2024-2025 Men’s Basketball Season: General Offseason Discussion

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Are you viewing Gillis as a 3 man? I have Gillis as a 4 man for about 22 min/GM which is what Painter played him the last 2 yrs. I think Cooper is a 22-25 min/GM at the 3 and 5-6 min the 4. I believe there is 15+ or so minutes available at 2 and 3 spots. I don't think Kon and Evans are competing with Gillis but obviously are competing at the 3 for minutes. Somebody is gonna half to spell Tyrese and I believe that is Foster so I think Kon and Sion are fighting for the 2 spot but I wouldn't rule out Kon being that 3rd ball handler.
I'm not sure we see it all that different. Call it a PG, a Center, and three Wings.

Cooper is a long-armed 6-9. Gillis is 6-6. So I think Cooper will often be guarding the opposing 4.

If Cooper plays 30 mpg, then that leaves 90 mpg at the Wing.

I think Maliq will play at least 15mpg at Center but may also get 10mpg on the Wing.

I think Caleb will play 10mpg backing up Proctor at PG but will also get 15mpg on the Wing.

If true, that leaves 65mpg at the Wing divided among James, Gillis, Evans, K2. That's where I think the real competition for minutes will be this season.

Purely my guess for competitive games is James 25mpg, K2 25 mpg and Gillis 15mpg. That could be way off. Maybe Evans will earn minutes away from James or Gillis. But I'm betting K2 starts and gets his 25mpg.

Just one man's opinion watching the roster take shape...
 
I'm not sure we see it all that different. Call it a PG, a Center, and three Wings.

Cooper is a long-armed 6-9. Gillis is 6-6. So I think Cooper will often be guarding the opposing 4.

If Cooper plays 30 mpg, then that leaves 90 mpg at the Wing.

I think Maliq will play at least 15mpg at Center but may also get 10mpg on the Wing.

I think Caleb will play 10mpg backing up Proctor at PG but will also get 15mpg on the Wing.

If true, that leaves 65mpg at the Wing divided among James, Gillis, Evans, K2. That's where I think the real competition for minutes will be this season.

Purely my guess for competitive games is James 25mpg, K2 25 mpg and Gillis 15mpg. That could be way off. Maybe Evans will earn minutes away from James or Gillis. But I'm betting K2 starts and gets his 25mpg.

Just one man's opinion watching the roster take shape...
I like the way you did your projections using positions. I believe you have Cooper as one of the wings or do you have him at the PF? A while back some posters thought K2 might back up Tyrese at the point, but you have Caleb doing that. I see Caleb getting competition from James and K2 for the 2 guard. As for Maliq, I think he's going to get more than 15 minutes at the center position at the beginning of the season. I just don't think Malauch is ready for major minutes yet. I hope by the end of the season, he's one of the best in the country, but time will tell.
On the subject of who guards RJ when Duke plays the Cheat, that should be Tyrese as he gave RJ fits last year. Proctor may be our best defender.
 
I like the way you did your projections using positions. I believe you have Cooper as one of the wings or do you have him at the PF? A while back some posters thought K2 might back up Tyrese at the point, but you have Caleb doing that. I see Caleb getting competition from James and K2 for the 2 guard. As for Maliq, I think he's going to get more than 15 minutes at the center position at the beginning of the season. I just don't think Malauch is ready for major minutes yet. I hope by the end of the season, he's one of the best in the country, but time will tell.
On the subject of who guards RJ when Duke plays the Cheat, that should be Tyrese as he gave RJ fits last year. Proctor may be our best defender.
Sky clearly laid out his concept as a PG, a C, and 3 wings. So, in their projection, there is no PF.
Per the 2 second video posted earlier, K2 will clearly be guarding RJ, forcing him into air-balled 3pt shot after air-balled 3pt shot. K2 will be our best perimeter defender :cool:
 
Broken record here. (That metaphor has been out-of'-date for 40+ years, but -- hey -- vinyl is now popular again.)

The transfers are less talented than our recruits. Sion was 2nd scorer on a Tulane team that was 5-13 in the American Conf; Gillis is a defensive specialist; Maliq started part year and is also more of a D specialist. Maluach, Knueppel, Evans, and Flagg are mentioned on draft boards.

So, 20 mins for Gillis on FF Purdue doesn't mean 20 mins on 2025 Duke.

I wouldn't be surprised to see these starters: Tyrese, Caleb, Kon or Isaiah, Cooper and Maluach.

I also expect the three xfers to get about 15 mins per game.
 
Sky clearly laid out his concept as a PG, a C, and 3 wings. So, in their projection, there is no PF.
Per the 2 second video posted earlier, K2 will clearly be guarding RJ, forcing him into air-balled 3pt shot after air-balled 3pt shot. K2 will be our best perimeter defender :cool:
You're with Sky on the K2 train then? :cool: I hope he's as good as you two think he's going to be. I'm excited to see all our new players. With K2 getting lots of love here, wouldn't it be a surprise if Evans has the best year of all our new players? Oh, Sky had Cooper guarding the PF. I guess he was listing the players positions for offense.

GoDuke!
 
