Duke visiting Canada!

[UrinalCake]

FWIW both Jones and Reddish say that they are practicing with the team and that if an actual game were being played today they would have played. But they are taking things slowly. Jones pointed out the three games in five days and said that would be particularly strenuous. Both sounded positive, which is great to hear.

Jones

Reddish

[awhom111]

Here is the boxscore:
http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/5475536.pdf

[lotusland]

Was it Bolden or Javin who started at center? That’s assuming Zion started at the 4 position which isn’t a given with two guards out.

[Oriole Way]

Agree with most everything you said, but wanted to clarify one point. RJ put up 34 points, but it was on at least 30 shots and 14 free throw attempts (according to Bilases commentary as the game was still happening).

Not going to overreact to one game, but wanted to comment because my main impression of RJ tonight was that he seemed to be pressing, was rather inefficient, and struggled when he wasn’t able to get to the rim. That said, I was super impressed with his passing and his craftiness while attacking the basket. Sometimes, shots don’t fall. I’d bet he scores 25+ again on this trip in significantly fewer attempts.

He’s obviously going to be a stud for Duke and I really enjoyed watching him play, even on an off-shooting night while carrying an offense missing 3 of its top 6 offensive talents.

RJ's not a point guard, but he started this game as the PG. I think that made him a little bit uncomfortable, and that was reflected in his turnovers and perimeter shooting.

I'm very excited by what I saw from him, and even more excited by what I saw from Williamson. It seems that Zion is a quality shooter from the perimeter, which was not supposed to be one of his strengths according to consensus scouting/recruiting reports. That's a game-changer for the outlook of this team.

I will say that RJ's jump shot looks pretty average. If he could shoot 35%+ from 3-point range, I'd be comfortable saying he'll turn out to be Duke's best ever freshman. But I don't think his jumper will get to that level this season. Despite that, he's a special player, and I think Barrett brings crunch-time, game-winning intangibles to the table that Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter didn't quite have to the same degree as Barrett does.

[CDu]

Was it Bolden or Javin who started at center? That’s assuming Zion started at the 4 position which isn’t a given with two guards out.

Both Bolden and DeLaurier started with Reddish and Jones out.

[drummerdevil]

Was it Bolden or Javin who started at center? That’s assuming Zion started at the 4 position which isn’t a given with two guards out.

I would argue they both just started as “bigs” - our starting lineup was O’Connell, Barrett, Williamson, delaurier, bolden

[CDu]

Box score available at GoDuke. Notes of interest:

Barrett went 12-30 from the field, including 2-8 from 3. He was 8-14 from the line. Aside from the 2 threes, I would venture that his other 10 makes were from inside of 3 ft. He clearly has drive and talent, but he isn’t nearly a polished product. It will be interesting to see him against better competition. Hopefully when Reddish, Jones, and O’Connell are healthy, he will play more efficiently.

Williamson was 13-23, including 3-4 from 3, but missed his only FT. He led the team in 3pt shooting (by far), rebounds (13), assists (4, with no turnovers), and blocks (2). He was really impressive in many areas. He seems to have better ballhandling (his dribble in traffic was terrific) and shooting than Barrett.

DeLaurier had 8 points and 11 rebounds. Still a high-energy, lower-skill guy. But as a 5th/6th man, that is okay.

Bolden had 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 19 minutes. His performance was disappointing; hopefully he bounces back Friday. Still seems heavy-footed out there.

White was the only other relevant guy in the stat column. He had 7 rebounds and shot 3-9 on his open 3s. He largely looked like the same guy as last year: good rebounder, but slow, and a purely stationary offensive player. He is clearly the frontrunner for the 8th man at the moment, or perhaps in a tie with Goldwire. But it is hard to see him playing more than sparingly once the team is healthy.

[Indoor66]

Jack White will get significant minutes...think he was 3-7 from deep but his stroke looks very good. Might be our best shooter.

3 for 7 = 42.9% I'll take that for the year and have him shoot 15 or 18 per game!

[HereBeforeCoachK]

3 for 7 = 42.9% I'll take that for the year and have him shoot 15 or 18 per game!

Box score says 3-9...so barely above the water line for 3s. That said, the fact that he shot 9 of them tells me his stroke is one that he and K have confidence in...and I predict better than 33% from him.

[chrishoke]

According to Coach K after the game they took AO to the hospital.

[UrinalCake]

4/0 a-t ratio? I say we start Zion at point guard!

[dukelifer]

RJ's not a point guard, but he started this game as the PG. I think that made him a little bit uncomfortable, and that was reflected in his turnovers and perimeter shooting.

I'm very excited by what I saw from him, and even more excited by what I saw from Williamson. It seems that Zion is a quality shooter from the perimeter, which was not supposed to be one of his strengths according to consensus scouting/recruiting reports. That's a game-changer for the outlook of this team.

