Saturday 11/1/14- MBB Open Practice Report

[Newton_14]

Always good to catch a practice ran by Coach K and Staff. Today was no different. K was very engaging with the crowd, complete with opening statement and then taking time to explain to us at various times, the drills the team were doing, and the purpose. Lots of good stuff. They also had 3 controlled scrimmages in game like situations with the clock and the score (K assigned fans on one side to pull for Blue and the other side to pull for White).

They ran a 6 minute end of half scrimmage the first time with the white team being the 5 J lineup, and Blue rolling with Quinn/Rasheed/Grayson/Semi/MP3 (that particular group struggles to score but is pretty good defensively). They started with White up 30-29 and shooting a and-1 FT. The White team scored 14 points and Blue 9. (Rasheed and Semi led the way for Blue) (Okafor was pretty much unstoppable for White and MP3 was not playing bad defense. Get used to seeing this kid score. He is going to do that in droves).They also played a 1 minute end of half scrimmage with the groups split the same way.

They then switched it up with White being Quinn, Matt, Grayson, Amile, Okafor, and Blue being Tyus, Rasheed, Winslow, Semi, MP3. They scrimmaged for about a 20 minute period but with not keeping score and K stopping to teach, call obvious fouls, and give the ball to the team of his choice to run something he wanted to see. Interesting, to me anyway, was during one stretch late in that scrimmage, they played zone defense for several possessions.

After a break they ran another 6 minute end of game simulation scrimmage leaving the teams split the same. White (Quinn/Matt/Grayson/Amile/Oak) Blue (Tyus/Rasheed/Winslow/Semi/MP3). Close game throughout. I thought this was Grayson's best showing of the day. White team took the lead late, got a couple of stops and closed it out with FT. Rasheed had an open 3 about 3 feet behind the line with 6 seconds to try to tie it and came up just a tad short. Amile made two FT to make the final margin 5.

Thoughts on starters. It has become obvious to me that 3 of the Freshman (Tyus/Winslow/Okafor) + Amile is going to be locks to start much of the year barring something crazy. Winslow is that good. The kid is a beast. Much bigger that I realized and I think he will have no trouble at all playing the 4 spot when needed. He stayed with the guard group when they split bigs and smalls, with Semi going with the bigs, but Winslow is going to be that wildcard that can slide into any of the 2-4 slots. I think he is going to be a key weapon and somewhat of a glue guy. His shot is capable, he can defend, rebound in traffic, block shots, and get to the rim with both power and grace. Really good player. Okafor is ridiculously good. Marshall has turned into a pretty solid defender and Okafor still scores at will in a variety of ways and he does not appear to force it. He is very happy to pass out of double and triple teams and showed at times to be pretty good at finding Amile for a chippy or an open guard for a 3.

Tyus is an A++ ball handler, who is sneaky good at finishing in the lane, especially on breaks. If teams play him as pass first on the break he is going to make them pay with strong finishes and buckets or FT's.

The 2 spot is where things will evolve and revolve. Matt seems to have his hands on it at the moment and I expect him to start there Tuesday night, but Rasheed will have a large say in that matter, as will Quinn. While Quinn and Tyus never played a second together today, we will certainly see that. As of right now though, there is no getting around the fact that Tyus is the starting PG at Duke. Given how kids go through ups and downs, foul trouble, nagging injuries, etc, having Winslow is going to give K lots of options. Amile in foul trouble or having a bad night? OK then, Winslow to the 4, and whomever is playing well between Tyus/Quinn/Rasheed/Matt and even Grayson will make up the 1-3 spots joining Winslow and Okafor.

Semi- While he is still very hesitant and thinking too much when catching the ball out top in isolation, he has consistently done one thing really well in the times I have seen them which is to make the spot up 3 very consistently. The kid can shoot the 3. It's not a fluke. I like his defense and rebounding as well. Several times today during the various scrimmages, he took and made open and tough 3 pointers and most hit nothing but net. Has some progressing to do in other areas but his stock and 3 pointer is trending up in my opinion.

