Duke Basketball: 3 things team needs to work on for 2020 NCAA Tournament

Zone Defense

A couple of takeaways from the Clemson and Louisville losses were the Duke defender’s inability to control back cuts to the rim and the importance of Vernon Carey to pretty much everything Duke does.  The former could be a result of a lapse in concentration and effort since Duke’s man to man defense has generally been good this season.

But Clemson destroyed Duke with points in the paint by dragging Carey out of the lane and cutting behind the wing defenders.  A zone would keep Vernon Carey inside where he is 5th in total blocks and percentage, 4th in defensive rating and 3rd in defensive rebounding percentage in the ACC.

A zone could also protect him from foul trouble where he is 15th in total fouls and averages 4.1 per game.  Keeping Carey in the game and aggressive open Duke’s offense up to its full potential as he has drawn 127 fouls, 25 more than the next player, putting pressure on defenses, creating foul trouble for opposing big men and giving clean shots to Duke’s shooters.  He is also 4th in points and per game average, 2nd in user rate and 3rd in offensive win shares.

Carey in indispensable to Duke and should probably be playing more minutes because of this importance.  A zone with Duke’s length and positional versatility could be an effective change of pace defense and has possibilities of the standard 2-3 matchup, a box and 1 with Jones or Goldwire as the 1, or a Miami Heat variation where they put length on top and quick guards along the baseline.

Most importantly, it keeps Duke’s best player on the floor in an area where he can be effective if opposing teams have a stretch five to try and pull him out.  Coach K has shown effective use of the zone in the recent past and it could provide another useful tool in the bag come tournament time.