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View Full Version : Phase I 2014-15 MBB (Presbyterian through Army)



tommy
11-11-2014, 10:15 PM
Well, the real season is upon us, folks. The off-season workouts, the pre-season practices, CTC, and the exhibitions are done. Now the games count, and the Blue Devils are going to encounter competition from teams at another level than those they faced in the exhibition season. Livingstone and Central Missouri are fine teams, but playing them is simply not like playing Division I teams. There are good reasons why most of their players are not playing Division I ball. The opponents in this next phase, while for the most part not of Duke’s quality either, are all going to have more talented rosters than did Livingstone and Central Missouri, and should provide plenty of opportunities for our players to gain experience playing together and to continue to find their roles, and for coaches to learn much more about what we have, how it fits together, and what we need to do going forward to make this the type of season we all seem to sense it can be.

I’m going to break the Phase post into two posts. First will be a quick (kind of) primer on the opponents we’ll be facing in these next seven contests. The post to follow will discuss what I’ll be looking for in this stretch of games.


Duke starts off the first phase of its schedule with two home games that are part of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. First up is Presbyterian, hailing from Clinton, South Carolina.

The Blue Hose have five of their six top scorers from a year ago returning. Normally, you might say that’s a good thing. But those guys led the team to what was, frankly, a terrible season, going 6-26 overall and just 2-14 in the Big South. Worst in the league. The best returning player is leading scorer and Davidson transfer Jordan Downing, a 6’5” redshirt senior, who averaged over 20 a game last year. 6’4” Reggie Dillard averaged 12 a night as a frosh last season, and 6’8” 265 pound lefty William Truss scored 11 and grabbed 9 boards per contest.

Next: Fairfield. The Stags, of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, staggered to a 7-25 overall record last season, going just 4-16 in the MAAC. Fairfield’s best returning player is skinny 6’6” Marcus Gilbert, who scored just under 14 ppg and grabbed five boards, but only shot 40% from the field. The Stags are hoping for a lot more production this year from Marcus’s brother, 6’11” Malcolm Gilbert, a onetime pretty nice recruit at Pittsburgh, who transferred to Fairfield after the 2011-12 season. Other than Malcolm Gilbert, it’s a pretty small team, with two guys standing 6’9” as the next tallest on the squad. One is a freshman and the other a skinny soph who didn’t do much in his 10 minutes per game last year.

Then things get much tougher in a hurry. Michigan State in Indianapolis. The Spartans, for good reason, cause concern every year, for every team on their schedule. But while this is by no means going to be an easy game, this is not expected to be a banner year for Sparty. They have a lot of rebuilding to do. Gone from last year’s Elite Eight squad –they knocked out #1 seed Virginia in the Sweet 16 before bowing to eventual champ UConn -- are the three stalwarts who many believed were their best players last year: shooting guard Gary Harris, forward Adreian Payne, and point guard Keith Appling. Returnees Branden Dawson, Travis Trice, and Denzel Valentine are solid players, and Dawson is better than that, but still, Harris and Payne were NBA first rounders, and Tom Izzo just doesn’t have anyone to plug in for them. Bangers Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling were solid contributors on last year’s squad, but they’re going to really need to expand their games this season. What Izzo didn’t do was land any elite recruits out of the Class of 2014 – though he tried mightily to bag Tyus Jones – but he did get one with a great name in little point guard Lourawls Nairn Jr.

Next, the Devils return to the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, now moving to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. First up there will be the Temple Owls, a squad that Duke has tangled with many times in recent years, and a team always well-coached by FOK Fran Dunphy. Last season was a downer for Temple, as they bottomed out at 9-22 overall and just 4-14 in the American Athletic Conference. Then, on top of losing their top scorer Dalton Pepper (get it?) to graduation, their best rebounder and best inside scorer, Anthony Lee, transferred to Ohio State. But they do feature a pretty good set of returning guards in Will Cummings and Quenton DeCosey – who averaged 16.8 and 15.4 ppg respectively, 6’8” 240 pound Texas transfer Jaylen Bond, and a nice recruit in 6’9” Obi Enechionhyia.

In Duke’s last game in the tournament, which will be a back-to-back following the Temple game, the Blue Devils will face either UNLV or Stanford. The Rebels are in complete rebuilding mode, as the five top scorers off of last year’s squad – which did not reach postseason play despite winning 20 games – are gone. Among the departed are big man Khem Birch, who was the defensive anchor but thus far has failed to stick in the NBA after declaring for the draft.

But while Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, and Anderson Hunt aren’t walking through that door, fans, reinforcements are on hand for Coach Dave Rice. The most talented of them is 6’6” shooter Rashad Vaughn, a 5-star recruit in the Class of 2014. He is probably the best shooter in this freshman class, which explains why all the big boys wanted him. Great get for UNLV, made easier by the fact that he had transferred from his native Minnesota to Findlay Prep for his senior high school season. Rice also signed springy 6’8” Dwayne Morgan, who can play both forward positions, and is athletic and skilled, as well as 6’10” Goodluck Okonoboh, a kid that Duke kicked the tires on early in his recruitment. Pretty nice class. Add in San Francisco transfer Cody Doolin to run the point, and all of a sudden you’ve got a team.

If Duke faces Stanford, the obvious storyline will be the coaching matchup between Coach K and protégé Johnny Dawkins. Johnny saved his job by getting the Cardinal into the tournament last year, and he wisely decided to stay awhile, taking out New Mexico and then bigfoot Kansas before falling in the Sweet 16 to Dayton.

The Cardinal suffered two big losses off of last year’s squad in NBA draftees Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell, but still return a solid core, including senior guard and leading returning scorer Chasson Randle. Randle, who excels at both ends, is on the short list of favorites for Pac-12 Player of the Year. Senior center Stefan Nastic played very well down the stretch, and Coach Dawkins could really use the same type of output from Nastic all year in 2014-15. Two freshmen could play key roles for Stanford. Point guard Robert Cartwright is really their only true point, and he’ll get a chance to prove he belongs. In the frontcourt, 6’8” Reid Travis, a player coveted by Duke, has a strong body and a diverse game. He hits the boards hard and plays with no fear. He can cause trouble.

The Blue Devils wrap up November with home games against Furman and Army. Furman, of the Southern Conference, struggled to a 9-21 season a year ago, including just 3-13 season in the league. But they’ve got a pretty good backcourt, led by junior Stephen Croome, who averaged 19 a night and almost 4 assists to boot. Their best big guy is 6’9” junior Kendrec Ferrara, who averaged almost 10 points and five boards per game. Also notable on the Palladins’ roster: William Gates, Jr., son of the star of the iconic documentary “Hoop Dreams.” He’s coming off a knee injury – just like his dad suffered in the film -- but Furman is hoping he is healed and can produce more than the 8.2 ppg he did last year.

