Dereck Lively II

[BandAlum83]

I think putting it this way undersells what he's been able to accomplish though. The most impressive thing about Dereck's season to me is that he's completely bought into his role. A lot of top ranked recruits could complain about not getting more touches on offense (see GG Jackson, Emoni Bates), coming off the bench at times, and playing such low minutes early on in the season, but he's been extremely mature and focused on the team. He's done nothing but worked extremely hard to get better. Now, he's arguably the single most dominant defensive player in the country, and still rarely gets enough credit for how much he actually impacts winning.

Case in point: look at the MOTM votes for the Oral Roberts game. It's a relatively even split at the moment, but Jeremy Roach has the most votes. Sure, Jeremy was our leader on offense, scoring 23 points on 17 shots, but IMO Dereck was by far the biggest contributor to the win, in which we held ORU to 30 points below their scoring average. He's a low offensive usage big, so it is what it is. But I'm extremely grateful that we have this amazing kid on our team, and I hope the NBA scouts figure out how good he is, because he deserves to get drafted in the lottery, not the 2nd round like most mocks have him at the moment.

During the post game pressor, Lively mentioned a few times "accepting his role" which makes me think he'd like to do more offensively, but isn't. In the video there are a lot of segments showing him working on his shot and footwork. To his credit, he's bought in, and the team is certainly benefitting.

[clinresga]

During the post game pressor, Lively mentioned a few times "accepting his role" which makes me think he'd like to do more offensively, but isn't. In the video there are a lot of segments showing him working on his shot and footwork. To his credit, he's bought in, and the team is certainly benefitting.

My notion that Dereck should continue to shoot 3's back in the post-NCSU thread was pretty thoroughly shot down by the smart folks here. At this point, there's no question that he needs to focus on what he's shown he can do, rebounding and playing defense. And the lob for a dunk when available.

But lord, imagine if he had not been injured, and had half a season before it became life or death, to work on an outside shot. Everything I see, including his high school career, and the eyeball test from practice videos continues to suggest he will acquire a reasonable, or even above-average, outside game--sadly, in the NBA, not for Duke. But when he leaves next year, after watching that video, I want him to make a bazillion dollars and buy his mom a mansion. What an incredible kid, and an incredible mom.

[fisheyes]

Incredibly well done video revealing a beautiful story.
I was late to watch it and highly recommend it for all to view.

Sometimes we forget the "people" part of these kids.
His mom and he are truly special people.

Thanks for coming to Duke.

[MartinNessley]

Baby Goat, aka The Kid?

Nicknames happen organically, not from workshopping.

[ClemmonsDevil]

I vote for Coach Scheyer. New page from the K era where we needed a way for southerners to deal with the pronunciation issues of the name Krzyzewski. At least initially. Also I call Filipowski, Filipowski.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Nicknames happen organically, not from workshopping.

I agree.

Nicknames come from fanbases. We should find some Duke fans and get their ridiculous opinions!

[dm9e24]

I think putting it this way undersells what he's been able to accomplish though. The most impressive thing about Dereck's season to me is that he's completely bought into his role. A lot of top ranked recruits could complain about not getting more touches on offense (see GG Jackson, Emoni Bates), coming off the bench at times, and playing such low minutes early on in the season, but he's been extremely mature and focused on the team. He's done nothing but worked extremely hard to get better. Now, he's arguably the single most dominant defensive player in the country, and still rarely gets enough credit for how much he actually impacts winning.

Case in point: look at the MOTM votes for the Oral Roberts game. It's a relatively even split at the moment, but Jeremy Roach has the most votes. Sure, Jeremy was our leader on offense, scoring 23 points on 17 shots, but IMO Dereck was by far the biggest contributor to the win, in which we held ORU to 30 points below their scoring average. He's a low offensive usage big, so it is what it is. But I'm extremely grateful that we have this amazing kid on our team, and I hope the NBA scouts figure out how good he is, because he deserves to get drafted in the lottery, not the 2nd round like most mocks have him at the moment.

It may be selfish and so be it. But stories like that make me miss the old days when we got to see kids like Derrick grow up here at Duke. Not in an nba city somewhere in America. It did not seem to punish anyone from that era financially by being around more than a year. Would love to see Lively as a lottery pick also...in 2024. But I know he has to go.

Hope I get to see he and his mom for a few more weekends. Great kid. He and Flip are mature beyond their years.

[TruBlu]

Incredibly well done video revealing a beautiful story.
I was late to watch it and highly recommend it for all to view.

Sometimes we forget the "people" part of these kids.
His mom and he are truly special people.

Thanks for coming to Duke.

Ditto. I was also late watching the video. Highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't watched yet. If you were not a fan of Dereck and his mom before, you will be after watching. Great family!