K can say we are not that good all he wants but I don’t think he has done much coaching after December. Zero adjustments and his end of game stuff he draws up is just a ball screen. I am sure I will catch hell for saying that but oh well.
***DUKE VS WAKE FOREST OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***
- Thread starter krzyzewskiville
- Start date
You probably will cause there are some here that thinks he can do no wrong...and he can snap his fingers and all problems go away
How last years offense wasn't made to play through Zion I'll never, ever understand.
It will be from those same people that called me a dumb bird for saying this team will be a 3 or 4 seed in March. I have been a Duke fan for 35 years, probably like everyone else on this board but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade.
So what are the chances of Duke playing in Greensboro if they’re a 4 seed? Love those guys but wouldn’t be too sad if they sent them elsewhere and there wasn’t no Duke or UNC in GBoro
not sure but if they don’t play in Gboro, fans that just love college hoops will be able to get some good tickets to go and check out some good games. What’s sad is if Duke misses the opportunity to play in Greensboro, they will miss out on actually having home court advantage through the first weekend. Usually when they play local so does the Holes and their fans show up in mass to cheer for whoever is playing Duke. But I will bet my house that the Holes will not be playing in Greensboro this year..LOL
Oh well I have to find a way to get some sleep. My wife’s boss gave me his tickets tonight basically right on the court, so I seen that crap up close and personal and I have been wound up since. Sux
I’ve seen so many people say that we’re not good which I disagree with because I think we’re a good team and at times a really good team. If we weren’t a good team then we would have a lot a lot more losses than we do here near the end of February like that team 8 miles down the road from us. Regardless of what happens the rest of the season for us, we’re going to end the season with fewer losses than UNC will have wins at the end of their season. We’ve had winning streaks of 6 games, 9 games and 7 games this season and I honestly believe we’ll go on another winning streak before the season ends. It might start during the regular season, it might start with the ACC Tournament or it might start in the NCAA Tournament. For me the most frustrating thing has been the careless mistakes whether it be unforced turnovers or bad shot selection. I don’t think those things are due to us not being good. I think it has more to do with mental lapses at times. In each of our 5 losses this season we’ve struggled in at least 2 out of 3 statistical categories and in some of those losses we struggled in all 3 of those statistical categories. Those categories are free throw shooting, 3 point shooting and turnovers. If we avoid struggling in 2 or 3 of those categories then we win. Tonight we struggled with 3 point shooting and turnovers. Tonight we shot 6-33 from 3 point range (26%) and had 16 turnovers. IMO two things that hurt us tonight were 1)) Carey fouling out with 3-4 minutes left in regulation and 2) when Tre picked up his 3rd and 4th fouls I think he started playing a little timid on defense to avoid picking up his 5th foul.
Convinced the staff is throwing these games. There's no excuse for not adjusting the defense. We're pressuring 30 ft out like they aren't in the TRIPLE bonus smh
Ok, I broke and read pages 11-13.
Sweet Jesus, calm down folks! There is no superpower this year. Could Duke lose the first weekend? Yeah. Could Duke make the final four? Yeah.
FFS, the Final Four could consist of Dayton, SDSU, Gonzaga, and a token B10 team with any of the non-B10 team winning it all. This is not the year to throw in the towel in late February.
March is the best month of the year for a reason.
R.E.L.A.X. RELAX.
it could be worse. You could be a UNCheat fan.
Sweet Jesus, calm down folks! There is no superpower this year. Could Duke lose the first weekend? Yeah. Could Duke make the final four? Yeah.
FFS, the Final Four could consist of Dayton, SDSU, Gonzaga, and a token B10 team with any of the non-B10 team winning it all. This is not the year to throw in the towel in late February.
March is the best month of the year for a reason.
R.E.L.A.X. RELAX.
it could be worse. You could be a UNCheat fan.
Well that's more coaching than anything. We don't change much as the year progresses. Other teams catch on to our schemes. We may change for a game or so but not real change to what we do. We lost with Zion. Even Calipari won with AD. That was not on the players. The staff must make some changes and an emotional leader needs to emerge
We gave up 113 points to wake, probably shouldn’t worry about unc atm
I did not get to see the game,needless to say,I was a little shocked when I checked the box score this morning.I knew when I check the game thread it would be 14 pages or more(its usually only 6 or 7 when we win).There are not a lot of positive things to say about this team right now,they need to realize that they are everybody's Super Bowl,weather it's 92 Duke or 95 Duke,every team we play,this is the big one for them.Our kids need to look at the name on the front of the Jersey and realize every game will be a dog fight.Do this and I think we will be ok.
