next season

[-jk]

I am 80 years old and sometimes have problems seeing clearly so tend to bold messages. I won't this time.

On most browsers, pressing Control-plus will make everything bigger.

Also, you can use the mobile skin on desktop computers (select “mobile” at the bottom) and everything is nice and big, too.

-jk

[gumbomoop]

nope. this year doesn't count against anybody.

For Joey Baker’s sake, I hope uh_no has this right. Joey needs 2 more years to develop into a good player.

For example, despite my distaste for Bilas’s forays into “humor,” effing reffing, and “entertainment,” he knows the game. I was surprised when during the UL game, he sorta snapped at Baker, saying something like, “Joey Baker has to quit doing that stuff. He needs to learn to dribble and pass.” Maybe other players irritate Bilas, but I’m telling you, Bilas was irritated at Baker.

And, imo, for good reason. Joey’s handle is poor; it holds him back, substantially. He does not seem to have worked hard to become a better dribbler. He seems to love Duke, is an enthusiastic teammate, can shoot. And yes, last night, he did successfully drive to the basket with a nice drop-off to Williams. It was a shocking moment, because so unexpected.

Do I recall that Baker reclassified, came to Duke a year early? So that’s presumably the reason he was expected to redshirt. But of course he didn’t, a development — a rash moment — I suspect K regrets. But if uh_no has it right, K and Joey can rectify that burned redshirt mistake, if Joey can and does stay 2 more years.

Surely Joey still hopes to play professionally, somewhere. Can he, as little more than a good shooter, with poor handle, footwork, defense? He does occasionally make a very good hustle play, a steal or defensive disruption here and there. But he has a lot of work to do. Especially on his handle.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I am 80 years old and sometimes have problems seeing clearly so tend to bold messages. I won't this time.

Feel free to bold as many of your posts as possible. They don't bother most of us.

[tommy]

My only quibble is with the bolded part, and only a partial quibble. I think there are certainly examples of high-level PG play from grad transfer. Carlik Jones this year is a prime example of that. You can find first-team All-ACC level players in grad transfers. But, in terms of how Duke has fared with the grad transfer market, it's probably fair to say that it is unlikely that Duke will find such a grad transfer, given how little consideration Coach K has given that market over the years and how unsuccessful he was with it this year with Tape.

I do think that the hope needs to be that Roach and Steward (and heck, Moore too) make big strides over the offseason and that Banchero and Griffin are as advertised. Because it doesn't seem that Coach K has the grad transfer market figured out.

Carlik Jones is not the only example, just from this year. As it turns out, Columbia-to-Michigan transfer PG Mike Smith would have been a terrific addition to this year's team. He is very quick with the ball, excellent in transition, makes good decisions with the ball, and knocks down shots. The issue was whether his scorer's mentality-type of game at Columbia and his scoring ability given his size would translate to Big 10-level basketball and it certainly did. He has fit in seamlessly, and has been fine with not being the number 1 shooting option. His kind of veteran leadership on the floor with have been really helpful to our squad too.

We went after (and got) a grad transfer from Columbia this year. We just went after the wrong one. Right church, wrong pew as they say . . .

[throatybeard]

Feel free to bold as many of your posts as possible. They don't bother most of us.

Co-signed.

A blind spot that pandemic distance learning really threw further into relief for me--though I'd been working on this for a few years in face-to-face class--is that I regularly revert to failing to account for moderately and significantly vision impaired persons. I now give students the original document in addition to the PDF that was formatted to stay on one page. This way they can blow it up to their heart's content and not be limited by the damn teacher who forgets that not everyone is miraculously 20/20 like him.

[DukieInBrasil]

I think folks are underselling the potential improvements we could/should see from Steward and Roach. It's easy to write those guys off, but they have been pretty decent for freshmen in this crazy year and the freshman-to-sophomore leap is a real thing. I expect big things from them next year. I think Steward will become a lethal 3pt threat, and Roach will become more consistent off the dribble.

I also think people are sleeping on the playmaking ability of Griffin. That guy is going to create a lot of shots for himself and others.

Also, Banchero should be an impact scorer in place of Hurt. Not the same, obviously; Hurt is the better pure shooter and Banchero a better scorer off the dribble and in the post. But he should be really good.

I'm really not worried about our ability to create next year. This year's team (due to the inexperience at guard and the lack of ballhandling at other positions) has more limitations in terms of shot creation than next year's team will have. We'll be much more versatile with that team than this one is.

I generally try not to factor incoming Fr. into my expectations for a future team because the hype is generally too rosy. People were saying the same things about Jalen that you just stated about Griffin. I'm not saying that Griffin can't be that player, i'm just refraining from prognosticating about what i haven't seen.

