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>>Granted, he played limited minutes in those too, but less
>>limited than regular season, obviously.
>
>so...14 minutes vs. D1 and, say, another 75 in scrimmages and
>exhibitions? oh wait--he played 14 total minutes in the two
>exhibitions according to duke's schedule online. Well shit,
>that's plenty of time for a frosh!
If you're asking if I think seeing 14 minutes of exhibition and 14 minutes of D1 ball is enough to determine whether Tucker was ready to, say, start this year for Syracuse or play major minutes on another major conference D1 roster this season, then... yes? He was really visibly raw, very sped up. So that's what I think, based on watching those minutes.
>>fell behind *Jack fucking White* on the bench is because he
>>was really bad during the scrimmages/exhibitions. Literally
>>never looked to pass, forced the issue in ways he's
>incapable
>>of delivering right now, stood watching on defense.
>
>hopefully he learns. but goddam, that's a lot of judging of a
>dude for <50 minutes of playing time.
Let's make this crystal clear: I'M NOT JUDGING DUDE FOR NOT BEING READY. Soooooo many players aren't ready to contribute as freshmen-- 4 stars and 5 stars included. They're all raw, they're all sped up. I could name endless four-stars this season who are "disappointing" their fanbases who had higher hopes.
I'm telling people what I saw because I see *so many* people assuming that, because he's a 4 star recruit, he's an immediate game changer wherever he goes. That always seems to be the assumption (for reasons, as indicated above, that are still unclear to me-- maybe because occasionally they go pro quickly and everyone has a sexy mixtape on YouTube coming out of HS? *shrug*). I'm sharing what I've seen for that reason and that reason alone. There's plenty of talent for him to become a very good 4 year player. But he is still very raw. That's all.
>>him in the slightest. But much like with Chase Jeter for
>>Arizona, Derryck Thornton for USC, and nearly all other Duke
>>transfers, fan bases should realize that the 4/5 star guys
>>don't transfer out of Duke because they deserve more playing
>>time and K just isn't coming off it.* They're getting passed
>>in the rotation because they're consistently showing that
>they
>>aren't ready for minutes against major D1 opponents. Tucker
>>was already behind four three-star recruits in the rotation.
>
>This is not true. First, Ojeyele, Gbinje were useful players
>immediately or soon after their transfers.
Ojeleye is why I asterisked. He played well in his minutes at Duke, and I was mad when he transferred. The only transfer we've had where I've been really mad at K.
Gbinije was fine at Duke-- wasn't screaming for him to get in more games as a freshman, but I liked him as a four-year guy. He played fourteen MPG for Cuse his first year there, averaging 3 points per game. Not entirely convinced he couldn't have done that at Duke his sophomore year, but it clearly worked out long-term at Cuse, and I was envious of how versatile he became by his senior year.
>Second, Thornton
>got hurt after six games + is playing behind a four year
>starter for USC.
Once again, I'm responding to the idea that they deserve immediate playing time. There were a TON of USC fans who thought Thornton would be a terrific sixth man for their Pac-12 title contender *right away.* And while the sample size is very small, he was really bad in the two USC games I saw him play so far.
I'm not saying these guys aren't talents, obviously-- I'm saying they aren't immediate contributors and they aren't all slam dunks to become stellar college players either.
Jeter is ineligble, so there's no proof of
>anything about his ability.
Well, there's two years of play in a Duke uniform. But yes, you're right, he could improve this offseason, especially practicing against Ayton. The reason I brought him up: I don't think Arizona fans should expect a starter right away, or maybe ever. After two years at Duke, I wouldn't expect him to be a guy who gives anything more than coherent center minutes.
And you're acting like georgetown
>is expecting Tucker to be the guy. Nah. He'd be another
>shooter for a team that could use another shooter.
I mean, they could use a guy on the wing who's "the guy" good. But if you're managing expectations and keeping them long-term, then awesome! That was the exact point of my post.
>The problem here is that a player not being ready for minutes
>immediately as a frosh doesn't mean they wouldn't soon there
>after. But Duke's always recruiting over for the next set of 5
>star guys (which they should do), so the writing is on the
>wall pretty much. And I don't think K is great with keeping
>fringe players interested himself (see the high rate of
>transfer) because he knows he'll just replace them with
>someone of equal talent.
