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@HighEliteMajor Personally this is a very interesting thread…and in all fairness to HEM, I have also called our youthful/frosh/inexperienced '13-14 team “incompetent” at defensive execution (see my above posts)…Please no one consider that a slam on our young’uns–as they’re performances are being compared to Self’s other past teams (same coach)…so my critique of this year’s team are purely contextual. They arent getting it done as the system requires.
@HighEliteMajor…and perhaps take this comment as me playing devil’s advocate: Didnt we lose to UNI and VCU because of not playing D (like we did all year) and also, make no mistake, but trusted-senior-greenlight-shooters (Sherron, UNI…Reed, VCU) had absolutely dismal trey shooting? I mean, god love em both, but they shot us out of the gym. It happens. I’m over the anger of it–chiefly because I saw that almost all those 3 attempts were passes to an “open look 3”. Tyshawn penetrated and dutifully kicked it out for our signature 3att. Same way Duke does it. Or we ball-reversal passed it to the open-look shooter. Self wants that shot.
Just think: Sherron+Reed = 1 for 13 threes, and that’s 2 SEASONS ended. 2 years worth of hopes. Fans left wanting more. But these arent NBA kids. Heck, neither one of those beloved both players is in the NBA. Even Ray Allen has off-shooting nights, right? You know, maybe some people want to think that Brady or Reed were our versions of JJRedick…but that isnt true. Redick still in the NBA, and a cold-off-bench deadeye marksman. He was that way at Duke, led the ACC, and is earning millions with the same skill in the NBA. Our guys had an off-night, and it felled us, right there on tape.
And dont forget turnovers: Self preaches/teaches/fidgets/gets-red-faced/quick-hook over this very issue: We turned it over vs. UNI, worse vs. VCU (Markieff alone with 6 t.o.s). And we turned it over late vs. Michigan (EJ), we didnt make shots (EJ 1 FT, BMac point blank layup), and the other team made shots (Trey Burke).
Teams lose games because they either:
Turn it over too much. (23 t.o.'s vs. FL, really?..Markieff with 6 himself vs. VCU?)
Shoot dismally. (Ask Collison about '03Syracuse…or Memphis about '08)
Cant play D. (Against a 6ft, no hops Farokmanesh?)
Combination of the above.
Man, didnt Bill Self figure all this out YEARS ago? He harps on turnovers, zone execution, etc…He espouses high%looks to enhance the shooting. Kick out open-look 3s are considered the highest % 3att, and Duke uses that integrally, in a system-way as well. And Bill Self Defense needs no further discussion…as it affects all of this same stuff for the opponent–in our favor.
But if we dont do these main things, we are ripe to get beat. By almost anybody, including a melting pot hodge podge team like UNI. And seriously, why would we lose to some killerB team? Guarantee the answer lies in Reasons 1-4.