Grayson- This kid is better and more talented than I realized. During a fast break in the last scrimmage, he drove it in heavy traffic, had to hang and delay the layup to avoid Winslow blocking it, and he still finished with ease. Incredibly difficult play and he made it look easy. K actually got on him one time for deferring. He caught it on the wing just inside the 3 point line toward the corner and had an open jumper he should have taken. Instead, he decided to dribble, draw, in an obvious attempt to get it to Okafor. K stopped and said "Grayson, that was your shot! Take it! Don't defer. Now the one positive is Grayson was making concerted efforts all day to feed the big fella and often did with good entry passes. Gotta pull the trigger when the play gets you an open jumper though.

I thought Quinn played much better on the White team than he did on the Blue, though Tyus did strip him in the backcourt one time and drew the foul driving it to the hoop. He had more bounce in his step and played better on both ends.

Saw nothing that changed my opinion from CTC in that this team is/can/will be (pick one) really good. They are better defensively across the board, deep, great big man (like really great big man), good/great PG's, a plethora of good wings that are big, can shoot, and defend, and then finally, they have the super secret Swiss Army knife weapon in Winslow who does many things well and a great combo of size/strength/grace/agility. The only negative I saw with Winslow is he has a tendency to push off a lot, and apparently is so strong he does not realize it. He drove on Grayson one time and pushed him practically out of bounds from just inside the FT line and when K blue the whistle and motioned a push off, Winslow pointed his hand to his chest with a bewildered look of "who, me?". It wasn't fake. He honestly appeared to have no idea. He did it a couple more times, but only the one got whistled. Maybe nothing, but something to watch.

Anxious to see the results of Tuesday night. Unfortunately I cannot go, but will be shocked if we get a repeat of last year and trail at the half.

Go Duke!

Edit: Forgot to add. All day in drills and scrimmages, the played full court man to man defense mixing in various presses, and on offense, looked to fast break, and push the ball wherever possible. Unlike last year, I do not see that getting abandoned this year. Time will tell.

[Willy2351]

Thanks for the thorough write-up, Newton!

My perhaps less-informed observations are:

1. Okafor is incredibly smooth and good. The hype is well deserved.
2. T. Jones certainly is good, but didn't seem to me to be anywhere near as advanced as Okafor. Looks like he is (understandably!) still adjusting to the speed and strength of this caliber of player. Also, his outside shooting was not very good today.
3. M. Jones, Grayson Allen, Sheed and Cook seemed relatively equal in ability to me, though obviously with different strengths and weaknesses. Allen is the most surprising; he played very well overall. It will be interesting to see who of that group, if anyone, is relegated to spot minutes.
4. Completely agree re Winslow. He is strong and impressive.
5. While Jefferson seems like a lock to start, he was nearly invisible on the offensive end for much of the scrimmages. That may be fine.
6. I thought Semi generally looked very good on both ends of the court. He played Jefferson tough and shot really well.
7. Marshall suffers from comparison with Okafor, but almost anyone would. He will be a very valuable sub when Okafor needs a breather or is in foul trouble. He plays hard, can rebound and defend. As long as we don't look to him for smooth offensive moves, which we should not need to do, he should be a big asset.
8. Sheed is a bit of an enigma. Looks like he is in tremendous shape and is very quick/fast. Had some good moments, but seemed out of sync some.
9. It was interesting to see how much Coach K delegated to the assistant coaches, while still being very much in control of the practice.
9. Overall, it looks like we should have a very,very good and very likable team.

Go Duke!

[Dev11]

It was interesting to see how much Coach K delegated to the assistant coaches, while still being very much in control of the practice.

I imagine that's the benefit of having a staff full of guys who played for you. Jon Scheyer didn't have to spend a lot of time learning on the job about how much the assistants are supposed to do. I don't think any staff in the country has that kind of continuity.

I'll also echo my thanks for this write-up, although I'm dumbfounded that anybody could be thinking about basketball at a time like this. I can tell that the shooting guard minutes distribution will be a favorite topic all season.

[Newton_14]

Thanks for the thorough write-up, Newton!

