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  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Dat View Post
    Pitt is also small ball ...
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    ... wouldn't Jalen Johnson and Wendell Moore qualify as "big athletic wings"?
    Pitt is an impressive rebounding team, despite not having traditional bigs as important players. They got strong guys all over the court. I don’t know whether Roach’s and Steward’s quickness can overcome the toughness disadvantage.

    I’m hoping that Johnson and Moore are big and athletic enough to slow down Champagnie a bit. Maybe Wendell and Jalen for 20 minutes each, hoping to keep Champagnie off the boards some. Hurt at the 5, relief from Williams a little each half.

    Play the usual 3 guards, relief from Brakefield and Baker on the perimeter.

    Could Coleman’s strength help against Champagnie, or is he just too inexperienced?
    Last edited by gumbomoop; 01-19-2021 at 11:27 AM.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Pghdukie View Post
    Duke has had a problem getting defensive stops this season. Especially in critical situations. Will we see K switch to a zone defense ?
    Pitt has just played two consecutive games against the Syracuse zone (the version of zone defense that Coach K knows via Boeheim) and put up 96 points in the second game.

    Bad idea, imo.

  3. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by Pghdukie View Post
    Anyone know who ESPN will have announcing the game tonight ?
    I’m hoping Dan Bonner. Also hoping ABCA, who is insufferable and seems to have coached “everybody in AAU ball” for the last 15 years.

    ETA — Not sure either Bonner or CA works for ESPN? Uh oh, Dickie V?

  4. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by gumbomoop View Post
    Pitt is an impressive rebounding team, despite not having traditional bigs as important players.
    Pitt is impressive on the offensive boards (#15 in nation, unadjusted). Only average on the defensive boards (#135 unadjusted).

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by duketaylor View Post
    https://www.vegasinsider.com/college.../date/01-19-21

    and is already down to a 2.5 fave. Lots of money flowing in on Pitt. With both our big men back, I'm not sure how I'd wager, I'd prolly just pass.
    That was the initial surge but Duke is back out to a 4-pt favorite now and 4.5 in some places. Very close to what I predicted -- 3 points for what the computer spits out and another 1 point for our "bye week."

    Not that any of this matters.

    Play good defense, make your threes (in conference games, Pitt ranks last in the conference in giving up 3-pt attempts), and let's win a road game against a pretty decent Pitt team, Capel's best so far in his three years there.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Mount Kisco, NY
    Quote Originally Posted by gumbomoop View Post
    Play the usual 3 guards, relief from Brakefield and Baker on the perimeter.
    I keep forgetting about Baker, which isn't fair because he actually showed some real fire last game.

    The topic of his shooting was discussed quite a bit in the VTech post-game thread. Many contended that we aren't looking for him enough. I am actually part of the contingent who argues that Joey does not get himself ready to shoot well enough. Nearly every time I see him catch the ball, he is squared to the guy passing him the ball rather than preparing to square to the basket. Rather than make the defense think, he nearly always zips the ball right back where it came from. He has shown that he can catch fire from 3, and we really need shooting on this squad, yet he has been more effective driving the ball of late - obviously very limited sample size based on his lack of minutes.

    I feel like his gritty play last game will earn him an early look tonight (assuming it carried over to practice this past week), I hope he does something with it!

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Dat View Post
    I keep forgetting about Baker, which isn't fair because he actually showed some real fire last game.

    The topic of his shooting was discussed quite a bit in the VTech post-game thread. Many contended that we aren't looking for him enough. I am actually part of the contingent who argues that Joey does not get himself ready to shoot well enough. Nearly every time I see him catch the ball, he is squared to the guy passing him the ball rather than preparing to square to the basket. Rather than make the defense think, he nearly always zips the ball right back where it came from. He has shown that he can catch fire from 3, and we really need shooting on this squad, yet he has been more effective driving the ball of late - obviously very limited sample size based on his lack of minutes.

    I feel like his gritty play last game will earn him an early look tonight (assuming it carried over to practice this past week), I hope he does something with it!
    I dunno. With Jalen's return, I think Joey might get squeezed as we move towards a 7-man rotation; the three guards and Matt/Jalen up front as the starters, Jaemyn and Wendell off the bench.

