Page 7 of 7 FirstFirst ... 567
Results 121 to 140 of 140
  1. #121
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Clifton, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Wheat/"/"/" View Post
    Time for some unvarnished Wheat/"/"/"...

    I didn't think either team actually played very well. It was a battle of top 25 teams in a slugfest of mediocrity.

    It was a competitive game and a nice win, but the level of play was poor. If those were the second and 3rd best ACC teams, well then lets just say the league really is down.

    About Mason...

    Mason is a good player, and I make these comments holding his potential in high regard, but he's just not improving as he should. You look at him and it's easy to expect more. Now I'm beginning to wonder if he's reached his ceiling.

    He's not getting the ball down low enough, in good enough position or rythem, and when he does, he's still only getting by with superior athletisicism. His post moves are not fluid at all. His shooting touch is bulky. And his foul shooting is just plain bad. His court awareness is average at best. He rebounds strong and is a solid defender, but certainly not a stopper.

    He's not the player I thought he'd be when I first saw him, but he can still be good enough to anchor a title team if this team can find some chemistry.

    At least Duke fans can relax for next season, because he's coming back. He's gonna be lucky to be considered a late first round pick,imo.

    I don't understand at minimum how he can't have a catch and turn jump hook after three years. With his hops and strength he should be able to get that from 4' anytime a play was run for it.
    When Duke does focus on him and gets him a feed so he can at least attack the basket, it opens the floor and the offense looks better. I'm puzzled as many are why he doesn't get more looks to score, because even if he can't get it in from the post or the line consistantly, he's sucking defenders down and drawing fouls.

    This team is capable of stroking it from outside and beating anybody with individual shooting displays. But when they ever hit a team that can apply outside pressure on the ball for a full game, or just have an off shooting night, they're gonna struggle.

    The lack of post offense to open things up for the shooters will get this team bounced if it doesn't improve big time before the tourney.

    Just my 2cents...it is mid season after all and we're in conference posting mode now, time to sharpen the play. I'll only be able to defend myself by phone for a couple of days, be easy on me
    I too get the feeling that Mason may surprise people and come back. However, I am not as down on him and his potential as you seem to be -- perhaps you are more focused on NBA projections whereas I am focused on how well he is playing in college and how much better he is getting. Mason looks like he is having fun out there and has vastly improved his game. I can easily live with his free throw shooting given all the other things he contributes to this team. Mason is a monster and if he were to come back, I predict consensus All-American status. As it is this season, there are very, very few big men better than him and he has done well against the guys considered by many to be the best Robinson (Kansas) and Sullinger (OSU). I personally would not trade him straight up for Sullinger who is most people's number one bigman but does not offer much in the way of defense.

    As for the ACC being down, I agree. That said, I am looking forward to watching Carolina and UVA go at it twice this year. As far as Carolina beating them, I will quote my son when I make suggestions about what such and such a player should be doing better ... "It's not as easy as it looks."

  2. #122
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO

    Mason: Get Him the Ball!

    Quote Originally Posted by DUKIE V(A) View Post
    I too get the feeling that Mason may surprise people and come back. However, I am not as down on him and his potential as you seem to be -- perhaps you are more focused on NBA projections whereas I am focused on how well he is playing in college and how much better he is getting. Mason looks like he is having fun out there and has vastly improved his game. I can easily live with his free throw shooting given all the other things he contributes to this team. Mason is a monster and if he were to come back, I predict consensus All-American status. As it is this season, there are very, very few big men better than him and he has done well against the guys considered by many to be the best Robinson (Kansas) and Sullinger (OSU). I personally would not trade him straight up for Sullinger who is most people's number one bigman but does not offer much in the way of defense.

    As for the ACC being down, I agree. That said, I am looking forward to watching Carolina and UVA go at it twice this year. As far as Carolina beating them, I will quote my son when I make suggestions about what such and such a player should be doing better ... "It's not as easy as it looks."
    I am very pleased with what happens when Mason gets the ball (except at the FT line, of course), but he doesn't get it nearly as much as he should. We all noticed the change that happened at halftime, when Mason got the ball four possessions in a row and -- magically -- Duke had the lead.

    Maybe K was channelling old-time Wake Coach Bones McKinney, who used to say to his guards, including Billy Packer, "This here's my man [All-American C-F] Len Chappell. If you don't get him the ball, you're going to be sitting on the bench next to me."

