Wow. I think the "gel" has happened way early this season, we're already clearly a cohesive team. The defense is getting better , clogging passing lanes and anticipation of long pass pick off's are looking better and better, especially the way Tre is pressuring the ball coming up. When we over extend on defense it's actually pretty amazing how fast we slide back in to recover, we are a quick athletic team for sure. This is the first time in a long time where I really LOVE our bench. We don't soften much at all subbing, in fact the defense and rebounding gets better when Jack White comes in. Alex is really quick and his 3 always feels like its good when he let's it go. And last night Javin was great as well. Even Bolden is getting in on the alley oop dunk game now. It's quite insane how our team is constantly looking for the oop to the baseline. I see some folks worrying about RJ. I don't. Even in the games he looked a bit out of sync, he still scored nicely. I look for him to have a huge game soon. The only thing he does that truly worries me is his FT shooting. I pray Cam is ok, we will need his contributions to get out of Maui undefeated, if he's hurt, we could see trouble. He spreads us out nicely, he's so mobile and silky smooth with the 3 ball. I love his game. Tre Jones was the tool that this job was calling for. He runs a nice clean game for us. Doesn't turn it over, always takes note of the pace needed and only scores when he has to. And his pressure on the ball gets us that few extra steps needed to setup as well as brings that shot clock in to where we want it. I am starving to see us play a team I'm worried about. I want to see how we respond to some serious pressure and a team that has some serious athletes. Maui should at least give us a real feel for what we have here. Looks like Redshirt time for Baker. I'm a little disappointed but then I look ahead to next season and I really like where he'll be. Man. WHAT a time to be a Duke fan.
3rd game evals.
- Thread starter Showenuff
- Start date
Patrick, I dare you to type a response longer than that ! 
Great points man and we are going to be getting better by the game. When we hit the meat of our ACC schedule we are going to see what this team is made of. I love these early games but my favorite part of the schedule is the ACC grind, that's where their balls will drop and go from boys to men. Come ACC/NCAA Tournament time they will have the mindset of starving junkyard dogs, kill everything and it!
And please God, no serious injuries!
And please God, no serious injuries!
Amen to no injuries I am paranoid as hell even hearing the hint of one in our program.Going back to Kylie cannot think of a more snakebit team than ours
I really like Tre. He’s the definition of a point guard. This year he’s going to mostly be the table setter and lockdown defender, but next year he’s going to take off scoring and become a special player. RJ, Zion and Cam are just elite players. Point blank period. Zion is so explosive and impressive that all you can do is laugh and shake your head when he makes a play. This team is the most unselfish team at Duke in a long time. We had 20+ assists again. An average of 23.33 assists per game and 8 turnovers. That’s almost 3 to 1 with 4 freshmen playing majority of the minutes. I can’t wait for Monday.
Cam had tightness in his groin. He’s going to rest and be ready for Monday
Cam had tightness in his groin. He’s going to rest and be ready for Monday
Oh hell nah show.Patrick, I dare you to type a response longer than that !
This team would be great if RJ wasn't so selfish. As is we're probably not going to make the tourney.
I just don’t like his attitude and body language
All good poo
You hit on my biggest concern....the free throws. But I completely agree about the "gel".....I really believe these guys are having fun, and put winning in front of their own stats
You hit on my biggest concern....the free throws. But I completely agree about the "gel".....I really believe these guys are having fun, and put winning in front of their own stats
Zion has been well...you know
Love RJs competitive spirit. I know everyone loves Zion (and rightfully so) but he’s my favorite player
Cam is way better than I thought he’d be early on
Tre is the perfect pass first point guard we need. He’s not his brother but he’s good.
Bolden has shown massive improvement since Canada. He needs to continue to improve.
White has been the most surprising player. His leadership might carry us to the final four.
AOC needs to continue to improve to add to our depth
Love RJs competitive spirit. I know everyone loves Zion (and rightfully so) but he’s my favorite player
Cam is way better than I thought he’d be early on
Tre is the perfect pass first point guard we need. He’s not his brother but he’s good.
Bolden has shown massive improvement since Canada. He needs to continue to improve.
White has been the most surprising player. His leadership might carry us to the final four.
