Phase 1: Georgia State through Ohio State

[Bob Green]

Phase 1 starts with the Georgia State game on Friday night and runs through the Ohio State game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The marquee games will be against Kentucky on 11/13 and Ohio State on 11/28. Minnesota on 11/22 in the Bahamas is another tough game. The team and coaching staff are going to learn a lot about themselves during Phase 1.

Here are my thoughts on what we should be looking for during these early season games. If you agree with me, post and say so while adding additional thoughts. If you disagree with me, post and explain why I'm full of it. The bottom line is everyone needs to post their two cents so the conversation flows. It's November and time to talk Duke Basketball!

(1) Health: I strongly believe every Phase Report should start with health. The preseason injuries to Seth Curry and Marshall Plumlee reinforces this believe. With only eight scholarship players available, the team absolutely cannot afford another injury. The players are going to suffer bumps and bruises; however, a key factor to keep both your eyes upon during Phase 1 is team health.

(2) Renewed focus upon DEFENSE: Last season we struggled to defend the perimeter and a large part of those struggles were due to the absence of length at small forward or wing guard. This season we will move away from a 3-guard line-up toward a more traditional 3-forward line-up. The performance of Amile Jefferson (6'8") and Alex Murphy (6'8") at small forward will be the first key to the renewed focus upon DEFENSE. They looked good during the exhibition games, but will they continue to look good as the competition stiffens? The answer to that question will go a long way toward defining defensive success this season.

The second key will be the performance of Rasheed Sulaimon. A big part of perimeter defense is denial. Sulaimon must use his length and lateral quickness to be in position to deny his man the ball. Jon Scheyer was a master of denial defense and is a good example of who Sulaimon should work toward emulating.

The penultimate key will be Quinn Cook's ability to pressure the ball. Perimeter defense starts with pure harrassment of the opponent's primary ball handler. Cook's job is to harrass to the point the opponent makes mistakes such as throwing the ball away or dribbling away the shot clock resulting in a bad shot. Bad passes, rushed shots late in a possession and the opponent's point guard attempting to do too much are all potential positive results from harrassing pressure applied from the moment the ball handler crosses the half court line.

The final key is preventing second chance points. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly must dominate the defensive glass. There is nothing more disheartening than a team playing intense defense for an entire possession only to see the opponent grab an offensive rebound and score. Amile Jefferson and Alex Murphy need to provide improved rebounding at the small forward position. Our wing guards were not successful rebounding the basketball last season.

If Duke is truly to have a renewed focus upon DEFENSE in 2012-13, we should see ample examples of the four key points listed above during Phase 1 games.

(3) Experience: Our experience has been dealt a blow by the injury to senior Seth Curry, but the blow is just to placing the experience onto the court. Curry is still 100 percent available in the locker room and on the sidelines to provide leadership to the younger players. This is a big deal. Curry must be in the ears of the youngsters explaining what needs to be happenning, who needs to be doing it, and how it needs to be done! He is a senior so it is time for him to take the bull by the horns and lead! With his unfortunate injury threatening to limit his ability to see the court, the leadership will have to take place in the locker room and on the sidelines. To be clear, Duke doesn't need Curry to be a cheerleader. Coach K and the team need Curry to be an "in-your-face" leader.

Seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly are National Champions! They need to play like it.

(4) Outside shooting: Who is going to shoot the ball? Duke was a pitiful, allow me to repeat myself - PITIFUL 1-17 on 3-pointers against WSSU. With Curry sidelined, or at least limited, the onus falls upon Ryan Kelly, Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook to knock down the 3-pointers. The offense is going to look to run through Mason Plumlee inside but a key element for helping Plumlee get solid looks in the post is to stretch defenses with the long ball.

(5) Point Guard: I already talked about Quinn Cook's importance on the defensive end of the court, but his performance on offense is equally or possible more vital. Some folks (including me) say Duke has not had a true point guard since Chris Duhon graduated in 2004 (with the obvious exception of Kyrie Irving's 11 game career). Cook needs to step up and prove he can run the offense, distribute the ball and be Coach K's on court leader. Is Cook next in a long line of great Duke point guards? Will he become a part of discussions on Bob Verga, Dick Devenzio, Gary Melchionni, Tommy Amaker, Bobby Hurley, Steve Wojciekowski, William Avery, Jason Williams and Chris Duhon? Hopefully, the answer is an emphatic YES!

(6) Freshman Star: I firmly believe Duke needs one of the freshmen to step up and be a star. With only eight scholarship players 100 percent healthy and ready to go, and three of those eight being freshmen (Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy & Rasheed Sulaimon) somebody is going to have to have a freshman season like JJ Redick had in 2003 or Kyle Singler had in 2008 or Grant Hill had in 1991. Will one of the freshmen rapidly develop into star? It's a good question that deserves discussing.

