MBB: Duke at Pittsburgh (Tue, Jan 22, 9pm, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Duke travels to Pitt on Tuesday night for their next game. The Panthers are having an up and down year under Coach Capel, including a recent win over #11 Florida State and a narrow victory over a decent Louisville team, but they also got shellacked by the Heels and lost to Niagara, of all teams. Duke will likely get their best shot, of course.

[UrinalCake]

If Pitt wins this game, does Capel pretty much have the Duke job locked up whenever K retires?

They’ve got some nice wins on the season, and Capel already looks like a home run of a hire. I never take any opponent for granted, especially on the road, but we should win this by 15 or so even assuming Tre doesn’t play.

[-jk]

And Capel is quite able to intuit what K will plan, with or without Tre...

-jk

[gofurman]

Duke travels to Pitt on Tuesday night for their next game. The Panthers are having an up and down year under Coach Capel, including a recent win over #11 Florida State and a narrow victory over a decent Louisville team, but they also got shellacked by the Heels and lost to Niagara, of all teams. Duke will likely get their best shot, of course.

This is huge.

Why? FSU coulda beat us. Then they lose to Pitt

Trappy game after Virginia. ! Each acc win or los counts the same in league standings

Have to hit this one hard ... A road victory is always a huge thing. Cmon out hard and put them down

Others know more but if I recall everyone left Pitt. I am shocked they beat FSU and Louisville with all their players having left! Kudos to Capel

I suspect them to be good in a year or two as their top two scorers are both freshman guards (numbers 1 and 2 by jersey). Top two rebounders are a freshman and a sophomore. Top two assist guys are both freshman ( same guys numbers 1 and 2 on jersey). And to lose all their guys to transfer and already beat FSU and Louisville ? I bet they go 5-13 ACC this year (maybe more?) and increase to a possible winning ACC record two years from now. You have to think they keep improving. I really expected them to be w Wake and BC this year. Or worse. Wake has upperclassmen. Pitt does not.

We need this as a road win. This is easier than many but still tough. Both Louisville and FSU were losers in Pittsburgh

[Pghdukie]

Pitt's student section were pretty harsh on Duke, most namely Bagley, last year. Duke up big last year when the students started their "OVER RATED" chant.

[jbay201]

Pitt's student section were pretty harsh on Duke, most namely Bagley, last year. Duke up big last year when the students started their "OVER RATED" chant.

wow what a classless fanbase...won 0 games last year and still talking trash. I'll take K versus Capel anytime (even without tre). He didn't coach well in K's 1 month absence a couple years ago.

is anyone capable of stopping Zion or Barrett, let alone both on that team?

[Steven43]

wow what a classless fanbase...won 0 games last year and still talking trash. I'll take K versus Capel anytime (even without tre). He didn't coach well in K's 1 month absence a couple years ago.

is anyone capable of stopping Zion or Barrett, let alone both on that team?

Bold words. Nice to see someone who hasn’t yet been beaten into submission by the DBR old guard. Rest assured, they will be coming for you with keyboards drawn. It’s only a matter of time. No one escapes unscathed.

[DUKEinFW]

Pitt's student section were pretty harsh on Duke, most namely Bagley, last year. Duke up big last year when the students started their "OVER RATED" chant.

Will be interesting to see if Capel reigns in such ridiculous chatter from the student section.

[Steven43]

Pitt's student section were pretty harsh on Duke, most namely Bagley, last year. Duke up big last year when the students started their "OVER RATED" chant.

They really did this? I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of a home crowd chanting “overrated” while their team was down big. It makes no sense. Sounds like something U of Maryland fans might do.

[OldPhiKap]

wow what a classless fanbase...won 0 games last year and still talking trash. I'll take K versus Capel anytime (even without tre). He didn't coach well in K's 1 month absence a couple years ago.

is anyone capable of stopping Zion or Barrett, let alone both on that team?

