No home-cooking and we win.
Team is improving. Just need games and wins.
Jalen Johnson is pressing trying to do too much which is why he committed six turnovers.
Bob Green
I have no idea why Jalen was on the bench the last ten minutes while Louisville’s best offense was offensive rebound after offensive rebound. If you are going to “let Roach play thru experience”...you have to let Jalen as well. That decision (playing roach over Jalen) lost the game for us.
Windy City Devil
Not really a bad team currently, but not yet good.
Team needs to stick together, listen to Coach K, and fight hard.
In the short run,
Roach has to play better
Hurt and Jalen Johnson have to stay out of foul trouble
Gotta figure out a way to rebound better
Yes we are that bad. Playing close to mediocre teams repeatedly is not promising. We make so many incredibly bad plays on both sides of the ball (such as Goldwire shooting a 3 when game is on the wire). We are a soft team-watching rebounding is excruciating. (Wait til Unc). We have no leader. We have no inside game-and don’t even try to get the ball inside-thus we lose games by FTs. Our offense is a joke-running and dribbling 30 ft. from basket and passing up legitimate shots when we get them. We have one player perform in outstanding fashion such that any decent should win by 10; if he has just a good game we lose by 12 or more.
Very similar to the Pitt game, staying in the game with hard play but doing just enough to lose. Story of most of the season, unfortunately.
Every time Duke made a run for a small lead, Louisville immediately came back. Again, fouling too much, turning the ball over *way* too much (JJ being the worst). Small signs of progress, but turnovers, getting out rebounded, and so few free throws means we’re making it way too hard on ourselves. Felt like Louisville controlled the game even though the lead switched hands numerous times: credit to Hurt for keeping us in it with his shooting and overall play.
Credit also to Goldwire for making several plays to keep us in it until the end when it looked like the game might slip out of our hands. K taking the team out of the zone earlier helped in this game (as opposed to Pitt where he waited too long).
Roach really struggled in both games this week and Brakefield unfortunately has regressed. That means everything was pretty much on the remaining starters and Goldwire, so Hurt’s foul trouble was even more damaging.
Not going to say it’s over, but a tournament team would have won at least one of this week’s games. Feels like the team is due for some luck given how hard they play and they will continue to improve, but it’s hard to see them improving to a level beyond the sum of their limitations.
I’m somewhat puzzled by that thought because if recruiting goes as hoped there will be a new core of at least 3, maybe 4 , guys who will be expecting to get a majority of minutes. That assumes JJ and MH leave. In a way, they better leave or we will have a major traffic jam.
I’m thinking the transfer portal might be active again after this year.
We need both Hurt and Johnson to show up. This year’s Hurt is first team All ACC and would start for a lot of Duke teams including last years team. I think DJ could make a Hurt like jump next year but, alas, Hurt and Johnson will be gone. Turnovers are killing us. It probably wouldn’t matter based on how poorly he played today but I didn’t understand taking JJ out after his fourth foul with under a minute to go and Hurt already fouled out. Johnson a good shot blocker and rebounder so why bother going offense/defense with him? If he fouled out trying to make a play, so be it but I don’t think we should play for OT there.
Think this is right. The zone looked much better than the last outing. Rotations were only a little slow rather than staggeringly so. These are really athletic lads, they will learn. I hope they have enough games/practice/time to reach something like their potential.
This Duke team isn’t the sort of Duke team that we’ve become accustomed to watch. The talent and experience aren’t there. Joey Baker taking an open three at crunch time? Maybe next year but this season the only way that goes in is by accident. In an ordinary Duke year, Hurt starts, Johnson would probably start, and Goldwire is in the rotation. Everyone else is probably a deep reserve. In 1995 I was frustrated because we were close. We’re not that close this season. We’ve got too many players who were badly overrated out of HS and too little experience.
This is only your second post on DBR, and you come raining fire and brimstone.
Who are you?
K's one-and-done strategy? Not his strategy. Our recruiting is to get the best players we can. Some leave early -- expectedly so. Some leave early -- unexpectedly, and sometimes when they shouldn't. Welcome to the big leagues. This year's recruiting class should have a number of players return for a second and even third year. "[P]oor substitute for actually developing a program and a team?" This is a pitifully weak attempt at a slam against the most respected coach in the entire world. I could go on, but it's not worth my time.
Oh, and "staggeringly unathletic?" You must be that Visa card guy.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
HORRIBLE—-
- 7 assists for us. SEVEN. thats crappy offense for sure.
- ***And 9 FT attempts. Dang. Get some drives and contact going. Louisville had 24 FT attempts. thus one stat kills us every game. Learn to get contact. . Also like we lost Hurt the other teams are never having other players foul out since we aren’t drawing fouls***
- And Johnson needs to quit WHINING when he has a bad start (turnovers / fouls). He was clearly pouting on sideline. Grow up and stay engaged man. He’s our only lottery athlete and we won’t play him because he is pouting on sideline w his 3 fouls.
Improvements
- Didn’t get down 10 pts early
- Wendell Moore is improving and not turning it over
- Hurt was awesome
—- can we have one freakin game where Hurt and JJ both excel? Pitt was JJ. today was Hurt. If only both ...