To be clear, I am not saying Sulaimon has to be the next Redick, or Murphy has to be the next Singler, or Jefferson has to be the next Hill. We all know there is no next Redick, Singler or Hill. I am simply stating one of the freshmen must be better than just good.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading my madness and please pipe in with your two cents or if you are so inclined give us a complete nickles worth of wisdom.

[Kedsy]

Nice job, Bob. It's very exciting that the season is finally about to start. I have just a few comments to get discussion rolling.

Phase 1 starts with the Georgia State game on Friday night and runs through the Ohio State game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The marquee games will be against Kentucky on 11/13 and Ohio State on 11/28. Minnesota on 11/22 in the Bahamas is another tough game. The team and coaching staff are going to learn a lot about themselves during Phase 1.

If we beat Minnesota, we have a chance to then play Memphis and then Louisville, right? Those would be marquee games as well, if they come to be.

(1) Health: I strongly believe every Phase Report should start with health. The preseason injuries to Seth Curry and Marshall Plumlee reinforces this believe. With only eight scholarship players available, the team absolutely cannot afford another injury. The players are going to suffer bumps and bruises; however, a key factor to keep both your eyes upon during Phase 1 is team health.

In some ways, I'm more concerned if Seth plays at less than 100% than if he doesn't play at all. A hobbling player can get the whole rotation out of whack, especially if our top shooter rolls out another 1 for 9 clunker. Obviously, Seth will need some time to get back into playing shape, but I'm not sure how I feel about trotting him out there before he's fully healed.

(2) Renewed focus upon DEFENSE: Last season we struggled to defend the perimeter and a large part of those struggles were due to the absence of length at small forward or wing guard. This season we will move away from a 3-guard line-up toward a more traditional 3-forward line-up. The performance of Amile Jefferson (6'8") and Alex Murphy (6'8") at small forward will be the first key to the renewed focus upon DEFENSE. They looked good during the exhibition games, but will they continue to look good as the competition stiffens? The answer to that question will go a long way toward defining defensive success this season.

Well, first of all, the reported starting lineup for our first game appears to be a three-guard lineup, so maybe we're not moving away from it. Presumably Alex and Amile will still see plenty of minutes at SF, even if neither of them starts. I'm very interested to see if Amile can guard top shelf, Division I SFs.

The second key will be the performance of Rasheed Sulaimon. A big part of perimeter defense is denial. Sulaimon must use his length and lateral quickness to be in position to deny his man the ball. Jon Scheyer was a master of denial defense and is a good example of who Sulaimon should work toward emulating.

The penultimate key will be Quinn Cook's ability to pressure the ball. Perimeter defense starts with pure harrassment of the opponent's primary ball handler. Cook's job is to harrass to the point the opponent makes mistakes such as throwing the ball away or dribbling away the shot clock resulting in a bad shot. Bad passes, rushed shots late in a possession and the opponent's point guard attempting to do too much are all potential positive results from harrassing pressure applied from the moment the ball handler crosses the half court line.

The final key is preventing second chance points. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly must dominate the defensive glass. There is nothing more disheartening than a team playing intense defense for an entire possession only to see the opponent grab an offensive rebound and score. Amile Jefferson and Alex Murphy need to provide improved rebounding at the small forward position. Our wing guards were not successful rebounding the basketball last season.

If Duke is truly to have a renewed focus upon DEFENSE in 2012-13, we should see ample examples of the four key points listed above during Phase 1 games.

I agree Rasheed will be key to our hopefully resurgent defense, and that Quinn's improvement will be another key. To the extent that Rasheed plays SF, with Seth at SG, I think our D will look a lot different than it will with Rasheed at SG and Alex or Amile at SF. In that sense, Seth's D (especially while he's playing on a hurt leg) is just as important to our overall defensive performance as anyone's, and possibly more important.

(3) Experience: Our experience has been dealt a blow by the injury to senior Seth Curry, but the blow is just to placing the experience onto the court. Curry is still 100 percent available in the locker room and on the sidelines to provide leadership to the younger players. This is a big deal. Curry must be in the ears of the youngsters explaining what needs to be happenning, who needs to be doing it, and how it needs to be done! He is a senior so it is time for him to take the bull by the horns and lead! With his unfortunate injury threatening to limit his ability to see the court, the leadership will have to take place in the locker room and on the sidelines. To be clear, Duke doesn't need Curry to be a cheerleader. Coach K and the team need Curry to be an "in-your-face" leader.

Seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly are National Champions! They need to play like it.

I agree Seth's leadership role is something to watch. The natural inclination when a player is hurt and/or not playing as well as he knows he can (because of injury or any other reason) is to withdraw a little. To be the leader you say he needs to be, Seth is going to have to fight against that natural tendency.

(4) Outside shooting: Who is going to shoot the ball? Duke was a pitiful, allow me to repeat myself - PITIFUL 1-17 on 3-pointers against WSSU. With Curry sidelined, or at least limited, the onus falls upon Ryan Kelly, Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook to knock down the 3-pointers. The offense is going to look to run through Mason Plumlee inside but a key element for helping Plumlee get solid looks in the post is to stretch defenses with the long ball.

