MBB: Duke 90, SDSU 64 Post-Game Thread

[Bob Green]

Discuss the game here.

[DukeWarhead]

Was going to gush, but the last 3.5 minutes tasted bad. But that’s a small gripe.

[Troublemaker]

Most entertaining Duke team to watch (which is different from best) since '99? '92? I love watching these guys play basketball.

[Faustus]

Last 3.5 minutes doesn't matter. Rest up the starters for big game with Auburn in 24 hours.

[AGDukesky]

Perfect scenario - no big minutes from starters and bench players contributed well

[Skydog]

SDSU played great D in the first half. Lanes were clogged and hard to get open looks. RJ's ability to score contested 3's really helped us stay on track and then finally pull away. He is our best player at creating his own shot. I think that will come into play more and more as the opponents get tougher.

[jwillfan]

Jack White. So solid, Go Go Gadget Arms for rebounding and a banger...sweet stroke from 3 and the FT Line (which we desperately need). What's not to like?

[UrinalCake]

Nice contributions from lots of different players. Biggest areas for improvement are too much fouling on defense from the bigs, and also getting too reliant on the three. But hard to complain when we win by that kind of margin.

[Saratoga2]

Interesting game with all of the best Duke players having good games. Tre Jones appeared to have an excellent game and I continue to be impressed with Jack White and I think the coaches are as well.

I did think the guys needed to understand how to deal with the zone defense. We tried to drive into the teeth of it for a while and had trouble with offensive fouls and turnovers. Great learning experience for us. Our 3 point shooting kind of killed the zone effectiveness.

We did get into foul trouble but we have so much ability that any one of the big three can rack up points. Our foul shooting could use some improvement and while I love Alex O'Connell's ability, he doesn't seem to get his shot off enough. He is just one more offensive weapon and it would be great for the team if he could be a little more aggressive and effective.

Goldwire is a capable ball handler and defensive player but he doesn't shoot too well

Our bigs do their job although too many fouls. They need to clean that up as the season progresses.

Good game for us and no one played really big minutes. They should be ready for Auburn.

[-jk]

Jack MF-ing White. So solid, Go Go Gadget Arms for rebounding and a banger...sweet stroke from 3 and the FT Line (which we desperately need). What's not to like?

If I'm seeing a valid box score, Jack got the most minutes!

-jk

[MrPoon]

I also thought this is another game where Bolden continued to grow. His box score isn’t anything special but I thought he was effective, not Jack White effective but who can live up to that standard!?!?

Tre’s pass the length of the court was absurd. He gets the least amount of attention but this guy is really really good.
Cam can turn it on when he wants to and when he does, the results are shocking. Love that he was talking junk during the game, the more fire we get from him the better.

I found myself disappointed up only 10 in the first 5 or so minutes because everything wasn’t perfect. What a team that they’ve tricked me into expecting that level and its their fourth game. Amazing. Hardly a perfect game but against a prepared, defensive minded team and it was 87 with about four to go, crazy.

[dukelifer]

If I'm seeing a valid box score, Jack got the most minutes!

-jk

Captain Jack is the glue that holds this team together. Very impressive start to the season.

[OldPhiKap]

Captain Jack is the glue that holds this team together. Very impressive start to the season.

He’s the rum that blends the drink.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

He’s the rum that blends the drink.

...don't you mean Foster's Lager?

[OldPhiKap]

^^ When he stirs the drink, does it circulate counter-clockwise?

[devildeac]

Captain Jack is the glue that holds this team together. Very impressive start to the season.

Did he take you to your special island?

[Neals384]

^^ When he stirs the drink, does it circulate counter-clockwise?

Oops. It's clockwise down under.

Love that Jack played so well with Dad in the crowd.

[devildeac]

If I'm seeing a valid box score, Jack got the most minutes!

-jk

He did indeed with 28 minutes.

He also got the most rebounds with 8.

[dukelifer]

Did he take you to your special island?

