MBB: Duke 69, Northwest Missouri State 63 Post Game thread

[Billy Dat]

It could be AOC becomes very important to this team (even Joey Baker if he's finally ready). Alex has size, can shoot, makes good decisions with the ball, etc. Hopefully his defense has improved to the point where he can stay on the court.

Even if it has improved, the question is where he stands in the backcourt/wing defensive pecking order. Based on the first exhibition game, and his 12 minutes, it seems like he's currently behind Tre, Jordan, Wendell, Cassius and Jack White. I am rooting for him because he's proven he can score on some big stages.

[Troublemaker]

Expectations for the Kansas spread after this? Kansas -7?

We look like a bunch of freshmen who don’t have elite talent, which is exactly what we are. When Zion blows a defensive assignment because he’s out of position, he can recover and block the shot anyways because of his insane physical gifts. But the freshmen we have now can’t do that. Last year when our offense broke down because no one had any idea where to be, we could just give the ball to our guys and let them create out of nothing. Again, we can’t do that this year. I expect Kansas to be a bloodbath, but getting our butts kicked early in the season might not be a bad thing. We’ve had several years of coming out of the gate looking great and then failing to sustain any development. This season will really tell us whether K can still develop a team or whether he has just been relying on his phenomenal recruiting success.

Been reading your posts for years and you are a very intelligent cake, but this "bloodbath" stuff is the most moronic sentence that you have written. Seriously...

I can't imagine why anyone would expect anything other that a competitive game where we have a shot to win near the end.

Still develop a team??? You sound like the typical negative Duke prognosticators. I mean, did you see the development of our last two title teams?

Based on history alone, I agree. When was the last time, under Coach K, that Duke wasn't competitive in one of these early season high profile games against another Top 10 team? I can't remember to be honest. So I do expect the game to be close and competitive.

When was the last time we didn’t have a projected lottery pick on our roster (usually three or four)? At the start of the season nobody has had much practice time, so it comes down to who has the most raw talent. Again, I would love to be wrong.

How did you guys make it through these series of posts without proposing a pie bet? C'mon now, let's get into midseason form!

I'll set the line at Kansas -4 (i.e. Duke +4) if you guys want to book that pie bet.

FWIW, I'd take Duke +4 if someone wants the other side. Surely if it's going to be a "bloodbath," that necessarily means KU will win by more than one possession, right? Does UrinalCake (or someone else) have the courage of his convictions?

[Troublemaker]

With that said, I'm definitely deeply disappointed to hear Coach K describe our team as a "very average" shooting team in the postgame presser (and have that be backed up by the small sample of CTC and 1 exhibition so far). That lack of shooting should limit our upside in March/April, and I'm not expecting a Final Four out of this team unless some shooting emerges*. I just would not bet against Duke in November.

* That could be from Joey/AOC/JRob improving their other stuff to be solidly in the rotation or for the non-shooters to surprise with their shooting. Either way.

[-jk]

DBR Chat is open!

If it gets a bit slow, refresh the page. If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to select "Blue" at the bottom.

If it's running too fast for you, you can always check out the chat archive to catch up.

As always - please follow the DBR Posting Guidelines.

Let's Go Duke! (And sorry for not being around on Saturdays this season...)

-jk