Shooting threes has been a staple of Duke's offense for some time. But frankly, if Seth is not able to provide an outside presence I will be disappointed if we launch 17 threes very often. Ryan should be ready and willing to put up 3 to 5 three-pointers a game, but I don't think Rasheed or Quinn (or Tyler or any other non-Seth player on our team) should be taking that many. Against Winston Salem State, Rasheed put up five threes and Quinn took four, while Alex tried two. Rather than taking on the onus to shoot, I would argue all three of those players should have taken fewer long-range shots.

(5) Point Guard: I already talked about Quinn Cook's importance on the defensive end of the court, but his performance on offense is equally or possible more vital. Some folks (including me) say Duke has not had a true point guard since Chris Duhon graduated in 2004 (with the obvious exception of Kyrie Irving's 11 game career). Cook needs to step up and prove he can run the offense, distribute the ball and be Coach K's on court leader. Is Cook next in a long line of great Duke point guards? Will he become a part of discussions on Bob Verga, Dick Devenzio, Gary Melchionni, Tommy Amaker, Bobby Hurley, Steve Wojciekowski, William Avery, Jason Williams and Chris Duhon? Hopefully, the answer is an emphatic YES!

The fact that Quinn had so few assists in the two exhibitions is a bit of a red flag, although as several posters have documented elsewhere, he "lost" several assists because the player to whom Quinn passed the ball either was fouled or missed an easy shot. Still, four assists and nine turnovers against two Division II clubs could possibly be a cause for concern. Having said that, I won't be concerned unless the poor numbers continue in Phase 1.

(6) Freshman Star: I firmly believe Duke needs one of the freshmen to step up and be a star. With only eight scholarship players 100 percent healthy and ready to go, and three of those eight being freshmen (Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy & Rasheed Sulaimon) somebody is going to have to have a freshman season like JJ Redick had in 2003 or Kyle Singler had in 2008 or Grant Hill had in 1991. Will one of the freshmen rapidly develop into star? It's a good question that deserves discussing.

To be clear, I am not saying Sulaimon has to be the next Redick, or Murphy has to be the next Singler, or Jefferson has to be the next Hill. We all know there is no next Redick, Singler or Hill. I am simply stating one of the freshmen must be better than just good.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading my madness and please pipe in with your two cents or if you are so inclined give us a complete nickles worth of wisdom.

Whether or not Duke needs this, I will be very surprised if any of our freshman become stars this year, or even "better than just good," as you put it. At least on offense. Rasheed could be a defensive star, but I don't think any of them will put up big offensive numbers or will be considered stars by most observers.

For one thing, none of our freshman project to be an offensive focal point, at least not for the next couple years. For another, when you have three senior stars, it's unlikely that a freshman can find enough opportunities to be a star. When Grant Hill was a freshman, our five most common starters included him plus three sophomores and a junior. The only senior of note was Greg Koubek. Plus, he was Grant Hill. When JJ was a freshman, the only seniors were Dahntay Jones and Casey Sanders, and the starting lineup included two freshman, a sophomore, and a junior. When Kyle was a freshman, we had just one senior, DeMarcus Nelson, and our top eight minute-getters included six guys who were either freshmen or sophomores. So it seems to me that with the veteran group we have this year, it's unrealistic to expect a non-top 10 freshman to come in and be a star.

Having said all that, I also disagree that we need any of them to be stars. Our seniors should be our stars and everyone else just needs to contribute strong defense and play good, smart fundamental basketball.

[ncexnyc]

I'm with Kedsy on the 3 point shooting. Just because that was a staple of past teams doesn't mean it has to be that way now. Why try to be something you're not? If Quinn can slash to the basket on a consistent basis and feed our frontline for easy dunks and close in shots there's absolutely nothing wrong with that style of play. We've been hearing from Coach K all preseason how Mason could be one of the top players in the nation, let's put that claim to the test and let's feed the beast and see if he can in fact carry this team. For years we've whined about not having a scoring frontline. Now that we finally have what appears to be such a group of players why not try to exploit this to our advantage. It's always been said that Coach K adapts his style of play to the players he has available. I think this is just such a situation.

[superdave]

(6) Freshman Star: I firmly believe Duke needs one of the freshmen to step up and be a star. With only eight scholarship players 100 percent healthy and ready to go, and three of those eight being freshmen (Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy & Rasheed Sulaimon) somebody is going to have to have a freshman season like JJ Redick had in 2003 or Kyle Singler had in 2008 or Grant Hill had in 1991. Will one of the freshmen rapidly develop into star? It's a good question that deserves discussing.

To be clear, I am not saying Sulaimon has to be the next Redick, or Murphy has to be the next Singler, or Jefferson has to be the next Hill. We all know there is no next Redick, Singler or Hill. I am simply stating one of the freshmen must be better than just good.