All I know is that Captain Jack got Duke by tonight

[OldPhiKap]

Oops. It's clockwise down under.

Love that Jack played so well with Dad in the crowd.

Depends which way your bed is spinning, I guess.

[kako]

Barrett doesn't seem to get as much love as he deserves. He's not a Duke legacy like Jones. He's not the next coming of LeBron like Zion. He's not the plucky underdog that's been steadily carving out his role like White. He just leads Duke in scoring (again). It kind of reminds me of the '89-90 season with Phil Henderson. Everybody wanted to talk about Hurley as an amazing freshman, or Laettner as the budding star, or how Abdelnaby was finally coming into his own. Henderson (RIP) just led the team in scoring, nailing 3's like an assassin (before the Alaskan Assassin). Barrett's game actually reminds me of Henderson's. Anyway, props to Barrett for his scoring, going 3-6 from 3. Plus he led Duke in assists today with a 5:1 turnover ratio.

[rsvman]

Barrett rules.

Imagine if he could shoot free throws.

[UrinalCake]

I feel like Barrett gets enough pub, given that he's the projected #1 pick and that fact is mentioned numerous times every game. Reddish though, he played arguably the best of the three tonight yet ESPN's highlight video was titled "Barrett and Williamson shine as Duke dominates."

[brlftz]

It kind of reminds me of the '89-90 season with Phil Henderson

You mean Phil “I dunked on Alonzo Mourning” Henderson?

The Chronicle after that game was so good.

[Newton_14]

Man what a fun team to watch! There were at least 7 or 8 WOW plays across multiple players in this game. Tre's And-1 layup, a Zion putback one handed that didn't even count, Zion's breakaway windmill dunk with head at the rim, a Zion rebound in traffic, multiple Cam And-1 ridiculously hard, incredible english making the ball roll in, RJ And-1, RJ draining difficult 3's, Jack White, Jack White, Jack White. How is it that his hand is always the highest in those standing jumps for rebounds? Dude has velcro hands too.

My absolute favorite part of the game though? Jack talking smack after driving baseline and going up strong! Since we don't know what was said in the exchanges allow me to use percentages to guesstimate on what they said. As the players are getting up after the foul call, SDS Player: That's BS man, I blocked that clean! Jack White (laughing) yeah whatever mate! Jack arrives at foul line. SDS Player Behind Jack: Dude you know that won't no foul! You can't score on me bro! Jack White (Smiling): Yet here I am at the foul line mate!


I thought Bolden, Javin, Jordan, and Alex all gave really good minutes as well. Great team effort today. On to Auburn!

Con: These guys have to cut down on the fouls. That's the biggest issue as of right now. Thank goodness we have a solid bench!

List of biggest myths/inaccurate assessments by pundits to date:
1. RJ can't shoot (umm, ok. if you say so)
2. Cam can't shoot (umm, yeah)
3. Tre can't shoot (umm sure, let's go with that)
4. All Zion can do is dunk (umm yeah, about that)
5. Kentucky has a better bench, deeper than Duke (umm, sure 10 deep just isn't enough)

[Billy Dat]

Props on this post-game thread, DBRers. There are great points and observations in every post.

Very excited to play Auburn. They are a tough, veteran, older squad.

I am really digging Reddish’s continued emergence. He seems to be building a real distinct and dominant on court personality and seems to be a great teammate. Tre and Jack are also standouts for me from tonight’s game.

All I want to do is gush about this team but I am trying to control myself.

[OldPhiKap]

Props on this post-game thread, DBRers. There are great points and observations in every post.

Very excited to play Auburn. They are a tough, veteran, older squad.

I am really digging Reddish’s continued emergence. He seems to be building a real distinct and dominant on court personality and seems to be a great teammate. Tre and Jack are also standouts for me from tonight’s game.

All I want to do is gush about this team but I am trying to control myself.

I noticed something interesting in the post game presser, where K brought out Cam and Tre. When the press asked a question of both players, Tre always waited for Cam to answer first. Might mean nothing, but I took it as a sign that Cam is a leader in the group.