I thought Jeff did a good job when K was out. He is also a great recruiter, and it was his idea to go zone-first defense at Louisville a few years ago after two bad losses.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take K over everyone. But Jeff is more than capable and is probably behind only Tony Bennett as far as young ACC coaches are concerned. JMO, YMMV.

[uh_no]

I thought Jeff did a good job when K was out.

That was not the consensus here after his stint. I forget the exact timeframe, but didn't he oversee the 2017 run of 1-3?

[Troublemaker]

This should not be looked at as an easy game, and we are still vulnerable until Tre returns.

Just like how it's possible to lose at home to Syracuse and then beat UVA, it's possible to beat UVA and then lose at Pitt. Every game is its own entity, its own matchup. For example, we basically played 5 guys last game, but UVA is the type of opponent that can let you get away with that. And I don't mean just pace. UVA is 220th in the country (14th in the conference using ACC games) at offensive FT rate, which means they don't draw fouls. Pitt, on the other hand, is 10th in the country (2nd in the conference) at offensive FT rate; they attack the basket relentlessly and know how to get fouled.

Likewise, how relieved were you to see that UVA would allow RJ to just walk the ball up the court? The Hoos have a really good ball pressurer in Kihei Clark but they didn't end up testing our ball-handling without Tre. Coach Capel will probably approach it differently. Whereas UVA is 138th in the country (13th in the conference) at defensive turnover rate, Pitt is 25th in the country (6th in the conference) at defensive turnover rate. Pitt is going to get after us, and I could envision them just pressing us the entire game, too. Guard Trey McGowens has a fantastic steal rate at 4.4%.

And yes, the pace. UVA is of course one of the slowest teams in the country. Pitt is 104th in pace.

A one point win tomorrow, and I'm happy. Seriously.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

That was not the consensus here after his stint. I forget the exact timeframe, but didn't he oversee the 2017 run of 1-3?

Agree. I had high hopes for Capel, just as I did for Amaker / Gaudet years earlier. I wasn't impressed with any of that. (I can't remember the exact breakdown in the 90s of responsibilities...I'm sure many here know exactly). I think Gaudet was coach of record. Was Amaker part of that staff?

[Troublemaker]

Bold words. Nice to see someone who hasn’t yet been beaten into submission by the DBR old guard. Rest assured, they will be coming for you with keyboards drawn. It’s only a matter of time. No one escapes unscathed.

Well, you're part of the old guard now since you've been around for awhile. I'm not sure there are really consensus old guard opinions. For example, you and I are probably close to 100% agreement on the Isaiah Stewart recruitment, but I could envision you thinking that you're bucking the old guard and going at it alone with an unpopular opinion.

I thought Jeff did a good job when K was out. He is also a great recruiter, and it was his idea to go zone-first defense at Louisville a few years ago after two bad losses.

Actually, pretty sure I remember Jeff telling the story that Coach K walked into the coaches' meeting and surprised everyone by suggesting zone.

I'm sure Coach Capel's insights were valuable, though, as Coach K has praised him enthusiastically in the past.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take K over everyone. But Jeff is more than capable and is probably behind only Tony Bennett as far as young ACC coaches are concerned. JMO, YMMV.

He's doing an excellent job in this first season at Pitt, but I would give it a few seasons. Jeff is 43, and ACC coaches in his age range who could go for two more decades include Buzz Williams (46), Chris Mack (49), and Kevin Keatts (46).

[DavidBenAkiva]

Pitt's student section were pretty harsh on Duke, most namely Bagley, last year. Duke up big last year when the students started their "OVER RATED" chant.

I thought that was pretty funny, to be honest. Bagley was dominating, had 20-something points at that moment, and so they decide to chant overrated at the kid. Imagine what they will say to Zion this year.

[devildeac]

I thought that was pretty funny, to be honest. Bagley was dominating, had 20-something points at that moment, and so they decide to chant overrated at the kid. Imagine what they will say to Zion this year.

