Duke’s next game is at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Even without a long memory, you know this is a dangerous journey.
Last year, the Devils lost to Georgia, and Tech pulled off a big upset, winning 72-68. The Yellow Jackets opened a 14-3 lead and held the lead for most of the game. Duke made a late comeback to take the lead, but it wasn’t enough.
In case you forgot, Tyrese Proctor injured his ankle early in this game, playing only the first 1 minute and 16 seconds.
Obviously, things are very different this time.
Duke only returns two players from that team, but they have a huge team that has successfully rebuilt and plays a stifling defense.
Georgia Tech lost Kyle Sturdivant, Deebo Coleman, Tafala Gyapare, Tizhorn Claude, Amalie Abram, Ibrahima Sacco, Carter Murphy and Ebenezer Dauona. They also lost Myles Kelly, who last visited Cameron with Auburn recently. He scored 16 points last year (he scored 14 points for the Tigers on Dec. 4).
But the guy who really killed Duke last year was Baye Ndongo, who scored 21 points on 9-for-11 from the floor.
Somewhat surprisingly, Lance Terry is getting the most minutes (31.3 minutes). He’s one of four Yellow Jackets averaging double digits (15.5 for him). Nathan George, who showed some true clutch instincts at times last season, had 11 points and six assists. Although he lacks stability, he is a dangerous player who could be sent off at any time.
Ndongo is averaging 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. Primarily an inside player, he shoots just 51.9%, which surprises us considering his pure physical talent.
Javian McCollum is averaging 10.3 points, three boards, and three assists.
Freshman Jayden Mutaf is also not to be missed with 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist.
Kowasi Reeves has 9.3 points and 2.5 boards.
Luke O’Brien, a transfer from Colorado, Duncan Powell out of Sacramento State, Ryan Mutombo, who followed his legendary father at Georgetown before entering the portal, and freshman Dorian Onwuchekwa round out the rotation.
The Yellow Jackets are 5-6 so far, but the losses haven’t been too bad. North Florida may not have lost much, but they beat South Carolina before beating Tech. Other losses were to a solid Georgia team (77-69), Wes Miller’s Cincinnati (81-58), Oklahoma (76-61), UNC (68-65) and Chris Collins’ North. Western University (71 wins, 60 losses).
Manager Damon Stoudemire has been tinkering with the lineup lately, trying out Onwuchekwa, Mutahu and Mutombo as starters, but it’s Ndongo that we’re concerned about.
Sure he was inconsistent, but he’s a great athlete. He’s stronger than Carman Maruaha, more athletic than Cooper Flagg, and could prove difficult to contain. Perhaps the best answer for him is Malik Brown. Perhaps the least athletic of Duke’s big trio, Brown is an incredibly smart defender who usually frustrates everyone before his feet even leave the floor.
But the biggest difference is Duke’s overall defense. The guard trio of Proctor, Theon Love, and Caleb Foster is surprisingly interchangeable, and they all go after it on D. Flagg is very versatile and I would like to see Maruaha become more aggressive, but he is only 17 years old and will continue to take time for his body to develop. Masu.
Still, at 7-2 and just having long arms, he can change a lot of shots. We haven’t seen the tip of that guy’s iceberg yet.
Important statistics to remember are: Tech didn’t shoot very well, shooting 43.1 percent overall and 32.6 percent from behind the line, with 11.6 turnovers.
Terry is the best 3-point shooter at 39.7 percent, but he is 6-3 and will face taller defenders in every game. McCollum, who is shooting 37 percent from the field, is 6-2 and will have similar issues. Mustaf is 6-5 with a 33.3 percent batting average. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is ejected or if Reeves, who is 6-7, is ejected. Reaves won’t have much difficulty getting perimeter shots against Duke’s tall defenders.
We wouldn’t be surprised if the match went like this. Duke’s interior defense forces Tech to shoot a lot of threes, one guy gets really hot and excites the crowd, and Duke has to work hard to overcome that emotional edge. No. And to be fair, that doesn’t always matter, but Duke has great talent and will be favored. And it has to be said: Isaiah Evans has emerged as a tremendous force off the bench. He can always pull off back-to-back threes. He hasn’t made it on the road yet, but it’s coming.
But Stoudamire will never forget playing for Lute Olson, who had a great defensive scheme, and coaching under or with one of the great basketball minds of our time, Brad Stevens. Please.
There’s no question he has solid plans for Duke, and of course John Scheyer has plans for Duke as well.
But as Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they hit. And last year, Duke didn’t respond well after Proctor left. I’ll take a look at the situation this time.
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