[elvis14]

My absolute favorite part of the game though? Jack talking smack after driving baseline and going up strong! Since we don't know what was said in the exchanges allow me to use percentages to guesstimate on what they said. As the players are getting up after the foul call, SDS Player: That's BS man, I blocked that clean! Jack White (laughing) yeah whatever mate! Jack arrives at foul line. SDS Player Behind Jack: Dude you know that won't no foul! You can't score on me bro! Jack White (Smiling): Yet here I am at the foul line mate!



I love the amused look on Jack's face as he went to the foul line to put us up by 30. My favorite part of that whole thing was on the next trip down the court the SDSU player that was talking smack tried to drive and Goldwire just knocked him on his arse. Loved that! Up by 30, take the foul. Way to send a message.

Jack is really playing at a high level. He blocks out better than the rest of the team and when he's hitting his 3's it add's greatly to the offense.

[BandAlum83]

I noticed something interesting in the post game presser, where K brought out Cam and Tre. When the press asked a question of both players, Tre always waited for Cam to answer first. Might mean nothing, but I took it as a sign that Cam is a leader in the group.

I would take that as Tre being a true pass first guard! Cam is seen as the quiet one of the group. It might be that Tre wants to encourage him to get his due. If so, that makes Tre even more of a natural leader.

[OldPhiKap]

I would take that as Tre being a true pass first guard! Cam is seen as the quiet one of the group. It might be that Tre wants to encourage him to get his due. If so, that makes Tre even more of a natural leader.

Take a look at it — I don’t think it was Tre building up Cam. Cam is a natural and Tre deferred to him. At least in that setting, as I see it.

You (and others) may see it different though.

[BandAlum83]

Take a look at it — I don’t think it was Tre building up Cam. Cam is a natural and Tre deferred to him. At least in that setting, as I see it.

You (and others) may see it different though.

I was speculating only. I haven't seen it yet. When I do, I'll let you know my impression. You could very well be right! :)

[Kedsy]

ADVANCED STATS

Possessions: 72.49 (about the same as last game)

OFFENSE

oRtg: 1.24 (pretty good against a good defensive team)
eFG%: 59.6% (strong, just a tad worse than the 62.0% we put against UK)
3pt%: 40.0% (including the October exhibitions, we've been 40% or better from three in 5 of 6 games)
2pt%: 59.4% (in three of our four regular season games, we've shot 2-pointers between 58.5% and 59.6%; the "outlier": 55.6% against Army)
%threes: 43.9% (probably too high, but if you shoot 40%+ from out there, who cares?)
FT rate: 59.6.8% (by far our best regular season free throw rate performance of the year)
OR%: 38.9% (not the 52.3% we put up against Eastern Michigan, but still really good)
TO%: 20.6% (bad, but it's our first bad turnover game of the season)
a/to: 0.80:1 (bad, but first game under 2:1 in any game Tre has played in)
%assisted: 41.4% (not great)
fast break pts: 25 fb pts for 27.8% (another very strong performance)

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.88 (even against an offensively-challenged team like SD State, I'll take it)
eFG%: 41.5% (ditto)
3pt%: 28.6% (ditto ditto)
2pt%: 40.6% (ditto ditto ditto)
%threes: 39.6% (a lot, but since they didn't hit so many, we can live with it)
FT rate: 50.9% (we're Jekyll-and-Hyde when it comes to defensive free throw rate: 2 games under 10%; 2 games over 50%)
DR%: 78.4% (excellent; best defensive rebounding performance of the season)
TO%: 17.9% (acceptable, barely)
a/to: 0.62:1 (very strong)
%assisted: 42.1% (pretty nice)
fast break pts: 2 fb pts in first half; box score didn't say in second half (really good, in the first half anyway; second half was probably also good)
block%: 7.5%; 12.9% of 2-point shots (not bad)


Overall, a strong performance. I haven't run the numbers on this, but I bet the performance looked way stronger at the point we called off the dogs with an 87-53 lead and over 6 minutes to play.