    I also think Mason could be a heckuva lot more, shall we say, "demanding" to his teammates. Perhaps he should be channelling Christian Laettner.

    sagegrouse

  3. #123
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Boca Grande Florida
    Quote Originally Posted by DUKIE V(A) View Post
    I too get the feeling that Mason may surprise people and come back. However, I am not as down on him and his potential as you seem to be -- perhaps you are more focused on NBA projections whereas I am focused on how well he is playing in college and how much better he is getting. Mason looks like he is having fun out there and has vastly improved his game. I can easily live with his free throw shooting given all the other things he contributes to this team. Mason is a monster and if he were to come back, I predict consensus All-American status. As it is this season, there are very, very few big men better than him and he has done well against the guys considered by many to be the best Robinson (Kansas) and Sullinger (OSU). I personally would not trade him straight up for Sullinger who is most people's number one bigman but does not offer much in the way of defense.

    As for the ACC being down, I agree. That said, I am looking forward to watching Carolina and UVA go at it twice this year. As far as Carolina beating them, I will quote my son when I make suggestions about what such and such a player should be doing better ... "It's not as easy as it looks."
    I know I was down on him that last post, but it is because I expect so much more from him. And he is one of the top big men in college, but he should be THE top big man in college with his physical skill set.

    I'm sure he's a good kid and he seems to be a great teammate. I was just attempting to give the board a splash of cold water reality after watching that last game. Take my evaluation with a grain of salt, I did miss once...

    BTW, Just checked a couple of sites...NBADraft.net has him projected at 26 now, DraftExpress at 19, ESPN 18.

  4. #124
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    boston, ma
    Quote Originally Posted by Wheat/"/"/" View Post
    I know I was down on him that last post, but it is because I expect so much more from him. And he is one of the top big men in college, but he should be THE top big man in college with his physical skill set.

    I'm sure he's a good kid and he seems to be a great teammate. I was just attempting to give the board a splash of cold water reality after watching that last game. Take my evaluation with a grain of salt, I did miss once...

    BTW, Just checked a couple of sites...NBADraft.net has him projected at 26 now, DraftExpress at 19, ESPN 18.
    Thanks for your input, the board gets a little monotonous with all the starry-eyed Duke blue optimists here. Honest criticism is good.

    That said, given Mason's jump in performance this year, it's hard to criticize him for not playing "better." You must have some damn high expectations of him. It would be awesome for us if he came back for next year - Duke with a dominant post scorer 2 years in a row??! CRAZY!!

  5. #125
    Quote Originally Posted by duke09hms View Post
    That said, given Mason's jump in performance this year, it's hard to criticize him for not playing "better." You must have some damn high expectations of him. It would be awesome for us if he came back for next year - Duke with a dominant post scorer 2 years in a row??! CRAZY!!
    Mason is having a very good year and is shooting at an excellent rate, but he is not quite averaging 12ppg. I would hesitate to call him a dominant post scorer. He's got 2 moves, a left and right hook shot, that he can go to to create shots, otherwise it's dunks or Oboards. He has no jumper and he is an offensive liability at the FT line. Imagine if Mason could shoot midrange like Mike Scott, THEN he would be dominant.
    Don't get me wrong, i am pumped about what Mason is bringing this year, and i think we should go to him more cuz those hook shots are really hard to stop. I would pull up short of calling him dominant though. Solid, yes.

  6. #126
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    boston, ma
    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInBrasil View Post
    Mason is having a very good year and is shooting at an excellent rate, but he is not quite averaging 12ppg. I would hesitate to call him a dominant post scorer. He's got 2 moves, a left and right hook shot, that he can go to to create shots, otherwise it's dunks or Oboards. He has no jumper and he is an offensive liability at the FT line. Imagine if Mason could shoot midrange like Mike Scott, THEN he would be dominant.
    Don't get me wrong, i am pumped about what Mason is bringing this year, and i think we should go to him more cuz those hook shots are really hard to stop. I would pull up short of calling him dominant though. Solid, yes.
    The only reason he's averaging under 12 ppg is because we're Duke, and our philosophy never emphasizes the post even when that is our clear strength. We are always a guard-oriented team, if Mason were on any other team he'd be getting north of 15 ppg easy. If we would feed him the ball, like we did for the first ten minutes of the 2nd half, he would be averaging Sullinger-type ppg.

