Bolden knee vigil

[Reddevil]

If anyone hears anything please let us know. All the best big man!

[dukelifer]

If anyone hears anything please let us know. All the best big man!

MCL sprain. I cannot imagine he will be available until the Sweet Sixteen should Duke get there. Just another bad break for Duke.

[ndkjr70]

MCL sprain. I cannot imagine he will be available until the Sweet Sixteen should Duke get there. Just another bad break for Duke.

Is this confirmed anywhere?

EDIT: the timeline, not injury

[dukelifer]

Is this confirmed anywhere?

EDIT: the timeline, not injury

K said it- so I assume that is confirmed

[duke4ever19]

I missed the game. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Some Duke fan, player, or coach is displeasing the basketball gods and we need to find out who it is and what we need to do to fix it.

[dukelifer]

I missed the game. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Some Duke fan, player, or coach is displeasing the basketball gods and we need to find out who it is and what we need to do to fix it.
At least he was able to play 2 minutes and 33 seconds.

[WakeDevil]

K said on the radio the NCAA Tournament was a maybe.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Day to day

[DoWorkDukie]

This sucks.

[Edouble]

This is heart breaking news. I feel sick.

[jipops]

As a fan this is really sickening. Though Duke has a few very talented individual players, the odds are heavily stacked against a young team that has had constant interruption advancing very far in the post season. It’s hard for any team going through this. Dropping out by the first weekend is leaning more towards expected than surprising. I guess the basketball gods feel we’ve seen about enough of post season success over the years.

As for Bolden I’m very thankful it’s just an MCL. I sincerely hope he sees a lot of success next year, whether that be in a Duke uni or in some professional capacity. The kid deserves it.

[jv001]

This is heart breaking news. I feel sick.

The poor kid can't catch a break. Get well quickly young man. GoDuke!

[dukelifer]

As a fan this is really sickening. Though Duke has a few very talented individual players, the odds are heavily stacked against a young team that has had constant interruption advancing very far in the post season. It’s hard for any team going through this. Dropping out by the first weekend is leaning more towards expected than surprising. I guess the basketball gods feel we’ve seen about enough of post season success over the years.

As for Bolden I’m very thankful it’s just an MCL. I sincerely hope he sees a lot of success next year, whether that be in a Duke uni or in some professional capacity. The kid deserves it.

Very difficult situation. Bolden has the most experience in the post season. This has been a fun team and has exceeded my expectations- but what was already hard is now even harder.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I missed the game. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Some Duke fan, player, or coach is displeasing the basketball gods and we need to find out who it is and what we need to do to fix it.
Sacrifice a ram...

[jv001]

Very difficult situation. Bolden has the most experience in the post season. This has been a fun team and has exceeded my expectations- but what was already hard is now even harder.

Yeh, just when it looks like we're getting college basketball's best player back, down goes our starting center. This hurts because Javin can't play 40 minutes. But this team has not exceeded my expectations. Well not after I saw Zion play a couple of games. I still think if he's 100%, we're one of the favored teams to win #6. GoDuke!

[Edouble]

Very difficult situation. Bolden has the most experience in the post season. This has been a fun team and has exceeded my expectations- but what was already hard is now even harder.

It's plausible with Zion back we patch things together through the Sweet 16 without Bolden. Jack and Javin have both had quality outings as of late. AOC is effective with the right matchups too.

The loss of Bolden can't be worse than the loss of Boozer in 2001, but we really need Zion in the most dire way now.

[devildeac]

Sacrifice a ram...

Why only one?

[jv001]

Why only one?

How about that whole town over there in chapel hell. GoDuke!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Why only one?
Good point. Yeah, what was I thinking. We really need to ensure the gods are satisfied this time. No messing around.

[Dukehky]

Yeh, just when it looks like we're getting college basketball's best player back, down goes our starting center. This hurts because Javin can't play 40 minutes. But this team has not exceeded my expectations. Well not after I saw Zion play a couple of games. I still think if he's 100%, we're one of the favored teams to win #6. GoDuke!

Vrank can give useful minutes if necessary against 15/16 seeds and 7-10 seeds.

[Kedsy]

Very difficult situation. Bolden has the most experience in the post season. This has been a fun team and has exceeded my expectations- but what was already hard is now even harder.

Marques has played 77 post-season minutes for Duke. Javin has played 62. A quantitative but not really a qualitative difference. Still, in the ACC tourney and in the NCAA tourney after the first couple games, if Marques can't play he'll certainly be missed.

[jipops]

Vrank can give useful minutes if necessary against 15/16 seeds and 7-10 seeds.

Oof. Please let’s not go there.

[left_hook_lacey]

As I have said on the board many times, I have a lot of close family members that are UNC grads. When watching the game with a 50/50 duke/UNC crowd tonight , all the UNC fans were 100% sympathetic to Bolden's injury and wished him the best. Heard a lot of "that kid has done everything right and just can't catch a break."

I guess they're not all bad.....when they're not cheating. 😂

[devildeac]

Good point. Yeah, what was I thinking. We really need to ensure the gods are satisfied this time. No messing around.

No problem. ;)

[dukelifer]

Marques has played 77 post-season minutes for Duke. Javin has played 62. A quantitative but not really a qualitative difference. Still, in the ACC tourney and in the NCAA tourney after the first couple games, if Marques can't play he'll certainly be missed.

I thought Javin missed the ACC tourney his freshman year- anyway- the point is that this is a very inexperienced team going into the post season. I am not sure there has been a less experienced Duke team in a very long while.

[BandAlum83]

Assuming no surprises and we do see Zion back next week, it seems we will probably get some version of the death lineup even more than anticipated before Boldens injury.

Let’s hope Bolden is able to be back by the sweet 16 and that we are still playing!

[Edouble]

Assuming no surprises and we do see Zion back next week, it seems we will probably get some version of the death lineup even more than anticipated before Boldens injury.

Let’s hope Bolden is able to be back by the sweet 16 and that we are still playing!

Well, you cheered me up a little. I do really like a death lineup with Jack hitting his corner threes. That's nasty to think about.

[Dukehk]

Big loss for us because Bolden has been excellent in the paint this year, altering and blocking shots.

Hopefully he will be back in time for the second week of the tournament, assuming we get there!

We really can't catch a break this year..just so frustrating to see the best team in decades start to unravel due to injuries. I still have hope that we will eventually have our full deck out there. Then watch out!

[duke4ever19]

Sacrifice a ram...

I like how you think. It's both biblical and very, very representative of how I feel about rams at the moment.

[BD80]

... I have a lot of close family members that are UNC grads. ...
I guess they're not all bad....when they're not cheating. 😂

They're not so bad deep down, at least 6 feet down.

That's about the only time they're not cheating ...

[jipops]

Assuming no surprises and we do see Zion back next week, it seems we will probably get some version of the death lineup even more than anticipated before Boldens injury.

Let’s hope Bolden is able to be back by the sweet 16 and that we are still playing!

Death lineup works best if you have shooters. We haven’t seen evidence of that from this team.

But with Zion back, the offense should certainly improve to some extent. Don’t think it can get worse.

[BigZ]

What’s Marquis academic situation? Could he get a fifth year as a grade?

[Dukehky]

What’s Marquis academic situation? Could he get a fifth year as a grade?

That's not how it works...

[freshmanjs]

What’s Marquis academic situation? Could he get a fifth year as a grade?

Why would he do that? If he doesn't go pro, I'm sure he will play his 4th year next season. Why would he redshirt as a senior?

[uh_no]

Why would he do that? If he doesn't go pro, I'm sure he will play his 4th year next season. Why would he redshirt as a senior?

so he can burn it 25 games into the season and we can argue about whether it was worth it, of course :D :D

[gofurman]

so he can burn it 25 games into the season and we can argue about whether it was worth it, of course :D :D

So K definitely said maybe NCAA and also mentioned sweet sixteen? Is that right that he said the sweet sixteen as a possible?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

So K definitely said maybe NCAA and also mentioned sweet sixteen? Is that right that he said the sweet sixteen as a possible?

So, K confirms this team makes the second weekend?

[gofurman]

So, K confirms this team makes the second weekend?

Cmon man. UNC is top 5 right now. That was a 1/2 seed on senior night. And without Zion we almost did it. Shot 25% from three and RJ in foul trouble and still not too far off. Put Zion in... . Zion. RJ. Reddish - that's a second weekend team easy. Too athletic for most first weekend teams.


W Bolden we are final four potential. Without him maybe final four. Reddish aggression encourages me - K said the same (that Reddish we just saw w RJ and a Zion...

And Zion opens a lot more up for others

[BigZ]

Why would he do that? If he doesn't go pro, I'm sure he will play his 4th year next season. Why would he redshirt as a senior?

Oh I’m talking about the season after next. If you can do a fifth year transfer can’t you do a fifth year at current school?

[BeachBlueDevil]

Wooooof... Lot of negativity in this thread. Yes, losing Bolden isn't ideal. He's played solid defense all year and is an above average rebounder which will be missed. But Zion will be back and can help with those issues. But does losing Bolden really make this team so much worse that they go out the first weekend ( anything can happen...)? Not in my opinion. A combination of Zion & Jack or Zion & Javin can make up for that loss and maybe Vrank can get some spot minutes. Heck, maybe even more Joey Baker!

Now let's sit back and see what K dreams up for these boys down the stretch and prayers up for Bolden to get back sooner than later.

[BandAlum83]

Oh I’m talking about the season after next. If you can do a fifth year transfer can’t you do a fifth year at current school?

There are only 4 years of eligibility. The “Grad Transfers” you hear about are players who red-shirted a year so that when they graduate they still have a year of eligibility remaining. Grad “transfers” are not treated like other transfers who have to sit out a year. Technically, they are not transfers, they are incoming graduate students who happen to have a year of eligibility. I think officially, you have to be enrolling in an academic program that is not available at the school you got your under graduate degree, but from what I hear that is easy to get around.

Marquis has never redshirted, so wouldn’t have a fifth year available to him.

[YmoBeThere]

It was great seeing Marques out there healthy and showing the skills many of us knew he had. Hoping he makes it back in time to enjoy a deep run in the NCAAs.

[CDu]

There are only 4 years of eligibility. The “Grad Transfers” you hear about are players who red-shirted a year so that when they graduate they still have a year of eligibility remaining. Grad “transfers” are not treated like other transfers who have to sit out a year. Technically, they are not transfers, they are incoming graduate students who happen to have a year of eligibility. I think officially, you have to be enrolling in an academic program that is not available at the school you got your under graduate degree, but from what I hear that is easy to get around.

Marquis has never redshirted, so wouldn’t have a fifth year available to him.

He would if he sat out next year. Now, one can discuss whether or not he would have any interest in doing that. But he definitely still has the option of sitting out next year and returning for year 5.

[WVDUKEFAN]

Did anyone hear coach say when Bolden might return? I watched the presser and he really had no idea. The MCL sprain could be anywhere from a couple days to season ending.

[szstark]

As a fan this is really sickening. Though Duke has a few very talented individual players, the odds are heavily stacked against a young team that has had constant interruption advancing very far in the post season. It’s hard for any team going through this. Dropping out by the first weekend is leaning more towards expected than surprising. I guess the basketball gods feel we’ve seen about enough of post season success over the years.

As for Bolden I’m very thankful it’s just an MCL. I sincerely hope he sees a lot of success next year, whether that be in a Duke uni or in some professional capacity. The kid deserves it.

