.

In addition to the strength, I think Sulaimon (like Cook) also needs to improve his lateral quickness. People have praised his on-ball defense over the last two years, but to me he's seemed a bit lead-footed at times. He clearly has the desire to be a great defender, but he just seems a bit plodding in his reactions to change of direction. If he can get a little more shifty/fluid, I think he could be an absolute defensive terror.

On the mental side of it, Sulaimon needs to get a little less sour. He just seems so angry out there, and I thought it played to his detriment at times this year. I like his aggressiveness and desire, but he needs to work on using that as a positive and not letting it turn negative. We need him to be a leader along with Cook, and that can't happen if he's perpetually pouting.

M. Jones: Jones is a weird case study for me. He came in with the reputation of being a marksman. But in his freshman year, he was nothing like that. His shot was awful: not only did he miss frequently, but he missed BADLY. So the biggest thing for him is to work on that shot and regain confidence in his stroke. Given the position he'll play (SF), I don't see anything else from a skills perspective that is missing. And I see nothing in his attitude on the court or off that needs work. Great tenacity, great energy, great willingness to defend. Just needs to find his shooting stroke.

Hood: By most indications, he's probably going pro. And as essentially a junior and coming off an all-ACC season, I completely understand that decision. If he does return, I think the biggest thing for him offensively is to be more aggressive going to the rim. He seemed too passive and too willing to take the jumper. On the other side of the ball, I think he really needs to improve his off-ball defensive awareness. On the ball he was pretty solid. But he frequently lost his assignment off the ball.

Ojeleye: Firstly, I would say that he needs to put this year in the rear-view mirror. He was unfortunately stuck behind two amazing players at his position, with seniors ahead of him filling in the backup minutes. That is not an indictment of him. Hopefully he sticks around (in this era, nothing can be assumed as given). If he does, he has a very clear opportunity to find a role as a backup SF/PF next year.

With Ojeleye, he played so little this year that it is hard to tell what he needs to work on. But I'll venture a guess. I think (you may be sensing a theme with this) lateral quickness is again the biggest physical thing he needs to work on. Clearly strength and leaping ability are not a problem. And for his position, his 3pt shooting touch doesn't seem to be a concern. Ballhandling could probably be improved, but if he's playing PF it is less necessary.

I guess the one thing I'd say is most important would be to really understand the defensive principles needed to succeed at Duke. He has the combination of size and athleticism to be an absolute monster defensively at 2-3 positions. Let's hope he can figure it out (and let's hope he's here when he does figure it out).

The interesting thing with Ojeleye is that I think he could be a PERFECT pairing with Okafor. On offense, he spaces the floor as a perimeter shooting threat. On defense, he can block shots from the weak side while Okafor is a space eater and rebounder, and he can also defend bigger guys and allow Okafor to challenge shots. I REALLY hope he sees the opportunity in front of him next year and decides to stick with it.

Parker: I'm not exactly counting on Parker returning, either. While I'd LOVE to see him back, I will be a bit surprised if he does return. Hard to turn down a top-3 pick in the draft. Maybe the "unfinished business" will make him want to return. If so, great. If not, that's fine too. With Parker, I think there a few things physically to work on. One is strength and conditioning. He still has a bit of baby fat on him, and given how much energy he would have to use next year, he could use dropping a few pounds and getting in slightly better shape. Adding a little bit of strength (both upper and lower body) would also help him finish in the paint a bit better, given that he is going to get hammered when he goes in there (and it is only occasionally going to be called).

But the physical side is not where Parker can make the most improvement. It's on the mental side that things can get better for him. On offense, he needs know what is a smart shot and what isn't. Next year's team - like this year's team - will have lots of VERY capable scorers. So we'll be able to get "good" shots from any number of spots on the floor. The key is taking the right shot. In other words, working for the best possible shot rather than taking the first available "good" shot. Parker was a bit too "hero-ball" happy. Taking fadeaway jumpers early in the shot clock. Taking on 2 and 3 defenders to try to force a basket inside. Just not always making the best decisions with the ball. If he can improve that, his offensive game becomes outlandishly effective.

