Optimist Thread

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Hey all -

If you are down on Duke's chances, think our defense is more like defunct, are convinced that the game has passed Coach K by, believe that we will get K's 1000th win sometime in late February, or find Tyus Jones lacking as a point guard... THIS IS NOT YOUR THREAD. Go back and read any of the other threads where Duke's problems are being dissected by nay-sayers and pessimists. Please leave this thread to those of us who prefer to see this glass half-full, remember the Wisconsin win fondly, recognize the level of talent on the floor, and believe Coach K can get one for his thumb this year.

Why I am optimistic:

- Our team knows how to play, they just have to remember how to play. Our defense earlier in the season was not just better than last year - it was pretty gosh-darned impressive. Our guards were causing problems for opponents, we clogged the inside with Amile and Okafor, and were aggressive in attacking passing lanes.

- We have so much talent. The talent displayed early in the season hasn't evaporated over time. Justise is still a dynamic game changer, Tyus is still great at making the extra pass, and Jahlil can pretty much do anything. Amile has come on strong as of late, Rasheed wants to play well and win so badly you can see it coming out his sweat pores. The pieces are all still there and when we pass well, our cohesion is great.

- It feels like our problems are mental. Our guys get visibly frustrated after a perceived bad call or making a bad mistake and are letting it affect them for the next play or two. Conversely, when they convert a great play, their emotions get too high and they try to continue spectacular play on the other end of the floor, rather than settling back into their sets (I call this "Plumlee Syndrome" - after each of the previous Plumlees who seemed notorious for this early in their Duke careers before maturing). I think this emotional roller coaster is amplified by our youth. We haven't yet had someone emerge as a leader to settle us down when necessary and ramp us up when we need it. However... who better to recognize this and coach our guys to quick maturity than the guy with 997 wins and four national championships?

- We've been missing our outside shots. We have some really good shooters, but seem to have had lots of guys with "off days" at the same time. Usually, Jones or Cook or Jones or Winslow or Sheed can step up and fill in the gaps. When several guys are off, defenses can play a more packed-in man-to-man which makes it much easier to deny the ball to Jahlil and much more difficult for our guards to slash and score/dish. I'm optimistic on this front because how many more games in a row can all our shooters be absent? Several are overdue for a break-out game and all of them, by the law of averages, ought to see things bounce back in short order.

Anyways - there's plenty of other fodder out there for people who want to nit-pick the problems of the last few games to death, but at the end of the day we have two losses in mid-January. Every single team goal is still in play, and I see no reason those goals aren't almost as realistic as they were a few weeks ago.

Go Duke!

[Kedsy]

We've been missing our outside shots.

I'm totally on board with the purpose, intent, and spirit of this thread. I'm still very optimistic about Duke's outlook this season. Thanks for starting the thread.

Regarding shooting, I think it's related to the mental issues you mentioned in the previous bullet point. Shooting is about confidence. We really only have two proven shooters on the team -- Quinn and Rasheed. The other shooters -- Justise, Tyus, Matt, and Grayson (to the extent he plays) are not proven at the college level, and they know it. If their shots don't drop they become tentative and think before they shoot next, and the shooting failure cascades into miss after miss. Once these players relax and just shoot, the shots will start dropping and then the new cascade will be a good thing.

Overall, I think confidence is key. We haven't yet had a game where we got behind and then came back to win. (I mean, we've only been behind for more than a few minutes in two games this season.) The players have to realize that if they drop behind they can play their normal game and still win. That confidence will have to come from Quinn, Amile, and Tyus, and once it does, the ship should right itself.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'm totally on board with the purpose, intent, and spirit of this thread. I'm still very optimistic about Duke's outlook this season. Thanks for starting the thread.

Thanks. My hope is that over the next two months, this thread gets more and more posts.

But then again, I'm an optimist. :)

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Optimism!!!!!!!

[DukieInKansas]

I always expect Duke to win. I think confidence in themselves is part of the issue. I thought some of the players looked frustrated in the Miami game. They are so used to being unstoppable that it will take them a while to figure out how to work through that and become hard to stop. To me, teamwork is the key. They need to remember that it doesn't all fall on one player. There are always 4 others out on the court to work with and make the situation better.

Let's Go, Duke!

[Bob Green]

Optimism is a good thing. Optimistically viewing the rest of the season, because the starting line-up includes three freshmen, the team's growth ceiling is very high. The guys are gaining experiencing in each game and practice participated in with the experience fueling confidence required to execute better. It is going to be a fun ride toward March.

[johnb]

I'm also optimistic that our opponents won't continue to shoot light's out against us. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems that Wake, State, and Miami all shot unusually well, often hitting low percentage shots with a hand in the face. Obviously, this can happen in any game, and we've lost several NCAA games because of career-night shooting in the opposition, but I'm assuming we're due for some below average opposition shooting.

In addition, Tyus seems silent, Jahlil has missed some point blank shots, and Justise has been disappearing; freshmen will do these things, but I'm betting they'll rebound as the season gets into high gear.

[Lid]

Right there with you. When I think about the season as a whole, I'm looking forward to being able to reflect on how the kids took some knocks, dug deep, and figured out what makes being on a team special. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing who's going to step up and lead the charge.

Meanwhile, I'll keep focusing on the fact that the players are just regular kids playing a game -- and if I can't find something to enjoy in the process of watching a college basketball game, even if my team loses, then the problem is with me. But I don't think I'll have to work hard to find my zen center too many more times. I think they'll start shooting better, allowing the defense to come more easily, which will increase the joy and confidence level, which means I'll be drinking for fun instead of for more nefarious/pathetic reasons soon enough.

The season's too short to grieve losses before they happen.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Optimism is a good thing. Optimistically viewing the rest of the season, because the starting line-up includes three freshmen, the team's growth ceiling is very high. The guys are gaining experiencing in each game and practice participated in with the experience fueling confidence required to execute better. It is going to be a fun ride toward March.

I have to admit, that's one thing that I really miss from the days when players stuck around for four years. Seeing guys grow into their roles, refine their game, round out their skill-sets, and become leaders was something that made following the team year after year a lot of fun. I think of players like Battier who went from a role player in a great freshman class to a total leader on defense and big-time scorer was so much fun.

With Duke having more one and two year players, that whole process is either compressed or, sadly, non-existent. The development, if any, is fast and furious. Must be a very difficult process for the coaching staff, and admittedly takes some of the enjoyment out of fandom.

But optimism! These kids have lots of growing to do, and if we are all fortunate, it will happen over the next two months.

[BluDvlsN1]

During the first 14 or so games, particularly MichSt, Temple, Stanford, Wisconsin,Uconn on the road, we saw a very confident team with 3 starting freshman, be very Duke like.

There were a number of those games where Tyus took the lead by example, early in the game reading the defenses, taking it to the hoop, or draining a well placed 3 from the field to kick start the offense. Not that the numbers were huge, but more when and how they took place that motiviated the team.

As a team, we were still shooting 3's but not as early in the shot clock.
It seemed it was more after it went into Okafor, and the subsequent ball movement
to overload the defenses.

These freshman, as talented and as confident as they are with all their collective pre Duke experience,
are still freshman, and not much can prepare you for the ACC regular season grind and reality.

We will regain our bearings, the correct defensive adjustments will be made,
the regular season learning curve will be achieved, maybe not without losses,
but this team will compete. We are probably more balanced talent and position wise as a team,
than many in recent years.