Broken record here. (That metaphor has been out-of'-date for 40+ years, but -- hey -- vinyl is now popular again.)

The transfers are less talented than our recruits. Sion was 2nd scorer on a Tulane team that was 5-13 in the American Conf; Gillis is a defensive specialist; Maliq started part year and is also more of a D specialist. Maluach, Knueppel, Evans, and Flagg are mentioned on draft boards.

So, 20 mins for Gillis on FF Purdue doesn't mean 20 mins on 2025 Duke.

I wouldn't be surprised to see these starters: Tyrese, Caleb, Kon or Isaiah, Cooper and Maluach.

I also expect the three xfers to get about 15 mins per game.
So Gillis played 20 mpg for a team that was much better than Duke was last year, has the experience of going beyond the E8, and has actually played against college players. But that in no way equates to being good enough to play as many or more minutes on this team. Brown was defensive POY in the ACC last year and hyper-efficient scoring around the rim. Yet draft-board predictions, from before these kids have even played a game mind you, consigns the, again, defenisve POY to a minor role. Got it.
You're with Sky on the K2 train then? :cool: I hope he's as good as you two think he's going to be. I'm excited to see all our new players. With K2 getting lots of love here, wouldn't it be a surprise if Evans has the best year of all our new players? Oh, Sky had Cooper guarding the PF. I guess he was listing the players positions for offense.

GoDuke!
not at all. i was hoping that the reference to the 2 second video would indicate that my tongue was planted firmly in cheek. I hope K2 has a great year and exceeds my expectations, but i do not jump on Fr. hype trains before i've seen them play in a game.
 
So Gillis played 20 mpg for a team that was much better than Duke was last year, has the experience of going beyond the E8, and has actually played against college players. But that in no way equates to being good enough to play as many or more minutes on this team. Brown was defensive POY in the ACC last year and hyper-efficient scoring around the rim. Yet draft-board predictions, from before these kids have even played a game mind you, consigns the, again, defenisve POY to a minor role. Got it.

not at all. i was hoping that the reference to the 2 second video would indicate that my tongue was planted firmly in cheek. I hope K2 has a great year and exceeds my expectations, but i do not jump on Fr. hype trains before i've seen them play in a game.
Reece Beekman was defensive POY. Brown was tied for 3rd in the voting with Bacot. But I agree with your larger point about the transfers.
 
not at all. i was hoping that the reference to the 2 second video would indicate that my tongue was planted firmly in cheek. I hope K2 has a great year and exceeds my expectations, but i do not jump on Fr. hype trains before i've seen them play in a game.

Nobody actually said he is an excellent defender though? You’ve already made 3 posts about it like someone said he was going to be DPOY or something.

I do think he’s better defensively than you probably think he is though.
 
Nobody actually said he is an excellent defender though? You’ve already made 3 posts about it like someone said he was going to be DPOY or something.

I do think he’s better defensively than you probably think he is though.
I haven't heard anyone say that K2 is an excellent defender. I've heard a couple of people say they think he will be better than average. On the podcast, Chepkevich said something similar to, "I don't think he'll get torched in iso". Notably, though, he didn't say why he thought that. All the footage I've seen (which admittedly isn't a lot) is either against lower-level competition or shows him getting torched, most of it in isolation sets.

All reports, though, are that he is a fantastic offensive player, and that his strengths on that end might outweigh any defensive shortcomings.

We'll see. I'm encouraged and skeptical at the same time.
 
Broken record here. (That metaphor has been out-of'-date for 40+ years, but -- hey -- vinyl is now popular again.)

The transfers are less talented than our recruits. Sion was 2nd scorer on a Tulane team that was 5-13 in the American Conf; Gillis is a defensive specialist; Maliq started part year and is also more of a D specialist. Maluach, Knueppel, Evans, and Flagg are mentioned on draft boards.

So, 20 mins for Gillis on FF Purdue doesn't mean 20 mins on 2025 Duke.

I wouldn't be surprised to see these starters: Tyrese, Caleb, Kon or Isaiah, Cooper and Maluach.

I also expect the three xfers to get about 15 mins per game.
Sage, I largely agree with you when it comes to James and Gillis versus K2 and Evans. And I'm with you on the starting 5! Could be a scenario where Evans is behind Gillis in the rotation early in the year but moves ahead of him late in the year - pure speculation...

I think Brown is a bit different. There aren't any freshmen on the team that can do what he does. So I expect him to play ~25mpg all season. And it was interesting seeing Vecenie say he might start ahead of Maluach at the beginning of the season. A couple of other posters and I have floated the same idea.
 
You're with Sky on the K2 train then? :cool: I hope he's as good as you two think he's going to be. I'm excited to see all our new players. With K2 getting lots of love here, wouldn't it be a surprise if Evans has the best year of all our new players? Oh, Sky had Cooper guarding the PF. I guess he was listing the players positions for offense.

GoDuke!
The two Duke players that remind me the most of Cooper on defense are the 6-8 Grant Hill and the 6-9 Shane Battier.

Both were thin/sleight but super athletic and elite defenders.