On the defensive end, I think it is focus and awareness. He's a willing defender right now, but he is just not a very good defender. He doesn't fight for position inside until too late. He misses rotations. He overcommits to help defense too early leaving his man open under the basket. These are all focus/awareness issues, and they all can be fixed. So a summer spent watching tape of his breakdowns would go a long way toward helping him identify where he needs to improve on that end.

Jefferson: It's funny. Last year, the talk was that he needed to gain about 30 pounds of muscle because he would have to play a lot of center. He gained maybe 10 pounds, which is pretty impressive. But he was definitely undersized. Next year, he'll be playing his natural position of PF, as Okafor and Plumlee will be our centers. So he is probably big enough to play his position now. Maybe another 5 or so pounds of muscle would help, but that's not a big deal either way.

With Jefferson, I think the single most important thing for him to do is to improve his shooting. This year, he could get away with being a non-factor as a shooter because we had nobody who wanted to be a post player. Well, next year Okafor changes that in a big way. With Okafor on the floor, it will be a bit harder for Jefferson to do his work around the basket on offense. So he's going to need to get at least that 15 footer in his arsenal in order to be a consistent weapon offensively.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jefferson really needs to work on his rotations and his hedging/switching. A lot of our guards' defensive breakdowns were the result of Jefferson (or others) being a bit late on the hedge and getting caught in a switch and being unable to prevent the drive. Jefferson has the length and shiftiness to be an adequate defender against the dribble, but he has to recognize the screen and get out there and defend it with certainty.

Plumlee: First and foremost, Plumlee needs to stay healthy. This is a big offseason for him. He needs to get stronger and also get his conditioning up to snuff. He needs to be ready to play 15-20 productive mpg every night in case Okafor gets in foul trouble.

From a skills standpoint, he could really use a few go-to moves in the post. Being able to knock down the 10-15 foot jumper would be huge. So would a little baby hook. He doesn't appear to have great hands or touch, and his footwork with the ball seems suspect. So perhaps a trip to a big man camp (or two) this summer would do wonders for his game. Give him confidence in 1 or 2 go-to moves, and he can be a real presence as a key backup C next year.

On defense, he already does a good job of the hedge and recover. I think he needs to continue to learn how to play off-ball defense (not losing his man in the paint). And he needs to figure out when to challenge the shot and when to stay home and box out for the rebound.

So there are my thoughts on reasonable areas for improvement. What are your thoughts?

Excellent post. I tried but can't spork more. I would just add a few things: use the bitterness of going out in the round of 64 to Mercer to fuel the fire of off-season hard work for everybody.

Nate Britt on UNC isn't that great of a player. But damn that kid makes free throws. Why? He said he makes himself make 10 consecutive free throws after each practice. That seems crazy, but he's doing something right. In close end of game situations (like beating us in Chapel Hill this year), and over the course of a close game, it sure is nice to have all those points at the line on the scoreboard. This is crucial in the NCAA tourney. UNC was one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the ACC. But at the end of the game if they had a 3 point lead which Paige can just give them at will, it sure was nice for them to have Paige or Britt shoot free throws to ice it. There is no reason everyone on our team can't mold themselves into 80% free throw shooters, and that should be their goal. Some of our guards should strive for 90%.

I agree with you on everybody above, so not much more to add.

Jones has to be able to shoot to help us on offense. He could not shoot 3's this year. He could drive but when he got fouled he could not shoot free throws. He brought great energy and good defense. He has to relearn how to shoot and shoot well to see the court next year.

Ojeleye - I agree. This guy could really help us. I haven't seen enough to know what is going on. I hope he develops into a monster (and for Duke), because with his freakish athleticism and ability to shoot, he certainly seems to have that potential. I hope he works hard and earns lots of meaningful minutes next year.

Dukehky
03-22-2014, 12:56 PM
I'm not really sure how to improve mental toughness. I thought that was our biggest problem this year. Tyler was mentally tough, but he didn't have the physical/skill abilities to really do anything with that toughness, everyone else, at some point, faded significantly down the stretch.

I'm just not sure how to fix that.

I would actually love to see us press a little more next year. I hope our returning players just run all summer so they NEVER get tired. They now know they have to play huge minutes, so I want them in the best condition of any team in the country. No more of this "we got tired" mess.