I have had a good sense of anticipation the past year about Rasheed. If he is the defensive catalyst for us, then he's a big enough star for this team after our defense last year. Coach K seems to have confidence in Rasheed for defense.

On the offensive end, he could be the one guy who scores easy fast break points for use, so there's a bucket or two a game that he can generate for himself with steals, run outs etc. I do not think we'll see a consistent jumper out of him, but we likely need him to drive to the hole with some consistency. If he can create for himself off the drive, he'll be able to create for the rest of the team with dumpoffs to bigs and kickouts to shooters.

We dont need Rasheed to be a star, but everything he learns to do consistently well makes this team a step better. He's a really good athlete at a position of need for us and will play enough minutes to have a large effect on our defense. I'm very optimistic about him. Cant wait to see him tomorrow.

[tele]

Looks to be a challenging stretch of games. Three things I would look toward are: ball pressure, both how duke applies it to opposing teamss' guards and how it handles it on Duke's guards. Foul trouble, without Curry, Duke was only eight deep. If Curry is at full strength this may not be as much of a concern, unless it is Mason or Kelly in foul trouble. Three point shooting has already been discussed, I think they'll probably shoot more not less of them and hopefully at a good percentage. As the competition picks up experience helps a bit more and Tyler and Josh may figure in more extensively. If Duke can avoid foul trouble and knock down a few threes, they will be tough to beat. In a foul fest or with some questionable calls, may be a tougher road, but still good experience for conference play.

[OldSchool]

Pick and Roll

I would like to see in Phase 1 signs that one or more of our guards will be able to run the pick and roll with Mason and Ryan this year better than our guards were able to do last year.

With Mason in particular we have a potentially devastating offensive weapon on the pick-and-roll. If all we do is feed him with entry passes on the low post we will be wasting Mason's potential IMO. On the high post, we need to make use of him more than just a dribble screen.

Austin was the most effective guard for us last year in this respect but his passing skills unfortunately were a work-in-progress. Seth was next in line in effectiveness in this play.

I am hoping Quinn will be effective in this role. Also, with Seth's injury, an opportunity will be there for Rasheed. Rasheed has a surprisingly good handle and some slashing moves. Can he pass well in the pick-and-roll? We now know that if a talented freshman proves himself K will give him plenty of playing time.

[pfrduke]

If we beat Minnesota, we have a chance to then play Memphis and then Louisville, right? Those would be marquee games as well, if they come to be.

Correct. If seeding holds (and we do our job), it's Memphis in round 2 and Louisville in the finals. There are 5 potentially tough to really tough games in the first set of 7, with Kentucky, Minnesota, Memphis, Louisville, and Ohio State (if that's what it turns out to be). Louisville, Kentucky, and OSU are 2, 3, 4 in the AP and coaches polls and 8, 1, 2 in the Pomeroy rankings. Memphis is 17/16/16 (AP, coaches, Pomeroy) while Minnesota is 30/34/26. That's a killer opening stretch.

Also at stake in Atlantis is our rather remarkable streak of 5 straight pre-season tournament championships. We haven't lost since Marquette in the finals of the 2006 CBE Classic. Like last year in Maui, given the slate that's down in the Bahamas coming out on top would be an impressive achievement.

[sagegrouse]

Bob -- Great work as always. I might add another topic --

(7) All-American. Will Duke have a player step up and play like an All-American? Scheyer did in 2010. Nolan did the following season. Duke has never contended for a national championship without a player who, that year or the next, contends for All-American or, at least, ACC POY. Ryan, Mason and Seth -- stardom awaits! Carpe diem!

sage/ Gary

[Saratoga2]

Phase 1 starts with the Georgia State game on Friday night and runs through the Ohio State game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The marquee games will be against Kentucky on 11/13 and Ohio State on 11/28. Minnesota on 11/22 in the Bahamas is another tough game. The team and coaching staff are going to learn a lot about themselves during Phase 1.

Here are my thoughts on what we should be looking for during these early season games. If you agree with me, post and say so while adding additional thoughts. If you disagree with me, post and explain why I'm full of it. The bottom line is everyone needs to post their two cents so the conversation flows. It's November and time to talk Duke Basketball!

(1) Health: I strongly believe every Phase Report should start with health. The preseason injuries to Seth Curry and Marshall Plumlee reinforces this believe. With only eight scholarship players available, the team absolutely cannot afford another injury. The players are going to suffer bumps and bruises; however, a key factor to keep both your eyes upon during Phase 1 is team health. You are right, the team cannot even afford the injuries it already has. Marshall is really needed now to bolster the inside defense and offense while Curry is needed for his scoring and senior leadership. We are going into the season on a non-optimum basis and absolutely cannot afford further injuries without the expectation of defeats, even against lesser teams.

