Phase I, 2019-20 Season: Kansas - Mich St.

[Troublemaker]

He has the size and athleticism, along with the shooting touch to emulate Ty Jerome. Maybe coach K out to think of running him off of screens to get him additional open 3's.

Alex's game is nothing like Ty Jerome's. Completely different type of player.

Yeah, Ty Jerome was better than AOC at everything and was one of the best point guards in college. Not a good comparison.

Coach K would absolutely run plays to screen for AOC off the ball if it were actually in AOC's skillset to shoot well coming off screens. Digging into the archives, see the pet play below that we ran repeatedly for Trent Jr two seasons ago to sprint to the top of the key wide open, for example. Keep in mind that sprinting away from the basket and shooting is a different skill than standstill, catch-and-shoot threes. If Coach K doesn't end up running plays for AOC, the most likely reason is because AOC's not good shooting off movement. Perhaps those plays are coming, though, once AOC is firmly established as the starter. But, in general, you've vastly overrated AOC for three years now.

[superdave]

Duke is shooting 32.8% from 3 through one road game and two home games. If there's any improvement over that, I'll take it. Hurt and Alex are the two shooters. If one other guys shoots 35% or better, I'll take it.

This quote has me way more excited about the season than two weeks ago - “I think we found our identity—hard-nosed, rough [and] tough,” Duke freshman Cassius Stanley said. “It might be ugly, but we’re going to get the dub. We’re going to be very, very, very aggressive.”

Duke has forced 67 turnovers through three games. Nice. Opponents A:TO ratio is 26:67 which comes out to 0.388 to 1. Ouch.

[Saratoga2]

Yeah, Ty Jerome was better than AOC at everything and was one of the best point guards in college. Not a good comparison.

Coach K would absolutely run plays to screen for AOC off the ball if it were actually in AOC's skillset to shoot well coming off screens. Digging into the archives, see the pet play below that we ran repeatedly for Trent Jr two seasons ago to sprint to the top of the key wide open, for example. Keep in mind that sprinting away from the basket and shooting is a different skill than standstill, catch-and-shoot threes. If Coach K doesn't end up running plays for AOC, the most likely reason is because AOC's not good shooting off movement. Perhaps those plays are coming, though, once AOC is firmly established as the starter. But, in general, you've vastly overrated AOC for three years now.

AOC is a very athletic guard and has gained strength this year. I attributed his lack of production to a confidence issue and a less than stellar handle. He is in his third season and I hope more things come together for him this year. I only too well recognize his deficiencies but he has the tools and may finally make a step forward.

[Kedsy]

He has the size and athleticism, along with the shooting touch to emulate Ty Jerome.

I attributed his lack of production to a confidence issue and a less than stellar handle.

The "less than stellar handle" alone suggests the comparison to Ty Jerome is completely inapt.

[CDu]

The "less than stellar handle" alone suggests the comparison to Ty Jerome is completely inapt.

Also, Jerome isn’t all that athletic. His game is about guile, savvy, and toughness. Nor did he get much action coming off screens as he was the PG. Basically, aside from height and - perhaps - shooting ability they have very little in common.

When I read the post, my thought was “did he or she really mean Kyle Guy?” Because stylistically that is a much more reasonable comparison. Guy is shorter and of course also much better than O’Connell, but the body type and skill set is much more similar than Jerome.

[Tripping William]

The "less than stellar handle" alone suggests the comparison to Ty Jerome is completely inapt.

Yeah, but AOC would have Ty Jerome's handle if he, too, was allowed to double-dribble . . . .

[Tripping William]

Yeah, but AOC would have Ty Jerome's handle if he, too, was allowed to double-dribble . . . .

BTTT, in case there will be a Phase II thread. One hiccup in Phase I, but then closed out strong.

