SkepticAl wrote:

DuqBeach:  ARE 100% Correct about Good Refs/Bad Refs -  JUST hope they ARE CONSISTENT (what is a foul at one end is a foul at the other)  ESPECIALLY IN A TOURNAMENT GAME.

Coach Burt probably "works the officials" as much as anyone -  this is the FIRST time I've seen/heard specific comments directed towards them.

For what it is worth "basketball metrics" Seem to indicate that other than a lay up (or a dunk on the men's side)  a THREE IS A BETTER OPTION THAN THE 2!!!  Was an article in Sports Illustrated a while back about that - (Oddly enough they used Marshall vs Pitt as an example)  - Unsure if the metrics apply to the ladies as well.

So maybe  it's not just a guards "shoot first pass second mentality" but more of what baseball teams are doing these days with their defense etc.

Connor, Kadri Ann & Paige their share of 3's -- Even Eniko who seems reluctant to go back up after grabbing an offensive rebound will "pull the trigger" if the ball is in her hands behind the arc.  Think Kadri Ann is the ONLY one who can "create" consistently from inside (get the ball - spin one way or the other etc. go up score/draw a foul)  Hopefully Laia adds that option.   

There are/have been some concerns about our "match up" problems with Dayton - had the ladies got a second game with them maybe the results are different - had VCU got a third crack against DU - (especially down there) maybe That would have been different.

Some wins in the NIT would be nice.

Kadri  really was only post up player who could create shots but she really was only one who got ANY passes
to low post, When Eniko and Helmi were open they  really got any passes.
The substitution vs St  Louis still bothers me: Eniko was on the court for 3 minutes and after the first mistake she went back to bench.I would say that as an insult  Same "mistakes" were tolerated by the starters. Same happened with Helmi.
Was it determined in the pre season who are starters   what ever

fjhryn wrote:

I've said enough about the A10 refs & Duquesne basketball over the season so I won't comment here. But the way the ladies have played the last few games, I'm sad about the results but not surprised.

I totally agree. We know the players are amateurs but the refs should whistleonly in the games for the third grade pupils.
These fourth Q scoreless  periods are expected if the starters play over 35 minutes in the games . Noway anybody in any level is supposed to play 37.40 minutes in the games.Lousy turnovers and one on one plays cost us the game.

sperlman wrote:

I know Duquesne won the game, but lowly Rhode Island outscores Duquesne 46-28 in the paint as still another team exposes a vulnerability the Dukes cannot or will not deal with.  Lacking the quickness on the perimeter to 1) pressure the ball, 2) stop penetration and  3) provide weak side help when the opposing team (all too easily) passes the ball into their post, I'm perplexed as to why Duquesne does not try something differently on defense- like a 2-3 zone.

The inability or the decision not to change how we defend makes the Dukes highly vulnerable down the stretch and into the A-10 Tournament.  I cannot see them defeating Dayton (and now a healthy) St. Joseph's playing this type of defense. When your opposition is quicker and more athletic, telling the players to defend better is asking them to do something they're not capable of. 

Last night I saw 2 top 20 teams (Oregon and Oregon State) play zone for part of their games because they were having problems defending their respective opponents' athleticism and quickness.  There is no shame playing zone. 

What am I missing?

They really outscored us in the paint and I wondered why our four tallest players sat all in our bench at the
same time for a  pretty long period?
I have seldom seen so many players having so little focus for the game in the  first half.
 

The ladies  had a great comeback , thanks to the successful threes in the second half.!!
As I have said we are living or dying in the threepoint shooting.
There could be much much  improvemet in the ladies game if:
-The coaches would call a time out  when  the ladies are like yesterday losing  by 2-15.Yhere are 4-5 coaches!!!
-After  the guards use  the screens . centers would  make pop-out instead of rolling to the basket, Now
 all the 10 players are 10 feet from the basket!
-High-low -games between the 4 and 5 position players are too rare.
-In the modern basketball hardly any time plays zone defense.
-Too many times the ballhandler is dribbling and All the others stand still, there should be much much
more movement with  the ball screens, weak side screens and cutting.
-the substitution pattern is often unfair to the subs: for example in the yesterday game  Eniko, Helmi and 
Libby were much better than the starters in the first half,like in  +/-   -stats. The prize for that only few or none minutes in the second half. If starter is totally out of sync, the sub should replace her despite her starter status-
 

ElDuque wrote:

Check their record Luke. They're pretty good.

Yes they are but there is still some  nuances to improve----When the UConn  will 
defense hard our guards it is usuful  have some kind of tactical plan B.
Five tallest players in the court vs. Akron  were Dukes but  I did not see much 
inside game to get advantages of size

The girls are in big trouble when threes are not falling. The guards should pass more  and not  take hopeless selfish shots .The offense is not moving so well and the screenplay is so predictable and pop-outs are rare. Fortunately the opponent was  not much better.

The Dukes were up by 25 when 5 minutes left in the game and nearly all the starters were still on the court.
It should be bench players time then!!