(2) Renewed focus upon DEFENSE: Last season we struggled to defend the perimeter and a large part of those struggles were due to the absence of length at small forward or wing guard. This season we will move away from a 3-guard line-up toward a more traditional 3-forward line-up. The performance of Amile Jefferson (6'8") and Alex Murphy (6'8") at small forward will be the first key to the renewed focus upon DEFENSE. They looked good during the exhibition games, but will they continue to look good as the competition stiffens? The answer to that question will go a long way toward defining defensive success this season.We should be miles ahead of last year, having two large and mobile small forwards. We will have to wait and see how they stack up defensively against the better teams, but it looks like it will be better than last year.

The second key will be the performance of Rasheed Sulaimon. A big part of perimeter defense is denial. Sulaimon must use his length and lateral quickness to be in position to deny his man the ball. Jon Scheyer was a master of denial defense and is a good example of who Sulaimon should work toward emulating. Very encouraged with the defensive play of Rasheed. He though will share time with a Seth who may not regain his best form for some time.

The penultimate key will be Quinn Cook's ability to pressure the ball. Perimeter defense starts with pure harrassment of the opponent's primary ball handler. Cook's job is to harrass to the point the opponent makes mistakes such as throwing the ball away or dribbling away the shot clock resulting in a bad shot. Bad passes, rushed shots late in a possession and the opponent's point guard attempting to do too much are all potential positive results from harrassing pressure applied from the moment the ball handler crosses the half court line. I think it is worth mentioning that Tyler is capable of pressuring the opponents PG and he will share time with Quinn. Lets hope they are consistent in that ability

The final key is preventing second chance points. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly must dominate the defensive glass. There is nothing more disheartening than a team playing intense defense for an entire possession only to see the opponent grab an offensive rebound and score. Amile Jefferson and Alex Murphy need to provide improved rebounding at the small forward position. Our wing guards were not successful rebounding the basketball last season.We will miss Miles in that regaard as he developed that ability late in his career at Duke. When Marshall becomes available, we should have fresh bodies to mess up the opponents inside game.

If Duke is truly to have a renewed focus upon DEFENSE in 2012-13, we should see ample examples of the four key points listed above during Phase 1 games.

(3) Experience: Our experience has been dealt a blow by the injury to senior Seth Curry, but the blow is just to placing the experience onto the court. Curry is still 100 percent available in the locker room and on the sidelines to provide leadership to the younger players. This is a big deal. Curry must be in the ears of the youngsters explaining what needs to be happenning, who needs to be doing it, and how it needs to be done! He is a senior so it is time for him to take the bull by the horns and lead! With his unfortunate injury threatening to limit his ability to see the court, the leadership will have to take place in the locker room and on the sidelines. To be clear, Duke doesn't need Curry to be a cheerleader. Coach K and the team need Curry to be an "in-your-face" leader.

Seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly are National Champions! They need to play like it.

(4) Outside shooting: Who is going to shoot the ball? Duke was a pitiful, allow me to repeat myself - PITIFUL 1-17 on 3-pointers against WSSU. With Curry sidelined, or at least limited, the onus falls upon Ryan Kelly, Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook to knock down the 3-pointers. The offense is going to look to run through Mason Plumlee inside but a key element for helping Plumlee get solid looks in the post is to stretch defenses with the long ball.To me, scoring this year will be a major concern. To date, we haven't shown the ability to hit open shots from the outside. Who will develop in that regard. Ryan is the best bet with Curry if healthy. We really need Rasheed to develop this ability and I believe he will. To date our small forwards don't show much shooting touch from outside.

(5) Point Guard: I already talked about Quinn Cook's importance on the defensive end of the court, but his performance on offense is equally or possible more vital. Some folks (including me) say Duke has not had a true point guard since Chris Duhon graduated in 2004 (with the obvious exception of Kyrie Irving's 11 game career). Cook needs to step up and prove he can run the offense, distribute the ball and be Coach K's on court leader. Is Cook next in a long line of great Duke point guards? Will he become a part of discussions on Bob Verga, Dick Devenzio, Gary Melchionni, Tommy Amaker, Bobby Hurley, Steve Wojciekowski, William Avery, Jason Williams and Chris Duhon? Hopefully, the answer is an emphatic YES!

(6) Freshman Star: I firmly believe Duke needs one of the freshmen to step up and be a star. With only eight scholarship players 100 percent healthy and ready to go, and three of those eight being freshmen (Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy & Rasheed Sulaimon) somebody is going to have to have a freshman season like JJ Redick had in 2003 or Kyle Singler had in 2008 or Grant Hill had in 1991. Will one of the freshmen rapidly develop into star? It's a good question that deserves discussing.Rasheed seems to have a calmness and maturity about him and I believe he could quickly develop into a stat stuffer. Amile is a high energy guy. Alex hasn't shown the pace of development that I had hoped for, but he is still young and is a good athlete, so there are possibilities across the board with these three. It will be incumbent on us as fans to be patient with these kids while they learn and grow.