[JasonEvans]

2. Cam can't shoot (umm, yeah)

Cam has always been considered an excellent shooter. He was thought to be one of the best 3-point threats in the freshman class. In fact, the reason he has been considered as good, if not better, of a NBA prospect as Zion and RJ is because he is seen as a far better outside shooter.

Just clarifying...

[brlftz]

11 fouls in 38 minutes for our center rotation of Bolden Delaurier and Vrank. Foul trouble and a bad shooting night will happen eventually.

[UrinalCake]

I noticed something interesting in the post game presser, where K brought out Cam and Tre. When the press asked a question of both players, Tre always waited for Cam to answer first. Might mean nothing, but I took it as a sign that Cam is a leader in the group.

I don't think it was an accident that K selected Cam for the post-game presser. He had a great game and was assertive on both ends and I think K wants him to step up and take on more of a leadership role as you said.

Another thing I noticed about the game was that a lot of our fouls came when fighting for rebounds. Our bigs have a tendency to concede position and just try to outjump their man. Bagley did this all the time too and it drove me crazy. If everyone boxed out the way Jack does we would be a dominant rebounding team.

[subzero02]

I don't think it was an accident that K selected Cam for the post-game presser. He had a great game and was assertive on both ends and I think K wants him to step up and take on more of a leadership role as you said.

Another thing I noticed about the game was that a lot of our fouls came when fighting for rebounds. Our bigs have a tendency to concede position and just try to outjump their man. Bagley did this all the time too and it drove me crazy. If everyone boxed out the way Jack does we would be a dominant rebounding team.

I was impressed by Cam during the beach walk/discussion with Bilas. He is obviously a very bright young man with incredible potential. This group is uber athletic and very skilled but the characteristic that might put us over the top is the intelligence of our players as a whole. By the end of the year, we could become a defensive juggernaut.

[Troublemaker]

List of biggest myths/inaccurate assessments by pundits to date:
1. RJ can't shoot (umm, ok. if you say so)
2. Cam can't shoot (umm, yeah)
3. Tre can't shoot (umm sure, let's go with that)
4. All Zion can do is dunk (umm yeah, about that)
5. Kentucky has a better bench, deeper than Duke (umm, sure 10 deep just isn't enough)

6. Duke can't play defense. Especially the OADs.
7. With all these freshmen, Duke will struggle early in the season, but by March, we'll really have something to watch!

[camion]

ADVANCED STATS

Possessions: 72.49 (about the same as last game)

OFFENSE
FT rate: 59.6.8% (by far our best regular season free throw rate performance of the year)

DEFENSE
FT rate: 50.9% (we're Jekyll-and-Hyde when it comes to defensive free throw rate: 2 games under 10%; 2 games over 50%)


Overall, a strong performance. I haven't run the numbers on this, but I bet the performance looked way stronger at the point we called off the dogs with an 87-53 lead and over 6 minutes to play.

Both offensive and defensive Free throw rates are high. Perhaps both teams were fouling with unusual frequency. Perhaps the referees were calling things tight, weren't "letting them play."

[-jk]

Both offensive and defensive Free throw rates are high. Perhaps both teams were fouling with unusual frequency. Perhaps the referees were calling things tight, weren't "letting them play."

Yeah, it's November. By January, they'll be "letting them play."

Alas...

-jk

[PackMan97]

Just looked at the box score. Time to panic!

Dukes starters must have been injured, they hardly played. Awful shooting night, barely above 50%. Dukes defense really struggled and couldn't force many turnovers. Offense was stagnat barely scoring 90 points. Given what you guys did to Kentucky there has been so much regression. If we project this out to the end of the season, you will lose to Wake and Pitt and probably not make the NCAAT. Y'all should just stop playing basketball now to save yourself from embarrassment. Definitely. Quit while you are undefeated.

[camion]

Yeah, it's November. By January, they'll be "letting them play."

Alas...

-jk

I feel it.

