Duke's ACC season tips off on Saturday afternoon with the Boston College Eagles (7-4) visiting Cameron Indoor Stadium. Discuss the game here.
Duke's ACC season tips off on Saturday afternoon with the Boston College Eagles (7-4) visiting Cameron Indoor Stadium. Discuss the game here.
The game is being widely broadcast on cable channels. I expect to see it on ROOT -- the Denver sports channel -- DirecTV 683. I also have had some success penetrating the regional blackout with the MSG channel, even though it is in New York. (Don't take the bedbug commercials personally.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Green
According to KenPom, BC (128th) is actually a weaker opponent than either Toledo (86th) or Wofford (95th). Obviously, Duke shouldn't look past any opponent. That being said, a home game against a relatively weak BC squad should help ease the freshman into the ACC schedule. I'd like to see the defense be a little bit more consistent. We've played well on D this year, but we've had some lapses from time to time. In the grand scheme of things, it's nothing to be too concerned about. Still, I'd like to see us elevate the D from really good (currently 15th in KenPom) to great.
Meanwhile, on offense, I'd love to keep feeding the ball to Jahlil. He's been an absolute monster, whether it be through his scoring, his passing, or his ability to get the opposition into foul trouble. I also suspect that his ability to attract the defense is what has allowed Tyus and Quinn to be ridiculous efficient on the offensive end, in their own right. According to Statsheet.com, Tyus and Quinn are BOTH posting higher offensive efficiency numbers than Jon Scheyer did his senior season when he was Mr. Efficiency, Himself. Meanwhile, while Justise has been less efficient than the two guards, he also demonstrated in the first half against Wofford that his ability to slash to the hoop and create his own shot adds yet another dimension to an already efficient offense.
The team has shown incredible poise, sticking to the offense and consistently feeding Jahlil even when the game is tense (UCONN comes to mind). I want to see us stick to this as conference play begins. The defense has also shown that it can get stops when it needs to, unlike last season. Still, while our defense is light years better than last season, our offense is still our biggest asset, and I hope it continues to improve all the way through the conference schedule.
This BC team might be no better than the two teams we just played. Pomeroy has them substantially behind those two teams, but I suspect that this is just a function of Pomeroy's early-season anomalies as BC has beaten Providence and New Mexico and a 4-point loss to West Virginia (all more impressive than anything Toledo and Wofford have done), but does have a close loss vs USC as a black mark (though still better than some of Toledo's and Wofford's losses). Still, it's a matchup we should win comfortably.
BC has a few good players to speak of. Olivier Hanlan is one of the better guards in the ACC. He has given us fits in the past. Aaron Brown is a transfer who has really stepped in nicely and leads them in scoring. And they have greatly benefited from the return of big man Dennis Clifford. Clifford is a 7-footer who plays tough defensively. He is just okay offensively, but his size gives them a presence around the basket. If he can stay out of foul trouble (therein lies the rub), he can make life a bit more difficult for Okafor than Toledo and Wofford did.
Beyond those three, Patrick Heckmann is a German forward (combo SF/PF) who is confounding in that his talent hasn't translated to results on the court. He can at times play like a Brandon Costner of NC State from a few years back: outside-in scorer who is crafty but not athletic. He has had some terrific performances followed by stretches of mediocrity. Eddie Odio is a stringbean PF who is pretty athletic but not terribly skilled. He is good for the occasional highlight block or dunk but then disappearing again. Garland Owens and Dimitri Batten are both stout wing players who can occasionally hit the 3. Will Magarity is a 6'11" backup big who doesn't mind shooting from deep but averages more fouls than rebounds. And Lonnie Jackson may be a familiar name to some; he is sort of an Andre Dawkins type of player (though not as deadly) who seems to camp out from 3pt range almost exclusively. He is just working his way into the rotation right now but is a 38% career 3pt shooter.
BC will show us the best guard we have faced the past 3 games and the biggest frontcourt we've faced. But aside from Hanlan they don't have the depth of talent or the top end talent to really threaten us in Cameron. We should win this comfortably if the team comes to play defensively.
The early schedule should help our young guys as they enter ACC play. BC as you noted is not highly rated, but we all know that every team gives Duke it's best shot. A home game against BC and away games at Wake and at NC State is not like opening ACC play at Louisville and at unc. Thanks for the stats on our two excellent guards. Those stats seem to prove my old eye test. GoDuke!Quote:
Originally Posted by COYS
It's funny, but for Duke-haters Coach K will get getting his 1,000th win Saturday in Cameron.
