Sky thought u were from Burlington not Kingston lolThat's cause he's one of them amphibious dudes coach. He can do a lot of things with both hands. I think if he wanted to he could be a switch shooter.OFC
***EXHIBITION GAME - DUKE VS. VIRGINIA STATE***
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That's why I think he was so hesitant last night. With Harry and Jayson already out, something tells me the staff told Grayson to relax and look for his jumper. When we actually need him to drive again he will, but he's going to go the way of Dwyane Wade (injured a lot) if he keeps taking the hits he does.
I'm surprised no one is talking about Jack White. There's a reason the kid didn't want to redshirt. He looked very comfortable and didn't hurt his team last night. That's a positive to me for someone who was not with the team at all for summer workouts and came in somewhat unheralded. Not saying he's going to get huge minutes, he's showing more and more that he can play. Makes the situation next year at wing not seem so scarce.
He seems to bring a lot of positives to the floor. He has a mature body that helps on the boards and looks like a solid shooter. Don't know much else about him though. Could someone give a rundown about his game?
I was thinking the exact same thing, I'm not overly impressed with Knox, would rather go to a 3 guard lineup with, Trent, Kennard, and Jackson. When Duke plays teams with those tall wings, Jack white could come in handy.
I'm impressed with Knox, just not at the wing. He wants so desperately to be a one and done wing and at that position, he's more of a Justin Anderson. It's going to take Knox some time to be NBA ready.
@MyDudeG, Jack is an athletic shooter. He has an ok handle, but that part needs a year of work. He has a nice baseline jumper and decent from everywhere else. He's got some very nice top end speed and leaping ability and rebounds very well. He could play the 4 in a small lineup. The other part of his game that not many people know or talk about is his passing. He is an adept passer and he has a good IQ for it.
He's a smart player and I honestly thought it'd take him 3 years to be able to contribute, but he may be ready as soon as next season. He's got a mental toughness that is rare for a freshman. The Aussie players are always very competitive. He will even be key for us in a few games this season.
It was mentioned above by another poster but there should be a little bite more excitement about Javin and Jack IMO. Javin put on a dunk display in the C2C pregame warm-ups. Jack had a good night that night, and came back with another one in the first exhibition. Jack doesn't seem awestruck by the bright lights and big stage, so far. Having that body has to help. He has flashed some nice passing ability also, especially entering it into the post which is a lost art.
As for Javin, a better handle and body will do wonders for this kid. If he becomes the level of player Amile is with that athleticism, look out. Nonetheless, we have two quality players that we will get to watch grow for more than one season.
My take on Javin, if Giles and Tatum get healthy, he'll be back burner this year. I also think next season, he'll end up being amazing. He's that guy. the guy everybody thought was just gonna be a practice player but ends up shocking everyone and blows up his second season. He's super athletic, smart and controlled. He looks to be a favorite down the road.
So we managed to snag 2 of those in this class? That makes me happy.
I think jack is solid, but if he's ever a full time consistent starter I would be shocked
With all the one year players that come through, I agree with you, but if by his senior season he carves out a Matt Jones type of role or better, I don't see why it's not possible.
I hope Matt has a role and is not a consistent starter this year.
After watching Javin play the other night, I am not as worried about next year's bigs if Bolden leaves. I could see Javin passing Chase on the depth chart next year. Javin and Chase along with Carter (hopefully) and Vrank in an emergency, is enough.
I don't care what you call Knox, next year's team most likely needs him. Like Javin, White is looking like a nice revelation who might contribute a bit sooner than most had expected. But, even if Jackson stays, you need more than 4 guys-Jackson, Kennard, Trent (if we get him), and White for the 1-3 spots. Duval, however likely/unlikely, only comes if Jackson leaves. Without Knox, we virtually have to: Land Coleman and Trent and they have to be ready to contribute right away, Jackson needs to stay or get Duval, White or O'Connel have to be ready to contribute and everyone needs to stay healthy. That's a pretty slim margin for error. Additionally, Knox gives the kind of flexibility to the lineup that is so good to have.
I don't care what you call Knox, next year's team most likely needs him. Like Javin, White is looking like a nice revelation who might contribute a bit sooner than most had expected. But, even if Jackson stays, you need more than 4 guys-Jackson, Kennard, Trent (if we get him), and White for the 1-3 spots. Duval, however likely/unlikely, only comes if Jackson leaves. Without Knox, we virtually have to: Land Coleman and Trent and they have to be ready to contribute right away, Jackson needs to stay or get Duval, White or O'Connel have to be ready to contribute and everyone needs to stay healthy. That's a pretty slim margin for error. Additionally, Knox gives the kind of flexibility to the lineup that is so good to have.
Haha oh I know. You've made it quite clear your feelings about Matt as a player. But starter doesn't necessarily mean bulk of minutes. Besides, Matt is the perfect complimentary player for the wealth of scorers Duke has this season. Do the dirty work and hit the three when called upon. I'll take that. And I don't see why Jack can't fill that role. And we know K will play his leaders early on.
Not saying he's going to be our best or most important player, but a nice compliment.
I don't get the I hope Matt doesn't start this year. We have lots of scoring options and there's still only one ball to shoot. I like having Matt in the lineup to play defense, shoot a three occasionally, and do the dirty work that's necessary to win.
Knowing Coach K, and knowing the way Matt plays and the specific things he contributes, there is little question that he will see the floor plenty.