Finally, Army. Coach K welcomes his alma mater into Cameron Indoor. Of course, it’s much more than just an alma mater to Mike Krzyzewski. Army and West Point represent a set of values that permeates his being, and much of what he has taught the young men he has coached over the last 35 years.

That being said, as a basketball team, Army was so-so last year, finishing up at 15-16 overall, including 10-8 in the Patriot League. But Coach Zach Spiker (great name, huh?) has actually substantially improved this program over where it was when he was hired. He’s a former assistant to both Steve Donahue at Cornell and Gregg Marshall at Winthrop, and he also worked under John Beilein at West Virginia. So it’s not surprising that the guy knows what he’s doing.

The Black Knights’ best player is 6’4” guard Kyle Wilson, who averaged 18 ppg and shot over 43% from 3-point land last season. 6’7” junior Tanner Plomb scored over 10, and then 6’4” Dylan Cox and 6’10” Kevin Ferguson were just under double digits as scorers. Also notable: like usual, Army has over twenty players on its roster. I think it’s actually something like 25 or 26. You talk about fighting for rotation minutes . . .

tommy
11-11-2014, 10:16 PM
OK now that we know a little bit about who we’ll be facing, what am I going to be looking for in this first stretch of the regular season?

1. Of course, it’s a set piece on these Phase posts, but health always comes first. We appear to be very healthy at this early stage, with, to my knowledge, nothing even lingering. Fingers crossed it continues.


2. How are we going to deal with our first doses of real game pressure? Sure, Central Missouri took a brief early lead, but I’m talking about going much deeper into games where the opponent is leading or even threatening to beat us. Last season, we had a tendency to not run very good offense when things got tight, we forced a lot of shots, and this led to runouts and other easier opportunities at the other end for our opponents. It also seemed to have an effect on our defensive intensity in the halfcourt, as the breakdown of team concepts at the offensive end seemed to bleed over into the breakdown of team concepts at the defensive end.

If it’s tight in the second half against, say, Michigan State or Stanford, are we going to be patient enough to continue to pound the ball down to Jahlil? Are we going to swing the ball properly to make sure we get the best look we can from the perimeter? Are we going to remember our defensive responsibilities and remain committed to blocking out, rather than look forward to the next time we have the ball in our hands, thinking about how to make a four point basket?

Closely connected, of course, with how the team deals with game pressure will be the issue of who is on the floor if the game is tight in the second half. I won’t be surprised to see senior Quinn Cook out there together with Tyus, even if Quinn is not a starter. He’s the senior, he’s a team leader, he’s a very good ballhandler, and we’re going to be counting on him to make good late-game decisions.


3. How much Jahlil Okafor are we going to get? Or, put another way, how much Jahlil Okafor are other teams going to get? The mantra coming out of the pre-season was that Okafor would get as many minutes as he can handle. Well, it’s time to find out: how many can he handle?

Jahlil has looked super in the practices and exhibitions, demonstrating an array of big man skills that we have not seen around here in a long time. He plays far beyond his years, and has the potential to just dominate people inside. He’s our most important, most indispensable player.

One of the issues coming out of high school was his conditioning. He looks to have really worked on his body, and I don’t think he’s going to have any problems with his stamina. Obviously, foul trouble cannot be predicted, but in the absence of those troubles, are we going to see Big Jah get 24 to 27 minutes as some have predicted, or will it be more like 32 to 35? Big difference when talking about your best player. And of course this will have a direct impact on the minutes of last year’s DBR darling Marshall Plumlee. Finally healthy coming into a season, Marshall is pretty much exactly what you want in a backup college center. He plays hard and with terrific energy, he’s not afraid to bang, he runs the floor, and he doesn’t need the ball to contribute. Question is: how much of the floor will he see, realistically, as it does not appear that K plans to team him with Okafor? Just not the way we want to play.


4. Are we serious about Matt Jones as the starter at 2-guard? K certainly seems to be serious about it, as Matt has had the white jersey on in practice pretty much every time I’ve seen, and he started both exhibitions. If I’m not mistaken, the number of DBR posters who predicted this development in the off-season, myself included, totaled . . . zero. Matt was pretty good defensively in limited minutes last year, but his shot was way, way off. And looked ugly too.

Well, it still isn’t a thing of beauty, but it’s been falling at a higher rate in the earlygoing this year. I don’t think he’d be in there if it wasn’t. His shot still isn’t nearly as consistent as I would like, or as would be ideal for this team – which does not boast a consistent, knock-down three point specialist, although plenty of guys can and will hit them. But the shot is good enough, along with his defense, to have earned him a look, and what seems to have convinced K perhaps the most is that Matt fits in so well with the other four starters. It’s a little unusual for your shooting guard to be described as a “glue guy,” or a guy who “makes his teammates better,” but I think that’s what Matt is. He shoots it some. He can handle it some. He keeps the ball moving. He sees and hits the open man. He D’s his man up. He understands help defense. Put it all together? Pretty solid player.

And, just speculating here, of course, but I think one other reason that may have motivated the decision to start Matt is the impact on Quinn and Rasheed. Those guys are both upperclassmen, with lots of big game experience at Duke. Both were talked about all off-season as potential, even probable starters. Even potential all-ACC type players. I think that had one of them started and the other had to come off the bench to start the year, the other might not have taken it very well. “Why am I on the bench after all I’ve contributed to this program?” That kind of thing. This way, these guys have company. They don’t feel singled out. Maybe it helps to have them see that the other is in the same situation, that in a sense it’s nothing personal, but it’s just that Coach sees this as best for the team, and perhaps that K may like his two vets as a combination in the backcourt, and that he feels he can trust them, that they can take it in a mature way.

So maybe it helps psychologically. K has always been an outstanding motivator, always seeming to understand what his players need at a personal and psychological level. I could be way off base here, and maybe the decision to start Matt was based purely on Matt’s improvement as a basketball player, but I do think that having both our upperclass backcourt players coming off the bench helps them each buy into the team concept a little bit more, and embrace his role a little bit more than he otherwise might have.


5. What are we going to get from Rasheed Sulaimon? As a freshman, Rasheed showed all the signs of developing into an all-league player. Expectations were high last year, but he came in out of shape, had some issues with his attitude, and really struggled to mold his game around those of Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood. Kid just never seemed comfortable all year, and his play regressed.

