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View Full Version : Does Duke have the best backcourt?



Wander
02-21-2015, 08:02 PM
The most adorable moment from the UNC game was Quinn interrupting the Tyus Jones postgame interview to shout "I love you bro! Best backcourt!"

Is he right? Here are what I think are the contenders in no particular order with their top four guys:

Duke: Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, Matt Jones, Grayson Allen
Virginia: London Perrantes, Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Anderson, Mariel Shayok
Kentucky: Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker
Wichita State: Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton, Evan Wessel
Louisville: Terry Rozier, Chris Jones, Quentin Snider, Anton Gill
Oklahoma: Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard, Frank Booker

Obviously, there is stuff to argue about. There are many, many great guards left off this list because I was looking for teams that had multiple great guards, although I suppose you could argue some guys are good enough by themselves to put their team up there (Ohio State, Gonzaga, Utah, Notre Dame).

Earlier this season I would have said that our backcourt wasn't good enough defensively to be the top one - but the switch to zone and a bunch of good performances, including Quinn Cook owning Marcus Paige, have me rethinking that. Is Duke the best one?

grossbus
02-21-2015, 08:05 PM
I don't know the answer to that question, but there is no question about which backcourt I want.

AIRFORCEDUKIE
02-21-2015, 08:05 PM
Obvi

Tripping William
02-21-2015, 08:06 PM
Obvi

Obvi the answer is "no" because Quinn & Tyus give up too many points defensively. :rolleyes:

gurufrisbee
02-21-2015, 09:00 PM
100%!!!

Before the season started my dad, a huge Gonzaga fan, pointed out that one of the pre-season magazines ranked Gonzaga's backcourt led by seniors Pangos and Gary Bell as the best in the nation. I countered that while I liked that one a lot (and I still do), I thought Duke's would be even better. My dad told me Duke's was ranked 6th by them. And that was with Sheed! Obviously it gets murkier if you're talking about two or three starters and if you're just talking about starters or also the bench, but I will say with ZERO hesitation that there is no backcourt duo in the country better than Cook and Tyus.

Wahoo2000
02-21-2015, 09:09 PM
100%!!!

Before the season started my dad, a huge Gonzaga fan, pointed out that one of the pre-season magazines ranked Gonzaga's backcourt led by seniors Pangos and Gary Bell as the best in the nation. I countered that while I liked that one a lot (and I still do), I thought Duke's would be even better. My dad told me Duke's was ranked 6th by them. And that was with Sheed! Obviously it gets murkier if you're talking about two or three starters and if you're just talking about starters or also the bench, but I will say with ZERO hesitation that there is no backcourt duo in the country better than Cook and Tyus.

They way they're shooting the 3 ball right now, and with the zone to cover their man to man defensive issues, I'd agree with this. The only thing I don't like about Duke's backcourt (other than that we have to play against them), is that they're not SUPER well-rounded. They lack size and aren't terrific defenders or rebounders from the guard position. But if you have a HOF coach who can gameplan around it, I guess it doesn't really matter.

The whole team actually looks great to me right now, only weakness seems to be a lack of depth. Hoping that helps us out a lot should we both get to Saturday night in the ACC tourney final. Hopefully 3 days in a row of 35 min combined with our grinding style has them missing jumpers late. I hope we get to watch that game either way though - so until then, good luck to you guys!

Newton_14
02-21-2015, 10:39 PM
They way they're shooting the 3 ball right now, and with the zone to cover their man to man defensive issues, I'd agree with this. The only thing I don't like about Duke's backcourt (other than that we have to play against them), is that they're not SUPER well-rounded. They lack size and aren't terrific defenders or rebounders from the guard position. But if you have a HOF coach who can gameplan around it, I guess it doesn't really matter.

The whole team actually looks great to me right now, only weakness seems to be a lack of depth. Hoping that helps us out a lot should we both get to Saturday night in the ACC tourney final. Hopefully 3 days in a row of 35 min combined with our grinding style has them missing jumpers late. I hope we get to watch that game either way though - so until then, good luck to you guys!

Have to disagree with the bold. Tyus rebounds really well from the guard position and Quinn has rebounded quite well this year as well. They lack size for sure and both are susceptible off the bounce defensively, but rebounding is not an issue for either one actually.

moonpie23
02-21-2015, 11:34 PM
yes, we do

Kedsy
02-21-2015, 11:44 PM
The only thing I don't like about Duke's backcourt (other than that we have to play against them), is that they're not SUPER well-rounded. They lack size and aren't terrific defenders or rebounders from the guard position.

I agree with Newton_14 on this one. Based on rebounding percentages, if you compare Cook/T Jones to Perrantes/Brogdon as rebounding tandems, the Duke duo is superior at offensive rebounding and about the same (a teeny bit worse) at defensive rebounding:

QC: 1.1% OR; 9.2% DR
TJ: 2.3% OR; 9.9% DR

LP: 0.1% OR; 7.9% DR
MB: 1.8% OR; 12.1% DR

So while Duke's starting guards may not be "terrific" rebounders, they're at least as good at rebounding as Virginia's starting guards.

I'll grant you that Virginia's guards are bigger and are better defenders, though.

Run and Gun
02-22-2015, 10:18 AM
Greetings - I don't think they are the best, I'd place them in top three. The bigger question for me is, whether or not Ty will be back next year. He needs get stronger and I'm sure that will happen with age, but I'm wondering if he might do better taking the money while it's available. Time has a way of exposing your weaknesses. Either way I still think he is a first rounder this year. It will be interesting to see how his team advises him.

Wahoo2000
02-22-2015, 03:52 PM
I agree with Newton_14 on this one. Based on rebounding percentages, if you compare Cook/T Jones to Perrantes/Brogdon as rebounding tandems, the Duke duo is superior at offensive rebounding and about the same (a teeny bit worse) at defensive rebounding:

QC: 1.1% OR; 9.2% DR
TJ: 2.3% OR; 9.9% DR

LP: 0.1% OR; 7.9% DR
MB: 1.8% OR; 12.1% DR

So while Duke's starting guards may not be "terrific" rebounders, they're at least as good at rebounding as Virginia's starting guards.

I'll grant you that Virginia's guards are bigger and are better defenders, though.

For UVA's guards, the low OR% is a function of us ALWAYS sending the 1-3 back when the shot goes up to prevent transition. The only ORs our guards will ever get is off their own miss in close, or tapouts from the bigs. And while I think Brogdon is a superior rebounder to Cook or Tyus, I think Perrantes is probably the lowest of the four. (fwiw, I was never trying to say that UVA's guards were superior rebounders to Duke's - just that there are better rebounding backcourts out there (but maybe none who are as good offensively).

Wander
02-22-2015, 05:42 PM
Well, never mind about Louisville, I guess.

devildeac
02-22-2015, 06:51 PM
Well, never mind about Louisville, I guess.

Temporarily at least:rolleyes:;).

CDu
02-22-2015, 07:05 PM
I think there is a strong argument in favor of Cook and Jones as the best starting backcourt. I think Grant and Jackson should be in the discussion. But I would take Cook and Jones over any duo in the top ten.

Bay Area Duke Fan
02-22-2015, 08:00 PM
I'll vote for Cook and Jones if Duke wins on April 6.