    Joey has the worst turnover rate on the team at an incredible 34%. Like you, I'm on team "Joey's reluctant to shoot / not ready to shoot" and so amazingly he's been overall a huge negative on offense, sporting a 72 offensive rating. For context, Wendell is actually higher with an 83 offensive rating, hahaha. This needs to change. I think a Joey that's a (huge) negative on offense is a Joey that is out of the rotation soon.

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    In order to win this game, Duke is going to have to want it more than Pitt and play with full tilt energy the entire game. Substitution patterns to keep player fresh will be key. Right now in our development, we have no margin for error.
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  9. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    I agree with the first part of your statement - this season is hard to feel very invested in, and each game just feels like bonus entertainment that we get. But for me the second part does not hold true - I think whoever wins the title deserves it. They will have overcome all of these challenges and come out on top, so no asterisk is warranted. Now, if UNC wins it because they sneak in as an 11 seed and then six consecutive opponents all forfeit due to COVID, then that's another story But assuming the champion wins their games fair and square then they deserve it.

    I don't think we'll see any zone this season, not without a rim protector. We did it out of necessity in 2018 when we had Bagley and Carter, and have sprinkled it in some as a change of pace. But we don't have the personnel for it this year. Namely we don't have the big athletic wings.
    Right - Gonzaga or Baylor wins they deserve it w no asterisk.. they are playing and beating everyone

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    You're probably right about no great use of zone defense. But wouldn't Jalen Johnson and Wendell Moore qualify as "big athletic wings"?
    If Moore was playing the 2/3 and Johnson was at the 3/4 with a true rim protector behind them, then yes. But not in our current lineup which has them both playing the 4 with three 6'1-6'2 guards in front of them and Hurt being the other big. In a zone defense there would just be too many gaps, the passing and driving lanes would be wide open and the corner threes would be there all night.

  11. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by chrishoke View Post
    In order to win this game, Duke is going to have to want it more than Pitt and play with full tilt energy the entire game. Substitution patterns to keep player fresh will be key. Right now in our development, we have no margin for error.
    I'll be super disappointed if it becomes clear that Pitt wants the game more than us.
       

  12. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    I'll be super disappointed if it becomes clear that Pitt wants the game more than us.
    The beginning of the game may tell us a lot.
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  13. #53
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by chrishoke View Post
    In order to win this game, Duke is going to have to want it more than Pitt and play with full tilt energy the entire game. Substitution patterns to keep player fresh will be key. Right now in our development, we have no margin for error.
    Could not agree more. We have not been able to sustain this element in any game this season (except maybe the first) and there have been games where we never equaled the other teams competitive drive and energy. We just need to leave it all on the floor. It's time for this team to get to the free throw line and get some 50/50 balls.
    GTHC

  14. #54
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Sixthman View Post
    Could not agree more. We have not been able to sustain this element in any game this season (except maybe the first) and there have been games where we never equaled the other teams competitive drive and energy. We just need to leave it all on the floor. It's time for this team to get to the free throw line and get some 50/50 balls.
    We don't have that SF like an Ingram, Tatum, Zion, RJ, Grayson, Trent that drew fouls. We have 3 small guards that can drive the ball but are not good at drawing fouls. I long for that "and one" play we used to get.

    GoDuke!

  15. #55
    Quote Originally Posted by chrishoke View Post
    In order to win this game, Duke is going to have to want it more than Pitt and play with full tilt energy the entire game. Substitution patterns to keep player fresh will be key. Right now in our development, we have no margin for error.
    Obviously we have to play with energy in every game, but Pitt is basically the equivalent of Rhode Island. Torvik doesn't think they're quite as good as Wright State; Pomeroy ranks them just below Davidson. Let's not make it like we're playing a top ten team.

  16. #56
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    Obviously we have to play with energy in every game, but Pitt is basically the equivalent of Rhode Island. Torvik doesn't think they're quite as good as Wright State; Pomeroy ranks them just below Davidson. Let's not make it like we're playing a top ten team.
    That includes two games played without their best player, who just beasted in his first game back from injury. So there's that...