I really don’t understand this first weekend gloom and doom. Yes, some previous Duke teams have flamed out in the first weekend, but those Duke teams couldn’t play defense - this team can. It sucks to lose Bolden at this point in the season, but he was still the fifth option on offense. His replacement is Javin, who probably has the worst hands since Warren Chapman (how’s that for a reference old timers?), but he will still be the fifth option on offense. Many people on this board have long said the death lineup is our strongest team and it doesn’t include either Bolden or Javin. What team in the first weekend has three players like Zion, RJ, and Cam on either offense or defense? Of course we could lose the first weekend and the matchups get harder as we progress, but expecting to lose the first weekend - I don’t think so.

[moonpie23]

Bolden's contributions this season have been legit. Here's hoping we get to see him have a chance to play for us again....

[Clipsfan]

Bolden's contributions this season have been legit. Here's hoping we get to see him have a chance to play for us again...

Agreed on both fronts. He's had some excellent games for us over the past couple of months and has shown some really improved defensive tendencies. He isn't one of our primary scorers but can get some buckets when set up. I haven't checked the stats, but his defensive rebounding has looked better too. He is also able to productively provide solid minutes, something that matters as we appear to be playing our guys really extended minutes.

Not to mention that if we see him it means 1) He is healthy, and 2) We are still alive deeper in the tourney

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Cmon man. UNC is top 5 right now. That was a 1/2 seed on senior night. And without Zion we almost did it. Shot 25% from three and RJ in foul trouble and still not too far off. Put Zion in... . Zion. RJ. Reddish - that's a second weekend team easy. Too athletic for most first weekend teams.


W Bolden we are final four potential. Without him maybe final four. Reddish aggression encourages me - K said the same (that Reddish we just saw w RJ and a Zion...

And Zion opens a lot more up for others

Oh, I know we lost last night, but lighten up. It was a joke about how we parsed every word K said about Zion. Sorry if it fell flat.

[UrinalCake]

Did anyone hear coach say when Bolden might return? I watched the presser and he really had no idea. The MCL sprain could be anywhere from a couple days to season ending.

Nothing announced yet, but I can’t imagine he will play next week just given the way he walked off the court. I think we’re going to need Vrank to play some real minutes.

[jimsumner]

Nothing announced yet, but I can’t imagine he will play next week just given the way he walked off the court. I think we’re going to need Vrank to play some real minutes.

I suspect Williamson, DeLaurier and White will get the 4/5 minutes, with Barrett playing some in smaller lineups. Duke has been down a big man or two a lot over the last few years and Vrankovic has not seen the floor. I doubt whether trading Bolden for Williamson will alter that equation.

[22JumpShots]

...but I can’t imagine he will play next week just given the way he walked off the court..

Agreed. Williamson, if I remember, kind of angrily speed-walked off the court under his own strength and still technically isn't back yet. That was what, 11-12 days ago? I wouldn't be shocked if Bolden is done. ... and of course it goes without saying I wish everyday for his recovery to come sooner than later, but were under 30 days before one team scales the tallest mountain in college basketball for 2019. Not a lot of time to play with...

[gofurman]

Did anyone hear coach say when Bolden might return? I watched the presser and he really had no idea. The MCL sprain could be anywhere from a couple days to season ending.

Any word from K ? I sw posts that said K said NCAA or 16 but was that really said by him? Or just guesses here ?

[budwom]

I suspect Williamson, DeLaurier and White will get the 4/5 minutes, with Barrett playing some in smaller lineups. Duke has been down a big man or two a lot over the last few years and Vrankovic has not seen the floor. I doubt whether trading Bolden for Williamson will alter that equation.

yeah, K loves switching on every screen and there is no way Vrank can do that...

[SavDukeGrad]

Any word from K ? I sw posts that said K said NCAA or 16 but was that really said by him? Or just guesses here ?

In the press conference, all he said was it was an MCL sprain, not an ACL, which is good. And that they didn’t know the severity yet - grade 1, 2, etc.

I don’t know if he elaborated more in another forum. But I think the NCAA/sweet 16 talk was just speculation here.

[uh_no]

In the press conference, all he said was it was an MCL sprain, not an ACL, which is good. And that they didn’t know the severity yet - grade 1, 2, etc.

I don’t know if he elaborated more in another forum. But I think the NCAA/sweet 16 talk was just speculation here.

IF in the best case it's only a grade 1, then it's the same timeline as zion...2-4 weeks, with DBR freaking out after he every game he doesn't play in, starting thursday. :D

[arnie]

Agreed. Williamson, if I remember, kind of angrily speed-walked off the court under his own strength and still technically isn't back yet. That was what, 11-12 days ago? I wouldn't be shocked if Bolden is done. ... and of course it goes without saying I wish everyday for his recovery to come sooner than later, but were under 30 days before one team scales the tallest mountain in college basketball for 2019. Not a lot of time to play with...

Zion went down 18 days ago and “will probably” play 22 days after his injury. Using the same timeframe for Bolden would mean sweet 16 weekend. However; and I hate to say this, but Marques doesn’t have as much at risk if he comes back quicker.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Zion went down 18 days ago and “will probably” play 22 days after his injury. Using the same timeframe for Bolden would mean sweet 16 weekend. However; and I hate to say this, but Marques doesn’t have as much at risk if he comes back quicker.

Zion is about 35 pounds heavier than Bolden and essentially moves around on the court like a guard in a center's body. It wouldn't surprise me much if Bolden is able to get back to game shape more quickly from the same injury.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

Zion is about 35 pounds heavier than Bolden and essentially moves around on the court like a guard in a center's body. It wouldn't surprise me much if Bolden is able to get back to game shape more quickly from the same injury.

But Marques has a history at Duke of slow recoveries from leg injuries.

[UrinalCake]

I suspect Williamson, DeLaurier and White will get the 4/5 minutes, with Barrett playing some in smaller lineups. Duke has been down a big man or two a lot over the last few years and Vrankovic has not seen the floor. I doubt whether trading Bolden for Williamson will alter that equation.

I’m all in favor of playing small, but I don’t think it’s sustainable for an entire game. Especially when Javin is so foul prone (he did do a great job avoiding fouls yesterday) and Zion is still coming back from injury. We need another big body in the mix. The flip side is that we can potentially get another shooter on the floor in O’Connell or even (gasp) Baker.

[Edouble]

I’m all in favor of playing small, but I don’t think it’s sustainable for an entire game. Especially when Javin is so foul prone (he did do a great job avoiding fouls yesterday) and Zion is still coming back from injury. We need another big body in the mix. The flip side is that we can potentially get another shooter on the floor in O’Connell or even (gasp) Baker.

Cheats were a good matchup for Jack, not so much AOC.

Syracuse was a good matchup for AOC, not so much Jack (albeit he was in his slump).

Miami was a good matchup for both.

Coach K seems to give several players a look early, then go with what he likes in the second half. I expect both will get their chances.

If we play Syracuse, I like that matchup a lot. Bolden only played 10 minutes in that game. Jack didn't play at all. Zion, of course, didn't play at all either. I would think that's a good start, in a matchup where we could play a lot of guys low minutes, for us to play three games in three days.

[Rich]

Cheats were a good matchup for Jack, not so much AOC.

Syracuse was a good matchup for AOC, not so much Jack (albeit he was in his slump).

Miami was a good matchup for both.

Coach K seems to give several players a look early, then go with what he likes in the second half. I expect both will get their chances.

If we play Syracuse, I like that matchup a lot. Bolden only played 10 minutes in that game. Jack didn't play at all. Zion, of course, didn't play at all either. I would think that's a good start, in a matchup where we could play a lot of guys low minutes, for us to play three games in three days.

Probably goes without saying but Tre didn’t play more than a few minutes in Game 1 so we have yet to play the Orange at full strength. While we won’t have Bolden, it will be nice to finally see our 4 freshmen together against the zone with plenty of time to prepare (barring an upset prior to our first game).

[DukeDevilDeb]

Oh I’m talking about the season after next. If you can do a fifth year transfer can’t you do a fifth year at current school?

You can only do a fifth year ANYWHERE if you have a year of eligibility left. This is Marques' third year. Next year will be his senior year. Unless he sits out next year (which I cannot even fathom), he is finished after that with college ball.

[jimsumner]

Probably goes without saying but Tre didn’t play more than a few minutes in Game 1 so we have yet to play the Orange at full strength. While we won’t have Bolden, it will be nice to finally see our 4 freshmen together against the zone with plenty of time to prepare (barring an upset prior to our first game).

Keep in mind that Reddish missed the entire first Syracuse game due to illness.

[Rich]

Thanks Jim, of course, I had forgotten that. Considering how many Syracuse family and friends I have it’ll be nice to play them at mostly full strength although there’s no guarantee they win that first ACC Tourney game. They looked pretty bad against Clemson this weekend.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

yeah, K loves switching on every screen and there is no way Vrank can do that...

K fell in love with that this season, first game versus UVa....caught Bennett off guard. Maybe go a different route now? Or play smaller lineup and keep it up?

[Edouble]

K fell in love with that this season, first game versus UVa...caught Bennett off guard. Maybe go a different route now? Or play smaller lineup and keep it up?

Makes sense to stay with it now, if Javin and Jack are presumably going to take the lion's share of Bolden's minutes.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Makes sense to stay with it now, if Javin and Jack are presumably going to take the lion's share of Bolden's minutes.

Javin is an enigma to me. He's 6-11 and clearly a really good athlete. That combination should be unstoppable. But his hands remain very weak, and he commits the Tony Lang soft fouls and sometimes he goes for rebounds soft. And he has no offensive game but dunks and lay ups apparently.

[UrinalCake]

Makes sense to stay with it now, if Javin and Jack are presumably going to take the lion's share of Bolden's minutes.

UVA doesn’t have guards who can blow by you one on one. The biggest way that they can hurt you is by hitting the three, so it makes sense to switch on screens and not allow them the split second of an opening to get a clean look. For more conventional lineups, switching everything doesn’t make as much sense. You wind up with Javin guarding Coby White in isolation, leading to an open three and an easy drive for an and-one on consecutive possessions.

[CDu]

UVA doesn’t have guards who can blow by you one on one. The biggest way that they can hurt you is by hitting the three, so it makes sense to switch on screens and not allow them the split second of an opening to get a clean look. For more conventional lineups, switching everything doesn’t make as much sense. You wind up with Javin guarding Coby White in isolation, leading to an open three and an easy drive for an and-one on consecutive possessions.

Or Tre Jones guarding Luke Maye or Kerry Blackshear in the post. It is a great defense against UVa, but like you said it isn’t great against everybody.

[Edouble]

UVA doesn’t have guards who can blow by you one on one. The biggest way that they can hurt you is by hitting the three, so it makes sense to switch on screens and not allow them the split second of an opening to get a clean look. For more conventional lineups, switching everything doesn’t make as much sense. You wind up with Javin guarding Coby White in isolation, leading to an open three and an easy drive for an and-one on consecutive possessions.

IIRC, this was the justification for switching everything against unc too... they have an uncharacteristically good three point shooting team this year.

Either way, switching or not, you give up something on defense.

I've noticed that with the switching-on-everything-defense, if an opposing team's guard drives to the basket against a Duke big, we have the defender under the basket rotate over to help, but there is often late help to cover the original help defender's assignment... which leads to a pass and a dunk to a dude just standing under the basket. That is my problem with switching everything.

I trust Jack White to cover all five positions on a switch, FWIW. Tre is more of a concern for me, getting stuck with Maye, Salt et al under the rim.

