1/15 Duke at 7:00 PM on ESPN

[Hemsleysalmons]

For you haters that post here. A little history. From the early 1970's to the mid 1980's we had no men's basketball team. When program was reinstated we played for years in down town band box arena called knight center. Some nights our attendance was only in the 100's of fans. We were a bad team for several years. Next move was to Miami arena and gradually our team began to recruit some talent and we became a decent member of the Big East Conference. We began to play post season ball at the NIT and a few appearances at the NCAA tourney. Attendance was still inconsistent and only drew for the big names in conference. Now we are in an on campus site and for 3 straight years we have sold out every home game. 3 years ago with Coach L we won the ACC regular season and ACC conference tourney. We were seeded #2 in the NCAA
tourney. We have become an established program with a very good coach. I am happy we play in the best college bb conference and we have opportunity to compete agains the likes of Duke, Unc, Virginia, Louisville, Syracuse, notre Dame etc. We have won our share of games against these great teams under Coach L. You haters enjoy stirring up the pot and antagonizing the real Canes fans that post here. I am sure you haters must have a very unhappy life based on your negative posts on this forum as well as on the football forum. You guys are miserable people.

 

[LPCanes26]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

What is kunty about what he said? This may be a tourney team but right now they don't like it. You can't blow this game like they did. I haven't been this upset after a loss since the sweet 16 game back in the 2013 season. I'd they make it they ain't winning **** playing like this.

 

[SanAmaro2005]

I see only 5 legit players on this team.

And, at this point, no one coming in. I tell ya, that FBI thing stopped our recruiting momentum DEAD in its tracks. Had built up nicely over the years.

Killed the program. We are ACC bottom feeders the next 3 years

At least Miles Wilson will play next year, so it's like adding a good recruit. If any combination of Brown / Walker / Huell go the NBA which is likely then our depth will be non-existent. We actually might not even have a full starting lineup I trust.

 

[OriginalGatorHater]

Need Big Vernon Carey Jr ASAP! Pair him with Huell and u got something special. I’m worried about Gak, Miller, and Wardenburg tho. If those 3 were actual contributing Wings we’d be a sweet16 Lock.

Gak Redshirted, but the other 2 are useless when they get on the court. I have some faith in Wardenburg, but Miller is just awful. I have no idea why we recruited him.

Ask Coach L

Seven footer who played at St. Anthony and also at Oak Hill. Seemed to be a low-risk, low-reward type guy. But unfortunately he has been below expectations. His athleticism and awareness just hasn't caught up to this level. Maybe never will, but we'll see. Julian Gamble looked bad for a few years before having a good senior year. He's more athletic than Miller, but we'll see. Maybe he can contribute down the road. He has looked terrible this season though. No sugarcoating it.

He has VERY poor athleticism. Did you see his layup 2 games ago. He got about an inch of air.

 

[Consigliere]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

What is kunty about what he said? This may be a tourney team but right now they don't like it. You can't blow this game like they did. I haven't been this upset after a loss since the sweet 16 game back in the 2013 season. I'd they make it they ain't winning **** playing like this.

Can you clean up your post so it makes sense, no disrespect.

 

[TheU1988]

Could you imagine this team up against a real defense like this West Virginia full-court press and trap?

 

[LPCanes26]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

What is kunty about what he said? This may be a tourney team but right now they don't like it. You can't blow this game like they did. I haven't been this upset after a loss since the sweet 16 game back in the 2013 season. I'd they make it they ain't winning **** playing like this.

Can you clean up your post so it makes sense, no disrespect.

Yea man sorry I guess I was still ****ed when I wrote this. This may be a tourney team but they don't look like that right now. If they make it to the tourney they aren't winning a game playing like they did in the final 7 minutes of this game. I love Miami. And they're basically the only team I root for that is any good these days so I'm very emotional when they blow games they should win!

 

[Consigliere]

Yea man sorry I guess I was still ****ed when I wrote this. This may be a tourney team but they don't look like that right now. If they make it to the tourney they aren't winning a game playing like they did in the final 7 minutes of this game. I love Miami. And they're basically the only team I root for that is any good these days so I'm very emotional when they blow games they should win!

My comment was based on his atrocious comparison to Mullen.

Our team needs a lot of work.

 

[CobaltBlueCane]

NMSU showed this team to be frauds and now the Canes are living up to being frauds.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Scattered thoughts after attending the game:

* No worries about Bruce Brown leaving early this year. He wouldn't be drafted

* I was proud of Huell. What a difference from last year. He's not the equal of the elite bigs but gad does he battle out there. Unfortunately we need two of that caliber, not one. Ijundu just doesn't have it. Foul prone and simply not a finisher. He's still useful in certain games but Huell has to carry us inside.