I'm with you on all this. Coach K called a pretty good game, but I just don't get why our guys didn't swarm Childress in OT. Childress was clearly going t take every shot. Tre did OK on him I guess, but then the screener's mark never switched on with any urgency. And then when the screener's mark did switch, he kept his hands down which made the lob pass to the roll man so easy. Pathetic defense cost us there at the end. We did the hard work of getting the lead, and then played crap D down the stretch with Vernon sitting. Robinson was out of control. Hurt plays too vertically. Moore was in la la land half the time. The rotations were just slow or not there.
You can’t help but wonder if the OADs start thinking about draft status and not seeding in the tournament this time of year. I know we all want to believe that these kids think about Duke university and that’s it, but put yourself in their shoes and you can see where draft predictions override the big dance and personal accomplishments become more important
There months away from being millionaires, could probably care less. Every now and then you see a OAD care, ex RJ, Zion loved duke and wanted a chip.
When NCAA coaches make $5-9 million per year you certainly cannot blame players for being selfish.
Who can we make that argument for on this team? I haven't seen Vern or Tre seem like they don't care. Moore or Hurt are not going to be millionaires in next year's draft. Moore tries, maybe a little too hard at times but he gives effort when he's on the court. Stanley? Seems to get missing towards the end of games. Still don't think he doesn't care. No one on this team strikes me as someone just waiting for a paycheck.
This team is not the same team they were before Moore's injury. Much like last year, after Zion's injury, they did not play as well as before his injury. Just an observation, but there are absolutely no alpha dogs on this team. Someone (or two) to get things going. It will be interesting how they respond, since this is not how you want to be playing at this time of the year.
Agree with the alpha dog comment - we dont seem to have a chip on our shoulder to get up to play with intensity from the beginning. They know they get everyone's best shot so should be ready to show why they have the name Duke on their jersey....yet we are semi-passive to open games and at times when teams make a run on us. We need that "battier" mentality from someone...but its not clear where that would come from on this roster
I’m traveling in from west palm to the acc tournament - was soooo excited when things were going well - now I’m not so sure it will be a pleasant trip lol
Trying to make heads or tails of where we will land in the tourney seeding-wise.
if we lose to UVA and finish 4th we likely play ND 2:30pm on Thursday BUT UVA still has to play Louisville at home so they could lose that so we could lose to UVA and still finish 3rd, provided we don’t lose to the holes or NC state.
Finish 3rd and we likely play Thursday night at 9pm vs Syracuse.
I think lol
Trying to make heads or tails of where we will land in the tourney seeding-wise.
if we lose to UVA and finish 4th we likely play ND 2:30pm on Thursday BUT UVA still has to play Louisville at home so they could lose that so we could lose to UVA and still finish 3rd, provided we don’t lose to the holes or NC state.
Finish 3rd and we likely play Thursday night at 9pm vs Syracuse.
I think lol
Why are there so many posters who become active when we lose? It always seems there are one or two when we win don't have a lot to say but when we lose they know exactley what the problem is. What motivates people like that? I know it sudden really bother me but it does. What are they like in real life away from the board? Sometimes I question if they are Duke fans. It's like they may be a troll and mess with us. I'm trying so hard to ignore them. Am I the only one here that those posters bother? OFC
There just isn't one on the team. No fault of their own. I loved Battier, but he was not an alpha as a freshman or sophomore. Except for a few freshman, it's a learned skill through maturing as a player and by being around older players who you learn it from.
Duke is expected to win so comments are not plentiful after victories. Last two losses were brutal so understand why fans surface.
Personally I have been quiet most of season bc didn’t think we were as good as the record. Plus March is what defines the season and last few March’s have seen very tough endings.
Also, college sports has openly become a money making machine so fans expect results. Can’t charge pro prices and expect no criticism. I truly believe money plays a part in the negativity.
Just wait until we're 11-17, Sky. We're 23-5 and have lost a couple of games to teams that have notoriously played us well at their houses. We're not playing as well as we're capable, but we're still not chopped liver, no matter what anyone says.
OFC
You nailed it. I tend to lurk mostly. The reason being is all the Negative Nancy's and Downer Dan's who come out in full force anytime there's some adversity. Does this team have huge question marks? Yes. Does every other team that has a possible shot at a deep run have huge question marks as well? Yes. This year is so damn wide open I am not sure what happens from here on out. What I can tell you is that I love Duke and these players. And I still have hope in getting number #6.
