mph
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Terrible take indeed. There’s a lot of competition for the most reactionary negative post in this thread but BCP has managed to outdo them all.
MBB: Duke 72, KU 75 Post-game Thread
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Stewart played 11 minutes in the E8 game. He had 2 points, 4 boards and had 3 fouls. Didn’t slow DJ at all.
In the ACCT game he only played 5 minutes, so maybe that’s a better example. DJ only scored 10 in that game, though, so it’s not like he was roasting us.
Maybe it’s as simple as: when Stewart was playing well, Coach gave him more minutes. When he wasn’t, he didn’t.
I hate to say this but we are in the same position as Kentucky found themselves in with Cal. Great recruiter but a weak x and o’s coach who will not make game adjustments. It is so disappointing to watch his offense as we dribble way too much and do not set screens. He has yet to design an inbounds play underneath the goal. Great coaches will burn you everytime. He needs help on the bench as we have a very weak group sitting by his side. Other than recruiting they contribute very little.
North van Morgan
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North van Morgan
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Lucas is the recruiter. Have no idea what Carswell does. He needs a voice on his bench to give him direction. But he will be a great coach for Duke. Put the ball in proctor hands until further notice. Cooper doesn't have the game yet.Maybe change it later. As for Jon. Just shoot better.
As a former point guard, I would love to agree with all these "we need a true point guard" hot takes. But these totally ignore the way the game has evolved at all levels, which is to have multiple initiators and creators on offense. The ACC has had a TOTAL of 6 players average more than 5 assists per game over the past 3 seasons.
This Duke team has 5 players capable of initiating and creating - Cooper, Kon, Tyrese, Caleb and Sion. There are usually at least 3 if not 4 of them on the floor at the same time. But we have been not been taking full advantage of that and have instead been running everything through either Cooper or Kon for long stretches, with the other 3 players often standing around waiting for a kick out or dump off. As good as those guys are, this approach makes us more predictable and easier to defend as a result.
To put it differently, I would much rather see Kon’s role be mix of catch and shoot 3s, curling around screens, driving to the rim and creating for others, rather than serving as the de facto PF for long stretches at a time. And I think Cooper would also benefit from playing off the ball more, and better able to exploit smaller or slower defenders off of ball movement rather than after bringing the ball up court.
This Duke team has 5 players capable of initiating and creating - Cooper, Kon, Tyrese, Caleb and Sion. There are usually at least 3 if not 4 of them on the floor at the same time. But we have been not been taking full advantage of that and have instead been running everything through either Cooper or Kon for long stretches, with the other 3 players often standing around waiting for a kick out or dump off. As good as those guys are, this approach makes us more predictable and easier to defend as a result.
To put it differently, I would much rather see Kon’s role be mix of catch and shoot 3s, curling around screens, driving to the rim and creating for others, rather than serving as the de facto PF for long stretches at a time. And I think Cooper would also benefit from playing off the ball more, and better able to exploit smaller or slower defenders off of ball movement rather than after bringing the ball up court.
gillmic
Member
We do seem to like dribbling a lot more than passing. I’m unsure what the intended outcome is on most plays. The two man game with Kon and Coop is promising, but they’re oftentimes getting the defense to switch in a way that the new defender often has the same profile as the original, so dubious advantage achieved by getting the D to switch.
This team is generally young and doesn’t have a true PG. Feels like a terrific opportunity to draw up offense and run it. Maybe they’re already supposed to be doing it and it’s too subtle for me to notice.
While I appreciate the optimistic outlook [from the front page], a bit too rosy on how great this loss is for Duke. Not sure that’s the consensus view now that we are 4-2 and effectively have a weak top 25 schedule this year. There were a lot of mistakes and dumb plays especially at the end that need critical attention and fixes. Yes - we have a huge reliance on freshman but candidly how many great teams in recent times don’t have the same dynamic. I didn’t see really outta ding play from our star freshman and that’s ok but what didn’t happen was any adjustments or leadership from the few seniors to calm them.
We can have constructive criticism from DBR authors and call out some fundamental issues issues and still be optimistic given how early in the season we sit. I just felt like this write up was trying to convince readers how great this loss is for the team and don’t agree that that was the takeaway - we have a lot to get better on quickly.
We can have constructive criticism from DBR authors and call out some fundamental issues issues and still be optimistic given how early in the season we sit. I just felt like this write up was trying to convince readers how great this loss is for the team and don’t agree that that was the takeaway - we have a lot to get better on quickly.
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SkyBrickey
Member
After last night's game, we have the #15 offense in the country starting three freshmen. Yes, it's a work in progress - plenty of room for improvement. Oh, and we have the #2 defense.
So if you're going to troll the board, maybe try a different hot take than our coaching is poor.
