Duke (#4/#5) and Kentucky (#1/#2) square off in Chicago's United Center on Tuesday, November 17th at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN. And, no, this is not about barbecue.
Much more to come on this game over the next couple of days.
Duke (#4/#5) and Kentucky (#1/#2) square off in Chicago's United Center on Tuesday, November 17th at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN. And, no, this is not about barbecue.
Much more to come on this game over the next couple of days.
Holy moly, I'm clearing my busy social calendar.
So to me the biggest question is this... how are minutes going to be distributed and how big/small do we play?
Tuesday will definitely be a good test to see if Grayson can live up to all of the hype
Good early measuring stick. Although, either way, says little about where we will be in March. This team is so young/inexperienced it is amazing. Enjoy the ride, regardless of the result. Will be a fun journey.
Hopefully the post-game thread will be a nice discussion of Allen & Sons. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by blynch923
Ugh ... Allen and Sons is the just about the worst 'que in the Triangle. Horribly overrated and overpriced. Only in Chapel Hill could that dump be considered good 'que.
As for Duke-Kentucky on the basketball court ... FWIW, Pomeroy rates it a 50 percent game, but projects a 77-76 Duke win. I'd take it.
No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Kentucky are his two top teams early.
I thought it a sly reference to Grayson Allen's last name not a barbeque joint.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olympic Fan
Then again, I don't partake of 'que, so what do I know?
To be completely honest, I haven't seen Kentucky play at all this year. That being said, let's take a look at how this matchup of top programs shapes up.
For the first time in a long time, Kentucky is going into a game with a size and maybe even a talent deficiency. The starting lineups, based on the first couple of games should be as follows:
Kentucky:
- G 5'9" So. Tyler Ulis
G 6'5" Fr. Jamal Murray
F 6'9" Jr. Derek Willis
F 6'9" Jr. Marcus Lee
F 6'11" Fr. Skal Labissiere
Reserves:
G: 6'0" Jr. Dominique Hawkins, 6'3" Fr Isaiah Briscoe, 6'6" Fr. Charles Matthews, 6'8" Sr. Alex Poythress, and 7'0" Fr. Isaac Humphries
I'll refrain from posting Duke's starting lineup as we all should know it. We've got 2 6'5" guards and a frontline of 6'9", 6'9", and 7'0".
That team features 5 McDonald's All-Americans as well as highly talented Canadian Jamal Murray. Murray has featured an all around game with scoring, rebounds, and assists. As a team, Kentucky has not shot the ball well from deep, shooting just 28.9% from 3 point range. The only player that has been on target so far has been the Junior Willis, who is 5 of 9 so far on the young season. While underweight, the frontcourt is athletic and features very different sets of skills. The freshman Labissiere has featured a variety of offensive weapons in the post and touch on his jump shot out to midrange. His defense, from what I've read, has been less than impressive and he has averaged a mediocre 5 rebounds against smaller teams so far this year. The "forgotten" member of the "greatest recruiting class of all time," Marcus Less has shown some ability to translate his exceptional athleticism in to production so far. He's not an offensive threat, but he has averaged a very impressive 6 offensive rebounds and 3 blocks in two games. Frehsman Isaiah Briscoe has not started in his one game played so far, but he did have a very impressive double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds against NJIT on Saturday night. Senior Alex Poythress, recovering from an ACL tear last year, has been the 7th man in the rotation for Coach John Calipari so far and has shown that he may regain his ability to contribute in nearly all facets of the game. He has not shown an improved shooting ability. All in all, the team is going 5 deep with a pair of one-and-done stars in Murray and Labissiere and a potential third with Briscoe. If the team doesn't shoot well from three, Kentucky may be in for a tough challenge against other high quality teams.
Meanwhile, Duke is trotting out a lineup featuring experience and talent with 5 McDonald's All-American starters, each as tall or taller than their counterpart. There's another two All-Americans on the bench in the form of Luke Kennard and Chase Jeter with another player, Derryck Thornton, considered as talented as nearly any other player on the team. While Duke has been knocked for being 'alarmingly unathletic' in the past (looking at Doug Gotlieb), this Duke team features some very quick and fast players such as Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, and Thornton. Duke has also featured a variety of shooters, dialing it in at 37.3% accuracy from 3 point range. That's pretty impressive considering a tough 1-9 shooting performance from Ingram in the home opener. Duke doesn't feature a "pure" point guard but has relied instead on dribble penetration and sound passing from guards and forward. Facing a tougher defensive presence will show how much the team can handle pressure on the guards.
On a more existential note, I wonder if this game and this season might serve as an opportunity for Duke to supplant Kentucky as the "it" program in college basketball. There are a few players on the current UK roster that have not lived up the potential hoped for by the Big Blue Nation. Poythress and Lee haven't developed reliable buzz to suggest they might find their way into an NBA rotation. Add those two to a surprisingly growing list of NBA duds out of the program (Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Doron Lamb, DeAndre Liggins, Archie Goodwin, Daniel Orton, Marquis Teague, and James Young have failed to be drafted or make much of an impact in the NBA to date), and the anti-recruiting pitch grows louder. Sure, the program has seen more than its share of stars with Anthony Davis, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and potentially Karl-Anthony Towns and Eric Bledsoe. It's hard to ignore the growing list of guys that don't get to live their dreams as an NBA star. Worse still, they haven't spent anywhere near enough time in college to prepare them for a comfortable future. Duke, on the other hand, has put almost as many guys into the NBA as Kentucky since John Calipari arrived in Lexington and has two NCAA championships and a growing list of solid or even star NBA players to boast, such as Kyrie Irving, Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, and Mason Plumlee. There's not as many top-end talent there - yet. Hardly any player that has left Duke has been much of a bust in the NBA for a good long while. Miles Plumlee has had limited success and might yet crack the rotation in Milwaukee this year. Nolan Smith didn't last in the Association after getting drafted in the 2011 first round. That's it, really. Even Austin Rivers has demonstrated his ability to join his father's rotation. And just as many guys - Lance Thomas, Seth Curry, and others - have made it onto NBA rosters after going undrafted. They did so with a degree in hand from Duke, too. Not too shabby.
