Who are the 7-8 guys that are good?
Bolden, the likely starting center STILL sucks. DeLaurier is just okay. O'Connell and Goldwire are nothing special. Same for Vrankovic.
Duke after 1 game
- Thread starter dnabbott25
- Start date
Who are the 7-8 guys that are good?
Bolden, the likely starting center STILL sucks. DeLaurier is just okay. O'Connell and Goldwire are nothing special. Same for Vrankovic.
The four freshman and one of Bolden and DeLaurier with the other coming off the bench. The other two off the bench are White and O’Connell.
They will both need to average 30 ppg for dook to go anywhere. A good defensive team will eat them for breakfast.
I would choose castration over pulling for UNC or Dook.
If it cost me $1000 a season to keep UNC or Dook from winning another title, I'll write it into my will!
I know their names. I'm asking who is good enough. It sure as hell isn't Bolden. Plus, we haven't even seen Jones or Reddish play yet. I think at least Reddish will be really good.
I mean it’s the same bench they had last year, just a year older. I think White, O’Connell and Deaurier are good enough.
Alex O’Connell is a major X Factor as one Kentucky poster alluded to. He can shoot it very well from the outside and is very athletic. I’m expecting a big year from him. I was saddened that he got hurt.
Jones
Barrett
O’Connell
Reddish
Zion
Bolden
DeLaurier
White
K only plays 7 regardless of how deep. Duke has won a title with a less talented team than this (2010).
Sooooooo early. But it is a little flattering to see posters here get excited about the hope or prospects that Duke isn’t very good this year.
Jones
Barrett
O’Connell
Reddish
Zion
Bolden
DeLaurier
White
K only plays 7 regardless of how deep. Duke has won a title with a less talented team than this (2010).
Sooooooo early. But it is a little flattering to see posters here get excited about the hope or prospects that Duke isn’t very good this year.
Absolutely and experience will certainly be a major factor IMO. I’m hoping this team catches fire like the young Kentucky team did in (2014?) I think that was the year y’all had some struggles but the freshman caught fire and made clutch plays en route to an unexpected title game appearance. I can absolutely see Duke being good enough to mirror that type of run.
soooooo, just curious.....all you prognosticators out there assuring yourselves that duke WON'T win the title, did y'all call it early in 2010 and 2015?
asking for a friend...
asking for a friend...
Reddish will be their third star. And frankly, that's kind of the minimum to have a truly dangerous team. You need 3 really good players. Tre Jones is not on the same level as those other 3, but really, he is their only viable PG.
Duke will be good. They'll win games. They'll compete for the ACC title. But they have no significant post options and will struggle facing aggressive defenses and zones. I can see them getting hot and making a final four run, but I can also see them losing in the 2nd round against a team with size.
Their best 2 players are probably slightly better than our best 2 players, but they aren't nearly as balanced or complete as UK is. That box score is all you need as evidence.
You could lose a lot of money on that Elite 8 bet. They definitely have enough talent to get there, but this is exactly the kind of team who can lose in the Sweet 16 when a quality coach has a week to game plan.
If I had to peg it today, I would say they will be 50/50 or worse to make the Elite Eight. That’s partly because I think the ACC could beat them up a bit and cause their seeding to suffer.
I've watched Reddish play several games. His ball-handling looked worse than I expected, he settled for a lot of bad, contested 3's, I wasn't impressed by his athleticism, and I thought he looked a bit weak. Maybe I just caught him at some bad times, but I thought Barrett and Zion looked vastly superior.
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Some guy on fox sport radio is going crazy over Duke after last night, says they will go undefeated and cut down the nets this year????????
Duke is totally unbalanced. They have zero post presence and no real hope to develop it. Beyond that, they have no quality upperclassman leadership. They have no bench. They are almost completely dependent on 4 freshmen who all start, three of which play the same natural position. None of the 4 can play in the post effectively. Worse yet, they have no good perimeter shooters. If you read the scouting report on each of their freshmen, all of them need work on the perimeter.
Now lets take that a step further. K has shown no ability to develop team chemistry or defense with OAD's. So, other than 3 really good one on one players, one a human highlight reel against inferior competition, what is it that they are good at?
I see almost no hope for a final 4 run from Duke, I think a crash and burn is more likely. They will make the tournament and may get out of the first weekend but the sweet 16 is probably their ceiling.
Not sure they’ll even make the tournament based on this.
Coach K has to have at least two shooters on the court at all times. I'm not sure they have one shooter on the whole team this year.
Its valid, but their individual talents will take them pretty far, up to the sweet 16.
If I were coaching Duke I would play Zion at the 5, spread people out, and punish them going downhill.
But if I were coaching against Duke and they did this, I would make Zion work himself to death on D inside. Not sure he has the stamina. Then I would zone them and see how tired legs hit jumpers.
From a purely basketball standpoint, there are some interesting scenarios and it could be a fun team to watch. Too bad the Duke players, fans, coaches,and announcers are always so insufferable, unlikable, and unwatchable.
But if I were coaching against Duke and they did this, I would make Zion work himself to death on D inside. Not sure he has the stamina. Then I would zone them and see how tired legs hit jumpers.
From a purely basketball standpoint, there are some interesting scenarios and it could be a fun team to watch. Too bad the Duke players, fans, coaches,and announcers are always so insufferable, unlikable, and unwatchable.
Has Duke ever fielded a team like this one with a minimal number of three point shooters available? I can't recall one. That has been one of the calling cards of Duke under Krybabisskzfjaskki as far back as I can remember.
You are kidding yourself if you don't think Dook will be formidable. They will be. But I like UK's chances of going further better than Dook's. We are more balanced, much better inside, better defensively, and deeper. Maybe a better shooting team, too. Other than Zion and Barrett, UK is more talented across the board. (No, I'm not forgetting Reddish.)
But 2-3 studs like those guys have can take a team very far.
But 2-3 studs like those guys have can take a team very far.