DUKE SCRIMMAGE OBSERVATIONS

By Chris Spatola

October 10, 2013

I had a chance to sit in on a Duke intra-squad scrimmage this week.  Coach Mike Krzyzewski brought in ACC officials to officiate three 8-minute scrimmages.  While all teams at this point in the year are still a work in progress, there are a few things that will define this Duke team: they’re athletic, very deep on the perimeter, and will have the ability to give a variety of defensive looks throughout the year.  They are thin inside (Amile Jefferson started for the white team at center) and the ability to protect the paint and rebound will be points of emphasis, but Duke’s ability to defend ninety-four feet and switch screens gives them a versatility that can be tough to play against.  A few other observations:

Tendency to watch Parker and Hood play.  It’s clear the emphasis for Duke offensively will be to play through Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker.  Both are very talented and have great size relative to their skill sets.  The problem Coach K saw during spurts in all three scrimmages was the tendency of the other three guys playing with Parker and Hood to stand and watch those two operate.  Once either Parker or Hood caught the ball, the rest of the offense stagnated.  A big word for Duke offensively this year as it relates to Parker and Hood is “complement”.  A primary way to complement those two guys is to cut and screen so that the defense doesn’t have the chance to load up and stack the help-side limiting Parker and Hood’s driving opportunities.

Fouling too much.  One thing players never get a true sense of in practice is what’s a foul and what’s not.  In all three scrimmages both teams flirted with putting the other team in the bonus, and these were only 8-minute scrimmages.  Players get away with clutching and grabbing in practice that are really fouls in a game.  Since most teams don’t focus on team fouls until games are actually played, it’s easy to lose sight of how much you’re fouling.  Conversely, there were a lot of missed layups on plays with contact.  Coach K pointed out that when you miss a layup in practice with contact you might just assume you were fouled.  The officials being there for the scrimmage gave the players a true sense of how important it is to finish through contact.

Shot selection.  One reason offense is usually behind defense at this point in the season is it takes teams time to figure out what a “good” shot is.  Duke this year will try to push the tempo and play a lot of possessions, but Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t want to run at the expense of taking good shots.  Several times in their scrimmages the Blue Devils fired up contested, early shots in an attempt to play at their desired tempo.  Coach K wants to play fast, but the primary goal of every offensive possession is to still take a great shot.

QUICK HITTERS:

Ø  Andrew Wiggins is a unique talent.  He’s an incredibly strong athlete with great size.  He will be the number one pick in next spring’s draft and will have a long, productive NBA career.  Beyond that, we all need to pump the breaks on labeling Wiggins as a generational talent.  He’s not even the best high school player since Lebron James. Sports Illustrated putting him on the cover and comparing Wiggins to Kansas legends Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning seems, at best, premature.  Wiggins needs go from being an off-the-charts athlete to being a basketball player.  And he will.  Let’s just not coronate him before the lights come on.

Ø  Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey in addressing the media this week struck one nostalgic note with respect to Notre Dame leaving the Big East and joining the ACC. Brey told reporters “The biggest withdrawal symptom I will have in not being in the Big East is not playing at Madison Square Garden in March.”  When asked if he’ll be able to bring knowledge from his time as a Duke assistant back in the early 90’s, Brey remarked that the only head coach left in the ACC from his time in the league is his former boss Mike Krzyzewski.

Ø  Another off-season passed in which Shaka Smart “shocked” convention and decided to stay home at VCU and not pursue employment elsewhere.  While Smart’s decision to remain at VCU has been dissected from all angles, perhaps the one most often overlooked is that Smart has a pretty good team returning this year – as in top 15 good.  It was no surprise this past week that VCU was picked to win the Atlantic 10 (favored over two other quality teams in St. Louis and LaSalle).  Inconsistent at times last year, this year’s VCU team returns four of five starters.  Traveon Graham (15.1 ppg), Juvonte Reddic (14.6 ppg), and Rob Brandenberg (10.1 ppg) all averaged double-figures last year, and Briante Webber ranked fifth in the country in steals (2.7 spg).  Shaka Smart’s team this year may just be more talented than the one who reached the Final Four in 2011.