My college roommate was on the wrestling team. He wasn't fleet of foot, but I think he would have been a superior defender in basketball if the referees would let him play. :)

[bluenorth]

A lot of positives from this game. On defence I liked the way that the bigs rotated over to give weakside help. Yes, they ran into foul trouble but Coach K had enough confidence to shuttle in Bolden, DeLaurier and Vrankovic so that the load was shared. With 15 fouls to give from that trio, opponents will pay a price to get to the rim.
It was hard to tell from the TV feed, but the communication seemed to be good. Plus the players are still enjoying being with each other.
The team should be as well rested as possible for today's game, while for Auburn to recover from a hard overtime game will be more difficult.

Free throw shooting continues to be a concern. In a close game I would be happy to see Reddish go to the line; not so much for Barrett or Williamson.

[Indoor66]

Just looked at the box score. Time to panic!

Dukes starters must have been injured, they hardly played. Awful shooting night, barely above 50%. Dukes defense really struggled and couldn't force many turnovers. Offense was stagnat barely scoring 90 points. Given what you guys did to Kentucky there has been so much regression. If we project this out to the end of the season, you will lose to Wake and Pitt and probably not make the NCAAT. Y'all should just stop playing basketball now to save yourself from embarrassment. Definitely. Quit while you are undefeated.

Alas, you are a full fledged DBR pessimist filled with doom, gloom, and boom. You fit in perfectly.😂 🤣😎

[rsvman]

A lot of positives from this game. On defence I liked the way that the bigs rotated over to give weakside help. Yes, they ran into foul trouble but Coach K had enough confidence to shuttle in Bolden, DeLaurier and Vrankovic so that the load was shared. With 15 fouls to give from that trio, opponents will pay a price to get to the rim.
It was hard to tell from the TV feed, but the communication seemed to be good. Plus the players are still enjoying being with each other.
The team should be as well rested as possible for today's game, while for Auburn to recover from a hard overtime game will be more difficult.

Free throw shooting continues to be a concern. In a close game I would be happy to see Reddish go to the line; not so much for Barrett or Williamson.

Jack White seems to be pretty reliable from the free throw line, as well.

[PackMan97]

Alas, you are a full fledged DBR pessimist filled with doom, gloom, and boom. You fit in perfectly.😂 🤣😎

With my new position, do I need to start a "what's wrong with Zion" thread? He missed 6 shots last night and had only missed 7 shots in his first three games!

[jv001]

A good win against a pretty good team. Some takeaways from the game:

1) Tre Jones continues to be the on court leader. 14 points, 6-7, shooting 2-2 from three, but missed all 3 of his FTS and had 2 assists and turnovers. Plus/minus +27
2) RJ lead the scoring with 20 points, had 5 assists and only 1 turnover, 3-6 from three, made 7-9 of his FTs and he showed why he'll be go in the first 3 NBA draftees.
3) Cam scored 16 points, took the ball to the basket and showed he could finish. He was 6-10 from the field and 2-5 from three.
4) Zion only scored 13 points but he did some amazing things once again. He had 6 rebounds, had a great dunk and had 5 steals. He's all over the court.
5) Our man Captain Jack White had another solid game with 12 points, lead the team with 8 rebounds, shot 3-5 from the field, 2-4 from three, made 4-4 FTs, only had 1 foul in a game that most of the team was in foul trouble and he lead the team in minutes with 28. I thought Bilas said that his dad was there to see him play his first Duke game. If so, Jack didn't disappoint.
Marques and Javin played also played well(minus foul trouble).
Looking forward to see Duke play a good experienced Auburn team. It should be a good game.

GoDuke!

[wilson]

With my new position, do I need to start a "what's wrong with Zion" thread? He missed 6 shots last night and had only missed 7 shots in his first three games!Zion Williamson's shot vigil

[PackMan97]

Zion Williamson's shot vigil

Great! I'll get on that right after I take care of the "Duke Dunk Vigil" thread. Only two dunks last night? It's almost as if SDSU was trying to win the game.

