RJ please pass the ball
- Thread starter 2 skerz 3_rivals208847
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Easy on RJ folks! Kid is a warrior. We get beat by 25 without him
Those plays were drawn up for him to do that. The hope was for the refs to call the game. Can’t rely on that. There are 100 plays where Tre should have driven and created. Like Tyus, Tre should have the ball in tight situations, IMO.
Seriously, RJ need to learn when he can and can’t get a shot, but he’s not this team’s “problem.”
We can’t scapegoat this kid that’s just wrong. He’s a great player and will get it right. He was bad the last minute of the game, and he probably could have had at least one foul go his way. He still has some learning to do.
Seriously, RJ need to learn when he can and can’t get a shot, but he’s not this team’s “problem.”
We can’t scapegoat this kid that’s just wrong. He’s a great player and will get it right. He was bad the last minute of the game, and he probably could have had at least one foul go his way. He still has some learning to do.
Rj did help bring us back from the dirt. But i will agree. One pass and we are in o.t. or win. The refs swallowed their whistles the last minute. K and R.J. both should of realized that after the first 2 drives in the last minute. That third one drove me insane. He had zion on the wing wide open for a game winning shot.
Zion shooting a 3 might not be ideal. But i take a open stand still 3 vs a lay up contested by 3 defenders anyday.
Zion shooting a 3 might not be ideal. But i take a open stand still 3 vs a lay up contested by 3 defenders anyday.
If I’m Zion I am pretty pissed off! RJ cant make freethrows anyway so him getting fouled down 2 wasn’t gonna get it done either.
Zion is too much of a team guy. He will move on to the next game faster than anyone else.
He was so dominant all game. It is a shame that K didnt draw up something for him in the last minute thirty. He deserved atleast one touch in the last minute.
I've agreed that RJ is a ball hog, but he isn't the teams problem. This was a great learning experience for our guys tonight.
Comeback does not happen without RJ leading the charge. He is the alpha on the team whether you like it or not.
With that said, Barrett should find the outlet pass more often as teams are learning to just collapse on him knowing full well he will try to go through all of them instead of giving it up. Plus his FT shooting his atrocious.
With that said, Barrett should find the outlet pass more often as teams are learning to just collapse on him knowing full well he will try to go through all of them instead of giving it up. Plus his FT shooting his atrocious.
It was a really bad last 90 seconds for R.J. and will be a worse 9 hour flight back. However making him the scapegoat is beyond ignorant. He made some big time plays to fuel that run, on both ends. I’m really proud of this teams fight.
He will learn from this and the team will also. I don’t see the team hating on R.J. or being pissed at him for long. RJ is smart enough to know what happened.
He will learn from this and the team will also. I don’t see the team hating on R.J. or being pissed at him for long. RJ is smart enough to know what happened.
I think R.J. learned a lot tonight. OFC
Lets hope - adversity and failure can be a great teacher if you are recepitive to the lesson. That goes for all the team and the staff...not just the last 90 seconds. K's previous pressers eluded to the need to learn win or lose and I have faith in his teaching abilities!
Wow for a minute I thought I was reading the Kentucky Board. Duke it's extremely young and lost by two points to the #3 ranked team in the country. You would think they lost by 34 to a bunch of freshmen. Duke needed this loss now instead of later in the year. If you look at the schedule Duke has already played some of the best teams they will see all season. Their next seven opponents are going to be blowout wins and Duke will be ranked #1 rolling into January. UNC, Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Kansas all play each other coming up so they're going to all be taking losses soon. We are better than this and don't stoop to the level of some of our Rivals by calling out one of our players who just happens to be one of the best players in the world at his level.
Players I would’ve rather seen have a spot up 3 to end the game instead of a RJ fumble F*c$. Alex, Cam, Jack, Tre
Good post because this is the key.
RJ has a Kobe like mindset where in his mind the best play for the team is his ability to score. If this helps him develop then the loss is so much more valuable then any win this time of year.
Go post on catspause Dbag. Just be happy we have a player like RJ to begin with.
RJ is still the guy to shoot the ball and I’ll bet he will have it in his hands in the next situation again. I just think he is forcing it too much right now. His shot selection on the perimeter and his slashing in the half-court have led to transition points for the other team b/c they just weren’t good decisions. I think he just has to clean that up a little bit and we should be good. He is deadly in transition. I’m surprised he hasn’t done more with his mid-range game lately.
I hope he watched film from the Maui and starts to consider the threats around him when slashing in the half court. Easy to say from home though.
