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And that was the Devils downfall.
What a bizarre take.
He didn’t get a touch at all in the last 3 mins of the game. If actuality, they didn’t depend on him enough.
No because we played denial defense and furced Duke into several turnovers trying to get him the ball. Not going to Zion down the stretch wasn’t as simple as you think.
What is the purpose here? You beat us, we don't need your analysis and if you don't have Winston you lose. Should we say you only won because of Winston and his push off.And that was the Devils downfall.
Jack White was that guy before he died a horrible death against Syracuse. He will be remembered.- No reliable go to shooter
- No true threat off of the bench
- Poor free throw shooting team
- Progressively got worse at taking care of the ball.
- Had a PG that was very limited offensively
- The closest thing to a 2 and one of the only decent FT shooters on the team couldn't drive to the basket without mowing down the defender.
All of those were bigger downfalls for Duke.
Duke never really got better as a team over the year.Duke's issue was beyond Zion and Barrett they didn't have enough firepower. Being a horrible perimeter and free throw team is bound to cause issues eventually, especially when the two cornerstones themselves cannot shoot free throws and the college game employs a 1 and 1.
There were red flags when Zion came back, played a perfect game against Syracuse (100% from the floor), and they were neck and neck going into the final 10 minutes of the game. When you are getting full production out of your best player and struggling to put away a run of the mill tournament opponent, odds are you are not going to win the national title.
And that was the Devils downfall.
Wish I could say you’re wrong, but you’re not.Duke never really got better as a team over the year.
You think you’re going to the FF without Winston?
If they would have called the push off on Winston, he would have fouled out in the first half. Cant believe they let him get away with that.
I have said all year that Duke relies heavily on creating turnovers and scoring in transition. Yesterday Duke turned the ball over 10 more times than MSU did and had zero transition points. Just one fewer turnover or one basket in transition could have made the difference. But oh well.
You think you’re going to the FF without Winston?
I think MSU took the game more than we gave it away. But I suppose we'd be splitting hairs.Exactly! Props to MSU, but we gave that game away. Like you said, one less turnover, 2 made FT’s and Duke is in the FF. We gave the game away.
Certainly most Duke fans are closer to the team and probably have better insight than I do. Although I just looked at the list of games I watched this year and I watched them 16 times plus 3 times in the tournament (I may have a bit of a problem in terms of watching too much basketball).
Anyway, I think the OP is somewhat true, somewhat not. Based on the way the team was playing at the end of the season, they did not ride Zion enough. They more or less should have gone to him every single possession in the second half. The guy is unstoppable and RJ is the only other person on that team that you can trust offensively.
With that being said, if you have the season to do over again I think you aim for a state in which you don't have to rely on Zion as much. As someone else pointed out, did anyone outside of Zion and RJ get better this year? From my eyes most of them actually got worse (lost confidence maybe?). So that was the big story to me. The team didn't seem to get better throughout the course of the year, whereas all sorts of other teams got much better. That resulted in a situation in which the only way they could win was to go to Zion every time down the floor and ask him to bail them out.
It was a very strange season and an odd dynamic to the team. They have guys that are supposed to be able to shoot the ball. Reddish for sure. O'Connell too. I know White missed 28 consecutive 3's in the middle of the season, but isn't he supposed to be an adequate shooter as well? It's been pointed out countless times, but if you surrounded RJ and Zion with shooters they'd score 120 a game. I have no idea what's going on inside the team, but the fact that all their role players became completely inept suggests to me a loss of confidence or some other issue with the team dynamic/coaching. Do any Duke fans have insight on this aspect? (Even if it's just to tell me I'm completely wrong)
None of the Duke freshmen coming in are elite shooters. Lots of playmakers, but that can easily be neutralized when you pack it in and dare the freshmen to take 3's. This 2018 team has a better mixture of inside/outside play.
Duke never really got better as a team over the year.
Being open doesn't make you a good shooter.I don't understand with Barrett's ability to penetrate, and Zion commanding the attention he does, how was Duke not good at 3s? You would think on a drive and kick from Barrett any of the other 3 Duke players on the floor are standing wide open?
The game plan for beating Duke has always been pretty clear. Double/triple team Zion/RJ and let other guys beat you. I posted this on March 26th of last year. No one on the team is a reliable 3-point shooter. Maybe Alex O'Connell, but his offense is negated by very pedestrian play on the defensive end. Some people thought Reddish was a good shooter, because he does have a nice looking stroke. But, he was 43 for 145 from 3 (29.7%) in EYBL games. Tre Jones was 10 for 41 in EYBL games (24.4%), while RJ Barrett was 10 for 32 (31.2%).
Exactly! Props to MSU, but we gave that game away. Like you said, one less turnover, 2 made FT’s and Duke is in the FF. We gave the game away.
I think MSU took the game more than we gave it away. But I suppose we'd be splitting hairs.
Agree.I think MSU took the game more than we gave it away. But I suppose we'd be splitting hairs.
Well, you could interpret it as a slightly more sophisticated version of "If we only had 2 more points..."Saying if we just did (full in blank) better works both ways. MSU missed a ton of easy shots and free throws. What if they make those?
Ward missed several point blank shots.
At what point to have to question the job K did this season? You would think he could really mold a group of talented freshmen that had never received high level coaching before, but instead he kind of just rolled the balls out there and let them play. Didn't seem like he had any answers when Plan A wasn't working.
Plan B is someone on the bench but he didn't have confidence in them.
I know it's everyone's favorite thing to do, questioning K's job. But if we're going to question what he's doing, I think it is more with recruiting. But that's for another conversation.At what point to have to question the job K did this season? You would think he could really mold a group of talented freshmen that had never received high level coaching before, but instead he kind of just rolled the balls out there and let them play. Didn't seem like he had any answers when Plan A wasn't working.
Played 8 or 9 last night. Who would you have used?Plan B is someone on the bench but he didn't have confidence in them.
Are you related? Tell everyone how you know this.K mismanaged that big time.