Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Hey Scheyer, hands at the 10 and 2 position!
(see the 7:20 mark of the video)
Edit 1: Upon further review, I assume that Jon's fancy car has a "hands-free" driving mode.
Edit 2: Upon even further review, apparently it is no longer recommended to drive with your hands at the 10 and 2 position.
Jamie Shaw of On3 visited Duke's practice on Thursday. He captured video of some of the players scrimmaging.
Tyrese Proctor shooting 3s: https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/statu...91325823483907
Proctor driving to the rim on Filipowski: https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/statu...92537041309696
Filipowski from the corner: https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/statu...77043156480000
Lively from the corner: https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/statu...70757664395264
The proctor shots were most impressive IMO. He was quick and had great repetition of movement. Filipowski and Lively had longer shots with a low starting point. It might not matter much for either as I don't think many bigs will be trying to defend them that far out from the rim, but they could stand to shorten their shooting form and begin with a higher release point. It's all practice shots, of course, so not too much to complain about.
Great article. Things I love:
- Tyrese Proctor. I'm all-in on him, and it sounds like Wiseman is too. We were worried about our backcourt when Trevor left, but I think we could be very pleasantly surprised on that front.
- Schutt. If he's getting any run with the "first team," that means he's ahead of what we expected of him. If the staff thinks he can contribute this year, that gives us a different dimension.
- Depth. Schutt adds to that, as does Ryan Young (especially if he's our ninth man). And I think it's going to be hard to keep Mitchell off the court too.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Basic article, but confirms a few things:
The rotation looks to be, with certainty:
-Roach
-Grandison
-Proctor
-Lively
-Flip
-Whitehead (once healthy)
Likely additions to the rotation:
-Mitchell
-Young
-Schutt
That's 9. May be trimmed down, but that's a great start.
No mention of Blakes. And with Schutt in front of him, not sure Blakes is going to feature much this season.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I'm not sold yet on Schutt or Young being a significant part of the rotation, and for somewhat different reasons. Not that I have much to go on, I'm just not sold on it. Schutt is a fringe top 50 player competing for time with more talented perimeter players. I'm not sure we'll see much of him in ACC play. And as for Young, we'll already have a frontcourt rotation of Lively, Flip, and Mitchell. I don't know how much room for minutes we can give him over those guys. And I do expect Mitchell to play a lot at the 4. I think we could see these guys, most likely Young, get regular spot duty in the first half. But I don't see right now them getting any significant minutes in the more competitive games.
I think we're looking at a solid 7 man rotation once we get to the meat of the season, and that's it. Sure I could be pleasantly surprised and I really don't know what Scheyer's rotation philosophy will be, but I'm betting by January he's going to only be wanting to run his best players out there and I think there are a solid 7 that will be more effective than the rest.
"Just be you. You is Enough."
In some ways, this team is reminding me of the 2020-21 team, but in a good way.
The fit isn't obvious, so let me get that out of the way. The 21 team had inherent issues with the roster and fit. The Hurt-Johnson frontcourt didn't work and Roach and Steward were too inexperienced to succeed in the ACC without the benefit of a normal offseason.
What I see from this roster is depth. There are a few givens.
This is Jeremy Roach's team. He's going to play as much as he can. With an expanded role and just incremental improvements, he could be in the running for a lot of postseason awards (if Duke is successful). If he has more than incremental improvement (like shooting 38%+ from 3, averaging more than 5 asts/gm, showing that he is a legit playmaker, etc.), then Duke is going to be a ~top 10 team throughout the season IMO.
Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead will see a lot of opportunities. Lively is going to play ~25 mins, clean up around the glass, block a few shots, and probably take and make a few open threes per game. I expect to see him shoot as often as Vernon Carey, Jr. and Wendell Carter, Jr. did during their time in Durham. If he is capable of defending forwards and wings on switches, all the better. Whitehead is most likely going to slot into the Wendell Moore, Jr. role as a secondary playmaker that can defend multiple positions. I don't expect him to be as good at team defense given that Moore was far more experienced last season. But I think Whitehead is going to be a consistent scorer and might even lead the team in scoring on occasion.
Everyone else is either a wild card or playing a role. Grandison and Young are the obvious role players IMO. We sort of know what they are going to do. Grandison is going to take open 3's and generally be a connective tissue of sorts on offense while being able to guard a few positions on defense. Young is going to be a throwback post player, the kind you see in college, that gets buckets around the rim and rebounds.
The other guys are all wildcards to some degree. Can Filipowski defend well enough to play meaningful minutes? Just how good is Proctor and can he play off the ball? Is Schutt more than a spot shooter? And can he stay on the court on the other end? Is Mitchell capable of being a super-glue guy that can score enough and defend 1-5 or at least 3-5? Is Blakes capable of providing minutes as a defensive pest that can make an open jumper on occasion? Is Duke going to get anything out of Kale Catchings or Max Johns?