    Mason is a dominant post scorer because he can score on anyone anytime - KU's Robinson, OSU's Sullinger. The only thing limiting him is us.

  7. #127

    Mason's moves

    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInBrasil View Post
    Mason is having a very good year and is shooting at an excellent rate, but he is not quite averaging 12ppg. I would hesitate to call him a dominant post scorer. He's got 2 moves, a left and right hook shot, that he can go to to create shots, otherwise it's dunks or Oboards. He has no jumper and he is an offensive liability at the FT line. Imagine if Mason could shoot midrange like Mike Scott, THEN he would be dominant.
    While I agree that Mason is far from a dominant inside scorer, I think you are wrong to suggest he has just two moves -- the left and right hook. He scored several times in the Virginia game by utilizing the drop step, a classic post move that you rarely see used these days.

    I'd love to see the mid-range jumper too ... in the two previous seasons, Mason has occassionally used it with some success, but I haven't seen it much (or at all) this season. Miles has done it -- he had a beautiful 17-footer against the cavs.

    Obviously, I'd love to see him come back for his senior year. If that happened, we wouldn't have to sweat Tony Parker's recruiting decision. It's a tough call -- there is a lot Mason has to work on before he can be effective in the pros (he either needs a midrange jumper to play with his current physicality or a lot of bolk ... right now he's looking like the second coming of Chris Dudley, including the FT ineptitude). On the other hand, he's in position to be a late first-round pick and that's a lot of guaranteed money.

  8. #128
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    While I agree that Mason is far from a dominant inside scorer, I think you are wrong to suggest he has just two moves -- the left and right hook. He scored several times in the Virginia game by utilizing the drop step, a classic post move that you rarely see used these days.

    I'd love to see the mid-range jumper too ... in the two previous seasons, Mason has occassionally used it with some success, but I haven't seen it much (or at all) this season. Miles has done it -- he had a beautiful 17-footer against the cavs.

    Obviously, I'd love to see him come back for his senior year. If that happened, we wouldn't have to sweat Tony Parker's recruiting decision. It's a tough call -- there is a lot Mason has to work on before he can be effective in the pros (he either needs a midrange jumper to play with his current physicality or a lot of bolk ... right now he's looking like the second coming of Chris Dudley, including the FT ineptitude). On the other hand, he's in position to be a late first-round pick and that's a lot of guaranteed money.
    About that Miles 17-footer. That was one of those "no-no-no, nice shot" moments. He made a couple of those off the bench against Georgetown his freshman season. But it doesn't seem to be a part of the game he's developed.

    About that 12 points per game Mason is averaging. Give him a respectable percentage from the line and it's at 14 ppg. He's really leaving a boatload of points out there.

  9. #129
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Agreed. He makes his FT and we beat UVA the way most expected. I guess we just like keeping the games close.

  10. #130
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Mason has gotten a lot better. His overall game is clearly approaching an NBA level. He now has a serviceable
    jump hook as well as some face up moves. Given his size and leaping ability, I'd say he should use that move
    instead of a turnaround jumper; unlike Shelden, who isn't that great at either, he should be able to get that
    shot in the pros. Basically, only his free throw shooting is keeping him from being an AA level player, because
    he played both Robinson and Sullinger about even. They need to have him working with a special coach this
    summer shooting at least 500-1000 free throws a day. Just has to get better at it. I'd say if he can do that,
    he's a lottery pick next year.

  11. #131
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by hq2 View Post
    Mason has gotten a lot better. His overall game is clearly approaching an NBA level. He now has a serviceable
    jump hook as well as some face up moves. Given his size and leaping ability, I'd say he should use that move
    instead of a turnaround jumper; unlike Shelden, who isn't that great at either, he should be able to get that
    shot in the pros. Basically, only his free throw shooting is keeping him from being an AA level player, because
    he played both Robinson and Sullinger about even. They need to have him working with a special coach this
    summer shooting at least 500-1000 free throws a day. Just has to get better at it. I'd say if he can do that,
    he's a lottery pick next year.
    Lack of practice from the line is not holding Mason back. It's confidence. It's a circular argument with lousy foul shooters. They can't make them without the confidence they can only get from making them.

    If he could only knock down six or eight in a row. The clouds will part, bluebirds will rest on his shoulders and all will be well across the land.

    But he has to make them. Then he can make some more.

