MBB: Duke @ Notre Dame (Wed 12/16, 9:00 pm, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[gofurman]

It's hard to say. Johnson was not exactly tearing it up on offense. I believe the team still needs to find an offensive identify. Hurt can score but he's not a facilitator. Roach and Steward have each had a couple of promising moments. Brakefield has been productive. Williams has shown flashes of playing the roll man or working from the baseline for dumpoffs. I think the team could still be good but is going to depend a lot more on the development of Roach and Steward. Goldwire just doesn't have it within him to run an effective offense as much as I love the kid. He's just not suited for it. He is much better playing off the ball and shutting down the opposing team's best player on defense. What Duke needs is Roach and Steward to show they can break down the defender and drive to score or kick out for a 3. Johnson, as talented as he is, was having trouble creating his own looks. It's really all about the guard play for this team.

We need Johnson but the above post is right - it’s all about our guard play!

That said we probably need Johnson for a shot at the tourney and more wins. He’s definitely the highest ceiling freshman I think. Him missing practice time is not good. Along w no exhibitions and no OOC. Etc. More delays to our development

[DukieInBrasil]

As others have mentioned that they see an increased role for Moore, and i agree. I think it may improve the defense for Moore to move to the 4, and it certainly couldn't hurt his offensive numbers. Seems we would probably see more of Coleman as the backup 4. Williams probably gets almost all of the backup 5 minutes. We've got 5 guys for the 3 guard spots, so i think the depth there is fine. Jaemyn's shooting has been a revelation so far, and finding 3pt shots for him is a good idea.
I'm glad that we have as much depth as we do, and that we have a few veterans in the mix.
I'm really hoping that J-Gold smothers Hubb and that the rest of the ND offense loses its luster.

[Kedsy]

As others have mentioned that they see an increased role for Moore, and i agree. I think it may improve the defense for Moore to move to the 4, and it certainly couldn't hurt his offensive numbers. Seems we would probably see more of Coleman as the backup 4. Williams probably gets almost all of the backup 5 minutes. We've got 5 guys for the 3 guard spots, so i think the depth there is fine. Jaemyn's shooting has been a revelation so far, and finding 3pt shots for him is a good idea.

Jaemyn has been playing backup 4. If Wendell moves up to start at PF, and Jaemyn stays the backup, it might still be difficult for Henry to find more than 3 to 5 minutes. But I guess that would be an improvement over the 2.8 mpg he's played so far this season, so hopefully it's a start.

[gofurman]

Notre Dame is 46th in offense per Kenpom.. but 120 in D - this is a team to get our offense going!/ only wake forest is rated as having a worse defense in ACC. Now ND can score..

[Troublemaker]

Because the NCAA is expected to make transfers immediately eligible starting today, Notre Dame will probably add Trey Wertz, a solid guard from Santa Clara to the rotation.

Wertz maybe wouldn't make that huge a difference on many teams, but because Notre Dame is starving for depth, he might impact them significantly and this game.

[jipops]

With Notre Dame's apparent weakness on D so far, if we can't score on this team then we know the ride is going to be extremely rough the rest of the season. I don't expect us to win tonight, but I'm hopeful that the offense can show some life especially from Moore.

[Fish80]

With Notre Dame's apparent weakness on D so far, if we can't score on this team then we know the ride is going to be extremely rough the rest of the season. I don't expect us to win tonight, but I'm hopeful that the offense can show some life especially from Moore.

1. It’s early. This is one game. This game does not a season make.

2. I expect intensity, focus, energy, hustle, commitment. We do that, I expect a win.

[Troublemaker]

1. It’s early. This is one game. This game does not a season make.

2. I expect intensity, focus, energy, hustle, commitment. We do that, I expect a win.

I actually agree more with jipops here. We've got to play well offensively tonight, and more generally, we've got to start winning against top-200 teams. (I mean, that's all we play the rest of the season!). Notre Dame is a decent team but still projects to be bottom-third of the conference and likely not good enough to receive an at-large bid. Duke will be the quicker, more athletic team, and historically we win when that's the case. It's not quite a "must win" but it's very important to get a W tonight. It's likely true that if big things are still in store for this team, they find a way tonight.

[CDu]

Because the NCAA is expected to make transfers immediately eligible starting today, Notre Dame will probably add Trey Wertz, a solid guard from Santa Clara to the rotation.

Wertz maybe wouldn't make that huge a difference on many teams, but because Notre Dame is starving for depth, he might impact them significantly and this game.

