At this point, with the tough season the team is having, I am mostly interested in whether or not K can keep them engaged and improving. This season is so unique that normal expectations are out the window. Our players are isolated at the Washington Duke, our Coach has had COVID in his family and has been more candid than normal about the impact that is unprecedented environment has had one him (
https://thespun.com/more/top-stories...ultuous-season), etc. So, I am honestly curious about how we execute this last ~1/3rd of the season...are we going to continue to be a .500 team? Will a staff and players, none of whom are used to losing this much, stay focused and hungry or will the staff "lose" the squad at some point?
I thought this quote from the UNC presser was informative:
On his mindset behind switching up the lineup tonight:
“People earn starting, and they have to keep earning it. That’s part of the growth. We have all these young guys; you have to keep earning it. That’s been part of our program. Mark (Williams) has been playing really well. Tonight’s game was a very difficult one. It was so physical inside, and he was not ready for that level. He will be. Then offensively they really clogged up the lane when he was in. I thought Henry (Coleman III) gave us an amazing boost. We just have to keep looking at different things for our team and keep getting better. The kids have great attitudes and great work ethics, and that’s what I’m looking for. However that turns out, it’ll turn out the best that it could turn out based on good attitudes and work ethic. It may not reach the level of expectations of other people, but if our kids do that it’ll reach the level of expectation for me. I’ve coached some real young teams before and you gotta stay with it. You gotta stay with it.”
What stood out is that the starting line-up changes were the addition of Mark Williams and Jeremy Roach with Jalen Johnson and Jordan Goldwire coming off the bench. I could read K's quote and think that, therefore, Johnson was not showing a good attitude and good work ethic, but how would that explain Goldwire, who one has to assume, based on his body of work, has both? Also, Roach did not play well against Miami, yet moved into the starting line-up. I don't know, but something doesn't feel right about Johnson. Obviously, he's been inconsistent all year, but it also doesn't feel like the coaches love him. So I am very curious to see how he does over this last stretch. Do they get him to "unpack his bags", ala the old story K used to tell about Carlos Boozer needing to focus on his time at Duke and not his future pro career, or will he already have an eye toward the draft?
I know there is a lot of talk in the "next season" thread about who will or won't come back, but I am hopeful that the Roach/Steward backcourt will play together next year so I am keen to watch them the rest of the way. They rarely both have a good game, maybe we can see more of that in this final 8 games?
Our defense was so poor against UNC and is down at 70 on KenPom. Yikes! Can that improve?
Speaking of KenPom, our "Luck" number is one of the worst in the country. I believe that means that, according to our game by game offensive and defensive efficiencies, we should have won more games. We have played in so many close games since our long holiday hiatus. I know DukeLifer, among others, has lamented our inability to make the big plays when we need them down the stretch. The fact that we failed to get off shots in the most critical possessions of our last two close losses is a sign that we are still a work-in-progress in search of a true identity. Others have lamented the lack of captains being named and cite is as proof of a lack of leadership. For us to keep growing, and certainly to be better next year, we need those leaders and that identity to emerge. That's what I am looking for the rest of the way, starting tomorrow.