* I wish we had three Anthony Lawrences, or that Lawrence was 4 inches taller. Best hands on the team and it isn't remotely close. Smart player. Can hit occasional clutch threes. He's asked to guard guys who tower over him

* D.J. is out of place in a game like that. He wasn't in a game like that much at all, and it was the proper decision. Chuck and beg.

* Our elite recruits are simply not the match of the top programs. I posted that a couple of years ago and I'll stand by it every year, without needing to know the specifics. Duke tonight started four freshmen and senior Grayson Allen. Those freshmen looked scary before the opening tip. #34 dominated the first half inside and then #2 buried us from the outside in the final 7 minutes. Those are lottery or first round looking players. Our guys are superior freshmen than who we've had.

* Walker has considerably more raw talent than Brown. But he's not always dependable out there and it's too much of a playground style. On one key possession Walker had a simple layup but he used a ridiculous fancy finger roll and didn't threaten the bucket.

* Game was lost in the first 8 minutes of the second half. You'll never see Duke basketball play a stretch that inept if you watched every game for another 40 seasons. They had 2 points and 6 turnovers. But instead of exploding the lead out to 15 or 18 it got stuck at 8...52 to 44. The Canes weren't much less sloppy than Duke. At that point I felt the game would get away. Simple reason: Duke is not going to score 20 or 25 points in a second half. Normalcy will restore with a vengeance. That is one thing I learned quickly in Las Vegas. The margin is not nearly as significant if the opponent is guaranteed to score in waves, to return to normalcy.

Once Duke began that run down 66-53 I knew it would not end soon. They had to get to the point their second half points were in logical territory. And the Canes were swallowed up as victims. The fact that it was an 18-0 run was mostly trivia.

* Our half court offense is a mess to begin with, and a huge mess against a zone

* Lykes is great fun to watch and already an immense crowd favorite. He plays above his height and is seldom a liability. He'll take it to the bucket with more authority and variety than guys 10 inches taller than him. He still needs to clean up a few errors per game, like the mistake just before half that led to a Duke three at the buzzer

* Richt and Diaz were not far away from me at halftime, standing above and alongside the section with all the recruits and early enrollees. Richt stood there throughout halftime and chatted with fans. People were taking selfies with him and snapping photos from all angles. Largest ovation of the night was when our early enrollees were introduced by name at halftime. Lingard threw up a Heisman pose. He was already famous among that crowd, earning the highest decibel applause when introduced.

I have to say our recruits looked extremely athletic but not particularly large. The guy next to me said, "Can you imagine them lining up against Alabama?"

No, I could not. Not with pleasant results. I realize high school kids aren't supposed to look like Alabama linemen but gad did that look like a lopsided group, with skill prioritized above muscle. We had one big guy with a sloppy belly. Otherwise they were lean and did not look out of place standing in the middle of a basketball court.

Other than the kicker recruit. He looked like he belonged in middle school.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Scattered thoughts after attending the game:

* No worries about Bruce Brown leaving early this year. He wouldn't be drafted

* I was proud of Huell. What a difference from last year. He's not the equal of the elite bigs but gad does he battle out there. Unfortunately we need two of that caliber, not one. Ijundu just doesn't have it. Foul prone and simply not a finisher. He's still useful in certain games but Huell has to carry us inside.

* I wish we had three Anthony Lawrences, or that Lawrence was 4 inches taller. Best hands on the team and it isn't remotely close. Smart player. Can hit occasional clutch threes. He's asked to guard guys who tower over him

* D.J. is out of place in a game like that. He wasn't in a game like that much at all, and it was the proper decision. Chuck and beg.

* Our elite recruits are simply not the match of the top programs. I posted that a couple of years ago and I'll stand by it every year, without needing to know the specifics. Duke tonight started four freshmen and senior Grayson Allen. Those freshmen looked scary before the opening tip. #34 dominated the first half inside and then #2 buried us from the outside in the final 7 minutes. Those are lottery or first round looking players. Our guys are simply superior freshmen that who we've had.

* Walker has considerably more raw talent than Brown. But he's not always dependable out there and it's too much of a playground style. On one key possession Walker had a simple layup but he used a ridiculous fancy finger roll and didn't threaten the bucket.

* Game was lost in the first 8 minutes of the second half. You'll never see Duke basketball play a stretch that inept if you watched every game for another 40 seasons. They had 2 points and 6 turnovers. But instead of exploding the lead out to 15 or 18 it got stuck at 8...52 to 44. The Canes weren't much less sloppy than Duke. At that point I felt the game would get away. Simple reason: Duke is not going to score 20 or 25 points in a second half. Normalcy will restore with a vengeance. That is one thing I learned quickly in Las Vegas. The margin is not nearly as significant if the opponent is guaranteed to score in waves, to return to normalcy.

