2018-19 Duke Women's BB

[CameronBornAndBred]

I know you are an optimist and I respect you for it. You know more about Duke Women's BB than me and it shows in your posts. To me it seems that recruiting has been going down hill for a while now and it hit rock bottom right about the time Coach P was investigated by the Duke Administration. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The players that could put points on the board and could handle the basketball quit coming to Duke. Was it because of our coach or some other reason. I'd really like to know. GoDuke!

You are totally correct, and it is something I pointed out earlier in this thread.

There is no denying that recruiting has gone down. Coach P regularly brought in top classes, but that is no longer the case. Currently, for the second year in a row, we don't have any 5* signees. You can be the best coach on the planet, but you can't win in women's basketball without elite players.

I think there a couple of factors, and the investigation was definitely one of them. Another was our transfers, and past players, vocally speaking out against Coach P. If you are a recruit, or a parent of one, you are paying attention to what others are saying, and when you hear negativity coming from those who have been in the program, the chances of you ignoring it is slim to none.
I think a third factor, and perhaps the greatest one, is that our best recruiters left.
We lost both Trisha Stafford-Odom (whom after she left for the same job at Carolina I have few good things to say about) and Joy Cheek. Both were excellent at recruiting and I feel a big reason we landed so many top classes. To put it in perspective, they were to the women's team what Jeff Capel was to the men's.
Since Cheek took a job at Ohio State, our recruiting hasn't been the same.
Side note, if P's contract doesn't get renewed, I hope Dr. White takes a look at Coach Cheek. Currently she is an assistant at Clemson.

[jv001]

You are totally correct, and it is something I pointed out earlier in this thread.



I think there a couple of factors, and the investigation was definitely one of them. Another was our transfers, and past players, vocally speaking out against Coach P. If you are a recruit, or a parent of one, you are paying attention to what others are saying, and when you hear negativity coming from those who have been in the program, the chances of you ignoring it is slim to none.
I think a third factor, and perhaps the greatest one, is that our best recruiters left.
We lost both Trisha Stafford-Odom (whom after she left for the same job at Carolina I have few good things to say about) and Joy Cheek. Both were excellent at recruiting and I feel a big reason we landed so many top classes. To put it in perspective, they were to the women's team what Jeff Capel was to the men's.
Since Cheek took a job at Ohio State, our recruiting hasn't been the same.
Side note, if P's contract doesn't get renewed, I hope Dr. White takes a look at Coach Cheek. Currently she is an assistant at Clemson.

Thanks for the insight. I had forgotten about he transfers. One of our best players moving on to UConn. I also seem to remember something being said that Coach P admitted not liking the recruiting side of the job. GoDuke!

[uh_no]

You are totally correct, and it is something I pointed out earlier in this thread.



I think there a couple of factors, and the investigation was definitely one of them. Another was our transfers, and past players, vocally speaking out against Coach P. If you are a recruit, or a parent of one, you are paying attention to what others are saying, and when you hear negativity coming from those who have been in the program, the chances of you ignoring it is slim to none.
I think a third factor, and perhaps the greatest one, is that our best recruiters left.
We lost both Trisha Stafford-Odom (whom after she left for the same job at Carolina I have few good things to say about) and Joy Cheek. Both were excellent at recruiting and I feel a big reason we landed so many top classes. To put it in perspective, they were to the women's team what Jeff Capel was to the men's.
Since Cheek took a job at Ohio State, our recruiting hasn't been the same.
Side note, if P's contract doesn't get renewed, I hope Dr. White takes a look at Coach Cheek. Currently she is an assistant at Clemson.

They aren't the only two assistants who left in largely lateral moves.

Joy Cheek, assistant at Ohio State
Trisha Stafford-Odom, assistant at UNC
Samantha Williams, assistant at Louisville
Shannon Perry, assistant at UCLA

(https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-31340.html)

[Phredd3]

I had forgotten about the transfers. One of our best players moving on to UConn.

I think that Azura's leaving may have been more damaging than the investigation. The latter was largely internal and not widely publicized outside the triangle, but Azura's public statement on why she transferred boiled down to her saying that she needed a good basketball education and she wasn't getting it at Duke. That makes Duke a tough sell to any player who is primarily focused on pursuing a basketball career after graduation, and we are finally in an era where that's what elite women players are actually doing.

[jimsumner]

Had Duke opened with say, Boston College and Wake Forest and started 2-0, we're having a different discussion. Opening with two undefeated top-10 teams is pretty tough.