  17. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    That includes two games played without their best player, who just beasted in his first game back from injury. So there's that...
    I'm not saying they'll be a pushover. I'm not even saying we should definitely win. But I am saying that if we can only win if we expend an extraordinary effort, it says a lot more about us than it does about them.

  18. #58
    Hey Troublemaker ! Give us your pick on the Duke game tonight !
       

  19. #59
    Quote Originally Posted by gumbomoop View Post
    Pitt is an impressive rebounding team, despite not having traditional bigs as important players. They got strong guys all over the court. I don’t know whether Roach’s and Steward’s quickness can overcome the toughness disadvantage.

    I’m hoping that Johnson and Moore are big and athletic enough to slow down Champagnie a bit. Maybe Wendell and Jalen for 20 minutes each, hoping to keep Champagnie off the boards some. Hurt at the 5, relief from Williams a little each half.

    Play the usual 3 guards, relief from Brakefield and Baker on the perimeter.

    Could Coleman’s strength help against Champagnie, or is he just too inexperienced?
    VaTech is also a good rebounding team for playing so small, and they were definitely better than us on the boards early in the game. But due to 2 exceptional possessions in the 2nd half we beat them on the Oboards (VT didn't miss as many shots as we did) and they bested us overall by 1. I don't know how much JJ's presence will impact our rebounding, but scrappy teams rebound well vs. this Duke squad.
    I might rather see Tapé instead of Williams. Neither has done anything spectacular on the year, but in the ACC games that Mark started he did not look good and contributed to the sluggish team start by turning it over several times and not being adequate on defense. I think Tapé's experience, strength, and composure are an upgrade over Williams right now. I'm not sure i want either of those 2 starting vs Pitt tonight.

    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    That was the initial surge but Duke is back out to a 4-pt favorite now and 4.5 in some places. Very close to what I predicted -- 3 points for what the computer spits out and another 1 point for our "bye week."

    Not that any of this matters.

    Play good defense, make your threes (in conference games, Pitt ranks last in the conference in giving up 3-pt attempts), and let's win a road game against a pretty decent Pitt team, Capel's best so far in his three years there.
    Capel's tenure at Pitt has been great so far. In just 2.5 years he has Pitt playing competitive ball, maybe even being a bubble team. Bravo, Jeff.

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Dat View Post
    I keep forgetting about Baker, which isn't fair because he actually showed some real fire last game.

    The topic of his shooting was discussed quite a bit in the VTech post-game thread. Many contended that we aren't looking for him enough. I am actually part of the contingent who argues that Joey does not get himself ready to shoot well enough. Nearly every time I see him catch the ball, he is squared to the guy passing him the ball rather than preparing to square to the basket. Rather than make the defense think, he nearly always zips the ball right back where it came from. He has shown that he can catch fire from 3, and we really need shooting on this squad, yet he has been more effective driving the ball of late - obviously very limited sample size based on his lack of minutes.

    I feel like his gritty play last game will earn him an early look tonight (assuming it carried over to practice this past week), I hope he does something with it!
    Joey has shown real fire in most of the games this year. He surprises opponents, i think, and gets more blocks and steals than a "bad defensive player" ought to get. His shooting hasn't shown much fire this year, but he has been finishing at the rim better later.

    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    We don't have that SF like an Ingram, Tatum, Zion, RJ, Grayson, Trent that drew fouls. We have 3 small guards that can drive the ball but are not good at drawing fouls. I long for that "and one" play we used to get.

    GoDuke!
    JJ is better at drawing FTs than Wendell, Joey Baker or any of the bigs we play aside from Hurt, so maybe that'll be an area Duke improves at tonight.

  20. #60
    I just had a thought: early in the year K said that Jaemyn was under a no-dribble restriction. With Joey Baker also a player whose focus ought to be hunting down and shooting 3s, we had two guys who weren't expected to be driving to the rim and scoring there. Ironically, lately at least, both Jaemyn and Joey aren't making 3s at all, and both are scoring most of their points off the drive. I don't know if that's a confidence thing, a shift in the focus of the offense, defensive strategy, or whether they are improvising and going off-script. Regardless, the team's 3FG shooting has suffered lately as well...

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