Duke Basketball 2024-2025

[dukeboy911]

Totally agree. And I don't see Duke/Scheyer changing that image. It keeps us at the top of the sport brand-wise, despite not winning national titles (lately anyway). It's a very tough balancing act, because ideally we'd implement a system like UConn who is able to keep guys around longer to develop into a team, but it's just not easy to do when we recruit so many OADs.

And imo, winning it all today requires more of a UConn model than ours. We get the top prospects which gives us the best visibility for future prospects as they see these guys turn into NBA stars, but the youth tends to underperform against the 22/23/24yr olds in the tournament, which is ultimately the end gaol from a college fan's perspective.

Hopefully Scheyer can find a way to blend the strategy in the near future.

 

[rome8180]

But the upperclassmen you mentioned didn't leave because of lack of a perceived role. Roach and Mitchell would have played a lot.

 

[Pantone287]

God, I hate these "the savior is coming" narratives we hear every fucking offseason.

Seems reasonable to me. Trading Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power for Maliq Brown and some Grandison retread=

 

[Dukenation12]

Done deal? Rome are you going to be upset when/if this happens?!

 

[uncy12]

Why would anyone be upset getting him? Hes a great addition IMO

 

[physicsfactor]

Why would anyone be upset getting him? Hes a great addition IMO

I don’t know if “upset” is the right word, but I have a couple of concerns.

1) Will adding Brown push Stewart to transfer?
2) Does adding Brown signal that Scheyer is going to play Flagg some at the 3 when he should play all minutes at the 4/5?

 

[deepdarkblue]

Why would anyone be upset getting him? Hes a great addition IMO

I think the biggest concern is that this is pushing Stewart out in favor of Brown.

 

[torontoduke]

Stewart should be the guy for Duke. Tremendous possibilities as a defender and offensive rebounder.

 

[rome8180]

Why would anyone be upset getting him? Hes a great addition IMO

He averaged fucking 9 and 7 on a bad Syracuse team. He doesn't want to play center, which means Flagg at the 3. He played 30 minutes so he's going to want a big role.. Getting him may push Stewart, who had better per 40 numbers, out the door. Of course I'd be upset.

It's not that complicated.

 

[rome8180]

Done deal? Rome are you going to be upset when/if this happens?!

Yeah, I'm going to be fucking livid.

He averaged fucking 9 and 7 on a bad Syracuse team. He doesn't want to play center, which means Flagg at the 3. He played 30 minutes so he's going to want a big role.. Getting him may push Stewart, who had better per 40 numbers, out the door. Of course I'd be upset.

 

[rome8180]

And yeah, I repeated myself. But if people are going to be dense, that's what they're going to get.

 

[rome8180]

Honestly, I will think less of Stewart if he stays after this. It means he can't do basic math.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Done deal? Rome are you going to be upset when/if this happens?!

Yeah, I'm going to be fucking livid.

He averaged fucking 9 and 7 on a bad Syracuse team. He doesn't want to play center, which means Flagg at the 3. He played 30 minutes so he's going to want a big role.. Getting him may push Stewart, who had better per 40 numbers, out the door. Of course I'd be upset.

I don't agree on Brown not being a good player. They center their offense around Mintz, for one. Brown was also one of the most efficient bigs in the country and his advanced stats are really good. Evan Miya has him as a top 20 transfer in the portal. 72% effective fg percentage isnt something I am glossing over. Neither is being on the All-ACC defensive team.

I do agree on having serious questions about the roster fit, especially the overlap with Stewart.

 

[Grit]

But the upperclassmen you mentioned didn't leave because of lack of a perceived role. Roach and Mitchell would have played a lot.

My impression is Roach wants to be a PG, a role which he lost to a freshman replacement, and Mitchell's playing time is at risk for any tall guy who can play defense and shoot. Wasn't Mitchell already getting benched during important games this past year, like Houston, NC State, UNC (I'll ignore Ark and Arizona here)?

 

[rome8180]

Done deal? Rome are you going to be upset when/if this happens?!

Yeah, I'm going to be fucking livid.

He averaged fucking 9 and 7 on a bad Syracuse team. He doesn't want to play center, which means Flagg at the 3. He played 30 minutes so he's going to want a big role.. Getting him may push Stewart, who had better per 40 numbers, out the door. Of course I'd be upset.

I don't agree on Brown not being a good player. They center their offense around Mintz, for one. Brown was also one of the most efficient bigs in the country and his advanced stats are really good. Evan Miya has him as a top 20 transfer in the portal. 72% effective fg percentage isnt something I am glossing over. Neither is being on the All-ACC defensive team.

I do agree on having serious questions about the roster fit, especially the overlap with Stewart.

You don't think Stewart could have done that in a low usage role on a bad team? 13% usage is hardly a heavy lift. I imagine he could have scored 9 pts on lobs alone and done it extremely efficiently. And his rebounding destroys Brown's.

 

[rome8180]

Also, where are the words "not a good player." My point is his production was minimal for a bad team.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

Sorry you didn’t say that. I was just reacting more to not being concerned by the raw numbers.

Do I think Stewart could have equaled his efficiency offensively in limited usage last season ? No I don’t. I don’t think Stewart was a very disciplined player as a freshman.

But I think Stewart’s ceiling is higher and he will probably catch up to where Brown is this year. Stewart’s rebounding numbers (esp on offense) or so insane that I want to see how it looks in say 20mpg.

 

[rome8180]

But the upperclassmen you mentioned didn't leave because of lack of a perceived role. Roach and Mitchell would have played a lot.

My impression is Roach wants to be a PG, a role which he lost to a freshman replacement, and Mitchell's playing time is at risk for any tall guy who can play defense and shoot. Wasn't Mitchell already getting benched during important games this past year, like Houston, NC State, UNC (I'll ignore Ark and Arizona here)?

Roach already wasn't playing PG the last month or more of 2023. If it was an issue, he wouldn't have returned with Proctor also coming back. The truth is, none of those guys was a clear-cut point guard this last season. Not Proctor, not Foster, not Roach.

Mitchell's playing time was not at risk. He still played more minutes as a sophomore than he did as a freshman. And who is this hypothetical tall guy who can shoot and play defense? He's not on the roster.

 

[LastHearth]

I think this is a Stewart might not come back situation so Duke has to have a plan B in place and Brown is that plan. The good part is that Brown has 2 years of eligibility and I don't think any of us expects Stewart to be around as a senior. So as far as future returns beyond 2025 is concerned, they are about even.

 

[rome8180]

Sorry you didn’t say that. I was just reacting more to not being concerned by the raw numbers.

Do I think Stewart could have equaled his efficiency offensively in limited usage last season ? No I don’t. I don’t think Stewart was a very disciplined player as a freshman.

But I think Stewart’s ceiling is higher and he will probably catch up to where Brown is this year. Stewart’s rebounding numbers (esp on offense) or so insane that I want to see how it looks in say 20mpg.

1) I think Stewart would have looked much better on a bad team with a set role, especially if he'd been allowed (not forced) to play a ton of center like Brown.

2) The per minute stats show he would have at least equaled his production, if not his efficiency. Any gap in the efficiency is offset by the far better rebounding. But I'm not that impressed by a player having amazing efficiency on 13% usage anyway.

3) The relevant comparison is what we expect THIS season. I would expect Stewart's efficiency to jump a lot if we just give him consistent minutes and a defined role.