And more size? Coach K usually plays three guys in his big man rotation. We'll have a very crowded big-man rotation including Banchero, Williams, Coleman, Brakefield, and Griffin (who will usually play SF but K likes his SFs to move up a position sometimes; plus Moore and Baker, who can both play PF, and possibly Baldwin, though that seems less likely). How much more size do you want?

Yeah, i don't think height is going to be an issue next year. Perhaps Wendell is starting to get a better feel for how to play the 3 (or3/4) that he might not need to play up to the 4, even though that is certainly where he was best deployed last year, and where many of us were expecting him to play this year. I've been critical of Wendell, as you know, but his play in the last ~10 games or so has shown that perhaps he is getting better at playing the 3. With Wendell at the 3 and the others at the 4, Duke will be pretty tall except the guard position where Duke'll be normal.

[whereinthehellami]

Here is NBADraft.net's evaluation from two years ago on Matt Hurt. It is interesting to look back at these evaluations. I thought the evaluations I linked earlier on Banchero and Griffin almost seemed too good to be true, like watching youtube highlight videos where the players never miss. But the Hurt evaluation does seem pretty accurate. Here are some excerpts:

Strengths: 6’9 stretch four man … Good coordination and mobility for his size … Can score inside and out. Good face up offensive skills. Good touch, craft, and floater around the basket. Good footwork and solid post-game for his age … Efficient scorer.

Averaged 17.1 points per game while shooting 58.4% FG% over the adidas Gauntlet in 2018. Averaged 14 points per game while shooting a third best 63.3% FG% at the U18 Americas Championship in 2018. Averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting 55.4% FG% at the NBPA Top 100 in 2017. Averaged 12 points per game while shooting 57.4% FG% at adidas Nations in 2016 …

Spaces the floor well … Shoots well from midrange and three with good mechanics and high release point. Shot 48.3% 3P% on 2.6 attempts per game over the adidas Gauntlet in 2018. Shot a second best 60% on 3.3 attempts per game at the U18 Americas Championship in 2018. Shot 43.3% 3P% at the NBPA Top 100 in 2017. Good pick and pop potential … Shows reliability as a free throw shooter. Shot 70% FT% over the adidas Gauntlet in 2018. Shot 76.9% FT% at the U18 Americas Championship in 2018. Shot 93.3% FT% at the NBPA Top 100 in 2017 … Can put the ball on the floor and attack the rim with solid ability …

Positions himself well defensively and possesses good shot blocking ability as a help defender. Averaged 1.2 blocks per game over the adidas Gauntlet in 2018. Finished third in blocks with 1.5 per game at the U18 Americas Championship in 2018. Finished in the top three at the NBPA Top 100 in 2017 with 1.3 blocks per game. Averaged 1.2 blocks per game at adidas Nations in 2017 …

Solid court vision and passing ability for his size. Distributes out of the high post. Takes care of the ball and isn’t as turnover prone as most players of his age and caliber. While assist count hasn’t necessarily been high, he’s posted a positive assist to turnover ratio at the majority of his high-profile events: 1.9 assists/1.2 turnovers per game over the adidas Gauntlet in 2018, two assists/0.3 turnovers per game at the U18 Americas Championship in 2018, 0.8 assists/0.6 turnovers per game at adidas Nations in 2016 and 1.2 assists/0.5 turnovers per game in 2017, 1.1 assists/0.8 turnovers per game at the NBPA Top 100 in 2017 … Plays within himself and knows his limitations …

Weaknesses: Length isn’t great relative to his height with a 6’9 wingspan and 8’10 standing reach … Lacks explosive athleticism and quickness, especially laterally. His lack of length and athleticism limits him defensively. Defending the perimeter at higher levels and switching onto smaller players projects to be an obstacle. As a stretch forward, defending pick and rolls is a must in today’s NBA … Can get a lot stronger, especially in the upper body … Can improve finishing in traffic … Solid rebounder but doesn’t stand out in that area and his impact in that area is likely to diminish at higher levels … Older for his class, turned 19 in April of his senior year …

Evan Tomes 8/18/19

[Saratoga2]

On most browsers, pressing Control-plus will make everything bigger.

Also, you can use the mobile skin on desktop computers (select “mobile” at the bottom) and everything is nice and big, too.

-jk

Thanks, I'll give it a try

[Saratoga2]

Co-signed.

A blind spot that pandemic distance learning really threw further into relief for me--though I'd been working on this for a few years in face-to-face class--is that I regularly revert to failing to account for moderately and significantly vision impaired persons. I now give students the original document in addition to the PDF that was formatted to stay on one page. This way they can blow it up to their heart's content and not be limited by the damn teacher who forgets that not everyone is miraculously 20/20 like him.