My perhaps less-informed observations are:

1. Okafor is incredibly smooth and good. The hype is well deserved.
2. T. Jones certainly is good, but didn't seem to me to be anywhere near as advanced as Okafor. Looks like he is (understandably!) still adjusting to the speed and strength of this caliber of player. Also, his outside shooting was not very good today.
3. M. Jones, Grayson Allen, Sheed and Cook seemed relatively equal in ability to me, though obviously with different strengths and weaknesses. Allen is the most surprising; he played very well overall. It will be interesting to see who of that group, if anyone, is relegated to spot minutes.
4. Completely agree re Winslow. He is strong and impressive.
5. While Jefferson seems like a lock to start, he was nearly invisible on the offensive end for much of the scrimmages. That may be fine.
6. I thought Semi generally looked very good on both ends of the court. He played Jefferson tough and shot really well.
7. Marshall suffers from comparison with Okafor, but almost anyone would. He will be a very valuable sub when Okafor needs a breather or is in foul trouble. He plays hard, can rebound and defend. As long as we don't look to him for smooth offensive moves, which we should not need to do, he should be a big asset.
8. Sheed is a bit of an enigma. Looks like he is in tremendous shape and is very quick/fast. Had some good moments, but seemed out of sync some.
9. It was interesting to see how much Coach K delegated to the assistant coaches, while still being very much in control of the practice.
9. Overall, it looks like we should have a very,very good and very likable team.

Go Duke!

Great notes. I see nothing I disagree with. I think that is a fair assessment of Tyus. Really good but not as advanced as Okafor. As of right now I think Winslow is actually our 2nd best Freshman. Things can change though.

I agree over all with your assessment of our two guards, but one thing I believe is a difference maker is Rasheed has another gear the other guys don't have yet, and he has the advantage of experience, and has performed really well in some awful big regular season and tourney games. I expect Rasheed to eventually take over that starting spot.

The one caveat is the "5J" group is very balanced with offense/defense/size/strength/speed. Matt's defense and ability to finish in the lane is why he is where he is right now, but to stay there he will have to be able to hit the 3 and his foul shots.

Agree that Amile did nothing flashy today, but he is another glue guy, good defender, vocal leader, and I still say will prove to be a solid scorer in the post, especially with the attention teams will have to give to Okafor. Amile should benefit greatly from that actually.

We have a very solid 4 man group of Okafor/Amile/MP3/Winslow to man the 4/5 spots, and Semi could work his way into the mix at the 4. The guards/wings aren't just competing with each other. They are also competing with Winslow and to a lesser degree, Semi. Great guard/wing play by the group of Quinn/Rasheed/Matt/Grayson could limit the minutes of Semi, and cut a little into Winslow's minutes if Amile is playing stellar at the 4, and the flip side is if that group struggles and Winslow and Semi are both bringing it, along with Amile, it could cut into the minutes of one or more of Quinn/Matt/Rasheed/Grayson.

*In those hypotheticals, I am assuming Tyus locks down the large portion of PG minutes. If he slips, then move Quinn to the point, and you only have 3 SG's battling for that SG spot.

** That's what makes this group so intriguing though, in that multiple guys can play up or down 1 spot and in some cases 2 spots. (Winslow could realistically play the 2-4, Rasheed could realistically play the 1-3 spots).

Should be a really fun year, especially if a large number of all of these guys play really well.

[bbosbbos]

Went to the practice this morning. In general I love this team. However, if we want to add one more banner to CIS this year, some players need to improve asap.

1. Tyus had some TO when pressed or doubled. He needs some time to adjust.

2. Amile disappeared on both ends.

3. Rasheed was very different from what we saw in the C2C. He played better with returned teammates.

[Troublemaker]

Great notes. I see nothing I disagree with. I think that is a fair assessment of Tyus. Really good but not as advanced as Okafor. As of right now I think Winslow is actually our 2nd best Freshman. Things can change though.


I've heard Coach K intimate in interviews a couple of times now that Winslow's actually Duke's 2nd-best player, period. And in an interview earlier this preseason, I heard Jahlil say that he thought Justise had been playing the best out of everyone during summer workouts and pickup. I'm very excited to see Justise play in real games at this point. His shooting is either not a problem or Coach K has found a way to make it all work anyway. Whatever the case, I didn't do him Justise when I was worried about his shooting earlier this preseason.