We have seen K so many times over the years take what looks like an insurmountable hurdle,
and make really good things happen.

The Crazies never cease to amaze me, during the Miami game, when the game was getting out of hand,
CIS was loud with "Let's go DUKE"

That's why we're here, right?

[Mike Corey]

I remain optimistic, because Coach K. We're being broken down so we can build back up.

I have proven, over and over, to be a horrible prognosticator when it comes to Duke basketball. I think every team, by March, will be in a position to make a run at a title. But that's my privilege as a fan. And I'll continue to embrace it.

We're incredibly young, incredibly talented, and our issues have been identified. Let's fix'em and get back to work.

Go Duke.

[MCFinARL]

I'm totally on board with the purpose, intent, and spirit of this thread. I'm still very optimistic about Duke's outlook this season. Thanks for starting the thread.

Regarding shooting, I think it's related to the mental issues you mentioned in the previous bullet point. Shooting is about confidence. We really only have two proven shooters on the team -- Quinn and Rasheed. The other shooters -- Justise, Tyus, Matt, and Grayson (to the extent he plays) are not proven at the college level, and they know it. If their shots don't drop they become tentative and think before they shoot next, and the shooting failure cascades into miss after miss. Once these players relax and just shoot, the shots will start dropping and then the new cascade will be a good thing.

Overall, I think confidence is key. We haven't yet had a game where we got behind and then came back to win. (I mean, we've only been behind for more than a few minutes in two games this season.) The players have to realize that if they drop behind they can play their normal game and still win. That confidence will have to come from Quinn, Amile, and Tyus, and once it does, the ship should right itself.

Well, technically, we have had a game where we got behind and came back to win--Wake Forest, where Wake opened with a 6-0 run and also took a 2-point lead with 5 minutes to play. So that is cause for some optimism--the team can lose the lead late in the game and not fold--although obviously coming back from a big deficit is quite different from dealing with a close game swinging back and forth.

Your point about confidence and how it relates to coming from behind is well taken. It's likely very hard for the younger players especially to relax and just shoot when they feel the burden of trying to fight back into a game and each shot seems so important. The same kind of factors, I think, may have influenced more experienced players like Rasheed in the two recent losses as well--reducing his effectiveness/accuracy as each game wore on. You're right that the confidence has to come from Quinn, Amile and Tyus--Amile and, for the most part, Quinn continued to play with confidence against Miami but apparently couldn't make the others feel it; Tyus has more of a challenge as he is a freshman who needs to act like an upperclassman.

Edit: Reading over this post I hope it does not violate the rules of the thread since, in responding to another post, I have included some discussion that is not, strictly speaking, optimistic, though neither is it pessimistic. If I have stepped over the line, my apologies.

[weezie]

I'm optimistic that the post-Miami game thread will eventually run itself into the ground.

Let's Go Devils! :cool:

[Bob Green]

I'm optimistic that the post-Miami game thread will eventually run itself into the ground.

Let's Go Devils! :cool:

I have attempted to help that eventuality along its path by starting the pre-Louisville game thread. :D

[tele]

Adjusting to acc conference play isn't easy but this team will be really good once it does. I have an optimism related story about stepping up onto a bigger stage if you don't mind hearing it... The folk singer John Prine was a mailman in chicago just starting out as a musician and he got invited to play at one of the folk clubs on Lincoln avenue, Wise Fools or Earle of Old Towne, one of those. So he writes and plays a new song and everyone likes it and the club manager asks him to come back and play again. So he goes back home and writes another song and when he plays it, it is also well received and the club manager asks him to come back and play again in a few days. And Prine says to him, "well I'd like to but I don't know if I can come up with another new song by then."

[Troublemaker]

There are reasons for optimism. I feel like there are several ways the team could improve defensively.



I expect Coach K to make some defensive changes, but even with zero changes made, Duke might just randomly start playing well again the way we randomly stopped playing well a few games ago.


I've read some of the post-mortem on here (but not all of it, so apologies if I repeat some points). I read lots of great analysis, btw. Thanks, everyone. One thing, though. I don't believe NCSU and Miami were better equipped to exploit Duke's defensive strategy to the tune of 120+ efficiency than teams like MSU, Wisconsin, UConn, etc. I think those results are best explained by randomness and the timing of when they played Duke rather than matchups or conference familiarity. I think those two opponents enjoyed particularly good shooting nights, and I think Duke's play has also slipped since roughly Christmas, as Coach K noted in his presser. I think if you could pluck pre-Xmas Duke from the time-stream and have them play these past two games using the exact same defensive tactics, pre-Xmas Duke would've fared much better against NCSU and Miami than current Duke did. There's just been something missing recently.




In particular, Duke's breakdown on ball-screen defense has been puzzling. Through the first 10 games, Duke was rock solid on ball-screen defense. Whenever we gave up points on penetration, the vast majority were via 1-on-1 drives, not ball-screen drives, which Duke was able to routinely ice successfully. So I'm really disappointed that we've deteriorated on ball-screens, but I think the previous level of play is recoverable.

Why has execution slipped since winter break? There's apparently some intangible thing happening that's currently a mystery to even Coach K, according to his presser. It could be anything. (Maybe, for whatever reason, Semi Ojeleye was much more important to team chemistry behind the scenes than anyone could've anticipated, and we've taken a hit since he transferred.) I mean, whatever it is, I have confidence that Coach K and the players will figure it out and get the intangibles flowing correctly again. We might not respect Coach K as a tactician, but he's good at figuring out the psychology and chemistry stuff and will get us playing confidently again. That said, I do expect some strategical tweaks will be made as well. There are several options.





Others have discussed this one in detail already, but Coach K could contract the defense like he did in 2010. And that might work.



Coach K could make Winslow the primary defender on the opposing team's best penetrating guard. And that might work. There's precedence for this. In the famed '99 season, Carrawell, despite being the SF, actually became the primary defender on quick penetrating guards like Steve Francis and Terrell McIntyre because Avery and Langdon couldn't handle them. I think there's a chance that Winslow is a Carrawell-like versatile defender that can be effective guarding quick PGs.



I'm actually surprised he hasn't already been tried as a stopper on opposing guards that are going off on Duke. I think many of us in the preseason thought something like, "Okay, Tyus and Quinn might struggle to defend sometimes, but if a guard is killing us with penetration, we'll just sic Justise on him!" But that hasn't really materialized yet. Maybe if Justise isn't needed to guard 4s whenever Amile sits, that will help. Which brings me to...



Coach K could play MP3 more. And that might work. MP3 could give Jahlil more breathers, AND he could play alongside him more in the Twin Towers look, relieving Amile at PF. Marshall is Duke's best interior defender and shotblocker and is better equipped to intimidate drivers and cause 2-pt shots to miss than any of Okafor, Jefferson, or Winslow, imo. Even before these past two games, 2-pt% defense and shotblocking% were sore spots in Duke's statistical profile (that otherwise is decent to pretty good everywhere else.) Also, Okafor could perhaps be more effective defensively given a few more breathers. Finally, Marshall's been a plus-minus monster this season according to Neals' thread, which could very well mean that Marshall deserves more playing time.