[ncexnyc]

Or Tre Jones guarding Luke Maye or Kerry Blackshear in the post. It is a great defense against UVa, but like you said it isn’t great against everybody.
That wouldn't be the same Kerry Blackshear who lowered his shoulder into our defenders time and time again and never got called for it would it?

[Dukehky]

Get well soon big fella.

[Saratoga2]

Javin is an enigma to me. He's 6-11 and clearly a really good athlete. That combination should be unstoppable. But his hands remain very weak, and he commits the Tony Lang soft fouls and sometimes he goes for rebounds soft. And he has no offensive game but dunks and lay ups apparently.

Javin is more like 6'9" and more lightly built than Bolden. He has trouble handling bigs like Blackshear (doesn't everybody?). He also has issues catching and holding the ball. Javin plays hard and he's our guy and we need him, even with his issues of fouling. He did a nice job in the UNC game although found himself in bad matchups at times, such as defending Colby White.

[-jk]

Javin is more like 6'9" and more lightly built than Bolden. He has trouble handling bigs like Blackshear (doesn't everybody?). He also has issues catching and holding the ball. Javin plays hard and he's our guy and we need him, even with his issues of fouling. He did a nice job in the UNC game although found himself in bad matchups at times, such as defending Colby White.

C'mon - 19 straight makes isn't a guy who has real trouble getting the ball...

-jk

[jv001]

Javin is more like 6'9" and more lightly built than Bolden. He has trouble handling bigs like Blackshear (doesn't everybody?). He also has issues catching and holding the ball. Javin plays hard and he's our guy and we need him, even with his issues of fouling. He did a nice job in the UNC game although found himself in bad matchups at times, such as defending Colby White.

Javin looks like he's moving around on his tippy toes. He did play a good game against the Cheats though. If he could get stronger it would help. GoDuke!

[Kjeffrey]

UVA doesn’t have guards who can blow by you one on one. The biggest way that they can hurt you is by hitting the three, so it makes sense to switch on screens and not allow them the split second of an opening to get a clean look. For more conventional lineups, switching everything doesn’t make as much sense. You wind up with Javin guarding Coby White in isolation, leading to an open three and an easy drive for an and-one on consecutive possessions.

And it seemed like once Tre was back to guarding White, Duke was able to make some stops.

[rolm]

When can we expect a post MRI report on Bolden? i.e. the severity of his injury. Monday evening?

[devildeac]

That wouldn't be the same Kerry Blackshear who lowered his shoulder into our defenders time and time again and never got called for it would it?

Nope. That would be the one who took 4 or 5 steps/shuffles as he butt-backed JD (IIRC) into the lane and took 5-6 second in the process, made the bunny and got a FT as a reward. Oh, yea, he also slid under Cam as he went up for a lay-up causing him to land hard on his hip/butt AND get called for a charge in the process. :mad:

[devildeac]

When can we expect a post MRI report on Bolden? i.e. the severity of his injury. Monday evening?

Likely something in the next day-to-day :rolleyes:.

[Pghdukie]

I caught that ! Good one.

[Troublemaker]

UVA doesn’t have guards who can blow by you one on one. The biggest way that they can hurt you is by hitting the three, so it makes sense to switch on screens and not allow them the split second of an opening to get a clean look. For more conventional lineups, switching everything doesn’t make as much sense. You wind up with Javin guarding Coby White in isolation, leading to an open three and an easy drive for an and-one on consecutive possessions.


Or Tre Jones guarding Luke Maye or Kerry Blackshear in the post. It is a great defense against UVa, but like you said it isn’t great against everybody.

The bottom-line results say differently, though, as the defense yielded 111 and 113 offensive efficiencies to UVA in two games while against UNC, we held them to 101 and 103 offensive efficiencies despite missing Zion both games. (Although, I would still switch against UVA because -- at least through two matchups -- they've turned the ball over against us, which helps our offense.) The defense has been great against UNC, especially once you adjust for how good UNC's offense typically is and for Zion being out, even though yes, sometimes a mismatch gets scored on.

In basketball, you have to choose what you want to give up, as you guys know. It's not a shutout sport as opposed to baseball, soccer, football, what-have-you. I'm okay with occasional mismatches on certain possessions if the bottom line is great overall defensive efficiency. Switching gives, but it also takes away -- it makes it hard for opponents to run their regular stuff.

[CDu]

The bottom-line results say differently, though, as the defense yielded 111 and 113 offensive efficiencies to UVA in two games while against UNC, we held them to 101 and 103 offensive efficiencies despite missing Zion both games. (Although, I would still switch against UVA because -- at least through two matchups -- they've turned the ball over against us, which helps our offense.) The defense has been great against UNC, especially once you adjust for how good UNC's offense typically is and for Zion being out, even though yes, sometimes a mismatch gets scored on.

In basketball, you have to choose what you want to give up, as you guys know. It's not a shutout sport as opposed to baseball, soccer, football, what-have-you. I'm okay with occasional mismatches on certain possessions if the bottom line is great overall defensive efficiency. Switching gives, but it also takes away -- it makes it hard for opponents to run their regular stuff.

We weren’t switching on all screens against UNC though.

[Troublemaker]

We weren’t switching on all screens against UNC though.

I mean, I'd have to go back and look to log the percentages, but we switched a heck of a lot out there.

Plus, you seem to imply differently in the below criticism. Can you reconcile the two posts into an overall statement about how you would defend UNC in the halfcourt that outperforms what Duke actually did? Thanks in advance.


Or Tre Jones guarding Luke Maye or Kerry Blackshear in the post. It is a great defense against UVa, but like you said it isn’t great against everybody.

[WVDUKEFAN]

I didn't think our defense was too bad, other than getting beat in transition. We shot 34% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc. Tough to win with those kinds of percentages. Kenny Williams hit 3's he normally doesn't hit and we took shots we shouldn't have taken. Simple as that. We're going to need someone from the bench to step up in Bolden's absence. Hopefully, we get some good news today that the sprain is minor.

[baldtimer]

One big plus to Bolden is his free throw shooting...one of the better free throw shooters for his height...DeLaurier brings a lot of energy and athleticism, but is a brick layer from the line....hope Bolden gets better soon...its nice to have a big body down low and the poor kid has had his share of injuries.

[CDu]

I mean, I'd have to go back and look to log the percentages, but we switched a heck of a lot out there.

Plus, you seem to imply differently in the below criticism. Can you reconcile the two posts into an overall statement about how you would defend UNC in the halfcourt that outperforms what Duke actually did? Thanks in advance.

That was a hypothetical. I don’t remember many instances of that happening. Also, I wasn’t suggesting we should do something different than what we did against UNC. I am in fact on record as saying our defense did a great job against them. I just don’t think we switched everything like we did against UVa in game 1.

[ns7]

One big plus to Bolden is his free throw shooting...one of the better free throw shooters for his height...DeLaurier brings a lot of energy and athleticism, but is a brick layer from the line...hope Bolden gets better soon...its nice to have a big body down low and the poor kid has had his share of injuries.

He's also our second most efficient player on offense after Zion. I think K was going to use him as a matchup problem against UNC because Bolden would have been the tallest player on the floor. After he went down, we had zero post presence on offense.

I think we'll be fine if he returns for the EE. That would give him about a three week recovery time.

[ns7]

That was a hypothetical. I don’t remember many instances of that happening. Also, I wasn’t suggesting we should do something different than what we did against UNC. I am in fact on record as saying our defense did a great job against them. I just don’t think we switched everything like we did against UVa in game 1.

Do we always switch when Javin is in the game? I remember Coby White hit at least one big three over Javin (I think after a switch). That may have caused us not to switch as much.

[WVDUKEFAN]

He's also our second most efficient player on offense after Zion. I think K was going to use him as a matchup problem against UNC because Bolden would have been the tallest player on the floor. After he went down, we had zero post presence on offense.

I think we'll be fine if he returns for the EE. That would give him about a three week recovery time.

We don't even know the extent of his injury.

[CDu]

Do we always switch when Javin is in the game? I remember Coby White hit at least one big three over Javin (I think after a switch). That may have caused us not to switch as much.

I definitely remember him hitting a 3 where there was a screen and neither guy stepped out to defend him. Seemed like confusion between DeLaurier and either Jones or Barrett as to whether we were supposed to switch.

[Troublemaker]

That was a hypothetical.

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. The flow of the conversation made it seem like you were agreeing with UrinalCake's criticism of Duke's strategy.

[CDu]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. The flow of the conversation made it seem like you were agreeing with UrinalCake's criticism of Duke's strategy.

Sorry - I may have been guilty of not reading the entire conversation and just the last post. Well, definitely guilty of that, but that may have resulted in my misinterpreting the thread. I had thought it was discussing the possibility of switching back to the "switch everything" approach in the absence of Bolden. So I was just commenting on that. Sorry for causing the confusion.

[fan345678]

One of my biggest concerns is Bolden's confidence. We've seen him grow into the player that he is capable of being, and he's had some very good games without Zion in the lineup, although he has the occasional off game. His ability was evident on his injury play- recovering for a clean block (despite the foul call).
His little injuries held him back for a few years, and now I fear that a big injury is going to shake that confidence again. A refrain from our players has always been that their teammates trust them, so I hope that that trust over the course of a breakout year is manifested in confidence when he returns.
While he's out, I hope we can feed him a constant stream of his own highlights.

[elvis14]

His ability was evident on his injury play- recovering for a clean block (despite the foul call).
His little injuries held him back for a few years, and now I fear that a big injury is going to shake that confidence again.

As they were showing that replay time and time again as Bolden was gathering himself after the injury, I'm sure you guys noticed what I noticed: clean block no foul, bad call. Would have been nice for that to be called out by someone on the broadcast. Frankly, even though Bolden was on defense, I'm shocked they didn't call a charge on him.

[UrinalCake]

So if it does turn out that Bolden is lost for the season (and I'm still really hoping that is not the case), do you think K will actually announce this? Or will he list it as another day-to-day thing until after Selection Sunday, so that the committee won't ding us for not having him moving forward? K is definitely not above playing games with the selection committee. He's played up the fact that Zion will return, and I also remember in 2011 when he had Kyrie come out during the ACC tournament and do some sprints on the sidelines just to put out the message that his return was imminent.

[SavDukeGrad]

So if it does turn out that Bolden is lost for the season (and I'm still really hoping that is not the case), do you think K will actually announce this? Or will he list it as another day-to-day thing until after Selection Sunday, so that the committee won't ding us for not having him moving forward? K is definitely not above playing games with the selection committee. He's played up the fact that Zion will return, and I also remember in 2011 when he had Kyrie come out during the ACC tournament and do some sprints on the sidelines just to put out the message that his return was imminent.

I was at the tournament in 2011. Kyrie not only dressed out before the final with UNC, but he also warmed up with the team before changing back into street clothes for the game. I have pictures!

[johnb]

As they were showing that replay time and time again as Bolden was gathering himself after the injury, I'm sure you guys noticed what I noticed: clean block no foul, bad call. Would have been nice for that to be called out by someone on the broadcast. Frankly, even though Bolden was on defense, I'm shocked they didn't call a charge on him.

Not that it really matters, but definitely a clean block.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5k-CypHCrE

Marques, get better!

[johnb]

... We're going to need someone from the bench to step up in Bolden's absence.....

There's been some discussion that we will soon be getting back a guy who has been on the bench since the beginning of the 1st Carolina game.

I'd love to see Bolden get back into the rotation before the end of the season, if only because it would mean that we made it to the NCAA's 2nd weekend.