As far as Tyus, I think he'll get better and better as the season progresses. He's the least physically talented of our freshmen and so the level of college speed and size will be a bigger adjustment for him. He's still been very good from what I've seen so far and should get much better still.

[DukieInBrasil]

As far as Tyus, I think he'll get better and better as the season progresses. He's the least physically talented of our freshmen and so the level of college speed and size will be a bigger adjustment for him. He's still been very good from what I've seen so far and should get much better still.

Your description of Tyus sounds similar to Tyler Ennis from SYR last year. He had a stellar Fr. year.

[Dukehky]

Was K swearing like a sailor in the open practice or did he taper it down for the crowd?

I've been to an invite only open practice for like area hs coaches and media and he was cursing up a storm, which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

Just kind of wondering, thanks for the reports everybody

[Newton_14]

Was K swearing like a sailor in the open practice or did he taper it down for the crowd?

I've been to an invite only open practice for like area hs coaches and media and he was cursing up a storm, which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

Just kind of wondering, thanks for the reports everybody

Language report- Unsalty. He got on them a couple of times with no mic around, one time during a break when all were seated on the bench. He kept it quiet, likely cursed, but was not a classic K ranting moment or anything. More like, "get off your collective arses and put more effort into it"... Stopped one drill for the same reason...

But no loud, cursing, demonstrative rants today. Capel dropped an F-Bomb on Amile for his one defensive mistake during the live scrimmages. He fouled Tyus while trapping in the backcourt with a lead with 1:07 left on the clock. Amile was solid all day though. Totally disagree with the "disappeared on both ends" commentary. He had 7 points in the 13 minutes, and likely 3-5 rebounds. His defense was superb other than the bone head foul. He was also on the winning side of both 6 minute scrimmages.

[ACCBBallFan]

Thanks for the reports.

If Tyus was struggling to adapt to the speed of the college game, I am assuming it was because Sheed was guarding him, even though Tyus guards Quinn.

Sounded like Grayson was on Justise, so I assume Quinn on Matt and Sheed on Tyus.

Though Amile is not the toughest guy to guard, sounds like Semi is not lost on defense like he was last year.

Another point on MP3, he's going to do well in spot duty when he does not have to go head to head with Jah. Anyone else he faces is going to seem so much easier to play against.

[Kedsy]

Thanks, Mark, for the report. I, for one, appreciate it, and I share your enthusiasm for this season's team.


However, if we want to add one more banner to CIS this year, some players need to improve asap.

Seriously? We haven't even played our first exhibition yet. Give the kids some time. We don't have to do anything "asap" yet.

[AncientPsychicT]

Blue rolling with Quinn/Rasheed/Grayson/Semi/MP3 (that particular group struggles to score but is pretty good defensively).

That's all you really needed to say. :D

[devilnfla]

From reading reviews on the open practices, it appears that Obi is not playing in any scrimmages. Is this correct and if so why? I would think that they would use him to defend Okafor to give him a different look as opposed to always being defended by MP3. Also could use Obi and MP3 together to double Okafor to get him ready for what he'll probably see a lot of in the regular season.

[tux]

I was there for the first hour. I agree with most of the above comments. The only thing missing from this team is an elite 3-point shooter. If we're going to play inside out with the usual drive and kicks, I'm not sure who's going to be our consistent threat from outside. I mean, a handful of our guys can shoot it pretty good, but I can imagine some games where we struggle from outside. Matt, despite his reputation out of HS, manages to shoot without imparting any rotation on the ball. Weird. Sheed may end up being our best shooter on the wing.

I take Matt being in the starting lineup to be more about surrounding Okafor, Tyus, and Winslow with two guys they don't have to start the season deferring to --- Amile is the consummate team player and Matt has never started. Having Quinn and Sheed start out on the blue team avoids any of the early season tug-of-wars that seemed to plague last years team. (Plus, the coaching staff isn't singling out a player as both Quinn and Sheed are having to sacrifice a bit...)

