After falling to instate rival NC State at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. Duke must show their mental toughness.
For Duke basketball it is just one loss. For those who love to hate Duke it showed that this Blue Devil team will fall like the previous years have done.
Jan 11, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) head coach Mike Krzyzewski (center) and guard Matt Jones (13) react during the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. North Carolina State won 87-75. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Before we jump to conclusions about this team it is important to remember one simple thing: they start three freshman. No that is not an excuse. The game has changed and the Blue Devils have adapted and changed with the game. Three freshman starters is nothing new for college basketball. Just look at Kentucky every year.
With that being said, you cannot ignore the impact that experience and maturity have on a team. Quinn Cook is the lone scholarship senior on the roster and has moved off the ball to shooting guard so that freshman point guard Tyus Jones can run the show. Justise Winslow is an electrifying freshman wing player who can get to the rim when he chooses. Winslow is not a consistent shooter yet but he is capable of knocking down the three. Amile Jefferson is an experienced role player but he fills a role.
Jefferson is a tough player who plays defense and rebounds but is not known for his scoring. Most of the teams Duke has played have started to give Jefferson the time and space at the top of the key because they know he won’t shoot the ball. To fill out the starting line-up there is Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is the best big man in the country who has an array of low post moves and the ability to pass out of double teams.
If you didn’t watch the game versus NC State then you may think Duke just got routed. It wasn’t that simple. NC State outplayed Duke but Duke also wasn’t making shots. As a team the Blue Devils shot 36.9 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three. They shot the ball horribly.
The good news for Duke is that they don’t have long to think about the loss. The Blue Devils get a chance versus Miami on Tuesday to redeem themselves and prove that this loss was nothing more than a fluke.
The loss doesn’t mean a whole lot for Duke. The loss also doesn’t mean nothing to Duke. It is somewhere in between the two ends of the spectrum. Coming into the game their defense was playing extremely well.
The Blue Devils defense wasn’t allowing teams to get into the lane. They forced their opponents into tough shots. The game versus NC State wasn’t much different. The difference in the game was that the Wolfpack made their shots. It didn’t matter whether Duke contested shots or not because the Wolfpack made them.
The loss proved one thing. Duke is young. Their inexperience showed versus NC State. Their inexperience is also only to get more experienced. With every game these freshman play they will only get better and they will only gain experience. A freshman mistake at the beginning of the season typically won’t happen later in the year.
The game versus NC State did show some weaknesses that this Duke team has. They aren’t extremely deep. They have talent and players to go eight or nine deep but Duke plays mainly with seven players. The Blue Devils use Marshall Plumlee as their eighth player but he is only used to give Okafor a breather.
Rasheed Sulaimon and Matt Jones are the only bench players who actually play. Essentially Duke has a seven man rotation. The lack of depth isn’t a huge factor unless a player gets into foul trouble or an injury occurs. The issue with the shallow bench is that Sulaimon is the one guy who can score and create for others off the bench. Sulaimon is also inconsistent. One half he scores nine points and plays mistake free basketball. The next half he scores two points with two turnovers.
The Duke Blue Devils do not get much scoring off their bench and when you get deeper into ACC play and tournament play that aspect of the game may play a key role in their success or failure.
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Another weakness that got exposed versus NC State is the Blue Devils shooting. It’s not that their shooting itself is a weakness but how much they rely on perimeter shooting. In years past Duke has lived by three and died by the three. This year with Okafor it was supposed to be different. The Blue Devils finally have a dominant big man to score and create space for his teammates. Through the first 14 games Okafor has done just that.
Duke was getting easier looks because Okafor draws so much attention every time he touches the ball. For Duke to make this just one loss and not a trend they have to find a way to create easier shots. They can’t simply rely on the three-pointer for a majority of their offense.
The way that Duke creates easy offense is by creating turnovers. The Blue Devils must play better defense and get out in transition to create easy points. Duke needs to start playing defense again. Get into passing lanes. Apply pressure on the ball. Press. Do whatever you can to build momentum and make life miserable for your opponent.
At the end of the day the NC State game is just one loss that shows Duke is beatable. There is no reason to panic or to think that this team doesn’t have the ability to win the ACC or a National Championship. True Duke fans know this team is going to get better and that they have arguably the best coach in college history in Coach K. He will use this as a lesson and Coach K will use the loss to refocus his team.
There is no reason to worry about Duke. Just continue to watch them grow and get better.