Parker and Hood are of course gone. But now Jahlil is here, and everyone else on the team continues to grow and develop their games. Has Rasheed done that? Can he find a way to utilize the best aspects of his game in ways that will work within the context of this team? His showing against Livingstone was disturbing, that against Central Missouri was better. But he still has not solidified his position with this team, and a lot of it does seem to be mental, as if he’s still struggling to find his role. Am I a shooter? A slasher? A lock down defender? Some of each? How much of each? That kind of thing. Doubt seems to have infected him, and that’s not good.

The kid’s game has holes, for sure, including his inability at times to realize that he can’t get all the way to the hoop as shotblockers loom, so it’s better to pull up for a short jumper or a runner. Or a kick-out. But he has a lot going for him – a pretty good catch-and-shoot from distance, the ability to drive and to take contact, defensive intensity, pretty quick hands and pretty quick feet. He has the tools. But can he contribute the best of Rasheed Sulaimon to this team, even if he’s not playing 35 minutes a game and not an all-ACC candidate? Can he keep his head in the game, stay positive, be a leader, and be a consistent positive force for the Devils? The irony is that if he can do those things, his minutes will rise, he may yet take back that starting 2-guard role, and the sky’s the limit from there.

Coach K was on the ESPN Radio this morning and I caught some of the interview. He talked a lot about team chemistry, and about the concept of “adaptation.” In his experience, the great teams have players who can adapt what it is that they bring to the table to the needs of the team. When teams are comprised of guys who are smart enough and mature enough to recognize what the team needs from them, and then to make the adaptations to meet those needs, that’s when a team can take off, as then the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. The ’86 team did that; the ’10 team did that perhaps best of all, according to Coach. Seems to me that this is what Coach may be looking for from Rasheed. This early phase of the season should give us some clues as to whether or not he’s going to get it.


6. The rest of the rotation. This of course is the subject of endless speculation on DBR, most of it fun. We have ten guys who can play. K is nothing if not adaptable to the talent he has, but unless he changes course from pretty much everything he’s done with regards to substitution patterns and use of his bench in 35 years of coaching, ten guys are not getting regular rotation minutes. The best guys are going to play the most minutes.

I do think that guys nine and ten (Semi for sure and Grayson, apparently) will play more than guys nine and ten have ever played under K, especially in these early season games in this phase. But inevitably the rotation will tighten to, probably, eight. The fact that there are even legitimate arguments to be made for guys nine and ten to be getting more than garbage minutes speaks very, very well of the potential this team has.


7. How are we going to perform defensively? This of course was a huge issue last year, and K has seemed determined to “fix” it. He has acknowledged publicly that it’s difficult to teach as much, and to teach in the same way, when the identities of the best players on a team’s roster turns over as often as it does these days. I think that was an acknowledgement that the way defense is taught and played at Duke is going to be changing. That’s got to be a good thing.

Also, we said the same thing before last season, but the roster this year really does seem to have terrific potential at the defensive end. With a rim-protecting big man, an excellent rebounding power forward, and a slew of active, rangy guys on the wing to pressure ballhandlers and entry passes and to cause turnovers, this team can make things happen defensively.

But it’s one thing to do so against Livingstone. Let’s see us do it against Michigan State or UNLV or Stanford. Last year, the canary in the coal mine was heard during this phase of the season, in particular via our defensive performance against Vermont. My ears will be listening for that call again, but I don’t expect to hear it.



OK that’s it, guys. Those are some of the things I’ll be looking for in the first set of real games. Sorry the post was so long, and thanks to those of you who got through all of it. Let’s get it on!

bbosbbos
11-11-2014, 10:26 PM
Thank you Tommy. And Go Duke! Let's bring another NC home.

jv001
11-12-2014, 08:55 AM
Thanks Tommy for Phase I and your comments. I'm really hoping this squad shares the ball and we don't see as much unnecessary dribbling of the basketball as last season. I think Tyus will get everyone involved and at the same time, get the ball to Jahil. A lot of get the ball to the big guy. And on defense, I'm hoping to see a big improvement. We have a guy in the paint that's athletic and can block shots. We have a back up center that seems perfect for the minutes that Jahil will need for a breather. Then we have Justise on the wing that should be a good defender. Probably a better defender than our two wings last year. We have Amile, who Coach K says is the best communicator on the team. That along with his experience should make him an outstanding defender. Overall I see a good balanced team, both offensively and defensively. Rasheed's play is very important. Whether he's in the starting lineup or off the bench. To me, he is the perfect 6th man. A player that can come off the bench and get after it on defense and a player that can come in and be instant offense. I just want him to "keep the ball moving" when he's on the court. I don't want to see the needless dribbling or the wild drives into the lane. But as always the number one priority is good health. I'm praying everyone stays injury free for the season. Once again, thanks for the Phase I. GoDuke!

Henderson
11-12-2014, 09:50 AM
Wow, lots of really good pre-season analysis of this Duke team spread across several threads. Many thanks to tommy, jimsumner, Newton, and the others who have taken the time.

Here's another pretty good one (http://dukeupdate.com/2015_Duke_Preview.html), this one from Swiss Keegs that was posted on Duke Update yesterday.

BD80
11-12-2014, 09:56 AM
... Michigan State in Indianapolis. ... What Izzo didn’t do was land any elite recruits out of the Class of 2014 – though he tried mightily to bag Tyus Jones – but he did get one with a great name in little point guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. . . .

You'll never find, as long as you live
Someone who runs a team like Ty do
You'll never find, no matter where you search
Someone who cares about hoops the way Ty do

Whoa, I'm not braggin' on Tyus, Sparty
But Ty's the one who leads you
And there's no one else! No... one else

You'll never find, it'll take the end of all time
Someone to understand hoops like Ty do
You'll never find the rhythm, the rhyme
All the magic he shares, Tyus do

Whoa, I'm not tryin' to make you play, Sparty
But I know some how, some day, some way
You are
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, Sparty
When it's cold outside
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

You'll never find another guard like Ty
Someone who leads you like Ty do
You'll never see what we've found in he
You'll keep searching and searching your whole life through

Whoa, I don't wish you no bad luck, Sparty
But there's no ifs and buts or maybes

(You're gonna) You're gonna miss
You're gonna miss Ty lonesin'
I know you're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, baby
When it gets real cold outside
I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty Jones

Let me tell you that you're gonna miss my lovin'
Yes you will, Sparty
When I'm long gone
I know, I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You gonna miss Ty Jones

