Losing 17 of the past 18 with most played like tonight’s game ..... hard to argue that it’s a rivalry in habit & location only.

Still feeling pissed .... Pitt is the team on the schedule I want to open the can of whoop a$$ on.

As stated earlier .... hard to be patient.

Re-group fellas & go get Marshall.
Lots of hoops left.

One of the first questions that needs to be answered is just what is this team’s offensive identity. We can ask for better production from Williams and Lewis but it’s hard to score when either you aren’t on the court or you don’t get the ball. With as effective as Hughes has been inside we never attempt to have either Lewis or Williams as the feeder to the post who then may be ready for a kick out for 3. Several times we ran set plays that went for open layups. I might be crazy but I’m running sets until you stop them. I don’t care if it’s the same one all night.

MIKE HUGHES IS THE MAN-- super disappointed otherwise

Dukes2012 wrote:

Mulder wrote:

Where is Weathers?

Sick

Yes, heard before the game that Weathers was scratched due to illness.  There went any chance of a win; but given the lopsided outcome; would he have made a difference?  Probably not 25 points worth.

DennisC91 wrote:

Dsnyder15 wrote:

We need Williams and Lewis to get things sorted out or it will be a difficult season. I REALLY like both kids on and off the court.  I hope they figure it out soon.

This. We also need Frankie Hughes to give us better minutes in games like this. 
 

The reasons it will be a difficult season if they take a long time to get things figured out are 2 fold..1. They are veteran players that can carry a team because of their talent. and 2. KD will not throw them in front of the bus....they will get a lot of time to get things worked out.  We may lose a few games while things get worked out.  I hope by years end this team is working as a team and understand their roles.  I don't have as much invested as most of you and watching the growth and development of the team is fascinating.  I am hoping they figure it out quick because it will help them take the next step....you have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run.

Go Dukes

FAM wrote:

Lewis doesn't get the ball because he doesn't get open.  He started the game and did nothing, that is why he was taken out.  I hate to be so blunt about a college kids who is really nice but it is obvious why he was taken out and why he doesn't get the ball.  Unless he does better he will see less and less time.  I also disagree that Weathers would have made the difference.  We had a number of shots that just didn't go in...coupled with the turnovers on fast breaks.  What bothers me, is they were as young as we were, a first year head coach comes in, gets some freshman and transfers and kicks our A--.  Those are facts.  It is only one game, but the same outcome against the same team.

Last year, we didn't have a true point guard. Because of this, Lewis, Castro, and Smith had to be primary ball handlers, thus Lewis didn't have to work much to get open, because he always had the ball. He's struggling not being the primary ball handler.
 

What a disappointment that train wreck of a second half was. Didn’t hear all of the post game, but at the end of his radio interview, Coach said that there probably should be some competition in practice to see who gets time. That works, as it is time to whittle down from the 12 man rotation. M. Hughes has been awesome. He plays. Williams plays. Weathers plays. Hard to believe, but the guard play has been poor the last three games. Dunn-Martin gives energy and has more court sense at this point in time than the freshmen points. Start him. Frankly, Sincere is dribbling too much and teams are cutting him off as he drives and Brandon just needs to get used to the speed of the game. The two guard is a problem. Using Tayvian as a two again puts too much pressure on the freshmen points. M. Lewis is struggling. F. Hughes had a pretty bad game tonight and he has mainly spelled Eric. So, maybe he is not a two. Lamar Norman shows promise and his defense has been good. Why not give Lamar the shot now that he should eventually get as the season goes along. Austin Rotroff and Amari Kelly deserve minutes. They are up and comers. Bizeau will be good also, but he needs developmental time yet. Could he be a back-up to Williams? Can’t envy the decisions that Coach will have to make as to playing time. Hope his practice competition gets him closer to a nine-man rotation.

Last edited by HookShot (12/01/2018 12:04 am)

We don't match up well against Pitt.  Team-wise, they are more physically developed.  Our only chance is to play smart basketball, hit open looks and avoid unforced errors - none of which we did tonight.  But, congratulations to Pitt - Capel is a great coach, and he has done an amazing job reloading quickly.  Does anyone know what's happened with Swingle?  Did we redshirt him? 