[devildeac]

As they were showing that replay time and time again as Bolden was gathering himself after the injury, I'm sure you guys noticed what I noticed: clean block no foul, bad call. Would have been nice for that to be called out by someone on the broadcast. Frankly, even though Bolden was on defense, I'm shocked they didn't call a charge on him.


Not that it really matters, but definitely a clean block.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5k-CypHCrE

Marques, get better!

Well, thanks guys. My weekend was ruined with work and the outcome of the game but you've managed to ruin my Monday now with your posts and embedded video. :mad:

(:rolleyes:)

[wgl1228]

I was at the tournament in 2011. Kyrie not only dressed out before the final with UNC, but he also warmed up with the team before changing back into street clothes for the game. I have pictures!

Same here. I was taking pictures and sending it to my friend with such high hopes! Luckily we didn't need him.

[Edouble]

I'd love to see Bolden get back into the rotation before the end of the season, if only because it would mean that we made it to the NCAA's 2nd weekend.

Hopeful-hypothetically... we still don't know the severity of his injury. Coach K said if it is a Grade I MCL Sprain, he could be back "for the NCAAs". Some poster on here have conjectured that would be the Sweet 16.

If it's any worse, Bolden could be done for the year, even if we are playing on Monday night.

[TruBlu]

Not only was Bolden's block clean, there was also a block called on Jack that was clean. But Jack was called for a foul. Even unc-lover Bilas commented after watching the replay that Jack's block was clean.

[superdave]

Any update here?

I have not seen anything new since the post game press conference.

[elvis14]

Well, thanks guys. My weekend was ruined with work and the outcome of the game but you've managed to ruin my Monday now with your posts and embedded video. :mad:

(:rolleyes:)

Glad we can help make your Monday a little extra "Monday". We are here for you, brother!

[plimnko]

Recovery times differ depending on the severity of the injury: A minor, or grade 1, MCL tear can take from a few days to a week and a half to heal sufficiently for you to return to normal activities, including sports. A grade 2 tear can take from two to four weeks to heal.

I realize Bolden has a "sprained MCL" and NOT a tear, but this is what I found

[kako]

Maybe Zion coming back makes up for Bolden being out. I can be optimistic on that one side. However, Bolden seemed to be shaping into the form that was expected of him. And he is clearly has a higher ceiling this year than DeLaurier. So having him out is a big loss to me.

Where is Casey Sanders when you need him?

9F

[golfinesquire]

Recovery times differ depending on the severity of the injury: A minor, or grade 1, MCL tear can take from a few days to a week and a half to heal sufficiently for you to return to normal activities, including sports. A grade 2 tear can take from two to four weeks to heal.

I realize Bolden has a "sprained MCL" and NOT a tear, but this is what I found

This is from a medical equipment website. Pretty similar to the recovery time for a tear: The outlook for an MCL sprain is usually very good. A mild sprain may take anything from a few days to two weeks to repair, a grade II sprain can take up to four weeks, and a severe sprain anywhere from four to eight weeks, but full recovery with minimal long-term effects is highly likely.

[CDu]

Recovery times differ depending on the severity of the injury: A minor, or grade 1, MCL tear can take from a few days to a week and a half to heal sufficiently for you to return to normal activities, including sports. A grade 2 tear can take from two to four weeks to heal.

I realize Bolden has a "sprained MCL" and NOT a tear, but this is what I found

A sprain IS a tear.

[golfinesquire]

A sprain IS a tear.

Doesn't the term cover both a strain and a tear? I guess it does not matter much since but just curious.

[plimnko]

A sprain IS a tear.

you're right.....with a sprain there is overstretching and tearing of some of the fibrous ligament. when i said "not a tear", the tear i was referring to is a complete tear that would be more severe. sorry, i should have been more exact in my optimism.

[CDu]

you're right....with a sprain there is overstretching and tearing of some of the fibrous ligament. when i said "not a tear", the tear i was referring to is a complete tear that would be more severe. sorry, i should have been more exact in my optimism.

A complete tear would be a grade 3. Grade 1 and 2 tears are incomplete tears and what you would normally think of as a sprain.

[CDu]

Doesn't the term cover both a strain and a tear? I guess it does not matter much since but just curious.

No, a strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon. A sprain is a tear of a ligament. Sprains can range from minor (grade 1 tear) to quite severe (grade 3, or complete, tear).

[golfinesquire]

No, a strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon. A sprain is a tear of a ligament. Sprains can range from minor (grade 1 tear) to quite severe (grade 3, or complete, tear).

Thanks

[WVDUKEFAN]

247 Sports said K ruled Bolden out for the ACC Tournament.

[Devilwin]

So it's day to day to day to day to day today to day to day to day...

[WVDUKEFAN]

So it's day to day to day to day to day today to day to day to day...

Yep. Something like that.

[J4Kop99]

247 Sports said K ruled Bolden out for the ACC Tournament.


In March 11's Duke Basketball Report, Krzyzewski confirmed that Bolden will not participate in this week's ACC Tournament due to his MCL injury.

"There's no way Marques will be ready for the ACC Tournament," Krzyzewski told GoDuke.com. "Whatever grade [the sprain] is, he's not going to be well in one week."

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-marques-bolden-will-miss-acc-tournament-knee-injury-north-carolina

[UrinalCake]

We haven’t had a season this riddled with injuries since... 2017.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Get well, Marques.

In addition to his smart recoveries, solid D, and decent post up play, I'm really going to miss his FT shooting. For players who average at least 1 FT a game, Marques is 3rd on the team at 72%. I'm actually shocked Tre is at 76%; he feels a lot lower than that...

[richardjackson199]

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-marques-bolden-will-miss-acc-tournament-knee-injury-north-carolina

It's interesting that K talked about the grade of the sprain, but didn't say what it is. Not that Marques's diagnosis is any of our business. But, that would obviously be crucial information to estimate any kind of rough timeline. I'm guessing K knows the grade of the sprain by now. But not hinting at a timetable for Bolden is probably smart right now to make sure it doesn't emphasize his importance to our team which could affect our seeding.

It really won't affect our seeding though. If we do great in the ACCT we get a 1 seed. If we don't, we get a 2. If we win the ACCT we get a 1 seed. If UNC beats us again, they get a 1 seed. Marques's timeline is not going to be nearly as important for our seeding as how we perform in the ACCT.

I hope he gets well soon and can play at the same level in the NCAAT, and deep into the NCAAT.

[MulletMan]

Not only was Bolden's block clean, there was also a block called on Jack that was clean. But Jack was called for a foul. Even unc-lover Bilas commented after watching the replay that Jack's block was clean.

TV Teddy with the vintage call on that one from half court, while the official on the baseline (Eades, I believe) made no call.

[Kedsy]

Where is Casey Sanders when you need him?

On the basketball court, 2019 Javin DeLaurier is better than 2001 Casey Sanders at pretty much everything.

[Bob Green]

TV Teddy with the vintage call on that one from half court, while the official on the baseline (Eades, I believe) made no call.

Not Eades. Roger Ayres perhaps.

[MulletMan]

Not Eades. Roger Ayres perhaps.

Ah... indeed.

[jipops]

On the basketball court, 2019 Javin DeLaurier is better than 2001 Casey Sanders at pretty much everything.

This I agree. But it’s not saying much.

[barely]

TV Teddy with the vintage call on that one from half court, while the official on the baseline (Eades, I believe) made no call.

Yes, Ayers was emphatic that White got all ball and he was right on top of the play and then Valentine comes flying in from half court to call the foul. Replay showed as clean a block as you could have.

On a related note, did anyone notice that White only got credited with one block in the box score? I wasn’t actively counting, but I thought he had 3-4 blocks. I thought it was one of his better defensive/rebounding games. He is pretty good rim protector for a guy only 6’8” or so.

[Kjeffrey]

Yes, Ayers was emphatic that White got all ball and he was right on top of the play and then Valentine comes flying in from half court to call the foul. Replay showed as clean a block as you could have.

On a related note, did anyone notice that White only got credited with one block in the box score? I wasn’t actively counting, but I thought he had 3-4 blocks. I thought it was one of his better defensive/rebounding games. He is pretty good rim protector for a guy only 6’8” or so.

I'm sure TV Teddy had a much better vantage point from 6 yards away than Eades did from 6 feet away.

[subzero02]

Yes, Ayers was emphatic that White got all ball and he was right on top of the play and then Valentine comes flying in from half court to call the foul. Replay showed as clean a block as you could have.

On a related note, did anyone notice that White only got credited with one block in the box score? I wasn’t actively counting, but I thought he had 3-4 blocks. I thought it was one of his better defensive/rebounding games. He is pretty good rim protector for a guy only 6’8” or so.

This call infuriated me; I ranted about in the game thread immediately after it happened. I really hope Teddy is nowhere near the court if we get another shot at the holes.

[devildeac]

I'm sure TV Teddy had a much better vantage point from 6 yards away than Eades did from 6 feet away.


This call infuriated me; I ranted about in the game thread immediately after it happened. I really hope Teddy is nowhere near the court if we get another shot at the holes.

Wait, I thought we got all the calls:confused:.

:mad:

[stedge]

I am bumping this because Bolden deserves it.

Get well soon, we need you!

[BandAlum83]

TV Teddy with the vintage call on that one from half court, while the official on the baseline (Eades, I believe) made no call.

The official on the baseline actually made a very clear signal with hand on hand indicating that it was a clean block.

I guess Teddy would maintain that he saw body contact from his angle.

[Steven43]

The official on the baseline actually made a very clear signal with hand on hand indicating that it was a clean block.

I guess Teddy would maintain that he saw body contact from his angle.
Why would they let one referee overrule another, especially one who was closer to the play in question? And does this Terrible Ted guy have it in for Duke or is he just awful at his job or both?

[FerryFor50]

Why would they let one referee overrule another, especially one who was closer to the play in question? And does this Terrible Ted guy have it in for Duke or is he just awful at his job or both?

Probably both, but mostly he's an attention hog and bad at his job.

[WakeDevil]

Either official can make the call. It is not a case of overruling the other person.

[WiJoe]

If Valentine is SO BAD at his job, why is he working in the ACC?

[FerryFor50]

Either official can make the call. It is not a case of overruling the other person.

It is when the official closest to the play makes an entirely different call.

[Ballboy1998]

If Valentine is SO BAD at his job, why is he working in the ACC?

I find myself yelling that question a lot, minus the "If."

[MChambers]

If Valentine is SO BAD at his job, why is he working in the ACC?

The Big Ten kicked him out this year. Maybe the ACC will follow this coming offseason.

[wavedukefan70s]

If Valentine is SO BAD at his job, why is he working in the ACC?

Actually I think there is a referee shortage .not a lot of guys coming up .
Old guys leaving.some refs at lower levels catching hell.some not deservedly so.some earned it.ive been to games that I have no dog in the fight.have seen calls go one way blatantly.ive actually felt that the safety of the refs was in question. People should have restraint. But unfortunately there are a bunch of fools out there.they have to have a better grading system for referees at the lower levels.some accountability.teddy as bad as he is sometimes would be a welcome addition.
Maybe 1 out of 10 or 20 could go up a level.ncaa and conferences are taking in the dough.pay the refs more but hold more accountability also.if most of us do a bad job we are held accountable. Maybe if you blow 5 to 10 calls in a week or 2 to 3 games you only get one game in next 10 days.i dunno.i get calls wrong behind the plate sometimes but I'm a low level part time ump .travel baseball.im not familiar with how you see a basketball court .I mean I see it .I just have never done it.

[devildeac]

If Valentine is SO BAD at his job, why is he working in the ACC?

Because the B1G didn't want him apparently.

