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[2017-18] FSU / at NC State / at Pitt / Wake / at Miami

Guys just mailed it in. The amount of light jogging back on d after turnovers was infuriating. Everybody just looking forward to the draft
 
Actually, the sad part is I feel like our players were giving really good effort the last ten minutes. We are just incompetent.
 
If Grayson is going to continue the year like someone perpetually under anesthesia, we may as well throw O'Connell out there and hope he doesn't get crushed. At least O'Connell seems to be able to make shots.

I guess it was sort of a Duke basketball shit bomb, with Duval, Carter, Allen, Trent, and the bench all being terrible at everything simultaneously, but that's on the staff for not having them ready to play.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with Grayson? He's been some level of bad for most of the season. This is one aspect of this disappointing team that's truly taken me by surprise. I expected to see a healthy Allen looking like sophomore Allen or better.
 
Even though I like to believe I was the first person aboard the "Fire K" train, I think there was always a tinge of sarcasm and denial in it. This is the first time it has felt like full honest acceptance that this will only get worse until K leaves.

Every season, we try to find comparisons for the team. We thought 2017 UNC would be a nice comp this year for stylistic reasons, and because it was nice to believe this team could win the title like 2017 UNC. We also thought 2015 Kentucky would be a nice comp due to the multiple NBA bigs and PG with suspect shooting, and because it was nice to believe this team could be as dominant objectively. I found 2009 Duke to be the closest Duke comparison in terms of being a poor 3pt shooting team and good offensive rebounding team.

It turns out, in many ways, the best Duke comp for this team may end up being the recent team most fans hated the most: 2014.

Prior to this season, 2014 had the best offense and worst defense in Duke Kenpom history. Currently, 2018 has an even better offense and even worse defense than 2014. In other words, the current team is the best offensive Duke team and worst defensive Duke team for as far as Kenpom goes back. Amazing.

Both teams were led by a great offensive player who did nothing of value on defense except rebound at a fantastic rate. Jabari finished 5th in kPOY, which is around where Bagley should finish. I think the main difference between Jabari and Bagley which makes fans complain about Bagley far less is Bagley's more restricted shot selection, but even that can be blatantly dumb at times. I don't think fans turned on Jabari until later in the season, anyway.

Bagley's defense is every bit as bad or non-existent as Jabari's. Neither player appears/appeared to learn anything on defense in college.

By the end of the season, it's possible that we will be legitimately analyzing whether Bagley is more beneficial on the court than Justin Robinson overall, while cutting our own dicks off.
 
I remember saying in September that this season was put up or shut up time for K. I was willing to give him a pass for last year due to the injuries, although that was probably stupid in hindsight, but this year there are no excuses. The team is healthy and has, by any definition, a loaded roster. The #1 freshmen at C, PF, SG, and PG, and a senior pre-season All-American candidate, erstwhile national championship hero, all of whom are very athletic. What more does K need to produce a semi-competent defense?

The Duke basketball program feels broken on a number of levels. There's something inherently sad about a 70-year old legend whose coaching abilities are clearly declining making excuses like "We haven't practiced enough", "We aren't deep", and "Teams always get up for us" to try and explain why he is unable to produce a top-100 defense with the most talented roster in the country.

Even with all the talent we've had over the last few years, the head-scratching recruiting decisions are also frustrating. Bringing in players with toxic families like Derryck Thornton and Frank Jackson, not pursuing Dennis Smith, Duval over Trae Young, Jordan Tucker, etc. I'm not sure if it even matters given the defensive ineptitude, but it does point toward K putting in far less legwork with recruiting, as has long been rumored.

This is the first season I haven't felt emotionally invested in Duke basketball. Even last year, I was able to remain somewhat enthusiastic, until the embarrassing SC debacle in the 2nd round. Other than the MSU game, the wins have all felt hollow this year, while the losses only reaffirm the systemic problems around the program. Duke isn't fun to watch, aside from the odd Bagley play.

Sorry for the Yates-length post, just needed to vent a bit.
 
Devilsforlife said:
This is the first season I haven't felt emotionally invested in Duke basketball. Even last year, I was able to remain somewhat enthusiastic, until the embarrassing SC debacle in the 2nd round. Other than the MSU game, the wins have all felt hollow this year, while the losses only reaffirm the systemic problems around the program. Duke isn't fun to watch, aside from the odd Bagley play.
Click to expand...

Agree with everything, particularly this. I was pulling for last year's team because I truly love Amile Jefferson and I wanted him to get another title at Duke - he deserved it. I also love Harry Giles, and I held on to hope all season that maybe Giles would get healthy enough to have a few games where he was that kid who I saw play in high school, who absolutely dominated everyone in every gym.
 
SeanMayTriedToEatMe said:
Even though I like to believe I was the first person aboard the "Fire K" train, I think there was always a tinge of sarcasm and denial in it. This is the first time it has felt like full honest acceptance that this will only get worse until K leaves.

Every season, we try to find comparisons for the team. We thought 2017 UNC would be a nice comp this year for stylistic reasons, and because it was nice to believe this team could win the title like 2017 UNC. We also thought 2015 Kentucky would be a nice comp due to the multiple NBA bigs and PG with suspect shooting, and because it was nice to believe this team could be as dominant objectively. I found 2009 Duke to be the closest Duke comparison in terms of being a poor 3pt shooting team and good offensive rebounding team.

It turns out, in many ways, the best Duke comp for this team may end up being the recent team most fans hated the most: 2014.

Prior to this season, 2014 had the best offense and worst defense in Duke Kenpom history. Currently, 2018 has an even better offense and even worse defense than 2014. In other words, the current team is the best offensive Duke team and worst defensive Duke team for as far as Kenpom goes back. Amazing.

Both teams were led by a great offensive player who did nothing of value on defense except rebound at a fantastic rate. Jabari finished 5th in kPOY, which is around where Bagley should finish. I think the main difference between Jabari and Bagley which makes fans complain about Bagley far less is Bagley's more restricted shot selection, but even that can be blatantly dumb at times. I don't think fans turned on Jabari until later in the season, anyway.

Bagley's defense is every bit as bad or non-existent as Jabari's. Neither player appears/appeared to learn anything on defense in college.

By the end of the season, it's possible that we will be legitimately analyzing whether Bagley is more beneficial on the court than Justin Robinson overall, while cutting our own dicks off.
Click to expand...
GOAT post. I know I should like fewer of SMTTEM's post to help my position in the "most likes" standings, but I would like this 100 times if I could.
 
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