I'm not saying all of these changes will be made, and I'm not even saying all of them would work. But I bet you one or two of them will work, and perhaps something that hasn't been mentioned will work. There are lots of avenues for improvement, for optimism, ranging from the team just randomly getting out of its current funk, to Coach K making an overall strategy change, to Coach K re-arranging some player roles or minutes. Lots of things or combinations of things could re-spark Duke.

[Newton_14]

Hey all -

If you are down on Duke's chances, think our defense is more like defunct, are convinced that the game has passed Coach K by, believe that we will get K's 1000th win sometime in late February, or find Tyus Jones lacking as a point guard... THIS IS NOT YOUR THREAD. Go back and read any of the other threads where Duke's problems are being dissected by nay-sayers and pessimists. Please leave this thread to those of us who prefer to see this glass half-full, remember the Wisconsin win fondly, recognize the level of talent on the floor, and believe Coach K can get one for his thumb this year.

Why I am optimistic:

- Our team knows how to play, they just have to remember how to play. Our defense earlier in the season was not just better than last year - it was pretty gosh-darned impressive. Our guards were causing problems for opponents, we clogged the inside with Amile and Okafor, and were aggressive in attacking passing lanes.

- We have so much talent. The talent displayed early in the season hasn't evaporated over time. Justise is still a dynamic game changer, Tyus is still great at making the extra pass, and Jahlil can pretty much do anything. Amile has come on strong as of late, Rasheed wants to play well and win so badly you can see it coming out his sweat pores. The pieces are all still there and when we pass well, our cohesion is great.

- It feels like our problems are mental. Our guys get visibly frustrated after a perceived bad call or making a bad mistake and are letting it affect them for the next play or two. Conversely, when they convert a great play, their emotions get too high and they try to continue spectacular play on the other end of the floor, rather than settling back into their sets (I call this "Plumlee Syndrome" - after each of the previous Plumlees who seemed notorious for this early in their Duke careers before maturing). I think this emotional roller coaster is amplified by our youth. We haven't yet had someone emerge as a leader to settle us down when necessary and ramp us up when we need it. However... who better to recognize this and coach our guys to quick maturity than the guy with 997 wins and four national championships?

- We've been missing our outside shots. We have some really good shooters, but seem to have had lots of guys with "off days" at the same time. Usually, Jones or Cook or Jones or Winslow or Sheed can step up and fill in the gaps. When several guys are off, defenses can play a more packed-in man-to-man which makes it much easier to deny the ball to Jahlil and much more difficult for our guards to slash and score/dish. I'm optimistic on this front because how many more games in a row can all our shooters be absent? Several are overdue for a break-out game and all of them, by the law of averages, ought to see things bounce back in short order.

Anyways - there's plenty of other fodder out there for people who want to nit-pick the problems of the last few games to death, but at the end of the day we have two losses in mid-January. Every single team goal is still in play, and I see no reason those goals aren't almost as realistic as they were a few weeks ago.

Go Duke!

Great post and count me in! There are problems but there are solutions. This team can get back to where they were and get even better than they were.

[gep]

In particular, Duke's breakdown on ball-screen defense has been puzzling. Through the first 10 games, Duke was rock solid on ball-screen defense. Whenever we gave up points on penetration, the vast majority were via 1-on-1 drives, not ball-screen drives, which Duke was able to routinely ice successfully. So I'm really disappointed that we've deteriorated on ball-screens, but I think the previous level of play is recoverable.

Why has execution slipped since winter break? There's apparently some intangible thing happening that's currently a mystery to even Coach K, according to his presser. It could be anything. (Maybe, for whatever reason, Semi Ojeleye was much more important to team chemistry behind the scenes than anyone could've anticipated, and we've taken a hit since he transferred.) I mean, whatever it is, I have confidence that Coach K and the players will figure it out and get the intangibles flowing correctly again. We might not respect Coach K as a tactician, but he's good at figuring out the psychology and chemistry stuff and will get us playing confidently again. That said, I do expect some strategical tweaks will be made as well. There are several options.






I really like your whole post. But these two paragraphs mean something to me. If the first 10 games were good defensive games, so what happened after that. I don't think the players suddenly forgot how to play defense over the Christmas break. But it does coincide with Semi's announcement of his transfer. I wonder too...:confused: In any case, this should be fixable, since they already know how to do it... just gotta get the mind back into it... which I think Coach K will be able to do... GO DUKE!!!

[Kedsy]

Coach K could make Winslow the primary defender on the opposing team's best penetrating guard. And that might work. There's precedence for this. In the famed '99 season, Carrawell, despite being the SF, actually became the primary defender on quick penetrating guards like Steve Francis and Terrell McIntyre because Avery and Langdon couldn't handle them. I think there's a chance that Winslow is a Carrawell-like versatile defender that can be effective guarding quick PGs.

I like your whole post and I like this idea. Except for one thing: Trajan Langdon was 6'4" and wasn't grossly outsized by the opposing SF he'd have to cover when Carrawell checked the opposing PG. Quinn Cook is 6'0" on a tall day and I'm not sure how well he could manage opposing SFs. But other than that, I'm very optimistic about your optimism.

[jv001]

I like your whole post and I like this idea. Except for one thing: Trajan Langdon was 6'4" and wasn't grossly outsized by the opposing SF he'd have to cover when Carrawell checked the opposing PG. Quinn Cook is 6'0" on a tall day and I'm not sure how well he could manage opposing SFs. But other than that, I'm very optimistic about your optimism.

Maybe using Justise to guard the opposing point guard could be used when Rasheed and/or M. Jones is in the lineup. I like the ideas proposed by some late posters(Newton) of giving Jahlil and Cook more rest. That just might work. GoDuke!

[jv001]

Hey all -

If you are down on Duke's chances, think our defense is more like defunct, are convinced that the game has passed Coach K by, believe that we will get K's 1000th win sometime in late February, or find Tyus Jones lacking as a point guard... THIS IS NOT YOUR THREAD. Go back and read any of the other threads where Duke's problems are being dissected by nay-sayers and pessimists. Please leave this thread to those of us who prefer to see this glass half-full, remember the Wisconsin win fondly, recognize the level of talent on the floor, and believe Coach K can get one for his thumb this year.

Why I am optimistic:

- Our team knows how to play, they just have to remember how to play. Our defense earlier in the season was not just better than last year - it was pretty gosh-darned impressive. Our guards were causing problems for opponents, we clogged the inside with Amile and Okafor, and were aggressive in attacking passing lanes.

- We have so much talent. The talent displayed early in the season hasn't evaporated over time. Justise is still a dynamic game changer, Tyus is still great at making the extra pass, and Jahlil can pretty much do anything. Amile has come on strong as of late, Rasheed wants to play well and win so badly you can see it coming out his sweat pores. The pieces are all still there and when we pass well, our cohesion is great.

- It feels like our problems are mental. Our guys get visibly frustrated after a perceived bad call or making a bad mistake and are letting it affect them for the next play or two. Conversely, when they convert a great play, their emotions get too high and they try to continue spectacular play on the other end of the floor, rather than settling back into their sets (I call this "Plumlee Syndrome" - after each of the previous Plumlees who seemed notorious for this early in their Duke careers before maturing). I think this emotional roller coaster is amplified by our youth. We haven't yet had someone emerge as a leader to settle us down when necessary and ramp us up when we need it. However... who better to recognize this and coach our guys to quick maturity than the guy with 997 wins and four national championships?
- We've been missing our outside shots. We have some really good shooters, but seem to have had lots of guys with "off days" at the same time. Usually, Jones or Cook or Jones or Winslow or Sheed can step up and fill in the gaps. When several guys are off, defenses can play a more packed-in man-to-man which makes it much easier to deny the ball to Jahlil and much more difficult for our guards to slash and score/dish. I'm optimistic on this front because how many more games in a row can all our shooters be absent? Several are overdue for a break-out game and all of them, by the law of averages, ought to see things bounce back in short order.