DukieInBrasil
11-12-2014, 10:05 AM
I'm most anxious to see how the Matt & Justise and Quinn & Rasheed situations play out. Shockingly enough, i am not Coach K, but it seems to make sense to me that those pairs would work well together as they are but also that they combine well withe so-called 1st and 2nd teams, respectively. If the J-5 (h/t to the Jurassic 5 for making quality hip-hop back in the day), are taken as a group, they have pretty good balance in terms of offensive potential, defense and versatility. If the the 2nd team consists of, well, everybody else, they need Quinn & Rasheed for the offense, but are otherwise similarly balanced for offense, defense and versatility. If Q&R switched with M&J, the 1st team would have all the same qualities as before, but the 2nd team would really struggle to generate offense. Similarly, if the M&J combo isn't working well, Q&R can come in and perhaps get it working. It really all hinges on how Quinn & Rasheed embrace these roles.
There's a couple of big games in this Phase, where we'll get to see how well the underclassmen adjust to intensity as well as how well the upperclassmen lead, and adjust to new and/or expanded roles. The other games will be fun mostly to see what sort of ceiling this team has. As mentioned, the Vermont game from last year was a harbinger and revealed what the team was (and would continue to be): offensively potent and defensively challenged. My prediction is that this team will also be offensively potent but either quite good defensively, or at least adequate defensively.

sagegrouse
11-12-2014, 10:16 AM
Great pair of pieces, Tommy! You are setting a high standard.

Phase I: Beware the Spartans! To be honest, Tommy, Presbyterian and Fairfield don't look much better than CMU and Livingstone. I think our baptism of fire will be in Indianapolis against Michigan State. It will be an interesting test for the young Devils. K is usually good at getting his teams ready for early-season match-ups, but we will be sorely tested against Michigan State's tough defense.

duke4ever19
11-12-2014, 10:51 AM
You'll never find, as long as you live
Someone who runs a team like Ty do
You'll never find, no matter where you search
Someone who cares about hoops the way Ty do

Whoa, I'm not braggin' on Tyus, Sparty
But Ty's the one who leads you
And there's no one else! No... one else

You'll never find, it'll take the end of all time
Someone to understand hoops like Ty do
You'll never find the rhythm, the rhyme
All the magic he shares, Tyus do

Whoa, I'm not tryin' to make you play, Sparty
But I know some how, some day, some way
You are
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, Sparty
When it's cold outside
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

You'll never find another guard like Ty
Someone who leads you like Ty do
You'll never see what we've found in he
You'll keep searching and searching your whole life through

Whoa, I don't wish you no bad luck, Sparty
But there's no ifs and buts or maybes

(You're gonna) You're gonna miss
You're gonna miss Ty lonesin'
I know you're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, baby
When it gets real cold outside
I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty Jones

Let me tell you that you're gonna miss my lovin'
Yes you will, Sparty
When I'm long gone
I know, I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You gonna miss Ty Jones

This post is to serve as notice that on this day, Wednesday, November 12, 2014, BD80 has officially been given the keys to the internet.

For anybody that wants to sing along with Lou...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcwYEGdKto8

CDu
11-12-2014, 11:09 AM
Hey Tommy,

Great work on the Phase I writeup. Love that you have combined opponent preview along with our more typical topics. Should be a helpful primer for these games.

As for the questions, #5 and #7 seem most critical to the season, though #4 and #6 are certainly interesting. I'm hoping that #2 and #3 become non-issues very quickly and that #1 never rears its head.

Sulaimon is such an enigma. From the first time I saw him play in high school, I saw visions of junior/senior-year Nolan Smith. The quickness/explosiveness, the ability to finish in traffic, the aggressive defense, even the aesthetic nature of their play. Everything screamed Smith v 2.0.

My hope from the get-go was that we'd see Sulaimon progress about a year more quickly than Smith did in college. And after one year in college, I felt even more strongly that this was what we'd get. Then, he took a step back last year. My initial impression was that it was just a function of not finding his role with the emergence of Hood and Parker. But I do fear it's more complicated than that. Sulaimon really doesn't seem to know what he wants to do within the offense. He can be a great catch-and-shoot guy, but too often he is guilty of stopping the ball and getting stuck in an iso situation. At times that is fine, but he also hasn't quite mastered taking what the defense gives him in those situations, which has often resulted in a turnover or a wild and errant drive into the teeth of the defense.

Needless to say, I'm hoping he makes a big jump this year. The first exhibition game didn't instill hope, but perhaps the light switch will come on for him. The talent is certainly there though.

And of course the team defense is a huge question. Last year was an absolute train wreck defensively. It was sort of a perfect storm in that our stars were not good defenders and our seniors were either not talented enough or not focused enough on defense. I'm hoping that Winslow "gets it" defensively and that Okafor's size helps him enough as well. And I'm hoping that increased minutes from Matt Jones on the perimeter helps as well. And maybe a renewed focus from Cook and Sulaimon (perhaps off the bench?) sparks defensive energy from them. And of course I hope that playing less at center will help Jefferson become more effective as well.

But the big questions will be whether Coach K tweaks the defensive scheme in a way that maximizes effectiveness with minimal preparation. As Tommy mentioned, Coach K has now talked a big game about making changes to address the challenges of the one-and-done/early-entry era. This is the first time in my memory that Coach K has made such an acknowledgement that the foundation of his principles may need to change with the times.

We have seen evidence of some changes thus far, including icing the screens on the wings rather than having the bigs hedge and recover. I hope that this is just one of a few changes that result in a more cohesive, efficient, and effective defense.

But more than anything else I'm just psyched that we're two days away from playing actual basketball games that count! Sure, Presbyterian and Fairfield should be relative patsies compared to the BCS schools on our schedule, but it'll be nice to see games that matter again!

jv001
11-12-2014, 01:52 PM
Hey Tommy,


But the big questions will be whether Coach K tweaks the defensive scheme in a way that maximizes effectiveness with minimal preparation. As Tommy mentioned, Coach K has now talked a big game about making changes to address the challenges of the one-and-done/early-entry era. This is the first time in my memory that Coach K has made such an acknowledgement that the foundation of his principles may need to change with the times.

We have seen evidence of some changes thus far, including icing the screens on the wings rather than having the bigs hedge and recover. I hope that this is just one of a few changes that result in a more cohesive, efficient, and effective defense.
But more than anything else I'm just psyched that we're two days away from playing actual basketball games that count! Sure, Presbyterian and Fairfield should be relative patsies compared to the BCS schools on our schedule, but it'll be nice to see games that matter again!

Could we see some zone, lol. I'm not counting on much of it, because it seems to be harder to rebound missed shots playing zone. But we'll see. I'm ready for some Duke basketball that matters. That's for sure. GoDuke!

superdave
11-12-2014, 01:58 PM
Hey Tommy,

Great work on the Phase I writeup. Love that you have combined opponent preview along with our more typical topics. Should be a helpful primer for these games.