To be clear, I am not saying Sulaimon has to be the next Redick, or Murphy has to be the next Singler, or Jefferson has to be the next Hill. We all know there is no next Redick, Singler or Hill. I am simply stating one of the freshmen must be better than just good.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading my madness and please pipe in with your two cents or if you are so inclined give us a complete nickles worth of wisdom.

Thats for your post. I embedded my thoughts in red above.

[superdave]

Rasheed Sulaimon knows how to feed a big guy. This needs to become a permanent fixture of our offense. He can feed the post and drive and dish. I was skeptical when I heard the coaches thought he could play point, but he will be able to step into that role down the road. He's going to be an awesome player for us on both ends.

[Kedsy]

Rasheed Sulaimon knows how to feed a big guy. This needs to become a permanent fixture of our offense. He can feed the post and drive and dish. I was skeptical when I heard the coaches thought he could play point, but he will be able to step into that role down the road. He's going to be an awesome player for us on both ends.

That very early play when Rasheed drove into the lane and dished to Mason for the dunk, (a) was amazing; and (b) set the tone for the Duke win.

[COYS]

That very early play when Rasheed drove into the lane and dished to Mason for the dunk, (a) was amazing; and (b) set the tone for the Duke win.

Totally agree. It also shows that that the preseason hype about Rasheed being more advanced than a freshman Nolan was spot on. If he hit a few more shots (he missed some very makable ones), he becomes the unquestioned MOTM as he rebounded well from the wing despite a HUGE size disadvantage and led the team in assists. His ability to create kept our sputtering offense afloat in the first half and his huge threes in the second helped seal the game. It was a very impressive performance. He has a tendency to go to his right every time, which opponents may start to gameplan against, but his ability to get by his man, get into the lane, and make the right decision is actually more advanced than Austin's was last season. Austin may have been able to get by his man more frequently, but Rasheed is ahead of Austin from last year in terms of knowing what to do once he gets into the lane. It was very encouraging to me.

[fidel]

I don't normally jump in on these as I am anything but a basketball mind (never played anything but pickup). However, being of Duke colors I spend way too much time lurking here and looking forward to games (I attended 2010 Championship-what a blast, and then last years fiasco at Ohio State-Ugh).

So don't expect much depth of analysis.

What I will try to add is a different spin than what is in the OP's post (a great post btw). That is...what to expect from Phase 1? What are outlined are all solid points, however they could be asked at every stage. What I want to know is...what do we need to see in November. My list is similar, so maybe I am just wordsmithing here, but the context of 'now, its the real world' could use some discussion.

Phase 1 starts with the Georgia State game on Friday night and runs through the Ohio State game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The marquee games will be against Kentucky on 11/13 and Ohio State on 11/28. Minnesota on 11/22 in the Bahamas is another tough game. The team and coaching staff are going to learn a lot about themselves during Phase 1.

This is the warmup to the ACC regular season, and in some ways preludes to the NCAA. In usual K fashion we aren't playing all North East Western Wyoming State at Hicksville for W's. Kentucky (#3), OSU (#4), Minnesota (on the edge of the top 25), potentially Louisville (#2), Missouri (#14), Memphis (#17) are all in store for this team (VCU, and to a lesser extend Stanford are also on the edge of the top 25 and potentials in the Battle 4 Atlantis brackets). We are only talking 7 games, but what an early season gamut to run!

The Most Important Lesson: the team gets the structure of a tournament filled with the Real Thing - as ESPN says, over 160 NCAA tournament appearance contenders. The phase finishes with a primetime game against Ohio State, who smacked Duke like nobody smacks Duke last year (the horror! the horror!) and coming right off the Battle 4 Atlantis we have to see Duke step up once again.

I believe in this phase K is willing to learn, and to trade potential L's for experience. We'll have the NEWWSaH's scheduled over the holiday break which are meant to reinforce what we learn in this phase, but for now, this team has to grow up quickly and decide to win. The path to the national championship is attained by Survive and Advance, but this is predominantly accomplished by mental strength and No Fear.

(1) Health:

Yes. Always.

(2) Mason

The aptly-named Mason should be the foundation of this team. The offensive and defensive tones should be set by setting Mason up for success. All Mason, all the time. This isn't to understate the values of the rest of the team (Fist and all), but we have an outstanding talent that we think can change games. Can he? Can the team coalesce around Mason? When Mason is on, its such a pleasure to watch. I want to see more of it.

(3) Renewed focus upon DEFENSE:

Nothing to add here. We'll be looking for the line-ups that work, that pull together stops followed by points. We have the bodies and the ability, so what we need is the fit.

(3) Experience:

I'm going to call this one Leadership. I think this is predominantly Mason's burden to carry if I want to see him as the source of O and D, but Curry and Kelly are naturals to rally the troops as well. But who else is going to step up? These seven games are going to (or should be) about learning to win, and that means the mental toughness to win. Who is going to show no quarter? Who isn't going to let himself get taken out of games when it counts? We will see some interesting things here over this phase.