Edit: MChambers beat me to it. I need to spend less time on my job and more on DBR. :o:rolleyes:

[weezie]

...i get calls wrong behind the plate sometimes but I'm a low level part time ump .travel baseball...

You may be one of a tiny handful of umps/refs to ever admit getting calls wrong. Unless it's highly publicized nothing ever comes of mistakes made. I know you are trying to do a good job but it's the personalities and blatant temper tantrums from some refs in college basketball that rile up observers.

The NBA guys are well vetted. Rarely is temper on display.

[Indoor66]

Actually I think there is a referee shortage .not a lot of guys coming up .
Old guys leaving.some refs at lower levels catching hell.some not deservedly so.some earned it.ive been to games that I have no dog in the fight.have seen calls go one way blatantly.ive actually felt that the safety of the refs was in question. People should have restraint. But unfortunately there are a bunch of fools out there.they have to have a better grading system for referees at the lower levels.some accountability.teddy as bad as he is sometimes would be a welcome addition.
Maybe 1 out of 10 or 20 could go up a level.ncaa and conferences are taking in the dough.pay the refs more but hold more accountability also.if most of us do a bad job we are held accountable. Maybe if you blow 5 to 10 calls in a week or 2 to 3 games you only get one game in next 10 days.i dunno.i get calls wrong behind the plate sometimes but I'm a low level part time ump .travel baseball.im not familiar with how you see a basketball court .I mean I see it .I just have never done it.

Unreadable

[sagegrouse]

Unreadable

Yes, I am puzzled by "wavedukefan" posts. Is this a phone? I have trouble operating a normal keyboard.

[Indoor66]

Yes, I am puzzled by "wavedukefan" posts. Is this a phone? I have trouble operating a normal keyboard.

There is a space key on every keyboard.

[WakeDevil]

It is when the official closest to the play makes an entirely different call.

This tells me you do not officiate basketball.

[uh_no]

This tells me you do not officiate basketball.

the right answer here for Ayers and teddy to get together and make the correct call....i think Ted's ego is too big for that, though.

[wavedukefan70s]

Yes, I am puzzled by "wavedukefan" posts. Is this a phone? I have trouble operating a normal keyboard.

Yeah a back up phone at that.it doesnt look like that .well it does after I hit send .that was 3 paragraphs. I need to purchase another laptop.kids hijacked my other ones. At least it stopped putting random punctuation.

[Hancock 4 Duke]

Unreadable

I understood his point just fine, regardless of the grammatical errors. I’m more concerned about your reading ability than anything else if you consider that “unreadable.”

Suggesting a more strict way for holding referees accountable is an idea, however I’m not sure there isn’t something like that in place. I do know that NBA referees are judged very strictly, however it happens “behind the scenes” so to speak, I’m assuming because if it were to be publicized about which calls were correct/incorrect, it’d lead to a lot more public scrutiny.


Yeah a back up phone at that.it doesnt look like that .well it does after I hit send .that was 3 paragraphs. I need to purchase another laptop.kids hijacked my other ones. At least it stopped putting random punctuation.

Don’t worry. If anybody can’t get past your punctuation errors, the issue on their end, not yours. Sorry to hear about your laptop, hope everything gets straightened out for you soon!

[Spanarkel]

Actually I think there is a referee shortage .not a lot of guys coming up .
Old guys leaving.some refs at lower levels catching hell.some not deservedly so.some earned it.ive been to games that I have no dog in the fight.have seen calls go one way blatantly.ive actually felt that the safety of the refs was in question. People should have restraint. But unfortunately there are a bunch of fools out there.they have to have a better grading system for referees at the lower levels.some accountability.teddy as bad as he is sometimes would be a welcome addition.
Maybe 1 out of 10 or 20 could go up a level.ncaa and conferences are taking in the dough.pay the refs more but hold more accountability also.if most of us do a bad job we are held accountable. Maybe if you blow 5 to 10 calls in a week or 2 to 3 games you only get one game in next 10 days.i dunno.i get calls wrong behind the plate sometimes but I'm a low level part time ump .travel baseball.im not familiar with how you see a basketball court .I mean I see it .I just have never done it.

Just curious as to how you position yourself behind the plate: IF you're crouching on the inside part of the plate(as do a majority of MLB umpires), then I would think you'd have a difficult time seeing the outside corner of the plate, but IF you position yourself directly behind the catcher then I'd guess you would have a better view of the outside corner. Just wondering. Thanks in advance.

[WVDUKEFAN]

It would be good to get back to the topic of Marque's knee injury. I listened to the podcast from last night - there is still nothing insightful as to the degree of injury or any other insight as to when he might be back, if at all.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

It would be good to get back to the topic of Marque's knee injury. I listened to the podcast from last night - there is still nothing insightful as to the degree of injury or any other insight as to when he might be back, if at all.

My understanding from various sources is he will not play this week. Everything else is on the table. I expect he is unlikely to play next week, but that isn't based on inside info.

[WVDUKEFAN]

My understanding from various sources is he will not play this week. Everything else is on the table. I expect he is unlikely to play next week, but that isn't based on inside info.

Thanks. I think they are being unusually quiet with the status of this injury. With Zion and Tre, they were pretty forthcoming with information (or at least forthcoming as they get). I'll keep watching for updates.

[uh_no]

My understanding from various sources is he will not play this week. Everything else is on the table. I expect he is unlikely to play next week, but that isn't based on inside info.

yeah...not providing perhaps intentionally vague injury updates is not like K at all. very curious.

Presumably Bolden would have had an MRI days ago...and it seems like were he out for the season, it would have been announced...so I can't help but think it's likely to still be a low grade sprain. Given the degree to which they've been cautious with Zion, I'd imagine they would do the same for Marques. People talk about how Zion has more to lose, but it's not like Marques doesn't have potential NBA prospects after next year, especially with the degree that he's improved this year. I'd expect the team to be giving Marques the same diligence with his (fingers crossed) return. If that means he sits out this week, and the first week of the tournament, or the second week of the tournament...I'm all for it. That being my world view, I'd expect a second weekend return should we be lucky enough to get that far, based on the curious lack of info and the average time-table for a low-grade sprain.

get well big guy.

[Lar77]

Just curious as to how you position yourself behind the plate: IF you're crouching on the inside part of the plate(as do a majority of MLB umpires), then I would think you'd have a difficult time seeing the outside corner of the plate, but IF you position yourself directly behind the catcher then I'd guess you would have a better view of the outside corner. Just wondering. Thanks in advance.

It used to be a controversy between the AL and NL. AL umps would look over the shoulder closest to the batter (the slot); NL umps would look directly over the catcher. The argument was exactly as you stated - AL umps were weaker on outside corner calls and NL umps were weaker on low balls. I think they reconciled as equipment changed and follow the AL method, which is a little more mobile position, which is also preferred at lower levels.

On Bolden, I couldn't tell on the replay if it was the stanchion or if he would have been hurt anyway, but this is yet another stanchion injury (remember Duhon in 2004 and Paul George?). There really should be more space immediately behind the basket (including the photographers that crowd in at Cameron.

Get well Marques

[Bluedog]

I understood his point just fine, regardless of the grammatical errors. I’m more concerned about your reading ability than anything else if you consider that “unreadable.”

Suggesting a more strict way for holding referees accountable is an idea, however I’m not sure there isn’t something like that in place. I do know that NBA referees are judged very strictly, however it happens “behind the scenes” so to speak, I’m assuming because if it were to be publicized about which calls were correct/incorrect, it’d lead to a lot more public scrutiny.



Don’t worry. If anybody can’t get past your punctuation errors, the issue on their end, not yours. Sorry to hear about your laptop, hope everything gets straightened out for you soon!

I'm pretty sure the NBA releases referee reports for like the last two minutes of games or something. They started that a few years ago. (Unless they stopped it.)

Edit: Here are samples: https://official.nba.com/2017-18-nba-officiating-last-two-minute-reports/

And, yes, seems very odd that they haven't released the severity of the sprain with Bolden like they did with Zion....I'm not sure what to think of it.

[wgl1228]

So who did we decide might be the best starter at this point (assuming Zion is back)? Do you go small and put OC in, or stick with Javin or White who have more experience and are better defensively?

[jv001]

So who did we decide might be the best starter at this point (assuming Zion is back)? Do you go small and put OC in, or stick with Javin or White who have more experience and are better defensively?

Probably depends on who we're playing. GoDuke!

[Acymetric]

So who did we decide might be the best starter at this point (assuming Zion is back)? Do you go small and put OC in, or stick with Javin or White who have more experience and are better defensively?

My guess is we start Javin, K does not seem to be a fan of the small lineup with Zion as the biggest guy on the court (which is totally different from Zion playing the 5, just ask K). I would guess we will see Zion in the "not-5-but-really-is-a-5" spot a fair bit over the course of the game though.

[mkirsh]

My guess is we start Javin, K does not seem to be a fan of the small lineup with Zion as the biggest guy on the court (which is totally different from Zion playing the 5, just ask K). I would guess we will see Zion in the "not-5-but-really-is-a-5" spot a fair bit over the course of the game though.

Agree - Javin starts, but likely Jack (or potentially Alex) finishes

[budwom]

Since there's no new info, how about this question, Australia related: should Baker get to play, how would Jack White feel about playing with a Joey?

[Indoor66]

He would Wallaby with it.

[UrinalCake]

Unfortunately, the logical conclusion to draw from the extra come of silence is that he is not expected to return this season and K is waiting until after Selection Sunday to announce it. You would think that if he had better news he would make it public. Maybe I’m just overthinking this.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Unfortunately, the logical conclusion to draw from the extra come of silence is that he is not expected to return this season and K is waiting until after Selection Sunday to announce it. You would think that if he had better news he would make it public. Maybe I’m just overthinking this.

I'm not sure that's the "logic conclusion." It is certainly an inference.

[golfinesquire]

Unfortunately, the logical conclusion to draw from the extra come of silence is that he is not expected to return this season and K is waiting until after Selection Sunday to announce it. You would think that if he had better news he would make it public. Maybe I’m just overthinking this.

I hope you are overthinking. Seems like if there is a possibility that Bolden will return if they get past the first weekend, then K would say nothing. He would not want his kids focused on a potential return and he would not want to put any pressure on Marques to make this deadline. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Highlander]

I hope you are overthinking. Seems like if there is a possibility that Bolden will return if they get past the first weekend, then K would say nothing. He would not want his kids focused on a potential return and he would not want to put any pressure on Marques to make this deadline. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I tend to agree. K said after the UNC game that he doesn't care where his team is seeded. Maybe that's gamesmanship, but I think he knows they are at worst a 2 seed, and the ACC tourney will decide the matter. I DO think K didn't rush Zion back for the UNC game because he saw the result as ultimately meaningless with a rematch looming a week later.

I think it's more likely that K honestly doesn't know if Bolden will be back this season, and doesn't want to speculate and/or put a timetable on something that he has no control over. If Marques was done for the season, I think K would have just announced that and focused on "next play."

[GoDuke2015]

I tend to agree. K said after the UNC game that he doesn't care where his team is seeded. Maybe that's gamesmanship, but I think he knows they are at worst a 2 seed, and the ACC tourney will decide the matter. I DO think K didn't rush Zion back for the UNC game because he saw the result as ultimately meaningless with a rematch looming a week later.

I think it's more likely that K honestly doesn't know if Bolden will be back this season, and doesn't want to speculate and/or put a timetable on something that he has no control over. If Marques was done for the season, I think K would have just announced that and focused on "next play."