As for the questions, #5 and #7 seem most critical to the season, though #4 and #6 are certainly interesting. I'm hoping that #2 and #3 become non-issues very quickly and that #1 never rears its head.

Sulaimon is such an enigma. From the first time I saw him play in high school, I saw visions of junior/senior-year Nolan Smith. The quickness/explosiveness, the ability to finish in traffic, the aggressive defense, even the aesthetic nature of their play. Everything screamed Smith v 2.0.

My hope from the get-go was that we'd see Sulaimon progress about a year more quickly than Smith did in college. And after one year in college, I felt even more strongly that this was what we'd get. Then, he took a step back last year. My initial impression was that it was just a function of not finding his role with the emergence of Hood and Parker. But I do fear it's more complicated than that. Sulaimon really doesn't seem to know what he wants to do within the offense. He can be a great catch-and-shoot guy, but too often he is guilty of stopping the ball and getting stuck in an iso situation. At times that is fine, but he also hasn't quite mastered taking what the defense gives him in those situations, which has often resulted in a turnover or a wild and errant drive into the teeth of the defense.

Needless to say, I'm hoping he makes a big jump this year. The first exhibition game didn't instill hope, but perhaps the light switch will come on for him. The talent is certainly there though.

And of course the team defense is a huge question. Last year was an absolute train wreck defensively. It was sort of a perfect storm in that our stars were not good defenders and our seniors were either not talented enough or not focused enough on defense. I'm hoping that Winslow "gets it" defensively and that Okafor's size helps him enough as well. And I'm hoping that increased minutes from Matt Jones on the perimeter helps as well. And maybe a renewed focus from Cook and Sulaimon (perhaps off the bench?) sparks defensive energy from them. And of course I hope that playing less at center will help Jefferson become more effective as well.

But the big questions will be whether Coach K tweaks the defensive scheme in a way that maximizes effectiveness with minimal preparation. As Tommy mentioned, Coach K has now talked a big game about making changes to address the challenges of the one-and-done/early-entry era. This is the first time in my memory that Coach K has made such an acknowledgement that the foundation of his principles may need to change with the times.

We have seen evidence of some changes thus far, including icing the screens on the wings rather than having the bigs hedge and recover. I hope that this is just one of a few changes that result in a more cohesive, efficient, and effective defense.

But more than anything else I'm just psyched that we're two days away from playing actual basketball games that count! Sure, Presbyterian and Fairfield should be relative patsies compared to the BCS schools on our schedule, but it'll be nice to see games that matter again!

As you point out, Rasheed seems to get in trouble at times with the ball in his hands, trying to do too much. He would get into the lane but not elevate enough to finish. One thing Nolan learned to do is hit the floater once he got sub-foul line. That could be the answer for Rasheed to round out his game and avoid losing control on his drives. But this team mostly needs Rasheed to be a 3 and D guy. He needs to be able to knock down the spot up jumper on offense and keep a very high level of intensity on defense. If he gets those down, the rest will be fine.

I look forward to seeing how the defensive scheme changes play out. If the ice plan works well and is quickly adopted, this team can throw a wrinkle at teams that is difficult to prepare for. If Amile and Jahlil can rebound on the defensive end as well as we envision, we are going to hold teams to one shot. Michigan State will be a great test because they execute well and tend to control the boards. I am very glad we have a big test so early on because we're all asking a lot of questions on DBR and that game will provide a lot of answers.

tux
11-12-2014, 02:12 PM
As you point out, Rasheed seems to get in trouble at times with the ball in his hands, trying to do too much. He would get into the lane but not elevate enough to finish. One thing Nolan learned to do is hit the floater once he got sub-foul line. That could be the answer for Rasheed to round out his game and avoid losing control on his drives. But this team mostly needs Rasheed to be a 3 and D guy. He needs to be able to knock down the spot up jumper on offense and keep a very high level of intensity on defense. If he gets those down, the rest will be fine.

I look forward to seeing how the defensive scheme changes play out. If the ice plan works well and is quickly adopted, this team can throw a wrinkle at teams that is difficult to prepare for. If Amile and Jahlil can rebound on the defensive end as well as we envision, we are going to hold teams to one shot. Michigan State will be a great test because they execute well and tend to control the boards. I am very glad we have a big test so early on because we're all asking a lot of questions on DBR and that game will provide a lot of answers.


Rasheed hit a nice baseline floater in the first exhibition game that I saw. He definitely has that in his arsenal.

I think it's mostly mental at this point. I recall Billy Donavan, who coached Rasheed as part of USA basketball, saying that he mostly just needed to learn to relax. And that was 2 years ago.

I think Rasheed is so anxious to make something positive happen out there that he's thinking too much and that's leading him to take one or two dribbles too many when a pull up jumper or floater would be fine, as well as miss some shots he'd normally make. He really crawled into his own head last year IMO and he just needs to start having some fun out there...

Troublemaker
11-12-2014, 02:29 PM
Could we see some zone, lol.

Very, very unlikely. One of the reasons I thought icing was possible was because Team USA spent all summer doing it. Contrast that with 8-9 years working with Boeheim and Team USA never using zone except for a stray play here or there. Coach K's a man-to-man coach. He's willing to borrow from a man-to-man coach like Thibs but I don't think he'd zone except for a stray play here or there.

Great writeup, tommy!

Kedsy
11-12-2014, 04:39 PM
Great job, Tommy. I, too, really like the two-post format -- you've given us more on the opponents than our customary phase posts have.

And one thing I gleaned from the "opponent post" is that our early-season schedule this year is significantly worse than our usual early-season schedule. I wonder if Coach K did this on purpose to ease a young team into the wilds of college basketball or if it's really just that he didn't have any input into our Coaches vs. Cancer opponents. My guess is the latter, but either way our non-conference schedule strength in the RPI, Pomeroy, and other computer rating systems is in danger of being substandard compared to most seasons.

You've covered almost everything. The one area I'm interested in seeing in this phase that you didn't mention is pace. This team seems well-equipped to run out on fast breaks, but obviously we need to force the turnovers and/or get the defensive rebounds to do it. I'm anxious to see how we fare in those areas. Along the same lines, we saw a lot of soft full-court pressing in the exhibitions, and I'm very interested to see if that becomes our standard in the real games.

Again, nice job Tommy. The games are almost upon us.

MChambers
11-12-2014, 05:07 PM
Great job, Tommy. I, too, really like the two-post format -- you've given us more on the opponents than our customary phase posts have.

