How ARE all those transfers into Duke going to do?
Tonight gave us a good data point. Duke will win every game in which Duke players are taller or even. Duke will lose almost every game that has two tall and skilled post players.
Biggest thing for Duke fans: This team is FUN to watch. It's fun just to see who is on the floor together for each play and what they will do.
Duke shot badly from 3 - unless your name was Lexi Gordon (5-10). Scoring leader was Gordon with 17, followed by Imani Lewis (16) - who did not even play in the first half. Celeste Taylor, Nyah Green and Miela Goodchild scored in double figures, but only Green shot the ball efficiently.
Vanessa deJesus was on pace for a triple double in the first half, but did not play in the 3rd quarter and finished with 7 pts/6 rebs/8 assists. She got some play at the wing alongside speedy frosh PG Shayeann Day-Williams (5 assists).
Celeste Taylor, Elizabeth Balogun and Vanessa deJesus seem like locks as starters, with Jade Williams unlikely to be knocked out of the starting center spot. Jade Williams is not picking up where she left off last year's shortened season, and will need to pick up her play. Otherwise, she'll keep getting a third of the center minutes, sharing with Onome Akinbode-James and Amaya Finklea-Guity. None of those three has stood out, though Jade is the tallest and most versatile of the bunch.
Of note is Imani Lewis, who scored 16 pts in 14 minutes - all in the second half. She added 6 rebounds in those minutes - she knows rebounding is what will get her onto the floor more. Instead of playing Lewis in the first half, PF was split between two wings - Elizabeth Balogun and Nyah Green. Green especially is a stud, with a nice, strong body and smooth wing skills. She's a diamond who got lost in Louisville's system. Very smart transfer for her - in fact she transferred to Duke soon after Louisville played Duke in Duke's last game of the Covid shortened season.
The Kara era has finally begun! We long suffering Duke WBB fans, who left the building bored out of our minds over the previous 11 years are returning in droves. And, yes, some of us were rooting for the team to lose games under JPM with the hope it would lead to her exit from the program. That was the only way for the program to return to contention. If you look at the reasons each of the players transferred in, the thread running through is they wanted to play for Kara Lawson while getting a top notch education. They knew Kara would turn them into contenders - and she has. Possible Sweet Sixteen this year and Final Four in the next few years. You can take that to the bank.
_________________
Follow your passion and your life will be true down to your core.
~rAf