Very thoughtful thing to do. It would really help people whose vision is partially impaired.

[CDu]

Yes, I'm sorry, I agree with you. I meant it was unlikely that Duke and such a PG would find a good match. But it's also true that stories like Carlik Jones are fairly rare. Most players coming from low-major conferences to high-major conferences wouldn't be talented enough to give us much (if any) more than we'll get from, e.g., Roach and Steward. So my original comment saying it's "unlikely" is still true.

I don't think it's all that rare, actually. I'd venture there is one every year, if not more. This year, there are more than one, for example.

I mean, they don't grow on trees, but they aren't some total anomaly either.

But, again, we agree that it is unlikely Duke will get one.

I'm aware of Griffin's capabilities. I would just rather there be 3-4 guys who can all makes plays. That's what made the 2018 team so much fun to watch. We constantly had 4 guys on the floor who could all create offense. That's much harder to defend than having only a couple of playmakers.

If Griffin can approximate what RJ Barrett provided for us, that would be fantastic. At least we would have a go-to guy. Banchero also looks like a guy who can create off the dribble and from the high post. I'd still just prefer to have another guard available just in case. Regarding Roach and Steward, we can't just automatically assume every player is going to get way better every year. They probably will improve, but will it be enough to win a national championship? Maybe, maybe not. I'd just hope we have another option, especially if it's a highly regarded point guard. It might not work out, but also, it could work out. No harm in having another option in case things don't go as planned.

I mean, Steward is averaging nearly 13 ppg as a freshman. I'd expect a big jump from him, but even without a big jump he'll be really good next year. Because he has been pretty good this year. Roach is the bigger question mark. But I feel pretty comfortable that he'll get a lot better too.

As for "another highly regarded PG", that's almost certainly not going to happen. So we'd better hope that Roach and Steward make a decent jump.

As for the 3-4 creators, we should have that in Griffin, Banchero, and Steward. Then there are Moore and Roach who could join that list. We should not have an issue creating good shots with next year's team.

[TruBlu]

Trying to be positive here. Lots of room for improvement next year.

[TywinBlue]

Let's start with the best grad transfer point guard.

Neither Roach, Stewart or Goldwire is a quality starting ACC point guard.

With the team we will have next year, all we need is a quality point guard to make the motor run.

[simplyluvin]

Let's start with the best grad transfer point guard.

Neither Roach, Stewart or Goldwire is a quality starting ACC point guard.

With the team we will have next year, all we need is a quality point guard to make the motor run.

In addition to our desperate need for a superior floor general, who is going to be our go-to scorer? The guy who will take the last shot? I am not sure that will be established, assuming Hurt is gone.

[Bluegrassdevil1]

In addition to our desperate need for a superior floor general, who is going to be our go-to scorer? The guy who will take the last shot? I am not sure that will be established, assuming Hurt is gone.

Paolo Banchero - by miles. Banchero, as a high school senior, would be this team's best player. By miles.

[simplyluvin]

Paolo Banchero - by miles. Banchero, as a high school senior, would be this team's best player. By miles.

Not sure that bodes well for next year's team. I am really concerned with our guard play. It's wishful thinking that Roach and Steward are going to make a big sophomore jump, much less a Grayson-like one. If a freshman forward is our go-to and his name is not Battier, Hill, or Laettner, I am not so sure.

[CDu]

Paolo Banchero - by miles. Banchero, as a high school senior, would be this team's best player. By miles.

Followed by AJ Griffin.

I wouldn’t sleep on sophomore DJ Steward either. And I am not ready to write off Roach as a sophomore.

[CDu]

Not sure that bodes well for next year's team. I am really concerned with our guard play. It's wishful thinking that Roach and Steward are going to make a big sophomore jump, much less a Grayson-like one. If a freshman forward is our go-to and his name is not Battier, Hill, or Laettner, I am not so sure.

See, I really don’t get comments like this. We have seen countless examples of freshmen guards struggling but stepping up big as sophomores.

[SouthernDukie]

Followed by AJ Griffin.

I wouldn’t sleep on sophomore DJ Steward either. And I am not ready to write off Roach as a sophomore.

And don’t sleep on Williams!

[GGLC]

See, I really don’t get comments like this. We have seen countless examples of freshmen guards struggling but stepping up big as sophomores.

Yes, but neither of them have much in the way of point guard skills. I don't know how realistic it is to expect either of them to develop in that way.

[CDu]

Yes, but neither of them have much in the way of point guard skills. I don't know how realistic it is to expect either of them to develop in that way.

I don’t think next year’s team will need a pure PG. They could very well have at least 4 guys who can create their own shot on the floor at all times. Unlike the last two years where we had very little ability to create our own shots.