next season

[dukelifer]

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.

Steward has shown he can be an outstanding player- he will certainly be better next year. Roach will also be better but his jump may be less.

[simplyluvin]

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

Countless? I generally don't like to argue on the board, but in the last 10 years, there have been exactly three guards that have made big frosh-to-soph jumps: Grayson, Luke, and Tre. I'm not even saying that we need Roach and DJ to make these kinds of jumps - perhaps they can - but I just don't see playmaking from guards as a strength next year.

[gumbomoop]

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.

Agree with this. I don’t expect Roach to become a “pure” PG next season. But I expect him to be better. Ditto for Steward, who may shine. I have been very impressed with Williams in last 1/2-1/3 of this season. He and Banchero will complement each other well, including high-low.

It appears Griffin is a near-top-5 recruit. I assume: Hurt leaves, we won’t get Baldwin, may get Keels. Even without Keels, we’ll have a very good top 6, and by good I do include Roach and Steward. I’m optimistic that at least 2 of Moore, Steward, and Roach will improve noticeably by next season. I think Williams is very likely to be a force at both ends of the court.

Can Brakefield tame his wildness, poor decisions? He has talent. Can Coleman consistently contribute 7-10 minutes?

I am not optimistic about Baker. Hope uh_no was right that all players, not just seniors, get an extra year. Baker might be a little better next season, but his handle is poor, little improved in 3 years. Hope Baker works on handle and footwork, can and does stay 2 more years. I think Brakefield has a better chance than Baker of becoming our 7th man next season (8th if Keels comes).

Under any circumstances, we’ll be good to very good next season.

[BlueDevilCorvette!]

I sure hope Duke can get a grad transfer guard, that has an NBA ready body, can play lock down defense, and with a consistent jump shot next season. Is this too much wishful thinking?

[Saratoga2]

Agree with this. I don’t expect Roach to become a “pure” PG next season. But I expect him to be better. Ditto for Steward, who may shine. I have been very impressed with Williams in last 1/2-1/3 of this season. He and Banchero will complement each other well, including high-low.

It appears Griffin is a near-top-5 recruit. I assume: Hurt leaves, we won’t get Baldwin, may get Keels. Even without Keels, we’ll have a very good top 6, and by good I do include Roach and Steward. I’m optimistic that at least 2 of Moore, Steward, and Roach will improve noticeably by next season. I think Williams is very likely to be a force at both ends of the court.

Can Brakefield tame his wildness, poor decisions? He has talent. Can Coleman consistently contribute 7-10 minutes?

I am not optimistic about Baker. Hope uh_no was right that all players, not just seniors, get an extra year. Baker might be a little better next season, but his handle is poor, little improved in 3 years. Hope Baker works on handle and footwork, can and does stay 2 more years. I think Brakefield has a better chance than Baker of becoming our 7th man next season (8th if Keels comes).

Under any circumstances, we’ll be good to very good next season.

I hope we don't try to rely on Moore initiating plays next year. He is fine making plays off the ball and defending but bad things happen when he becomes a playmaker. Tonight there were 3 bad turnovers early on. We probably are not getting any additional playmaking guard for next season so it's Roach and Steward with Keels if he comes.

[TywinBlue]

Too may fans here are looking at next year's roster with their hearts and not their heads.
The current members of this team contributed to a very unlike Duke current record of 11-11 and a 10th seed in the ACC Tournament.

Two time Super Bowl coach Bill Parcells once said that " you are what your record says you are."
That record is not up to our standards.

The current arrow for our beloved Duke is pointed downward.

But we have at the moment two tremendous high school talents joining next year's team that will help the arrow point upward.

Now we need a grad transfer floor general to make the motor humm.

[KandG]

I am not optimistic about Baker. Hope uh_no was right that all players, not just seniors, get an extra year. Baker might be a little better next season, but his handle is poor, little improved in 3 years. Hope Baker works on handle and footwork, can and does stay 2 more years. I think Brakefield has a better chance than Baker of becoming our 7th man next season (8th if Keels comes).

While I don’t like to write off players, unfortunately I’m coming to the same conclusion about Baker. He still looks mostly overmatched and even on catch and shoots he looks slow with his release and misses badly frequently for such a reputed shooter. And his footwork and handle are behind what they need to be for him to contribute usefully in important games.

This has been a strange year for many reasons, so it’s possible a good offseason of working on this game may yield dividends. But this has been a very rough year for Baker.

[CDu]

Countless? I generally don't like to argue on the board, but in the last 10 years, there have been exactly three guards that have made big frosh-to-soph jumps: Grayson, Luke, and Tre. I'm not even saying that we need Roach and DJ to make these kinds of jumps - perhaps they can - but I just don't see playmaking from guards as a strength next year.