  12. #132
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    boston, ma
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    Lack of practice from the line is not holding Mason back. It's confidence. It's a circular argument with lousy foul shooters. They can't make them without the confidence they can only get from making them.

    If he could only knock down six or eight in a row. The clouds will part, bluebirds will rest on his shoulders and all will be well across the land.

    But he has to make them. Then he can make some more.
    I dont know, he did make 7-9 against Kansas before reverting back to the mean.

  13. #133
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    Lack of practice from the line is not holding Mason back. It's confidence. It's a circular argument with lousy foul shooters. They can't make them without the confidence they can only get from making them.

    If he could only knock down six or eight in a row. The clouds will part, bluebirds will rest on his shoulders and all will be well across the land.

    But he has to make them. Then he can make some more.
    He was 2/2 in the Temple game and 3/3 vs GT. I actually thought that might give him a big boost of confidence shooting FT in the UVa game. Sigh. If only he had made the first 1 or 2 he attempted in the first half on Thursday night. Sigh again.

  14. #134
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    West of CIS

    Just some thoughts and observations!

    There is really good discussion on this thread regarding the what if's and if we coulds really interesting perspectives!

    When I look back at what this team has accomplished with what we percieve as needs or warts and wrinkles,
    It really has been quite a good 1st half result in the won/lost stat.Has it always been the style we're used too?,
    Probably not...but as the records always determine it not how, just how many!!

    When I think of the teams of the past that I felt were particulary exciting it usually gravitates to those that had really strong on ball pressure, playing the passing lanes with an exciting transition score..the plays this year that seem to get us going, seem to be in that vein, i.e. (the Thornton/MP1) sequence!!

    When I let my mind wander(doesn't take much) I envision a 3/4 of Full court 2 1 2 trap with a mobile big in the middle to pick off that 2nd or 3rd desperation pass...I don't know if this group could make it work but I have a sense they could cause they are good athletes, at least on certain applications.

    Then I wake up...looking forward at our upside we have quite a lot to be optimistic about with the results we have had in a growth mode...how many D1 teams would want our set of "problems"?

    Personally, I'm in agreement we must have the offense go through the post players and Austin, (VA did a helluva defensive job in all facets)...Would like to see more movement without the ball across all the guards,seems to be too much spectating!

    Just random thoughts IMO !
    Last edited by BluDvlsN1; 01-14-2012 at 02:43 PM.
    Let's go DUKE !!!

  15. #135

    Technique

    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    Lack of practice from the line is not holding Mason back. It's confidence. It's a circular argument with lousy foul shooters. They can't make them without the confidence they can only get from making them.

    If he could only knock down six or eight in a row. The clouds will part, bluebirds will rest on his shoulders and all will be well across the land.

    But he has to make them. Then he can make some more.
    He has a hitch in his shot, coming part way, then after a slight hesitation, finishing with his arm/hand. He uses little arc, which further reduces his made FT's. All the confidence in the world will not solve poor technique. Right now he appears to need help getting his technique right. Without that, I doubt he will consistently hit a reasonable number of his shots. Are the coaches reluctant to assist him? I have heard that he is very receptive to other coaching, so I am wondering why nothing is getting done.

  16. #136
    Given the number of high-level basketball players who have remained terrible free through shooters throughout their career, combined with the knowledge that many of these players have worked extremely hard to improve their free throw shooting, with the assistance of expert coaching, I conclude that dramatic improvements in free throw shooting are not as simple as they may seem.

    I very much doubt that Mason just needs to practice more, or gain confidence, or focus better, or improve his form, or whatever other simple (if not easy) solution any of us can think of. I assume, instead, that he will remain a bad-to-awful free throw shooter, and think that expecting him to change in this regard is only slightly more realistic than expecting Seth Curry to regularly back his defender down in the post for easy buckets.

    As a result, I actually don't get particularly frustrated by Mason's missed free throws during games. Frankly, this surprises me, as I've always liked the fact that Duke teams tend to make their free throws, and I do sometimes get frustrated at other players missing theirs. But Mason? I'm just resigned to him not being a good free throw shooter. Fortunately, he brings a lot of other things to the table.

