CLK I saw Minnie play a lot last year and thought other than Rowan he was the best player in the WPIAL including Luther who we expended all of our energy on and that is a whole other topic. Pitt also passed on Minnie and went for Jeter and the reason I believe where whispers about A) being able to get the kid in school and eligible and B) a possible issue the law. I think he is going to be a very good player that plenty of coaches are going to kick themselves for missing.

Dukes up by 7 at the half.  Getting the ball inside with McKoy and Lewis having a nice first half.  Need to keep it going.

They used the bigs tonight. If they stick with this, we might see some improvement as the year goes on. Lewis has potential. I want to see him keep playing.

I think going big is the only chance we have going forward. If Ferry can accept that his preferred style isn't going to work, and goes to, and sticks with a big lineup, I think we can get this train back on the tracks, and be in decent shape going into next year. If he goes back to a shrimp lineup, all is lost.

That would mean less PT for Jones. Ferry loves the guy. You're more likely to see the small forward with four guard combination, and the resulting humiliation that comes with it.

A couple of random questions for the group. Did we really recruit Tysean Powell to play center and if so why? What could Jordan Robinson have done between games that would be bad enough that he received 0 minutes. Applecorps other than rebound why does Jones get the minutes he does couldn't agree more. Why did it take this long to realize changes needed to be made. And finally will we ever get to a line up that fully utilizes the size and talents IMHO I believe we aren't using. I guess a win is a win but it doesn't feel very good. Happy New Year to all.

It is hard to believe that Micah Mason's free throws tonight were his first attempts against D-1 competition this season - 10 games. And he was playing point guard a lot of this time.

I continue to be impressed by Lewis. you can tell he is really putting the effort in. he is very vocal on and off the floor too. by other accounts, he is a super nice kid that also puts the scholar into scholar athlete. Its nice to see him succeed. this kid could turn into the leader this team needs. 
would like to see him add some more muscle and a little bit more attitude

ive also been a critic of jermiahs playing time, however, what he lacks in skill, he does make up for with intensity. heading into last nights game, he was the leading rebounder on the team. while i appreciate his effort and hard work, its also kind of scary that he is outrebounding mckoy, lewis, gill, and powell...that is my best guess for his expanded role and playing time...i think he is also averaging a steal a game too

colter continues to impress me. we all thought he would be a big liability heading into this season, but it seems as if he as matured and turned into a solid ball player.

powell has some sweet offensive moves. his defense is non existant.
gill was getting after the rebounds last nite.
mason was non factor last night, but had a very good second half.
not sure which is lesser of 2 evils--stevens launching shots from all over, or his passing that leads to turnovers. for every shot he drains, he misses 3, and for every sweet pass he makes, he throws two away...
robinson? sick/hurt/doghouse?!? didnt play a minute
ridenour is probably making plans to play elsewhere next year.

overall team defense is just still awful.

im gonna try to remain optimistic and say we can get 6-8 a10 wins this year.

Jones leading the team in rebounding is a statement, indeed: our bigs can't rebound.

Heels although I appreciate the improvement and enthusiasm of Lewis and I hope for more upside he grabbed 3 rebounds for the game. Sorry I need more from my center. I hate to bury JJones because he does play hard but here is the sad tale 35% from the field, 52% from the line, 30 assist 21 turnovers. And finally I hate the harp but Robinson in 96 minutes of playing time has as many offensive rebounds as does Lewis and 6 less defensive rebounds Lewis now has 119 minutes.

DukesFan I appreciate your point but we are playing a zone!  If executed properly the added length on the wings would be beneficial. I also think your missing what the threat of inside scoring did for the offense on a whole and if done more effectively could produce. And not to be combative but what's our record and where are we going I'm willing at this point to find players.

DukesFan79 wrote:

Anyone who watched last nights game would notice that Lewis' impact is on the defensive end. 5 blocks and countless others bothered. His size clogs up the interior and makes the Dukes much more difficult to play against. For a team that has struggled defensively and has small guards this is a big plus.

Robinson and Powell are both bad defensively as many younger players are. Powell is much more of a versitile offensive threat, so he plays. You really can't play 2 freshman forwards extended minutes on a team that already hasn't proven to be very good defensively.

Lewis also impressed me last night. He seems to be getting better each game he plays. His presence, and I mean big  space eating presence, really made a difference last night. He not only block 5 shots, but also altered several shots. I really hope this was a breakout game for the big guy. At this point, I would continue to start Lewis at the 5, and bring in Robinson as his backup. I would start McCoy at the 4 with Powell as his backup. I really think coach Ferry should start grooming Gill to play the 3, but at this point I would start Jeremiah for lack of any better alternative. James is not ready yet for any meaningful minutes and needs to get stronger and get coached up on how to play defense (as does most of the team by the way). I saw some things in Gill last night, just some athletic flashes, where he drove to the hoop. I see potential in him at the 3 but he needs to be more aggressive off the dribble, and learn how to play defense. He can not continue to rely on hanging in the wing to shoot the three. Maybe I am wrong, but I really do not see the future for him as a 4. It would be really nice to have a frontcourt of Lewis, McCoy and Gill. 



 

Last edited by CLK (12/31/2014 4:06 pm)