This is going to be an interesting offseason to say the least

[MCFinARL]

He's currently a junior. So he has three years under his belt, not four.

Oh, good point. Could have checked that myself, I guess--sorry. So he can definitely play one more year at Yale, and then he can consider his options if he wants to keep playing.

[CDu]

When was the last time Bolden was on the bench? Is he better or still sick?

Bolden was on the bench for the Round of 64 game, but way off to the side. He was not on the bench for last night's game.

[Saratoga2]

I guess another way to look at it is that with K, you have to be one of the top 7. If the top 7 include 2 elite low block monsters who can't shoot beyond 15 feet, then he'll find a way to work with them...but what are the odds that would ever happen?

I suspect that Antonio is a 4 year Duke player. The rest of the front court guys I mentioned earlier...I could never blame a kid for choosing to leave if they aren't seeing the court. Imagine being good enough to be recruited by Duke and then never playing when you could be somewhere else, a good somewhere else with a good coach, and starting. Would you rather ride the bench at Duke or start at Wichita State? Dayton? maybe even some bigger name programs? Granted, you lose "the sweet life" of charter planes, 5 star hotels, all the value that comes with the Duke education and network (both the school and the basketball network). It's really hard for these guys.

Attrition to our program can come from the NBA draft or from players who are disappointed with their PT and see little in the future for them.

I doubt if anyone on this site really has crystal ball insight into what will happen between seasons but many of us know the possibilities. We also know that of the approx 15 players that will make up the team we will need a mix of about 7 that coach K will use a lot in actual game situations. Using this year as a model, we had 4 guards, 1 small forward/PF and 2 PFs. We backed them up with 3 PF/Cs (Jeter, Vrank and Bolden), 1 SF (Delaurier) and a big Guard (White). We know that Amile and Matt are leaving and we are pretty certain that Jayson is as well. Grayson also seems highly likely and we have three recruits so far with offers to several more. Does that mean we know something about Kennard or Jackson? Or do we know something about one or more of our bigs. Only time will tell.

[BD80]

Check out his scouting report on DE: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...-Carter-83183/

I think he's more mobile and better defensively than Okafor, ...

A strategically placed chair is better defensively than Okafor ...

[ArtVandelay]

Right, that was the point I was making. None of Vrankovic, Bolden, Jeter, and Carter seem suited to defend away from the basket. So if we have all four of those guys, it seems likely that two will not play and the other two will sub for one another. Not guaranteed, of course. If any of those guys do show the ability to defend on the perimeter, that would change things. But nothing suggests that any of those guys have the perimeter defensive skills to play PF at Duke. So I will be surprised if more than two of those guys are in the main rotation next year.

I think you're right historically, but I guess the practical question is who is the guy that plays that stretch 4 position for us next year if we don't land Knox? DeLaurier is the only returning guy I can think of that fits that mold. So if we don't get Knox and Bolden returns, do you think DeLaurier starts next year at the 4 with Bolden still glued to the bench? I know this is all speculation right now, but as you note, there's a wide range of roster permutations at this point, so K may find himself in the position of needing to get creative.

[proelitedota]

It's not a problem of the 4 on offense. It's the 4 on defense. Lance Thomas worked as a 4 because he can guard PFs and SFs.

On offense if you have a 4 that can't shoot, you make them crash the glass for you 1 - 3 spots.

[CDu]

I think you're right historically, but I guess the practical question is who is the guy that plays that stretch 4 position for us next year if we don't land Knox? DeLaurier is the only returning guy I can think of that fits that mold. So if we don't get Knox and Bolden returns, do you think DeLaurier starts next year at the 4 with Bolden still glued to the bench? I know this is all speculation right now, but as you note, there's a wide range of roster permutations at this point, so K may find himself in the position of needing to get creative.

In this particular hypothetical, I don't know. We could end up bumping Gary Trent up to the PF spot. We could end up going with White if he makes a big jump. We could go with DeLaurier. We could go with two bigs. Lots of potential outcomes. I have no idea which will be the outcome.

In terms of guys with size who have the ability to potentially defend away from the basket, though, DeLaurier is the guy who makes the most sense.

[DangerDevil]

Oh, good point. Could have checked that myself, I guess--sorry. So he can definitely play one more year at Yale, and then he can consider his options if he wants to keep playing.

