Expect to See More Zone From Duke
Duke had a week of practice prior to the Pitt game, which allowed the Blue Devils to work on their zone defense.
Duke opened Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh in the zone and played it almost the entire night.
“I thought overall it was good,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “and it wasn't good to start off with because our effort wasn't good.”
Opponents can expect to see more of the zone as the season goes on.
“We’re going to need some zone going forward, because we're not a big team,” Coach K said. “We're not a physical team. The thing we need to learn how to do from it is when we're in it, don't allow dribble penetration and then rebound. I thought overall it was good. It wasn't great, but it was good and it's something that we can work on to go forward. With the small perimeter that we have, it lends itself to that zone. And, yeah, we need to add now that Patrick (Tape, returning from a back injury) was here for 10, 11 minutes. We haven't had these guys. So maybe we can get some level of consistency now that we have those two guys again. Jalen (Johnson) was terrific though.”
SEE ALSO: Patrick Tape returns to practice, Jalen Johnson working back into rotation
Duke has lost two straight and fallen from the Top 25 for the first time in five years. The Blue Devils have another tough road game this weekend, in Louisville. But Coach K isn’t worried about his players hitting the panic button.
“They’re 18, 19 and 20.” he said. “There should be no panic buttons on young people who have a chance to play at this level of college basketball. If there was a panic button, it would be for 73-year old people who have coached for 46 years, and I don't have one.”
Still, the Blue Devils have areas they need to address.
“They got to get tougher,” Krzyzewski said. “This is such a young team, and it’s as young of a team as we've had for a long time. We can't afford to be down. We have to respond.”
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