Back to the game at hand. This should be an interesting matchup featuring a pair of talented teams with questions about their upcoming season. I am looking forward to Tuesday night in Chicago!
What the hey? No 'cue?!?!Quote:
Originally Posted by jimsumner
Attachment 5707
(kidding, kidding)
A couple things that might tip the balance towards Duke:
A 100% Matt Jones that shuts down either Ulis or Murray would go a long way towards victory. Hoping Matt can play 35 minutes on Tuesday if needed.
Kentucky's been turning the ball over at a high rate so far, and Duke looks like a team that can force turnovers this year. Likewise, Amile and Marshall might be able to out-muscle Skal and Lee on the boards. Some "extra" possessions via turnover or o-boarding could swing a close game.
I know of Bullock's, but the only Bullock I know played at that integrity-challenged institution at the other end of 15-501. Is there an Ingram & Sons? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Olympic Fan
BULLOCK'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripping William
Most overrated barbecue in North Carolina... Woodlands in blowing rock.
I hate Kentucky. I hope Marshall just ingests Skal.
Really looking forward to this. First real test, hopefully, we'll do fine.
And, didn't know BBQ existed east of the Lexington area...
Lexington, NC right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Devilwin
I've eaten at Woodlands several times and enjoyed it well enough but I didn't know it was highly rated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dukehky
Yeah Jim Sumner's judgment now downgraded.Quote:
Originally Posted by devildeac
Expanding on these thoughts a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Troublemaker
I think Duke's going to steal a win tomorrow night. I have a lot of respect for Kentucky's talent, and I would've voted them preseason #1 as well. They have a very good to great college PG in Ulis and he'll be getting the ball to two top-6 lottery picks in Skal and Murray, according to NBADraft.net and DraftExpress. So, UK is looking fantastic at their PG and C positions, the two most important positions, with Ulis and Skal, and they additionally have a high-scoring wing in Murray, who can also play point. Duke has great wings in Grayson and Brandon, but Kentucky should receive better PG and C play this season than Duke. That's no knock on our guys, as I believe Duke's PG-by-committee and MP3/Chase platoon will function well, but it's tough to say Kentucky doesn't project to be better at those two crucial positions this season. Therefore, if Calipari does a good developing his team, they should be better than Duke in March.
But Duke is playing them tomorrow, Nov 17, not in March (at least not yet). Duke teams usually burst from the starting gate really fast and dominate in November and December, and I've seen no reason through two games to think it will be different this season. In contrast, I believe if UK coughed up 20 turnovers to Albany and 14 turnovers to NJIT, then Duke's going to be able to turn them over tomorrow night. Later on this season, UK will probably protect the ball very well since they will at times play 3 PGs together in Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe, but we might be catching them at a good time right now. Likewise, Skal is going to be a top-3 pick, but in his first encounter with muscular, experienced, high-major big men in Amile and MP3, Duke might be able to take advantage of Skal on the boards.
Finally, small sample, but Duke appears to be a more vet-centered team at this time. Kentucky's top 2 scorers and 3 of their top-4 are freshmen. Whereas vets make up 3 of the top-4 Duke scorers. I think being slightly more vet-centered will help in the third game of the season for both teams.
So, overall, UK may be the better team a few months from now, but Duke should be the better team tomorrow. A win over UK tomorrow is going to look great on the tournament resume once UK puts everything together. A victory tomorrow might be a victory over an eventual 1 seed and could boost Duke up a seed line in our own seeding, possibly from a 2 seed to a 1 seed ourselves. Big game.
Oh yeah. World BBQ Capital. Home of the BBQ FESTIVAL!!!!!!!!!!! Beat UK!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by lotusland
I echo everything here. One of Coach K's best attributes as a college coach is getting his players ready for November and December games. Like Troublemaker, I also believe that UK will be one of the best teams in the country come March (and they also have the most talent), but they are younger and less experienced than Duke. And I think that will absolutely help Duke's cause. Matt Jones, Amile Jefferson, and Grayson Allen all have fairly significant minutes under their belts (okay, Grayson not as much. But it feels like that!) whilst only Ulis and the perennially injured Poythress (who is the 7th man) have those minutes. And Poythress has missed so much time over the last two seasons. Furthermore, Grayson Allen may not be the highest draft pick amongst the starters (I actually think he's fifth after Skal, Murray, Briscoe, and Ingram), but he is the most-ready now with the best combination of experience, talent, and scoring-prowess. We are going to ride Grayson's offensive potential for the first half of the season, and I expect him to average nearly 20 points a game. Also, his willingness to pass will make double-teaming Grayson extremely challenging.Quote:
Originally Posted by Troublemaker
Can't wait for this game!