ESPN's Mechelle Voepel weighs in regarding the WBB programs at Duke and UNC (as part of a post about what is happening with the Lady Vols and embattled Tennessee WBB Coach Holly Warlick):
https://twitter.com/MechelleV/status...39619431596032
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!
Azura?
She was under-valued coming out of high school due to some injuries that kept her out of some big competitions.
She got better under McCallie.
She got better under Geno.
She's probably getting better in the WNBA.
RE: tonight's game against Wake Forest, I am told that Penna and Sharp will be out with injuries. Their two best players. Both have been out awhile but there was some thought that either or both could return tonight.
good run to take it up to 10.
April 1
Well we won't be going winless in the ACC! The offense still looks lost quite often tho.
EDIT: Great example of this in the final minute. Duke gets a rebound and the rebounder darts down for a potential transition opportunity then pulls up (no need for that in a blowout with that time left), and makes a nice pass to a player a little inside the FT line...who rather than looking toward the hoop to make an easy shot or get in close, passes it near-immediately AGAIN to a player just inside the 3 point arc, who hoists up an immediate long-range 2 (which misses).
Why the hell was that shot ever taken? And how could they think that was a good idea? Just befuddling offensive coaching.
<devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink
Carolina Delenda Est
Buyouts are crazy.
Whatever the hell "it" is, Jabari found it.
-Roy "Ole Huck" Williams
<devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink
Carolina Delenda Est
Some good stuff from Jayda and Onome (as well as Leonna, Haley, and Miela). Honestly, I think if Kyra and Mikayla come back healthy, Duke could be pretty good next season.
This season, it is what it is. Hopefully tonight's win will start us on a hot streak (though as someone else noted, beating Syracuse would be a major upset).
They do. I asked McCallie about this last night. Here is her response.
"That will be a great test for us; it will be a different tempo game. There’s a lot of quick shots and up and down in that game. I would like us to be more effective on the press break or when we are pressed. I want us to tear it apart. I want a bit more of get the ball to the block and high post. I haven’t looked ahead. I know Syracuse from last year and the year before. They’re mostly all back and they have a foreign player. I’ll get to that tonight. I’d really like to see us, obviously, rebound the ball so much better. I’d love to see us do that and I’d love to see us really attack pressure in a way of good ball fakes and really just take the wind out of any kind of press and not giving it much ability to be effective. I’m guessing if those things occur on Sunday, we’ll be in good shape."
Gorecki's response.
"They are going to press us. That’s fine. We have different ball-handlers that can dribble the ball. We just need to pass through the defense and move the ball quickly."
But yes, Syracuse's press had disrupted better Duke teams than this.
I agree. A starting lineup featuring Lambert, Boykin, Haley, and Leoanna could be really, really good.
But the post will still be a mystery, as Jade Williams is still wildly inconsistent and Onome Akinbode-James has not yet demonstrated she can be a primary post scoring option.
Leaonna Odom was a consensus top ten player and a McDonald's All-American. Jade Williams was a consensus top 20 player and a McDonald's All-American. Haley Gorecki was Gatorade POY for Illinois (Mikayla Boykin was Gatorade POY for North Carolina). Miela Goodchild is considered one of the top young prospects in Australia and made Australia's U16, U17, and U18 national teams (and was the leading scorer for Australia's U18 team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship)
That is a lot of talent, in terms of high school accolades/recruiting. Even with the injuries (Duke was 3-5 in games that Boykin played), Duke does not seem to be playing up to the level of this talent described above -- or at least to what might be expected.
With that being said, Duke will be favored to win or should likely win 7-8 of the remaining 10 regular season conference games. 7 of the 10 games are against UNC, Pitt, BC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest: combined, these teams are 6-30 in the ACC. The eighth game is against Clemson, who has done really so far, but still has the meat of the schedule remaining. Notre Dame and Syracuse are not games in which Duke will be favored.
If Duke can somehow win 7-8 of these games, the record will be 16-12/17-11. With two wins the ACC Tournament, there could be an outside shot (albeit unlikely) for an NCAA Tournament berth. Still, that would certainly salvage the season and turn it into a much more positive one.
Last edited by uh_no; 01-25-2019 at 01:56 PM.
April 1