[uh_no]

at 6:49 left in the game, it was 86-51. and there were 59 possessions. and the dogs were largely called off

146-86 efficiency which adjusts to

152 offense
81.5 defense


To put that in perspective, the best offense "so far" this year is duke at 119 and the D is michigan at 87. To put it in more perspective, the best defense ever in the KP era is 2009 memphis at 84.2.

Preseason bias or not, only michigan's defense has come anywhere close to the level duke is playing on either side of the ball, and they'll have a lot to prove with their tough 4 game stretch of UNC, purdue, NW, and USC.

[WVDUKEFAN]

Great game and great observations. I'd like to throw a shout out to Mr. Goldwire. He contributed some positive minutes. It's nice to know that if K needs to spell him or call him to the bench to coach, if necessary. I was impressed with Jack White and his set shot (at least I thought it was more of a set shot than a jump shot). He squared up knocked down some key shots in the beginning. Lastly, your Mr. Robinson showed that he truly earned his scholarship.

[camion]

And my favorite play of the night: Reddish rebound to Jones to White for the layup. Just a beautiful pass by Tre.

A Link (https://youtu.be/KLYEGvKIyo8?t=323)

[Indoor66]

I was impressed that Zion did not get impatient and try to force things. He accepted the double team and made his teammates better. He is not an insecure stats hog.

[elvis14]

And my favorite play of the night: Reddish rebound to Jones to White for the layup. Just a beautiful pass by Tre.

A Link (https://youtu.be/KLYEGvKIyo8?t=323)

I was watching the game with a friend and when Tre made that pass the first thing I said was "That's a Tyus pass right there". Loved the way Tyus would use the long pass to push the ball (he killed UVa with that).

[luvdahops]

I was watching the game with a friend and when Tre made that pass the first thing I said was "That's a Tyus pass right there". Loved the way Tyus would use the long pass to push the ball (he killed UVa with that).

I coach 7th grade travel basketball, and am constantly emphasizing to my players that:

1) The ball moves faster with passes than with dribbles

2) The best fast breaks are when the ball never hits the floor

Every now and then, they actually take these points to heart, and it is beautiful to watch, even at that level

[dukelifer]

Just looked at the box score. Time to panic!

Dukes starters must have been injured, they hardly played. Awful shooting night, barely above 50%. Dukes defense really struggled and couldn't force many turnovers. Offense was stagnat barely scoring 90 points. Given what you guys did to Kentucky there has been so much regression. If we project this out to the end of the season, you will lose to Wake and Pitt and probably not make the NCAAT. Y'all should just stop playing basketball now to save yourself from embarrassment. Definitely. Quit while you are undefeated.

I think it is tired legs- or maybe the Freshman wall.

[camion]

I think it is tired legs- or maybe the Freshman wall.

I don't think Zion will hit the freshman wall.

Zion IS the freshman wall. :)

[Kedsy]

I don't think Zion will hit the freshman wall.

If he does, I pity the wall.

[UrinalCake]

I was watching the game with a friend and when Tre made that pass the first thing I said was "That's a Tyus pass right there". Loved the way Tyus would use the long pass to push the ball (he killed UVa with that).

One of the things I've started paying attention to this season is the number of times we get the ball down the court and put up a shot with the ball only being dribbled one or in some cases zero times. It happens 2 or 3 times per game, and is really awesome to see. Puts so much pressure on the opposing defense when they have in their minds that they have to sprint back almost as soon as they put up a shot, for fear that we will beat them down the court.

[uh_no]

I coach 7th grade travel basketball

was tyler hansbrough on your team?

[devildeac]

was tyler hansbrough on your team?

Or Tami?

[dball]

I don't think Zion will hit the freshman wall.

Zion IS the freshman wall. :)

You want Zion on that wall. You need Zion on that wall. (Apologies to Jack N.)

[dukelifer]

I don't think Zion will hit the freshman wall.

