I did not think the team played well last night which was disappointing.  You should not be sluggish for your opener and they certainly were.  But they still won by 25 after letting big leads dwindle more than once.  When you play a poor game and still win by 25 there is hope for better days being on the way.

I think it way too early to see how promising Lewis will be. He's going against 6'6 kids and he's a footer. Castro looked a tad better last night but still a little concerned. He's not finishing at the rim. The defense didn't look good at all, a lot of baseline drives which looked like it broke down the dukes defense. Ferry did play a lot of people which may have contributed to a few of the defensive breakdowns. James looked good, if he doesn't settle for jump shots and takes it to the tin he's okay.  New Orleans plays bowling green at 2 on ESPN3, don't think we should have a problem with them. Good to hear the webstream is better this year.

rosceaux wrote:

CLK wrote:

Craig MeyerVerified account ‏@CraigMeyerPG   The biggest takeaway, by far, for me from this game is that Duquesne isn't close to being ready defensively. It's obvuously early, though.

Have to echo those sentiments. Not al all what I was expecting to see against a DII school. The backcourt and especially the wings kept laying off their man assignmnet to give negligible help to the interior, only to have the ball kicked back out to a now wide open shooter. That has nothing to do with player intensity, it has to do with what masquerades as a defensive philosophy. Easy to see the gameplans we'll be facing all year.

On the bright side, I was very impressed with Eric James and improvements in the interior.

Agreed that it is perplexing that there were so few offensive sets run to get Micah open looks. Or Colter for that matter.
 

rosceaux, just like last year, the opponent - regardless of caliber - seems to be able to get an open 3 point shot off at will. So it appears to me that FAM's LHTM "defensive philosophy" is still in place after last year's defensive debacle, and after this year's stated focus on defense; even with the extra practice/Ireland trip, a scrimmage and an exhibition.  

I think if the second unit is struggling against a DII team, you got some problems. Your backups should be head and shoulders better than anyone they put on the court.

grammudder wrote:

They played a good to very good first half.  They played an average to less than average second half.  Their game fell off when the second platoon of players were on the floor.  When the starters got back in they kicked it up a gear.   I agree with VBC's sentiment.  Score vacillated between highs of 25 and lows of 15, no more and no less.  When you win by 25 against a team you should have beaten by maybe 35, that is a good sign. I am not worried one iota.  The expectations I had before the year are being met.  They will be better with Powell assuming his youthful impetuosity(ies) that caused his suspension are at an end.  It is none of our business why he was suspended.  That is between he, his teammates and the coaching staff, period.   

The Dukes defense gave up 43 points in the second half to a DII team against mostly our starters and first players off the bench.  No walk-on played nor did Jackson.  The Dukes outscored SH by 8 in the second half mostly on a run they made as time was running out and SH was rushing shots. That is not average, but horrible to me.  It is early, but I believe Craig Meyer is right on point about our defense.
 

Last edited by CLK (11/14/2015 5:07 pm)