We lost by 3 to the #1 team in the country. And if Mason and Kon go 3-13 instead of 1-13, we win.
SkyBrickey
Member
Good analysis. Fully agree. You can also look to the NBA and teams like the Mavericks and Celtics who run their offenses through multiple playmakers and not a single dominant PG.
So what Jon has constructed in trusting multiple guys to attack the rim and make plays is a modern style offense. It is interesting though, that when the game was on the line against KY he went over and over again to Cooper, and against KS he went over and over again to Kon.
Kon was more successful. But I don't know whether he will continue to be our late game playmaker or whether Jon will spread that responsibility around. I agree with everybody on the board that we really do need either Tyrese or Caleb to step up as a strong third playmaker along with Kon and Cooper. Caleb's inability to do this so far has probably been my biggest disappointment in the offense.
First off I am not trolling the board. I love my Blue Devils. Lifelong fan from Kentucky as my son and I travel to Cameron at least once a year for a game.
I was absolutely thrilled when Jon received the job. I do believe he will learn and improve but I feel he needs an experienced voice on the bench to stay in his ear. Jon works hard to prep the team but in my opinion he doesn’t make any adjustments and the assistants should be helping with those details.
It is very easy to coach from the keyboard and I feel guilty for even expressing an opinion but we were a 5 point favorite last night and clearly we have the better team. I could care less how AP has everyone ranked.
I just wish he would experiment with more lineups and more playing time for a couple guys.
likely ... I'm Duke & UConn alum, our Husky boards are melting down, calling for heads ... it's early
sagegrouse
Member
My problem is that we went 3-16 on points scored to start the game.
SkyBrickey
Member
Or maybe Jon is constantly making adjustments -some that work, some that don't - but you don't notice them. Here's a big one that I'm sure you noticed. Instead of Cooper with the ball in his hands at the end, he went with Kon. Big adjustment. Big improvement. Unfortunately, it didn't win us the game.
Here's another one. Sion got 20 min last night while Caleb only got 15 min. Big adjustment.
Here's what you should look for. Both the past two seasons, Jon and the staff focused early in the season on creating a tough defense and a fairly basic offense. Then as the season went along, Jon installed more sets/plays, more sophistication, on offense. He is doing the same thing again this year.
Our offense will improve. It also takes these freshmen a bit to adjust to college ball. We are starting three of them. They will get better. And the best news of all is that we are already the #15 offense in the country. If we aren't a top 10 offense and top 5 defense in March/April, let's revisit this conversation.
#15 offense doesn’t win games against top ranked teams if your offense is so predictable opposing coaches know which direction the players are going to spin. Ask Mark Pope.
You are correct about freshmen needing time to adjust. However Flagg turned it over down the stretch again. Kon 0 for 8 from three point range two possessions 1 turnover and a good look but unfortunate result at the buzzer. Junior leader Proctor having the hottest hand on the court doesn’t touch the ball the last three possessions. That’s a poor coaching move.
We are putting up great numbers against subpar teams but that does not carry over to the teams that are title contenders.
You are correct about freshmen needing time to adjust. However Flagg turned it over down the stretch again. Kon 0 for 8 from three point range two possessions 1 turnover and a good look but unfortunate result at the buzzer. Junior leader Proctor having the hottest hand on the court doesn’t touch the ball the last three possessions. That’s a poor coaching move.
We are putting up great numbers against subpar teams but that does not carry over to the teams that are title contenders.
SkyBrickey
Member
It's easy to put a negative spin on things after a loss. Maybe I missed your breakdown on here after our Arizona victory.
Kansas could have easily been a win for us. Jon's offense got Kon and Mason 13 really good looks from 3. These are two guys who should hit 40%. I wonder how your view of our team would be different if they'd hit 23% and we beat the top team in the country.
My view wouldn't be any different. Because I understand that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. We do have room to improve on offense for sure. And we will.
I do love that Duke gets credit for “fighting back” and “sticking with it” after going down double digits early.
What about the root of the problem? Why were they down so much in the first place?
Reminds me of my friends ex-gf digging herself into CC debt but then giving herself/wanting praise for working her way out of it. Spoiler: much like Duke, it was just a little too much initial damage to make a full recovery.
What about the root of the problem? Why were they down so much in the first place?
Reminds me of my friends ex-gf digging herself into CC debt but then giving herself/wanting praise for working her way out of it. Spoiler: much like Duke, it was just a little too much initial damage to make a full recovery.
Your correct my view is the same. We beat a good but Arizona team but they are not a title contender. They shoot 27% from three and rely on Caleb Love that is not a good combination.
We could have won the Kansas and Kentucky game with better decision making down the stretch but we didn't. The talent is there but we need to execute. Another disappointment like the NC State disaster last year is unacceptable.