Duke Game Preview (April 27th, Noon)

[AD31]

Not sure how many teams employ a long stick at faceoff anymore. Seems like good fogos have figured out ways to beat that strategy over the years.

One thing they do do is put a shortstick d middie on attack. They did it last year as well (I only noticed because Carter Rice scored a goal and I was very confused). I guess they do this in case the ball ends up in the offensive side of the and they have a guy who can win the ball back. Not sure how effective of a strategy it is. If they do win a faceoff it feels like it then takes that much longer to run guys on and off.

Very curious as to why they haven’t tried using two poles on the wings, but I imagine it’s due to Petro’s conservativeness.

They did this last game Vs Virginia they had Rice and Murphy at attack on the face offs. I couldn't really understand the reason for it? The wings will get the ball by the time it gets to the attack. Well at least the other teams wings not ours unfortunately. LOL

 

[Powellfan]

 

[Cuse All-In]

I went back to look at the stats for each of the freshmen ahead of Spallina. Spallina's 63 pts in 14 games stands up well against these guys at least based on number of games played. The guy who really stands out is Storrier who got his 63 points in only an 11 game season. Others are as follow:

Zulberti - 1986 - 74 pts in 17 games
Mikey Powell - 2001 - 70 pts in 16 games
Casey Powell - 1995 - 67 pts in 15 games
Tom Marechek - 1989 - 65 pts in 15 games

Of course, the relative strengths of past Cuse teams and strength of opposition is impossible to quantify.

 

[Cuse4455]

The former guys played against plummers and attorneys and only had to Face like 1-2 good teams. Spallina plays against elite athletes and has to play against 6-7 good teams

 

[Cuse All-In]

The former guys played against plummers and attorneys and only had to Face like 1-2 good teams. Spallina plays against elite athletes and has to play against 6-7 good teams

Good point although I'm sure they faced more than 1-2 good teams. Spallina himself has benefitted from elite training methods. I think you have to look at how each guy did in his era against guys in his era - same equipment, training (or lack of it) etc.

Then there's the infamous "eye test". Does he show the ability to dominate.

Anyway, always fun to compare stats from different eras.

 

[Cuse All-In]

The former guys played against plummers and attorneys and only had to Face like 1-2 good teams. Spallina plays against elite athletes and has to play against 6-7 good teams

As both a former plumber and attorney, I take offense at your comments.

 

[Cuse4455]

My comment was meant as a Joke lol. Kinda like when people compare 60s NBA players vs present players

 

[Cuse All-In]

My comment was meant as a Joke lol. Kinda like when people compare 60s NBA players vs present players

You ARE a joke!

Just kidding - good to have some laughs.

 

[tech37]

Good point although I'm sure they faced more than 1-2 good teams. Spallina himself has benefitted from elite training methods. I think you have to look at how each guy did in his era against guys in his era - same equipment, training (or lack of it) etc.

Then there's the infamous "eye test". Does he show the ability to dominate.

Anyway, always fun to compare stats from different eras.

Agree with this in relative ways. My 2 cents... JoJo Marasco was a disappointment, IMHO, until his senior year when he blossomed big time. I still don't understand how that happened. Amazing. Guy took the team on his back and I especially remember the reg season Princeton game.

Despite his point total I agree Spillina isn't "dominant" but with time/maturity, just like Marasco, he might be.

 

[DoctahLexus]

If you're secret to success is your foot speed, there will always eventually be some long pole who is able to match pace with you. Only if you have other components to your game will you be able to put up numbers on a regular basis. There is a trend this year with very few guys being able to consistently beat a top long pole match up. I'm talking very few this year. In fact the only names I would for sure put in that category are Brennan Oneill and CJ Kirst. For most of the top players this year it is about much more than your ability to dominate a long pole off the dodge. Pat Kav it is his feeding/QB ability as well as his ability to exploit unsettled situations. Dickson and Mackesy a large part of it is their lethal shooting.

The season Wisnauskas put together last year was a combination of those skills. He put up all those points with very little coming from destroying a long pole in a 1v1 situation. Meanwhile some speed dodging guys like Ross Scott and Kyle Long have had disappointing seasons, struggling with additional attention directed their way after others have graduated. How many times this season have we seen the number one long pole shut down the number one attack to nothing except points that don't involve beating their man cleanly? Sure feels like a lot more than last year. This year the only guy who has given us problems 1v1 is ONeill. All the other names, even if they put up big numbers, it was not due to them dusting their long pole match ups.

Pretty much every name I mentioned is a better dodger than Spallina at present. But he has pretty much every one of those non-dodging attributes in spades. That's how he got the big numbers this year and I only anticipate them getting bigger as things like his outside shooting and general confidence improve.

 

[cuselaxss26]

Spallina is young but smart very smart. He needs to wise up little more when comes to getting topside. He rarely ever tries to get topside n he goes hard to that 5n5 n stops looking for shot. Only few times did he continue topside and when did scored on it everytime just bout(think hit post once or so). That’s really my only nic bout his game would say. Everything else he has been great specially for freshman. He just need to realize he isn’t gonna be able to body defenders like he’s used to and even goalies this level will cut that angle down to nothing if try shooting at that spot he always goes to. Teams know what he tries to do n wants that 5n5 spot n now is where he should use it as to bait them. Throw a rocker dodge or sutterstep n go topside hard.

 

[cuselaxss26]

Think even a fake btb shot would fake out slot of defenders making path to continue right in front of goalie. Or even a inside roll.

 

[Powellfan]

Agree with this in relative ways. My 2 cents... JJ Marasco was a disappointment, IMHO, until his senior year when he blossomed big time. I still don't understand how that happened. Amazing. Guy took the team on his back and I especially remember the reg season Princeton game.

Despite his point total I agree Spillina isn't "dominant" but with time/maturity, just like Marasco, he might be.

Marasco pre-senior year I think was better than people give him credit for. He was hurt for the last five games of his freshman season but still finished with a decent 17 points. Had 41 points as a sophomore which is pretty darn good for a middie. Dropped off a bit junior year with 31 points but hardly a bust. Did explode for 66 points as a senior which is wild for a midfielder.

Dont quite understand the shade that gets thrown Spallina’s way. His game seemingly gets picked apart like no other, or somehow dismissed despite his tremendous performance this year. His stats compare very favorably to recent star players (O’Neil - 55 points in 17 games). I think the main takeaway is simply that he’s in the conversation with great players like Mike Powell, Tom Marachek and O’Neil. That’s pretty darn exciting! Can we just be happy with that?

 

[Cuse All-In]

Marasco pre-senior year I think was better than people give him credit for. He was hurt for the last five games of his freshman season but still finished with a decent 17 points. Had 41 points as a sophomore which is pretty darn good for a middie. Dropped off a bit junior year with 31 points but hardly a bust. Did explode for 66 points as a senior which is wild for a midfielder.

Dont quite understand the shade that gets thrown Spallina’s way. His game seemingly gets picked apart like no other, or somehow dismissed despite his tremendous performance this year. His stats compare very favorably to recent star players (O’Neil - 55 points in 17 games). I think the main takeaway is simply that he’s in the conversation with great players like Mike Powell, Tom Marachek and O’Neil. That’s pretty darn exciting! Can we just be happy with that?

I think Spallina has delivered for the team and has had a great freshman season. I think the "shade" is due to two things:
1) He was hyped more than any other number one recruit that I can remember. He signed NILs before stepping on the field. Some people don't like it when a kid is anointed before he's proven himself in the ACC.
2) He is not dynamically athletic, big or very fast. That may change as he matures.

He may well become a more dominant player in the next 3 years.