I think in the end Sheed will adjust and play well enough to either start or get starters minutes, but Matt brings a steady presence without needing to dominate the ball.

I was more impressed with Tyus than I expected. A true PG who makes passes no one else on the team is capable of making. Sometimes it's not just an assist, but the pass the leads to the assist. You can tell he really understands how to play the position, not a scoring guard or combo guard trying to learn the PG role.

[El_Diablo]

Matt has never started.

I agree that he doesn't need to dominate the ball, but Matt started several games last season.

[tux]

I agree that he doesn't need to dominate the ball, but Matt started several games last season.

Stand corrected. I guess I'd say Matt hasn't played major minutes at Duke - even when he started he often didn't play starter minutes last year.

[Troublemaker]

Thanks for the reports, everyone!

Other reports:

Chronicle (http://www.dukechronicle.com/blogs/bluezone/posts/2014/11/01/observations-duke-basketballs-open-practice-nov-1)

Herald-Sun (http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/colleges/x1476703571/Duke-basketball-fans-delight-are-rare-open-practice-look)

Devil's Den (http://duke.scout.com/story/1475966-takeaways-duke-s-open-practice?s=167)

[Clay Feet POF]

I was there for the first hour. I agree with most of the above comments. The only thing missing from this team is an elite 3-point shooter. If we're going to play inside out with the usual drive and kicks, I'm not sure who's going to be our consistent threat from outside. I mean, a handful of our guys can shoot it pretty good, but I can imagine some games where we struggle from outside. Matt, despite his reputation out of HS, manages to shoot without imparting any rotation on the ball. Weird. Sheed may end up being our best shooter on the wing..


i
I’m guessing Semi will be our best 3 Point shooter. Although he’s probably not penciled in for some minutes now, I think his 3’s will help increase his minutes as the season progress.

[dukebluesincebirth]

Thanks for all the practice reports guys, good stuff. Really looking forward to seeing this team grow together. Does anyone know how I could watch the Livingston exhibition game on Tuesday night? Online anywhere?

[dcar1985]

Thanks for all the practice reports guys, good stuff. Really looking forward to seeing this team grow together. Does anyone know how I could watch the Livingston exhibition game on Tuesday night? Online anywhere?

GoDuke.com always broadcasts the exhibitions as well as CTC. Subscription is 9.99/mo Well worth it even if you only get it to watch the two exhibitions

[slower]

...although I'm dumbfounded that anybody could be thinking about basketball at a time like this.

Although I'm sure there's probably an ever greater number of us who are dumbfounded that anybody would ever think about anything BESIDES basketball, particularly on the Duke BASKETBALL Report. :p

[OldPhiKap]

I imagine that's the benefit of having a staff full of guys who played for you. Jon Scheyer didn't have to spend a lot of time learning on the job about how much the assistants are supposed to do. I don't think any staff in the country has that kind of continuity.

I'll also echo my thanks for this write-up, although I'm dumbfounded that anybody could be thinking about basketball at a time like this. I can tell that the shooting guard minutes distribution will be a favorite topic all season.

Agree strongly on all three points here. All of our coaches know the drill. Literally.

We will have an ongoing analysis of all three g/sf slots, I imagine there will be ebbs and flows all year.

And, perhaps most importantly -- it is football season, we are 7-1 with a chance to repeat as Coastal champs and play in TWO post-season games. Remarkable, and worth embracing.

[CDu]

Agree strongly on all three points here. All of our coaches know the drill. Literally.

We will have an ongoing analysis of all three g/sf slots, I imagine there will be ebbs and flows all year.

And, perhaps most importantly -- it is football season, we are 7-1 with a chance to repeat as Coastal champs and play in TWO post-season games. Remarkable, and worth embracing.

There are more than enough hours in the day to celebrate football AND talk basketball...

[OldPhiKap]

There are more than enough hours in the day to celebrate football AND talk basketball...

I dunno. Hating UNC takes a big hunk of time too.

