Another season of college basketball is underway, and while football is still center stage, the November slate of hoops is always fun with endless enticing non-conference matchups. The 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden brought Duke, Wisconsin, Georgetown, and VCU to Manhattan, and they played four action-packed games that entertained the thousands. A lot happened, a lot was learned, and a lot of questions were brought up. Let’s chomp into this one and try to make sense of it all.
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1. Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig need consistent help
Hayes and Koenig played major roles in Wisconsin’s run to the national title game last year. Now they are the veteran leaders on a team with eight new players. The dynamic is totally different, and at times they did too much on the floor. Yes, the Badgers did beat VCU in the consolation game, but points were a chore to come by for large chunks of both games, especially in the Friday loss to Georgetown.
It was a small moment, but something that stood out was a play in the second half against VCU. Hayes got the ball in the middle of the paint with an open teammate on each block. Instead of dishing for an easy two he tried for a quick drive and layup. In that moment two VCU defenders closed in, hassled the shot, got the rebound, took it the other way, and drew a foul. The Rams scored both the shots so Hayes’ play ended in a four-point swing in VCU’s favor. It wasn’t selfish at all. It just looked like Hayes didn’t trust his teammates yet. That will have to change in a big way going forward for the Badgers to succeed.
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2. A good mix of youth and vets will serve Hoyas well
Georgetown looked like a team in November. They were a step off at times, but the veteran leadership of guys like Reggie Cameron and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera should serve this team well going forward. Yes, the Hoyas are 1-3, but there’s dozens of games left for the young talent to rise up. Sophomores Reggie Copeland, the team’s leading scorer so far, and LJ Peak looked very good for long stretches over the weekend, and adding in the vets will only help the maturation process. Georgetown took Duke to the wire for the tournament title in a game that felt a lot more like March than November. The wins will come eventually.
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3. VCU needs more production from more people
VCU was the unlucky team to lose both of its games at MSG. The biggest problem for the Rams was a lack of production. Of the 144 points the Rams scored at MSG, four players combined to score 112 of them. This from a VCU team that played 11 men against Duke and 10 against Wisconsin. Depth is great, but if the production funnels through a small selection of players it’s easy for defenses to key in on certain players and force the supporting cast to win games. That’s a dangerous way to live. This is a veteran squad so expect them to figure it out especially considering how close the losses were in New York.
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4. Ingram will figure it out
Brandon Ingram looked pedestrian in Midtown. One of the top recruits in this year’s freshman class, Ingram shot a combined 4-14 and scored a combined 13 points at the 2K, but this kid has the tools. Once he settles into the pace of playing college basketball you can expect him to play to the natural ability he has.
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5. Say hello to the bad guy
Duke basketball has nurtured some of the great villains in college basketball history. From Christian Laettner to JJ Redick, being a Duke star means being reviled across the country. Grayson Allen just might be the best bad guy Duke has produced this century. He has the game and grit to be a star, he won the tournament MVP after scoring a combined 62 points, and he has the name to get under the skin of fans along who already hate Duke. Grayson sounds as regal as Christian, and he has the skill to silence the boos every time they step on the floor. Allen’s 30 points against VCU was a career-high which he topped with 32 against Georgetown in the final. Just a sophomore, Allen will be a cornerstone of this Duke program for years to come, and he’s going to win a lot too.
