He looks like the kind of guard who scores 30 on us his senior year.
Jaylen Blakes
- Thread starter bleediteveryday30
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It appears he can make a layup, which immediately pushes him ahead of Goldwire in my book.
jordan did have some of the zaniest layup malfunctions...lol..still gonna miss the kid
Be careful. You may get canceled by the layup-challenged, a small but increasingly vocal segment of society.
This would be a great future piece if he can stay 3+ years. However, the way things are shaking out, next year looks like our best chance at #6 (especially if we get Baldwin or Hurt), and not sure this guy will help next year. Maybe he can, college basketball is so down nowadays that a 4 star freshman very well could be a key guy, but we will see.
I'd still love to land an experienced transfer guard. Landing transfers are the new "thing," time for us to get a key one.
I'd still love to land an experienced transfer guard. Landing transfers are the new "thing," time for us to get a key one.
I thought this too. He is a great guy for the future; but we do need help next year. Roach, Keels and this kid plus Moore is probably a downgrade from Roach, Steward, Goldwire, and Moore, and that backcourt struggled. A good piece for the future, but our backcourt will be very young unless we add a transfer too.
Hopefully Roach will make that freshman-to-sophomore leap that many players make. I'm not expecting a J-Will leap... mostly just better, more consistent play.
Yeah, i don’t think it’s a downgrade, it’ll definitely be a step up. However, probably not a huge step up.
I was thinking more of an upgrade due to the size Dukes back court would have and the ability to play two way ball. Roach is key .
I suppose if Roach makes a big jump and Keels is as good as Steward it could be an upgrade, but those are two ifs. If you look at it in terms of what Steward and Goldwire could have given us next year then it is definitely a downgrade unless Keels is a stud from day one. Roach as the grizzled veteran in the backcourt scares me. We do have Moore who is sort of a guard, if turnover prone.
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That part “if Keels is as good as Steward” has me worried. You know more about these guys than about anyone I know but talk about dropping a turd in the punch bowl. Please talk me down off the ledge Like you said before we need a transfer
I am with you on Blakes. We need a PG that has proven that he can perform in CBB already, as the majority of our opponents will be using upperclassman that they groomed or transfers at the PG spot. Only a few teams will be using a true freshman heavily at PG (UT and Gonzaga).
Haha. I dont know much. I do know they are ranked about the same, Keels slightly higher. Keels is a physical guard. There is nothing wrong with Keels other than the fact he is a freshman. Is late first round on mock draft so unless he struggles should be one and done. Steward and Goldwire leaving is a big hit, so Id like to get a transfer guard.
Point guard for our team won’t be as important offensively because I’m willing to bet we run our offense inside out. Mark or Paolo will touch the ball almost every time down the floor. We need people that will spot up and make shots. When we need a perimeter bucket in a one on one situation AJ will work for his shot
Keels is an upgrade over steward especially if he gets a full regular season start. Steward was iffy when trying to play defense and score at times. As long as he had the upper hand against his defender he looked like a scoring machine . The key for Keels is going to be how much Roach can progress and keep the back court honest. Meaning attack more . As long as both attack first and look for the shot both can play well off each other.
The difference is the off season and when this team gets on campus and begins building chemistry. The upgrade is that both Keels and Roach have played together in high school. That’s already a plus . Maybe not so much chemistry wise but the ability to know how each plays when on the court.
What hurt Duke this season was not having that team building and chemistry that enables each player to learn how to play off one another. A transfer will be no different. Yes they “might” have played for their last team . But it’s still having to come on and build with the rest of the team.
The difference is the off season and when this team gets on campus and begins building chemistry. The upgrade is that both Keels and Roach have played together in high school. That’s already a plus . Maybe not so much chemistry wise but the ability to know how each plays when on the court.
What hurt Duke this season was not having that team building and chemistry that enables each player to learn how to play off one another. A transfer will be no different. Yes they “might” have played for their last team . But it’s still having to come on and build with the rest of the team.
Doesn’t matter what kind of offense that you run if you don’t have a competent PG. I agree that we don’t necessarily need a PG that’s going to take 15 shots per game and need to score 20 points per game.
We do need Roach to have a solid assist to turnover ratio because he’s still going to have the ball in his possession more than any other player on offense.
He looks like a good prospect. I suspect that he will commit soon after receiving the Duke offer. His clapping, pumping up the crowd, etc will aggravate opposing fans, but it can help a team play better
He reminds me of a smaller DeMarcus Nelson. Looks like we are recruiting stronger guys this year.
Point guard for our team has always and will always be the most important position for us. Name one of our championship teams where we didn’t have an elite point guard.