Yes, I tend to agree with this assessment as well. GoDuke!

[budwom]

I think there is some kind of rule which states that The Cone of Silence neither implies good news nor bad news, simply a lack of news. As such, no conclusions can be drawn (according to The Rule, of course).

[richardjackson199]

I tend to agree. K said after the UNC game that he doesn't care where his team is seeded. Maybe that's gamesmanship, but I think he knows they are at worst a 2 seed, and the ACC tourney will decide the matter. I DO think K didn't rush Zion back for the UNC game because he saw the result as ultimately meaningless with a rematch looming a week later.

I think it's more likely that K honestly doesn't know if Bolden will be back this season, and doesn't want to speculate and/or put a timetable on something that he has no control over. If Marques was done for the season, I think K would have just announced that and focused on "next play."

I agree with Highlander and budwom.

UrinalCake, I think you're reading too much into it - and I'm saying that to reassure you. There is plenty of reason for hope.

I think K cares about our seed. But the bottom line is that our 1 seed vs 2 seed will depend on the ACC Tourney performance, not Bolden's injury. If we win the ACC Tourney, we're definitely a 1 seed. If we beat UNC, we're a 1 seed. Either of those would happen without Bolden playing and with Zion back (since we know Bolden is out for ACC Tourney). If we lose one of the first 2 games of the ACC Tourney, we're a 2 seed.

So K is being smart by downplaying Bolden's importance to our team. Talking about it more would just emphasize to the committee that we're missing a key piece. We all know that Bolden is important to our team. But no need for K to go into a possible Bolden timeline right now. He said he's out for the ACC Tourney and that's all K felt was prudent to say this week. After K knows our outcome in the ACC Tourney, K (and we) will basically know what seed we'll probably get. After that, I expect he'll probably give more vague, ambiguous info about Bolden, like he usually does with these injuries.

I think no news is probably good news. It's great that we haven't been told that he is done for the year.
So we just don't know Bolden's status beyond this weekend. But I think that's really all we can conclude. I think there is equal probability that we see him again at some point this season or that we don't based on what we have been told. I tend to lean more toward him being available for the sweet 16 weekend as most likely. But just my gut.

Of course, UC may absolutely be right, but this is what I make of it. :cool:

Let's get it.

[jipops]

I agree with Highlander and budwom.

UrinalCake, I think you're reading too much into it - and I'm saying that to reassure you. There is plenty of reason for hope.

I think K cares about our seed. But the bottom line is that our 1 seed vs 2 seed will depend on the ACC Tourney performance, not Bolden's injury. If we win the ACC Tourney, we're definitely a 1 seed. If we beat UNC, we're a 1 seed. Either of those would happen without Bolden playing and with Zion back (since we know Bolden is out for ACC Tourney). If we lose one of the first 2 games of the ACC Tourney, we're a 2 seed.

So K is being smart by downplaying Bolden's importance to our team. Talking about it more would just emphasize to the committee that we're missing a key piece. We all know that Bolden is important to our team. But no need for K to go into a possible Bolden timeline right now. He said he's out for the ACC Tourney and that's all K felt was prudent to say this week. After K knows our outcome in the ACC Tourney, K (and we) will basically know what seed we'll probably get. After that, I expect he'll probably give more vague, ambiguous info about Bolden, like he usually does with these injuries.

I think no news is probably good news. It's great that we haven't been told that he is done for the year.
So we just don't know Bolden's status beyond this weekend. But I think that's really all we can conclude. I think there is equal probability that we see him again at some point this season or that we don't based on what we have been told. I tend to lean more toward him being available for the sweet 16 weekend as most likely. But just my gut.

Of course, UC may absolutely be right, but this is what I make of it. :cool:

Let's get it.

I also think if it was worse than a grade 1 we would have heard already.

Agreed. If Duke is fortunate enough to advance, it is the second weekend that will be the real question. By then it will have been almost 3 weeks since the injury. This could potentially be enough time to heal up and get a practice in. Again, hopefully Duke is fortunate enough to have advanced by this time.

[NSDukeFan]

I also think if it was worse than a grade 1 we would have heard already.

Agreed. If Duke is fortunate enough to advance, it is the second weekend that will be the real question. By then it will have been almost 3 weeks since the injury. This could potentially be enough time to heal up and get a practice in. Again, hopefully Duke is fortunate enough to have advanced by this time.

I wonder if this is part of the reason for no news? To announce when Bolden could possibly be back would require assuming something that perhaps the staff feels should not be assumed?

[sagegrouse]

My understanding from various sources is he will not play this week. Everything else is on the table. I expect he is unlikely to play next week, but that isn't based on inside info.

I hope he plays on April 8.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I hope he plays on April 8.

I can get behind that. Maybe a few garbage time minutes when we're up 35 just to get some screen time?

[Utley]

I have seen a few pictures of Bolden out in sweat clothes with the team in Charlotte. I am sure he is still out for the ACC but a potentially good sign that he could be ready for the Big Dance.

[El_Diablo]

I have seen a few pictures of Bolden out in sweat clothes with the team in Charlotte. I am sure he is still out for the ACC but a potentially good sign that he could be ready for the Big Dance.

No crutches?

[uh_no]

I have seen a few pictures of Bolden out in sweat clothes with the team in Charlotte. I am sure he is still out for the ACC but a potentially good sign that he could be ready for the Big Dance.

doesn't mean much with knee injuries. Zion walked off the court after his injury. for all we know, he could have a mega-brace on under those sweats.

[CDu]

doesn't mean much with knee injuries. Zion walked off the court after his injury. for all we know, he could have a mega-brace on under those sweats.

Heck, I played a couple of rec league softball games with a torn ACL and meniscus (not great, but I managed). He wouldn’t even need a big brace to still be out for several months.

[bluedev_92]

Coach K just said in an interview that Bolden was progressing better than expected & that he was “optimistic about next week”, although he didn’t want to set that to be the expectation. Definitely a good sign!

[jv001]

Coach K just said in an interview that Bolden was progressing better than expected & that he was “optimistic about next week”, although he didn’t want to set that to be the expectation. Definitely a good sign!

We sure could use Marques right about now. Javin having a hard time holding on to passes. GoDuke!

[Utley]

Heck, I played a couple of rec league softball games with a torn ACL and meniscus (not great, but I managed). He wouldn’t even need a big brace to still be out for several months.

I will admit I am clutching at straws - but K seems to be backing this up.

[BandAlum83]

There is a space key on every keyboard.

I wonder if he dictates and can't edit because he might be vision impaired.

But if so, he should be able to dictate "new paragraph," "space" and similar commands.

[CDu]

I will admit I am clutching at straws - but K seems to be backing this up.

Yeah, I am glad to hear K’s comments. My experience certainly didn’t preclude the possibility that Bolden is near ready, just meant to note the possibility that he wouldn’t be.

[HDB]

Coach K just said in an interview that Bolden was progressing better than expected & that he was “optimistic about next week”, although he didn’t want to set that to be the expectation. Definitely a good sign!

This is terrific news. I'm surprised there hasn't been more written or said about this yet. Having our "complete" team heading into next weekend would be dynamite.

[WVDUKEFAN]

Coach K just said in an interview that Bolden was progressing better than expected & that he was “optimistic about next week”, although he didn’t want to set that to be the expectation. Definitely a good sign!

I was surprised Bolden didn't come up as a topic in the post game presser. I loved Coach K's responses to some of the questions they asked, particularly to Zion. He's dressed the media down a couple times this year.

[GoDuke2015]

Coach K just said in an interview that Bolden was progressing better than expected & that he was “optimistic about next week”, although he didn’t want to set that to be the expectation. Definitely a good sign!

Great to hear, thanks for the update. GoDuke!

[WVDUKEFAN]

Don’t know if anyone else heard the presser, but Coach K said again that he was optimistic about Bolden being back next weekend. Fingers crossed.

[plimnko]

i noticed him walking off the court last night. he seemed to be walking fine....no limp or any sign of favoring his knee. hopefully, he'll pass the protocol process and be back 100% next week.

[Dukehk]

Wow that’s really great news about bolden!!!

Will we finally get our full team right at the most important time of the year?

It’s been an absolute rollercoaster for us Duke fans and we deserve to see a full deck out there for one last go around.

[Saratoga2]

Wow that’s really great news about bolden!!!

Will we finally get our full team right at the most important time of the year?

It’s been an absolute rollercoaster for us Duke fans and we deserve to see a full deck out there for one last go around.

I would like to see him back for the second game, probably against VCU. If not then, for sure against Va Tech who will may see the second round.

[jv001]

I would like to see him back for the second game, probably against VCU. If not then, for sure against Va Tech who will may see the second round.

If Marques is healthy and play as well as he had been before the injury and Javin can play like he did the last 2 games our center position is pretty solid. I'm hoping Tre can keep up his offensive contributions because I don't worry about his defense. Having him as our 3rd scorer can make up for a bad game from Cam.
GoDuke!

[GoDuke2015]

If Marques is healthy and play as well as he had been before the injury and Javin can play like he did the last 2 games our center position is pretty solid. I'm hoping Tre can keep up his offensive contributions because I don't worry about his defense. Having him as our 3rd scorer can make up for a bad game from Cam.
GoDuke!

Did coach K say anything about Bolden's availability recently? GoDuke!

[Acymetric]

Did coach K say anything about Bolden's availability recently? GoDuke!

Wouldn't expect to hear much until after the first weekend (because it is unlikely he plays before the Sweet 16). If he is back for the first or second round that would be a big bonus, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

[Dukehk]

Marques makes us one of the most formidable defensive teams in the country. It allows us to put even more pressure on the perimeter knowing that we have an excellent shot blocker in the paint. I believe we lead the ACC (and nation?) in blocks per game with Zion and Marques healthy? Someone fact check me!

Having him back is a huge boost and gives us even more size and depth. It will be useful against someone like ucf or vtech who have some excellent bigs.

I feel it also allows Zion to get even more “help side” blocks. He seems to love coming in late on a driving opponent after bolden alters a shot attempt.

[jimsumner]

Did coach K say anything about Bolden's availability recently? GoDuke!

He said Duke "hopes" to have Bolden back this weekend. Injury not as serious as first feared.

[flyingdutchdevil]

He said Duke "hopes" to have Bolden back this weekend. Injury not as serious as first feared.

Is that today's news or last week's news?

[UrinalCake]

Is that today's news or last week's news?

He said that after the Syracuse game I believe.

[scottdude8]

If we end up facing UCF in the second round I really hope we'll have Marques back to match up against Tacko Fall. I wasn't too pleased to see them as a potential second round matchup just given how unique of a challenge they pose, something you never want to face on short rest (much like no one wants to see Syracuse and the 2-3 zone on short rest... have fun Gonzaga!). I would be shocked to see him play on Friday, but much less so to see him get some minutes on Sunday. That would give him two full weeks to recover, which is right on the timetable if this was indeed as mild of a sprain as has been indicated.

[kAzE]

He said Duke "hopes" to have Bolden back this weekend. Injury not as serious as first feared.

Wow, that's really good news. With the way it looked on TV, I did not expect to have Marques back at all, honestly. In any case, I'd expect Duke to be extra cautious and hold him out until he's 100%. We should be able to reach the 2nd weekend without him, hopefully, he can be 100% healthy by then.

[CDu]

If we end up facing UCF in the second round I really hope we'll have Marques back to match up against Tacko Fall. I wasn't too pleased to see them as a potential second round matchup just given how unique of a challenge they pose, something you never want to face on short rest (much like no one wants to see Syracuse and the 2-3 zone on short rest... have fun Gonzaga!). I would be shocked to see him play on Friday, but much less so to see him get some minutes on Sunday. That would give him two full weeks to recover, which is right on the timetable if this was indeed as mild of a sprain as has been indicated.

