Duke 72, Kentucky 77 Post Game Thread

Maybe he’s not there in practice but I’d love to see Isaiah Evans get an opportunity. If you haven’t seen his HS highlights he was clutch as hell and hit big shots at the biggest moments.

I think if the coaching staff gives him a shot he will show up. I hope he gets a chance in the warm up to ACC play.
 
Two reminders for those critical of the coaching staff:
1) it’s tough to make in-game adjustments with a young team. Although UK’s guys haven’t played together they have played many years of high level D1 basketball, so when Pope wanted to adjust coverages his guys understood what to do. Duke players don’t yet have the experience to counter other teams’ adjustments, but it will come in time.

2) one of Coach K’s hallmarks was to always have his team ready from the first day of the season, sometimes even peaking before the turn of the calendar year. It’s a small sample size but Scheyer’s teams to date have started with mixed performance early but grown a lot across the course of the season. There is a lot of season left and Duke is a long way from what it will be by season’s end.
 
azzefkram said:
Or even after 15 or so apparently.

Evans and Harris have looked a bit overmatched against Maine and Army, so I had zero expectations that they would see time in a close game.
Click to expand...
They did? You came to that conclusion in their combined 20 something minutes between both games? Lol

How many players tonight looked overmatched against better competition?
 
WHOneedsSOX said:
I think it was Cook and Jones in 2015 after the championship where Cook was jumping around with Jones saying, "Guards win championships!" It's still very early in the season obviously so not going to judge but hoping Proctor and Foster have and will take big steps forward. Duke won't win the national championship nor will they make the final 4 without great guard play.

Someone to settle things down and call a great play when the momentum has shifted. Running a pick and roll getting someone or yourself a good shot. Proctor especially as a junior should be able to do these things.
Click to expand...
I have suggested as much in other threads. Not confident in the "Foster as point guard" experiment. I get that it is addition by subtraction with Tyrese... take away ball handling duties to free him up for a 3-and-D role, but Tyrese is a more well rounded player than that, IMO.
 
The best Duke teams lead with their guards: Hurley, Williams, Duhon, Smith, Scheyer, Jones, and Irving.

We have very talented players at the position and several good transfers. Today wasn’t a great shooting day and there was an injury. I hope our offense starts through them going forward. They can make it easy on everyone else.
 
UrinalCake said:
This may be an unpopular opinion but I haven't been very impressed with Evans in the exhibition/early games and have no problem with him not playing tonight. Same with Harris. Kon had a rough shooting night but you can't just take a shooter out of the game after he misses his first couple shots.
Click to expand...
Was Kon ready to play 37 minutes in an intense, physical game, particularly when his shots weren't falling?

The November rotation may change considerably by February, but the heavy minutes for Kon in this one didn't work.
 
Dukehk said:
What I refuse to believe is that a guy highly ranked/rated like Evans could be a DNP in a game which our other starting freshman went 5-20 and committed numerous defensive lapses. You can't be THAT far behind not to even step on the court.

Thats an issue with the rotation.
Click to expand...
If you want to name one guy in our top 10 who’d be likely to be “knocked back” in a game this physical early in his career, it would be Evans.
 
rsvman said:
You know who could have really helped us tonight? Jared McCain.
Click to expand...
Yeah, so could Jalen Johnson. He'd be a 5th year COVID senior. He's currently tearing it up for the Hawks in the very building that we played in tonight.

But I don't really see how it's helpful to pine for guys who have gone pro. That's total late-90s fanspeak.
 
I feel if you're going to be a Duke player, you have to be ready to bring your A game every night. You have to love the pressure and excel in it. You have to want to be hated... that brings out the best in you. Over the last few years I think the recruiting has favored raw talent over all, but it's other intangibles that made Duke a championship program that our recruiting has been overlooking. I remember last year Jay Williams was losing his mind over our defense in one of those games when they cut to him during a timeout and during half-time. You need that seriousness and competitiveness especially as a Duke guard. I think Proctor had 1 FG attempt up until the 5 min mark in the 2nd half. That's insane passive from a junior. Foster and Proctor, the ball in Cooper hands instead of yours? Hell no man
 
We lack depth at the center position. Khaman makes scoring against us in the paint difficult but we are limited when he goes out, especially against teams who can put a number of rugged bigs on the floor. Once Khaman had to leave the game with cramps we were vulnerable inside. Patrick would probably be the best answer to fill the void, but his availability is uncertain.

The expectations for our offensive game is that we had numerous good shooters from outside, yet that wasn't evident tonight. Proctor had a nice first half but neither Foster or Proctor helped the offense in the second half. Kentucky could concentrate on Flagg and KIneppel and limit our scoring. Was it 26 in the second half?

Scheyer's approach to the end of game was to give the ball to Flagg and ask him to win the game for us. Three turnovers resulted since Flagg tried to go one on 2 or 3 and while he is great, he stillo can be defended. Why not pass the ball since others we more open? I hate to think it was because no one else seemed to be able to hit a shot.

Any dream of an undefeated season is now gone and Scheyer is going to have to have the team do a reality check. Arizona away and Kansas at a neutral site are coming up soon.
 
Mak P said:
They did? You came to that conclusion in their combined 20 something minutes between both games? Lol

How many players tonight looked overmatched against better competition?
Click to expand...
Combined 20 odd minutes versus Maine and Army. It wasn't a tough conclusion to reach.

As for tonight, some of the players struggled but did not look overmatched.
 
pkw said:
Maybe he’s not there in practice but I’d love to see Isaiah Evans get an opportunity. If you haven’t seen his HS highlights he was clutch as hell and hit big shots at the biggest moments.

I think if the coaching staff gives him a shot he will show up. I hope he gets a chance in the warm up to ACC play.
Click to expand...
I’m guessing Scheyer is aware of his HS highlights.
 
pkw said:
Maybe he’s not there in practice but I’d love to see Isaiah Evans get an opportunity. If you haven’t seen his HS highlights he was clutch as hell and hit big shots at the biggest moments.

I think if the coaching staff gives him a shot he will show up. I hope he gets a chance in the warm up to ACC play.
Click to expand...
Kentucky did massive rotation in the game. They are older guys but I think Evans and Harris conceivably have got quick blows. I just hope James isn’t out for long.Big learning experience. I bet Duke doesn’t shoot this poorly ever again. Now we know Ngongba needs to be available hopefully soon or at least by December. Post game interview should be interesting. I guess they will post later today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top