Zion IS the freshman wall. :)

Yes I worry about our players hitting that wall as well in practice.

[Skydog]

Raise your hand if this is you foresaw this particular stat: Marquis Bolden, 4 gms, 18.2 min/gm, 0.0 TO% (nat rank, 1)

[Neals384]

I thought SDSU actually had a good game plan. Drive at Zion, try to get him in foul trouble. Limit Duke fast break opportunities. Make free throws. Limit turnovers.


Free throw shooting continues to be a concern. In a close game I would be happy to see Reddish go to the line; not so much for Barrett or Williamson.

Reddish has a beautiful free throw stroke. Zion's is more of a shot put. And Tre's form is just bad. Maybe Cam could coach the other guys on form?


I thought Bilas said that his dad was there to see him play his first Duke game. If so, Jack didn't disappoint.

Yes, Dad was there! What a great game for his first Duke game! Proud poppa, I bet!

[sagegrouse]

Yes, Dad was there! What a great game for his first Duke game! Proud poppa, I bet!

Ah, yes! Sun dawns over Marblehead! Melbourne is a heckuva lot closer to Maui than to Durham. Plus, you end up in Hawaii.

[BandAlum83]

Take a look at it — I don’t think it was Tre building up Cam. Cam is a natural and Tre deferred to him. At least in that setting, as I see it.

You (and others) may see it different though.

I was finally able to take a look. On the first question, Tre looked over and nodded to Cam. He was clearly passing it to Cam. On the next questions, Cam more naturally answered first.

I will say (again), the camera work was really bad. I watched the version that is on Goduke.com The close ups on Tre while questions were being asked didn't allow us to really see the dynamics, or even get a sense of engagement with the questioner or each other. the person on camera was clearly seated very close to the dais, but could have gotten wider angle shots.

At least unlike last time, this time it didn't look like it was recorded from a taxi cab bouncing down the streets of Manhattan, so there is that I suppose.

[BandAlum83]

at 6:49 left in the game, it was 86-51. and there were 59 possessions. and the dogs were largely called off

146-86 efficiency which adjusts to

152 offense
81.5 defense


To put that in perspective, the best offense "so far" this year is duke at 119 and the D is michigan at 87. To put it in more perspective, the best defense ever in the KP era is 2009 memphis at 84.2.

Preseason bias or not, only michigan's defense has come anywhere close to the level duke is playing on either side of the ball, and they'll have a lot to prove with their tough 4 game stretch of UNC, purdue, NW, and USC.

This was such a great post, and provides such great information that I had to call it out to the entire board. A spork alone just didn't seem like enough. Thanks for this, uh_no!

[BandAlum83]

I don't think Zion will hit the freshman wall.

Zion IS the freshman wall. :)

Speaking of Zion as The Freshman Wall...

A focus for this year's team is the "stand-still 3." Motion will create a lot of opportunities, so Coach K wants everyone to be able to hit them.

Zion has masterd the "stand-still screen." Watch this 3 pointer by Reddish during the Ky game. Zion is basically a wall as he "sets" a screen. He is standing still and doesn't even brace himself as EJ Montgomery (6'10", 235#) bounces off of Zion.

Zion IS the wall!

Watch the sequence beginning at about :44 seconds. I wish I knoew how to make a GIF of this.

https://youtu.be/ew_rPrCfyYg

[Neals384]

Speaking of Zion as The Freshman Wall...

A focus for this year's team is the "stand-still 3." Motion will create a lot of opportunities, so Coach K wants everyone to be able to hit them.

Zion has masterd the "stand-still screen." Watch this 3 pointer by Reddish during the Ky game. Zion is basically a wall as he "sets" a screen. He is standing still and doesn't even brace himself as EJ Montgomery (6'10", 235#) bounces off of Zion.

Zion IS the wall!

Watch the sequence beginning at about :44 seconds. I wish I knoew how to make a GIF of this.

https://youtu.be/ew_rPrCfyYg

No need for a shorter gif. That linky is all fun and great to watch.