I'm not too concerned about UCF. For one thing, they aren't even expected to win against VCU, although that game should be close. For another, they just aren't that good. They got boatshedded by Memphis in their tourney, and the Tigers smacked them around earlier in the season too. Their best win is a road win against a not-that-great Houston, and their only other interesting win is a home win over a 7-seed Cincy (whom they lost to on the road).

Fall is very tall, and he certainly can be a factor defensively around the rim. But he's never faced anyone remotely as difficult to guard as Zion Williamson. He's not terribly mobile, and not very physical. I can imagine Fall getting a block here or there, but I can't imagine him really slowing us down. And he's not an offensive weapon other than catch-and-dunk situations.

[SavDukeGrad]

I was at the tournament and stayed at the team hotel. I was amazed how well Bolden was walking and moving when the team got off the bus from Durham last Wednesday afternoon. I commented to a member of the staff later that Bolden looked good. He said that MB was doing really well, and he also said what Coach K said in the press conference - that they hoped to have him back this weekend. FWIW

[Kedsy]

Marques makes us one of the most formidable defensive teams in the country. It allows us to put even more pressure on the perimeter knowing that we have an excellent shot blocker in the paint. I believe we lead the ACC (and nation?) in blocks per game with Zion and Marques healthy? Someone fact check me!

Duke leads the nation in blocks per game, period. Marques certainly helps, but it's not really him who "makes us" one of the most formidable defensive teams in the country. We are that with or without him. Obviously we'd all prefer "with," but it's Tre, Zion, and Cam (and to a much lesser extent Javin and Marques) who make us so formidable on D.

Also, while Marques has Duke's highest block% over a full season since Shelden Williams stopped charging rent in Durham, during conference play Javin's block% (7.7%) is higher than Marques's (6.9%). In other words, even when Marques doesn't play, we have an excellent shot blocker (actually we have three, including Zion and Jack).

[kAzE]

Duke leads the nation in blocks per game, period. Marques certainly helps, but it's not really him who "makes us" one of the most formidable defensive teams in the country. We are that with or without him. Obviously we'd all prefer "with," but it's Tre, Zion, and Cam (and to a much lesser extent Javin and Marques) who make us so formidable on D.

Also, while Marques has Duke's highest block% over a full season since Shelden Williams stopped charging rent in Durham, during conference play Javin's block% (7.7%) is higher than Marques's (6.9%). In other words, even when Marques doesn't play, we have an excellent shot blocker (actually we have three, including Zion and Jack).

Not RJ? I know about the lapses he has at times, but he came to Duke with a reputation as a lock down defender, and his excellent defensive rebounding and overall intensity at least give the appearance that he's pretty good on defense. I'm curious what your numbers say, though.

[kako]

I'm not too concerned about UCF. For one thing, they aren't even expected to win against VCU, although that game should be close. For another, they just aren't that good. They got boatshedded by Memphis in their tourney, and the Tigers smacked them around earlier in the season too. Their best win is a road win against a not-that-great Houston, and their only other interesting win is a home win over a 7-seed Cincy (whom they lost to on the road).

Fall is very tall, and he certainly can be a factor defensively around the rim. But he's never faced anyone remotely as difficult to guard as Zion Williamson. He's not terribly mobile, and not very physical. I can imagine Fall getting a block here or there, but I can't imagine him really slowing us down. And he's not an offensive weapon other than catch-and-dunk situations.

Fall could be a factor defensively, especially if Duke can't hit 3s. If Duke played UCF in a 3 game series, I wouldn't worry about it. But in single elimination, anything can happen. Overconfidence is a significant enemy.


If Bolden isn't back, that could mean Vrank has spot duty. The game plan could include drawing fouls on Fall, and perhaps Vrank could help... never thought I would be writing that! But after the UNC game, I have much more confidence in him.

9F

[MChambers]

Fall could be a factor defensively, especially if Duke can't hit 3s. If Duke played UCF in a 3 game series, I wouldn't worry about it. But in single elimination, anything can happen. Overconfidence is a significant enemy.


If Bolden isn't back, that could mean Vrank has spot duty. The game plan could include drawing fouls on Fall, and perhaps Vrank could help... never thought I would be writing that! But after the UNC game, I have much more confidence in him.

9F

Fall is really slow. So slow that there is a lot of doubt he can play in the NBA at 7’6”, 300 lbs. I wouldn’t worry about him in particular. UCF is decent, but not primarily because of Fall.

[CDu]

Not RJ? I know about the lapses he has at times, but he came to Duke with a reputation as a lock down defender, and his excellent defensive rebounding and overall intensity at least give the appearance that he's pretty good on defense. I'm curious what your numbers say, though.

My view of Barrett's play defensively is that he is a solid defensive rebounder but a pretty mediocre defender. When we have breakdowns off the dribble, it seems more often to be his man doing the damage. The stats appear to back this up: he has the second worst DRtg of the regulars and the worst DBPM of the regulars despite his strong DReb% (second among regulars there).

I'm sure he was strong at defense in high school where the competition was weaker and his size/athleticism combo was further advanced than most kids his age. But he hasn't been a plus defender for us.

[jimsumner]

Fall could be a factor defensively, especially if Duke can't hit 3s. If Duke played UCF in a 3 game series, I wouldn't worry about it. But in single elimination, anything can happen. Overconfidence is a significant enemy.


9F

FSU starts a 7-4 center. He barely played against Duke after the first few minutes. Hamilton said that Koumadje was just too slow to be effective against Duke.

A perhaps not irrelevant factoid.

[Reddevil]

Fall could be a factor defensively, especially if Duke can't hit 3s. If Duke played UCF in a 3 game series, I wouldn't worry about it. But in single elimination, anything can happen. Overconfidence is a significant enemy.


If Bolden isn't back, that could mean Vrank has spot duty. The game plan could include drawing fouls on Fall, and perhaps Vrank could help... never thought I would be writing that! But after the UNC game, I have much more confidence in him.

9F

Play small ball and run 'em. Run, run and run some more. Goodbye UCF.

[Kedsy]

Not RJ? I know about the lapses he has at times, but he came to Duke with a reputation as a lock down defender, and his excellent defensive rebounding and overall intensity at least give the appearance that he's pretty good on defense. I'm curious what your numbers say, though.

Defensive stats aren't particularly reliable, so it's hard to say definitively. As CDu mentioned, RJ does poorly in the defensive efficiency metrics (dRating, defensive BPM, and defensive win shares per 40). He's also last among our rotation players in steal% and 6th among our rotation players in block%.

He is a good defensive rebounder, especially for a wing. But overall on defense, I'd put him behind all of our rotation players (even including Jordan) except Alex O'Connell. That said, it may not be a slight against RJ as much as a shout-out to the fact that we have a lot of good defensive players on this team. In other words, if RJ is our 7th best defensive player, our D must be pretty good.

[flyingdutchdevil]

My view of Barrett's play defensively is that he is a solid defensive rebounder but a pretty mediocre defender. When we have breakdowns off the dribble, it seems more often to be his man doing the damage. The stats appear to back this up: he has the second worst DRtg of the regulars and the worst DBPM of the regulars despite his strong DReb% (second among regulars there).

I'm sure he was strong at defense in high school where the competition was weaker and his size/athleticism combo was further advanced than most kids his age. But he hasn't been a plus defender for us.

The funny thing is, in preseason, many of us were convinced RJ would be the best Duke defender due to his energy and tenacity. Goes to show that defense is a very, very difficult thing to forecast.

(also, we were all wrong on Zion. I was convinced he was going to be the 4th best freshman on the team. Now I feel like an idiot...)

[kAzE]

The funny thing is, in preseason, many of us were convinced RJ would be the best Duke defender due to his energy and tenacity. Goes to show that defense is a very, very difficult thing to forecast.

(also, we were all wrong on Zion. I was convinced he was going to be the 4th best freshman on the team. Now I feel like an idiot...)

Wow, 4th best? Was that opinion formed before or after the Canada tour? Granted, Cam and Tre didn't play in those games, but I was pretty sold on Zion and RJ after those performances, without being sure who was the better player of the two, but after the Kentucky game, I was convinced Zion is the best college player in the country. I think it may have taken until after the Maui tournament for public opinion to come around.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Wow, 4th best? Was that opinion formed before or after the Canada tour? Granted, Cam and Tre didn't play in those games, but I was pretty sold on Zion and RJ after those performances. But after the Kentucky game, I was convinced Zion is the best college player in the country. I think it may have taken until after the Maui tournament for public opinion to come around.

Yup. 4th best until the Kentucky game.

I knew RJ was going to be a stud. I thought Cam would be 2nd fiddle because he had everything sans a high motor coming into college and Coach K would fix the motor. I bought into Tre Jones as the second coming of Tyus (with more athleticism and a worse shot. That turned out to be true!). And I thought Zion was this incredible dunker without much of a basketball game.

[kako]

Play small ball and run 'em. Run, run and run some more. Goodbye UCF.


Fall is really slow. So slow that there is a lot of doubt he can play in the NBA at 7’6”, 300 lbs.


FSU starts a 7-4 center. He barely played against Duke after the first few minutes. Hamilton said that Koumadje was just too slow to be effective against Duke.

Posters are certainly entitled to their opinions, and I respect that. But I'll say it again. Overconfidence is the biggest opponent for this team. I need only point to Wake Forest as an example.

Warning - Rant Ahead!

Fans tend to think ahead. The last thing this team needs is to start thinking like fans. This young team needs to focus on each and every opponent, taking each one seriously with the utmost attention. The smiling, flexing Zion is fun, but they could use more nasty MJ or Kobe in them... or in K's terms, that MFer like Laettner that will make sure this team won't lose. One thing that bugs me is how all of sportsyak is saying how screwed MSU is getting placed in Duke's region. It makes it seem like Duke's championship is a guarantee, so it's inevitable that Duke will get to the Elite 8. Duke is very good, and maybe borderline great. Two All-Americans on the same team. Zion is a monster, RJ is the alpha dog, Jones is a defensive wizard. McDonald's All-Americans, the Brotherhood. Blah blah blah... All of this means nothing if Duke gets overconfident in any game from now on. They have a huge target on their backs. No team will be looking past them. If these freshmen start to believe the hype and think it's their birthright to win the natty, they will get beat by a very good team like a MSU, and they may even get upset by a weaker team like a UCF. Again, I'm pointing right at Brown's shot as it goes up at the buzzer. If a truly awful team like Wake can be within a hair's breath of beating Duke (even without Zion), any decent team at least has a shot of doing the same (with Zion). To think otherwise is, again, overconfidence. It scares me to think that the players may be lurking and reading these comments. They are NOT what I would want anyone on the team reading. And if they are reading this, stop right now. Go watch more tape on your next opponent or get back on the court... maybe practice the high post screen, or better yet - free throws. Nothing is guaranteed!

9F

[proelitedota]

Good post kako.

One game at a time. I'm sweating our first round matchup as always.

[NSDukeFan]

Posters are certainly entitled to their opinions, and I respect that. But I'll say it again. Overconfidence is the biggest opponent for this team. I need only point to Wake Forest as an example.

Warning - Rant Ahead!