Once Duke began that run down 66-53 I knew it would not end soon. They had to get to the point their second half points were in logical territory. And the Canes were swallowed up as victims. The fact that it was an 18-0 run was mostly trivia.

* Our half court offense is a mess to begin with, and a huge mess against a zone

* Richt and Diaz were not far away from me at halftime, standing above and alongside the section with all the recruits and early enrollees. Richt stood there throughout halftime and chatted with fans. People were taking selfies with him and snapping photos from all angles. Largest ovation of the night was when our early enrollees were introduced by name at halftime. Lingard threw up a Heisman pose. He was already famous among that crowd, earning the highest decibel applause when introduced.

I have to say our recruits looked extremely athletic but not particularly large. The guy next to me said, "Can you imagine them lining up against Alabama?"

No, I could not. Not with pleasant results. I realize high school kids aren't supposed to look like Alabama linemen but gad did that look like a lopsided group, with skill prioritized above muscle. We had one big guy with a sloppy belly. Otherwise they were lean and did not look out of place standing in the middle of a basketball court.

Other than the kicker recruit. He looked like he belonged in middle school.

 

[jhtheking]

So much wrong with this post ^ not going to quote it because it's long af. Brown won't be drafted based on one game? I guess Marvin on Duke won't then either.

Later you mention we were only able to get up by 8, and that's when you felt they would come back. Then later when we were up by 13, that's when you really knew. Ok then.

Others but don't have time right now to respond

 

[mirednmediocrity2]

Coach L was so great at George Mason, but other than one Sweet Sixteen appearance, nothing much has happened with this program. Just can’t get the best players to come here.

 

[CaneBrah]

Coach L was so great at George Mason, but other than one Sweet Sixteen appearance, nothing much has happened with this program. Just can’t get the best players to come here.

Coach L has taken Miami to 2 Sweet Sixteens and won the ACC regular season and conference tournament in 2013 and he's done this all within his first 6 years of being here! He's done all this with inferior talent to the big boys in the ACC. He also reeled in the best recruiting class in school history last year. Realistically what more do you want from the guy?!?

 

[casualcane]

Quick thoughts from the box score as I haven’t seen the replay yet.

Duke shot 55% and 52% 3 pt.
We shoot below 40%. Again
More TOs (11) than assists (10). Again
Duke 10-21 from the FT. We lose this game by double digits otherwise.

In our last 4 games (1-3):

BB: 9, 23, 4, 7 points (13-40 .325%).
Those are not the kind of stats I would expect from him.

 

[CaneBrah]

If you look at when Coach L has been most successful, it's been when he has had great point guard play (Larkin, Angel). That's what's been the biggest issue this year (besides bigs depth) and it has really made the offense stagnant. Quan isn't a true point (and is inconsistent at best) and Lykes is a true freshman who you can't expect to play 40 mins a game. Izundu has taken a step back from last year and we have no other bigs to play significant mins (or any mins really) besides Huell (who has been playing fantastic this season). The reality is most of the team is very young and it is showing. Walker hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations of being a one and done guy and barring a big step forward i can't see him being a lottery pick. Brown has been mired in a sophomore slump and unless he turns it around down the stretch I can't see him leaving for the draft after this year either. Considering our incoming 2018 class was wiped out because of the FBI situation it might be a blessing in disguise for us if they both come back next year (which I think they will barring a big step forward down the stretch). That said, I still think we make the tourney this year since our ACC schedule is heavily front loaded.

 

[hotshot]

I see only 5 legit players on this team.

And, at this point, no one coming in. I tell ya, that FBI thing stopped our recruiting momentum DEAD in its tracks. Had built up nicely over the years.

Killed the program. We are ACC bottom feeders the next 3 years

At least Miles Wilson will play next year, so it's like adding a good recruit. If any combination of Brown / Walker / Huell go the NBA which is likely then our depth will be non-existent. We actually might not even have a full starting lineup I trust.

Sorta like the old days, huh?

 

[Gables Canes]

you arent a good basketball team when #3 has to play that many minutes

we blow against zone badly

may want to consider going with the best 5 and adopting a Louisville type system moving forward

Huh? Lawrence was arguably our best player last night.

 

[theibisrules]

Hey good game last night guysm

 

[Notsince1985]

Coach L was so great at George Mason, but other than one Sweet Sixteen appearance, nothing much has happened with this program. Just can’t get the best players to come here.

Two sweet 16s, but ok.