Anybody around in the mid-1990s can remember the screaming and wailing when Duke elected not to count the games from 1995 after K took a leave of absence. The 4-15 record without K was attributed with NCAA approval to Pete Gaudet. But the Duke haters could never accept that.
If they had their way, K would now have 999 wins, not 995 ... and the BC game would be the milestone.
K's going to get 1,000 anyway -- hopefully in Louisville on the 17th -- but I'd love to see some the haters screaming that No. 1,000 is coming Saturday.
We have Jahlil and no team we play, can come close to matching up with him at center. The closest may be Louisville. We still have issues with Quick guards but so do most if not all teams. Quinn has morphed into what we expect of a senior. Very clever in finding his shot and not pushing it as he might have done in the past. His leadership and defense are also assets. He is getting a lot of minutes because he is playing very well. Having Tyus as the primary ball handler is helping take that pressure off his shoulders.Quote:
Originally Posted by CDu
Justise has thed size, athleticism, skill and motor to contribute both offensively and defensively. We may play teams with a larger and skillful 3 who can shoot, but he will hold his own at worst. Tyus is an exceptional ball handler who sees the floor better than most and has shhown that he can contribute in a big way on the offensive end if the need arises. Amile has grown in experience and plays excellent defense and can contribute on the offensive end. This year we do have solid backup players in MP3, Rasheed, Matt and Grayson so we can expect to handle high presssure games well.
I think we will have a significant advantage against most ACC teams, although we certaiinly have seen inexplicable underperformances in the past. We do also have UVA, Louisville and UNC out ahead of us and their talent is good and those games will be battles. I don't exoect to go through the season unscathed, but I do expect us to compte hard in all and win most. What a great season we have had so far with lots to like going forward.
Though one is lableed as forward, BC starts the 7-footer Clifford and 4 guys no taller than 6' 6". So may see more of Winslow at the 4.
The tallest of the 4 Heckmann is not scoring as well as a couple others the 6'5" 215 Brown the guy listed as a forward, and 6' 4" 190 Hanlan or the 6'3" 205 Dmitri Batten
Nah, they run a 2- or 3-guard offense for the most part. Heckmann and Brown may be listed as guards, but they are more forward than guard for sure. Heckmann is like a slightly smaller Taylor King-like forward. He is not tall, but not quick enough to be a guard. Brown is built like Winslow. And off the bench they bring 6'8" Eddie Odio and Owens (another stout G/F type at 6'5" 210). And guys like the 6'8" Dragicevic and the 6'9" Carney account for about 10 mpg as well. So they don't spend a ton of time in the super small lineup.Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCBBallFan
BC is not a small team by any means. The Odio/Dragicevic/Carney trio account for almost 30 mpg. So I would venture that BC actually plays a bigger average lineup than we do.
We are the #2 team in the country. Why would we scrap a height advantage and play down to their level? That makes no sense, especially when one of Amile's strengths is his quickness to stay with smaller players on defense.Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCBBallFan
For those in the Hampton Roads area, today's game is being broadcast on CSNMA, which is channel 576 on Verizon.Quote:
Originally Posted by sagegrouse
I don't see much difference in Justise's defense and Amile's defense. They both play good "D" and can stay with their man and they are both good rebounders. The difference is in their offense. Justise is a much better creator on offense and can shoot the 3 ball, but Amile is a good offensive rebounder. So, I don't think Coach K will use these two fine players any differently than he has so far this season. GoDuke!Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCBBallFan
Looking forward to attending today, have one xtra ticket as I type. Will be in Public Policy lot about 3:15. Center court above Crazies and across from benches. Face value ($90). Chuck
Live tempo-based stats for Duke/BC, starters posted...
http://www.scacchoops.com/boston-col...stats-01032015
Winslow has a nice little bit of "nasty" to him... he and Cook seem to be the guys on the team who can get just enough attitude when needed.
Love Winslow coast-to-coast.
Matt Jones and Sulaimon are doing a good job defending Hanlan. Amile Jefferson hasn't seen a lot of playing time as Coach K has gone small a lot. At one time, Okafor and four guards were playing together: Jones, Jones, Cook and Sulaimon.
Beats me, but they are doing so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Edouble
Jekyll and Hyde defense for Duke
I've noticed it a couple times this season, including today with Clifford. I actually feel bad for the guys trying to guard Jahlil. They literally are doing the best they can, but he is so much better than them that they cannot come close to stopping or even slowing him down without fouling him on every single possession. I really don't know why teams don't double him every time he touches the ball. It's got to be their only hope.
Yep...it kinda faded in and out today. I'm hoping as the holidays fade, the rust will wear off and the D will continue to improve. Not much else to complain about. Good effort coming out of the break!Quote:
Originally Posted by jipops