Fans tend to think ahead. The last thing this team needs is to start thinking like fans. This young team needs to focus on each and every opponent, taking each one seriously with the utmost attention. The smiling, flexing Zion is fun, but they could use more nasty MJ or Kobe in them... or in K's terms, that MFer like Laettner that will make sure this team won't lose. One thing that bugs me is how all of sportsyak is saying how screwed MSU is getting placed in Duke's region. It makes it seem like Duke's championship is a guarantee, so it's inevitable that Duke will get to the Elite 8. Duke is very good, and maybe borderline great. Two All-Americans on the same team. Zion is a monster, RJ is the alpha dog, Jones is a defensive wizard. McDonald's All-Americans, the Brotherhood. Blah blah blah... All of this means nothing if Duke gets overconfident in any game from now on. They have a huge target on their backs. No team will be looking past them. If these freshmen start to believe the hype and think it's their birthright to win the natty, they will get beat by a very good team like a MSU, and they may even get upset by a weaker team like a UCF. Again, I'm pointing right at Brown's shot as it goes up at the buzzer. If a truly awful team like Wake can be within a hair's breath of beating Duke (even without Zion), any decent team at least has a shot of doing the same (with Zion). To think otherwise is, again, overconfidence. It scares me to think that the players may be lurking and reading these comments. They are NOT what I would want anyone on the team reading. And if they are reading this, stop right now. Go watch more tape on your next opponent or get back on the court... maybe practice the high post screen, or better yet - free throws. Nothing is guaranteed!

9F

I’m not convinced that what posters post here directly affects how the players mentally approach the game. Obviously, that changes once the game begins and fans aren’t properly prepared and wearing the correct lucky jerseys, hats, sitting in the correct place with the proper food and refreshments and cheering with the proper intensity.

[jimsumner]

Posters are certainly entitled to their opinions, and I respect that. But I'll say it again. Overconfidence is the biggest opponent for this team. I need only point to Wake Forest as an example.

Warning - Rant Ahead!

Fans tend to think ahead. The last thing this team needs is to start thinking like fans. This young team needs to focus on each and every opponent, taking each one seriously with the utmost attention. The smiling, flexing Zion is fun, but they could use more nasty MJ or Kobe in them... or in K's terms, that MFer like Laettner that will make sure this team won't lose. One thing that bugs me is how all of sportsyak is saying how screwed MSU is getting placed in Duke's region. It makes it seem like Duke's championship is a guarantee, so it's inevitable that Duke will get to the Elite 8. Duke is very good, and maybe borderline great. Two All-Americans on the same team. Zion is a monster, RJ is the alpha dog, Jones is a defensive wizard. McDonald's All-Americans, the Brotherhood. Blah blah blah... All of this means nothing if Duke gets overconfident in any game from now on. They have a huge target on their backs. No team will be looking past them. If these freshmen start to believe the hype and think it's their birthright to win the natty, they will get beat by a very good team like a MSU, and they may even get upset by a weaker team like a UCF. Again, I'm pointing right at Brown's shot as it goes up at the buzzer. If a truly awful team like Wake can be within a hair's breath of beating Duke (even without Zion), any decent team at least has a shot of doing the same (with Zion). To think otherwise is, again, overconfidence. It scares me to think that the players may be lurking and reading these comments. They are NOT what I would want anyone on the team reading. And if they are reading this, stop right now. Go watch more tape on your next opponent or get back on the court... maybe practice the high post screen, or better yet - free throws. Nothing is guaranteed!

9F

Factually noting that Florida State elected to sit their 7-4 center against Duke constitutes fan overconfidence?

Curious.

Suggesting that fan overconfidence might somehow negatively impact the team?

Even more curious.

[proelitedota]

Factually noting that Florida State elected to sit their 7-4 center against Duke constitutes fan overconfidence?

Curious.

Suggesting that fan overconfidence might somehow negatively impact the team?

Even more curious.

The players are regulars on DBR. You don't want to pump them up too much.

[MarkD83]

So any word on Marques?

[MChambers]

The players are regulars on DBR. You don't want to pump them up too much.

Some of us are redshirting, but I guess we’ve still got to be ready.

[Reddevil]

Suggesting that fan overconfidence might somehow negatively impact the team?

Even more curious.

Yeah, and there are these people that teach, and help guide the team - coaches if you will, whose job it is to keep the team centered and focused. I understand Duke has a pretty good staff.:rolleyes:

[UrinalCake]

Syracuse also has a pretty big dude, the guy who wears those James Worthy goggles, and he picked up four fouls in about three minutes of playing time against Zion. Brooks of UNC fouled out. As Mr. Sumner mentioned, Lurch from FSU was also ineffective. Being tall is nice, but it’s not the only factor in being a basketball player.

I actually think our best play against the Taco guy will be to go small. Regardless, play our game and let them have to adjust.

[kako]

Suggesting that fan overconfidence might somehow negatively impact the team?

Even more curious.

Do you think the players never read this board? Or the people in the players' inner circle that might have a player's ear? If they don't, then there is no impact.

To reiterate my main point - overconfidence is this team's biggest enemy. And my belief is that anything that potentially feeds that overconfidence can harm the team, whether it's sportsyak, sychophantic tweets, Zionmania, etc., and it needs to be ignored.

9F

[wavedukefan70s]

Do you think the players never read this board? Or the people in the players' inner circle that might have a player's ear? If they don't, then there is no impact.

To reiterate my main point - overconfidence is this team's biggest enemy. And my belief is that anything that potentially feeds that overconfidence can harm the team, whether it's sportsyak, sychophantic tweets, Zionmania, etc., and it needs to be ignored.

9F

I use to think that.until I learned the local highschool players and some assistant coaches were reading our football boards.you never know who's reading this.
We just want them to win it all.im just as proud of this team if they didnt.
If they focus and try to destroy every opponent.its very doable.

[Acymetric]

I use to think that.until I learned the local highschool players and some assistant coaches were reading our football boards.you never know who's reading this.
We just want them to win it all.im just as proud of this team if they didnt.
If they focus and try to destroy every opponent.its very doable.

You would certainly be surprised at who reads this board. Didn't Jay Bilas' used to swing by on occasion?

[Indoor66]

Do you think the players never read this board? Or the people in the players' inner circle that might have a player's ear? If they don't, then there is no impact.

To reiterate my main point - overconfidence is this team's biggest enemy. And my belief is that anything that potentially feeds that overconfidence can harm the team, whether it's sportsyak, sychophantic tweets, Zionmania, etc., and it needs to be ignored.

9F

I can easily believe that some of the players read this and other boards. I can also easily believe that they get a laugh at the self importance sometimes assumed here.

[-jk]

Don't forget K has one of his secret accounts here...

-jk

[WVDUKEFAN]

I’d love to hear about Marques’s knee.

[fan345678]

Don't forget K has one of his secret accounts here...

-jk

right...probably with some boring generic name, like a number in the crowd
:p

[CDu]

I can easily believe that some of the players read this and other boards. I can also easily believe that they get a laugh at the self importance sometimes assumed here.

Yeah I can’t imagine any players taking anything on these boards seriously. I would even be surprised if they spent anything more than a passing glance at the boards at all.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Don't forget K has one of his secret accounts here...

-jk


right...probably with some boring generic name, like a number in the crowd
:p

He's one of the ones with flames. :p

[MChambers]

He's one of the ones with flames. :p

And he always wins the minutes contest.

[flyingdutchdevil]

And he always wins the minutes contest.

So he’s the one with Joey Baker at 0.25 minutes per game!

[GoDuke2015]

I’d love to hear about Marques’s knee.

Me too! Any updates? Guess we won't hear anything until Thursday or Friday. Would love to see him play at least a little bit. GoDuke!

[fan345678]

He's one of the ones with flames. :p

K's posting habits are day-to-day.

But on the Bolden note, we haven't gotten the kind of pre-emtpive announcements that we got with Zion when we were playing Tues-Sat games. With it being Thurs.-Sat., the silence is going to be longer.

[WVDUKEFAN]

K's posting habits are day-to-day.

But on the Bolden note, we haven't gotten the kind of pre-emtpive announcements that we got with Zion when we were playing Tues-Sat games. With it being Thurs.-Sat., the silence is going to be longer.

We have the Friday/Sunday draw.

[fan345678]

We have the Friday/Sunday draw.

Sheesh...I knew that...still had "Tues-Sat" in my head when I typed...thanks

[SupaDave]

You would certainly be surprised at who reads this board. Didn't Jay Bilas' used to swing by on occasion?

Hasn't posted in a while...

https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/member.php?4064-Jay-Bilas

[Rich]

Hasn't posted in a while...

https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/member.php?4064-Jay-Bilas


Jay Bilas has not made any friends yet

Ha, ha, that made me laugh out loud.

[devildeac]

Hasn't posted in a while...

https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/member.php?4064-Jay-Bilas

From that link/page:

"Jay Bilas has not made any friends yet."

EDIT: I see Rich beat me to it by several minutes but my post still stands (I hope.)

[rsvman]

From that link/page:

"Jay Bilas has not made any friends yet."

EDIT: I see Rich beat me to it by several minutes but my post still stands (I hope.)

That line was by far my favorite part.


It appears he's still hard at work at not making any friends. lol.

[WVDUKEFAN]

Are there any press conferences or interviews scheduled with the coaches prior to Friday?

[tbyers11]

Steve Wiseman reporting that Marques practiced on Tuesday

https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article228139469.html

Staff won't commit to him definitively playing on Friday at this point but this a big step forward.

[UrinalCake]

Steve Wiseman reporting that Marques practiced on Tuesday.

9184

[Kedsy]

Don't really need him Friday. Would be nice to have on Sunday (and beyond).

[Hingeknocker]

Even stronger confirmation that Bolden will be back soon from the iconically named Chronicle Twitter:

https://twitter.com/dukebasketball/status/1108108692237549568


"Ques is coming back now, which is good—I'll be able to get a breather now a little more frequently."

Javin DeLaurier hinted earlier this afternoon that junior big man Marques Bolden is close to being back for the NCAA tournament.

[BD80]

Even stronger confirmation that Bolden will be back soon from the iconically named Chronicle Twitter:


"Ques is coming back now, which is good—I'll be able to get a breather now a little more frequently."

Javin DeLaurier hinted earlier this afternoon that junior big man Marques Bolden is close to being back for the NCAA tournament.

https://twitter.com/dukebasketball/status/1108108692237549568

Amusing. If Ques is truly back, who will be giving whom the breather?

[camion]

Steve Wiseman reporting that Marques practiced on Tuesday

https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article228139469.html

Staff won't commit to him definitively playing on Friday at this point but this a big step forward.

Bolden often takes big steps.

[FerryFor50]

Don't really need him Friday. Would be nice to have on Sunday (and beyond).

I'd like to see him back on Friday (if healthy), just to get a few game minutes in and knock the rust off.

[J4Kop99]

Don't really need him Friday. Would be nice to have on Sunday (and beyond).

I certainly would not force this issue-- but if he is healthy, the sooner he can get out there and get re-acclimated, the better... IMO.

Edit: Did not see Ferry's post. Beat me to it.

[NSDukeFan]

I'd like to see him back on Friday (if healthy), just to get a few game minutes in and knock the rust off.

Zion certainly needed that. 😀

[flyingdutchdevil]

Zion certainly needed that. 😀

But Marques is a human being. When Zion broke his shoe, they shut that prototype down and activated a replica. Hence no rust!

[FerryFor50]

But Marques is a human being. When Zion broke his shoe, they shut that prototype down and activated a replica. Hence no rust!

Marques is just the old T-800 model. He is more susceptible to rust.

Zion is the T-1000. Liquid metal. Not able to rust.