    That said, one thing that did bother my during the Virginia game that I haven't seen mentioned: Mason and Miles were on the court together with roughly 4 minutes left; Miles already had 4 fouls. I said to my wife at the time, and continue to believe, that this was a strategic mistake by the coaching staff. Here's why: If Miles fouled out, Duke would've had to either play Ryan as the only big down the stretch, or play essentially 4-on-5 on offense, because they couldn't take the chance of passing Mason the ball and letting Virginia foul him. Miles should have been sitting to ensure that he would be available to sub in for Mason for the last couple of minutes. Instead, they were on the court together, and Miles promptly fouled out with three minutes remaining, leaving Duke playing 4-on-5, as feared. And Duke had as many turnovers as points after Miles fouled out.

    Now, had Miles been in the game in place of Mason over those last three minutes, things would likely have played out pretty much the same way. Ryan's turnovers were pretty clearly not the result of being afraid to pass to Mason, and there's little reason to believe the offense would have been run differently with Miles in the game. So I'm not saying the bad results down the stretch happened because Mason was in the game. I'm saying Mason being in the game made bad results more likely. And playing Mason and Miles together when Miles had 4 fouls at the 4 minute mark made it more likely that Mason would have to be in the game for the last couple of minutes.

    In short: If it is at all avoidable, Mason Plumlee shouldn't be on the court on offense when Duke is clinging to a narrow lead in the closing minutes. The coaching staff needs to do a better job of managing Mason/Miles/Ryan to limit the likelihood of this occurring. (I should say that this is the first time this year that I felt, in real time, that they did a poor job of addressing this problem. I should also say that, in general, I think the strategic approach to the second half -- going inside to Mason more, the use of the Curry/Rivers/Dawkins perimeter, etc -- was sound, though I'd like to seen a more sustained commitment to getting Mason the ball.)

  17. #137
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Albemarle, North Carolina
    Quote Originally Posted by duke09hms View Post
    The only reason he's averaging under 12 ppg is because we're Duke, and our philosophy never emphasizes the post even when that is our clear strength. We are always a guard-oriented team, if Mason were on any other team he'd be getting north of 15 ppg easy. If we would feed him the ball, like we did for the first ten minutes of the 2nd half, he would be averaging Sullinger-type ppg.

    Mason is a dominant post scorer because he can score on anyone anytime - KU's Robinson, OSU's Sullinger. The only thing limiting him is us.
    I just wanted to make a slight change to that statement: The only reason he's averaging under 12 ppg is because he does not hit free throws. He averages 11.7 ppg and attempts 6 free throw per game with only about 2 being made.

  18. #138
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Nashville
    Quote Originally Posted by Saratoga2 View Post
    He has a hitch in his shot, coming part way, then after a slight hesitation, finishing with his arm/hand. He uses little arc, which further reduces his made FT's. All the confidence in the world will not solve poor technique. Right now he appears to need help getting his technique right. Without that, I doubt he will consistently hit a reasonable number of his shots. Are the coaches reluctant to assist him? I have heard that he is very receptive to other coaching, so I am wondering why nothing is getting done.
    His main problem is that he's just pushing the ball towards the rim with his palm. If I were his coach, I'd forget about the basket and make him hold the ball in his fingertips and shoot it straight up by snapping his wrist until he gets control over the basic motion/spin. Not sure why the fundamentals aren't being addressed, it's not a Quincy Miller-type case where he's already a good shooter but has bad form...

  19. #139
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg_Newton View Post
    His main problem is that he's just pushing the ball towards the rim with his palm. If I were his coach, I'd forget about the basket and make him hold the ball in his fingertips and shoot it straight up by snapping his wrist until he gets control over the basic motion/spin. Not sure why the fundamentals aren't being addressed, it's not a Quincy Miller-type case where he's already a good shooter but has bad form...
    I also read somewhere that one drill is to start a couple feet from the basket, and shoot from there. Make a bunch, take a step back, do it again, and repeat until he backs up to the foul line. I also like the idea above about shooting straight up using his wrist and fingers... get control...

  20. #140
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Wheat/"/"/" View Post
    Time for some unvarnished Wheat/"/"/"...

    I didn't think either team actually played very well. It was a battle of top 25 teams in a slugfest of mediocrity.

    It was a competitive game and a nice win, but the level of play was poor. If those were the second and 3rd best ACC teams, well then lets just say the league really is down.

    About Mason...

    Mason is a good player, and I make these comments holding his potential in high regard, but he's just not improving as he should. You look at him and it's easy to expect more. Now I'm beginning to wonder if he's reached his ceiling.