Anyways - there's plenty of other fodder out there for people who want to nit-pick the problems of the last few games to death, but at the end of the day we have two losses in mid-January. Every single team goal is still in play, and I see no reason those goals aren't almost as realistic as they were a few weeks ago.

Go Duke!

Thanks for this post. I had to wait a while before my confidence began to rise. Great points as to why we can get back on track. A 14-2 record isn't bad, not even for Duke. One point you bring out is our guys getting down on themselves over a bad play or presumed missed call. Our two captains, Amile and Quinn need to be the leaders on bringing it to the attention of the other players. But first they need to look in the mirror themselves because they are guilty of the same thing. Like you say we have Coach K(HOF coach) along with capable assistants sitting on the bench that surely recognize this problem and will get it fixed. Beat Louisville, :cool: :cool:GoDuke!

[roywhite]

Had this in another thread, but my buddy jv01 liked it and suggested putting it here also.

Reminds me of one of the final scenes from Apollo 13 as the damaged space vehicle prepares for re-entry and the technical experts details the problems:

Henry Hurt: We've got the parachute situation, the heat shield, angle of the trajectory and the typhoon. There's just so many variables, I'm at a loss --
Chris Kraft: I know what the problems are, Henry. This could be the worst disaster NASA's ever experienced.
Gene Kranz: With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour.

I like this Duke team's chances in this situation with Mike Krzyzewski as the coach.

[jv001]

Had this in another thread, but my buddy jv01 liked it and suggested putting it here also.

Reminds me of one of the final scenes from Apollo 13 as the damaged space vehicle prepares for re-entry and the technical experts details the problems:

Henry Hurt: We've got the parachute situation, the heat shield, angle of the trajectory and the typhoon. There's just so many variables, I'm at a loss --
Chris Kraft: I know what the problems are, Henry. This could be the worst disaster NASA's ever experienced.
Gene Kranz: With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour.

I like this Duke team's chances in this situation with Mike Krzyzewski as the coach.

Thanks for moving the post roywhite. Your post and Al Featherstone's article on the DBR home page are encouraging. Reading Al's article, I see many of Coach K's moves when things looked bleak, were some rotation changes. Some were pretty big changes. Not in several player moves, but with one or two players inserted into the starting rotation. I'm wondering if we see one of those type changes coming. GoDuke!

[hudlow]

It's happened before, it will happen again.

When the season is over I believe K will be able to say he got the most from this team he could.

That's what I've grown to expect from him and I can live with that.

I look forward to the tweaking that will undoubtedly come.

hud

[freshmanjs]

in 2011-12, louisville lost 5 out of 7 games around this time of year. in late feb, they lost 4 of 6. ended up in the final 4 and with 30 wins. there are many other examples. college basketball teams have ups and downs.

[Clay Feet POF]

Coach K WILL fix this. Expect good things in Louisvtlle.

[tbyers11]

in 2011-12, louisville lost 5 out of 7 games around this time of year. in late feb, they lost 4 of 6. ended up in the final 4 and with 30 wins. there are many other examples. college basketball teams have ups and downs.

Even more recent example. Last year Wisconsin lost 5 of 6 from Jan 14th to Feb 1st including a road loss at Indiana and a home loss to Northwestern. They then won 8 in a row and ended up a single jumper (either Harrison's miss or Jackson's make) from the National Championship game.

[Kedsy]

Even more recent example. Last year Wisconsin lost 5 of 6 from Jan 14th to Feb 1st including a road loss at Indiana and a home loss to Northwestern. They then won 8 in a row and ended up a single jumper (either Harrison's miss or Jackson's make) from the National Championship game.

Might as well throw last year's Kentucky team here too. A young, talented team that lost 2 of 3 at one point in December, then ended the regular season by losing 3 of 4 (including one at home to an unranked opponent), had 10 losses going into the NCAA tournament, were stuck with an 8-seed, and then proceeded to make the NCAAT finals.

And then four of the six guys who people assumed were leaving early opted to come back.

[peterjswift]

My daughters are both two years old (twins, if you couldn't figure that out). Every night we read a bible story and then pray together. Recently they've wanted to pray by themselves, and they usually thank God for the different people in our family and extended family and friends.

Tonight, both of them, unprompted, thanked God for Duke Basketball after exhausting their memory of friends and family to be thankful for.

To be fair though, their word for "basketball" is definitely a non-traditional phonetic interpretation. Maybe "backitbaw" might be a rendering of what they say. But DUKE is clear as a bell.

I should also point out that one of their earliest phrases was: "Go Duke!" - and not too far behind was "Let's go Duke."

[gam7]

Thanks for this thread. Most years you will find me on the pessimist side of the spectrum, but this year has been very different for me from the very beginning. Obviously there are some issues to deal with, but no question about it, I still find myself a believer.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I am eager to see this thread explode at about 2:15 this afternoon.

[freshmanjs]

I am eager to see this thread explode at about 2:15 this afternoon.

wins @wisconsin and @louisville would be very impressive. there may not be any other team with 2 road wins of that quality all season. today is a big opportunity.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread! I Zporked you appropriately!

Pessimistic nay-sayers be gone! We're done with you!

Beat Pitt! And then everyone else we play! LGD GTHc!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread! I Zporked you appropriately!

Pessimistic nay-sayers be gone! We're done with you!

Beat Pitt! And then everyone else we play! LGD GTHc!

Thanks! Was thinking particularly of you when I started it!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Thanks! Was thinking particularly of you when I started it!
We need a "like" button!

[freshmanjs]

we have 2 true road wins over top 10 teams. instead of relief, it would be great if we could appreciate how unusual that is (and awesome).

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

By the way everyone - there's PLENTY of room on the optimism bandwagon!

[Indoor66]

By the way everyone - there's PLENTY of room on the optimism bandwagon!

There always it. Just ask Ozzie.

[peterjswift]

I don't particularly want to give any credibility to the "pessimist thread" that just started, but if it does continue to exist, I'd like to do my part to make sure that thread dies, while this thread remains at the top.

I still maintain that this Duke team, playing with all cylinders firing, could beat any team in the country. Every year we've been told by experts, coaches, etc, that defense takes longer to learn than offense. Duke is already an offensive juggernaut, and I imagine that they will gel defensively in plenty of time for the ACC tournament.

In addition - Miami is a much better team than their record suggests. Their ACC losses are to quality opponents - UVA was taken to overtime and they were up by more than 15 against Notre Dame in the 2nd half on Notre Dame's home floor...and it took a remarkable stretch of 3pt shooting by Notre Dame to get back and and win. Dukes loss to Miami was a tough pill to swallow, but Miami is a good team and they are dangerous.