 

pressurecooker wrote:

I was impressed by Pitt's defense. Aside from the start of the game, we couldn't get in rhythm. I was also impressed by Pitt's guards getting to the hoop, which opened up their offense. We don't have a penetrating guard at this point. 
We are young, but Pitt plays a lot of young players also. Sorry to say, but we were outclassed.
Remember, this is just one game in a rebuilding process. It's not always going to be pretty. 
 

Agree with all of this. While we would love to beat Pitt, our primary goal has to be to become competitive in the A10, then to become dominant in the league. If we do that, better players will follow. We need to earn an NCAA bid before the current sophomores graduate.
 

duq81 wrote:

FAM wrote:

Lewis doesn't get the ball because he doesn't get open.  He started the game and did nothing, that is why he was taken out.  I hate to be so blunt about a college kids who is really nice but it is obvious why he was taken out and why he doesn't get the ball.  Unless he does better he will see less and less time.  I also disagree that Weathers would have made the difference.  We had a number of shots that just didn't go in...coupled with the turnovers on fast breaks.  What bothers me, is they were as young as we were, a first year head coach comes in, gets some freshman and transfers and kicks our A--.  Those are facts.  It is only one game, but the same outcome against the same team.

Last year, we didn't have a true point guard. Because of this, Lewis, Castro, and Smith had to be primary ball handlers, thus Lewis didn't have to work much to get open, because he always had the ball. He's struggling not being the primary ball handler.
 

This is exactly right. It seems my unpopular opinion last week that Lewis is starting to look like a role player on this team is becoming a more popular opinion. My biggest theory as to why this was the case was that his role of running the offense was taken from him and given to Carry. Doesn’t matter what’s going on in practice, it has clearly affected him.

This is supposed to be a big time program or moving in that direction, I don’t care if these kids read this board and “have their feelings hurt”. This is how the real world works. If you don’t do your job, you should expect to be criticized or called out for it. Lewis has not looked good this year and clearly isn’t the same player when he has to move without the ball and create open looks for himself. Still looking for him to step up and look more like the guy from the last two years because he is definitely capable. He needs to pull himself up by the boot straps and we don’t need to make excuses for him, he is supposed to be the leader of the team at this point. This is a results driven business.

That being said everything was bad yesterday. Tons of terrible turnovers, we looked completely out of control coming up the court with the ball, and took a plethora of horrible shots. It looked like a Jim Ferry team out there in all honesty.

As others mentioned, without consistent play from EW and Lewis this will be a tough season. They NEED to step up, this team NEEDS their production. I think they are both extremely talented and have all the tools. EW has been solid all year, but you’d like to see him take that next step at some point this year where he goes from “quiet” 17 and 8 games, and has a lot more noticeable 24 and 12 type games as he has this ability. We need so much more from Lewis as I’ve mentioned.

All that being said, it’s just one game and this team isn’t 21 points worse than that Pitt team, not by a long shot. Let’s turn it around and beat Marshall, go Dukes!

After watching the Pitt-Iowa game, I posted the following:
——-
Three things that jumped out at me....
Can the Dukes match Pitt’s toughness and physicality?
Will the Dukes shoot well enough vs a similar defensive style?
Does the depth and full court pressure of the Dukes wear Pitt down?

Should be a good one.
——-
Well, the answers were a resounding NO, NO and NO resulting in a bad one.

CLK wrote:

I have to say that one thing I really hate hearing our coaches say is "they out toughed us".  This has been the case for way too many years, and is the kind of excuse we heard from Ferry.  The bottom line is that if that is the case, it is on the coach.  I love KD, but I don't want to hear that as a reason why we lost.  He needs to have his team mentally and physically ready to play.  The team is a reflection of their coach, and last night that reflection was pretty weak.

CLK, I agree that is is a bit troubling. I understand that KD is trying to balance quite a few things with an inexperienced team, while still building for the long term. The fact that 12 players are seeing meaningful minutes (everybody plays!!!) may be fostering a bit of complacency, reducing competition and toughness. I expect KD is going to shorten his bench prior to conference play and hopefully this is less of an issue.

I finally calmed down enough to post. I left the PPG with 7 minutes to go. Here's my beef and I haven't seen anyone else mention it, so I will. Pitt absolutely destroyed us not with their outside shooting but just driving to the hole. They couldn't hit the broadside of a barn shooting 3's in the first half. KD has mentioned that he is not averse to paying a little zone from time to time. Well, if this wasn't the perfect time to try it, I don't know when that would be.