Duke at Florida State: 2020-21 key storylines for ACC matchup

Extra practice time

Whether you agree with Coach k or not, or whether you think it was an excuse, justification, or an actual reason to not play the remaining non-conference games that were scheduled. On Dec. 9, 2020, Coach K did not put his team in any worse of a situation.

If there is anything we have learned from Gotham’s own Batman, is that with enough preparation he can defeat anybody, and preparation time is what Coach K gave himself. Since Dec.16, 2020, all Coach K has had to worry about was playing Florida State on the second day of January.

For their part, Coach Hamilton and the Seminoles beat Georgia Tech on Dec.15, 2020, and since have prepared for and played; Central Florida, Gardner-Webb, and Clemson. Two of those three games they lost. A lot can be said for getting game experience, especially with the number of freshmen Duke has which brings us to the next point.

Duke was losing too much anyway, as a coach you need to understand if your team is even benefitting from the non-conference games. You have to realize if they are using this time to get better, or would time be better spent practicing.

Practice is where the coach has more time to teach through controlled scrimmages that involves as much instruction as Coach K wants, as opposed to waiting for time outs. While an argument can be made for game action, more practice is never a bad thing.