And one thing I gleaned from the "opponent post" is that our early-season schedule this year is significantly worse than our usual early-season schedule. I wonder if Coach K did this on purpose to ease a young team into the wilds of college basketball or if it's really just that he didn't have any input into our Coaches vs. Cancer opponents. My guess is the latter, but either way our non-conference schedule strength in the RPI, Pomeroy, and other computer rating systems is in danger of being substandard compared to most seasons.
Part of the weak early schedule is that MSU probably will not be as strong as usual, or as strong as our usual opponent in the MSU-UK-KU event. This is a relatively down year for MSU. My son, who is a MSU student, thinks they'll be borderline top 25 this year, and looking at their roster I tend to agree. There isn't much talent, especially inside and on offense. They lost Harris, Payne, and Appling, and really added very little (Izzo recruited two high profile recruits named Okafor and Jones, but they went somewhere else). Izzo is a great coach, and he's got enough talent to make them competitive, but they'd be middle of the pack in ACC, I think.

superdave
11-12-2014, 05:10 PM
Great job, Tommy. I, too, really like the two-post format -- you've given us more on the opponents than our customary phase posts have.

And one thing I gleaned from the "opponent post" is that our early-season schedule this year is significantly worse than our usual early-season schedule. I wonder if Coach K did this on purpose to ease a young team into the wilds of college basketball or if it's really just that he didn't have any input into our Coaches vs. Cancer opponents. My guess is the latter, but either way our non-conference schedule strength in the RPI, Pomeroy, and other computer rating systems is in danger of being substandard compared to most seasons.

You've covered almost everything. The one area I'm interested in seeing in this phase that you didn't mention is pace. This team seems well-equipped to run out on fast breaks, but obviously we need to force the turnovers and/or get the defensive rebounds to do it. I'm anxious to see how we fare in those areas. Along the same lines, we saw a lot of soft full-court pressing in the exhibitions, and I'm very interested to see if that becomes our standard in the real games.

Again, nice job Tommy. The games are almost upon us.

The pace thing is an interesting question. Last year, we seemed to be built to run, but we had little ability to pressure the ball. It didnt work and the coaches went from yelling run to yelling slow after a change of possession. It was a complete 180 after a handful of games to start the season.

We may have more ways to pressure the ball this season. Will icing screens create more long rebounds and force opponents' bigs to handle the ball on the perimeter? Will Amile's new role as defensive QB reduce the breakdowns we had last year? Will having a true center keep drivers out of the lane? Will our press fall apart like last season or hold up for short stretches? If the press works, will we see it for longer stretches with more substitutions? I dont know...but if several of these things work, we will be running. If they do not then Jahlil may touch the ball an awful lot in the half court.

Kedsy
11-12-2014, 05:42 PM
Part of the weak early schedule is that MSU probably will not be as strong as usual, or as strong as our usual opponent in the MSU-UK-KU event.

I agree that's part of it, and we also catch UNLV or Stanford after both lost a lot of good players from last season. But other than our worse-than-usual "marquis" games, according to Tommy, the other five in this phase had the following records last season: 6-26, 7-25, 9-22, 9-21, and 15-16. We better hope they all improve drastically or our RPI non-con schedule strength is going to suffer big-time.

ACCBBallFan
11-12-2014, 05:53 PM
...
And one thing I gleaned from the "opponent post" is that our early-season schedule this year is significantly worse than our usual early-season schedule. I wonder if Coach K did this on purpose to ease a young team into the wilds of college basketball or if it's really just that he didn't have any input into our Coaches vs. Cancer opponents. My guess is the latter, but either way our non-conference schedule strength in the RPI, Pomeroy, and other computer rating systems is in danger of being substandard compared to most seasons.

....
Thanks to the additions the past couple of years of Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and Louisville, (minus MD) and the 18 game ACC schedule, Duke can absorb a weaker OOC and still rank very high in overall body of work

AncientPsychicT
11-12-2014, 06:13 PM
I agree that's part of it, and we also catch UNLV or Stanford after both lost a lot of good players from last season. But other than our worse-than-usual "marquis" games, according to Tommy, the other five in this phase had the following records last season: 6-26, 7-25, 9-22, 9-21, and 15-16. We better hope they all improve drastically or our RPI non-con schedule strength is going to suffer big-time.

We also have games @Wisconsin and neutral vs. UConn, so it ain't gonna be that bad. But yes, this will not be our strongest OOC schedule ever.

Henderson
11-12-2014, 09:27 PM
Thanks to the additions the past couple of years of Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and Louisville, (minus MD) and the 18 game ACC schedule, Duke can absorb a weaker OOC and still rank very high in overall body of work

Why do we care about computer rankings for this team?

Such a thing might matter for a team trying to slide off the bubble in March or trying to get a #1 vs. #3 seed (or 12 vs. 14 seed), in the tourney. But this is a top-four team, and if this team takes care of business against the opponents presented, any marginal benefit from having a slightly higher computer ranking based on OOC scheduling seems a pretty small thing to be thinking about right now.

mo.st.dukie
11-12-2014, 09:42 PM
Part of the weak early schedule is that MSU probably will not be as strong as usual, or as strong as our usual opponent in the MSU-UK-KU event. This is a relatively down year for MSU. My son, who is a MSU student, thinks they'll be borderline top 25 this year, and looking at their roster I tend to agree. There isn't much talent, especially inside and on offense. They lost Harris, Payne, and Appling, and really added very little (Izzo recruited two high profile recruits named Okafor and Jones, but they went somewhere else). Izzo is a great coach, and he's got enough talent to make them competitive, but they'd be middle of the pack in ACC, I think.

And the fact that the early season tournament we are in isn't nearly as strong as what we have had in recent years. In 10-11 we were in the CBE Classic and played what was a preseason top 10 K-State team. In 2012 we were in a loaded Maui field where we played Michigan, Tennessee, and then Kansas. In 2013 we were in a loaded Battle 4 Atlantis where we played Minnesota, VCU, and Louisville. Last year, like 2011, we played a preseason top 5 team in Arizona. Playing Temple and then either Stanford or UNLV isn't nearly as tough as our other early season tournaments. Next year we'll be in the 2K Classic with Wisconsin, Georgetown, and VCU.

Kedsy
11-12-2014, 10:53 PM
Why do we care about computer rankings for this team?

A poor schedule strength could mean our RPI isn't as high as you'd expect, maybe #8 or #9 instead of #4 or #5. And I don't know if the selection committee really does this, but the commentators all appear to list schedule strength (even sometimes non-con schedule strength) as a separate item from overall RPI (which makes no sense but they do it anyway), so the poor schedule could be double-counted against us.

