Duke Coaching

[rome8180]

I don't see any conceivable way Coach K gets a top 20 defense out of this squad. The offense under K is probably top 3, but having it within striking distance of K's lofty standards in Year 2 is not bad.

I'm not sure this defensive personnel is that much better than 2016 Duke, for example. That team finished 86th on defense.

 

[Devilsforlife]

I’ve found the coaching under Jon in his (not quite) two seasons to be much more enjoyable than the last 7 years of K’s overall. The significantly improved defense especially. I also love how he’s rebuilt our shooting that really fell off after 2018. And the fact that peaking down the stretch is becoming a theme with him. It’s just been a refreshing experience.

 

[childress22]

Also a big fan. It was cool to see someone (Tyrese? Flip?) in the Virginia post-game single out Emmanuel Dildy's scout as being a big part of the success. I love the emphasis on shooting and 5 guys moving the ball, and the defensive fundamentals seem to just be a bit tighter than under K, especially on perimeter D.

I like the kind of guys Jon has on staff (skews nerdy, personable, guys who are sons of coaches or other game-lifers), I like how he's built the rosters in general (understanding that there are so many moving parts each year now), but most of all I love the way he seems to keep tinkering all season long -- lineups, plays, etc.

 

[Devilsforlife]

That’s another thing I really like about Jon, too. Going outside the Duke family for assistant coaching hires. K never did that after the mid-90s and I was not a fan of it. Having 1-2 former players on the staff is a good thing, but it didn’t need to be all 3 assistants.

 

[rome8180]

I’ve found the coaching under Jon in his (not quite) two seasons to be much more enjoyable than the last 7 years of K’s overall. The significantly improved defense especially. I also love how he’s rebuilt our shooting that really fell off after 2018. And the fact that peaking down the stretch is becoming a theme with him. It’s just been a refreshing experience.

I also think the ball movement tends to be better. But that's really eye-testy and subjective. I'm not sure how much assist rate and stats like that bear that out. Looking real quickly at A/FGM stats on Kenpom, both of Jon's teams have been in the 50s nationally. There are definitely some K teams that have been in the same range, but there were a lot that were down in the 150s or lower.

 

[rome8180]

One other thing to keep in mind about the offensive results so far: Scheyer hasn't had a Zion or a Bagley. Don't get me wrong, he's had some very nice offensive players, but I want to see him with a "game-breaking" offensive talent. I don't even think we have that coming in next year. Flagg strikes me as a generation defender who still has some offensive question marks.

 

[DUKERULES14]

The one thing late K did better was playing well out of the gate. Would like to see improvement there, especially considering we could be on the one line had we beaten at least two of Arizona, GT, and Arkansas. The selection committee seems to put added weight on early season games (which I don't like, but whatever)

I'm not sure finishing well and starting well are mutually exclusive.

I'm thankful we're a good shooting team again, no excuse for us not to be.

 

[Pantone287]

A little thing I like that Jon's done lately is put Stewart and Power in as a tandem. They have pretty complementary skills, and it also just strikes me as probably a wise chemistry thing for two freshmen generally in competition for the same spot in the rotation.

Also probably helps them both feel a little looser not being the only lost baby deer on the floor amongst the cool regular rotation guys.

 

[2001Dukechamps]

Year 2 and already one of the best at halftime adjustments in college basketball. We're in good hands.

 

[Devilsforlife]

All aboard the Scheyer Schooner!

(Or the Jonboat)

 

[deepdarkblue]

Year 2 and already one of the best at halftime adjustments in college basketball. We're in good hands.

Kansas

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Is this TDF or fucking DBR?

 

[physicsfactor]

Does Duke make good halftime adjustments or simply start horribly?

 

[deeyoukayeee]

Is this TDF or fucking DBR?

You really referencing the oldest Duke fan site?

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Is it older than John starting TDD on Geocities?

 

[deeyoukayeee]

Good question. I feel like I ran across DBR in '95 or '96 maybe? I seem to remember it being a good place to track the developments of the Brand/Battier class. Never visited TDD until much later, but it certainly could have existed.

 

[rome8180]

Good question. I feel like I ran across DBR in '95 or '96 maybe? I seem to remember it being a good place to track the developments of the Brand/Battier class. Never visited TDD until much later, but it certainly could have existed.

TDD is early 2000s, I believe. I've talked to John about its history, but I can't remember exactly what he said.

 

[rome8180]

We've been hard on Scheyer because the talent level is so high and because the standard that's been set is really high too. But barring a collapse, it looks like we'll cross the 25-win mark again this season. How many college coaches can say they did that in the first two seasons?

Coach K didn't.
Roy Williams didn't.
Jay Wright didn't.
Tom Izzo didn't.
Bill Self didn't.
Danny Hurley didn't.
Rick Pitino didn't.

I won't compare him to coaches of earlier eras because they played so few games in comparison. But none of them did either. The only coach I could find who got off to that kind of start was Mark Few.

I get that Jon has some built-in advantages. Trying to win 25 games after inheriting a Duke program with the best branding in CBB is different than trying to win 25 games at Hofstra. But even if we look at what those coaches did when they got their first major job, it's generally not as good (with the exception of Self).

I came back to this post because I realized I forgot wunderkind Brad Stevens, who has possibly the greatest start to a coaching career ever. 166-49 over his first six seasons, winning at least 26 games in five of them. But I don't think that changes my point much. Being in company with Stevens is a good thing (though obviously what Stevens did was more impressive given the context).

 

[LastHearth]

I found 2 more. Josh Pastner, 106-34 over his first 4 seasons, that's an average of 26.5 wins and 8.5 losses. Eric Mussleman 110-34 over his first 4 seasons. That's 27.5 wins and 8.5 loss per year.

 

[rome8180]

I found 2 more. Josh Pastner, 106-34 over his first 4 seasons, that's an average of 26.5 wins and 8.5 losses. Eric Mussleman 110-34 over his first 4 seasons. That's 27.5 wins and 8.5 loss per year.

You moved the goalposts. I said "won 25+ games in his first two seasons." Neither of those coaches did that. It may be an arbitrary cutoff line, but it was the initial premise of my post.