The Duke Matchup Next Year

[DoctahLexus]

Here goes a brief attempt at optimism about Duke. Would love to hear any thoughts as this will be an exciting and highly anticipated game on our schedule.

1. Their defense was below their standards last year and could really feel the loss of Giles-Harris if he leaves, which is a strong possibility due to his football commitment. Airforce loss was early but highlighted the inexperience of the unit. Still soaked 15 goals from Richmond in their 5th game. Upgren was at 44% in goal, and I still believe that says something about the quality of the defense and the shots they allow, not just the skill of the goalie (think Hopkins/Darby). Also potential to lose senior ssdms Terry Lindsay and Blake Leischow who I believe started.

2. Despite the depth, there is not a line of three mids they have that intimidates me on the level of say ours, MDs, or UNCs last year. The only truly elite dodger of the bunch is Nakie, who has Curry/Dordevic levels of separation. #5 Badour is big, strong, and an excellent shooter. Caputo has some shake. Leadmon has tons of potential despite not blowing up the stat sheet in 2020, but ultimately it's the type of group that we would not feel the need to double pole, which of course is not an option given who they have at attack. Also could lose seniors Carpenter Lowerie Walsh and Quigly, which puts a dent in that depth.

3. Robertson and Dyson Williams are not major threats off the dodge. While they are both great off ball, at least with those two I feel like our long poles could handle the match up from a 1 v 1 perspective. Robertson might be fine even with a shorty in a pinch (this might be wishful thinking). Even Bomberry was able to keep pace with Robertson last year and that was before his acl tare and he is not a big strongman who could back down a smaller ssdm. Will Sowers vs Kennedy be scary? Yes. Kennedy is an elite athlete but it's the second coming of Mike Powell we are dealing with. Will O'Neill vs anyone be scary? Yes. We have some big strong poles in Murphy and DePietro but it could very well be the second coming of Gary Gait/John Grant Jr. that we are dealing with.

4. Organization and keeping everyone happy. As others have mentioned O'Neill and Williams are both full time lefties. I also don't really see Williams' game translating to middie either. Will the threat of O'Neill be slightly reduced if they have him playing a little attack and a little middie out of the box? Would he be happy doing something like that? They can't just have him running the show and initiating every time with Sowers on the team. How will Danowski juggle their abilities? How will they chose to employ the senior vet Robertson in a non QB type role? Danowski values seniority. Will the minutes Robertson takes up minimize other younger threats? Will Sowers be quite as effective with totally new guys and being managed by a totally new coach and OC?

Now to be slightly more negative. The key to success comes down to if we can put up a bunch of goals on their defense. With Sowers in the lineup and their offball talent in Williams, Robertson, Badour, and O'neill, goals will be scored. In a way those are the exact type of guys that Sowers could excel with. Then you have Nakie dodging from up top and O'Neill dodging from wherever as additional legitimate threats. I am hoping that for the reasons 2-4 above that they score only a large amount of goals and not a disturbing amount of goals. Maybe 14-15 instead of 20-21. And I am hoping that due to reason #1 we will be able to match their scoring output. I think we have a fighting chance! Unless of course O'Neill comes in and instantly changes the game as we know it, which is unfortunately a possibility.

 

[Abclaxfan]

I am pretty familiar with Duke's team and I'll add my two cents.

1.) Duke's defense was young this past year, but has a lot of potential. I haven't heard anything regarding JT Giles-Harris. He was considering using his fifth year to play football and I'm uncertain if those plans have changed due to COVID. Kenny Brower was the number two rated player in the 2019 class. He has really good feet and strength. I expect him to be their number one defensemen if Giles-Harris doesn't return. Wilson Stephenson returns from an injury suffered in a playoff game in 2019 against Notre Dame. He was highly touted coming out of high school and was making significant strides before his injury. Tyler Carpenter ran both LSM and close this past spring and was probably the biggest surprise in Durham. He is very strong, athletic, and has playmaking abilities. Finally Will Frisoli is another solid defender who can play either close or up top. He can definitely contribute to a solid defense. While their pole are young and inexperienced I expect them to surprise people. In goal I expect Andrew Bonafede to win the starting job. Uppgren is gone and struggled at times this past year and Bonafede was able to step in and hold his own when called upon. Had the season continued and Uppgren struggled I wouldn't have been surprised to see Bonafede take the starting job. The weakness of the group is no doubt with the SSDM group. Jake Caputo played there this season and may be expected to remain there. He will most likely be joined by a group of converted Omids and defensemen.