Both were often/usually the second tallest guy on the court and both defended ACC 4s. And this was back in the time when more teams were running two-big type lineups.

So could the 6-6 Mason Gillis matchup better on some ACC 4s than Cooper? I mean, maybe? But I don't know why you'd plan for that. I definitely don't think James or K2 or Evans would be better at guarding the 4 than Cooper.

And these guys will be switching out on ball screens anyway, so it's a big luxury that a lot of these guys can guard 1-4.
 
All the debate over whether Cooper is a 3 or a 4 is silly IMO. What I think will happen is that Scheyer will have Cooper defend the wing on the other team who we are least worried about hitting perimeter shots, regardless of position. This allows him to sag off and play the back line to help on any drive to the paint. Cooper has several “superpowers”, but his shot blocking/rim protection is definitely the best of them.

That’s what I think the default deployment for Cooper will be. But there could also be situations where it’s a tight game in the last 5 minutes and the other team has only 1 good shot creator, and you just throw Cooper on the ball.

He’s a true “queen on the chessboard” player, especially on defense. So labeling him with a position doesn’t work.
 
K2 is competing for a starting spot with Gillis and Evans (recognizing James is likely playing starters minutes, 25mpg, sharing the 2 with Foster).

Once you accept this, his path to playing time becomes clear. 😎
SkyB, SkyB, SkyB. You really are the Simone Biles of mental gymnastics. ;)

Let's go with your wacky, nutty, goofy PG, 3 Wings, and a Baby. Oops I mean Big. (Selleck, Danson, and Guttenberg may be available).

I hope everyone is sitting down because I'm going to do some math.

Let's start with the Big first. To humor you, I am going to assume that Jon gets kicked in the head by the family mule over the summer and decides to relegate Duke's second best defender (Maliq) to a backup role. All ACC defender Maliq played 30 mpg last year. Let's leave him at that number. He will not start at the Big. That is covered by Khaman, Let's be really conservative and say that Khaman will only play 20 mpg. Maliq covers the other 20 and Pat fills the role as future transfer. Maliq needs 10 more mpg so your 120 mpg for 3 Wings just became 110.

PG is covered by Tyrese and Caleb, but they played 55 mpg last season so one of them is going to play in your 3 Wing group (unless either has a massive growth spurt over the summer then maybe Big). Both did not stay for the same role so let's conservatively bump them to 60 mpg. We have 2 players who expect to play 60 mpg but PG only has 40 mpg available. Breaking out the ol'calculator I calculate that 60-40=20. Where, o' where will that 20 go. I know, that 110 mpg for the 3 Wings will become 90 mpg.

So, we are on to the infamous 3 Wing group and left with 90 mpg. Cooper will be the best player on the team and will command at least 30 mpg. We are now down to 60 mpg. The reigning B10 Sixth Man of the Year never player less than 20 mpg on a team that finished 20, 10, 3, and 2 during his 4 years. I think we can confidently say that he will be better at college basketball than any freshman not named Cooper, but for arguments sake let's leave his minutes at 20. We are down to 40 mpg.

So we have 40 mpg for Sion, Kon, Evans, and Darren. Sion never played less than 26 mpg at the D1 level which is better than anything Kon, Evans and Darren faced. Sion is going to be significant competition for Kon, Evans and Darren for the remaining 40 mpg.

Long story short, there will be far, far, far more competition for minutes than any freshman group has faced at Duke in a long time.
 
All the debate over whether Cooper is a 3 or a 4 is silly IMO. What I think will happen is that Scheyer will have Cooper defend the wing on the other team who we are least worried about hitting perimeter shots, regardless of position. This allows him to sag off and play the back line to help on any drive to the paint. Cooper has several “superpowers”, but his shot blocking/rim protection is definitely the best of them.

That’s what I think the default deployment for Cooper will be. But there could also be situations where it’s a tight game in the last 5 minutes and the other team has only 1 good shot creator, and you just throw Cooper on the ball.

He’s a true “queen on the chessboard” player, especially on defense. So labeling him with a position doesn’t work.
I agree with this. A lot of times it will be the opponent's 4 but not always. I think pretty far up thread I mentioned Alabama putting the 6-10 Grant Nelson on UNC's 19%-from-3 PG Cadeau, allowing Nelson to play centerfield sagging into the lane. I think Jon will look for opportunities to give him a lot of freedom on defense like we used to see with Battier.
 
The two Duke players that remind me the most of Cooper on defense are the 6-8 Grant Hill and the 6-9 Shane Battier.

Both were thin/sleight but super athletic and elite defenders.

Both were often/usually the second tallest guy on the court and both defended ACC 4s. And this was back in the time when more teams were running two-big type lineups.

So could the 6-6 Mason Gillis matchup better on some ACC 4s than Cooper? I mean, maybe? But I don't know why you'd plan for that. I definitely don't think James or K2 or Evans would be better at guarding the 4 than Cooper.

And these guys will be switching out on ball screens anyway, so it's a big luxury that a lot of these guys can guard 1-4.
Grant and Shane had 20 and 15 lbs on Cooper. Both were older than Cooper when entering Duke.
 
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