I will say that RJ's jump shot looks pretty average. If he could shoot 35%+ from 3-point range, I'd be comfortable saying he'll turn out to be Duke's best ever freshman. But I don't think his jumper will get to that level this season. Despite that, he's a special player, and I think Barrett brings crunch-time, game-winning intangibles to the table that Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter didn't quite have to the same degree as Barrett does.

Yes 35% would be great but as you say- unlikely. Tatum was 34%. Allen last year was 37%. . He will be lucky to crack 30%. But that is not my concern. He needs to hit FTs close to 80%. If he is sub 65-70%, that does not bode well for this team. He will be the focus of the O and if he gets fouled driving- he will need to knock those FT down or it is effectively a turnover. His shooting form is concerning. I know he is working at it - but he needs to really improve on that part of his game- even if it is just FTs.

[OldPhiKap]

According to Coach K after the game they took AO to the hospital.

Take advantage of free universal health care while you’re there, I guess.


Quick and full recovery vibes, AO)

[chrishoke]

I love these Coach K quotes from GoDuke:

On R.J.’s game: “I don’t think he’s a kid that ever gets nervous. He’s never afraid, but he’s excited so he’s excited and proud. He’s a youngster who has loved representing Canada on the international stage and this is home. He’s proud to be at Duke, and he’s proud of so many things, so you want to play great. I thought he played really well but he’ll play even better as this moves along. He’s a winner and a team player. He’s a real team player."

On R.J.’s maturity: “Every day he shows his maturity with how he handles things. His relationships with the coaches and with me are great. He’s comfortable and he’s a man. He’s so mature in his relationships and that makes it good for everyone. He does it every day. He’s just a fun guy to be with and a winner. He’s a special kid and a special player.”

[sagegrouse]

What's the chance that arenas all over the ACC are packed to see Zion Williamson play? Is there is a close comparison of size, strength, agility and basketball ability in NCAA basketball, well, history?

[UrinalCake]

What's the chance that arenas all over the ACC are packed to see Zion Williamson play? Is there is a close comparison of size, strength, agility and basketball ability in NCAA basketball, well, history?

LeBron James got turned away from watching him in high school because the gym was so packed. So yeah, I think he’ll generate some buzz.

[whereinthehellami]

RJ showed he can be unstoppable but he needs to take better shots. Multiple times he forced the issue on fast breaks without numbers and came up short. And don't settle for the 3, he has a decent mid-range game that he can utilize. The FTs (8-14) were concerning and something that has been an issue. I had heard that he had been working on his shooting, so that was disconcerting.

Zion looked really good but there were some passes that he got lucky with that should have been TOs and against better competition would have been. Zion has a really quick, explosive second jump like Marvin did from last year. With his body type and also being a lefty, this should help him convert inside. But way to show up with the bright lights on!

Bolden was a conundrum. For a 6'11" JR playing against this level of competition he could not have looked much worse. He had some opportunities to do some things but looked slow and hesitant. Is there a lingering injury issue? I'll be really curious to see if the team tries to get him going in the next two games or if that ship has sailed. Otherwise Javin or Zion at the 5 makes more sense to me, particularly Zion at the 5 as that will open up the lane for the offense.

Javin looked okay, he had one really nice move in the lane for a 6-8 footer. I was hoping to see more of that. He had a couple of bobbles, one was from a perfect drop-off under the hoop from RJ. He has to got to catch and convert those. 11 board shows how hard Javin works and he is around the ball a lot, which is what high IQ-basketball players do. I'm a big Javin fan and want to see more from him.

Jack hit 3 3's but missed too many open shots. I really liked the pass fake and open 3 conversion. I would like to see more of this from him. I think he is also capable of doing that and blowing by his airborne defender to the hoop for a bucket. These are the kind of games to show more and try to expand your role. We know he can hit the open 3.

Joey looked lost out there, 2 PF, 2 TO, and 1 steal. Make some things happen Joey!

[CajunDevil]

RJ had a tough shooting night, and a tough first quarter handling the ball... I chalk that up to pressing a bit playing blocks from his house. For those worried about his shot, I'd say don't. Having seen him several times against much better competition in a team environment - his shot is serviceable and he has hit some pressure threes. Also, he is a much better FT shooter than this one game indicates. I think he will shoot at least 34% from 3 and 75% from FT for the year.

Also, it appeared that they were using a FIBA ball at the beginning of the game and then switched to a Nike ball after the first 5 minutes or so of game action. FIBA balls have a different seam pattern and may have contributed to the 8 TOs in the first qtr. Did anyone else notice that?

[Saratoga2]

According to Coach K after the game they took AO to the hospital.

Be interesting to know what happened to AO.

[Saratoga2]

Be interesting to know what happened to AO.

I got the answer about AOC by reading coach K's game summary. It sounds like AOC took an elbow to the head and there was concern about his eye socket and eye. They will give more details after the hospital examination and treatment. Sorry to hear that it happened early in the game so Alex had little time to participate. Crossing my fingers that he will recover fully.