DBP Newsletter #9
Opening Possessions & Notes
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Opening Possessions
Duke showed two new things on film in the the opening sequence against Pittsburgh. After the Panthers secure the opening tip, watch Duke switch at every position as Pitt runs their action. The Blue Devils have been switching all season, but usually not with Khaman. After switching onto Jaland Lowe (#15), Maluach does a nice job staying low and wide as he defends the guard on the left wing. Meanwhile, Tyrese fights to front the post after switching onto Corhen (#2) on the help side. What I like most is what happens next - Sion comes over to trap and get the ball out of Lowe’s hands. On the ball reversal, watch Khaman slide back into the paint and switch Tyrese out of the post to challenge the shooter in the right corner - this forces another pass and Pitt must go one-on-one at the end of the shot clock. This type of switching away from the ball disrupts the offense, and enables Duke to maintain excellent help positioning.
I’ve pointed out Duke’s opening offensive possession a couple of times already this season, but Coach Scheyer dialed up another new action to start the Pitt game. Tyrese uses an Iverson cut off the staggered screens from Khaman and Cooper, as Kon moves from the left to the right corner. Coop pops out, while Khaman sets the ball screen for Sion. As the clip freezes, notice how the paint is wide open. Tyrese and Kon must be guarded beyond the arc, so now Sion is reading the two defenders at the free throw line. Man Man is able to roll directly to the front of the rim for the lob dunk.
Duke ran the same Iverson action again moments later. This time, Pitt does a nice job defending the initial ball screen without switching, so Sion reverses the ball through Cooper. Coop swings it and follows his pass to set a ball screen for Tyrese, with Kon holding in the left corner. Rese is able to get his feet onto the ACC logo - Kon occupies his man with a baseline cut, and Khaman’s man is now guarding against the lob. Sion’s man is left to help on the drive, so Tyrese finds James for the open corner three.
Duke’s first offensive possession against Notre Dame provides another look. This time, Cooper sets a ball screen for Kon in the middle of the floor, as Sion cuts to the left corner after his entry pass - Notre Dame elects to trap Kon with the ball. Simultaneously, Khaman down-screens for Tyrese and Kon hits Coop on the short roll. Two defenders help up to Cooper (Sion’s man and Khaman’s man), leaving both guys wide open. Flagg can hit James in the left corner or Maluach at the rim.
Notes
Duke’s 42 points in the paint at SMU were the most since the Kentucky game.1 The Blue Devils also posted a 3.14 assist-to-turnover ratio in Dallas, their best mark so far this season. And of course, shout out to Coach Carrawell and the whole staff for stepping up with Coach Scheyer unable to travel - hard to believe it’s been 25 years since C-Well won ACC Player of the Year.
Leading 58-47 with 7:59 remaining, Duke outscored Pitt 18-0 to close the game. It was the second consecutive strong finish for the Blue Devils - Duke outscored SMU 23-12 over the final 10:08. Both the Pitt and Duke coaching staffs wore Hoops4ALS pins to raise awareness and to honor Coach Capel’s late father, Jeff Capel, Jr., who passed away in November of 2017. Coach Capel wrote about his father for The Players Tribune and, even if you’ve read it before, his article is worth another read. Best wishes to Coach Capel and his team for the remainder of the season.
Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, and Kon Knueppel scored 74 of Duke’s 84 points against Notre Dame - the freshmen trio also combined for 19 rebounds and 12 assists. Man Man had a career-high 19 points and, as I’m sure you’ve already seen, Coop’s 42 points set a new ACC freshman scoring record.
Notre Dame made 14 three-pointers and finished with 1.75 points-per-shot from beyond the arc (42 points on 24 attempts) - both of which are the best by any Duke opponent in three seasons so far under Coach Scheyer.2 Duke hit 4 of 5 three-pointers in the opening 4:21, before going 4 for 19 from three for the rest of the game.
Mason Gillis has scored 17 points over the last three games, with 15 of those coming in the first half. Gillis is 6 of 9 from the field in that span, including timely threes at SMU and against Pitt.
In six ACC games so far, Duke’s offense is averaging 1.28 points-per-possession and 18 assists per game, with an average assist rate of 62.5%.
Duke’s starting lineup is a combined +47 in 44:14 on the court over the last three games (36.8% of total minutes).
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Duke scored 46 points in the paint against Kentucky.
The next closest three-point shooting performances by a Duke opponent under Coach Scheyer are:
3PM - at Louisville 11 (12/8/24); Georgia Tech 11 (1/13/24)
3P PPS - Georgia Tech 1.65 (1/13/24); at Wake Forest 1.59 (2/24/24)
Sources