Our Verizon FIOS subscription package does not include ESPN News which was carrying the basketball game until volleyball finished. When it was clear that volleyball wasn't going to end soon, we tried the ESPN feed on Roku.
Unfortunately, ESPN on Roku seemingly wouldn't allow us to watch the game. There was, however, an ESPN Spanish language option which for some reason we were allowed to view. Since neither my wife nor I have much Spanish, we ended up watching with the audio muted.
When volleyball ended during the half, we went back to ACCN for the second half in English -- and soon had the audio muted again.
Not terribly impressed with ACCN so far.
Tre carried the team, especially in the first half. Can he last having to play 40 minutes against the likes of Georgia State? He missed the front end of three 3! one-and-ones late in the game. Fatigue?
They turned us over as much as we turned them
over, and they pressed us full court more and better than we did to them.
I’m thinking the keys to us going far in the tournament is going to come down to free throw shooting an Jack being able to knock down some threes.
Tre missed the first end of two 1-and-1s late. The other miss came in the first half.
But yes, he did play a lot of minutes.
And foul shooting is a big concern. 17-for-29 spells NCAA Tournament exit.
The post-game discussion last night focused on intangibles, like effort and intensity and focus, rather than on Xs and Os.
That said, I think Duke will spend a LOT of time working on attacking the zone.
I actually thought Stanley attacked the zone pretty well but just had some bad luck on his shots.
Moore and O'Connell had typical freshman deer-in-the-headlights look.
Unfortunately only one of those two is a freshman. I thought AOC took a big step back. He has a pronounced tendency to fret when things go badly and it's time for him to shake that off.
Baker had a weird game. If we think of him as a three-point specialist, last night confirmed that. His two second-half threes were huge and anyone would take eight points in 15 minutes.
But he literally had no other positive statistical contributions. Not one rebound, not one assist, not one steal, not one block. If he's going to be more than a situational specialist, he's got to bring more to the table.
Good overall post, and on this specific point, when AOC got another chance in the last 7 minutes or so, when we were intentionally bleeding the clock down he got an offensive rebound on the baseline, about 10 feet out, and instead of pulling it out to bleed more clock, he jacked up a quick shot and got immediately yanked. Whether panic or just unsmart play, I agree he needs to shake it off quick.
Duke took a shot late in the shot clock, missed, AOC rebounded and jacked up that shot which looked like a shot one would take to beat the shot clock.
But the previous shot had hit the rim and the shot clock had reset to 20. I think O'Connell didn't realize that even though he was 10 feet away from the shot hitting the rim.
That's the kind of loss of focus that has plagued him for his career and simply shouldn't be happening to a junior.
I thought Baker was actually pretty bad on defense, but I agreed with playing him because we needed somebody to hit some shots.
The good takes from this game:
Best news: This team really needed Jones to improve his his outside shooting from last season. The first three games suggested he had improved his midrange shot but not his 3 pt shooting where he was 1 for 9. That was worrisome - another year of him not being a threat from outside would put a cap on what this team and what he personally could achieve this season. Well last night was just one game but it was a damn good one as he went 4 for 8 from behind the arc. This is a great sign. In fact it was only the 2nd time he made more than two threes in a game (he was 5/7 vs GT in NCAA's last season). There's hope guys/gals!
2nd best news: Vernon Carry has a real beast mode. 20 pts, 14 rebounds, his second double-double in a row.
3rd best news: The rest of the team (8 for 40) can't play worse than they did last night. It's only up from here!
This team is going to be a work in progress. I agree that AOC has to be much better. He is experienced and should not be losing focus. I so wish Jack could shoot again- but the guy can rebound the basketball. Stanley had an off night but still kept is head up. Baker may not be ready but he has a sweet shot. Needs to fight a bit more. He does not seem anxious to mix it up. Combine his shot with Jacks fight and now you have something. Thank goodness for Tre.
the board a lot less sassy, it seems, after this outing than the one before. Unlike Central Arkansas, Georgia State isn't terrible, and they had a very good game plan for Duke. I think winnable but challenging games do more good than the whole hutch full of bunnies that Duke also has lined up for the rest of 2019. (Along with some good opponents--Kansas,MSU and maybe Texas, and VT in the ACC.) Looks like the rotation will shake out to Carey backed with Delaurier, Jones backed with Goldwire, but Duke still ahs six guys battling for the other three majority minute getter roles. A reminder that "depth" is sometimes a polite way to say that no one's exceptional. That being said, Stanley is probably the closest to standing out from the pack at present.