    He's not getting the ball down low enough, in good enough position or rythem, and when he does, he's still only getting by with superior athletisicism. His post moves are not fluid at all. His shooting touch is bulky. And his foul shooting is just plain bad. His court awareness is average at best. He rebounds strong and is a solid defender, but certainly not a stopper.

    He's not the player I thought he'd be when I first saw him, but he can still be good enough to anchor a title team if this team can find some chemistry.

    At least Duke fans can relax for next season, because he's coming back. He's gonna be lucky to be considered a late first round pick,imo.

    I don't understand at minimum how he can't have a catch and turn jump hook after three years. With his hops and strength he should be able to get that from 4' anytime a play was run for it.
    When Duke does focus on him and gets him a feed so he can at least attack the basket, it opens the floor and the offense looks better. I'm puzzled as many are why he doesn't get more looks to score, because even if he can't get it in from the post or the line consistantly, he's sucking defenders down and drawing fouls.

    This team is capable of stroking it from outside and beating anybody with individual shooting displays. But when they ever hit a team that can apply outside pressure on the ball for a full game, or just have an off shooting night, they're gonna struggle.

    The lack of post offense to open things up for the shooters will get this team bounced if it doesn't improve big time before the tourney.

    Just my 2cents...it is mid season after all and we're in conference posting mode now, time to sharpen the play. I'll only be able to defend myself by phone for a couple of days, be easy on me
    I think there are a lot of aspects you aren't paying attention to and your expectations are obviously different than mine.

    Mason was well known as a face up player coming out of high school and had zero back-to-the-basket game. This is a contrast from Zeller and Henson who had back-to-basket games coming in (yes Henson was a back to the basket kid in high school who hoped to play sf at the college level). In the case of Henson, his confidence is back around the paint and he is flourishing with his freakish gifts. As for Mason, with his face up game coming out of hs combined with not really having any kind of touch around the rim nor away from it, there are of course going to be some offensive challenges. What he does have is outstanding lift, length and very nice passing ability, this combination was most likely the primary driver for his high ranking coming out of high school.

    No his post moves are not fluid. His footwork is really not all that great, many times it is pretty bad. But he has really learned how to use his base to get space when going up for the shot down low. Also I don't think the problem is that Mason is being ignored down low. Duke has struggled to get their offense started early and with no real creator besides a freshman who is primarily of scoring mindset, Mason has to come out a little further as the perimeter is pushed out which puts him in a less ideal position in the paint. I don't think this is any lack of development, it's just playing with the personnel that we have which is pretty darn good but does have its limitations.

    What you are really discounting is Mason's defense. As a freshman his defense was just horrible, he was a total liability out there which is probably why he barely played in the '10 Final Four. He consistently missed on switches, rarely communicated, and 6-5 frontcourt guys were scoring on him when facing him up. He has made tremendous improvement in that area. I'm not saying he is a great defender now, but without that improvement Duke would be teetering on being a middle of the pack ACC team THIS year.

    I think you maybe focus too much on cosmetics of the game instead of other aspects that have to be developed to actually win games. It's not as simple as throwing down to the post so shooters will just magically be open. I think we have much more of an issue with perimeter movement that can open up the post, but this again is more of a product of our personnel. Also, I believe Mason is gone to the draft after this season. He has shown a ton of improvement since his freshman year as he has had to essentially change parts of his game since arriving. UNC's two primary bigs haven't had to change their games, they have simply gained experience playing at the college level. Mason has a frame that can add even more strength, is a very good athlete, and an excellent passer. Now that he has improved defensively, uses his hands and length so well for traffic rebounds, and actually has the ability to use his left hand around the rim, he has enough established skills and potential to be a 1st round pick.

    Duke's other struggles on defense have much more potential to be their demise than any kind of issue in the post.
    Last edited by jipops; 01-15-2012 at 12:52 AM.
    "Just be you. You is Enough."

Similar Threads

  1. MBB: Duke 56, Virginia 41 Post-Game Thread
    By pfrduke in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 66
    Last Post: 02-18-2011, 08:54 AM
  2. Duke 57, Virginia 46 Post-Game Thread
    By Jumbo in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 100
    Last Post: 03-13-2010, 11:05 AM
  3. MBB: Duke 67, Virginia 49 Post-Game Thread
    By Jumbo in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 61
    Last Post: 03-01-2010, 12:22 PM
  4. Duke MBB v. Virginia post-game thread
    By throatybeard in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 44
    Last Post: 01-15-2008, 11:35 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •