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

NYBri said:
Broken .mp3 doesn’t have the same ring. Or corrupted .mp3 is more accurate, but the metaphor falls apart.
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How about "Cloudstruck stream?" Though it's more of a SNAFU than a broken record.


You know, them more I think about it the more I like "Cloudstruck." :)
 
It's a little late, but if anyone wants to watch the Boozers and their Oakland Soliders squad battle AJ Dybantsa and his squad for the Peach Jam title, the second half is going to begin on NBA TV in a few minutes....AJ's squad is up 14 at half.
 
Billy Dat said:
It's a little late, but if anyone wants to watch the Boozers and their Oakland Soliders squad battle AJ Dybantsa and his squad for the Peach Jam title, the second half is going to begin on NBA TV in a few minutes....AJ's squad is up 14 at half.
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I had this wrong, the Boozers were up 14 at half, and they held on to win. There is discussion in the recruiting thread.
 
DukieTiger said:
Bart Torvik updated his preseason projections and Duke’s solidly in his top tier (of two teams). Knowing that projections like this are the very definition of inexact… I still have to say - the projections he has for Flagg are rather eye-popping.

www.barttorvik.com

T-Page for Duke - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank

T-Rank College Basketball Ratings and Rankings. And fun.
www.barttorvik.com
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If I am reading correctly, he has only 3 games that Duke is under 60% win probability, and none under 50%.

Arizona: 51%
Kansas: 56%
Miami away 59%

That team projection is also eye popping.
 
DukieTiger said:
Bart Torvik updated his preseason projections and Duke’s solidly in his top tier (of two teams). Knowing that projections like this are the very definition of inexact… I still have to say - the projections he has for Flagg are rather eye-popping.

www.barttorvik.com

T-Page for Duke - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank

T-Rank College Basketball Ratings and Rankings. And fun.
www.barttorvik.com
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I like that he’s projecting Khaman Maluach to have the 2nd highest usage rate after Cooper, and averaging nearly 12 points per game. That seemed to be an unpopular prediction around here. I do hope Khaman gets consistent touches on offense. If he is scoring efficiently, that’s a very good sign for this team’s offensive potential.

I think him predicting a record of 22-6 is actually pretty fair. This is a tough schedule.
 
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kAzE said:
I like that he’s projecting Khaman Maluach to have the 2nd highest usage rate after Cooper, and averaging nearly 12 points per game. That seemed to be an unpopular prediction around here. I do hope Khaman gets consistent touches on offense. If he is scoring efficiently, that’s a very good sign for this team’s offensive potential.

I think him predicting a record of 22-6 is actually pretty fair. This is a tough schedule.
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While that’s a bit much, I think it may be closer to reality than we think. The more I watch Khaman the more I think the Lively comparisons are a bit artificial on our end. Khaman may be the rare case of a young big whose offense is ahead of his defense. If he can hit perimeter shots at a 33%+ clip as our 5 man, with the way our team is constructed it’s going to be hard to keep him off the floor.
 
scottdude8 said:
While that’s a bit much, I think it may be closer to reality than we think. The more I watch Khaman the more I think the Lively comparisons are a bit artificial on our end. Khaman may be the rare case of a young big whose offense is ahead of his defense. If he can hit perimeter shots at a 33%+ clip as our 5 man, with the way our team is constructed it’s going to be hard to keep him off the floor.
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If the coaching staff can convince Maluach that he doesn't really need to leave his feet to affect shots, his ability to stay on the floor goes way up. If Pat N. is capable of playing some defense, then Duke might actually have some useful depth at the C position (3 guys).
I usually don't get very motivated by recruitnig hype about how awesome a recruit's 3pt shooting is until they're actually doing it in games, but as mentioned above, KM hit an international (not quite but almost NBA) 3 against NBA players, and hit another long jumper that probably would have been a college 3, against NBA players. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he can hit those shots while at Duke.
His experience at the Olympics will only make him better!
 
DukieInBrasil said:
If the coaching staff can convince Maluach that he doesn't really need to leave his feet to affect shots, his ability to stay on the floor goes way up. If Pat N. is capable of playing some defense, then Duke might actually have some useful depth at the C position (3 guys).
I usually don't get very motivated by recruitnig hype about how awesome a recruit's 3pt shooting is until they're actually doing it in games, but as mentioned above, KM hit an international (not quite but almost NBA) 3 against NBA players, and hit another long jumper that probably would have been a college 3, against NBA players. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he can hit those shots while at Duke.
His experience at the Olympics will only make him better!
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I agree. I would also like him to stop trying to poke the ball away on the perimeter. Just be huge.
 
DukieInBrasil said:
If the coaching staff can convince Maluach that he doesn't really need to leave his feet to affect shots, his ability to stay on the floor goes way up.
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☝️this right here. Once Mark Williams figured this out toward the end of his freshman year, he became an invaluable defender. In the case of MW, it was a matter of him being more selective about when he left his feet, not falling for shot fakes, etc.
 
gillmic said:
☝️this right here. Once Mark Williams figured this out toward the end of his freshman year, he became an invaluable defender. In the case of MW, it was a matter of him being more selective about when he left his feet, not falling for shot fakes, etc.
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Exactly. Lively went through this too. And not swiping down on the ball. Maluach keeps doing that, and Lively did it early last year.

I'm hoping the coaches and the silly foul calls will convince Maluach to change his approach. When he does, he'll be an excellent defender.
 
MChambers said:
Exactly. Lively went through this too. And not swiping down on the ball. Maluach keeps doing that, and Lively did it early last year.

I'm hoping the coaches and the silly foul calls will convince Maluach to change his approach. When he does, he'll be an excellent defender.
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Did anybody watch enough of the game to be able to judge how he moves in space and how quickly he reacts with help defense in the lane?

Since he's got the length and, I believe, enough size and strength, these two things will determine his ceiling as a defender this year and beyond. All the other techniques - don't leave your feet, arms high, don't swipe, etc - can be taught.

One thing that's struck me about his game is that he seems to have a very high motor - seems to enjoy sprinting up and down the court. Very unusual for a young big man. I don't think fitness or fatigue will limit his minutes in any way.
 
SkyBrickey said:
Did anybody watch enough of the game to be able to judge how he moves in space and how quickly he reacts with help defense in the lane?

Since he's got the length and, I believe, enough size and strength, these two things will determine his ceiling as a defender this year and beyond. All the other techniques - don't leave your feet, arms high, don't swipe, etc - can be taught.

One thing that's struck me about his game is that he seems to have a very high motor - seems to enjoy sprinting up and down the court. Very unusual for a young big man. I don't think fitness or fatigue will limit his minutes in any way.
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Moving in space seemed solid. He was switched on to Curry and Tatum at least once, and didn't get burned. Not sure he knows where to be on help defense (or on rebounding, for that matter).

His challenge looks to be fouls rather than fatigue.
 
DukieInBrasil said:
If the coaching staff can convince Maluach that he doesn't really need to leave his feet to affect shots, his ability to stay on the floor goes way up. If Pat N. is capable of playing some defense, then Duke might actually have some useful depth at the C position (3 guys).
I usually don't get very motivated by recruitnig hype about how awesome a recruit's 3pt shooting is until they're actually doing it in games, but as mentioned above, KM hit an international (not quite but almost NBA) 3 against NBA players, and hit another long jumper that probably would have been a college 3, against NBA players. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he can hit those shots while at Duke.
His experience at the Olympics will only make him better!
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Anthony Davis closed out on that corner three, and the long two was pretty well contested by Joel Embiid. Safe to say that is also a level of defense Khaman won't be dealing with in ACC play.

Khaman is going to need game reps to continue improving, so avoiding Sean Stewart syndrome so he can stay in the game will be key.
 
dlmzzz said:
Moving in space seemed solid. He was switched on to Curry and Tatum at least once, and didn't get burned. Not sure he knows where to be on help defense (or on rebounding, for that matter).

His challenge looks to be fouls rather than fatigue.
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That seems right to me. I agree with others who've posted that his offense looks to be well ahead of that of either Williams or Lively at this point. I am particularly impressed with the form and (relatively) quick, high release on his jump shots - very advanced for a young big man IMHO.
 
gillmic said:
☝️this right here. Once Mark Williams figured this out toward the end of his freshman year, he became an invaluable defender. In the case of MW, it was a matter of him being more selective about when he left his feet, not falling for shot fakes, etc.
Click to expand...
From what I've read, Maluach has limited vertical. His reach is what's impressive and if can defend on switches close to what Lively did, he can become a good college defender.

GoDuke!
 
In addition to what y'all have seen and said, I am impressed by his apparent confidence. He was playing against some pretty good players :) and it didn't seem to faze him. He appeared smooth and relaxed. Playing against D1 players shouldn't faze him at all!
 
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