CTS wrote:

NapaDuke I’m with you. I was looking our bigs and appreciating the athleticism that they bring. We have a good group there which is often hard to put together and they have more years remaining. I also think Dru thought Edwards was going to be a key contributor which hasn’t happened so it’s changed the lineup as well and rotations.

I’m curious to see if Williams is available with his size and ability to move players. If not maybe he takes a medical year. Also really helping Jake can get and stay healthy this year as I believe his play is one of the missing pieces right now.
I agree about Edwards. He is best for us as someone that can drive to the hoop. Off the bench, I see him switching off with Corbett. His perimeter shooting hasn't been good, but he is a slasher to the hoop. Crawford and Dinkins have been very impressive these last two games. UCI is as good as RI and if these Dukes get a win against RI, then I think the Dukes will be on track.
It’s great to see the team coming together, playing good D, and finding their offense. I think a lot of teams are going to underestimate the Dukes with the worst record in the A10 right now.

luckymcd wrote:

Most of all I hope the last two games weren’t a flash in the pan, or a matter of Towson not being very good and Irvine being worn out. These Dukes definitely looked different though, so I’m cautiously optimistic. Some of the losses are inexcusable even if they were still finding themselves, but you had to think Coach Dru would have some growing pains moving into the head spot for the first time. All will be forgiven if the now rapid development continues. The next challenge will be fitting Jake back in when he’s healthy. You don’t want to upset the chemistry we just found, but he’s too big a contributor to sit too long if he’s healthy.

Well said. They are starting to figure things out. This is the team I envisioned before the season started. I'd bring DiMichele back slowly when he's healthy. Think they'll be fine whether he's healthy or not. Just beat a really good UCI team by 16 points (and it wasn't really that close) that was ranked #34 in the NET rankings. Love DiMichele, but think this team is starting to gel even without him, so no rush to bring him back until he's totally healthy. Looks to me that guys like Crawford stepping up in his absence which can only be a good thing in the end. 

Last edited by Rayrich (12/24/2024 9:38 pm)

I would like to see Coach Dru continue with this starting line up even against Cleary and maintain the same aggressive offense to push the pace because it's working.

I hope nobody gets hurt. Playing Cleary does nothing for this program. The season begins Tuesday at 2 pm. Go Dukes

Ironduke81 wrote:

I hope nobody gets hurt. Playing Cleary does nothing for this program. The season begins Tuesday at 2 pm. Go Dukes

I disagree.  I like that the guys get this tune up right before A-10 play. They played some tough teams early, took some lumps, figured a few things out. Now they’re on a little roll.  One more confidence builder before the real season starts.  It shouldn’t be a grind, or too physical. A perfect opportunity to work on execution with little resistance.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial).  It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.

Just curious but where do you get from the box score, number of possessions?  I see number of attempts and number of turnovers that add up to more than you have pointed out. Is there an actual official number?  

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial).  It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.

Just curious but where do you get from the box score, number of possessions?  I see number of attempts and number of turnovers that add up to more than you have pointed out. Is there an actual official number?  

I get them from mostly KenPom (behind a pay wall) or Torvik's free data.  Here's the Dukes page; you can click on any score to get the full analytical box score  (T-Page for Duquesne - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank )

Possessions is not an official NCAA statistic, so it must be estimated. The formula that these guys use is
Possessions = FGA-OR+TO+.475*FTA 

The only bit of uncertainty is the free throw portion, because they don’t always know how a team got to the line. If they are shooting two, then the two FTAs account for one possession. But if they go to the line for one after making a shot, then the one FTA has no possession attached to it, because the previous FGA accounts for it.

Thanks for the link. Good stuff.