Doesn't work having our best players as 'shooters.' MOST (not all) elite shooters are below average athletes and serious liabilities on D. Perhaps wrong, but can't make a run at the final 4 w/players like Kennard and JJ Redick as the alpha males.... and I think the reason is quite simply a result of our defensive philosophy exposing their weaknesses. Ball pressure, get beat off the dribble and bigs that don't look to protect the rim or challenge shots in lieu of looking to take charges. I think the rule changes have gone against our overall team D scheme, which further exposes our guards.... Gross that we can't get post touches on every possession, but that's another topic....
Maybe frustration talking but...
- Thread starter saGz7
- Start date
Yeah I'd rather have a team that can't shoot... geez where does these people come from
Nah, that's not what I am saying. I think you're missing my point. It's either the player/s or the scheme. Our scheme exposes our inability to defend based on personnel in some and in many cases.
For the most part I agree. But Kennard had 4 shot attempts mid-day thru the 2nd Half if I'm correct. We kept feeding the ball inside which was the smart move but I kept telling my friend we needed to get Kennard in a groove. We didn't, we lost.
When we all have time to be rational, this team just had too much happen to them and we ran into a team tonight that punched us and we couldn't punch back for lack of ammo. Only playing 7, one of them Giles, starting center is 6-9, 220 lbs and a scorer (Kennard) that is a liability at best on defense, and Jones who is almost a mirror of Kennard but the other side of the ball. He couldn't ever create his own shot. The other 2 guards are more versatile but not point guards. No room for error, and tonight Kennard was bad and foul trouble hurt as well. A season of what ifs and questions as well.
There is nothing wrong with having shooters. The issue is when those shooters can't guard a high school team. The issue with our team our the last decade is not having enough guards and wings that can contain dribble penetration.
This years team was expected to be able to. But when you think about it Tatum, Giles and Bolden all injured set back on strength and conditioning. Giles and Bolden were said to beef up Dukes front line yet neither ever came to form or strength. Tatum set back was needed for his scoring played alright not great defense on the wing but he played a lot at the four not so much on the wing when it came to that end.
This season was cursed from the jump. Now onto next season and hope the short comings will be remembered and improve.
Tyrus Jones text K after that first round exit prior to coming to Duke and said," This will not happen next year coach!" How did that work out?
Heart and determination will be needed.
When Kennard is on the court he should be handling the ball even more than the PG (Frank). Otherwise it is a negative exchange having him on the court for big minutes. We won the ACC Tournament because of our 3-man attack and we were eliminated early because of our diverse attack. We needed to ride Kennard. Instead we built Jefferson's confidence and it ultimately wasn't enough anyway tonight.
Our defense lost this game. We couldn't guard anyone and it starts with the guards.
We will never be that great of a rebounding team under k because he likes to play small. But this team lacked that fight to battle on the glass.
When did Bolden call in sick? We should have committed Tatum on the glass. Kennard should have been more offensively aggressive. Allen as well - started shooting hot from the 3 point line and kind of settled late in the game.
The weird part is we never started launching three's. We were still getting consistent scoring from our post game til the end. This lose will remain a head scratcher for many fans.
We were built on defense not offense. Our defense is why so many teams feared us. I really miss those days.smh
2011 with Irving was worse. I was sure it was Coach K's second repeat. Almost everyone returned [Scheyer, Zoubek and Thomas didn't]
The reason we haven't become a good defensive team the last few years is simply defense is not taught in high school and our 5 star players aren't ready to play "slap the floor" Duke defense and most never get close to it by the time they leave. Duke's best defensive players are the ones that do stay around until they are juniors and seniors. It's just not taught in high school and AAU. What I'm saying here is no mystery to any of you. We all know it. This year defensively was the worst I ever remember especially our inside defense and it's not a knock on Amile. He couldn't stop all the players coming in to the lane that were hitting lay ups and slam dunks. What's the answer. I don't know. I'll leave it up to the coaching staff. They will stay keep us in contention every year. With all that said this was really an odd season though. And you guys know me I plan on having fun this off season because it is more to me than just a basketball board. It's a discussion among friends. OFC
Refs allowed SC to be physical the entire game and when we breathed on them, we were called for fouls.
We lost fair and square. Refs always ride the energy of the crowd, and that was a very pro-SC crowd. It's our job to overcome that, just like teams that come into Cameron have to try and overcome that. That's basketball. That's life.
I agree with you Sky. I hate to second guess our HOF coach but I don't understand why he doesn't play some of the bench bigs some the whole season to have some bodies for this time of the year. Vrank, Bolden and Delaurier playing very little during the year comes back to hurt the team with our interior defense, and because they haven't been used during the year, and with some of the games being as physical as a football game, we could use some big bodies. They definitely aren't prepared for the tourney, or are they?
Just my opinion, but I think the point guard that transferred is what hurt you guys the most. Only 2 or 3 teams play that type of pressure defensively, and you need a true point guard on the occasions you face such a team. All the early turnovers kept the game in reach. Cut those in half and you still win. Combine that with game essentially being a home game for SC and all the foul calls disrupting flow of the game, it's a lot to overcome.
These 2nd half stats for SC are absolutely embarrassing for us.
FG% - 20-28 - 71.4%
3FG% - 4-5 - 80%
FG% - 20-28 - 71.4%
3FG% - 4-5 - 80%
The first part of your post is just wrong -- "We will *never* be that great of a rebounding team under k because he likes to play small".
K puts the best five on the court. Sometimes they are small, sometimes they are big -- but whoever is on the floor it's not by accident.