OC- Duke

[UConnRock]

It is amazing how mediocre Duke is when they only have 3 first round draft picks playing vs. 4.

 

[tzznandrew]

It is amazing how mediocre Duke is when they only have 3 first round draft picks playing vs. 4.

Why would you post this? They're going to win now. Thanks.

 

[Mano]

Obnoxious Cheaters?

 

[UConnRock]

The refs will take care of that. My comment has no impact

 

[Lefty2one]

Not sold on RJ Barrett at all. I wouldn't take Cam Reddish with a Top 20 pick.

 

[ASweet3781]

Turned in just in time to see ESPN advertising LIVE Coverage from the Duke locker room post game.

 

[polycom]

Not sold on RJ Barrett at all. I wouldn't take Cam Reddish with a Top 20 pick.

What exactly are not you sold on RJ Barrett about? He averages 20+ in the best basketball conference in the country? Cam reddish is another matter.

 

[Mano]

Well God damn...

Why the hell didn't Manning call a timeout?

 

[Mister P]

How did that ball not go in !
I hate Duke.

 

[Lefty2one]

What exactly are not you sold on RJ Barrett about? He averages 20+ in the best basketball conference in the country? Cam reddish is another matter.

A ton of scouts and media people aren't sold on him. He's not good in traffic/around the rim and his tunnel vision is a big concern. As is his jumper. He's not an efficient player.

 

[Robertelamin]

I thought it was in. Tough loss for Wake.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Occasionally Corrupt?

 

[alexd]

Did ESPN have Dook Vitale personally train their announcers on how to be an annoying Dook fan???

 

[Robertelamin]

I’m feeling better about our Jock Jams after hearing Haddaway “what is love” at this Ole Miss game prior to tip-off.

 

[polycom]

A ton of scouts and media people aren't sold on him. He's not good in traffic/around the rim and his tunnel vision is a big concern. As is his jumper. He's not an efficient player.

I think RJ will be fine in a good system. Duke's system is score and play defense and I think RJ is allowed too much freedom. In a more structured environment I think he'll thrive.

 

[tzznandrew]

@UConnRock this is on you. What you did was essentially poke the ball off the rim there. You can't blame the refs, only yourself...

 

[Lefty2one]

I think RJ will be fine in a good system. Duke's system is score and play defense and I think RJ is allowed too much freedom. In a more structured environment I think he'll thrive.

You're not going to find more structure in the NBA, especially from your primary playmakers and that's what Barrett has to be at the next level. He's a guy who's going to need a high usage rate to be effective. He's not an off-ball player and he can't shoot. He's a minus defender so if he's not good enough to be your main playmaker then I don't see what role he's going to fill.

 

[HHusky]

IT'S DUKE. WHO CARES?

 

[auror]

RJ Barrett from 2 this year as a freshman 201-374 (53.7%)

Sign me up. I don't see any finishing concerns there from a freshman. That's tremendous volume scoring (top 15 in all D1 in shot%) at a fairly efficient rate. There's only 1 freshman in the country with a bigger shotload and his efficiency is 15 points per 100 worse than RJ's.

Of the 14 guys with more shot workload than him, only 6 have better ORTGs, and it's pretty much a who's who of offensive scoring in the country, and all of them are at least juniors. Chris Clemons, Markus Howard, Mike Daum, etc.

He draws a decent number of fouls. His assist numbers are good. Turnovers reasonable for the usage. He's ahead of where Jayson Tatum was as a freshman in all of the above and blowing Wiggins out of the water.

Shooting is the only offensive question mark I see. It's a big one, and understandably that's why he's not going #1.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

You're not going to find more structure in the NBA, especially from your primary playmakers and that's what Barrett has to be at the next level. He's a guy who's going to need a high usage rate to be effective. He's not an off-ball player and he can't shoot. He's a minus defender so if he's not good enough to be your main playmaker then I don't see what role he's going to fill.

This is all relative, of course. Is there a mock that doesn't have Barrett in the top 3? The kid should still be a senior in high school. He doesn't even turn 19 until the summer.

 

[Lefty2one]

Barrett against...

Army: 20 points on 21 shots
Auburn: 18 points on 20 shots
Gonzaga: 23 points on 25 shots
Texas Tech: 16 points on 22 shots
Clemson: 13 points on 14 shots
Syracuse: 23 points on 30 shots
Pitt: 26 points on 24 shots
Notre Dame: 17 points on 17 shots
St John's: 15 points on 15 shots
Louisville: 13 points on 14 shots
Miami: 19 points on 18 shots

He's had some big games but he's had plenty of inefficient stinkers. That list is nearly half of Duke's games against P5 competition.

He's a stiff athlete, kind of like Harrison Barnes, who's scoring style reminds me of LeBron without the athleticism. He has no finesse to his game. He barrels into traffic and often throws up prayers that go unanswered. His instincts when driving are poor: he doesn't know when to kick it out, when to try a floater, or to simply bring it back out. Hopefully he'll develop that aspect of his game but it's one area that I think is largely instinctual and can't be improved all that much in most players.

This draft is terrible and I'd probably still take him at #2. Just saying that he's a risky pick.

This is all relative, of course. Is there a mock that doesn't have Barrett in the top 3? The kid should still be a senior in high school. He doesn't even turn 19 until the summer.

The Ringer has him at #5...

But the sheen has worn away over the course of the season despite some truly eye-popping individual numbers. He looks ordinary in the half court; for all his physical gifts, he doesn’t yet possess the creativity to overcome a lack of airspace or the finishing ability to compensate for his rather rigid athleticism.

We’ve been waiting on Barrett’s purported playmaking ability—the kind of point-forward ability he flashed in the international scene. It may have finally come, after an impressive 23-point, 11-rebound, and 10-assist triple-double (with no turnovers) against NC State on Saturday. After weeks of people groaning about the ball-hogging he’s done this season, Barrett could be rounding into the form we’d all expected to begin with.

 

[auror]

Barrett against...

Army: 20 points on 21 shots
Auburn: 18 points on 20 shots
Gonzaga: 23 points on 25 shots
Texas Tech: 16 points on 22 shots
Clemson: 13 points on 14 shots
Syracuse: 23 points on 30 shots
Pitt: 26 points on 24 shots
Notre Dame: 17 points on 17 shots
St John's: 15 points on 15 shots
Louisville: 13 points on 14 shots
Miami: 19 points on 18 shots

He's had some big games but he's had plenty of inefficient stinkers. That list is nearly half of Duke's games against P5 competition.

His more efficient games against top competition (omitted cupcakes) for comparison, note all 3 matchups against Virginia and UNC thus far are here plus Kentucky:

Kentucky: 33 points on 26 shots.
SDSU: 20 points on 14 shots.
Indiana: 22 points on 18 shots.
Yale (top 100): 30 points on 19 shots.
Florida St: 32 points on 19 shots.
Virginia: 30 points on 19 shots.
Georgia Tech: 24 points on 16 shots.
BCU: 19 points on 12 shots.
Virginia again: 26 points on 15 shots.
NC State: 23 points on 17 shots.
UNC: 33 points on 22 shots.
Syracuse: 30 points on 20 shots.
Virginia Tech: 21 points on 15 shots.

He's a stiff athlete, kind of like Harrison Barnes, who's scoring style reminds me of LeBron without the athleticism. He has no finesse to his game. He barrels into traffic and often throws up prayers that go unanswered. His instincts when driving are poor: he doesn't know when to kick it out, when to try a floater, or to simply bring it back out. Hopefully he'll develop that aspect of his game but it's one area that I think is largely instinctual and can't be improved all that much in most players.

The Ringer has him at #5...

We’ve been waiting on Barrett’s purported playmaking ability—the kind of point-forward ability he flashed in the international scene. ..

I think this is the eye test and confirmation bias leading you and The Ringer astray.

His playmaking has been there and the turnovers you seem to think he's committing really aren't. He's got triple the assist rate of Harrison Barnes in his sophomore year, double Jayson Tatum's, and essentially equivalent to his PG Tre Jones this year. It's 50% higher than Zion's also.

Barnes and Tatum had sub 1 A:TO ratios and he's at 1.4 : 1.

 

[Lefty2one]

His playmaking has been there and the turnovers you seem to think he's committing really aren't. He's got triple the assist rate of Harrison Barnes in his sophomore year, double Jayson Tatum's, and essentially equivalent to his PG Tre Jones this year. It's 50% higher than Zion's also.

Barnes and Tatum had sub 1 A:TO ratios and he's at 1.4 : 1.

1. I didn't say anything about Barrett's turnovers.
2. Neither Barnes or Tatum were hyped to be playmakers so I don't know why they're the comparison. Neither had the ball in their hands or were initiating offense anywhere near as often as Barrett does. They're not the same type of player.
3. I was comparing one aspect of Barnes and Barrett athleticism, that was all.

His more efficient games against top competition (omitted cupcakes) for comparison, note all 3 matchups against Virginia and UNC thus far are here plus Kentucky:

Kentucky: 33 points on 26 shots.
SDSU: 20 points on 14 shots.
Indiana: 22 points on 18 shots.
Yale (top 100): 30 points on 19 shots.
Florida St: 32 points on 19 shots.
Virginia: 30 points on 19 shots.
Georgia Tech: 24 points on 16 shots.
BCU: 19 points on 12 shots.
Virginia again: 26 points on 15 shots.
NC State: 23 points on 17 shots.
UNC: 33 points on 22 shots.
Syracuse: 30 points on 20 shots.
Virginia Tech: 21 points on 15 shots.

Right - so it's basically a coin flip. He's either going to be really good or pretty bad. Ideally, I'd like to see much more consistency out of the #2 pick.

 

[HawkHusky]

Damn. Thought this meant we scheduled an out of conference game with them.

 

[UofCT]

Not sold on RJ Barrett at all. I wouldn't take Cam Reddish with a Top 20 pick.

+1