You seem so confident that we're a "top-four team," but Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, and Wisconsin all probably consider themselves top four teams too (even though Kansas is currently ranked #5), and there's always a team or two that sneak into the conversation despite not being pre-season top five. So unless you think Duke is a lock to romp through the ACC with only 1 or 2 losses and then win the ACC tournament, non-conference schedule strength could possibly be the difference between a #1 seed and a #2 seed. Seems to me to be enough of a reason to care.

Henderson
11-12-2014, 11:12 PM
A poor schedule strength could mean our RPI isn't as high as you'd expect, maybe #8 or #9 instead of #4 or #5. And I don't know if the selection committee really does this, but the commentators all appear to list schedule strength (even sometimes non-con schedule strength) as a separate item from overall RPI (which makes no sense but they do it anyway), so the poor schedule could be double-counted against us.

You seem so confident that we're a "top-four team," but Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, and Wisconsin all probably consider themselves top four teams too (even though Kansas is currently ranked #5), and there's always a team or two that sneak into the conversation despite not being pre-season top five. So unless you think Duke is a lock to romp through the ACC with only 1 or 2 losses and then win the ACC tournament, non-conference schedule strength could possibly be the difference between a #1 seed and a #2 seed. Seems to me to be enough of a reason to care.

I'll buy that. Color me persuaded.

Changing the subject, Amile Jefferson is reminding me more and more of a young Dennis Rodman. It started with the way he jogs down the court. But his opportunistic rebounding and the way he moves in and near the post have struck me too.

ACCBBallFan
11-13-2014, 09:59 AM
A poor schedule strength could mean our RPI isn't as high as you'd expect, maybe #8 or #9 instead of #4 or #5. And I don't know if the selection committee really does this, but the commentators all appear to list schedule strength (even sometimes non-con schedule strength) as a separate item from overall RPI (which makes no sense but they do it anyway), so the poor schedule could be double-counted against us.

You seem so confident that we're a "top-four team," but Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, and Wisconsin all probably consider themselves top four teams too (even though Kansas is currently ranked #5), and there's always a team or two that sneak into the conversation despite not being pre-season top five. So unless you think Duke is a lock to romp through the ACC with only 1 or 2 losses and then win the ACC tournament, non-conference schedule strength could possibly be the difference between a #1 seed and a #2 seed. Seems to me to be enough of a reason to care.

The commentators harping on SOS is a pet peeve of mine. SOS is already factored into RPI, Sagarin etc. so it is a case of double counting SOS but that does not quiet the talking heads.

Kedsy
11-13-2014, 10:23 AM
The commentators harping on SOS is a pet peeve of mine. SOS is already factored into RPI, Sagarin etc. so it is a case of double counting SOS but that does not quiet the talking heads.

Yeah, me too. I actually contacted Lunardi about it a couple times, but surprisingly he never got back to me.

Henderson
11-13-2014, 10:31 AM
Yeah, me too. I actually contacted Lunardi about it a couple times, but surprisingly he never got back to me.

I've had the same problem with Scarlett Johansson for years, so don't feel bad.

BD80
11-13-2014, 12:57 PM
Yeah, me too. I actually contacted Lunardi about it a couple times, but surprisingly he never got back to me.

That was just before he dropped you two lines in the bracket, wasn't it?


I've had the same problem with Scarlett Johansson for years, so don't feel bad.

But you did get her autograph. On the restraining order thingy.

I'd keep at it though, in a few more years her voice will be deeper than mine, and that might spoil the effect.

dball
11-14-2014, 04:51 PM
I agree that's part of it, and we also catch UNLV or Stanford after both lost a lot of good players from last season. But other than our worse-than-usual "marquis" games, according to Tommy, the other five in this phase had the following records last season: 6-26, 7-25, 9-22, 9-21, and 15-16. We better hope they all improve drastically or our RPI non-con schedule strength is going to suffer big-time.

Wouldn't "marquis" games be any against lower ranked opponents? A duke being above a marquis :)

Neals384
11-16-2014, 10:45 PM
OK if I clarify your statement?




ON THE COURT, Amile Jefferson is reminding me more and more of a young Dennis Rodman. It started with the way he jogs down the court. But his opportunistic rebounding and the way he moves in and near the post have struck me too.

MCFinARL
11-17-2014, 12:00 AM
You'll never find, as long as you live
Someone who runs a team like Ty do
You'll never find, no matter where you search
Someone who cares about hoops the way Ty do

Whoa, I'm not braggin' on Tyus, Sparty
But Ty's the one who leads you
And there's no one else! No... one else

You'll never find, it'll take the end of all time
Someone to understand hoops like Ty do
You'll never find the rhythm, the rhyme
All the magic he shares, Tyus do

Whoa, I'm not tryin' to make you play, Sparty
But I know some how, some day, some way
You are
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, Sparty
When it's cold outside
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

You'll never find another guard like Ty
Someone who leads you like Ty do
You'll never see what we've found in he
You'll keep searching and searching your whole life through

Whoa, I don't wish you no bad luck, Sparty
But there's no ifs and buts or maybes

(You're gonna) You're gonna miss
You're gonna miss Ty lonesin'
I know you're gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You're gonna miss, you're gonna miss Ty Jones

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Late in the midnight hour, baby
When it gets real cold outside
I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty Jones

Let me tell you that you're gonna miss my lovin'
Yes you will, Sparty
When I'm long gone
I know, I know, I know that you are gonna miss Ty jonesin'
You gonna miss Ty Jones

A spectacular rendition--but I am a little disturbed to realize that there is someone playing college basketball whose FATHER was named after Lou Rawls. Where did the time go?


Wouldn't "marquis" games be any against lower ranked opponents? A duke being above a marquis :)

Well played--this line is good enough to go on a marquee...

MChambers
11-17-2014, 12:52 PM
One thing from the first two games that has really pleased me: Duke is doing a very good job of pushing the tempo on both offense and defense. I'm particularly happy about the ability of Tyus and Rasheed to get the ball up the floor quickly, before the defense has the chance to get set. The last few years, it seems that Duke is always talking about pushing the tempo, but hasn't been doing it so much.

Troublemaker
11-17-2014, 03:14 PM
One thing from the first two games that has really pleased me: Duke is doing a very good job of pushing the tempo on both offense and defense. I'm particularly happy about the ability of Tyus and Rasheed to get the ball up the floor quickly, before the defense has the chance to get set. The last few years, it seems that Duke is always talking about pushing the tempo, but hasn't been doing it so much.

Justise has also been at the helm of some exceedingly fine fastbreaks. His wheels do not turn slowly.

Edouble
11-17-2014, 03:53 PM
OK if I clarify your statement?

