Why isn't Duke better?

[Alsacs]

If John Calipari was coaching this Duke team he would be getting more criticized for his team.

 

[721Comstock]

Their team is wholly mediocre, top to bottom, after Zion. They aren't making the FF unless someone gets hot from three for a few games.

Edit: mediocre for Duke. They are likely a Sweet 16 team without Zion, all in all.

PPG RPG APG
23.1 7.5 4.2

RJ Barrett ‘s wholly mediocre season averages.

He’s leading the toughest conference in the country in scoring, and is also an excellent rebounder and passer.

Reddish is terribly overrated.
Tre Jones is Jason Hart 2.0 - excellent defender, decent PG, atrocious shooter.

 

[Knicks411]

I think it's a somewhat flawed team (Tre Jones is a good defender, but really can't shoot, Cam Reddish was a top 3 prospect who is just meh, DeLaurier and Bolden are less than meh) but Barrett is a very good player and Zion is really one of the best college players we've ever seen. So that covers up for a lot of flaws.

They're a weird team. Someone in the tournament takes away Zion and they're in trouble.

Cam has talent but goes through the motions. This was a criticism of him in high school as well. West Town should have had a much better record than they did last season.

RJ Barrett needs the ball to function.

Good luck with that

 

[jgeorge322]

i think reddish will be a better pro than barrett. reddish's game is more suited for the nba. he reminds me of jimmy butler, who was good in college but nothing spectacular.

Reddish could end up being the best of all three. It will just take him the longest to get there. Im still not convinced zion is a superstar although zion had one drive last night that had me go woah. His handle is a bit better than i thought

 

[Alsacs]

Cam Reddish plays like college CJ Fair or NBA Rudy Gay.
In day before OADs he would have popped in College his 2nd or 3rd year.

 

[bpo57]

Reddish could end up being the best of all three. It will just take him the longest to get there. Im still not convinced zion is a superstar although zion had one drive last night that had me go woah. His handle is a bit better than i thought

Reddish will end up being better than Zion? lol

 

[jgeorge322]

Reddish will end up being better than Zion? lol

Powell>reddish>zion... happy now?

Honestly, im interested in how zion’s game will translate to the nba where he may not be able to bully players as much. Hes only 6’7”. I also think cam will be a lot better in 5 years than he is now. Maybe its laughable but maybe not. Well see.

 

[bpo57]

Powell>reddish>zion... happy now?

Makes about as much sense as your previous statement. At least u got the first two components right.

 

[Knicks411]

I really dont think it's a huge stretch to say Zion will be one of the most physically dominant players in the NBA from day one next year. The man is an absolute freak

 

[bpo57]

Powell>reddish>zion... happy now?

Honestly, im interested in how zion’s game will translate to the nba where he may not be able to bully players as much. Hes only 6’7”. I also think cam will be a lot better in 5 years than he is now. Maybe its laughable but maybe not. Well see.

Reddish has some tools so he may end up being a good NBA player. On the other hand there have been an endless stream of first round Duke players that did not live up to their billing. I don't think ZW will be one of them tho as he is an athletic freak who plays all out and knows how to play the game.

 

[HuskyHooper]

I'm an outsider, Pac-12 and UW guy. I've always felt that Coach K can be overrated. Curious what the perception on the east coast is on him. He always gets the best recruits and they seem like they under perform. They are rarely a strong defensive team. A lot of people criticize Cal, but he has done some great coaching jobs with weaker recruits and less experience. I've been more impressed with Cal than Coach K this season.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm an outsider, Pac-12 and UW guy. I've always felt that Coach K can be overrated. Curious what the perception on the east coast is on him. He always gets the best recruits and they seem like they under perform. They are rarely a strong defensive team. A lot of people criticize Cal, but he has done some great coaching jobs with weaker recruits and less experience. I've been more impressed with Cal than Coach K this season.

I don't know, K has really only gotten insane recruiting classes the last 4 or 5 years? (Not that they were bad, but like, 3 or 4 top 10-15 players every year) In 2012/16/17 they did rank 75 or worse in defensive efficiency.

But you look at the 2010 team that won the title; it isn't like he had a whos who of lottery picks. Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek.

When you look at the totality of his career, I think he's the best college coach ever

 

[Cheriehoop]

Barrett is a volume shooter averaging seven 3 point attempts/game with only a .310 percentage. He averages 19 shots a game despite not being an elite shooter. Barrett is better inside the arc(.532) and has good assist numbers with 4.2 assists but a poor free throw shooter 66% (again not a good shooter) and turns it over way too much. (3.2/game) . Barrett is an excellent elite rebounder 7.5 playing guard forward at Duke. He leads the ACC in scoring not because of his efficiency but because of volume.

Cam Reddish is inconsistent and hasn’t displayed good, less elite shooting his freshman year. He takes an average of 13 shots per game with 8 from the 3 point line. He’s not an effective slasher (.356 inside the arc) and barely adequate but far from elite 3 point shooter (.329). Compare with SU’s Hughes who is also inconsistent but a much better and efficient inside and outside scorer. Hughes takes less shots (11 per game), shooting .529 inside the arc and .362 from 3. Reddish also turns it over more averaging 3 turnovers a game vs 1.8 for Hughes. Hughes is even a slightly better rebounder (4.4 per game vs 3.7 for the 2 inch taller Reddish). Reddish has a way to go to show he’s NBA ready.

