* I didn't expect to win tonight, but I didn't think the Cats would get completely crushed, embarrassed, by Duke: 118-84. That's a 34 pt beat down and it could have been worse. The Cats completely outclassed tonight. I thought the Cats came out intimidated and Duke justified their fear. Duke has some alpha dogs that know they are better than everybody else and the Cats never challenged them all night long.
* Duke was bigger, quicker, more athletic, and a lot better. They looked like mature grown men while we physically and mentally looked immature. Duke toyed with the Cats and did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to do it. With respect to Duke's so-called lack of depth ... I don't see any big issues with them on that point. There will be a night or two when Barrett/Zion get in foul trouble and they may lose a game or two, but it won't be many of they come to play like they did tonight.
* Duke had the best players on floor and they will in every game they play this year. Have to realize that 3 of the top 5 NBA draft picks play for Duke. Very, very, difficult to overcome that talent differential. Cats had no answer trying to stop Barrett or Zion, both of whom could potentially start in the NBA right now and they make every other player on their team better because of their presence. The Cat fans that downplayed Zion as a player all summer long need to take the blue-tinted glasses off and learn how to be objective about our own team and other teams. It doesn't make you less of a Cat fan to acknowledge other players and teams.
* What will be interesting moving forward is what this does to the Cats psyche. We clearly have a long way to go in every facet of the game. We are probably a top ten team, but we are also a team that is going to take some losses this year ... perhaps several. Emotionally and mentally though, we are going to learn a lot about how tough this team is and what their character is. The lingering effect of this game has to be dealt with quickly.
* One of our biggest questions is that I don't know if we have any big-time star, NBA level, players. I think we have a lot of good players, but I don't see any top tier players right now, and I am not sure who might arise to that level.
* Up Next: Cats have to start afresh. There's almost no redeeming value in that loss tonight. They got embarrassed on the big stage in a big way and they have to move past it quick. This should/better be an indication of just how far they have to go. We are going to learn a lot about the character of this team/players moving forward.
* Duke was bigger, quicker, more athletic, and a lot better. They looked like mature grown men while we physically and mentally looked immature. Duke toyed with the Cats and did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to do it. With respect to Duke's so-called lack of depth ... I don't see any big issues with them on that point. There will be a night or two when Barrett/Zion get in foul trouble and they may lose a game or two, but it won't be many of they come to play like they did tonight.
* Duke had the best players on floor and they will in every game they play this year. Have to realize that 3 of the top 5 NBA draft picks play for Duke. Very, very, difficult to overcome that talent differential. Cats had no answer trying to stop Barrett or Zion, both of whom could potentially start in the NBA right now and they make every other player on their team better because of their presence. The Cat fans that downplayed Zion as a player all summer long need to take the blue-tinted glasses off and learn how to be objective about our own team and other teams. It doesn't make you less of a Cat fan to acknowledge other players and teams.
* What will be interesting moving forward is what this does to the Cats psyche. We clearly have a long way to go in every facet of the game. We are probably a top ten team, but we are also a team that is going to take some losses this year ... perhaps several. Emotionally and mentally though, we are going to learn a lot about how tough this team is and what their character is. The lingering effect of this game has to be dealt with quickly.
* One of our biggest questions is that I don't know if we have any big-time star, NBA level, players. I think we have a lot of good players, but I don't see any top tier players right now, and I am not sure who might arise to that level.
* Up Next: Cats have to start afresh. There's almost no redeeming value in that loss tonight. They got embarrassed on the big stage in a big way and they have to move past it quick. This should/better be an indication of just how far they have to go. We are going to learn a lot about the character of this team/players moving forward.