I hope he watched film from the Maui and starts to consider the threats around him when slashing in the half court. Easy to say from home though.
I’m glad you all see now what I’ve seen. RJ is s huge ball hog. He’s the kind of player I hated playing with in high school. Not that I played with people of his caliber but you know what I mean.
I don’t have a problem with RJ having the ball but not do the same thing he did previously and force it. I blame Coach K for not attacking the matchup. Zion could’ve done what RJ did and actually got the ball on the rim. Weakside rebounder would’ve had a clear path for the tip in
UT beats Kansas Friday and Duke will be ranked #2. If you’re going to lose, that’s probably the best scenario for it to happen. Coming back from down 15 pts while playing great defense. Think K will learn from this as well that in a tight game with a minute or two left, have Zion or Tre drive because they will pass the ball whereas RJ hasn’t met a drive that he doesn’t like whether it’s 1 on 1, 1 on 3, or 1 on 5. They’re also much better FT shooters.
We’ve also got to find a way to use Ques versus smaller lineups otherwise we will start seeing every decent team go with a stretch 4 versus a Center.
Well quit bashing our own players. We are very lucky to have a talent like RJ.
well. my thoughts are not good here. giving the ball 4 times to RJ and have him drive each time and not pass the ball - i mean what was going on there?
that's not duke basketball.
that's not duke basketball.
I didn’t bash anyone champ. Reading comprehension is hard for some. Maybe you should sit the next few out.
There are 3 different threads on here with you bashing RJ. He had a bad game. So be it. He's human. I'll still take his 24 points he had tonight anyday.
Some of the guys who are mad at RJ were mad at Jayson too. Patience is a virtue. At the end of the day, everyone has the same goal in mind, a Duke chip.
I get it, we don’t want to go down the same road we have the past couple of seasons, but this team truly is different. If you don’t believe me, just take K’s word. They really do care about each other and how the program looks. Can’t say that about the past few iterations of Duke basketball. They’ll correct the issues.
Didn’t bash him a single time. Dude needs to pass the ball and play harder on defense. If you wanna be a snowflake and cry about it feel free but don’t make **** up.
But the thing is when Tatum was being bashed he was sucking. He improved though and started playing great team ball. Pointing that out in the moment doesn’t mean anyone is bashing I just hope the last minute doesn’t carry over (I don’t think it will)
RJ should have passed the ball at the end but he didn’t lose the game, our first half defense and our rebounding lost the game.
I never said bash @pigsah101. I’ve never shied away from discourse by pulling the bash card.
I do feel people were hyper critical of a kid coming off of injury and trying to integrate into what was a team that was flailing at the time.
I too have pointed out that RJ has made some boneheaded plays on O. However, 1.) most of the plays were drawn up that way, 2.) it’s November, 3.) The talent there is undeniable, it just needs to be cultivated, 4.) it’s easier to pull back on the reigns, than to have to try to coax a guy into being aggressive, 5.) the team needs an alpha.
RJ isn’t wrong in what he’s doing, he’s just not doing it the right way yet, if that makes sense. The same went for Jayson.
If you go back and look at Tatum’s “good half” of the season, he was taking the same shots and making the same drives, he just made the shots. The same will happen for RJ. But he’ll also find open teammates better than Tatum could. He’s already second on the team in assists so the propensity to pass is there.
I got you and I didn’t mean you specifically but we hear it all the time from a certain group just trying to clear up how I saw it. Rj is a great player he’ll be fine
I think so too. Like I said, I see it as he’s going about it the wrong way, but the motivation is pure. He wants to win.
He should be called on his ****, but when guys speculate that he’s jealous or doing it for draft stock, I can’t get down with that line of thinking. Not with this kid and this team.
RJ is really good, no denying that, and is needed for us to have a chance to win the title. But he’s not our best player. That spot rest solely on our 270+ pound athletic freak Zion.
He does it all, and he’s unselfish. The sooner the team realizes that, the better we will all be for it. I don’t think there’s a team out there that has any answer for him.
I think you’re right. Until RJ can get his FT percentage into the 70’s and defend like he’s capable, he’s second best at the moment, which is ok, but not what’s needed. He needs to be the best. Zion is the best right now, but you need a guy like RJ who can get to the line and lane.
Being mad and being critical are different things. Nobody bats an eye when people on here “bashed” ‘Ques that past 2 years but be critical of RJ and how he plays sometimes and all hell breaks loose lol.