OldSchool
03-22-2014, 01:00 PM
I'll throw in 2 cents on the physical side. Amile needs to improve his hops. He has a good nose for the ball and a great natural sense of timing around the boards. This has served him well in gathering rebounds, and these advantages also would translate into an ability to block shots if he had stronger hops. Get thee to a squat rack.

Same for Marshall. He finally recovered his conditioning but it appears he never got his fast-twitch muscles back to where he was pre-injury. When he does, he'll have more of an above-the-rim game.

dyedwab
03-22-2014, 01:16 PM
I'm not really sure how to improve mental toughness. I thought that was our biggest problem this year. Tyler was mentally tough, but he didn't have the physical/skill abilities to really do anything with that toughness, everyone else, at some point, faded significantly down the stretch.

I'm just not sure how to fix that.

I would actually love to see us press a little more next year. I hope our returning players just run all summer so they NEVER get tired. They now know they have to play huge minutes, so I want them in the best condition of any team in the country. No more of this "we got tired" mess.

Actually, I think "getting stronger" physically is actually the best way to get mentally tougher. When "we got tired" we'd revert to our instinctive behavior, which led to a lot a one-on-one hero ball, and standing around on defense. If we are stronger and less tired, we can more easily make better decision on both ends of the floor.

I think better physical condition is the single most important improvement all of our returning players can make.

Great post and discussion.

gurufrisbee
03-22-2014, 01:32 PM
Cook: He'll improve simply because Thorton is gone. For whatever reason, Coach K loved to give the offensive nightmare way too many starts and way too many minutes at Cook's expense. Cook needs to be on the floor. The team is MUCH better with him. He gets into the flow of the game and is the one guy on this team with actual leadership qualities. He needs to work on his defense and not letting guys by him.

Sheed: He's got to work on being part of a team offense. Like Parker and Hood, they mostly worked on offense by going one -on- one with their defender. This is a large reason why we struggled so much against zones for the season (even with having great outside shooters- which usually kills zones). He needs to be confident, needs to keep becoming the defensive stopper he is approaching, and needs to be good at shooting and driving within a system involving all five guys.

M. Jones: Excellent point about the huge difference between his reputation for shooting and what we saw this year. He's not going to get much PT next season either, so I hope he really finds that shooting and makes it a weapon for the brief moments he'll get and so he can work on the rest of his game when he gets more time as a junior and senior.

Semi: Obviously he needs to get PT. Since he was behind Jabari and Rodney it's not shocking he didn't get much this year. And there is a big unknown about how much he'll get next year with those two guys being unknown and with bringing in Okafor (which moves Amile down) and Justice. It's a little unknown about what kind of player he can be. I always sort of viewed him like a kind of Dahntay Jones/Brian Davis type. But he needs to do whatever he needs to do to get on the floor.

Plumlee: Offense! Develop a post up game. He's not going to get much (any?) more time than he did this year (which will go down as one of the biggest blunders of the season). But at least next year it will be because there is a better center on the roster. He's got to become a threat in the post with the ball.

Amile: Mid range jumper. We're gonna see a ton of zones and the only time we did well against it was with Hood at the high post where he was a threat to hit that jumper or pump and drive by the defender for a lay up. Amile needs to take that spot next year. He's already very good with a quick first step to drive for the lay up - but he won't be able to because no one will step up on his jumper right now. SO he has to make that high post jump shot a weapon.

Parker: He's 95% gone. On the 1 in 20 shot, he badly needs to develop in a team offense and extremely improve his defense, especially his footwork.

Hood: He's 70% gone. On the 3 in 10 shot, he needs to bulk up so he can actually use his size to rebound and defend. His defense improved, but still has a lot of room to grow. He also needs to improve his role in a team offense. He did well as the high post against a zone, but we all know his best play was dribbling one on one with that step back jumper after the defender backs up to not get driven on while everyone else stands around watching.

60's Devil
03-22-2014, 02:20 PM
Hard for Cook to work on lateral quickness and quickness to penetrate. These are genetic things that are difficult to work on compared to three pointer accuracy and free throws. To me, the problem has been that he should be a 2 guard. With Kyrie, I felt almost that he could penetrate and score at will. Not even close with Cook, who is a great player out of position. It is very hard to watch us dribble it around the outside and then hoist a three near the end of the shot clock.