2.) In terms of their midfielders, they don't have a definite first group like Syracuse. but they have depth and size. With the addition of Sowers I expect less pressure to be taken off this group. A handful of midfielders have the ability to take over games. We've seen Nakeie do it and Leadmon has had his flashes. Someone will cause serious matchup issues. The problem with this group is the lack of consistency. Many of them have disappeared when needed. I'll add that O'Neil is a match up problem everywhere on the field. He is big and fast and him dodging downfield might be a scary sight for any defense. I could see teams double poling Duke if O'Neil comes out of the box.

 

[Zack80]

When I watch the highlights of O'Neill from 2019:
I see a big guy with an excellent shot and nice stick skills, but he doesn't seem particularly fast. He seems to be bigger than most of the high school defenders covering him. I sort of wonder with getting larger, stronger D1 defenders, if he might get shut down a little bit. He will still probably be very good, but I don't know about the big dodging threat. I might like getting him isolated on an ssdm.
Dyson Williams actually looks a bit faster to me, and might be the one to play midfield.

 

[Hoo's That]

Nakeie Montgomery has become a creature of habit. He keeps looking for a diagonal straight-line speed dodge with a jump shot (I believe left handed) at the end. It was really obvious in broadcasts of the AF and Penn games they lost this season and he was 0-0 in both games.

 

[DoctahLexus]

When I watch the highlights of O'Neill from 2019:
I see a big guy with an excellent shot and nice stick skills, but he doesn't seem particularly fast. He seems to be bigger than most of the high school defenders covering him. I sort of wonder with getting larger, stronger D1 defenders, if he might get shut down a little bit. He will still probably be very good, but I don't know about the big dodging threat. I might like getting him isolated on an ssdm.
Dyson Williams actually looks a bit faster to me, and might be the one to play midfield.

I certainly hope you are right. I think the best case scenario is that he goes the way of Tehoka, a wizard with the stick who can be somewhat contained if you find someone big and strong enough to push him away from a location where he can do some jaw dropping trick shot. The issue is he is bigger and probably a good deal stronger than Tehoka. I also think his stick skills are at a level that is rarely seen, even better than Tehokas as well. Mark Matthews still got the job done despite lacking speed and I would say that is the modern example that O'Neill most closely resembles.

 

[DoctahLexus]

1.) Duke's defense was young this past year, but has a lot of potential. I haven't heard anything regarding JT Giles-Harris. He was considering using his fifth year to play football and I'm uncertain if those plans have changed due to COVID. Kenny Brower was the number two rated player in the 2019 class. He has really good feet and strength. I expect him to be their number one defensemen if Giles-Harris doesn't return.

Unfortunately I keep forgetting that COVID changes the football dynamic. A lot more likely that the next lax season happens than the next football season, which could easily change peoples plans.

 

[Zack80]

I certainly hope you are right. I think the best case scenario is that he goes the way of Tehoka, a wizard with the stick who can be somewhat contained if you find someone big and strong enough to push him away from a location where he can do some jaw dropping trick shot. The issue is he is bigger and probably a good deal stronger than Tehoka. I also think his stick skills are at a level that is rarely seen, even better than Tehokas as well. Mark Matthews still got the job done despite lacking speed and I would say that is the modern example that O'Neill most closely resembles.

I am sort of thinking more about next Spring than career-wise, when O'Neill has to adjust his game to the size and speed of D1. Further, he didn't play his senior high school season, and It's hard to know what sort of practicing he is allowed to do now, and how long this continues.
O'Neill does look pretty nice around the crease, and has the nice shot. Duke will have Sowers breaking down the defense, getting him the ball, so maybe he will have a big freshman year.