[mo.st.dukie]

although I'm dumbfounded that anybody could be thinking about basketball at a time like this.

It's the best time of the year when football and basketball overlap. Great sports action on TV nearly every day of the week and plenty of room to think about and root passionately for both Duke football and Duke basketball even though the two conflict this Saturday.

[Dev11]

Although I'm sure there's probably an ever greater number of us who are dumbfounded that anybody would ever think about anything BESIDES basketball, particularly on the Duke BASKETBALL Report. :p

Could have fooled me! (Double checks moderator title)

[OldPhiKap]

Could have fooled me! (Double checks moderator title)

To be fair, for decades we were mathematically eliminated from bowl consideration by the time basketball season started (which was still four weeks away, you were lucky if you had a Thanksgiving tourney berth).

But for those who are not absolutely jacked about what Duke is building on the gridiron -- you will be richly rewarded by investing some time and emotion. It reminds me of when I was a student in the early/mid-80's, and some coach with an unspellable name was trying (and succeeding) in rebuilding a program.

[Newton_14]

I was there for the first hour. I agree with most of the above comments. The only thing missing from this team is an elite 3-point shooter. If we're going to play inside out with the usual drive and kicks, I'm not sure who's going to be our consistent threat from outside. I mean, a handful of our guys can shoot it pretty good, but I can imagine some games where we struggle from outside. Matt, despite his reputation out of HS, manages to shoot without imparting any rotation on the ball. Weird. Sheed may end up being our best shooter on the wing.

I take Matt being in the starting lineup to be more about surrounding Okafor, Tyus, and Winslow with two guys they don't have to start the season deferring to --- Amile is the consummate team player and Matt has never started. Having Quinn and Sheed start out on the blue team avoids any of the early season tug-of-wars that seemed to plague last years team. (Plus, the coaching staff isn't singling out a player as both Quinn and Sheed are having to sacrifice a bit...)

I think in the end Sheed will adjust and play well enough to either start or get starters minutes, but Matt brings a steady presence without needing to dominate the ball.

I was more impressed with Tyus than I expected. A true PG who makes passes no one else on the team is capable of making. Sometimes it's not just an assist, but the pass the leads to the assist. You can tell he really understands how to play the position, not a scoring guard or combo guard trying to learn the PG role.

Agree 100% on the lack of an elite 3 point shooter. Offensively that is the only tool missing from the tool box. I do feel we can offset that in several ways.

1. Okafor. He is just so good offensively it is going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the defense. I think those who have not seen him yet are going to be surprised at how effective he is in getting the ball in the hoop from multiple shot types 12 feet and in. He is scary good in that regard. He is going to get his points no matter what the defense does while at the same time...
2. The attention Okafor will command is going to open up a lot of other things for teammates. I expect Amile's scoring to go up because of the presence of Okafor, and Winslow is another guy that will benefit from the attention Okafor will command, and Winslow will punish teams in both driving to the basket with Okafor in the area, and catching passes from Okafor on cuts to the basket which will lead to open buckets..
3. 1 and 2 above will lead to far more open looks on the perimeter than most Duke teams could ever dream of. Guys will be getting wide open looks with time to set their feet and put up a quality shot. We should get lots of those on kickouts from the interior either by Okafor himself or guys that are driving the ball. The defense will have to collapse and worry about both the driver and Okafor. Tyus, Matt, Rasheed, Quinn, Winslow, Grayson will all get those looks and while none of them are elite shooters all of them are capable/good shooters who likely will not have to rush the shot. The %'s should go up because of the quality of the look.
4. Tyus PG/Passing abilities. He is smart, quick, and the consummate floor general who can create good looks for his teammates. That will also factor into us getting good/better looks from 3.

If teams try to lock down the perimeter to take away the 3 pointer, this Duke team, far more than any other Duke team in a very long time is going to make them pay a heavy price, and I feel most teams are not going to be willing to try that. I think we will see a lot of teams pack it in in a fruitless attempt to keep Okafor, Winslow, and Amile from killing them in the paint.

Note: I did not mention Semi, because I still scratching my head trying to figure out how he gets on the floor this year for rotation level minutes. If he somehow does that then you have to add him at or near the top of the 3 point threat list.

