Execution, execution, execution. The Dukes didn't do it in nearly every facet of the game as they needed to 39:56 of the game to finally put away Division II Shippensburg.
The Good
LG Gill. If he can hit 75% from three all season, I think the Dukes should do great.
The Bad
Finishing. Unrelenting three point assault stifled the Dukes offense, but they finished poorly across the board. On the bright side, I doubt Dominique McKoy and Jordan Robinson will combine for 2-11 from inside anytime soon, but this one isn't close if the Dukes hit 50%. Considering, how many good looks they created this would not have been too difficult.
The Ugly
I mentioned execution, but let's expand:
Transition Offense. For a team that wants to get out and run, I thought the transition offense looked disjointed. Quite a few times, none of the guards read who should come back to the ball following the rebound slowing down the break.
Transition Defense. For a team that presumably sees a lot of transition offense in practice, I didn't think they defended it well.
Over Reliance on Three Point Shooting. While the Dukes had trouble finishing, I thought they were over reliant on the three. I didn't think they were aggressive enough getting to the basket.
Off the Ball Defending. By the second half, the Dukes didn't even try to fight through screens.
The Moment It Was Over
Sadly, with under a minute to play when Shippensburg missed the last shot of the game.
Credit Where Credit is Due
Shippensburg's Interior Play. The Raiders played hard and made it difficult for the Duquesne bigs all evening. They out rebounded the Dukes by 4.
Player of the Game
Gill. He did a great job shooting and showed some versatility on offense. 6 Rebounds to go with 23 points is a solid outing. He blocked quite a few shots on defense as well to cover a for a fair to poor day defending.
Parting Thoughts
I wouldn't drive myself crazy with the results as I think we saw some flukey bounces. For that matter it also didn't seem like players or coaches cared much. I do think it gave them a chance to see what they looked like against other humans who they don't face on a day to day basis. Problem is they executed so poorly, I can't tell what one could glean from it beside "it needs work." They had players who clearly looked like they were growing into new roles. Mason at the point didn't feel right. McKoy at the four as at the 6th man didn't feel right. Surprisingly Colter as a two seemed to make the most sense. They have a lot to figure out, but with four games in the next four weeks, thankfully, they have a lot of time to do so .
That said, I wouldn't overreact too much to the product we saw tonight. If they play this passively once we hit the real schedule, I will have some concern. I'd chalk it up to process over results at this point, let them reset and see what they have in eight days.
