Congrats. Excellent performance by Kentucky
- Thread starter DodgerDukie1985
- Start date
UK fan who picked Duke and then puked, but what I had seen was not going to beat you, but was happy with the guards tonight. Not happy with the bigs, but sure you're feeling just the opposite. Good news for you is we just returned Allen for his junior year lol.. Had to throw in a jab.
There's a reason why Ingram put on a ton of weight over the summer. He's very skilled, but the first time I looked at him, I was like wow, he's skinny as a rail and I sure can't expect him to be the all-around player Justise Winslow was. He can be an effective defender if for nothing else than his length and athleticism, but he simply doesn't have that NBA ready body Winslow brought from the very first day last season. I'm not going to panic over one awful game from Allen, but I can definitely say this was a humbling experience for him. Even in the Wisconsin game where he came off the bench and played wonderfully, he wasn't seeing wings who were hounding him like he was seeing tonight nor did he have to worry about running into quality big guys every time he went into the lane.
No argument from me that Thornton needs to learn and develop over these next three and a half, four months and be ready to perform. There simply isn't another option at point guard. I mean, maybe Kennard, Jones, Ingram, Allen can do it for small stretches, but it'll be asking for trouble asking for it for long stretches. Plumlee better rebound, defend and block shots because he's never going to be an Okafor on the offensive end of the court unless he's just able to sit under the basket and get offensive putbacks and lobs all game long. This worked for like four minutes tonight, but obviously it wasn't sustainable. Just like Kennard needs to make shots or else he won't be effective.
it's not just about gaining weight...Why do you think between Murray, Ulis, and Briscoe they had 12 rebounds....
Murray had 5 rebounds.
Ingram had 1....
Thanks DodgerDukie for coming on board. To me, Duke's lack of PG seems to be the biggest issue. But I would not want to play you guys again in the tournament.
Lol understandable. I sure don't like to admit to admit Duke was the lesser team, but watching this game, I couldn't come to any other conclusion aside from Kentucky is very much the superior team at this time. If the two teams play again, hopefully for me it'll be a different story, but for it to be different, I know this Duke team is gonna have to improve in a lot of facets. And this doesn't even take into account that Kentucky will undoubtedly be a much better team in four months than they are now.
Well Thornton did get 29 minutes tonight, which was fine. He did show flashes today with his shot and does have the potential on the defensive end (which was one positive I took out of tonight), but going up against the likes of Ulis, Murray and Briscoe, you can see how far he has to go as a ball handler/facilitator. Given the struggles he had at Duke's Countdown To Craziness and also coming in later than the other freshmen due to finishing his classes over the summer to get eligible, I'm not surprised that he's having some problems early on. Granted I wouldn't have been expecting Tyus Jones even had he not had to take classes over the summer since I thought that would have been unfair to place those expectations on him. Actually mentioning Tyus' name makes me more upset than anything tonight since I realize how much he and Quinn Cook (and obviously Winslow and Okafor also) spoiled me last season lol
The Ingram kid had a bad game, but he showed that he has major upside. He will be a player in the league. I'm interested to see what kind of team Duke has this year, it's hard to tell from one game. When do you guys play another big game?
Funny since I on this very board in the prediction thread picked Kentucky to beat Duke. I knew that three-headed monster at point guard was something Duke just didn't match up with at all (granted they aren't the only team that Ulis, Murray and Briscoe will destroy). I expected Skal would be more effective, but he dealt with foul trouble from the start. However, Marcus Lee and Isaac Humphries sure made up for that.
Lol well I'd very happily take Allen back for next season. The backcourt/wing spots would be that much better with him around with the likes of Frank Jackson and Jayson Tatum coming in and the likes of Matt Jones, Kennard and Thornton coming back.
They play in the 2K Classic on Friday and Sunday. First they'll play VCU on Friday and then Wisconsin or Georgetown on Sunday. VCU may not be as good without Shaka Smart around and obviously Wisconsin just lost to Western Illinois while G-Town lost to Radford. So I don't know if you want to count those as "big" games. If you don't, Duke's next "big" game would be against Indiana in the ACC/B1G Challenge.
I know what you're saying. Murray, Briscoe and Ulis are tougher than Ingram. Briscoe was the bulldog another poster told me he was the other day, Murray was the same and Ulis is tough as nails, especially at his size. All I was saying is I knew when I first looked at Ingram, he'd definitely have to get bigger and stronger from where he was before the summer.
You guys find a PG and you'll be in thick of things. Looks like Thornton has potential. This Duke team looks like it has more size and athleticism than usual.
You guys find a PG and you'll be in thick of things. Looks like Thornton has potential. This Duke team looks like it has more size and athleticism than usual.
Class post OP. I always enjoy watching Kentucky play Duke, because it's always a big time matchup. Amile Jefferson is a beast, and I hope y'all smoke Louisville and UNC this year.