We all know that Matt will not play in the NBA, but he is a very valuable piece for this team. A lot of the anti-Matt sentiment was the result of his less-than-stellar play while playing injured last season. Give him a break, Get Nasty, the dude was playing on one leg.
Yeah Matt will be a great complementary piece on this team. All we have to do is look at the defense that he played on Grayson at CTC to see why he will be playing important minutes this season.
Got to cross off a bucket list experience with this game! I've been a Duke basketball fan for a long time and have always wanted to see Duke play at Cameron which isn't exactly convenient living in PA. I was lucky enough to get tickets and made the trip down from PA on Thursday evening. Spent most of Friday walking around campus with my wife before the game. Game time rolled around and we got to sit front row of the student section off the corner of the court across from the Duke bench. Such a cool experience, cannot wait to get back!
Matt Jones will get his fair share of minutes (18-22) and here's why- we have 3 guards (Grayson, Luke, Frank) with offensive first mindsets, nothing wrong with that btw. I'm still not willing to call any of those 3 an above average defender.
Matt is an above average defender who plays with a defense first mindset. K knows this.
Matt is an above average defender who plays with a defense first mindset. K knows this.
Yep. Remember early on in the season when he was the second leading scorer on the team, lead the team in scoring a few games and seemed to be headed toward potential All-ACC candidacy? I'm with you, if he's a complimentary player this year, that's minimum what I think we can get out of Matt.
I don't think anyone disagrees we probably have 7, 8, or 9 more talented players than Matt on our roster. Matt gets his minutes by doing the important work, plays solid D, good teammate, hits down open 3's. What you want is your most talented players to play tough D, do the little things, hustle, etc but it doesn't always happen. If Duke gets that this year then Matt IMHO won't play more than 15 minutes a game in ACC ball if everyone is healthy. If we need someone to come in (because the frosh or more talented players are not doing the little things) and play good D, hustle, then he will get more PT. My point is, if everyone is healthy, and Matt is not playing much, that to me means our best players are doing the little things needed to be an amazing team! Best case for Duke IMHO. Matt would still get minutes to change things up, provide leadership, spell someone, provide a spark when needed, etc. That's the role I see in a perfect situation for this team, and if someone gets injured you have Matt there ready to take on more minutes, and a senior that's won and been a part of a championship.
So if he doesn't play good this year will you say one leg again because his hamstring was tight in an exhibition game? Look, he played poor last year once the competition ratcheted up in the ACC, well before his injury.
Agree with all of this other than, I think Frank is the only one that has a chance to stay in front of a good PG. Luke, Grayson, and Matt struggle big time vs quicker guards.
He definitely had a good start to the year, and you expect scoring to be down slightly once consistent competition happens, but he went from 15ppg non conference to 8ppg conference. Also, shot 44% from the field in Non conference then 37% in ACC. Those are big drop offs. Look, i see a role for him on this team. If he was an absolute stud on defense I could see him warranting more minutes, but personally I think his D is above average against wings, and poor vs pgs. That is a potential weakness, guarding PGs and he doesn't answer that role. The only one I see with the ability to guard a pg is frank.
Matt Jones is a winner:
Duke's record vs. ACC opponents prior to injury at UNC: 8-4
Duke's record vs. ACC opponents after injury: 3-4
Well spoken GAPP. I think most fans just look at points scored. Matt has the intangibles that don't show up in the box score. I think his defense and leadership will be very important this year. Sometimes when you have 5 scorers on the court together, chemistry can become an issue.
See Golden State Warriors this year versus Golden State Warriors last year. Chemistry and parts fitting together REALLY MATTERS.
IMO, if Matt Jones isn't getting a bunch of minutes that is a really good sign. I think he is solid and plays very good defense and will consistently provide some 3pt shooting and will make 50/50 plays. If his minutes drop it will be because other (more talented) guys are getting those jobs done and that spells very good things for us. I would say similar things about Amile once Giles is back. If Amile's minutes drop as the season goes, that means we are really freaking good.
How are all of the "we don't need Bolden because we have Jeter" people feeling after Friday night's game????
I love Chase and his attitude btw, but here's to hoping he greatly improves by March when it actually matters.
I love Chase and his attitude btw, but here's to hoping he greatly improves by March when it actually matters.
Matt Jones did a pretty solid job on Grayson Allen in the CTC game. I will take that kind of defensive effort against each opponent's best player and be damn happy about it. No one is saying Matt Jones is one of our 5 most talented guys on the roster, but the 5 guys who play the best together and fill the most amount of roles should be starting and playing important minutes. Matt Jones brings a unique skill set to the table, one that can compliment many different lineups. If his name is announced at the start of each game this year I'll be fine with it.
I was very happy with Bolden and thrilled that we get to see him play for us this year. I will say this about Chase, he has definitely progressed since last year. The problem is he still isn't there yet and his mistakes are usually noticeable. I'm fine with spot minutes from him this year and happy we aren't nearly as thin up front as we were last year. I still think by next year or his final year he will be playing big minutes for us and being a major contribution.
If someone is good enough to put Amile on the bench then this Duke team has a shot at making the NBA in the east. Not really, but my point is that Amile is so good and so important, I really don't see anyone supplanting him, not even Harry.
Agree, but I thought amike actually played pretty poor in the exhibition game, hopefully just rust.
I don't see his performance from that game being a norm. People are going to have bad games here and there. No one is going to be perfect all season. That doesn't mean their role should be diminished or they shouldn't play.