I'm also thinking that Matt Jones' haircut is going to have a monumental impact on his jump shot. I think eliminating a little bit of hair will add some elevation and speed to his jump, which is just what he needs to hit his jumpers. His new-found aerodynamicism should also enable him to go up stronger and turn blocked layups into monstrous dunks. I'm hoping Plumlee the Youngest's new hairstyle will have a similar impact on Marshall's hook shot.

[MarkD83]

In the spirit of keeping the optimist thread near the top I will reiterate(and update) my comments in the pessimist thread.

We need an engineering thread.
Optimist..glass half full
Pessimist..glass half empty
Engineer..redesign the glass.

Playing zone against Louisville was Coach K redesigning the glass. He has done it in the past and he is a master at making the right redesigns for whatever team he has.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I don't particularly want to give any credibility to the "pessimist thread" that just started, but if it does continue to exist, I'd like to do my part to make sure that thread dies, while this thread remains at the top.

I still maintain that this Duke team, playing with all cylinders firing, could beat any team in the country. Every year we've been told by experts, coaches, etc, that defense takes longer to learn than offense. Duke is already an offensive juggernaut, and I imagine that they will gel defensively in plenty of time for the ACC tournament.

In addition - Miami is a much better team than their record suggests. Their ACC losses are to quality opponents - UVA was taken to overtime and they were up by more than 15 against Notre Dame in the 2nd half on Notre Dame's home floor...and it took a remarkable stretch of 3pt shooting by Notre Dame to get back and and win. Dukes loss to Miami was a tough pill to swallow, but Miami is a good team and they are dangerous.

I'm also thinking that Matt Jones' haircut is going to have a monumental impact on his jump shot. I think eliminating a little bit of hair will add some elevation and speed to his jump, which is just what he needs to hit his jumpers. His new-found aerodynamicism should also enable him to go up stronger and turn blocked layups into monstrous dunks. I'm hoping Plumlee the Youngest's new hairstyle will have a similar impact on Marshall's hook shot.

Imitation is the sincerest form of crab.

Let's just keep the optimist thread more active than the pessimist thread.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Hrm... this thread is proving more difficult to keep active than I had hoped. Anyone want to find a silver-lining in this week's developments?

- Team rallies around K?
- Team sees the consequences of..?
- More minutes for non-one-and-dones?

We're drowning in pessimism here; someone throw me a line.

Go Duke!

[MChambers]

Hrm... this thread is proving more difficult to keep active than I had hoped. Anyone want to find a silver-lining in this week's developments?

- Team rallies around K?
- Team sees the consequences of..?
- More minutes for non-one-and-dones?

We're drowning in pessimism here; someone throw me a line.

Go Duke!
I really rooted for Rasheed, but the team did not do as well when he was on the court, to my surprise. So it may be that Duke will be better without him. Of course, I felt he had a lot of potential, so the team's ceiling may have dropped some.

Also, if whatever he did to merit dismissal affected the play or mood of his teammates, Duke may improve.

Finally, maybe this team now drops the burden of high expectations, and becomes an underdog.

This is all rank speculation of course, but of the type that is permitted here.

[Kedsy]

I really rooted for Rasheed, but the team did not do as well when he was on the court, to my surprise. So it may be that Duke will be better without him. Of course, I felt he had a lot of potential, so the team's ceiling may have dropped some.

Also, if whatever he did to merit dismissal affected the play or mood of his teammates, Duke may improve.

Finally, maybe this team now drops the burden of high expectations, and becomes an underdog.

This is all rank speculation of course, but of the type that is permitted here.

Yeah, according to our stickied plus/minus thread (which does not yet include the Notre Dame game), Rasheed had the worst plus/minus per 40 on the team (including our two walk ons). Not saying that has a great deal of meaning, but it's over 20 games so it might mean something.

I feel bad about the whole Rasheed situation, and I worry about our outside shooting, but my overall outlook for the team hasn't changed all that much since the news. I don't think our ceiling is any lower, really.

[CDu]

Yeah, according to our stickied plus/minus thread (which does not yet include the Notre Dame game), Rasheed had the worst plus/minus per 40 on the team (including our two walk ons). Not saying that has a great deal of meaning, but it's over 20 games so it might mean something.

I feel bad about the whole Rasheed situation, and I worry about our outside shooting, but my overall outlook for the team hasn't changed all that much since the news. I don't think our ceiling is any lower, really.

I am going to say that it probably still means nothing, even if it were over the whole season (at least in terms of assessing whether Sulaimon was helping or hurting the team).

Agree with you on the rest though. Sad to lose him, hope it helps him get himself together (whatever the issue is/was), but I don't think it changes things much with regard to the team. We'll still be reliant on T. Jones, Cook, Winslow, Jefferson, and Okafor to play well. It'll put more pressure on M. Jones to play consistently well (I do like how he has played the last couple of games). But (even though I don't think we can make causal claims based on his +/-) the +/- do at least suggest clearly that the team wasn't reliant on him on the floor to win games (at least not consistently so).

[MChambers]

I am going to say that it probably still means nothing, even if it were over the whole season (at least in terms of assessing whether Sulaimon was helping or hurting the team).

Agree with you on the rest though. Sad to lose him, hope it helps him get himself together (whatever the issue is/was), but I don't think it changes things much with regard to the team. We'll still be reliant on T. Jones, Cook, Winslow, Jefferson, and Okafor to play well. It'll put more pressure on M. Jones to play consistently well (I do like how he has played the last couple of games). But (even though I don't think we can make causal claims based on his +/-) the +/- do at least suggest clearly that the team wasn't reliant on him on the floor to win games (at least not consistently so).
I generally agree with you and Kedsy that it doesn't change the team's outlook much, but injuries and foul trouble are now a bigger concern than they were. If T. Jones or Cook were to be out for any length of time, we'd be down to one primary ballhandler.

[peterjswift]

I generally agree with you and Kedsy that it doesn't change the team's outlook much, but injuries and foul trouble are now a bigger concern than they were. If T. Jones or Cook were to be out for any length of time, we'd be down to one primary ballhandler.

MChambers: Excuse me. I think you might be in the wrong thread. Unless you're saying how great it would be to have one ball handler because there's less pressure and questions about roles so that a player can excel?

However - to stay ON TOPIC - I just mentioned in the pre-game thread for the UVA game that the pressure on Duke is a lot less than the pressure on UVA, and as challenging as it is for K and his coaching staff to respond to these changes, I have to think the UVA coaching staff is probably more freaked out with having no idea what is coming for them. In addition - there's no unbeaten record on the line for Duke. I think there's a great chance Duke is going to come out loose and with a chip on their shoulder. I welcome the underdog and spoiler role.

[MChambers]

MChambers: Excuse me. I think you might be in the wrong thread. Unless you're saying how great it would be to have one ball handler because there's less pressure and questions about roles so that a player can excel?
You're right, of course. My only excuse is that I was optimistic in this thread before I was pessimistic!

[sammy3469]

I am going to say that it probably still means nothing, even if it were over the whole season (at least in terms of assessing whether Sulaimon was helping or hurting the team).

Agree with you on the rest though. Sad to lose him, hope it helps him get himself together (whatever the issue is/was), but I don't think it changes things much with regard to the team. We'll still be reliant on T. Jones, Cook, Winslow, Jefferson, and Okafor to play well. It'll put more pressure on M. Jones to play consistently well (I do like how he has played the last couple of games). But (even though I don't think we can make causal claims based on his +/-) the +/- do at least suggest clearly that the team wasn't reliant on him on the floor to win games (at least not consistently so).

