I want Gbinije as the starting PG next year

[Coach Orange]

Kaleb needs to get stronger -- when he does, he will be better. He has some quickness, and a decent jump shot, but he is playing at 165 or 170 lbs.

Strength is definitely part of his struggles. He needs to work on his fundamentals on both ends of the court, too. He doesn't shoot well from beyond 15 feet, he doesn't protect the ball well when dribbling, he doesn't use his left hand well at all, and he often doesn't keep his eyes up, which leads to missed opportunities.

Defensively, he rarely has his hands up, he doesn't slide his feet to stay in front of opponents, he closes out lazily, he sometimes forgets to get to the opposite elbow when the ball is reversed to the other wing, and he often doesn't pinch in to help rebound.

That said, all of these issues are correctable if he works at them. Furthermore, he shows flashes of the player he can become in time when he executes the fundamentals that he is currently proficient in or has mastered. I fully expect that Kaleb will be much improved by the time he leaves the hill.

 

[Jake]

I said I was encouraged. My point is that I'm seeing things that indicate he will get better. This year is lost. I don't think I ever said he played "well".it wasn't my point.

The things he sucked at tonight can be improved, the things he did well were more talent based.

And for all the bitching about Trevor and Kaleb, the guy who grossly underperformed tonight was Rak.

 

[jekelish]

I said I was encouraged. My point is that I'm seeing things that indicate he will get better. This year is lost. I don't think I ever said he played "well".it wasn't my point.

The things he sucked at tonight can be improved, the things he did well were more talent based.

And for all the bitching about Trevor and Kaleb, the guy who grossly underperformed tonight was Rak.

The thing that's encouraging for him that was on display tonight, and has been on display even with his struggles this year: he's already the best midrange jump shooter on the team.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Defensively he was not good. That will improve. Saw some mid range game offensively that I liked...stuff you can't teAch. He will get better.

Wished he'd gone to his mid range shot earlier than the last 5 minutes of the game. He has an excellent mid range shot from around 15 feet in.

Tyler Roberson had a surprisingly good game and showed aggressiveness we haven't really seen. If he played like he did today, we'd have at least 3 more wins. Sad if we're only going to play Duke once a year going forward. This should be a marquee home/away matchup every year.

 

[kuethstheman]

Strength is definitely part of his struggles. He needs to work on his fundamentals on both ends of the court, too. He doesn't shoot well from beyond 15 feet, he doesn't protect the ball well when dribbling, he doesn't use his left hand well at all, and he often doesn't keep his eyes up, which leads to missed opportunities.

Defensively, he rarely has his hands up, he doesn't slide his feet to stay in front of opponents, he closes out lazily, he sometimes forgets to get to the opposite elbow when the ball is reversed to the other wing, and he often doesn't pinch in to help rebound.

That said, all of these issues are correctable if he works at them. Furthermore, he shows flashes of the player he can become in time when he executes the fundamentals that he is currently proficient in or has mastered. I fully expect that Kaleb will be much improved by the time he leaves the hill.

But aside from that he's awesome!

 

[Ghost]

Defensively he was not good. That will improve. Saw some mid range game offensively that I liked...stuff you can't teAch. He will get better.

His defense still concerns me. I just can't fathom why he won't contest threes. His mid-range game has been impressive though of late.

 

[Ghost]

I said I was encouraged. My point is that I'm seeing things that indicate he will get better. This year is lost. I don't think I ever said he played "well".it wasn't my point.

The things he sucked at tonight can be improved, the things he did well were more talent based.

And for all the bitching about Trevor and Kaleb, the guy who grossly underperformed tonight was Rak.

Cooney didn't?

Rak was going up against the consenus #1 pick in the draft. I don't know that I would single him out over Kaleb or Cooney.

Cooney finally has what everyone has been telling us for ages has been holding him back - a legitimate threat down low that draws defensive attention, and a second three point shooter that draws legitimate defensive attention. Yet, we got three makes to open the game up, followed by a parade of misses and one assist for the game? I think they both underperformed.

Kaleb performed as expected.

 

[pearl31]

Rak was going up against the consenus #1 pick in the draft.

who hasn't really learned how to play defense yet. He11, Jikiri for Miami had his way with him.
Rak had a poor game.

 

[Jake]

Both had 11 points. Cooney had 5 steals and five rebounds. Rak had 5 assists and 6 rebounds. Odd for them both.

And FWIW, the big knock on Okafor coming into tonight was his poor play on the defensive end.

My concern coming into tonight was our ability to contain Okafor...never thought he'd be able to stop Rak. I was wrong.

Cooney helped establish our early lead, Rak never got into the flow. Yes, Cooney played better than Rak, Who also got into foul trouble(not unexpected).

 

[Coach Orange]

But aside from that he's awesome!

