Styles1229 wrote:

Styles1229 wrote:

CityDuke wrote:

Dambrot’s Dukes averaged 69 points against over his 7 seasons. Any time you hold a team under 70, that is very good in college basketball and gives yourself a chance to win.

Our Dukes last year held opponents to just 66 ppg. That defense is why we won so many games even when our offense struggled. Bonnies at home and VCU in championship come to mind.

Posters aren’t revising history, we just want to see that same defensive prowess from this year’s Dukes. I think they are capable of it! I still believe.

Statistics are odd.  Was KD a very good defensive coach?

Dukes yearly defensive rating Dambrot era out of 362 teams
17-18 through 23-24
-146
-136
-96
-89
-302
-162
-59

I’d say he was a decent defensive coach but if you take away last season probably not even.  I might side with revisionist history on this one

Just so we have all the numbers before we make up our minds:

Opponents Average Points Rankings 17-18 through 23-24
-95
-184
-83
-72
-264
-200
-40

Styles, I have no interest in debating as I am focused on this season. But I cannot find where you are getting these numbers. Last years Dukes were 31st in defense on Kenpom and 43rd on Haslam. Both elite.

levon1975 wrote:

I think we are seeing some revisionist history being practiced on this board.  First -off the concern with Jake being shortchanged on minutes, is kind ridiculous since he clearly stated that he missed a month and a half of practice prior to the season, and was not in playing shape when the season started.  So you can conclude that his minutes would have been limited until his legs and wind could handle more playing time. 

Furthermore the comparisons to defense being a priority during the Dambrot  years are misguided in my opinion.  I recall the Dambrot Dukes being victims of more than one fifty-point halves where there was literally no defense being played. Recall the Marshall visit to The Coop two years ago.  The first half was a layup drill for Marshall.  The Dukes were also largely helpless defensively in the New Mexico State game the same year.  There were also games where the Dukes basically fouled nearly every defensive trip in the second-half of losses. 
I think we all want to remember how well the Dukes played down the stretch last year, and tend to forget that there were many rough times through the other six years. 
Let’s give this team and Coach the same consideration that we gave the previous teams under KD.

Dambrot’s Dukes averaged 69 points against over his 7 seasons. Any time you hold a team under 70, that is very good in college basketball and gives yourself a chance to win.

Our Dukes last year held opponents to just 66 ppg. That defense is why we won so many games even when our offense struggled. Bonnies at home and VCU in championship come to mind.

Posters aren’t revising history, we just want to see that same defensive prowess from this year’s Dukes. I think they are capable of it! I still believe.

luckymcd wrote:

Obviously a long way to go, but I like the improvement from game one. Defense has been much better early. Offense doesn’t look great, but it’s been enough so far. Winborn is anything but a traditional sixth man, but he seems to light a spark every time he comes in.

Agree with all of this. Impressed by the progress we’ve made from game 1 to game 2.

Time to dust off my keyboard and log back in to this message board. It’s time to defend our championship. Lets go Dukes!

Wow, I love to see this. 100% earned. Congratulations Dimichele!

Bronny would be absolutely HUGE for this program. I can’t believe this is a debate. Make it happen Coach Dru!

I absolutely love this for our program! Dambrot did what he said he would do. Amazing. Leaving a great foundation but just enough room for Dru to work his magic. Great decision by Gormley and Harper. Bring on Druquesne!!

The Dukes! Our Dukes! Maybe I’m biased, but they could make a movie about this. What an amazing story, and we are living it. What a ride! After 40 (47) long years in the desert, we are HERE!

Just got back from the game, what a performance. These kids make it so easy to root for them. Just such a cohesive group. Anyone can step up at any moment. And everyone seems to really love to see each other’s success. Most wins in a season since Sid Dambrot was a senior in the 50s. That is amazing.

Dixon fouled out. 4 of his 5 fouls were simply not fouls. Poor kid.

13 free throws to 4. 10 fouls to 5. Dixon, Barre, and Hronsky all with 2. Free throws keeping the Flyers in striking distance.

We did a great job on Holmes in that half. We should be up by more, but a very good defensive performance that half. Need to take better care of the ball.

50% shooting from the field. 46% from 3. Season high 22 assists on only 5 turnovers. Aside from the free throws, an absolutely stellar offensive performance. How about Hronsky! Man, he is talented.

Certainly not our best defensive performance, but credit to them they made some tough ones. And knocked down their free throws as well. For a game in which we led over 39 minutes, boy was I nervous!

Refs doing everything they can to keep this close. Billikens up to 22 free throws. We have shot a lot less but we keep missing them. Need Clark back in asap.

Grant making his frustrations with the official known just before the timeout. Stay in the game Dukes! Control the controllables.