Duke won't struggle this much defensively all year. They will figure out a way to limit opponents. I thought it looked alot like the NBA last night and Duke wasn't going to start defending till about the 5 minute mark in the second half. The lack of a rim protector definitely is a huge issue and has to be addressed in some capacity.

Fact is the aggressive pressure from Duke's guards 35 feet away from the basket is neither leading to enough disruption nor forced turnovers to make amends for how weak the team's second line of defense is inside. There is no fall-back plan if things break down out top. No Mason Plumlee. No Brian Zoubek. No Shelden Williams. Without that kind of safety net to stop dribble penetration and prevent easy dump downs to the middle of the paint, overplaying the passing lanes as far beyond the arc as Duke is right now is just not an effective approach.

This team needs to play a tighter, less-risk prone man-to-man defense similar to the 2010 title team, where our guards are more concerned with standing their ground and limiting the drive than creating turnovers out near half-court. Also, can't believe I am advocating this but Marshall Plumlee must play and now.

I don't mean to come off as though I'm rubbing anything in...but Vermont is 1-5??? Yikes! Just looks bad on the surface, but I didn't watch a second of the game.

Laley23;1543107 wrote:I don't mean to come off as though I'm rubbing anything in...but Vermont is 1-5??? Yikes! Just looks bad on the surface, but I didn't watch a second of the game.

Not at all. If it is possible to play the best offensive and worst defensive game of the year at the same time then Duke did that last night. Keith Diebler would love this team.

Sadly, it was not just a one-game thing. That is Duke's defense, unless a change in approach happens. If not, then this young Duke team is set up perfectly to fall in another "historic" upset in the NCAAs.

Duke will have one of those games where they get beat by 30+ ala Georgetown, Miami, Clemson this season and it will be because defensively they don't have a rim protector and haven't yet committed themselves to being outstanding defensively. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.

Laley23;1543107 wrote:I don't mean to come off as though I'm rubbing anything in...but Vermont is 1-5??? Yikes! Just looks bad on the surface, but I didn't watch a second of the game.

Davidson is 1-5 as well I believe. Strength of schedule not a plus at the moment.

I can't help but think that Marshall Plumlee could at least provide something at his size if given the chance to play. Some extra rebounding, altering of shots or a block or two, anything, really. Duke's obvious weakness, as you point out, is the lack of any real rim protection. Parker has the natural athletic ability to get up and swat a shot every now and then, but that type of play cannot be regularly expected from him as he is positioned all over the floor throughout a game. Marshall Plumlee, at over seven feet, can be that guy. Sure he's still raw, but so was Brian Zoubek as a sophomore and junior. It wasn't until he was given prime minutes in the lineup, however, that he really started to be effective.

It's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, then bench him.

Rodney Hood needs to be a better rebounder. Dude is 6'8", plays 32 minutes a game and can only manage to get 4.6 rebounds a game? That is his one flaw that I have noticed early on in the season. Maybe he's just not that type of player, I don't know, but Duke needs to him crash the boards and help Parker out.

Jabari on the other hand…WOW. Can't believe how well rounded he is. He can literally do it all.

Should be an interesting game Friday against Arizona. Hopefully things turn out a little better than that 2011 regional semi-final tournament game.

Extremely pleased with Duke's turnaround performance on the defensive end against a solid Alabama team. The Tide's offense is heavily geared on penetration and getting points at the basket, and the Blue Devils did a tremendous job of preventing that last night. One thing that was really noticeable was how much better the communication was on that end, which led to better help-side positioning and excellent defense against ball screens. Parker is especially adept at helping defensively. He's just a natural.

Duke's guards also contained the drive much better by reining in their pressure more than recent games, staying in front and only overplaying the passing lanes when the time was right. Loved that. As we've discussed, doing the opposite of this had killed Duke the previous two games. Coach K went to the drawing board and made the necessary changes and the team bought in. Great bounce-back game.

That was a bad foul call on RS's three flop. Great back and forth so far.

ccrunner609;1544568 wrote:Get outta here

I watched it four times, it was a weak call.

Cook was a stud in the 2nd half last night. Hood and Parker had below average games, scoring wise, and Quinn made some big shots and had many many great passes that set up easy buckets.

