AOC Transfers to Creighton

[chrishoke]

Does everyone realize that Duke is scheduled to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis this November/ Thanksgiving and Creighton is also in the field ??

That is awesome!

[roywhite]

Just a brief note -- re-watched the comeback win vs the Heels from February; it was on the ACC Network yesterday.

The two 3-point shots that Alex hit in that game were huge. He contributed to that big win and to others; Alex has the ability to make key plays. Wish him well, and will follow his progress with Creighton.

[soflabluedevil]

Yeah, saw my first game in 1956 with the hometown Pirates going against the Dodgers with Don Newcombe pitching.

I think my peak interest in baseball was from age 6 to 10 (1956-1960); knew the standings in both leagues, could tell you the top ten batters by average, listened to games on my transistor radio. Probably went to 7 or 8 Pirates games during that time and saw greats like Musial, Willie Mays and of course Pirates Dick Groat and Roberto Clemente.

College hoops at that time? Games on the radio, not much TV. Baseball was #1 for sure.

True. Koufax had best curveball in history. Drysdale and Gibson were two most intimidating fast ballers. Aaron’s power came from his fast hands and wrists-did not take ridiculous huge HR swings we see today. Mays was simply most exiting player (and my favorite)-could do it all. You talk about a way of life? School would bring in TVs so we could watch the Series. Daytime baseball-the best.

[Steven43]

True. Koufax had best curveball in history. Drysdale and Gibson were two most intimidating fast ballers. Aaron’s power came from his fast hands and wrists-did not take ridiculous huge HR swings we see today. Mays was simply most exiting player (and my favorite)-could do it all. You talk about a way of life? School would bring in TVs so we could watch the Series. Daytime baseball-the best.

Yes! Old-time baseball is back!! I figured it was only a matter of time.

[53n206]

True. Koufax had best curveball in history. Drysdale and Gibson were two most intimidating fast ballers. Aaron’s power came from his fast hands and wrists-did not take ridiculous huge HR swings we see today. Mays was simply most exiting player (and my favorite)-could do it all. You talk about a way of life? School would bring in TVs so we could watch the Series. Daytime baseball-the best.

How can you leave out the smooth swing of Ted Williams, or the short powerful swing of "The Babe"? I Know. So very many!

[Indoor66]

Or the powerful cuts of Mantle - from either side of the plate.

[sagegrouse]

His ability to graduate this summer depends heavily on him being able to find a place to take classes this summer - I'm not sure what all of the schools are doing about that. I believe Duke cancelled its first summer session. After three full years at Duke, I'm assuming Alex can take his credits at any school from which Duke would accept them and they would count towards a Duke degree. But it could get tricky for him if no schools are open - he seems like a smart kid and his dad is a Duke alum so I'm sure he has thought this all out.

I wish him the best of luck. Omaha is a long way from Durham/Atlanta - he needs to buy a big parka for the winter. Hopefully they will feed him some Omaha steaks and fatten him up some.

Duke is also EXTREMELY stingy about transfer credit. They don't like people taking courses elsewhere and getting Duke credit except for study abroad...Even students transferring in from like Ivies have said Duke goes through each course one-by-one. This is based on 15 years ago information but I doubt it has changed.

Here's a zany idea. He transfers to Creighton for summer school, and Creighton gives him credit for Duke courses taken, which allows him to finish up and get a Creighton degree. No Duke degree, but... he gets to play in 2021.

Surely Creighton has rules against this sort of thing -- earning a Creighton degree with only 12 weeks in residence.

[miramar]

As Coach K says, every horse runs his own race, but early on it seemed that AOC would have a better career than Jordan Goldwire. Then Jordan started to improve as a sophomore and hasn't stopped, while AOC's shooting declined. The three point percentages for the three seasons are mystifying (49%, 37%, 27%), unless there was some sort of injury I don't know about. All I can say is that Duke could have really used some consistent shooting coming off the bench the last two years, but I hope that AOC can recover the magic with Creighton.

[Steven43]

As Coach K says, every horse runs his own race, but early on it seemed that AOC would have a better career than Jordan Goldwire. Then Jordan started to improve as a sophomore and hasn't stopped, while AOC's shooting declined. The three point percentages for the three seasons are mystifying (49%, 37%, 27%), unless there was some sort of injury I don't know about. All I can say is that Duke could have really used some consistent shooting coming off the bench the last two years, but I hope that AOC can recover the magic with Creighton.

Hold on now....Alex O’Connell shot 49% from the 3-pt line as a freshman?? I wonder why he wasn’t getting more shots. Was his defense so bad that K just couldn’t risk giving him more minutes or is this just a case of small sample size? Or both?

[miramar]

Hold on now...Alex O’Connell shot 49% from the 3-pt line as a freshman?? I wonder why he wasn’t getting more shots. Was his defense so bad that K just couldn’t risk giving him more minutes or is this just a case of small sample size? Or both?

It certainly wasn't a tiny sample size, even as a freshman. He played in 29 games that year, so with 45 attempts he averaged about 1.5 threes per game:

Freshman: 27-45
Soph: 30-80
Jr.: 21-77

On paper, Duke had an extraordinary recruiting class that year. Per ESPN, there were four guys in the top ten: 1) Bagley, 5) Carter, 6) Duval, and 8) Trent.