From what I've seen so far this season, I agree with Javin backing up Carey and Goldwire backing up Tre but Wendell has been handling some of the ball handling when Tre needs a rest. Whether it's on the bench or off the ball. Moore seems to have a good handle except when in traffic. Then he's loose with the ball. It looks like preseason write ups on our incoming freshmen were correct in saying Moore wasn't an exceptional shooter. But he's very young and will get better. Last night it wasn't Javin backing up Carey but White and that was because Javin had 4 fouls in 2 minutes. That might be a record at Duke. I think Georgia State took it too Duke and speeded them up and they weren't ready for it. I think we had 10 turnovers in the first half. So, it seemed to work. In the 2nd half we worked harder than they did and it paid off.
GoDuke!
Two quick thoughts:
1. I think Jack White needs to start attacking the hoop, even if it's just once or twice per half (or game). It's a big problem for this team that he's such a black hole on offense, because he's such a smart and important force on D. I think we're past the point where I can convince myself that he'll find his shooting touch, but it's frustrating to see him when he gets space begin to drive, and then pull up at the foul line desperate to pass because he's just so uncomfortable with the ball. We need to find a way to make him useful offensively, and right now I can't for the life of me foresee what that will be, but he at least has to try to do something different beyond being an open shooter who never makes his shots.
2. I want more touches for Hurt. I get that in more transition-based games like this one, he'll be less of a focal point on offense, but I still don't think it's wise to let him be so quiet when he's so talented. Even to post him up a few times when Carey's out, or let him create from the wing...anything to keep him involved. He's too good to forget about.
For anyone who wants to watch a replay - if you have access to ACCN you can see them through the ESPN app or through their website using a browser. Navigate to “Watch” and then click on the calendar icon to see a schedule. From there you can navigate to the appropriate day and filter by sport and/or network. Make sure you have selected “Replays” rather than live videos. They have the whole recording, not the first hour of volleyball.
Would one of our stats aficionados have NCAA wide stats on 3pt shooting so far this year compared to this time last year? I know we are rightly concerned about Duke’s shooting, but I’d really be curious to see how the new distance is affecting everyone.
Windy City Devil
Kenpom reports the D1 3pt averages as 35.0, 35.1 and 34.4% over the past three seasons. So far this season it is 32.5% but I don't know how that number compares to mid-November rates from prior seasons. I assume early season 3pt %'s tend to be a bit lower than year end averages, but I'm not sure about that.
I didn't get to see this game live, but I was able to watch the replay, and I agree with the somewhat mixed reaction thus far in this thread, there were some positives and negatives to this game, for sure.
First the huge positive is that Tre Jones is capable of this type of offensive performance. His defense is a constant, and we know he's a playmaker on that end, but the fact that he was able to carry the team on offense at all is a new development. He has not done this in his career until now, and this is a good sign, IMO. On a night when not many other guys were stepping up in terms of scoring, Tre was able to carry the load, and I honestly didn't think he had this type of performance in him, so kudos to him. I hope the 3 point accuracy was not a fluke, that's going to be big for him, if he can keep it going from deep.
Loved what saw from Carey. He really used his size and strength to his advantage in this one, and that is what we need from him.
Joey Baker got more minutes, at Alex O'Connell's expense. He's clearly one of the two best shooters we have, if not the best. I predicted that Alex would begin the year as a starter on this team, but I took a wild guess that Joey would eventually replace him, and this seemed like a step in that direction. However, I do think that at least in the short term, Alex will remain the "starter," and Coach K will go with the hot hand. Where this eventually goes, I have no idea. I will say that I thought Joey's defense was fine. I don't quite agree with some other posters' criticism of his effort on that end. Coach K clearly felt he was contributing enough to keep him out there for 15 minutes in this game.
Turns out Cassius Stanley is human, after all. However, I'm not worried. I think he is one of the few two way players on this team, and I strongly suspect he will start every game this season as long as he stays healthy. I think the ship has sailed on Wendell Moore taking his spot.
Speaking of Moore, I have optimism that he will eventually find his role on this team, but he has a long way to go. I think he needs to readjust his expectations of his own ability at this level. He's competing against athletes of his own caliber or better now, and it's only going to get harder. He needs to understand his limitations, especially on offense. He is a big and strong kid, but he is not extremely quick, and he is not the most explosive athlete.
I kept hearing about Javin's improvement from coaches and other players, but I haven't seen it thus far. He's still a foul machine (usually senior big men have learned how to avoid fouls) and has developed no new skills on the offensive end. I once thought he would become a more athletic Amile Jefferson, but I've been disappointed. He is still (on paper) our best defensive center, but I expect more from him.
Last edited by kAzE; 11-17-2019 at 03:52 AM.
You saw the same game I saw. I'm in agreement with your observations.
The performance of upperclassmen Alex and Javin was disappointing. With the younger players, we are more likely to see improvement; Wendell Moore, for one, has the ability to be a significant contributor with some adjustments and experience. Vernon Carey, Jr. looks to be a star in the making; he does need development, but he has the tools.