FerryFor50
03-22-2014, 02:26 PM
Hard for Cook to work on lateral quickness and quickness to penetrate. These are genetic things that are difficult to work on compared to three pointer accuracy and free throws. To me, the problem has been that he should be a 2 guard. With Kyrie, I felt almost that he could penetrate and score at will. Not even close with Cook, who is a great player out of position. It is very hard to watch us dribble it around the outside and then hoist a three near the end of the shot clock.

Not just genetics, but he also had a knee injury (partial tear of meniscus) in HS that likely robbed him of some of his lateral quickness.

http://www.scacchoops.com/tt_Newsbreaker_External.asp?NB=6754

devilnfla
03-22-2014, 02:45 PM
The whole team needs to develop poise. That (lack of poise) in my opinion cost us nearly every loss we had. To me this year was like watching Ground Hog Day. Nearly every game that was close at the under 5 min. mark we either lost or barely won. Other than the Pitt game, I can't remember a game where we stretched a late,close lead out to a comfortable win.

Also, Jefferson needs to develop a jump shot (10-12 ft.) ala Lance Thomas in his senior year.

Matt Jones, please work on your 3's and ft shooting.

Marshall, get stronger. Need to develop some strong mits to hang onto those rebounds. Also, ft shooting so you're not a liability late in the game.

Semi.....hang in there and just keep improving, your time will come.

Cook, start early and develop a solid relationship with the freshman. Big Oak will be an asset to your assist to turnover ratio. Also, Tyus will need your help replacing Thornton's role/minutes.

Suilamon, please watch tapes from Nolan Smith's senior year. You need to start pulling up on some of those drives to the basket. You aren't going to get those contact calls.

Finally, Jabari.....if you stay, make defense your #1priority in the off season. It will make you a complete player!

TKG
03-22-2014, 04:20 PM
I would add to your list of "our guys": the coaching staff. The rule changes have changed the game. The coaching staff needs to adjust to the changes and their impact on how Duke has played, historically. One of the mantras of this coaching staff has been we do not run a system but we adjust to the skills/talents of the players on the roster. Well, we need to adjust to the new rules. I hope the coaching staff spends the off-season adapting to the new rules. Adapt and Overcome.

Kedsy
03-22-2014, 04:31 PM
There is no reason everyone on our team can't mold themselves into 80% free throw shooters, and that should be their goal. Some of our guards should strive for 90%.

There is plenty of reason. Mainly because it's really hard. Even Nate Britt and his post-practice routine didn't quite get to 80% (granted he's at 79% so he's close). I have no problem striving for perfection, but there just aren't that many guys anywhere who hit 80% or better from the line. And nobody in the ACC who took even a decent number of free throws hit 90% of them this season.

Put another way, I agree players should work on their free throws. I think there's no excuse for hitting less than 65%. But they also have other important things to work on. It's not reasonable to expect everyone to be upper echelon free throw shooters, any more than it is to expect everyone to be upper echelon three-point shooters.

jacone21
03-22-2014, 04:43 PM
Cook - Team defense
Jones - Team defense
Sulaimon - Team defense
Plumlee - Team defense
Jefferson - Team defense
Ojeleye - Team defense

roywhite
03-22-2014, 04:46 PM
Hard for Cook to work on lateral quickness and quickness to penetrate. These are genetic things that are difficult to work on compared to three pointer accuracy and free throws. To me, the problem has been that he should be a 2 guard. With Kyrie, I felt almost that he could penetrate and score at will. Not even close with Cook, who is a great player out of position. It is very hard to watch us dribble it around the outside and then hoist a three near the end of the shot clock.

Agree. And that drive and dish ability was lacking on this team.

The good news is that Tyus Jones may well be a terrific pass-first point guard, who can involve other players in the offense to a high degree. With that, I see Quinn primarily as a back-up shooter, with Tyus Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon the two primary guards.

Quinn has done a lot of good things and he can continue to be an important contributor. But I don't see offensive penetration and strong individual defense as being his strong points, and Duke needs both of those features.