Kaleb is what he is: the #50 overall (ESPN) player in his class (most #50 players are not one-and-dones with polished skill sets) trying to learn how to play the most important position in college basketball. Mind you, this position is not one that he played exclusively prior to college, yet he is logging plenty of game minutes, probably more than a player in his spot would normally get in his first season with a veteran point guard on the team.

No one is denying that he has been up-and-down, having some solid moments and some moments that make a person want to bang his or her head on a wall. That's how learning works, though: lots of starts and stops in the process. It can be frustrating at times, but patience is required to see growth.

By the way, here is what ESPN's Recruiting Nation analyst wrote about him on 2/27/14:

"For all of Joseph's versatile tools, he isn't yet as efficient as he should be. While he currently looks to make plays in spots he needs to learn to develop his overall feel for the game while simultaneously becoming more assertive within the flow of the offense. He must also work to fill out his frame and become more consistent playing against contact on both ends of the floor."

Sounds spot-on to me. So, is it that Kaleb has shockingly underperformed, or is it that some of us expected too much?

 

[Ghost]

who hasn't really learned how to play defense yet. He11, Jikiri for Miami had his way with him.
Rak had a poor game.

I realize Rak had a poor game. Offensively he was garbage. I can readily concede that. I just find it comical how nobody that loves Cooney can ever truly concede that he's a problem area in any game.

There is always a bright spot!!!!

It just makes me laugh. This was the game people had been telling me about me about forever - the offense firing on all cylinders - Rak our scoring machine being guarded tightly, G going off, Roberson going off...but we still get the same results.

No creating offense for anyone else. A 32 minute scoring drought. A bunch of steals with the ball quickly returned to Duke. But Rak going toe-to-toe against the best big man in the country was the seriously under-performing one.

I don't know. It's always odd.

Again, just makes me laugh a little at times.

 

[SoBeCuse]

The problem was that too often tonight as in many games (throw out BC game. Kaleb will never have those opportunities again) he just pounded it into the floor and didn't move forward with it. Just stood in one place and dribbled or went sideways. He was also getting burned off the bounce and not challenging shooters.

Tough game and props to the team for playing hard and GREAT turnout at the Dome. Looked amazing on TV. We make some layups and get some calls and it might have been closer. Both teams were raped and didn't get obvious calls. Mike and Tyler were great.

 

[Ghost]

The problem was that too often tonight as in many games (throw out BC game. Kaleb will never have those opportunities again) he just pounded it into the floor and didn't move forward with it. Just stood in one place and dribbled or went sideways. He was also getting burned off the bounce and not challenging shooters.

Tough game and props to the team for playing hard and GREAT turnout at the Dome. Looked amazing on TV. We make some layups and get some calls and it might have been closer. Both teams were raped and didn't get obvious calls. Mike and Tyler were great.

Great post. It's sort of a shame that Tyler's game is overshadowed so much by G's performance. He really did play well in a huge game. Nice to see him step up.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Great post. It's sort of a shame that Tyler's game is overshadowed so much by G's performance. He really did play well in a huge game. Nice to see him step up.

Yup. Gotta say I am really impressed with Okafor's offensive game. Highly polished for a freshman. Like Bilas said that when he gets position deep it's over pretty much.

 

[Ghost]

Yup. Gotta say I am really impressed with Okafor's offensive game. Highly polished for a freshman. Like Bilas said that when he gets position deep it's over pretty much.

He's got really good touch around the rim (Rak was showing us what the opposite of that looked like tonight - quite nice of him if you ask me), and uses the backboard very well.

 

[Cuse_1999]

I said a month ago that I expect G to play PG next year so we can get the best 5 on the court. IMO if G has a future in the NBA it's at PG. He is vastly improved from last year to this year in all areas including ball handling. Expect that trend to continue.

I would love a lineup of G, Cooney, McC, Roberson, Coleman. All 5 can score and we have G would be a beast at the top of the zone. People will say McC and Roberson are both 4's. Fair enough, but McC is plenty capable of making the mid range jumper and keeping the D honest

 

[AZOrange]

He's got really good touch around the rim (Rak was showing us what the opposite of that looked like tonight - quite nice of him if you ask me), and uses the backboard very well.

Yeah sort of...roberson has missed a lot of bunnies this year including last night...

 

[SWC75]

I just want Gbinije on the team next year. But I'm not counting on it the way he's blowing up right now.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I just want Gbinije on the team next year. But I'm not counting on it the way he's blowing up right now.

He's reminding me of an Evan Turner type in terms of doing lots of things very well.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Usually in agreement with you, but he was awful tonight and really has been for most of this season. Repeatedly beat off the dribble to his side of the zone, did not get out on shooters or rotate to the corner on a few occasions. Offensively he's becoming poor from abysmal, but his defense has not improved one bit.

You mean those possessions when g and Roberson were standing on the same side of the zone? If you recall, duke scored 3 wide open threes during this stretch of the first half.