(4) Outside shooting:

I'll go with what other posters have asked...what will our offense look like? Kinda tied to All Mason All The Time. What will we see our offense turn in to? How will we find the points? Inside vs Outside, threes against twos. How we manage against teams that shoot versus teams that play inside, how the offense shifts to adapt...anyone with better understanding of the opponents and the challenges each brings to the table...?

That's all folks! Thanks for reading my madness and please pipe in with your two cents or if you are so inclined give us a complete nickles worth of wisdom.

Added my two cents. Love these threads, makes the games much more than W/Ls.

[Kedsy]

I believe in this phase K is willing to learn, and to trade potential L's for experience.

This would be very unlike Coach K. And it didn't seem that way in the Kentucky game, either, in which Alex and Amile combined for 6 minutes.

[DukieInBrasil]

Totally agree. It also shows that that the preseason hype about Rasheed being more advanced than a freshman Nolan was spot on. If he hit a few more shots (he missed some very makable ones), he becomes the unquestioned MOTM as he rebounded well from the wing despite a HUGE size disadvantage and led the team in assists. His ability to create kept our sputtering offense afloat in the first half and his huge threes in the second helped seal the game. It was a very impressive performance. He has a tendency to go to his right every time, which opponents may start to gameplan against, but his ability to get by his man, get into the lane, and make the right decision is actually more advanced than Austin's was last season. Austin may have been able to get by his man more frequently, but Rasheed is ahead of Austin from last year in terms of knowing what to do once he gets into the lane. It was very encouraging to me.

Yes, he did rebound well, in fact he led the team in rebounds AND assists. Pretty nice combination for a Fr. It's only 2 games, but he has played well and within himself in each game, which is pretty encouraging.

[NSDukeFan]

Yes, he did rebound well, in fact he led the team in rebounds AND assists. Pretty nice combination for a Fr. It's only 2 games, but he has played well and within himself in each game, which is pretty encouraging.

I agree but he was also aggressive going to the basket and was not shy about being a scorer and/or creator. Very encouraging.

[superdave]

This team is light years better defensively than last year's team. I think Cook and Sulaimon put a lot of pressure on ball handlers and that enables everyone else to be better. I do worry that we wont have enough size on the floor to be a really good rebounding team with Sulaimon playing the three though. I hope Alex and Amile can earn minutes at the three because our ceiling is higher with that kind of size.

[Newton_14]

This team is light years better defensively than last year's team. I think Cook and Sulaimon put a lot of pressure on ball handlers and that enables everyone else to be better. I do worry that we wont have enough size on the floor to be a really good rebounding team with Sulaimon playing the three though. I hope Alex and Amile can earn minutes at the three because our ceiling is higher with that kind of size.

Agree on both points. It is refreshing to watch a Duke team play good defense again. I hope it is something they build on game over game throughout the season. The addition of Rasheed, and the improved defense of the returning players such as Quinn, Seth, and Tyler is making a huge difference thus far. Exciting to see Amile defend on the perimeter as well.

On point two, I was hoping the 3 guard line up would be the exception, not the rule. I had high hopes for Alex, and after CTC and the exhibitions, it looked like he would be the starter at the 3, and as an added bonus, Amile would be pushing for minutes at the 3 as well. Now that we have seen the Kentucky and FGC games though, all of that is out the window. The 3 guard lineup will be the rule, with Tyler being the main sub off the bench backing up all 3 guys. The only unknown at this point is how much MP3 will be used once he gets healthy. The top 7 guys will be Mason, Ryan, Seth, Rasheed, Quinn, Tyler, and Josh. Amile will hopefully improve and scratch out more than 6 mpg. Alex will be the odd man out, with Marshall a tbd until healthy enough to see what his role will be.

I do think it will help if Marshall can garner the minutes as Mason's backup, although unless foul trouble prevents it, Mason is going to play 35+ mpg most nights. It is still a good team, but small on the perimeter. We will have to force turnovers and hit a fair share of 3's to help offset the lack of size. It is definitely imo, a better team than last year, and to me Rasheed can play the 3 better than Austin did. Much better defender, with better length, quickness, and a better rebounder. The offense appears to be much better than last year as well, especially if Quinn can sustain and even build on his play in the last two games. Seth's leg is a concern, but he has looked really good so far.

A good looking team 3 games in, just not the team I expected/hoped to see. That said, they are still a team with a high ceiling, and a team that can be much better in Feb/March, than it is right now. This next stretch of games will be a test. Very tough schedule. I worry about Seth's conditioning with 3 games in 3 days. If they can win this tournament though, it will be a huge accomplishment.