FWIW, I do think there is something to the +/- for him. Yes he was a good 3 point shooter, but when he handled the ball, he frequently either turned it over or put up a bad contested shot that resulted in bad floor spacing for the team and then bad transition defense. It doesn't take many of those to impact a close game.

Granted the major issue has been defense in general (or more accurately guarding the pick and roll), but free/easier baskets his drives were creating for other team weren't helping either. It's entirely possible that taking away those easy opportunities for the other team allows the team to settle in better on offense and defense.

It'll also force Jones and Cook to be more assertive with the ball when Okafor is off the floor. If they get to the FT line at the same rate as 'Sheed that's almost another point a game they'd pick up.

[peterjswift]

You're right, of course. My only excuse is that I was optimistic in this thread before I was pessimistic! I'm very optimistic that your attitude will change soon. Probably on Saturday around 9:00PM.

[CDu]

I generally agree with you and Kedsy that it doesn't change the team's outlook much, but injuries and foul trouble are now a bigger concern than they were. If T. Jones or Cook were to be out for any length of time, we'd be down to one primary ballhandler.

Very true. Our ceiling is a bit lower now, as Sulaimon was arguably one of our most talented players. And our floor is definitely lower, as an injury or significant foul trouble suddenly puts us in a really bad spot. But I don't think we were going to hit our ceiling with Sulaimon anyway, and I doubt (or at least hope we won't) we'll threaten our floor.

[CDu]

FWIW, I do think there is something to the +/- for him. Yes he was a good 3 point shooter, but when he handled the ball, he frequently either turned it over or put up a bad contested shot that resulted in bad floor spacing for the team and then bad transition defense. It doesn't take many of those to impact a close game.

Granted the major issue has been defense in general (or more accurately guarding the pick and roll), but free/easier baskets his drives were creating for other team weren't helping either. It's entirely possible that taking away those easy opportunities for the other team allows the team to settle in better on offense and defense.

It'll also force Jones and Cook to be more assertive with the ball when Okafor is off the floor. If they get to the FT line at the same rate as 'Sheed that's almost another point a game they'd pick up.

It is certainly possible that he had a big impact on the +/-. But there is just so much "randomness" that goes into how teams score and give up points that I don't think even a season's worth of +/- is enough to say so with any confidence.

[Clay Feet POF]

Ok This forces us to :

1) More Zone ( Save energy, less fouls, better communication, Keep Winslow in longer, more Grayson, and more twin towers.) Maybe throw in a little 1-3-1 with Matt or Winslow at the point disrupting the passing lanes and starting our fast breaks.

2) Have more playing time for Grayson and maybe he settles into his shooting touch and the same for Matt Jones

3) Develop more aggressive offensive player, especially Oakafor. I think Winslow is our only true aggressive offensive player. Maybe Quinn, and Tyus sometimes.

4) Expand Marshalls minutes playing with Oakafor and without, there is an offensive game in him. I still remember that great hook shot it made, the improvement in his free throws and his percentage of 3’s made.

5) Have Jefferson take theses open looks in side the key until they start falling.

6) No matter how this games end, all the players will be on an accelerated development pace, which will bode well in the Big Dance.

[Kedsy]

Ok This forces us to :

1) More Zone ( Save energy, less fouls, better communication, Keep Winslow in longer, more Grayson, and more twin towers.) Maybe throw in a little 1-3-1 with Matt or Winslow at the point disrupting the passing lanes and starting our fast breaks.

2) Have more playing time for Grayson and maybe he settles into his shooting touch and the same for Matt Jones

3) Develop more aggressive offensive player, especially Oakafor. I think Winslow is our only true aggressive offensive player. Maybe Quinn, and Tyus sometimes.

4) Expand Marshalls minutes playing with Oakafor and without, there is an offensive game in him. I still remember that great hook shot it made, the improvement in his free throws and his percentage of 3’s made.

5) Have Jefferson take theses open looks in side the key until they start falling.

6) No matter how this games end, all the players will be on an accelerated development pace, which will bode well in the Big Dance.

I suppose most of these things are possibilities, but I don't think we'll be "forced" to do any of them. Admittedly, it's a little weird to have just 8 scholarship players, but my guess is it affects practice more than games. We rarely played more than 8 guys in a non-blowout before this. This just means we don't have an end-of-the-bench that doesn't get into the games (or possibly just Grayson at the end of the bench).

[Clay Feet POF]

I suppose most of these things are possibilities, but I don't think we'll be "forced" to do any of them. Admittedly, it's a little weird to have just 8 scholarship players, but my guess is it affects practice more than games. We rarely played more than 8 guys in a non-blowout before this. This just means we don't have an end-of-the-bench that doesn't get into the games (or possibly just Grayson at the end of the bench).

What do you see our chances of winning this game (40-30%) if we employ the same defensive pattern as we have this season.

If "Forced" is too strong a word what is one that is more accurate to describe a reaction to our recent events?

[jv001]

I suppose most of these things are possibilities, but I don't think we'll be "forced" to do any of them. Admittedly, it's a little weird to have just 8 scholarship players, but my guess is it affects practice more than games. We rarely played more than 8 guys in a non-blowout before this. This just means we don't have an end-of-the-bench that doesn't get into the games (or possibly just Grayson at the end of the bench).

I agree that if affects practice. I wonder if Jon Scheyer can join, MPIII, Matt Jones, Obi and Grayson for scrimmages. Maybe a chance to call on a Duke alum. Calling Grant, Jay W, or Christian. :cool:GoDuke!

[Wander]

I agree that if affects practice. I wonder if Jon Scheyer can join, MPIII, Matt Jones, Obi and Grayson for scrimmages. Maybe a chance to call on a Duke alum. Calling Grant, Jay W, or Christian. :cool:GoDuke!

It's probably wiser to use a walk-on to complete the 10-man practices, to get them a little bit of experience. Just in case.

[jv001]

It's probably wiser to use a walk-on to complete the 10-man practices, to get them a little bit of experience. Just in case.

Yeh, could keep Christian from pulling a hamstring when he shoots a 3. GoDuke!

[Edouble]

I agree that if affects practice. I wonder if Jon Scheyer can join, MPIII, Matt Jones, Obi and Grayson for scrimmages. Maybe a chance to call on a Duke alum. Calling Grant, Jay W, or Christian. :cool:GoDuke!

Jay can wear his Carolina shorts!

[Kedsy]

What do you see our chances of winning this game (40-30%) if we employ the same defensive pattern as we have this season.

If "Forced" is too strong a word what is one that is more accurate to describe a reaction to our recent events?

I'm sure I could figure out the probability of us winning the game, using Pomeroy or some other computer model, but I don't see the point, and I would never just make up a percentage chance based on my own opinion, because there's clearly little or no value in that.

As far as finding a word to "describe a reaction to our recent events," how about, "I don't think we need any 'reaction' that we didn't already need." (Which I get is 12 words, rather than one.)

Beating Virginia was going to be tough no matter what. If we'd made a couple more layups and/or free throws against Notre Dame and held on to win that game, I doubt you'd even be asking these questions, but it would still have been tough to win in Charlottesville against this year's Virginia team. That hasn't changed, and I don't think we should be "forced" (or any similar word) to make changes that we wouldn't have had to make if we'd beaten Notre Dame.

And since the Notre Dame game, we lost a very talented player, who in my opinion didn't always fully utilize that talent on the court. He will be replaced by other very talented players, who may or may not be as talented as he is and may or may not fully utilize their own talent. But whether or not whoever-picks-up-Rasheed's-minutes will be as effective as Rasheed would have been, I don't think the difference will be so earth-shattering that we'll be forced to do anything different or need to make major changes.

Obviously that's just my opinion. I understand yours may vary. Also, this is the optimism thread.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

What do you see our chances of winning this game (40-30%) if we employ the same defensive pattern as we have this season.

If "Forced" is too strong a word what is one that is more accurate to describe a reaction to our recent events?

As I posted in the pre-game thread, in my dream last night, Duke prevailed over UVa in 2OT by a margin of 994 points. You can take that to the bank. Should be a really impressive last five minutes of basketball. Might want to record it.

[Edouble]

The pressure tonight is squarely and perhaps absolutely on Virginia with Gameday, the unbeaten record, the #2 ranking, etc.

I like our chances. To win against an unbeaten #2 team at their place would give the team a harbor of confidence that they could return to in the darkest moments of a March run.

[Clay Feet POF]

As I posted in the pre-game thread, in my dream last night, Duke prevailed over UVa in 2OT by a margin of 994 points. You can take that to the bank. Should be a really impressive last five minutes of basketball. Might want to record it.



Mr Mum would be proud.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'd like to point out that our team is 7-1 with three wins over top ten teams since the inception of this thread.

I'm considering it a success to this point. But, of course I am... I started the optismist thread!

[Indoor66]

I'd like to point out that our team is 7-1 with three wins over top ten teams since the inception of this thread.

I'm considering it a success to this point. But, of course I am... I started the optismist thread!

That is a somewhat jaded view of the thread, isn't it? :cool:

[peterjswift]

A comment in the VATech OT Post Game thread reminded me of this thread, so here's a bump from someone finding a "positive" from a rough game to watch:


The good news is that if we get in a situation at the end of a game where we have to miss a free throw on purpose we should be good at it.

Sarcastic response aside, this Duke team has has more gritty comebacks than any Duke team I can remember in recent memory. So while there may be some major deficiencies in Duke's game, there is no doubting their ability to circle the wagons and dig deep for some additional energy and motivation to close games out. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones are one of my favorite 1-2 combos I can remember watching. This season has been great so far, and I hope it gets even better.

[Reisen]

I've seen a lot of good Duke teams who didn't know how to win close games. In contrast, this Duke team, who I believe is quite good, has been in a lot of close games, and won all but one of them.

[Kedsy]

I've seen a lot of good Duke teams who didn't know how to win close games. In contrast, this Duke team, who I believe is quite good, has been in a lot of close games, and won all but one of them.

It's not just winning close games. It's keeping your composure when you get behind. Against State and Miami, once we got behind (basically for the first time all season), our players seemed like they had no idea how to come back, a malady that appeared to afflict us last season as well. But since then, we've come back from legitimate second half deficits on multiple occasions (off the top of my head, St. John's, Virginia, UNC, VT, maybe one or two others). That's a special gift for a team, and fortunately for us, this team seems to have it.

[freshmanjs]

It's not just winning close games. It's keeping your composure when you get behind. Against State and Miami, once we got behind (basically for the first time all season), our players seemed like they had no idea how to come back, a malady that appeared to afflict us last season as well. But since then, we've come back from legitimate second half deficits on multiple occasions (off the top of my head, St. John's, Virginia, UNC, VT, maybe one or two others). That's a special gift for a team, and fortunately for us, this team seems to have it.

against State, we had a furious comeback from something like 25 down to 10 or 12 (i don't remember exactly).

this team has the great quality of coming back from behind. but, also has the bad quality of poor stretches of play in many games. lengthy poor stretches against Va Tech, UNC, Syracuse, St Johns, Notre Dame 1, wake, obviously ncsu and miami, virginia, FSU. a bit more consistency and they can become a real force (even moreso than they already are).

[Kedsy]

against State, we had a furious comeback from something like 25 down to 10 or 12 (i don't remember exactly).

State's biggest lead was 19 and we got it down to 7, but by then it was clearly too late. With 9:30 to go in that game we were down by 7. That's when we needed composure, but we didn't show it. In the next four minutes we let them increase their lead to 19, and we no longer had a realistic chance to win the game. From 5:40 to 3 minutes to go, we fought back furiously and got it down to 8, and then to 7 with about a minute and a half to go, but we ran out of gas, which is common when teams attempt to come back from so far behind. Since Miami, however, we've managed to stem the tide at the right time and come all the way back.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Let's bring back this thread! We have anywhere from three to ten games remaining - maintaining optimism is KEY!

We welcomed Grayson Allen into the realm of potential tournament heroes last night! We are riding a great win streak. It's March! Let's go.

[MCFinARL]

Let's bring back this thread! We have anywhere from three to ten games remaining - maintaining optimism is KEY!

We welcomed Grayson Allen into the realm of potential tournament heroes last night! We are riding a great win streak. It's March! Let's go.

Good idea! Lots of cause for optimism now. I am also choosing, perhaps with somewhat less cause, to be optimistic that there will be no more rolled ankles this season....

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Let's bring back this thread! We have anywhere from three to ten games remaining - maintaining optimism is KEY!

We welcomed Grayson Allen into the realm of potential tournament heroes last night! We are riding a great win streak. It's March! Let's go.
Ten (10) games left. This IS the optimist thread, after all! LGD GTHc

[jv001]

Thanks Mountain Devil for bringing this thread back to the top. Now if no one will predict a 35 point win for Duke. That's a might too optimistic.:cool: Beat the Cheaters and GoDuke!

[NYBri]

Optimistic that after the first of our final 10 games our record will be 1-0 ascending from the depths of Hell.

[Clay Feet POF]

Well I'm waiting for Grayson Allen..........Chapter II. Maybe he was just warming up against Wake Forrest!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Anyone NOT optimistic now?

[Hingeknocker]

Hard not to be optimistic looking at a 15-game stretch like this!

4854

[dukelifer]

Coach K WILL fix this. Expect good things in Louisvtlle.

Have to admit that we may have seen K experiment and make adjustments more this season than any in recent memory. He played two groups of five for a while - he zoned a lot (almost one entire game), he managed the loss of two players- he allowed a key reserve (Allen) to get increasingly more playing time down the stretch- he replaced a starter ( Jefferson) with another ( Jones) player and kept the old starter engaged- he found a way for two small point guards to play together and for both to have outstanding years. May have been one of K's best season as a coach.

[Indoor66]

Have to admit that we may have seen K experiment and make adjustments more this season than any in recent memory. He played two groups of five for a while - he zoned a lot (almost one entire game), he managed the loss of two players- he allowed a key reserve (Allen) to get increasingly more playing time down the stretch- he replaced a starter ( Jefferson) with another ( Jones) player and kept the old starter engaged- he found a way for two small point guards to play together and for both to have outstanding years. May have been one of K's best season as a coach.

Do ya think the individual players and their skills and development might have permitted this flexibility? K seems pretty aware to me - not only this year.

[superdave]

Do ya think the individual players and their skills and development might have permitted this flexibility? K seems pretty aware to me - not only this year.

Yes, it certainly helps to have the best big man in college in a while, a tough matchup at the 3, a veteran leader at the 2 and a point guard channeling CP# or Isaiah Thomas. This squad has serious talent and everyone has bought in.

[fuse]

Going to kick this back up to the top.

To borrow from USA soccer:
I
I believe
I believe that
I believe that we
I believe that we will
I believe that we will win!

I believe that we will win!

Time to get healthy, get focused and win one for Quinn!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Going to kick this back up to the top.

To borrow from USA soccer:
I
I believe
I believe that
I believe that we
I believe that we will
I believe that we will win!

I believe that we will win!

Time to get healthy, get focused and win one for Quinn!

Thanks for bringing this back to the front page! We keep playing as long as we keep winning. Let's extend this season a few more weeks.

[Native]

It sucks, but better the ACCs than the NCAAs.

We're going to win this thing.

[Clay Feet POF]

I think maybe we look back at this game and think it’s similar to that 30 point loss to Georgetown with President Obama watching. That year ended OK.

[DBFAN]

All I know is this. When this team feels like they have something to prove, they play better than any team in Country (at least offensively). Well according to some, they got embarrassed by ND, and by their effort. They now have something to prove..

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

How did this fall so far down the board? We are one win away from the Final Four, where we would meet a team that we've already beaten this season for the chance to go to the Kentucky Invitational for a one game playoff! We've lost one game in two months, and are playing great basketball. Let's go get a Big Banner.

GO DUKE

[OZZIE4DUKE]

How did this fall so far down the board? We are one win away from the Final Four, where we would meet a team that we've already beaten this season for the chance to go to the Kentucky Invitational for a one game playoff! We've lost one game in two months, and are playing great basketball. Let's go get a Big Banner.

GO DUKE
Virtual banner Zporkz! Ozzie

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Two more W's from one of the best Duke seasons ever! We get a second shot at a team we beat once, and then another second shot at a team we have beaten or we get to renew the hatred from Lexington for another 25 years!

Destiny!

[Kedsy]

In all history, Duke is 4-0 in Final Fours in cities ending in "-apolis."

[Indoor66]

In all history, Duke is 4-0 in Final Fours in cities ending in "-apolis."

Because Duke is a city-state unto itself.

[devildeac]

In all history, Duke is 4-0 in Final Fours in cities ending in "-apolis."

Technically, we're 8-0 in those cities in Final Fours ;).

[MChambers]

Minneapolis (twice), Indianapolis, and Annapolis?

JK.

[Kedsy]

Technically, we're 8-0 in those cities in Final Fours ;).

I meant 4-0 as in, we came, we saw, we conquered. Big picture for the optimist thread.

[BluDvlsN1]

4944

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Best.

Thread.

Ever.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Let's go get one for K's thumb!

[BluDvlsN1]

Bring it home

49764972497349744975

Best Of luck to all Dukie's, everywhere

1K and Kounting

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Like our fight song says.....

We are gonna win tonight! carolina good night! So turn on the steam, team! Fight Blue Devils fight!

[Newton_14]

Let's Do This!

Go Devils! Bring it home boys!!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Mission accomplished! Best thread ever!

[Skitzle]

Can we add Tyus coming back to this thread?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Like our fight song says.....

We are gonna win tonight! carolina good night! So turn on the steam, team! Fight Blue Devils fight!
I love it when a plan comes together! Life is so bright and sweet on my side of the street! You should come join me more often!

[Indoor66]

Hey, Bo, "Just put your lips together and blow."

[BluDvlsN1]

4990

Congrats to ALL Dukies

[mattman91]

Mission accomplished! Best thread ever!

When will you become Mountail_Devil_91_92_01_10_15? :cool:

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

When will you become Mountail_Devil_91_92_01_10_15? :cool:

Maybe I wait til next April so I can just change it once! It is an optimism thread afterall.

[Clay Feet POF]

I’m leaning towards Tyus staying one more year. I think his biggest needs are to attain a NBA body and maybe some minor improvements in this game. If this would happen maybe there’s a small chance Okafor thinks of staying with his 3rd grade buddy. The Champion game showed Jah has room for more improvement than Tyus. I think he needs to improve 1) Conditioning 2) Free Throws 3) Defense, its puzzling that his great Offensive Footwork seems not to transfer as well on the defensive end. 4) Gaining a short jump shot.

Another factor is that both guys really (from what I read, heard) enjoy the Duke experience which has a short life span.

Ricky Winslow is the definitely most NBA ready and really has no need to stay.

Anyways I’m thankful for this thread, because the above comments would be hard to place in another thread.

[Kedsy]

Ricky Winslow is the definitely most NBA ready and really has no need to stay.

Well, Rickie Winslow is 51 years old. Justise Winslow, on the other hand...

[Clay Feet POF]

Well, Rickie Winslow is 51 years old. Justise Winslow, on the other hand...


Do you ever Sleep? Thanks

[heyman25]

A Duke Parent, a renowned Opthomologist has a great recruiting tool story.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/04/07/duke-real-victory-balance-beyond-basketball-academics/

[nmduke2001]

Justise just said on SVP and Russillo if Tyus, Jahlil and Grayson stay it would be hard to leave.

I know that won't happen but it would be really cool if it did.

[arnie]

Justise just said on the SVP and Russillo if Tyus, Jahlil and Grayson stay it would be hard to leave.

I know that won't happen but it would be really cool if it did.

Wouldn't it be great if they all stayed and attributed Bo's rent-a-player comment as a primary reason.

[BluDvlsN1]

In the event anyone may have not seen:

Enjoy, it's a beautiful thing..
2015 National Champions
Cameron Indoor Stadium Scoreboard


5014

[Clay Feet POF]

After watching the Championship game for the 20th time and still getting that after glow, I start to have sugar plums rolling in my head about next years team. These are the things I think need to happen to be considered for a one or two seed in 15-16 NCAA tourney.

Amile! If Coach K suggest he stay in Durham (Like Cook did last year) and hone his shooting from the key that would add a Big offensive dimension we didn’t have last year.

I would like to see him take 20,000-25,000 shots from inside the key, until he can hit it almost blindfolded. I figure with the help of some Student Managers and the Basketball Cannon he could attempt (Conservatively) 4 a minute for 2 hours a day. It could be done (Google Dr Tom Amberry) in about 42-52 Days, and would enhance his NBA chances.

Thornton! Derryck has to be a pass first, and a scorer when needed. I believe good passing is contagious, and really sets an example. In 12-13 Duke had 509 Assist with 3 players (Cook, Suleiman, and Thornton) accounting for 60% of the total. In 13-14 Assists were 588 with 3 players (Tyus, Quinn and Justise) accounting for 68%. It would be great if he could sprinkle in some full court passes to loosen up the defense ala Tyus.
.
Grayson! He has to continue to be the “Let’s Go” guy (Taking Cook role) and looks to be our big time scorer.

Matt, Marshall. Will have to continue their solid play and look to increase their scoring.

New Arrivals Hoping they can contribute as their ranking would indicate.

Coach K will be looking for a faster player development plan. Thinking back would there be a “Grayson Allen Tourney story” if Semi and Suleiman were on the team, and would Duke be hanging a fifth National banner.

Who knows, maybe like the 67 Ice Bowl we sneak in for SIX

What a pleasure it is to post to this thread, Thanks Mountain