_Gary
03-22-2014, 04:49 PM
Agree. And that drive and dish ability was lacking on this team.

The good news is that Tyus Jones may well be a terrific pass-first point guard, who can involve other players in the offense to a high degree. With that, I see Quinn primarily as a back-up shooter, with Tyus Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon the two primary guards.

Quinn has done a lot of good things and he can continue to be an important contributor. But I don't see offensive penetration and strong individual defense as being his strong points, and Duke needs both of those features.

A-M-E-N to all of this. I'm not at all sure Coach K will see it this way, but right now your scenario with our guards is what I'd like to see. But if forced to wager on it, I think (as someone else has said) we are more likely to see Quinn, Rasheed and Tyus all starting.

Saratoga2
03-22-2014, 05:20 PM
I would add to your list of "our guys": the coaching staff. The rule changes have changed the game. The coaching staff needs to adjust to the changes and their impact on how Duke has played, historically. One of the mantras of this coaching staff has been we do not run a system but we adjust to the skills/talents of the players on the roster. Well, we need to adjust to the new rules. I hope the coaching staff spends the off-season adapting to the new rules. Adapt and Overcome.

Its not all about the players but also how they are used and also the substitution concepts.

gumbomoop
03-22-2014, 06:04 PM
The good news is that Tyus Jones may well be a terrific pass-first point guard, who can involve other players in the offense to a high degree. With that, I see Quinn primarily as a back-up shooter, with Tyus Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon the two primary guards.

Quinn has done a lot of good things and he can continue to be an important contributor. But I don't see offensive penetration and strong individual defense as being his strong points, and Duke needs both of those features.


A-M-E-N to all of this. I'm not at all sure Coach K will see it this way, but right now ymour scenario with our guards is what I'd like to see. But if forced to wager on it, I think (as someone else has said) we are more likely to see Quinn, Rasheed and Tyus all starting.

The 2 threads re next year will probably morph/bleed into each other, for I was the "someone" cited by Gary, re my comments in the other thread about perimeter small ball next season. But allow me to correct a misimpression. I didn't say Quinn, Rasheed, and Tyus would all start. I did say they'd play 27-30+ mpg each. [Assuming no Jabari and no Rodney.]

But, no surprise, I could be wrong. We'd see less perimeter small ball if Justise is ready to contribute major minutes right off, or ... if Semi is a wing/3 rather than a backup 4. Absent that, however, and even if either Matt or Grayson is ready to play big minutes, we'd still be looking at a fair amount of perimeter small ball -- simply because Justise [Semi] is the only wing/3 who isn't relatively small for a wing.

I'm guessing, right now, that Quinn and Tyus will play together significant minutes, in which case the sole perimeter scenario that isn't small ball must include Justise/Semi. But even if Quinn is mostly the backup PG, unless Justise/Semi play a lot, we'd still be looking at perimeter small ball, involving a small PG, and significant minutes with 2 roughly traditional-sized SGs [Rasheed, Matt, Grayson] playing the wings.

No matter who starts at the 3 perimeter spots, if Justise/Semi doesn't play big minutes, we'll play significant perimeter small ball minutes. This is most obviously true if Quinn mostly plays SG rather than backup PG.

I might go so far as to guess that unless both Justise and Semi play major minutes at the wing/3 - essentially sharing the wing/3 for 30+ mpg - we'll see some significant perimeter small ball.

NSDukeFan
03-22-2014, 08:55 PM
Cook - Team defense
Jones - Team defense
Sulaimon - Team defense
Plumlee - Team defense
Jefferson - Team defense
Ojeleye - Team defense

This looks like a pretty good answer to me based on this team's shortcomings.

Duke3517
03-22-2014, 09:11 PM
Totally agree on Parker. Great post. One thing I want to add on Hood is he needs to be better traffic rebounder or create better positioning under the basket. Too many times this year he was just out muscled or out of position for a rebound.

Furniture
03-22-2014, 09:29 PM
The couple of times I saw the team live I noticed that MP3 would practice several shots in the warm up with the jump hook being one if them. I get the feeling that he didn't try something's in games because he was specifically told what or what not to do.