Looking back on the game the thing that really stood out to me was Duke's depth and talent in the backcourt. It is going to be asking a lot for Jake to guard the opponents top guard every night and run the team as well. Fortunately, there are very few (read: zero) teams with a backcourt like Duke. Gonzaga had good guards, and so did VT and we were fine against them.
Even so, we really need to have either Spradling or Martavious step up and develope into a true B12 pg. We will struggle with Jake leading the point, at least against the elite teams. Sprads was exposed a bit tonight, but I thought that Martavious played pretty well on both ends. Obviously it helps to hit shots, and going 3-17 from deep doesn't bode well against any team, but against the better teams we will need to create more openings for our guys to hit open looks from deep. Duke did a great job of not allowing Jake or Spradling any room to shoot. McGruder had some wonderful open looks but failed to convert. This goes back to the PG thing, someone needs to be the lead guard so Jake can run off screens and get open or we will struggle.
I also think that JYCing (fouls, not Orebs etc) up a game against a team like Duke will usually prove ineffective. The freethrow +/- will just be too great to overcome. The Devils outscored KSU by 13 points from the line and they won the game by 14. Still, I thought the frontcourt players were very effective against Duke. CK proved he is one of the best (though he did seem to have trouble holding onto the ball) and Jamar was resilient as well. Asprilla, was pretty much Colon II tonight. We were 2 to 1 on the offensive boards and had an Oreb% of 39%, that is really good against a good Duke front court. We out rebounded the Devils 36-29 as well.
We also cannot turn the ball over like we did tonight. Again, I think this had just as much to do with Duke's talented guards as our guys making poor plays. Martavious was a bright spot here and I am pleased to see his effort against top competition. Though it really has little to do with his ability, I think that Cats will struggle if Russell is starting and gets mig minutes along side Jake. Either Spradling or MArtavious must take over as the PG for KSU to be successful.
Also, I don't thing it was an effort thing, or a big head thing, I think Irving is just better than Jake. He is our guy but Irving would be in the NBA right now if he were allowed. I must be a truly humbling experience for Jake and I'm interested in his comments on the subject.
Feel free to add to the discussion.