[blazindw]

Always good to catch a practice ran by Coach K and Staff. Today was no different. K was very engaging with the crowd, complete with opening statement and then taking time to explain to us at various times, the drills the team were doing, and the purpose. Lots of good stuff. They also had 3 controlled scrimmages in game like situations with the clock and the score (K assigned fans on one side to pull for Blue and the other side to pull for White).

They ran a 6 minute end of half scrimmage the first time with the white team being the 5 J lineup, and Blue rolling with Quinn/Rasheed/Grayson/Semi/MP3 (that particular group struggles to score but is pretty good defensively). They started with White up 30-29 and shooting a and-1 FT. The White team scored 14 points and Blue 9. (Rasheed and Semi led the way for Blue) (Okafor was pretty much unstoppable for White and MP3 was not playing bad defense. Get used to seeing this kid score. He is going to do that in droves).They also played a 1 minute end of half scrimmage with the groups split the same way.

They then switched it up with White being Quinn, Matt, Grayson, Amile, Okafor, and Blue being Tyus, Rasheed, Winslow, Semi, MP3. They scrimmaged for about a 20 minute period but with not keeping score and K stopping to teach, call obvious fouls, and give the ball to the team of his choice to run something he wanted to see. Interesting, to me anyway, was during one stretch late in that scrimmage, they played zone defense for several possessions.

After a break they ran another 6 minute end of game simulation scrimmage leaving the teams split the same. White (Quinn/Matt/Grayson/Amile/Oak) Blue (Tyus/Rasheed/Winslow/Semi/MP3). Close game throughout. I thought this was Grayson's best showing of the day. White team took the lead late, got a couple of stops and closed it out with FT. Rasheed had an open 3 about 3 feet behind the line with 6 seconds to try to tie it and came up just a tad short. Amile made two FT to make the final margin 5.

Thoughts on starters. It has become obvious to me that 3 of the Freshman (Tyus/Winslow/Okafor) + Amile is going to be locks to start much of the year barring something crazy. Winslow is that good. The kid is a beast. Much bigger that I realized and I think he will have no trouble at all playing the 4 spot when needed. He stayed with the guard group when they split bigs and smalls, with Semi going with the bigs, but Winslow is going to be that wildcard that can slide into any of the 2-4 slots. I think he is going to be a key weapon and somewhat of a glue guy. His shot is capable, he can defend, rebound in traffic, block shots, and get to the rim with both power and grace. Really good player. Okafor is ridiculously good. Marshall has turned into a pretty solid defender and Okafor still scores at will in a variety of ways and he does not appear to force it. He is very happy to pass out of double and triple teams and showed at times to be pretty good at finding Amile for a chippy or an open guard for a 3.

Tyus is an A++ ball handler, who is sneaky good at finishing in the lane, especially on breaks. If teams play him as pass first on the break he is going to make them pay with strong finishes and buckets or FT's.

The 2 spot is where things will evolve and revolve. Matt seems to have his hands on it at the moment and I expect him to start there Tuesday night, but Rasheed will have a large say in that matter, as will Quinn. While Quinn and Tyus never played a second together today, we will certainly see that. As of right now though, there is no getting around the fact that Tyus is the starting PG at Duke. Given how kids go through ups and downs, foul trouble, nagging injuries, etc, having Winslow is going to give K lots of options. Amile in foul trouble or having a bad night? OK then, Winslow to the 4, and whomever is playing well between Tyus/Quinn/Rasheed/Matt and even Grayson will make up the 1-3 spots joining Winslow and Okafor.

Semi- While he is still very hesitant and thinking too much when catching the ball out top in isolation, he has consistently done one thing really well in the times I have seen them which is to make the spot up 3 very consistently. The kid can shoot the 3. It's not a fluke. I like his defense and rebounding as well. Several times today during the various scrimmages, he took and made open and tough 3 pointers and most hit nothing but net. Has some progressing to do in other areas but his stock and 3 pointer is trending up in my opinion.