I can't think of any team in college basketball that has won a championship without elite guard play.
Absolutely. Even with elite guards we've come up short a few times. I can think of teams that we missed elite guard play. I'd argue that if we had Frank Jackson at the point instead of Duval in '18 we win going away.
You need elite guards. See 2010. Who was our pg? Primarily Scheyer, who really was a shooting guard, but was skilled and had a great cast around him.
When K moved him to the point in '09 it saved that season and that team overachieved winning the ACC crown and getting to the sweet sixteen. Even with the blow out loss to Nova I was very excited for the next season. He and Smith elevated that team to another level in '10. Of course, everyone did in '10. That truly is my favorite team.
We had 3 guards who played a ton and lost 2. The guy we got back played the least of the 3. We got Keels but it's a bit perplexing we can't get a quality transfer. Games are won and lost at this time of year. UCLA is aggressively pursuing big men. These teams are not resting on their laurels. Blakes seems like a nice piece for the future, but we just got even younger. (if we get him) Thus the need for a transfer. Unless the staff know Hurt is returning, and then I'll gladly shut up.
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This is more tricky than you think... We are going to have the best power forward in the nation, and a great center (hopefully), so there's not much playing time to be had up front, especially with a second year Coleman (again, hopefully). And you have to imagine we recruited Keels telling him he would get a ton of minutes. Then you have Moore, Roach, and AJ... This is what transfers are looking at. Where do they get time.
I think people are underrating our backcourt, especially when it seems extremely likely that they will get to play the role of supporting cast offensively, with the big men being featured. I love our size at all positions (minus Roach I guess). I think the physicality will really improve the team.
I think people are underrating our backcourt, especially when it seems extremely likely that they will get to play the role of supporting cast offensively, with the big men being featured. I love our size at all positions (minus Roach I guess). I think the physicality will really improve the team.
We are pinning a lot of our hopes on Banchero being an absolute force. Hopefully he is, and not up and down like Johnson. This time last year all I heard about was how great Johnson was. Steward was a big hit, as he was a sure thing for next year.
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Steward was pretty good, not great. No sour grapes, just the truth.
I see no comparison with Johnson and Banchero.
I see no comparison with Johnson and Banchero.
Even if Hurt stays or Baldwin comes, we still need a pure PG that’s a transfer player or a combo guard that can handle the rock. Bryce Thompson is a beast when he’s healthy. There are several other transfer guards who can play some PG.
Just a little worried about pinning our entire season on Roach.
If we get Blakes, I'd like to see us add a 4 star center that will stick around who can give us 10 minutes a game who can rebound and play D.
We shouldn't need as much from the backcourt with Paolo, Griffin, and any improvement at all from Mark. Last year we needed much more on both sides of the ball from Roach and DJ.
We shouldn't need as much from the backcourt with Paolo, Griffin, and any improvement at all from Mark. Last year we needed much more on both sides of the ball from Roach and DJ.
I too, am a little worried about Roach. But, let's not forget that he was coming off an injury, had no summer at Duke, no real preseason, and early games canceled. Also, last year we had nobody who could consistently create for themselves. That team really needed Jalen to be special and make those around him better. Next year's team should demand a lot less from a stronger, healthier, more experienced Roach.
Like I said the point guard won’t be asked to do a whole lot offensively besides not make a lot of mistakes and make open shots. If we’re smart we will run the offense through Paolo at the elbow and Mark on the block. We just need Roach to be a dog on defense. We don’t even need him to be all conference. We’ve never had a front court this talented before. AJ, Paolo and Mark is something we’ve never seen at Duke.
Thats what I love about this class. Duke is bringing in some grown *** men next season!
I don’t think we need to add any more players should Blake commit. You still have Coleman, Moore and Baker. Dukes small ball line ups would still move Paolo to the five and Coleman to the four. You have Moore and Griffin and Baker at SF and can play at Pf. Add Blake and there is enough players to rotate.
we will need a 10th for practice. Hopefully Worthington will be able to contribute in practice. We need 10 scholarship guys to help the young guys in practice. If everyone but hurt comes back we have enough I agree. One more transfer in would be nice, but having the bench guys return is priority one right now. I do find it curious that Baldwin has waited so long.
It would be nice to have either Hurt or Baldwin next season. I'm guessing we get neither, but you never know. If we get one of these guys then we are legit top 10. Otherwise we are possible top 10 but more likely top 10-20 imo. Which would still be a huge improvement. Getting one of those guys would solve a lot of problems and give us more depth and less question marks. Esp. Hurt; due to his experience. But Baldwin would be a nice piece as well.
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