[superdave]

On point two, I was hoping the 3 guard line up would be the exception, not the rule. I had high hopes for Alex, and after CTC and the exhibitions, it looked like he would be the starter at the 3, and as an added bonus, Amile would be pushing for minutes at the 3 as well. Now that we have seen the Kentucky and FGC games though, all of that is out the window. The 3 guard lineup will be the rule, with Tyler being the main sub off the bench backing up all 3 guys. The only unknown at this point is how much MP3 will be used once he gets healthy. The top 7 guys will be Mason, Ryan, Seth, Rasheed, Quinn, Tyler, and Josh. Amile will hopefully improve and scratch out more than 6 mpg. Alex will be the odd man out, with Marshall a tbd until healthy enough to see what his role will be.

I do not know that the rotation is set. I think we could get killed on the glass this week and next and that could convince Coach K to go with the bigger lineup. OSU could beat us by controlling the boards, for example. I just dont think you're going to control the boards, or get more than the occasional offensive rebound, with Ryan Kelly at the 4. Not his game night in, night out.

But it is hard for K not to play his best defensive team (positive for Tyler and Amile). And he's consistently played his best guys a ton of minutes.

Ideally we'd play a bigger lineup when the opponent is bigger, but I dont know that that would be a likely Coach K reactionary gameplan either. I do not want to see Alex get buried, but he's got to earn it. I do not want to see a shorter bench with a smaller lineup because our ceiling will be lower as a team. I argued for it last year and I think it makes some sense again this year - we should develop a defensive platoon to play two quick stretches each half where they press and trap, speed the other team up, and shake up the game for 4-5 possessions. Alex, Amile, Tyler, Rasheed would be perfect for that.

I think we'll learn if the rotation is set now through OSU.

[NSDukeFan]

Agree on both points. It is refreshing to watch a Duke team play good defense again. I hope it is something they build on game over game throughout the season. The addition of Rasheed, and the improved defense of the returning players such as Quinn, Seth, and Tyler is making a huge difference thus far. Exciting to see Amile defend on the perimeter as well.

The defense has been encouraging so far, but I am not sure that the sample size is big enough at this point to say that it is far superior to last year's defense that was very impressive in winning the Maui tournament.

On point two, I was hoping the 3 guard line up would be the exception, not the rule. I had high hopes for Alex, and after CTC and the exhibitions, it looked like he would be the starter at the 3, and as an added bonus, Amile would be pushing for minutes at the 3 as well. Now that we have seen the Kentucky and FGC games though, all of that is out the window. The 3 guard lineup will be the rule, with Tyler being the main sub off the bench backing up all 3 guys. The only unknown at this point is how much MP3 will be used once he gets healthy. The top 7 guys will be Mason, Ryan, Seth, Rasheed, Quinn, Tyler, and Josh. Amile will hopefully improve and scratch out more than 6 mpg. Alex will be the odd man out, with Marshall a tbd until healthy enough to see what his role will be.

One of the great things about college basketball and that certainly includes Duke's teams, is how unpredictable the season can be. If you are just talking about this phase, than the bolded statement is reasonable, but I would not share your confidence. I'm not yet convinced that Alex will be the odd man out for the season, though I wouldn't be surprised if he continues to be for this phase. I would say the same for Amile. I expect at some point this year, Amile and/or Alex will pass at least one of the top 7 in the pecking order, at least temporarily. There could certainly be some change in this phase as well. If Marshall does become a rotation player this phase, that could also drop one of your top 7 to spot minutes as well (though I hope not.)

I do think it will help if Marshall can garner the minutes as Mason's backup, although unless foul trouble prevents it, Mason is going to play 35+ mpg most nights. It is still a good team, but small on the perimeter. We will have to force turnovers and hit a fair share of 3's to help offset the lack of size. It is definitely imo, a better team than last year, and to me Rasheed can play the 3 better than Austin did. Much better defender, with better length, quickness, and a better rebounder. The offense appears to be much better than last year as well, especially if Quinn can sustain and even build on his play in the last two games. Seth's leg is a concern, but he has looked really good so far.

A good looking team 3 games in, just not the team I expected/hoped to see. That said, they are still a team with a high ceiling, and a team that can be much better in Feb/March, than it is right now. This next stretch of games will be a test. Very tough schedule. I worry about Seth's conditioning with 3 games in 3 days. If they can win this tournament though, it will be a huge accomplishment.

I also am not yet convinced that this team is better than last year. I definitely predict a better result in the NCAA tournament this year and expect this year's team to be better defensively, but for much of last year, Duke was an offensive juggernaut, though not necessarily a pretty one. The team did not assist on a great number of its baskets and did not pass well overall, but with Mason and Miles hitting a high percentage inside and Austin, Andre, Seth and Ryan hitting a high percentage outside, that was a very efficient offensive team, for most of the year.

I do think this team will be more fun to watch for me and many others because of a likelihood of improved defense and better ball movement, but that was an awfully successful team last year, that struggled with the injury to Ryan and had an extremely surprising and disappointing final game. I am hoping for an even better year this year, (though it would be awfully difficult to match last year's conference road record) or a similar year with a better finish.