DBP Newsletter #18
ACC Tournament Clips
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After the ACC Championship game, Coach Scheyer was asked about his halftime message to the team, and what Duke learned while in Charlotte. He answered, “Well, I just challenged our guys at halftime because I didn't think we had the necessary toughness you need to win a championship. Our guys responded. They knew it. I thought they came out with just a different edge to them in the start of the second half….I think the thing we've learned in some of these games, just the value of every possession….I think that's something we had to go through to really understand postseason basketball is different.”
Let’s take a look at Duke demonstrating toughness and the value of each possession.
1 - With Khaman in drop coverage in Clip #1, Sion fights over top of the ball screen to contest the three. Ndongo briefly controls the rebound but is swarmed underneath, before Kon comes up with the loose ball. Knueppel is denied on the other end, but saves it to Gillis. Tyrese finds Sion for a corner three - it doesn’t go down, but Kon comes crashing in from the opposite corner for a third chance. After a ball screen from Maluach, Proctor takes a pull-up jumper in the paint and follows his miss - Khaman finally tips it home.
2 - Caleb Foster is switched onto Ndongo following the baseline out of bounds. Caleb does a nice job fronting the post to discourage the entry pass. The Yellow Jackets reverse the ball, before Isaiah and Pat trap the ball in the left corner. On the flight of the pass, Kon sprints from the ACC logo to closeout on Powell, driving him off the three-point line and, along with Ngongba, contesting in the lane to force a turnover.
3 - After an excellent assist from Pat on the short roll, Duke must match-up quickly as the Tar Heels push it off the make. Kon briefly stops the ball before Sion bumps him off Davis to take Withers in the left corner. Knueppel again forces the drive, and Withers is met by Ngongba at the rim. Carolina must take it out underneath - they get it in to Davis, who feeds Lubin posting up Evans. With Isaiah caught behind, Sion digs in the post and recovers to Davis on the pass back out. Isaiah refuses to remain sealed, and fights over the top to steal re-post entry pass.
4 - Foster and Maluach work to corral Davis in the ball screen with Lubin. Caleb works over the initial screen, but Davis does a nice job changing direction to create a little space. Foster knows Davis is a threat from deep, so he immediately closes the gap and resumes pressure on the ball, giving Duke another possession on the turnover.
5 - Knueppel and Evans defend Jackson and Powell on the left side of the floor. As Jackson drives middle, Isaiah blitzes the ball and is able to knock it loose on the spin move. Isaiah is first to the floor, followed by Kon, forcing the tie-up.
Clip #2 illustrates a few plays that didn’t go Duke’s way. Edwards makes two tough shots, and then the possession arrow simply favors Louisville - good examples of not letting the outcome of a play detract from the effort.
1 - Ngongba gets switched onto Edwards as the shot clock winds down. Sion comes over and switches Pat off the ball. The ball pressure creates a fumble, and Sion holds his ground without fouling as Edwards hoists a three to beat the buzzer.
2 - Pat and Tyrese trap Edwards on the ball screen - Pat sprints back to the paint and Mason switches onto Edwards. They corral the baseline drive and contest vertically. Edwards misses badly underneath but the ball comes right back to him - he completes a difficult finish over Gillis and Ngongba.
3 - Khaman and Tyrese work hard to defend the two-man action with Hepburn and Scott. Knueppel provides good resistance in the post, forcing Traore back to the middle for a contested turnaround. Maluach erases the shot attempt, and credit both teams for hustling after the loose ball.
1 - In Clip #3, Proctor and Ngongba force Edwards out to half court after the dribble hand-off. Gillis, James, and Knueppel are in a three-man zone behind the trap. Mason takes the first pass out, and Kon drops to steal the diagonal pass - if he didn’t get his hands on the ball, Sion would have.
2 - Tyrese and Khaman chase Edwards under and over multiple ball screens on the right side of the floor. Edwards is still able to work into the paint but Duke surrounds the ball, forcing Traore to pass it out. Sion then covers Traore on the right wing. James goes under the screen but resumes pressuring the ball, leading to an offensive foul on the drive.
3 - Kon is unable to convert the reverse layup and Sion’s second chance misses as well, but Khaman follows it up again to tap home the miss. On the other end, Khaman gets a deflection before he, Mason, and Tyrese guard the three-man action up top. Mason and Tyrese switch the initial exchange, and Maluach switches onto Edwards on the perimeter. Khaman does an excellent job moving his feet and using active hands, ultimately rejecting Edwards’ driving left-hander.
4 - After Kon curls off the staggered screens for a layup, he matches up with Edwards pushing it ahead in transition. Kon and Khaman both challenge Edwards’ baseline runner. Sion gets a hand on the miss to prevent the offensive rebound, before Maluach comes back in the play to secure the ball.
All three clips show multiple efforts by multiple Blue Devils - fighting over screens, resuming ball pressure, closing out, help side defense, attacking the offensive glass, keeping balls alive, and diving on the floor. The guys have showed it all season, but their toughness and the value of every possession was evident during Duke’s three ACC Tournament games.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
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