AOC needs to continue to improve to add to our depth
Real talk: The FT shooting is horrific. Why teams haven't yet figured out that fouling Zion before he goes into his shooting motion is beyond me. I'd foul him every time he touches the ball for the last 8 minutes of the game. RJ isn't much better. These guys figure to take more FTs between them than the rest of the team, and they are bad at making them. For the next few weeks, and especially during the winter break, they need to live at the FT line.
Considering this team has only 3 games under it's collective belt they're ahead of schedule (pardon my pun) in my estimation.
Good chemistry, defense improving, and contributions off the bench.
And speaking of those contributions, Jack White has been damn near sensational, AOC knows his role, Bolden is fitting in well, and Jav is coming around. Add that in with the fantastic freshmen and you have 9 solids.
If we can improve a little on our ft shooting woes, and don't have any serious injuries, this team is going to be special...very special.
Let's enjoy the ride.
OFC
Good chemistry, defense improving, and contributions off the bench.
And speaking of those contributions, Jack White has been damn near sensational, AOC knows his role, Bolden is fitting in well, and Jav is coming around. Add that in with the fantastic freshmen and you have 9 solids.
If we can improve a little on our ft shooting woes, and don't have any serious injuries, this team is going to be special...very special.
Let's enjoy the ride.
OFC
Our recruiting will have to step up to keep Jack out of the starting lineup next year. He's a badass.
I agree, Show.
His development is one of the key differences between this year's team and last year's team. His toughness & hustle bode well for our Dukies.
OFC
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Patrick, I dare you to type a response longer than that !
Yates at least uses paragraphs!
Agreed on nearly all your points. Great team to watch, a lot of fun and seem like wonderful kids who get it.
Jack and Javin are perfect captains for this team. They lead by example and are great communicators. I hope there comes a point in the season where Jack becomes a confident shooter. If so, he is the perfect 3 and D guy for this NBA offense. The freshmen are simply fantastic. The most athletic and talented class you might ever see. Obviously easy to like our chances going into Maui, and the rest of the season.
BRING ON MAUI, IT'S GO TIME !
We had some good stretches of defense last year ESPECIALLY when we would get down big. Somehow we always came back
How in the world could any player on this team or fan not be having fun? It's going to be a hell of a ride!
The competition with Auburn and possibly Gonzaga next week should show us a lot. The ball movement has been so much fun to watch, and in my opinion, that's the key.
It also looks like K is enjoying this team more. Personally, I'm not so sold that he had a great time last season.
Of course having an energetic basketball freak like Zion Williamson would be enough to fire up anyone. No idea what will happen over the season, but I can't think of any opposing coach out there that is looking at his roster saying "yeah this guy can contain #1. But we're about to find out.
It also looks like K is enjoying this team more. Personally, I'm not so sold that he had a great time last season.
Of course having an energetic basketball freak like Zion Williamson would be enough to fire up anyone. No idea what will happen over the season, but I can't think of any opposing coach out there that is looking at his roster saying "yeah this guy can contain #1. But we're about to find out.
So far, our opponents have figured out with 8 minutes left they just want the game to be over. Will be interesting to see if anyone goes hack a shaq in a close game.
If we are still undefeated after the ACC/BIG10 challenge, that could put me in a situation I've never contemplated before. We'll see.
I'm guessing you were going for "all good points", but I enjoyed that more
Haha!! I guess!!
Like others have mentioned, my only complaint with this year’s team is free throw shooting. We definitely need to improve but IMO with the way that this team can score I don’t know if it will be as big of an issue as it has been in years past that is as long as we keep making shots. Now if we start missing shots when we get fouled then our free throw shooting could most definitely come back to bite us in the ***.
Patrick, I dare you to type a response longer than that !
Speaking of which, break that ish up into paragraphs next time bruh.
Yeah, big difference between missing the and one vs. The front end of a one and one. Seems like we missed too many front ends at crucial times the last couple of years. Last night's game was a great tune up for facing SU and other teams with tough zones. High school kids might face lots of zone Ds, but not with that kind of length.
We aren't likely to be in many close game situations until we are in them. We won't have as many as last year, but we will have some. Missing FTs is something that has to get cleaned up. Like I said, RJ and Zion missing badly is important, because they are going to shoot a bunch of them this year.
The winners get to fly home earlier and start on their Thanksgivings. The teams that make the final game have easier travel.