The Blue Devils are still trying to learn who they are during the early portion of the season
There have been some questions as to the quality of coaching that Jon Scheyer has done with the Duke basketball team this season and the head coach addressed some of those remarks on Friday night after the Blue Devils defeated Seattle.
Many have documented on Duke’s performance late in the second half of close games against Kentucky and Kansas, turning the ball over four times in five possessions in which the team had a chance to tie or take the lead. Three of those possessions have been isolation plays for Cooper Flagg.
The only possession that did not result in a turnover was a 3-point shot by Kon Knueppel at the buzzer against Kansas.
“I wasn’t really happy with much tonight,” Scheyer said after the Blue Devils picked up a 70-48 victory over the Redhawks.
“I thought we rushed some shots. Too many turnovers. We need to finish stronger, drive stronger, make extra passes. There’s whole bunch.”
Duke shot 39.7-percent from the floor and 27.8-percent from 3-point range while committing 13 turnovers. However, it’s defense – outside of putting Seattle on the free throw line 31 times — was stifling.
“I’m not calling a lot [of plays] either,” Scheyer added of the team’s offensive execution.
“I’m really working on us to try to just see reads and ultimately I think to be that good, me micromanaging it isn’t going to be the solution to reach the potential of where we can be.”
The Blue Devils are currently averaging 80.7 points per game but has now squandered two opportunities for NCAA Tournament resume victories and its lone impressive win of the season, on the road against Arizona, is losing steam after the Wildcats have now dropped four games in the month of November.
It puts that much more of an emphasis on No. 9 Duke’s matchup with No. 2 Auburn on Wednesday night (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I want our guys to continue to see reads, play positionless basketball, shoot open shots, drive close outs, play strong in the paint,” Scheyer concluded.