(In my best Elmer Fudd internet voice):

Overweighted?

()

[rolm]

(In my best Elmer Fudd internet voice):

Overweighted?

()

Hahaha. Thanks for the laugh. Nicely done!

[budwom]

If Pitt wins this game, does Capel pretty much have the Duke job locked up whenever K retires?

They’ve got some nice wins on the season, and Capel already looks like a home run of a hire. I never take any opponent for granted, especially on the road, but we should win this by 15 or so even assuming Tre doesn’t play.

I have no idea whom Duke will hire, but your post reminded me so much of what happened just about fifty years ago, if I may go Olde Farte on you...former Duke assistant coach and ace recruiter Bucky Waters went to West Virginia.
Shortly thereafter he beat Duke in Morgantown (I remember this vividly because I drove there in a friend's VW Beetle, in a snow storm, and I had never driven a stick shift before. Less than total fun)

Not long thereafter, Vic Bubas retired, Bucky got the job, recruiting initlally went well, then a whole bunch of players left. Turned into a train wreck.

Doesn't mean Capel couldn't return and do a bangup job, but the parallel seems at least worth noting for those of us who remember the Waters era. Succeeding a legend is always a tough thing.

[CameronDuke]

Any ACC win home or away is extremely difficult to attain. Especially on the road. Duke SHOULD win this one at Pitt but I have seen crazier things happen and Duke could easily get beaten. "The Pete" can be a tough place to play and seats about 12,500. I would think there will be close to a sellout there tomorrow. It would be nice to start 3-0 on the road in the ACC this season. Duke has had two highly emotional games in the past week and Zion, RJ, Jack, Cam, and Bolden all played a lot of minutes vs Virginia. Getting a comfortable lead and letting Alex, DeLaurier, and Goldwire (maybe Robinson and Antonio) soak up some minutes late in the 2nd half would be welcomed from our starters to help take some of the load off. I do not think Tre will play this week at Pitt and vs GT but hold out hope he may return at Notre Dame next Monday night.

The thought that we have an excellent shot to be 16-2, 5-1 after tomorrow and maybe 17-2, 6-1 after Saturday has me very excited about this team's trajectory after sustaining the injury to Tre and fending off Virginia. I still think if we take care of business this week and get Tre back we can have a pretty dominant season in the ACC, the ACC tournament, and the NCAAT.

Let's Go Duke!

[CDu]

As you all are undoubtedly aware, Pitt is coached by our own Jeff Capel. They are a team in transition, as this is Capel's first year and his approach is decidedly different from his predecessor Kevin Stallings. The Panthers are very young this year, playing a bunch of freshmen and sophomores in their main rotation. They are also somewhat shorthanded, missing their backup PG and having lost two midseason transfers off their bench (though the transfers were not primary rotation guys at least). It's a team with a bit of talent, but very much a work in progress has Capel tries to establish its identity.

Pitt runs a 4-guard/wing lineup pretty much exclusively. This is in part stylistic (Capel likes athleticism and versatility) and in part necessity (they only have two bigs on the roster at this point). The Panthers are a strong defensive team, ranking in the top-20 nationally on defense. They block shots, force turnovers, and contest both twos and threes really well. It's a defense Coach K would be proud of for sure. They are atrocious on the defensive glass (again a Coach K theme), but overall they defend REALLY well. What they don't do well is score. They are a bit below average on offense, and struggle at everything except offensive rebounding and drawing fouls. It's an athletic team that hasn't quite figured out how to take flight on offense. But they try hard.