Grayson- This kid is better and more talented than I realized. During a fast break in the last scrimmage, he drove it in heavy traffic, had to hang and delay the layup to avoid Winslow blocking it, and he still finished with ease. Incredibly difficult play and he made it look easy. K actually got on him one time for deferring. He caught it on the wing just inside the 3 point line toward the corner and had an open jumper he should have taken. Instead, he decided to dribble, draw, in an obvious attempt to get it to Okafor. K stopped and said "Grayson, that was your shot! Take it! Don't defer. Now the one positive is Grayson was making concerted efforts all day to feed the big fella and often did with good entry passes. Gotta pull the trigger when the play gets you an open jumper though.

I thought Quinn played much better on the White team than he did on the Blue, though Tyus did strip him in the backcourt one time and drew the foul driving it to the hoop. He had more bounce in his step and played better on both ends.

Saw nothing that changed my opinion from CTC in that this team is/can/will be (pick one) really good. They are better defensively across the board, deep, great big man (like really great big man), good/great PG's, a plethora of good wings that are big, can shoot, and defend, and then finally, they have the super secret Swiss Army knife weapon in Winslow who does many things well and a great combo of size/strength/grace/agility. The only negative I saw with Winslow is he has a tendency to push off a lot, and apparently is so strong he does not realize it. He drove on Grayson one time and pushed him practically out of bounds from just inside the FT line and when K blue the whistle and motioned a push off, Winslow pointed his hand to his chest with a bewildered look of "who, me?". It wasn't fake. He honestly appeared to have no idea. He did it a couple more times, but only the one got whistled. Maybe nothing, but something to watch.

Anxious to see the results of Tuesday night. Unfortunately I cannot go, but will be shocked if we get a repeat of last year and trail at the half.

Go Duke!

Edit: Forgot to add. All day in drills and scrimmages, the played full court man to man defense mixing in various presses, and on offense, looked to fast break, and push the ball wherever possible. Unlike last year, I do not see that getting abandoned this year. Time will tell.

Can't give you positive rep for this, but this definitely deserves it! Thanks for this write-up!

[CDu]

Agree 100% on the lack of an elite 3 point shooter. Offensively that is the only tool missing from the tool box. I do feel we can offset that in several ways.

In addition to all of the points you made as ways to offset the lack of an elite 3 point shooter (with which I agree), I'll add the following:

1. There is no rule that we need to have an elite 3pt shooter to win.

2. Lacking one elite 3pt shooter can be counterbalanced by having several solid 3pt shooters.

In 2010, we didn't have an elite 3pt shooter. We had 4 very solid 3pt shooters (only 3 of whom played major minutes), but not one guy that was really an elite shooter. But we took good shots from 3pt range because our 3pt shooters were smart (and we didn't let the poor shooters take them at all). As such, we were a very strong 3pt shooting team.

On this team, Cook and Sulaimon are as good from 3pt range as any of our key guys on the 2010 team. Sulaimon is shooting nearly 39% for his career from deep, while Cook has shot 38% over the past two years as a regular player. If we can get one or two more guys shooting solidly (and there are potential options named Jones for sure), we can probably offset that.

And as you have noted, we have an elite playmaking PG, multiple other good ballhandlers, and an elite post scorer. So we can hide a multitude of sins that way.

P.S. Thanks much to Newton_14 and others for their reports on the open practice. One of these years I'm going to actually attend that darn thing! But it's nice to hear the thoughts from folks who did make it.

[Troublemaker]

Also, offensive rebounding, in addition to what you guys have already said. A team can stand to be a little bit less accurate from 3 if it gets several bites at the apple. This team should be vicious on the offensive boards, especially with Winslow being the expected starter at SF at this point, giving Duke very good offensive rebounding ability at three positions.

[Skitzle]

Also, offensive rebounding, in addition to what you guys have already said. A team can stand to be a little bit less accurate from 3 if it gets several bites at the apple. This team should be vicious on the offensive boards, especially with Winslow being the expected starter at SF at this point, giving Duke very good offensive rebounding ability at three positions.

Following this up with Defense rebounding is a big part of good defense :)

Excited.