Yeah, that would be huge. The Irish got Djogo back for the UK game, which made a big difference in their depth. Adding another guard would allow them to play 7 legitimate players instead of the freshmen backups who really should have redshirted this year had health permitted.

We're still the MUCH more talented team (even without Johnson), but Notre Dame has a serious edge in experience. Hopefully our talent will prevail over experience.

[gofurman]

Yeah, that would be huge. The Irish got Djogo back for the UK game, which made a big difference in their depth. Adding another guard would allow them to play 7 legitimate players instead of the freshmen backups who really should have redshirted this year had health permitted.

We're still the MUCH more talented team (even without Johnson), but Notre Dame has a serious edge in experience. Hopefully our talent will prevail over experience.

wow - I guess so.. i think my confidence has been shaken a little. Or that this year with all the start and stop and loss of easy games to practice/exhibition experience is so important. Prentiss Hubb is good and experienced. He is for real. 8 pts as a Freshman (26% from 3 . 67% FT). Now 21 points as a junior (40% from 3 . 80% FT). Just keeps improving. That's nice experience to have in a guard. Wouldn't be surprised if he played in Europe. that's a big advantage they have. Hope Goldwire can bother him. To a lesser extent Laszewski - 16/9 per game is nice.

they are an experienced team for sure. not a great team. but good - though they are weak on D... I expect they will finish mid-tier ACC

[CDu]

wow - I guess so.. i think my confidence has been shaken a little. Or that this year with all the start and stop and loss of easy games to practice/exhibition experience is so important. Prentiss Hubb is good and experienced. He is for real. 8 pts as a Freshman (26% from 3 . 67% FT). Now 21 points as a junior (40% from 3 . 80% FT). Just keeps improving. That's nice experience to have in a guard. Wouldn't be surprised if he played in Europe. that's a big advantage they have. Hope Goldwire can bother him. To a lesser extent Laszewski - 16/9 per game is nice.

they are an experienced team for sure. not a great team. but good - though they are weak on D... I expect they will finish mid-tier ACC

Yes, in terms of performance, we're not necessarily superior. In terms of talent, we're definitely superior. Notre Dame doesn't have anyone remotely close to our talent level. But they are experienced and well-coached, and that can certainly offset raw talent. We have a ton of top-30 recruits (freshmen and sophomores though). But even guys like Baker and Coleman were more highly-rated recruits than Notre Dame's guys (their top eligible recruit is Durham, #50 in his class).

In terms of talent, I don't think it's close (in our favor). In terms of experience, it's not close (in the other direction). In aggregate, the performance has been comparable as a result.

[SouthernDukie]

wow - I guess so.. i think my confidence has been shaken a little.

You're not the only one. Right now I'll be happy with a .500 ACC record.

[Fish80]

I actually agree more with jipops here. We've got to play well offensively tonight, and more generally, we've got to start winning against top-200 teams. (I mean, that's all we play the rest of the season!). Notre Dame is a decent team but still projects to be bottom-third of the conference and likely not good enough to receive an at-large bid. Duke will be the quicker, more athletic team, and historically we win when that's the case. It's not quite a "must win" but it's very important to get a W tonight. It's likely true that if big things are still in store for this team, they find a way tonight.

Much respect for your opinion. Would love for us to play well, and expect that we will. I just think this team in this season may take a little longer to put it all together. JMHO.

Namaste.

[AGDukesky]

You're not the only one. Right now I'll be happy with a .500 ACC record.

Yeah my only hope is the ACC continues to look as weak as it has and Duke can find a way to the top 4 in conference. Otherwise this team will not be in the NCAAs- assuming it even is held...

[Fish80]

Yeah my only hope is the ACC continues to look as weak as it has and Duke can find a way to the top 4 in conference. Otherwise this team will not be in the NCAAs- assuming it even is held...

Guys and gals, find your chi... we have top 10 talent and the G.O.A.T. Coach. We will keep getting better.

[Fish80]

NCAA grants waiver, transfers can play, Wertz is eligible.

[rsvman]

You're not the only one. Right now I'll be happy with a .500 ACC record.

Well, that can't happen today. We will either be 1.00 or 0.00.




I know you were talking about the whole season....

[-jk]

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Let's Go Duke!

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[uh_no]

excellent. I see ESPN still hasn't figured out how to schedule games.

[uh_no]

i like the Tapé look right now. Seems to be playing more of a traditional duke big man on offense role...which I think is probably a bit simpler than trying to work jalen in. Simple is good for these guys right now, IMO. But we look significantly improved so far.