Long time duke fan ,been reading this board long time. Duke is solid team this year not great.. now all the regular homers on this board are mad at other duke fans for their opinions. Agree with most ,k needs to make some major adjustments, or it will be early exit.
I agree. I think he's been great at recruiting. And he seems to show love for his kids and motivate them psychologically. But some he instills confidence in; others he seems to create doubt in. I don't think that helps his bench players much.
But, in terms of Xs and Os I don't think he's done much coaching at all in the past couple of years.
It's as if he's decided he's going to coach his plethora of one-and-done players the way he coached the U.S. Olympic team. Work hard then "I'm throwing the ball on the court and you guys do your thing." I think that hurt last year with Zion not taking as many shots or handling the ball as much in tight games. Barrett was too one on one. He shot 45% from the field, Zion 68%, yet Barrett averaged 5 1/2 more shots per game than Zion.
I may be wrong, and will be more than happy to be proven wrong, but I just don't see Duke competing for a title any time soon unless K changes his coaching style from the past few years and gets more engaged in the minutia and also actually develops his mid-level talent he's recruited. I don't see any significant talent development in these (like White, Javin, Alex). They are not much different in contribution than when they were freshmen. How much effort is put into developing those guys? These are talents who would be top mid-major recruits and in most cases would wind up as senior starters on a really good mid-major club making a run in the NCAAs and nearly upset (or do) teams like Duke or UK. As it is they are scratching for a few minutes before being pulled at their first missed shot or mistake as juniors and seniors.
Either all these rankings are wrong and Duke is not very good at scouting talent or K is not doing well at developing these (or a combination of all 3).
I can't speak for others but I get hyped when we win and love to post about the positives of the team.
In fact, I had been saying most of the year that I thought we would be a FF team with the defense we showed the first two months of the season. But, I've always sought to be as honest as possible - positively and negatively. And I don't see us getting there unless somehow everyone gets hot and K changes things around.
I think myself and Koach Q and others have been pretty fair. When Duke has a talented team - more so than the team's they play - and they lose, there's a reason and coaching has to take part of the responsibility. When they win, there's a reason and coaching has to take part of the glory. I'm fine with handing out both honor and critique. But, when you beat a team that has a losing record by 20, well, that's what you expect from a top 5-10 team. When you lose to a team like that, it's not a game you should lose.
And, to be fair, there are those on the other side for whom K or players can do no wrong (like those who defended - probably still do defend (!)
- Greg Paulus' play). It's not that fans don't root for the team, or for K, and cheer for them. I root for them all the way through their careers (which is why I also post in the NBA thread) and sweat bullets when they play in the NCAAs. I've cried when we won and cried when we lost. I will always be in K's corner as a person and arguably the greatest coach of all-time but that doesn't mean he's above reproach as a coach. Bobby Knight was the greatest Xs and Os coach in history, imo, but he was not above reproach (and I'm not just referring to the super negative stuff).
Back to back seasons of being on the cusp of back to back final fours doesn't really scream "not coaching". I think having to regroup, revamp, and begin again each season with the current college basketball climate is pretty damn tough to consistently do well. Not attacking you, if Grayson's shot goes down in '18 and we don't give up that late 3 in '19 against Michigan State we're in the final four in back to back seasons. Probably winning one or both of those titles. Again, a hair's *** away from final fours in back to back years with completely different teams doesn't scream "not having done much coaching". I think it's amazing that we're able to consistently be in the conversation for a national championship with basically a new team each season. In my opinion, K has been terrific for much of this season. I would've never guessed this team would be 23-5 and 13-4 at this point in the year with a chance at a championship. This team isn't on the level of the last two in talent, but they have shown great resiliency at times. I was expecting 20-7 and 10-6 for around this time. So, even though last night stings a lot, I am fairly happy with the overall record. Not the play in the State game and last night, but the record nonetheless. Consistency is key moving forward. Heck, over a week ago this team was on a 7 game win streak having destroyed a good Notre Dame team by 34 at home. So, there's hope that when that team puts it together we might just win the damn thing. Most importantly, I have faith that our coaching staff can figure it out. Last night I was in the dumps big time. Today I woke up and thought, "The sun is shining and God is amazing", all will be okay either way in the end.