I’m surprised Coach K hasn’t reigned in the volume and quality of shots Reddish and Barrett take. Their shot efficiency especially at the 3 point line will bite them at some point unless they run the offense through Zion more and create more for O’Connell their best 3 point shooter. Barrett takes the most shots for Duke (19) while Reddish and Zion average the same number of shots(13.5). Not an efficient distribution nor balanced number of shots.

 

[rrlbees]

NBA success

Barrett
Zion
Reddish
Jones

 

[bpo57]

I don't know, K has really only gotten insane recruiting classes the last 4 or 5 years? (Not that they were bad, but like, 3 or 4 top 10-15 players every year) In 2012/16/17 they did rank 75 or worse in defensive efficiency.

But you look at the 2010 team that won the title; it isn't like he had a whos who of lottery picks. Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek.

When you look at the totality of his career, I think he's the best college coach ever

What John Wooden did will never be touched but I understand there are several difficulties in making the comparison. Just a thought.

It's not easy winning it all with one and done players, no matter the talent level. Some extensive experience is a good thing.

 

[bpo57]

Barrett is a volume shooter averaging seven 3 point attempts/game with only a .310 percentage. He averages 19 shots a game despite not being an elite shooter. Barrett is better inside the arc(.532) and has good assist numbers with 4.2 assists but a poor free throw shooter 66% (again not a good shooter) and turns it over way too much. (3.2/game) . Barrett is an excellent elite rebounder 7.5 playing guard forward at Duke. He leads the ACC in scoring not because of his efficiency but because of volume.

Cam Reddish is inconsistent and hasn’t displayed good, less elite shooting his freshman year. He takes an average of 13 shots per game with 8 from the 3 point line. He’s not an effective slasher (.356 inside the arc) and barely adequate but far from elite 3 point shooter (.329). Compare with SU’s Hughes who is also inconsistent but a much better and efficient inside and outside scorer. Hughes takes less shots (11 per game), shooting .529 inside the arc and .362 from 3. Reddish also turns it over more averaging 3 turnovers a game vs 1.8 for Hughes. Hughes is even a slightly better rebounder (4.4 per game vs 3.7 for the 2 inch taller Reddish). Reddish has a way to go to show he’s NBA ready.

I’m surprised Coach K hasn’t reigned in the volume and quality of shots Reddish and Barrett take. Their shot efficiency especially at the 3 point line will bite them at some point unless they run the offense through Zion more. Barrett takes the most shots for Duke (19) while Reddish and Zion average the same number of shots(13.5). Not an efficient distribution of shots.

Your last paragraph is spot on. I am continually amazed when these guys launch up three after three, particularly when Zion is on the floor.

 

[bpo57]

NBA success

Barrett
Zion
Reddish
Jones

Don't overthink it. Zion will be a monster in the NBA, just like he is in college.

 

[Knicks411]

What John Wooden did will never be touched but I understand there are several difficulties in making the comparison. Just a thought.

It's not easy winning it all with one and done players, no matter the talent level. Some extensive experience is a good thing.

Yeah, no one is going to win 10 titles, but it was much easier (i didnt say easy!) to win when he was coaching.

Dumb example of what I'm talking about; in Wooden's last 9 seasons they won 8 national titles and lost in the final four once (so, not too bad). In those 9 seasons, he won 34 NCAA tournament games (I'm not counting the third place game they won for the sake of the argument). From 86-94, 9 seasons, Duke won 38 NCAA tournament games, but "only" had 2 championships to show for it.

 

[rrlbees]

Don't overthink it. Zion will be a monster in the NBA, just like he is in college.

I never think

 

[Cheriehoop]

Your last paragraph is spot on. I am continually amazed when these guys launch up three after three, particularly when Zion is on the floor.

They should be at least going inside out for better quality shots and setting up Zion more. Duke doesn’t share the ball well to get the best shots. Heck Zion is shooting 3’s better (.327) than Barrett (.310) and close to Reddish (.329).

 

[bpo57]

They should be at least going inside out for better quality shots and setting up Zion more. Duke doesn’t share the ball well to get the best shots. Heck Zion is shooting 3’s better (.327) than Barrett (.310) and close to Reddish (.329).

Yes and because of this they are vulnerable if ZW has an off night or gets in foul trouble. I would dare them to shoot threes.

 

[cspades99]

PPG RPG APG
23.1 7.5 4.2

RJ Barrett ‘s wholly mediocre season averages.

He’s leading the toughest conference in the country in scoring, and is also an excellent rebounder and passer.

Reddish is terribly overrated.
Tre Jones is Jason Hart 2.0 - excellent defender, decent PG, atrocious shooter.

Poor phrasing on my part. I didn't mean to say Barrett specifically is mediocre (I think he's a beast). I meant the overall roster after Zion is much more pedestrian than I assumed it would be at the start of the season.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I'm gonna say, I don't think it's a surprise that the guy that grabbed 18 rebounds against them found himself in immediate foul trouble playing against them in the great state of North Carolina.

Chukwu has good games and horrible games at random. Has nothing to do with the opposing team or the geography. Also, any decent coach would have taken note of Chukwu’s previous 18 rebounds and made that result a concentration of the next game’s planning. Coach K is, at the least, a decent coach.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Chukwu has good games and horrible games at random. Has nothing to do with the opposing team or the geography.

Ok.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Ok.

Not a very enlightening response. Maybe you could share how/why you disagree. How did Chukwu ‘have Duke’s number.’