 

[ivorytower]

Ive seen Harris on both football field and basketball court, dont see a mid level football talent so I expect his return unless he goes into PLL or to a low level football program which I doubt. He's experienced in middle of their scheme but imo not equal to Van Raaphorst or Mellen both who actually covered ones so wouldn't expect as large a drop-off there as some expect if he's gone. Rooting for Stephenson returns to full health. He was going to be real good before his injury and can play cd in addition to others mentioned. Sowers addition is significant , he's an offensive force whose gonna bring out the best in all those highly talented offensive players they have. They are going to have six real scoring threats on the field. Sorry to say but Cuse despite all their strengths may need to add another.

 

[CHSLAX]

O'Neil significantly faster than he looks. Outstanding body control for kid his size. A lefty but his right is highly skilled. I have seen him play live many times. He is not just a body up type of player like Tehoka. Not saying he can't be stopped though. Plus that attack will be tough to gameplan. All different types of players. ONeil could see the #3 pole. Will be fun to watch.

SU will be loaded next year. With basically the entire offense returning and adding Hiltz we will be scary as well.

 

[Gone]

Unfortunately, I have it from a very reliable source that JT Giles-Harris will be back. I think Cuse will need another stud on close defense, either a transfer or talent stepping up on our current roster. As everyone knows, it is not Kennedy's favourite position and he excels in his original position. I think we can match Duke offensively if the team retains the same chemistry as 2020 and Hiltz is as advertised. We should also benefit from Scanlan having the 2020 season under his belt. I wouldn't be surprised if Desko pursues one of the remaining attack on the portal.

I really hope Duke doesn't pick up a goalie from the portal! Cuse has the edge in goal with Porter but that only goes so far against a loaded offense - too much reliance on a hot goalie is not the way to win a championship.

 

[Abclaxfan]

When I watch the highlights of O'Neill from 2019:
I see a big guy with an excellent shot and nice stick skills, but he doesn't seem particularly fast. He seems to be bigger than most of the high school defenders covering him. I sort of wonder with getting larger, stronger D1 defenders, if he might get shut down a little bit. He will still probably be very good, but I don't know about the big dodging threat. I might like getting him isolated on an ssdm.
Dyson Williams actually looks a bit faster to me, and might be the one to play midfield.

Full Game: St Anthony's 14, Chaminade 13

Watch St. Anthony's 14-13 boys lacrosse win over Chaminade.

www.youtube.com

If anyone has any free time and wants to watch O'Neil, this is the last high school game he played in and maybe his best. He takes a few dodges from up top in this game at around minute 58 and minute 103. He is sneaky fast and has an insane shot. He's adapted his game every year I've watched him, I'm sure he'll transition well in college.

Number 23 Daneza and 17 Naso are also headed to Duke next year and number 7 McAdorey will following in the fall of 2021.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

wish we got sowers

 

[ivorytower]

Would have preferred him going to psu and let him be a b10 worry for Maryland, OSU and others... Instead he chooses the yellow brick road into ACC

Sowers, Gray, Moore oh my

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

When I watch the highlights of O'Neill from 2019:
I see a big guy with an excellent shot and nice stick skills, but he doesn't seem particularly fast. He seems to be bigger than most of the high school defenders covering him. I sort of wonder with getting larger, stronger D1 defenders, if he might get shut down a little bit. He will still probably be very good, but I don't know about the big dodging threat. I might like getting him isolated on an ssdm.
Dyson Williams actually looks a bit faster to me, and might be the one to play midfield.

That's a take.

 

[ivorytower]

Obviously talented . Last hs player I recall with this much buildup was LeBron after his showing at ABCD camp in 2001

 

[Zack80]

Rambo had a pretty big build up.

 

[sholokov2]

When I watch the highlights of O'Neill from 2019:
I see a big guy with an excellent shot and nice stick skills, but he doesn't seem particularly fast. He seems to be bigger than most of the high school defenders covering him. I sort of wonder with getting larger, stronger D1 defenders, if he might get shut down a little bit. He will still probably be very good, but I don't know about the big dodging threat. I might like getting him isolated on an ssdm.
Dyson Williams actually looks a bit faster to me, and might be the one to play midfield.

I'm not sure whom you are watching in that video but it wasn't the same player I watched. Move over Rabil and John Grant. He's after you both.