Not sure of the site (Fan Rag Sports) but they had an article in the middle of February that claims to have inside information that Mason will play at Yale next year and then explore the grad transfer options.

https://www.fanragsports.com/news/mason-play-yale-next-season-become-grad-transfer-spring-2018/

[Rich]

A strategically placed chair is better defensively than Okafor ...

Desk chair, kitchen chair, or like a big ol' Lay-z-boy with an ottoman?

[Jeffrey]

Desk chair, kitchen chair, or like a big ol' Lay-z-boy with an ottoman?

Are we running zone or M2M?

[kAzE]

https://youtu.be/Fbfj2cwfvjM

Probably wishful thinking, but maybe we do go 8-9 deep next year? I misquoted in the title of this post, but the direct quote was:

"We need to become a deeper team."

[FerryFor50]

https://youtu.be/Fbfj2cwfvjM

Probably wishful thinking, but maybe we do go 8-9 deep next year? I misquoted in the title of this post, but the direct quote was:

"We need to become a deeper team."

You can take that statement two ways.

1) He means that Duke needs to be deeper, in that players are good enough to start, but amenable to coming off the bench.

2) He means that *he* needs to play more guys more minutes and adjust *his* coaching philosophy.

I'm going to guess he meant #1.

[Troublemaker]

https://youtu.be/Fbfj2cwfvjM

Probably wishful thinking, but maybe we do go 8-9 deep next year? I misquoted in the title of this post, but the direct quote was:

"We need to become a deeper team."

No, haha, no. Stop.

If you look up "Need to see it to believe it" in Bartlett's, it just says: "Coach K's 9-man rotation at Duke."

Plus, you can read what he says in several ways.

Maybe he means he would like to have 9 playable players but will still play 7, and this season he felt he only had 7 playable players of which he preferred to play 6. For example.

[jv001]

Going on my eye test, I think Luke will test the waters along with Grayson. However, I don't think Luke will stay in the draft because he's a poor defender. He has shown at times to be a good rebounding guard. He can't create off the dribble against tough defenders. I look for Luke to return for one more year at least. Grayson could go either way. I think it boils down to how much he thinks he can improve his draft status next season. GoDuke!

[flyingdutchdevil]

No, haha, no. Stop.

If you look up "Need to see it to believe it" in Bartlett's, it just says: "Coach K's 9-man rotation at Duke."

Plus, you can read what he says in several ways.

Maybe he means he would like to have 9 playable players but will still play 7, and this season he felt he only had 7 playable players of which he preferred to play 6. For example.

I take it to mean that Duke players need be start majoring in philosophy and be intellectually deeper.

Cus ya know Coach K will only play 7-8 dudes tops.

[uh_no]

I take it to mean that Duke players need be start majoring in philosophy and be intellectually deeper.

Cus ya know Coach K will only play 7-8 dudes tops.

i thought it meant that the players were scared to go into the deep end of the pool, making pool cardio sessions a challenge.

[flyingdutchdevil]

i thought it meant that the players were scared to go into the deep end of the pool, making pool cardio sessions a challenge.

You are correct. The "deep end of the pool" is the nickname for the paint of South Carolina's half-court D.

[kAzE]

I take it to mean that Duke players need be start majoring in philosophy and be intellectually deeper.

Cus ya know Coach K will only play 7-8 dudes tops.

I think there's a pretty big difference between 7 and 8. 8 doesn't sound like that much of an improvement, but it is a lot better than 7, especially in high foul volume games like last night. We had 7 this year. We legitimately played 8 in 2015. It was all we had, but we played all 8 of those guys late in the season, and it turns out that was all we needed.

You can say I'm cherry picking stats for convenience, but I think it's pretty hard to win a national title with 7. Any time there's foul trouble, you're in a pretty bad situation with only 7.

[uh_no]

I think there's a pretty big difference between 7 and 8. 8 doesn't sound like that much of an improvement, but it is a lot better than 7, especially in high foul volume games like last night. We legitimately played 8 in 2015. It was all we had, but we played all 8 of those guys late in the season, and it turns out that was all we needed.

bolden being out I think hurt a lot. he might have fouled, but at least was a decent shot blocker and might have been able to push people around a bit on offense.

[CDu]

You can take that statement two ways.

1) He means that Duke needs to be deeper, in that players are good enough to start, but amenable to coming off the bench.

2) He means that *he* needs to play more guys more minutes and adjust *his* coaching philosophy.

I'm going to guess he meant #1.

I'm almost positive he meant #1. But you never know. He has been committed to whittling down to a 7-8-man rotation for a long time.