Centers: The starting center is Terrell Brown (6'10", 230lb sophomore). Brown is a lanky, athletic, but not overly physical big. He's a solid rebounder and an elite shotblocker. He isn't bad on the offensive end, with nice touch around the basket. And he does draw a lot of fouls. He's really played well over his last 6 games, averaging 27.7 mpg, 7.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 4.5 blocks per game in that stretch. He's not a worldbeater, but he plays his position rather well. Behind Brown is Kene Chukwuka (6'9" 225lb junior from Sweden). Chukwuka fancies himself a stretch big on offense, though the results to this point haven't been good. He does have good touch for a big guy, but he's not been able to translate that against competition yet. He's not overly physical either, and not nearly the rebounder or shotblocker that Brown is. As Brown's role has risen, Chukwuka's time has fallen. In fact, the Panthers will sometimes play without a center at all. The third option at center (Peace Ilegomah, 6'9" 240lb sophomore from Nigeria) announced his decision to transfer in December and is no longer with the team.

Forwards: There isn't really a list here. As noted above, the Panthers start 4 guards/wings. The only option they have at forward is either to play one of their smallish centers or to play Samson George (6'7", 210lb sophomore from Nigeria). George is a high-energy, high-athleticism, low-skill player who basically can rebound and dunk but does nothing else. He is extremely unlikely to play in this one. The only other forward the Panthers had (Shamiel Stevenson, 6'6" 245lb sophomore) also transferred in December.

Wings: Well, the Panthers have a bunch of wings. Jared Wilson-Frame (6'5", 220lb senior JuCo transfer) is the veteran presence on the squad. He's a big, physical wing capable of defending a bunch of positions. If you squint, he reminds a little of Justise Winslow in that he can defend several positions and can do a little of everything. He's a nice solid producer for the Panthers and can score at all three levels. Alongside Wilson-Frame is Audiese Toney (6'6", 210lb freshman). Toney is a talented kid with good size, length, and athleticism for a wing. He's not a great shooter at this point, but he's a solid rebounder and positional defender. He's not afraid to shoot the three, though to date he has not been hitting it with any consistency (26.5%). That said, he does have six games with 2 made threes this season. So it's possible with him. The third starter on the wings is Trey McGowens (6'3", 185lb freshman), a former AAU teammate of Toney. McGowans is a terrific athlete who can score from anywhere on the court but is especially good going to the basket. He's a combo guard (sort of - more a SG than a PG, but he can dribble well) that will attack on offense and is extremely pesky in the passing lanes on defense. McGowens leads the team in steals and is elite nationally in that department. Malik Ellison (6'6", 215lb junior transfer from St Johns) is the first wing off the bench. Ellison is a big, physical wing who provides defensive energy and physically, but has very little polish on the offensive end. A true role player. Last but not least on the wings is Khameron Davis (6'4", 200lb sophomore). Davis was a major minutes guy last year who has found it harder to see the floor consistently this year. However, due to some injuries he's found a role off the bench, averaging 17mpg over his last 8 games. Davis is long and athletic and is a terrific shooter, but he doesn't get a lot of looks in his more limited role.

Guards: The Panthers pretty much have just one PG at the moment in Xavier Johnson (6'3", 190lb freshman). Johnson is more lead guard than a true PG, but unfortunately that's all Pitt has to work with. And admittedly, it's not that he's bad. Johnson is a pure scorer, able to score in the paint, from 3, and draw fouls. He leads the team in assists, but is very turnover prone (averaging 4 turnovers per game). It will be interesting to see if his sloppiness shows up against our defense, especially if Jones doesn't play again. Johnson is asked to play a LOT of minutes because the team's backup PG Sidy N'Dir (6'2", 180lb grad transfer from France via New Mexico St) is currently injured. It's possible that N'Dir returns, as he's been reportedly close to returning the last week or so from a 4-6 week injury. So, we'll see. If N'Dir can go, he's an athletic slasher who can distribute but is also more of a scoring guard than a PG.

Pitt has been somewhat tough at home this year, beating Louisville and FSU in their last two home games. So they won't be a total pushover. That said, I think the talent disparity should be such that we win this one. They don't have the experience to punish our youth, and their top-end talent just isn't close to our top-end talent. Still, you know Capel will have his team ready for his old coach. So hopefully our guys don't relax too much after the great win at home over the weekend.