[DukieInBrasil]

Sad to have helped let this slide, but life intervenes. Here goes:

Health: I am not a fan of this having to be first every time, but this team has only one PG. He has to stay healthy and play a ton of minutes. So here’s to good health!
Cassius got injured during the MSU game, but otherwise health was not much of an issue
Rotation: Two games in, and we have seen 9 guys get double-digit minutes in each game. One was a blowout, which inherently leads to more guys playing. But the other was a back-and-forth battle. Could this year’s team actually go at least 8 deep regularly? It is starting to feel that way, as I suspect all four bigs play regularly and at least one wing will do so. It will be interesting to see in the next few games if that continues.
rotation is 10 guys as of now. Joey Baker battled out of obscurity to claim a big role in the MSU game. Seems like all 10 of the rotation guys are capable of bringing something to any particular game that will allow them to get their number called
Turnovers/pressure: Through two games, the defense has been frenetic and prolific in forcing turnovers. To be fair, that has come against a team extremely short on ballhandlers (Kansas) and a team extremely short on talent (CSU). So the jury is still out as to how well this will stick.
Turnovers took a dive towards the end of the Phase, but defensive pressure was very good, withe exception of the SFA and Winthrop games. Overall, defense has been a very bright spot for this team.
Wing contributions: Two games in and we have seen Stanley and O’Connell play extremely well in both. That is good. Ironically, the guy who came in with the best resume has struggled. The bright side is that I can’t imagine Moore fails to figure it out. Heck, his second half against CSU was pretty strong, so maybe he is getting there. If he emerges and Stanley and O’Connell stay relevant, look out! They are a nice trio, each providing something different. O’Connell is the shooter, but he has contributed on both ends in each game thus far. Stanley has just been everywhere through two games, and is showing great court awareness to go with the smooth game and freak hops. Moore is the rugged, physical guy who can do the little things. I am excited to see how those three develop. Because that was expected to be the shaky part of the lineup.
our wings have been a strong point for the team thus far. Moore fell off for a bit, but has excelled in some games. Stanley has been very good for the most part. J-Bake came on strong, Hurt has played well from the stretch-4/sorta 3 position, Jack White has been a solid contributor as a bruiser-3, with only AOC struggling in any appreciable amount, but even AOC has diversified his game so that he's still contributing even though his shot isn't falling very well.
Shooting: So far... not so good here. And it is hard to see it getting a ton better. Of the top 9, only two can shoot. The only other potential shooter appears to be really lagging as a defender (and doesn’t really do anything but shoot). So I am not expecting us to develop into a good shooting team. But can we shoot it well enough for teams not to just pack it in? I am hoping that White, Stanley, and maybe Jones can get up over 30% from three and O’Connell and Hurt hit a good percentage. Hopefully that will be enough. But it is something to keep an eye on.
3pt shooting took a big upswing toward the end of the Phase, and this team actually has multiple competent 3pt shooters now. J-Bake, Tre, Vernon, Hurt, Stanley, Moore and Jack are all shooting above 30%. J-Bake ended the Phase with an insane ~78% true shooting %. Hurt, J-Bake and Tre have all shown pretty nice mid-range shots as well.
Bigs: We have a clear four-man rotation up front. None is without a notable limitation. Carey is somewhat immobile and will struggle defensively away from the rim. DeLaurier has basically no touch away from the rim. White is a stretch 4 who stopped hitting his shot. Hurt is really slight and not super athletic. Conversely, each provides clear strengths. Carey is a potential beast of a post option. DeLaurier is long, athletic, energetic, and willing to do the dirty work. White is tough as nails, and very good positionally with good anticipation/awareness, and very versatile defensively. Hurt can flat out shoot and moves his feet well defensively. Because they each have limitations, and because each has some distinct strengths, I would expect all four to remain in the rotation. It will be fun to watch Coach K mix and match all season.
Vernon has only improved in his role as the primary "big" and nobody has really shown much aptitude for slowing him down. That's great for Duke. Javin started off really quite poorly in Phase 1, but by the end started playing like a Sr. Captain again, so that's a big bonus for the team. Jack has shown his habitual toughness and has regained some of his 3pt touch, let's hope that continues. Hurt doesn't play like a down-low big very well, but he b
Jones: Through two games, Tre has made it clear he is running the show. He is a defensive hound as usual, but has shown much more offensively. He is getting to the rim, and has hit the midrange at a high rate. And of course the assist rate and assist/turnover ratio look fabulous. But teams will adjust. Can he start making enough shots to keep teams honest? He has a real shot at some national honors. Having even a blah 3pt shot would really help him reach the goals he surely has.
Tre has been nothing short of essential. He started to turn the ball over a lot more towards the end of Phase 1, but in general has been a great floor general, leading the team defensively and on offense. His 3pt shot has improved, his 2pt game has expanded and he has shown he can take over a game if need be. He's had a couple of meh games, but overall he's been great.

apparently my multi-quote response game needs improvement...