That said, Duke's defense is still way ahead of its offense. The D was pretty solid against Louisville until it became garbage time.

But the offense lacks cohesion and flow and Duke has to fix that.

We're all familiar with the adage "take what the defensive gives you." A lot of Duke's turnovers come from ignoring that, forcing things, making bad decisions, either not trusting or not understanding your teammates.

Let me give an example from yesterday. Second half, Duke ball, Devils trying to get into transition. Boykin throws a 60-foot cross-court pass to Jade Williams about 20 feet from the basket. She promptly travels.

This would be a good play if the pass was to Gorecki, Odom or Goodchild.

But not to Williams. And not because of the high likelihood of turnover. Because even if she doesn't turn it over, she's not the player who is going to exploit the situation. She's not going to knock down a 3 or drive 20 feet to the basket in traffic.

It's a high-risk, low-reward play. Duke has too many of those. They need to simplify not complicate.

Boykin's development is the key to the season, IMO. She's smart, motivated, skilled and absolutely committed to helping her team win.

But this is a player who averaged 38 points per game as a high-school senior.

No criticism from me. If I'm the coach at Clinton High, I'm darn well going to want Boykin taking as many shots as she can. That's how you win state championships. Which they did.

But then she comes to Duke and has to blend in with a lineup that features two ball-dominant alpha grad-students and she never looked like she had found her niche before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

You know those summer pickup games, where you learn about yourself and your teammates?

Scratch that. She's on crutches.

Fall practice? She's on the sidelines, working on her rehab.

So, she gets healthy and is thrown into the fray in the middle of the season. It's trial by fire and there have been some pretty big bumps in the road. And it works the other way, too. Her teammates haven't played with her enough to do those instinctual things that good teams do.

They're still in the getting-to-know-you-phase of the relationship against teams that are well past that.

Can Duke smooth out those bumps before falling so far down the rabbit hole that they can't climb back?

The GT game Thursday on the road is a big one. Very winnable, very losable. Duke can survive a 1-2 start. An 0-3 start and a lot of 50-50 games become must-win games. Duke has to get its turnover issues under control to win these games.

Big picture? I think next season will be the key for McCallie. Faith Suggs is Duke's only rotation player using up her eligibility this season, Lambert (knock on wood, fingers crossed, offerings to the basketball gods), comes back hale and hearty and Duke adds some solid recruits to an experienced foundation.

Losing Treece and Craig frees up two scholarships and Duke is looking at grad-student transfers, traditional transfers, international players. The investigation a few years back did set back recruiting and Duke is still in recovery mode.

So, a lot of moving parts. But Duke has some winnable games coming up and the short-term goal is to get those wins and build up some momentum for a stretch run.

[Kedsy]

I love our D. But, (without looking anything up), I'd guess that the opponents numbers are skewed. Take out the teams that we are "supposed" to beat, and I'd bet that 31% is much higher. Heading into ACC season, that is important.

I think you're on to something.

In our six losses, opponents have shot 40.8% from three, on 26.2 three-attempts per game (including 16 of 34 by Missouri; 14 of 29 by Oregon State; and 12 for 24 by Louisville).

In our eight wins, opponents have shot 23.1% from three, on 23.3 three-attempts per game.

[burnspbesq]

In fairness to P, one of the recruiting losses that had us all scratching our heads at the time turns out to have been pretty inevitable. I didn’t know at the time that Bella Alarie’s grandfather was a Princeton grad and had instilled a love for the place in her from a very early age.

There was also some doubt at the time as to whether she was an ACC-caliber talent, but I think that’s been pretty conclusively dispelled.

[CameronBornAndBred]

In fairness to P, one of the recruiting losses that had us all scratching our heads at the time turns out to have been pretty inevitable. I didn’t know at the time that Bella Alarie’s grandfather was a Princeton grad and had instilled a love for the place in her from a very early age.

There was also some doubt at the time as to whether she was an ACC-caliber talent, but I think that’s been pretty conclusively dispelled.

I'm confused. How is it a loss if you don't even try? P never offered.

[bluedevilsince72]

But how did we rebound? This is the biggest obsession for Coach P for years. We outrebounded them 39-34. Seems like a hugely important stat?!?!?!

When will the embarrassment end? How far does the program have to fall? After watching almost every game for 15 years, I haven't been to a game in 4 years and wont attend another game until P is gone.