On the court? You mean like pushing players into the stands, headbutting referees, and shoving cameramen? Let's hope we see this kind of behavior!

But off the court... a grown man listening to Pearl Jam and wearing a wedding dress! If Amile did terrible things like that we'd have to shut down the whole program.

MCFinARL
11-17-2014, 06:46 PM
On the court? You mean like pushing players into the stands, headbutting referees, and shoving cameramen? Let's hope we see this kind of behavior!

But off the court... a grown man listening to Pearl Jam and wearing a wedding dress! If Amile did terrible things like that we'd have to shut down the whole program.

Not sure Coach K would be too down with the trips to North Korea.

Henderson
11-17-2014, 06:58 PM
On the court? You mean like pushing players into the stands, headbutting referees, and shoving cameramen? Let's hope we see this kind of behavior!

But off the court... a grown man listening to Pearl Jam and wearing a wedding dress! If Amile did terrible things like that we'd have to shut down the whole program.


Not sure Coach K would be too down with the trips to North Korea.

Y'all did get the fact that I compared Amile to the early Pistons Rodman, right? He was not then what he later became.

superdave
11-28-2014, 11:54 AM
Okafor is 7-14 from the free throw line through six games. That is just better than two free throws per game. As a comparison Mason shot 7 per game his senior year.

Is anyone worried he is not getting to the line enough? I thought he would be fouling guys out left and right and this would be a major feature of our offense. One reason he isn't shooting a lot of fee throws is that he is so efficient at scoring the ball. He converts quickly without a lot of dribbling and backing his guy down, so there is fewer chance of contact.

Troublemaker
11-28-2014, 12:14 PM
Okafor is 7-14 from the free throw line through six games. That is just better than two free throws per game. As a comparison Mason shot 7 per game his senior year.

Is anyone worried he is not getting to the line enough? I thought he would be fouling guys out left and right and this would be a major feature of our offense. One reason he isn't shooting a lot of fee throws is that he is so efficient at scoring the ball. He converts quickly without a lot of dribbling and backing his guy down, so there is fewer chance of contact.

Agreed totally. This is one of the issues that I'll have to carry over into my Phase II post.

In one of the postgame pressers, Coach K mentioned that Okafor had to do a better job "selling" the fouls. That is, if the opponent is being physical and causing you to miss your shot when you go up for it, make sure that you get to go to the line when that happens. And eventually, hopefully Okafor converts through the contact for 3-pt opportunities.

We'll see if he can begin to getting fouled more as the season progresses.

roywhite
11-28-2014, 01:02 PM
Agreed totally. This is one of the issues that I'll have to carry over into my Phase II post.

In one of the postgame pressers, Coach K mentioned that Okafor had to do a better job "selling" the fouls. That is, if the opponent is being physical and causing you to miss your shot when you go up for it, make sure that you get to go to the line when that happens. And eventually, hopefully Okafor converts through the contact for 3-pt opportunities.

We'll see if he can begin to getting fouled more as the season progresses.

Coach K, to get his point across, reportedly;) said to Okafor:

I'll tell you this nicely today
If you still are not drawing fouls, I won't be so nice the next time
And then, if you still aren't getting this done, you'll have to sit and watch Tyler Hansbrough tapes.

devildeac
11-28-2014, 01:52 PM
Coach K, to get his point across, reportedly;) said to Okafor:

I'll tell you this nicely today
If you still are not drawing fouls, I won't be so nice the next time
And then, if you still aren't getting this done, you'll have to sit and watch Tyler Hansbrough tapes.

I was waiting for someone to introduce the hanstravel example. If Okafor has to watch those films and doesn't learn the c*rolina way of flopping, there is no hope for him:rolleyes:.

Saratoga2
11-28-2014, 05:34 PM
The development coming though the first games has been positive and we met two very good teams in Michigan State and Stanford and were able to handle them faily easily. Whats coming is even more difficult in Wisconsin at their place. I would say we will be the underdog there for the following reasons:

Our scoring comes from Okafor, Winslow, Jefferson and Cook with some help coming from Matt Jones. Tyus Jones has it in him but so far he has only shown what he can do in one instance and with him on the floor as much as he is it would be nice to get some offensive production from him.

Our 3 point shooting is only okay and we will face a team in Wisconsin who is very good in that regard. Our small guards will have to bother their bigger guards who can definitely hit from outside.

Kaminski can also hit from outside and so far we haven't guarded a big guy outside who can shoot.

Our free throw shooting is also only fair as a team, while Wisconsins is better and they seem to get to the line a lot.

Their guards and really much of their team is experienced and we are unlikely to get many turnovers and pointz off the fast break.

Where do we have advantages? Defense in general is very good and we are more athletic in my opinion. Going to be a good one.

Can we do anything to prepare for Wisconsin during the Army game? Emphasize getting to the basket and drawing fouls. Practice our foul shooting so that we get more efficient. Possibly identify someone like Matt in addition to Quinn who can hit a respectable number of threes. Based on the last game it appears he can do it. Justise isn't bad from the three (around 37%).

I really like this team and think they have a very high ceiling. No team, even Kentucky, is likely to get through to the tournament unscathed. It looks like the ACC is really a mine field this year with many capable teams. Virginia is obvious, but Louisville is also right up there. UNC has talent if they play up to it. Notre Dame and Pitt will not go down easily and NC State is poised to have a good year. We play all these teams this year, some twice so we should be battle tested going into the tournment.

I hope we get through without serious injury and we can see this team develop into a final four competitor.

OldPhiKap
11-28-2014, 05:39 PM
Anyone have any skinny on Army, besides 5-0?

JohnJ
11-28-2014, 06:13 PM
Our 3 point shooting is only okay and we will face a team in Wisconsin who is very good in that regard. Our small guards will have to bother their bigger guards who can definitely hit from outside.

Kaminski can also hit from outside and so far we haven't guarded a big guy outside who can shoot.

Not born out from the season to date stats:

Wisconsin 39/113= 34.5%
Duke. 59/144 = 41%

Wisconsin numbers do not include numbers from the game with Oklahoma.

Henderson
11-28-2014, 09:56 PM
Anyone have any skinny on Army, besides 5-0?

Smart and experienced. Their big guns are a good guard (Kyle Wilson) and a good forward (Tanner Plomb). Their heavy artillery probably won't match up with our big guns. Access to chemical weapons and tactical nukes is a potential equalizer, though, and makes them unusually dangerous.

Only game of the season in which a "blow out" worries me. They won't tank. They'll just keep shooting.

I'd make some lame comment about fish in a barrel, but I hate puns.