Duval didn't quite work out, and while Trent averaged 14.5 ppg during his only year at Duke, his shooting percentage was 41.5%. In his short career in the NBA, it's 41.3% so he's been pretty consistent.

Jordan Tucker was the #42 recruit, and I have to admit that I don't even remember him. He was gone by December and is now at Butler, where he averaged 8.9 ppg last year on only 35.7% shooting.

AOC was ranked #87, but he was still a four star player. I know that we are really spoiled at Duke, but at most schools a top 100 player is a projected starter. Unfortunately, the way it has turned out, Jordan will be the only senior next year, at least among scholarship players.

[UrinalCake]

The three point percentages for the three seasons are mystifying (49%, 37%, 27%), unless there was some sort of injury I don't know about.

What I saw is that Alex knew he needed to develop other aspects of his game in order to earn playing time. So he was focused on getting to the rim and making better decisions with the ball and of course playing harder on defense. He did all of these things successfully, but it caused his shooting to suffer. I think when guys are mentally focused on improving certain areas of their game, it can cause other areas to regress.

[luvdahops]

What I saw is that Alex knew he needed to develop other aspects of his game in order to earn playing time. So he was focused on getting to the rim and making better decisions with the ball and of course playing harder on defense. He did all of these things successfully, but it caused his shooting to suffer. I think when guys are mentally focused on improving certain areas of their game, it can cause other areas to regress.

Not a scientific observation, but Alex's shooting form looked good this year, even as his percentage declined. It seemed to me he had a lot of "good misses" on 3s - shots that went in and out, or were on line but just a bit short or long - and not that many "bad misses" or bricks. Joey, by contrast, seemed to have a lot more of the latter, even though his made percentage was significantly better.

[kako]

It's a paid site, but Seth Davis in The Athletic just ranked Creighton (#5) above Duke (#6) in a way-too-early preseason poll. And for some reason, that's without listing our boy in either team bio (suggesting that that Creighton could be stronger and Duke weaker wrt AOC).

https://theathletic.com/1733488/2020...top-right-now/

9F

[lotusland]

Not a scientific observation, but Alex's shooting form looked good this year, even as his percentage declined. It seemed to me he had a lot of "good misses" on 3s - shots that went in and out, or were on line but just a bit short or long - and not that many "bad misses" or bricks. Joey, by contrast, seemed to have a lot more of the latter, even though his made percentage was significantly better.

AOCs bad misses hit the side of the backboard.

[luvdahops]

AOCs bad misses hit the side of the backboard.

Oh, he definitely had some of those, which are not that uncommon, relatively speaking, on corner 3s. And are usually a positioning issue - i.e. a step or 2 into the actual corner, rather than a straight on look - ahead of the shot release.

[roywhite]

Not a scientific observation, but Alex's shooting form looked good this year, even as his percentage declined. It seemed to me he had a lot of "good misses" on 3s - shots that went in and out, or were on line but just a bit short or long - and not that many "bad misses" or bricks. Joey, by contrast, seemed to have a lot more of the latter, even though his made percentage was significantly better.

AOCs bad misses hit the side of the backboard.

Oh, he definitely had some of those, which are not that uncommon, relatively speaking, on corner 3s. And are usually a positioning issue - i.e. a step or 2 into the actual corner, rather than a straight on look - ahead of the shot release.

Just my observation -- Alex didn't look comfortable and confident for much of the season. He rushed his shots, was trying too hard in some aspects, and let his concentration lapse at times. Some players under-perform their potential because they just don't have a steady temperament on the court. Does that describe Alex? Perhaps.

The remedy often lies in more playing time, and a steadier approach. The catch at Duke was that Alex didn't get that opportunity because he didn't earn it. Will he demonstrate more consistency at Creighton? Maybe -- I certainly understand his decision and wish him the best.

[AZLA]

I don’t know transferring and sitting out a year Doesnt sound appealing at all versus battling for floor time against top talent and learning from top coach ... doesn’t make sense but oh well ...

[DUKIE V(A)]

I don’t know transferring and sitting out a year Doesnt sound appealing at all versus battling for floor time against top talent and learning from top coach ... doesn’t make sense but oh well ...

I hear you. That said, based on AOC’s stated goals, his decision to transfer and gain an extra developmental year does seem to make sense. He has indicated that he plans to transform his body in a bid to become a better player and seems to view this as a two year process. AOC plans to sit out next year to get stronger even if allowed to play right away next year (and develop within Creighton’s system). Best of luck to him. I would love to see him do well.

[TruBlu]

I hear you. That said, based on AOC’s stated goals, his decision to transfer and gain an extra developmental year does seem to make sense. He has indicated that he plans to transform his body in a bid to become a better player and seems to view this as a two year process. AOC plans to sit out next year to get stronger even if allowed to play right away next year (and develop within Creighton’s system). Best of luck to him. I would love to see him do well.

Seems that he could accomplish the above by redshirting at Duke next year, in a system that he already has experience.

[Troublemaker]

Seems that he could accomplish the above by redshirting at Duke next year, in a system that he already has experience.

Yeah, and then Alex gets to bring AJ Griffin his water in the 21-22 season.

Alex wants a better chance to start and play starters' minutes, which he hopefully will receive at Creighton.