[chrishoke]

Big game tonight at 7 at GT. Anybody watching\following\caring? GO DEVILS.

[chrishoke]

Turn out the lights, the party's over.

[Mike Corey]

Not good.

[DU82]

Turn out the lights, the party's over.

Down 17, Mikayla hits a half court heave at the end of the third to turn momentum. Duke cuts the lead to one, then couldn’t get a basket and gives GT an and one to let them go back up but two possessions Too many mistakes, too many missed opportunities. Not enough offense, even with the spurt in the fourth quarter.

[CameronBornAndBred]

That was a great comeback, but ultimately, that was not a good loss.
At all.

Side note, the GT Pea Green court has to be the ugliest in basketball. For a while I was wondering if my TV was out of whack.

[Steven43]

But how did we rebound? This is the biggest obsession for Coach P for years. We outrebounded them 39-34. Seems like a hugely important stat?!?!?!

When will the embarrassment end? How far does the program have to fall? After watching almost every game for 15 years, I haven't been to a game in 4 years and wont attend another game until P is gone.

Well, it has been nearly three years and I'm still trying to understand how Coach McCallie survived the investigation and remains head coach at Duke. Recruiting has fallen off dramatically. On-court results have nosedived. Coach McCallie's reputation has been sullied and the program is tainted. Assistants leave for equivalent positions. Former players badmouth the program and coach. I'm frankly just baffled by this whole thing. I have never seen a coach survive this many major hits. And it's not as if she has achieved the kind of on-court success -- multiple national championships or something similar -- that would normally be necessary for a coach to keep from getting axed in a situation this dire. I have been shaking my head in disbelief since the decision was handed down by Kevin White. Does anyone have an explanation for this that actually makes sense? Thanks.

[chrishoke]

Before tonight, Duke had won 18 of the last 19 against GT.

[arnie]

Well, it has been nearly three years and I'm still trying to understand how Coach McCallie survived the investigation and remains head coach at Duke. Recruiting has fallen off dramatically. On-court results have nosedived. Coach McCallie's reputation has been sullied and the program is tainted. Assistants leave for equivalent positions. Former players badmouth the program and coach. I'm frankly just baffled by this whole thing. I have never seen a coach survive this many major hits. And it's not as if she has achieved the kind of on-court success -- multiple national championships or something similar -- that would normally be necessary for a coach to keep from getting axed in a situation this dire. I have been shaking my head in disbelief since the decision was handed down by Kevin White. Does anyone have an explanation for this that actually makes sense? Thanks.

She only makes a little over $1 million a year in a sport that loses money at a school with a boatload of money😀. I’d guess the AD hopes nobody notices. I think she’s got the job through 2020-2021 season and then quietly moves on.

[dukelifer]

Well, it has been nearly three years and I'm still trying to understand how Coach McCallie survived the investigation and remains head coach at Duke. Recruiting has fallen off dramatically. On-court results have nosedived. Coach McCallie's reputation has been sullied and the program is tainted. Assistants leave for equivalent positions. Former players badmouth the program and coach. I'm frankly just baffled by this whole thing. I have never seen a coach survive this many major hits. And it's not as if she has achieved the kind of on-court success -- multiple national championships or something similar -- that would normally be necessary for a coach to keep from getting axed in a situation this dire. I have been shaking my head in disbelief since the decision was handed down by Kevin White. Does anyone have an explanation for this that actually makes sense? Thanks.

Wasn’t Duke in the ACC finals 2 years ago? This is going to be a bad year for sure but it is not like the program has fallen off the map. Injuries have killed recent seasons.

[msdukie]

Side note, the GT Pea Green court has to be the ugliest in basketball. For a while I was wondering if my TV was out of whack.

I can think of two in Chapel Hell that are far worse.

[msdukie]

Wasn’t Duke in the ACC finals 2 years ago? This is going to be a bad year for sure but it is not like the program has fallen off the map. Injuries have killed recent seasons.

I wouldn't call beating a 6 seed and 7 seed and then getting blown out by a 1 seed in the title game is not an example of not falling off the map. Remember, she was hired to bring championships (including the big one) to Duke. Duke hasn't won any kind of championship since 2013 and from 2008-2013 was not at the level as when she took the program over. There has been a substantial slide from the 2013 level, including what appears to be 2 NCAA misses in the last 4 years, which, quite frankly, should never happen to Duke with the parity of women's basketball.