Should be interesting to see how Sulaimon reacts to his DNP. We have to wait 2 weeks until another Duke game.

Transfer rumors flying around for Alex Murphy. If I was him, I'd probably go. Florida could end up being a nice fit for him.

He's a 3 or stretch 4 type of guy. Hood, Jones, Sulaimon, and even Ojeleye are all ahead of him.

Transfer rumors have been flying since day 1 with that kid. If he was going to transfer I would've figured he'd have done it already.

Well, it is official. He's gone.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24350212/redshirt-sophomore-alex-murphy-leaving-duke

Poor man's Kyle Singler will be greatly missed.

Like swami, I don't really understand why Murphy waited so long to make his move. With Rodney Hood playing the 3 -- Murphy's ideal position as a stretch guy, as birddog stated above -- and Andre Dawkins, Rasheed Sulaimon and Matt Jones all interchangeable at the 3, the writing was all over the wall in big letters. Murphy wasn't going to play this year. Period. He's too unrefined -- doesn't have a good understanding of Duke's defense after three years in the system, can't handle the ball well, and doesn't even have an accurate outside shot, which is supposed to be his best attribute as a stretch guy.

He should've left last spring.

Alex is a great kid who can find himself at another school with a better opportunity.

Best of luck to him, he will be missed in the Duke community. Early reports said Providence or Rhode Island. He is from the Northeast and those sounded like they could work. I wonder if Florida will give him a run.

Rhode Island would be a cool destination with Dan Hurley there. The Rams gave Providence all they wanted the other night -- including coach Hurley and coach Cooley from Providence nearly coming to blows at mid-court Chris Collins-Matt Doherty style at one point -- and are definitely on the rise as a program.

I liked Alex. He just wasn't good enough to play significant minutes at Duke. It's just the reality of playing for one of the five best programs in the country.

The coaching staff constantly told him he was good enough but apparently he had trouble believing it and never really gave in to his athleticism. The game was too fast mentally and he didn't play instinctively for much of his career.

Duke netted its 108th straight victory in Cameron Indoor against teams outside the ACC tonight versus Gardener-Webb.

Andre Dawkins scored 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in just 22 minutes. He's been phenomenally efficient this year in the time that he's given on the court. Other games for Dawkins this year:

17 points (5-of-7 3-PT) in 19 minutes
13 points (3-of-6 3-PT) in 18 minutes
16 points (3-of-9 3-PT) in 20 minutes
And 8 points (2-of-2 3-PT) against Michigan in just 10 minutes

There probably isn't a better spurt scorer coming off the bench in America. What a luxury to have.

With whatever is going with Sulaimon, Dawkins stepping up his huge for Duke. If they can get quality time and scoring from him that will only open it up more for Parker and Hood.

Cook played phenomenal first half, but a terrible second half.

big one Thursday in NYC vs UCLA

Duke will roll with their big 3 (Cook, Parker, Hood) offensively and throw two defenders in the mix (Thornton, Hariston).
Still doesn't change the fact they have no rim protector. It baffles me that there would be such a glaring hole in the team at this point. Player Dev and Recruiting kinda botched this one. Needed a senior transfer to step in and play interior defense. It would make all the difference in the world for this team.

Gotta start focusing on what they are and what they aren't at this point.

swamisez;1554443 wrote:Duke will roll with their big 3 (Cook, Parker, Hood) offensively and throw two defenders in the mix (Thornton, Hariston).
Still doesn't change the fact they have no rim protector. It baffles me that there would be such a glaring hole in the team at this point. Player Dev and Recruiting kinda botched this one. Needed a senior transfer to step in and play interior defense. It would make all the difference in the world for this team.

Gotta start focusing on what they are and what they aren't at this point.

It's all about matchups also. Thankfully not too many teams have truly great centers. There are a couple, I know, but not many.

I don't think teams even need a great center. A good shot blocker or someone within 5 feet of the rim to cut down driving lanes and rebound. Gorgi Dieng type will give Duke big problems.

Alex Murphy transferring to Florida. Little brother of Erik, former Gator. Youngest brother, Tomas, may end up a Gator and is said to be a pretty elite, possibly 5-star prospect. He's only 15, class of 2017.