This last category is where I see similarities to the 2021 team. Mitchell and Filipowski may have a Mark Williams-esque freshman season where they come on late. Hopefully that happens due to getting comfortable rather than just getting healthy. Mitchell is a lot like Jaemyn Brakefield, but perhaps more well-rounded and a little less susceptible to mental lapses on defense.
I think the biggest thing I see is depth and many different lineups until we see some combination(s) that works. Whereas in '21, it was trying to find something that wasn't a disaster on defense, I think the shakeout process is going to be less painful in 2022-23. The pieces and combinations fit together better. The depth is a strength instead of a sign of distress. This roster has almost every kind of player on it - low post bruiser, pick-and-roll rim runner, scoring wing, shooting specialists, mutli-position defenders, scoring PG, off ball creators, etc. Getting the right groups on the court against the opponents will be the challenge. There will be a lot of potential answers to the challenges the team faces. Hopefully, we see those answers sooner rather than later.
You make a strong argument, and I think that anyone who sees this and immediately panics shouldn't. That season was such an outlier because of COVID and Jalen Johnson's weirdness that we will never know what would've been had that team played under normal circumstances.
I think we'll end up judging this season in two different ways: our success this year, and how this squad sets the stage for the Scheyer era. It very well may be the case that we underachieve early but round into form come March, and perhaps have a couple guys stick around to form the foundation for the next wave (if Mitchell and/or Filipowski stick around, for one, I think 2023-24 is going to be very fun). I'm still optimistic that the presence of Jeremy, along with Scheyer embracing the "get old through transfers" strategy, will mitigate the growing pains. But we should always remember that, as frustrating as 2020-21 was, it laid the groundwork for 21-22.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
For folks who have not seen this...
Donald, Sam, and I were given access to video of a recent Duke scrimmage. It was more than 20 minutes of uncut footage (paused only for stops in the action) and gave us the best view of the team that we will get until the Blue-White game. It was pretty revealing.
You can hear our thoughts here ------------> https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/duk...=VMP4423722082
A few notes I took while watching the video --
The starters were Roach, Proctor, Grandison, Flip, and Liveley wearing white. The blue team was Blakes, Schutt, Katchings, Mitchell, and Young. Hubbard subbed for Katchings. I may have missed it but I don't recall really seeing Johns or Reeves playing.
There was lots of settling for 3s. The White team of starters was playing 5 out most of the time, looking largely to penetrate or shoot a 3. We saw nothing but m2m D and the offense looked pretty raw – didn’t see them run anything but a very basic motion offense. I am not sure if this was because it is so early in practice or if they don’t want to show much of what they are really working on yet. The D seemed solid throughout. No one got lost and the switching was far better than I would have expected at this stage of practice. You noticed Jai Lucas really up and yelling and coaching more than any of the other assistant coaches, though I saw Jefferson doing a lot of individual chatting with players.
Player notes --
Roach - looking for his shot a lot. Capable of scoring from anywhere on the floor and almost certainly the leading scorer in the scrimmage, but he missed a lot of shots. Was able to get into the lane for mid-range jumpers almost at will but hit less than 50% of his shots from the field.
Proctor - had a sweet step back 3 and showed some really nifty passing. When passing he finds the second man, not the closest one. Seemed utterly in control at all times. Can tell he has played with pros. Late in the scrimmage, he ran the point a lot with Roach moving off the ball. Loves the jab step, step back to get his shot. That move is unstoppable. Was among the most impressive players in the scrimmage.
Grandison – missed his first two 3s before knocking one down. Mostly stayed in the corner on offense, looking to be a release valve but then started diving into the lane a bit later in the scrimmage. Solid, but not spectacular at anything. Won’t lose you any games but probably won’t win you many either. Classic complementary player who knows how to handle himself on the floor.
Flip – Quiet the first half of the scrimmage but then it was like someone flipped a switch. He had a really nice, athletic finish in the lane and then knocked down a 3 only seconds later. Was a nifty passer and is quite comfortable with ball in his hands. Had a couple opportunistic offensive rebound putbacks too. Knocked down another 3 late in the scrimmage. Went from a guy I barely noticed to the best player on the floor later in the scrimmage.
Lively – Had a couple ugly blocks (where you scrunch up and make an ugly face because it was such an impressive block). He was mostly screening on the perimeter and not really interested in getting strong post position. Missed a jump hook on the very first possession but then did not take another shot in the lane other than lobs. A strong rebounder who rebounds out of his area and does a great job of tapping out balls he cannot grab for a "team" offensive rebound. Will lead the team in rebounding by a LOT. Is a huge lob threat and he and Roach are developing some nice chemistry at that.
Schutt – super quick release. Missed his first 4 threes before knocking one down. On very next possession he faked a 3 and hit a really nice driving layup instead to show he is more than just a shooter. Guarded Proctor and was not overwhelmed by the quickness of Tyrese, which surprised me.