*sigh* I mean, the recruiting 5-star NBA-ready guys is accurate, of course. And it's certainly possible that the transfer rate is exclusively due to K's engagement of freshmen (though Thornton played 25 mpg and Jeter had several opportunities and-- whatever, the point that transfers are mostly guys who don't play a lot is of course accurate-- Ojeleye/Gbinije/Murphy/Boateng/Boykin/etc).
But K's tossed out HS rankings entering seasons plenty of times. He played three-star thudder Vrankovic over Bolden and Jeter last season when Vrank was playing better. He started three-star Tyler Thornton over Rasheed Sulaimon. He benched Josh Hairston for Amile Jefferson. And this season, Jack White was getting minutes over Tucker (despite my screaming at the TV). And Jordan Goldwire, a three-star freshman, has been getting decent minutes in big games despite the fact that K clearly trusts Grayson Allen to operate as backup point-- Goldwire is just more game-ready than Tucker at this point.
I don't think four-stars who come to Duke realistically expect to beat out five-stars routinely. Tucker wasn't competing for Trent or Allen's minutes. He knew they were there when he signed. And he knew Reddish and Barrett were coming to Duke too. His path was clear: seventh man this year, probable starter at the 2 next year. His only competition was Alex O'Connell, who was below him on the HS rankings. And when they both got to campus, O'Connell turned out to be better.
Now, if he was just behind O'Connell for minutes, that'd be one thing-- then maybe his path would be more the Javin DeLaurier path: marginal minutes first year, sixth man second year, starter third year. That was still easily attainable for him, if he wanted it. Maybe he had no interest in spending a season on development while riding pine-- I get not wanting to ride pine for a whole season.
But I have no idea how he fell behind a marginal talent like Jack White in the rotation. None whatsoever. Zero. White is really bad. And K routinely would put White in before Tucker. (Insert jokes about his name being White here.) That tells me one of two things: 1. K's DGAFometer is on full tilt. Which I've definitely wondered on and off the last couple of seasons. 2. White, despite what my eyes tell me about Tucker's talent vs. White's, played better basketball than Tucker in fall 2017. That doesn't mean Tucker isn't more talented (he very very obviously is). It just means Tucker is more of a project than K was ready to spend minutes in games developing this season.
(I'd heard rumors about Tucker not working hard in practice and getting in K's dog house, which fits a narrative, I suppose-- but then again, literally every transfer ever from a major conf team has to deal with that rumor, and it really can't always be true, so you can take it or leave it. I don't think Tucker strikes me as a kid who doesn't work hard, personally. I was excited to see him play more next season.)
>>It's fine for Georgetown because they're not in win-now mode
>>anyhow-- it's honestly a great fit. Hopefully Tucker will be
>>more receptive to Ewing's discipline than he was to K's, for
>>both his and your team's benefit-- and by the time he's a
>>junior, there's absolutely the potential to be a
>>major-conference scoring guard.
>
>so..when he's eligible, he could be good. that was a lot of
>words for no real insight, just some Coach K adulation.
Christ, sorry for offending. I know a minor Duke transfer maybe doesn't deserve a lot words, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on a kid whose every minute in a Duke uniform I saw. (This was also one of the rare posts involving anything Duke related that hadn't boiled down to agenda promotion and vitriol spewing, so forgive me for really wanting to engage.)
I've seen a lot of people trashing him for transferring-- undeserved. I've seen a lot of people trashing K for "forcing Tucker to transfer" by not playing him-- undeserved. It's an obvious scenario in which Tucker benefits from less competition for minutes, and K benefits from not having to worry about finding ways to keep him engaged. Lord knows I've been plenty critical of K this season and the last few, but I don't blame him for not giving Tucker more minutes. (Though I'm still not sure why White played above him. But White's barely played too, so I doubt that'd have changed his mind to leave.)
If you only expected Tucker to be a guy for Georgetown going forward, a long-term project, then great. Maybe I'm just sensitive because I've seen a lot of "HE COULD START FOR THIS TEAM TODAY!" comments in response to his commitment and subsequent transfer. I think those comments are based exclusively on HS rating and mixtapes, not on anything I saw from watching games. He's not an immediate stud four star, he's a project. Which is totally fine, and I seriously wish him well. (Especially if he goes to Georgetown-- I don't know if I told you this, but my wife is getting her Masters at Georgetown now, so I've been watching them more often.) My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide
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