And how many have failed to make the jump in that span? We are batting 3 for 3 on top-30 guards making a big jump from frosh to sophomore since Sulaimon. Everybody else either transferred (N=1) or went pro.

Snd yes, countless. Quinn Cook, Elliot Williams (unfortunately just not with us), Jason Williams, Daniel Ewing, Bobby Hurley, Billy McCaffrey, Will Avery, etc., all made big jumps as sophs.

I don’t think they are going to suddenly be pass-first guards. But they don’t need to be.

[mattyoung18]

I like Baker but I just haven't seen any improvement since he arrived.Yikes the team tonight just looked like mail in the season time.

[UrinalCake]

I sure hope Duke can get a grad transfer guard, that has an NBA ready body, can play lock down defense, and with a consistent jump shot next season. Is this too much wishful thinking?

I kind of think that it is. I don’t know how many of those players actually exist as grad transfers, much less how many would want to come to Duke and split time with other talented and younger guards.

[dukelifer]

Too may fans here are looking at next year's roster with their hearts and not their heads.
The current members of this team contributed to a very unlike Duke current record of 11-11 and a 10th seed in the ACC Tournament.

Two time Super Bowl coach Bill Parcells once said that " you are what your record says you are."
That record is not up to our standards.

The current arrow for our beloved Duke is pointed downward.

But we have at the moment two tremendous high school talents joining next year's team that will help the arrow point upward.

Now we need a grad transfer floor general to make the motor humm.

Yes- tell that to the Tampa Bay Bucs. They were who they were until something changed. And one season in a pandemic does not make a trend.

[mattyoung18]

It would help if we played a championship on our home court like the Bucs while the other team had major injuries.

[dukelifer]

It would help if we played a championship on our home court like the Bucs while the other team had major injuries.

Sure and it would have helped if Duke had played in front of fans at home this year. Stuff happens

[HDB]

Getting Cameron rocking again will most assuredly help. If we take care of business at home next year, that will be a major step forward from this season.

[MarkD83]

It is interesting the thin margin between despair and optimism. This is not a woulda coulda shoulda statement but...one play each at the end of the Miami Louisville and Georgia tech games and duke is 12 6 in the ACC finishes in the top 4 and is safely in the Ncaas. This feels much different than 1995 which was a downward trend. It feels more like 1983 where a young team finished 11 17 but learned a lot and started a nice trend upwards

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Next season can’t come soon enough.

[dukelifer]

It is interesting the thin margin between despair and optimism. This is not a woulda coulda shoulda statement but...one play each at the end of the Miami Louisville and Georgia tech games and duke is 12 6 in the ACC finishes in the top 4 and is safely in the Ncaas. This feels much different than 1995 which was a downward trend. It feels more like 1983 where a young team finished 11 17 but learned a lot and started a nice trend upwards

Even closer than that given other close losses. Strange year. Today was an anomaly - this team is a little luck and bounces away from being in the top 20. Would really like to see the bulk come back next year to show that.

[uh_no]

Next season can’t come soon enough.

I'll have your programs ready

[buddy]

Next year's team will still be incredibly young. Joey Baker will be the only senior, Wendell Moore the only junior (unless Hurt comes back). (I'm discounting walk-ons.) The rest of the players, and of necessity most of the key ones, will be freshmen and sophomores. I know we won it all in 2015 with three OADs, but we had Quinn as a senior, Amile and Marshall as juniors, and Matt Jones as a sophomore on that team. (Also Rasheed until we parted ways.) I would suggest that was far better depth than what we see next year from the upperclass, based on performance to date. I agree Williams has tremendous upside, but we are in desperate need of a steady point guard. Tonight was just so discouraging because the team did not play as if it were the end of the season. I know it was a peculiar season, but I disagree with discounting the performance because of COVID uncertainties. Everyone had COVID uncertainties. We seemed to be unable to cope. That may be due to youth, but K wanted youth, because he recruited everyone here. The lack of dependable experience is on him. I really don't think he coached 'em up very well.

[tommy]

Even closer than that given other close losses. Strange year. Today was an anomaly - this team is a little luck and bounces away from being in the top 20. Would really like to see the bulk come back next year to show that.

Didn’t feel like an anomaly to me at all. This team came out poorly lots of times this year. Again tonight. Shot poorly many times this year. Again tonight. Careless turnovers all year. Again tonight. Lack of focus and effort defensively many times this year. Again tonight. No floor generalship or distribution from our point guards all year. Again tonight. Inability to finish plays at the rim all year. Again tonight.

We’ve had a few high points where we’ve strung together good stretches and won some games. But playing like this was more of a norm and less of an anomaly when we’re honest with ourselves. Which is why we’re a .500 team in a mediocre ACC.

I see brighter days ahead but the stretches this year of sustained high level play were few and far between.