LGHL Visiting Locker Room: Talking Blue Devils with the Duke Chronicle

[ThomasCostello]

Visiting Locker Room: Talking Blue Devils with the Duke Chronicle
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Duke’s independent student newspaper on returning players, turnovers and more

Sunday, the ACC and Big Ten face-off in the Second round of the NCAA Tournament. Starting the round of 32 is the Ohio State women’s basketball team and Duke Blue Devils. It’s the first time the two teams face each other in the high intensity environment that is March Madness, and this matchup features two teams with high powered defenses that usually make things difficult for their opponents.

To learn more about the matchup, Land-Grant Holy Land reached out to the Duke Chronicle. Beat reporter Martin Heintzelman, from he student-run newspaper, is live in Columbus covering the ACC side and answered questions about the Blue Devils.

Including the focal point of a young team, a different looking offense under head coach Kara Lawson and turnover problems for Duke.

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Land-Grant Holy Land: Duke lost all but five players this season. How has Coach Lawson changed the team around such a new group of players?

Duke Chronicle: A lot of what Lawson has done revolves largely on her returners. Center Kennedy Brown and Reigan Richardson have been the anchors at both ends of the floor, and the ball often moves through them before going anywhere else. Ashlon Jackson, who played largely from the bench last year as a freshman but now starts, has also been key as a strong shooter on the perimeter.

That being said, her new players have been important too. Jadyn Donovan, a high-end freshman recruit with impressive finishing abilities around the rim and incredible athleticism. One of the more popular moves this year for Duke has been to give the ball to Brown inside, who dishes it to a cutting Donovan for the finish. Oluchi Okananwa, an undersized guard, has played a similar role. Okananwa’s rebounding abilities have also been really important for the group, as she trails only Brown in terms of boards per game.

So while the offense still runs through Lawson’s few veterans, she takes advantage of the new talent she has. Duke will look to Richardson and Brown to lead, with the rest of the squad following closely behind. With someone like Celeste Taylor and her disruptive defensive abilities likely guarding Richardson, Duke will need the newbies to come through in a big way Sunday.

LGHL: An area the Blue Devils have improved in this season is on offense. Against Richmond, Duke worked hard to get the ball up the court as quickly as possible. Is that the new standard that the Buckeyes can expect on Sunday? In what ways does Lawson change things up offensively?

DC: Last year especially, Duke relied on transition to get the ball into the bucket. That’s largely because the defense was so good, and the offense was so weak. This year, that pace has returned, while the scoring in half-court offensive sets has improved dramatically. The transition numbers are still strong because the Blue Devils are able to force a good number of turnovers, but they’re much less reliant on the defense to generate points.

One big offensive change this year has been the ball movement. Last year, Duke relied pretty heavily on Shy Day-Wilson in the PnR to find open shots, while this year having a pass-first point guard in Taina Mair has made thing much more fluid. Gone are the days of the step-back triple attempt with 25 seconds left on the shot clock. Now, the ball moves more through Brown and the athletic wings, generating higher quality shots closer to the rim. Against a slightly smaller OSU team, look for Donovan to try to use her size and strength to get down low and score. The perimeter will be tougher to generate quality shots from, and I doubt we’ll see a whole lot from Mair or Richardson(who will probably have Taylor guarding her).

LGHL: Duke gives the ball away 16.9 times per game. Now they face an Ohio State team who forces 20 turnovers a game. How do you see Duke overcoming turnover issues? