(POST-GAME) @Duke, Sat. Feb. 2, Noon, ESPN / 570AM

[quote="SJU61982" post=319649][quote="Jack Williams" post=319642]The million dollar question now is... if ponds disappears from all draft
Boards is there any chance he changes his mind about maybe coming back for his senior year? Probably not[/quote]

He's worked on everything the scouts have told him to work on. That's been evident in his play this season. If it's not happening for him this year, then I don't think it's ever going to happen for him.

I certainly don't think one bad game against the best team in America is going to destroy his stock, either. A great game would have helped, but if he's the Ponds we all know going forward, then nothing will change, IMO.[/quote]
Ponds did not have a good game and some of that is attributable to tough defense by Tre Jones. However, Jones had a lot of help as they routinely doubled Ponds. And, if truth be told, Jones should have fouled out. He was riding Ponds like a thoroughbred for most of the game. Ponds should have been at the line a lot more. Not that impacted the result. Just sayin’
 
[quote="Las Vegan" post=319665]We played a team that started five first round NBA picks, on their home court. We might have a c
ouple of second round picks. Those teams Fran recruited had first round picks, so we were very competitive with Duke then.[/quote]
Great team but five first rounders?

Tre Jones not going 1st round if drafted at all.
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=319671]played decent for 15 minutes then complete and total mental collapse and shots stopped falling. Didn't expect a win and I don't care about Ponds lack of scoring if he is controlling the game but the lack of poise from our starting 5 was unexpected.[/quote]
Frankly, they looked like a boxer who realized that they weren't going to win the fight and just quit.
 
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To be honest, this loss while embarrassing because it was a thirty point shellacking doesn’t bother me as much as the two home losses to DePaul and Georgetown. A good team protects home court. We don’t , that’s what Duke did today. All that being said , if we can find a away to beat Marquette we have 5 of 6 at home and I think can possibly go on a really nice run. I think we bounce back against Marquette and I think Shamorie drops 30. I just hope it’s enough to win on the road there.
 
[quote="Marillac" post=319741][quote="ghostzapper" post=319724]Last year no one hammered Ponds when he put up 33 against Duke at the Garden. Today he had a bad game but I don't believe that his entire professional career was riding on this one outing. He will be judged by scouts on his entire body of work.

Duke's game plan was focused on shutting him down. Jones played great defense on him, no doubt, but they also doubled and tripled Ponds every time he had the ball and also closed off the passing lanes. They played great defense on him and that had as much to with his poor effort as anything.

FYI Kentucky was blown out by Duke just as badly as we were and no one is saying their players NBA hopes are done. Chalk it up for what it was, a good old fashioned butt kicking. It happens!

On to Marquetts and trying to finish in the top three in the conference and bigger things beyond.[/quote]

Jones shut Ponds down by himself--and badly. He was too quick for Ponds. I don't think Ponds was doubled and tripled like you claim. They went for steals when he turned his back and converged when he drove. That's pretty standard.

Nobody said the UK guys weren't NBA players because they are just freshmen and their physical talent is undeniable. Ponds is only 6'0/6'1 with short arms and only average athletic ability. His BADLY missed dunk at the exemplifies what this game meant to scouts, and it's one of those unfair plays that come to define a player's shortcomings to scouts and GMs who have to evaluate hundreds of players a year. He is second to none in skill. I feel bad for him, by this is a pattern. Look at how he faired against Khyri last year and how he faked against McKnight this year.

I think he believed he could just turn it on today...I thought he could too.[/quote]
Jones did a very good job but absolutely had help and Ponds was fouled on every drive.

That said, Ponds did not distinguish himself.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=319814][quote="JohnnyFan" post=319787]We don't have the roster to match up with this Duke team. Still, I agree, the way we lost is disappointing.

Yes, Ponds had a bad game and it may have impacted his draft position. That said, he's our guy. He's our ride or die. Let's not rip him apart for the next three days.[/quote]

No one perfect, today certainly a poor outing, but clearly this team would be in a ton of shit w/o Ponds.[/quote]

If Ponds had not returned this team wouldn't win ten games this year. Today was an example of that as he was MIA.
This is a typically unbalanced roster that depends upon the transfers to shine but who are usually not the stars of the team. They are role players. You recruit your stars our of high school. We have been the worst in the conference in doing that.
Because of the addition of so many transfers next season playing together for the first time it could look like a rebuilding season if they don't click.
 
[quote="Class of 72" post=319839][quote="Paultzman" post=319814][quote="JohnnyFan" post=319787]We don't have the roster to match up with this Duke team. Still, I agree, the way we lost is disappointing.

