This season compared to last

[UrinalCake]

As the pain of the final game starts to slowly wear away, I've been thinking about how this season compares to last. At a glance, there are a lot of similarities:

- we picked up a late, unexpected recruit who turned out to be our best player (Bagley and Zion)
- we started four freshmen and one upperclassman for basically the whole season, except during injuries
- we started off the season with a really impressive win over the nation's #2 team (2018 - MSU, playing mostly without Bagley; 2019 - UK dismantling) which caused expectations to go through the roof
- we pulled off an impressive comeback win (2018 - Texas, 2019 - Louisville)
- we started off sharing and moving the ball well, but as the season wore on we resorted more and more to iso ball centered around our key players (Bagley, Allen/Zion, RJ)
- we had an injury to our star player, they missed a handful of games and then came back looking fine, but the team never seemed to completely gel the same afterwards
- great interior scoring, but the lack of reliable three point shooting meant defenses could collapse the paint and we never made enough adjustments
- we had one freshman exceed expectations (Bagley/Zion), two freshmen basically meet expectations (Carter, Trent/Barrett, Tre) and one freshman fall short of expecations (Duval/Reddish)
- we lost in the Elite 8 by essentially a bucket. We had a three point lead with less than a minute left, but our opponent hit a big three after a defensive mistake (Duval going for a steal, Tre/Zion failing to communicate on a switch). Playing as the last team to potentially reach the final four, on Sunday afternoon, we fell just short.

So, despite all of this I have to say that my level of enjoyment for this season's team has been much higher than last year. And I wasn't as disappointed about the final loss. I'm having a hard time understanding why this is. I think the style of this year's team was much more fun. The fact that they played so hard on defense made a big difference. And obviously Zion was such a joy, not just for the dunks but for how much he loved playing. Seeing him dive on the floor in Canada when we were up by 80 was something I never forgot. But I also really liked watching Bagley, especially when he would get three offensive boards in one possession and then dunk it. I liked having Grayson around for his senior year, and the way that last season's team dominated on the glass and inside was so unusual for us and something I really enjoyed too.

Coming into the season I think my expectations were lower this year than last. But then the Kentucky game threw everything out of whack. I actually find it hard to enjoy watching the team as much when we're ranked so high, because there's enormous pressure not to lose and then have to hear crap from all of my friends. Anyways, I'm curious what others think about last year compared to this year in terms of overall fan enjoyment.

[EKU1969]

The enthusiasm of Zion, the relentlessness of RJ, the overall poise of Tre, the adventure that was Cam, and the improvement of Javin, Marques, and Jordan kept me coming back. However, I thoroughly enjoyed MBIII and Gary last year, along with Grayson. I thought Duval sometimes got a bad rap, but, he could shoot...oh well. One or two more shots and Duke goes to two FF...with as good a chance to wi as anyone. I admit, Zion’s overall enthusiasm for the game of basketball made me root for this years team just a little harder👍😀

[EKU1969]

That should be Duval couldn’t shoot😢

[curtis325]

I loved both final-five teams. Bagley/Zion were magnfiicent. I think I enjoyed this year's team slightly more. I found myself just laughing when Zion did some of his Zion things.

[Rich]

- we started off sharing and moving the ball well, but as the season wore on we resorted more and more to iso ball centered around our key players (Bagley, Allen/Zion, RJ)


Point of emphasis NOT to do next year. I think to be successful in the college game you have to have sets and movement. ISO is for the pros where the game provides more protection for the offense player.

[-jk]

“A Season is a Lifetime”

It’s not about the comparisons. Live each for what it gives.

-jk

[KandG]

Coming into the season I think my expectations were lower this year than last. But then the Kentucky game threw everything out of whack. I actually find it hard to enjoy watching the team as much when we're ranked so high, because there's enormous pressure not to lose and then have to hear crap from all of my friends. Anyways, I'm curious what others think about last year compared to this year in terms of overall fan enjoyment.

The reality of rooting for Duke given everything it's accomplished in the last 30+ years is that you're almost never rooting for a team with low expectations, and even when the expectations are cut down somewhat (2016 especially as far as recent teams), you're still going to get tons of flak from opponents.

I loved both this year's team and last year's team, though I had marginally lower expectations for last year's group because Villanova looked like the team to beat late in the season.

This year's team managed to shine frequently in the face of such unprecedented hype, so despite falling short at the end (barely), it's a personal favorite of mine.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

Agree that 2018 and 2019 seasons were similar. Next year may very well be the same. Bagley, Barrett and Zion were unforgettably great players. I hardly remember Trent and Duval; likely I’ll feel the same about Reddish next year. Watching both teams was fun, but ultimately somewhat disappointing. That’s what you often get when a team is built around young one-year wonders. The most talented players, but not a great team. I’m looking forward to the days when the one-and-done era has ended. Maybe then we’ll get Duke basketball that’s more like it was in the glory days.

[Dukehk]

This years team was so much more enjoyable because of the comraderie and talent level!

This years team was also the best in the country when having a full deck. Last years was not and could not play elite defence. This years team proves that freshman can play top tier defence from day 1.

Zion and co were just so much fun to watch and I found myself looking forward to all the games and basically had absolutely no fear of any team in the country.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

This years team was so much more enjoyable because of the comraderie and talent level!

This years team was also the best in the country when having a full deck. Last years was not and could not play elite defence. This years team proves that freshman can play top tier defence from day 1.

Zion and co were just so much fun to watch and I found myself looking forward to all the games and basically had absolutely no fear of any team in the country.

Agree with this......but to me, the comparison that is interesting is this year's team to 2017.......big run in the ACCT to the title.....then never really getting it together for the NCAAT. To me, not a good trade off, and two years in the last three, Duke has not been able to play well in the NCAAT after playing well in the draining ACCT.

[simplyluvin]

A lot of similarities for sure. To me, defense was the main difference. Last year statistically our D was good, but we resorted to zone for the most part and Bagley was a liability. This year’s D was excellent. Ball pressure and our ability to guard the perimeter was exemplary, as well as shot blocking and turnovers. Zion cures a lot of ills on the dribble drive with his recovery speed. I’d be interested to see how this D compares to 2015.

The other difference was last year had Grayson and better perimeter shooting. Man if we had better shooting this year...

[Reddevil]

Point of emphasis NOT to do next year. I think to be successful in the college game you have to have sets and movement. ISO is for the pros where the game provides more protection for the offense player.

Nailed it! Thank you. You have put into words exactly what I have been thinking. When I heard Duke would be running basically the Golden State offense I was intrigued. It still may have worked with the threat of outside shooting, but did not suit this team as well as more motion and set plays would have. I cannot prove this, but it often seemed they executed plays well after time outs. Then they would go right back to the ISO stuff.

Fortunately, I think the makeup of next year's team lends itself to more traditional sets. Enjoyed the journey this year though. It sure looked like this bunch genuinely liked each other.