Mitchell – Really long and athletic. It feels like one of his strides covers the same ground other players take 2 steps to fill. I feel like his length really messed with 3-point shooters when he was nearby (especially seemed to impact Grandison). Had a gorgeous pass to Blakes for a layup and a nice dish to Lively for a dunk. Late in the scrimmage, he knocked down a 3 with confidence.
Young - On the very first Blue possession, he stepped out off a screen and took a three pointer. He missed it, but seemed confident shooting it. Good luck stopping him inside of 5 feet… unless you are a long and quick as Lively (not many guys like that in the college game). Even with his length and hops even Dereck Likvely could not stop Young at times.
Despite these notes, I really hope you all also listen to the pod...
Last edited by JasonEvans; 10-04-2022 at 02:18 PM.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Carter was 19-46 (41%) for his season. Carey was 8-21 (38%). I suspect Lively’s number of attempts will be closer to Carter, or about 1.5 per game. Enough that defenders will need to respect the shot, but it won’t be a primary weapon.
Here is another team preview I came across from Jamie Shaw of On3. He attended a closed practice and came away impressed by Proctor. He thinks Mitchell will start at the 4 and that it’s between Flip and Lively for the starting center spot. I personally think Lively starts no matter what but I agree that Mitchell is going to surprise a lot of people and I think it’s at least 50/50 between him and Flip starting.
https://www.on3.com/news/duke-a-day-behind-the-scenes-jon-scheyer-dereck-lively-jeremy-roach-tyrese-proctor-dariq-whitehead/
Carter was 19-46 (41%) for his season. Carey was 8-21 (38%). I suspect Lively’s number of attempts will be closer to Carter, or about 1.5 per game. Enough that defenders will need to respect the shot, but it won’t be a primary weapon.
Here is another team preview I came across from Jamie Shaw of On3. He attended a closed practice and came away impressed by Proctor. He thinks Mitchell will start at the 4 and that it’s between Flip and Lively for the starting center spot. I personally think Lively starts no matter what but I agree that Mitchell is going to surprise a lot of people and I think it’s at least 50/50 between him and Flip starting.
https://www.on3.com/news/duke-a-day-behind-the-scenes-jon-scheyer-dereck-lively-jeremy-roach-tyrese-proctor-dariq-whitehead/
I know that Roach, Whitehead, and Lively will start in November and, if healthy, every game throughout the season. I wouldn't be surprised if Grandison starts in November but that Proctor eventually slides into the starting role. I'm not sure what will happen with the starting frontcourt alongside Lively. It wouldn't surprise me if either Mitchell or Filipowski start a dozen games each. I, too, am high on Mitchell and think he might end up getting more PT this season than Flip.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
The thing about Schutt is that it isn't happening in a vacuum. Other players might be "better" than Schutt when evaluating their entire games. But we need shooting from 3.
A team with Lively and Whitehead (eventually) doesn't need the perimeter players to be as good on D as other teams or rotations might. Lively in particular is going to be a beast on D really deterring attacks on the rim.
Given the rest of the roster, Schutt doesn't have to be as good at attacking the rim as other players. 1. The lane will be crowded due to our plethora of bigs. 2. Other guys on the court will likely be good at driving. We've had teams recently that featured 2-3 quality rim attackers, but no real outside shooting, and it hasn't worked. The sum has been less than the parts. Consistent outside shooting, specifically the lack of it, has derailed 2-3 title caliber (if not likely or even probable title teams). Even when those teams had great driving threats.
Finally, passing. While I'll stipulate that we likely don't have a great team running, high level passer on the squad, we're likely to have at least 3 guys who are pretty good at passing outside of Schutt. Roach and Whitehead figure to be pretty good at it. Both seem like plus passers for SGs. I know Roach is a PG, but while he's not great at passing relative to traditional pass first PGs, Roach is probably a more willing (and able) passer than today's "lead guard" which IMO is just a fancy word for short shooting guard. And it seems like Flip and Mitchell are likely to be plus passers relative to other PFs.
We won't need Schutt to be well rounded. Being really good at one necessary thing (and subpar on almost every other aspect should that prove to be the case) is more important than being above average at lots of things. He might not start. But, he might. Other guards seem like much better defenders or much better at driving than Schutt. But the rest of the roster means that Duke won't need those types of contributions on the regular. What we will need is a guy to make perimeter shots off of kick outs, or within the normal flow of passing the ball around, to alleviate crowding in the paint.
Great summary - looking forward to the podcast.
A lot of players that look fun to play with, TBH. Proctor really finds open guys, with some flair. Flip looks to be a really good passer. All we seem to be missing is a 6'6" do it all SG/SF... Get well soon Dariq.
Will be interesting to see who the alpha dog ends up being. Jeremy almost surely early on, but I could see Procter stepping in there. As you said, he looks like a guy that's played with pros.