Convince me duke wouldn’t be better without Barrett
- Thread starter ThroughBlue
- Start date
Sure, Duke would be better without the number one player in high school basketball who is averaging 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists a game and is going to be a top two pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Makes sense.
Not disparaging Zion, of course. Guy just had a game where he went 11-13 with seven rebounds and seven assists, and is on track to the most efficient single season in college basketball history. By the end of the season I wonder if we will be talking about him being the best college basketball player of the last few decades.
Not disparaging Zion, of course. Guy just had a game where he went 11-13 with seven rebounds and seven assists, and is on track to the most efficient single season in college basketball history. By the end of the season I wonder if we will be talking about him being the best college basketball player of the last few decades.
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lol.... probably be better without Jones, Reddish, and the rest of the team. just send Zion out there by himself. Christ, you people and your "hot takes."
Just to put this post in perspective:
RJ Barrett averages more assists per game than any player on Kentucky's team.
BTW, to make this thread worthwhile... anyone else see Barrett a lot like Tatum at Duke? I feel like the two are very similar in terms of the way they are developing, and how their game translates and will continue to translate through the year.
Against Gonzaga he lost that game for Duke. The last 3 possessions were terrible so If Duke is behind late it won’t surprise me if that aspect of his game comes out again. I don’t think Duke would be better because they all enjoy playing with each other, these kids don’t care who gets the shine IMO.
We've already been in those close situations, and there was more passing of the ball. That said, K is going to ride Barrett; he believes that Barrett can either score or cause contact and a foul if he drives with purpose.
Putting up 30 shots for 23 points is really bad. But he's the most talented player in the country, or at least the second one. Any team would benefit from having him.
Definitely not efficient. Reminds me a bit of J Tatum like that.
But keep in mind that Barrett has a higher FG% than any non-big-guy on Duke's team.
He's still the second most efficient player on Duke's team. Nowhere near Zion efficient, but who is? Here are the PER numbers of the 8 Duke players that average double-digit minutes.
Zion Williamson: 41.8
RJ Barrett: 24.9
Javin DeLaurier: 20.4
Marques Bolden: 19.1
Tre Jones: 17.8
Alex O'Connell: 14.9
Jack White: 14.5
Cam Reddish: 14.1
Does anyone really want to say they wouldn't take RJ on their team if they could have him?
Zion Williamson: 41.8
RJ Barrett: 24.9
Javin DeLaurier: 20.4
Marques Bolden: 19.1
Tre Jones: 17.8
Alex O'Connell: 14.9
Jack White: 14.5
Cam Reddish: 14.1
Does anyone really want to say they wouldn't take RJ on their team if they could have him?
Congrats for the stupidest thread on the board. A follow up thread, same title and change Barrett with Zion's left arm?
Would a team with a relatively limited bench be better without one of it’s two best players?
No.
Zion would also draw a lot more double teams without the threat of RJ also on the floor.
No.
Zion would also draw a lot more double teams without the threat of RJ also on the floor.
RJ will be the reason Duke doesn’t win he championship.
Put Zion on any other team in the top ten that doesn’t have RJ Barrett and they are probably undefeated and likely finish the season the same way
Put Zion on any other team in the top ten that doesn’t have RJ Barrett and they are probably undefeated and likely finish the season the same way
How could I possibly convince someone who can come up with such a potato claim? No offense but you don't seem very reasonable.
I’ve watched two Duke games other than the beat down delivered to us which I watched in person. Last night and the Gonzaga game. Zion was 11/13 last night Barrett was 10/24. Zion should be getting 24 shots and Barrett should be getting 13
You do realize that it is easier to hit a basket from 1 ft away than 20 ft?
Someone should explain that to RJ maybe he won’t jack up as many three balls
Barrett is flat out baller and any coach would love to have him. His shooting percentage isn’t all that great but come tournament time If Duke is chucking up 40+ 3’s that’s a lost in the making. The Gonzaga game he made some mistakes at the end, time will tell if he corrected them but don’t act like he can’t improve.
I didn’t act like he couldn’t improve. Sometimes players just don’t fit together. RJ is outstanding, likely the second best player in the country but also the second best player on his own team.
Duke would have never had a chance in that game if, in part, it weren't for Barrett. I get he had a few bad possessions down the stretch but let's try to not get crazy here. That game was lost on the defensive end for Duke.
Does that mean the entire UK roster if full of guys that UK would be better off without?
Yeah, letting Gonzaga shoot over 70% in the first half killed Duke. They came back in the second half but that hole was dug too deep.
I’m not running from it and will not file it away in the bad takes until they win the title
I might be able to get behind this honestly. While I don't want RJ to not shoot all together, I do think Duke would be a better team if Barret traded 4 or 5 of his threes a game for Zion post ups are drives.
Ah, got it.
Unless Duke wins the national title, they would be better off without their guard with the highest shooting percentage, the top scorer in the ACC, a guy who averages more assists than anyone on the UK roster, and a likely top 2 pick in the NBA.
Logic!
There are plenty of reasonable conversations to be had about shot distribution.
That’s a very light way of putting
But I’m just a fan of an opposing team. I hope RJ doesn’t change a thing And keeps playing me ball
The numbers are definitely there to support Zion shooting more. I'm sure you can say this about a lot of teams and certain players, though.
Again; more assists than anyone on the UK team.
For sure. I will say, I cannot imagine Zion would keep it as efficient with more shots. Right? That would be a BIG ask.
But shit, if he could? Yikes.
I really wish Kansas would've paid him what he was asking for during his recruitment.
I don't think he would, but I don't think there would be some huge, dramatic drop off. Between his power and agility, there's only so much 99.9 percent of college basketball can do to stop him. Let me put it this way, Duke would be more efficient with Zion getting more looks and the team in general taking less threes. It blows my mind how well Duke shot against UK (46%) compared to how well they've shot it the rest of the year (31%). They aren't a great shooting team at all, it just makes sense to get Zion the ball in the post or on the wing more.
I would say selection is more of an issue than distribution. I do not ever want RJ to lose his aggressiveness. He needs to score for this team to be successful. Zion getting more shots won't mean that he will continue to be as efficient either. Usually, almost always really, it goes the other way.
I really wish people would come up with a new excuse when they do not get a recruit.
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