Yes, Ponds had a bad game and it may have impacted his draft position. That said, he's our guy. He's our ride or die. Let's not rip him apart for the next three days.[/quote]

No one perfect, today certainly a poor outing, but clearly this team would be in a ton of shit w/o Ponds.[/quote]

If Ponds had not returned this team wouldn't win ten games this year. Today was an example of that as he was MIA.
This is a typically unbalanced roster that depends upon the transfers to shine but who are usually not the stars of the team. They are role players. You recruit your stars our of high school. We have been the worst in the conference in doing that.
Because of the addition of so many transfers next season playing together for the first time it could look like a rebuilding season if they don't click.[/quote]

The right assistant can make it so next season could be somewhat successful. They'll have a deeper team with some size and talent. They need to bring in an assistant that has a history of bringing together talent quickly. IDK if such an assistant coach is available. I think Dunlap did a great job with Norms kids. He assessed their strengths and weaknesses and made the proper adjustments to get the best out of them. Granted that was a bit different since they had played together for a few years already. I just don't think this staff as currently set up has it in them. That's no knock on any of them. It's just that they don't have 30 years of coaching experience under their belts.
 
We lost by 30 points to a team that has 3 of the top 10 going in the NBA draft. No shame in that.
Ponds does not respond well to being covered full court. Not the first time that has happened this season.
 
It was much more than a poor game,he was taken to the woodshed.look we all loved the team from day one but we all new for yes we had no inside game.they could have gone to Div 2 and filled the hole.we were killed on the boards.If we had a presence in the center we could have made it respectable.we all thought we had a very talented team once we got to conference play we saw many teams with more
This could be a blowout that they do not recover from and continue to lose. Based on teams in our conference can not see us making the Tournament
Unless we get 4 to 5 more conference wins and get to the championship game sure hope they can salvage this yr
 
Looking back at the low lights, I really think everyone underestimated how quick and athletic Zion, Barrett, and some others were. Trimble rarely turns the ball over, and first pass is picked off for a dunk. Figgy gets the rebound and Zion strips him. Ponds was pickpocketed a few times. Obviously Duke's combination of size and athleticism just doesn't exist, except for a few schools, at the college level. Hard to prepare for anything that imposing.
 
[quote="Andrew" post=319663]Very little analysis needed in this game. We came out and played hard for the first 16 minutes (down 35-33 with the ball) and then got crushed by a far superior team in the next 24.(58-26).[/quote]

Andrew, withheld the greatest of respect I disagree. If we were capable of playing toe to toe with the top team in the country and on the road for 40% of the game the staff has to analyze game film and be able to break down what if anything we did different in the remaining 60% that resulted clearly in a complete meltdown. Was it too much selfishness, showboating, not valuing the ball each possession, ill advised shots, hero ball, Trimble playing in control versus Simon out of control, defensive lapses?
Whatever the reason(s) staff has to be able to identify them and hammer home to the team that eliminating this aspect of their game may have resulted in a great game at Cameron as opposed to the blowout. Very important if we are to make a run this season
 
[quote="redmannorth" post=319867][quote="Andrew" post=319663]Very little analysis needed in this game. We came out and played hard for the first 16 minutes (down 35-33 with the ball) and then got crushed by a far superior team in the next 24.(58-26).[/quote]

Andrew, withheld the greatest of respect I disagree. If we were capable of playing toe to toe with the top team in the country and on the road for 40% of the game the staff has to analyze game film and be able to break down what if anything we did different in the remaining 60% that resulted clearly in a complete meltdown. Was it too much selfishness, showboating, not valuing the ball each possession, ill advised shots, hero ball, Trimble playing in control versus Simon out of control, defensive lapses?
Whatever the reason(s) staff has to be able to identify them and hammer home to the team that eliminating this aspect of their game may have resulted in a great game at Cameron as opposed to the blowout. Very important if we are to make a run this season[/quote]

The interesting part is that we played toe to toe with Duke for the first 40% of the game without Shamorie scoring a single point.
 
[quote="redmannorth" post=319867][quote="Andrew" post=319663]Very little analysis needed in this game. We came out and played hard for the first 16 minutes (down 35-33 with the ball) and then got crushed by a far superior team in the next 24.(58-26).[/quote]

Andrew, withheld the greatest of respect I disagree. If we were capable of playing toe to toe with the top team in the country and on the road for 40% of the game the staff has to analyze game film and be able to break down what if anything we did different in the remaining 60% that resulted clearly in a complete meltdown. Was it too much selfishness, showboating, not valuing the ball each possession, ill advised shots, hero ball, Trimble playing in control versus Simon out of control, defensive lapses?
Whatever the reason(s) staff has to be able to identify them and hammer home to the team that eliminating this aspect of their game may have resulted in a great game at Cameron as opposed to the blowout. Very important if we are to make a run this season[/quote]

Perfectly said RN. This was not just a case of a superior team(playing at home) turning up the jets. You could see our body language changing as we approached the half. The bad habits resurfaced and continued in to the 2nd half: not valueing every possession, lack of concentration, lazy passes, one on one ball, etc. Same ole same ole. I expected that Duke would wear us down at some point in the game, but I didn’t expect that we’d throw in the towel in the first half. Also I can’t emphasis how disappointed I am in Shamorie’s play. Yes Jones stuck to him like glue, but Shamorie seemed to loose interest as soon as Duke started to go on a run. Hell on a few of the steals(which resulted in fast breaks) he didn’t even make an attempt to get back on D. His body language was horrible all game. In contrast, Jones played with a high level of intensity the entire game. Talent level aside for a moment, why is it that our kids can’t play with that same intensity level for 40 minutes? I just don’t understand that, and never will.
 
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