The problem, bottom line is...

[ChrisP]

I'm sorry, but this Duke team didn't lack for talent. True, there doesn't appear to be a NPOY candidate on the squad (although I have hopes that both GH And Scheyer might get to that level someday), but, to me, the bottom line is that this Duke team lacked 3 key elements:

1) Chemistry
2) Mental toughness
3) Leadership

Ok, I'll cut them some slack with regard to leadership since we had one scholarship Junior (DN) and the rest are sophs and frosh, but I cannot remember a Duke team that was worse with regards to the first 2 things I listed above. I'm sorry, but there's just something...wrong with this team. No disrespect to the Rams, and you can call me a "Duke snob" if you want, but we had enough talent to win against VCU (and also NCSU, IMHO), what we lacked was the will.

And THAT is what bothers me the most.

[Troublemaker]

Can you cite some examples? I'm not sure what you mean when you say Duke lacked those things.

BTW, did you notice that VCU's guards severely out-quicked Paulus and Scheyer. A quickness deficit is due to talent, not lack of intangibles.

That said, once these players are older, they'll be able to compensate better for some of the physical shortcomings out front.

[sammy3469]

I was going to say that the bottom line was that since mid year we haven't been able to defend the pick and roll. It's been pretty evident that good coaches picked up on and exploited that fact. VCU did it coming down the stretch to great effect.

[JBDuke]

Can you cite some examples? I'm not sure what you mean when you say Duke lacked those things.

BTW, did you notice that VCU's guards severely out-quicked Paulus and Scheyer. A quickness deficit is due to talent, not lack of intangibles.

That said, once these players are older, they'll be able to compensate better for some of the physical shortcomings out front.

I don't know what Chris was referring to, but I agree with his assessment, mostly.

I think this team did lack confidence or mental toughness. I think it showed on the FT line several times. I think it showed when we missed open shots or layups near the end of several games. I think it showed in turnovers under crucial circumstances.

Part of that is lacking a veteran leader who can be a calming presence. This team just had very little of that Duke swagger. That "I'm gonna make this shot and send you home" look and toughness. Or the "you're NOT scoring on me" attitude. This team would take big shots from opponents and get staggered, rather than punching back.

The chemistry showed in the lack of communication - often cited by K in his post-games as the crux of our problems on D of late, and also showing up in turnovers and other mistakes. This may not be a chemistry problem as much as a youth problem - we'll see about that. But certainly, communication was relatively poor for a Duke team.

That said, a year of experience may help a lot. The injection of new blood may help, too, especially with the talent of the three guys coming in. I remain hopeful that next year's team could return Duke to the glory to which it has become accustomed (and hopefully, shut up some of the whiners and naysayers that have come out of the woodwork...)

[Troublemaker]

I don't know what Chris was referring to, but I agree with his assessment, mostly.

I think this team did lack confidence or mental toughness. I think it showed on the FT line several times. I think it showed when we missed open shots or layups near the end of several games. I think it showed in turnovers under crucial circumstances.

Part of that is lacking a veteran leader who can be a calming presence. This team just had very little of that Duke swagger. That "I'm gonna make this shot and send you home" look and toughness. Or the "you're NOT scoring on me" attitude. This team would take big shots from opponents and get staggered, rather than punching back.

The chemistry showed in the lack of communication - often cited by K in his post-games as the crux of our problems on D of late, and also showing up in turnovers and other mistakes. This may not be a chemistry problem as much as a youth problem - we'll see about that. But certainly, communication was relatively poor for a Duke team.

That said, a year of experience may help a lot. The injection of new blood may help, too, especially with the talent of the three guys coming in. I remain hopeful that next year's team could return Duke to the glory to which it has become accustomed (and hopefully, shut up some of the whiners and naysayers that have come out of the woodwork...)

I dunno, JB. I don't think our problems with finishing inside were neatly confined to just the end of games nor were our turnover problems confined to just crucial situations. I believe turnovers and non-finishing were just characteristics of who we were this year, and it's a stretch to attribute those things to mental or chemistry issues rather than, say, lack of strength, or lack of quickness, or bad hands, or a poor handle. While K cited poor communication down the stretch on defense, he also said that the reason for that was because the players wore down from the tough ACC season. So I don't believe the lack of communication on defense was due to chemistry issues.

[Exiled_Devil]

I tihnk I agree with the Leadership and toughness assessments. I don't know about chemistry, but it seems to me that chemsitry follows from the other two.

Exiled

[ChrisP]

First, thanks to JBDuke for agreeing with me. I didn't realize I had to include footnotes so everyone could look up my "specific examples". I also thought it was pretty d**n obvious that this team lacked toughness and chemistry. But, perhaps it's not obvious and simply my perception. However, I stand by my earlier comments and have been saying it since the ACC tourney game against NCSU - we don't play well together and we ARE not tough. Or rather, we haven't been that way in the latter part of the season.

When we need that big shot, or big free throw, or big defensive stop, or even a big rebound, no one can seem to provide it. Did you SEE Nelson and Paulus and Scheyer get the "fumble fingers" tonight when the game got close? Did you notice how many times we'd have our hands on the ball only to have it taken (or fumbled) away? Did you see the repeated bricks from the line?

Yes, some of that is youth and sometimes there are specific talent issues (yes, I did notice that their guards are quicker than ours) I said it before and I'll say it again - something is just not right with this bunch. If it helps, I'll put it like this - there is something "intangible" wrong with the team. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but they just don't play K's brand of "DUKE BASKETBALL". I didn't think we had any shot to win the ACC or the NCAA tourneys this year, but I do believe that we had enough talent and good enough coaching to win one or two games in each. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

[Troublemaker]

Well, I disagree. I don't think it's obvious at all that the team lacked toughness and chemistry. The things you mentioned can just as easily be explained by physical or skill deficiencies. I mean, it's not like Nelson doesn't fumble the ball a lot early in games as well. His relatively poor handle for a guard is an issue of his. Same with Greg's relatively poor handle for a point guard.

[SeattleIrish]

We've got a very young, slow team.

We also had over 20 wins and a seat at the table for the big dance.

T'ain't nothin' to complain about, IMHO.

s.i.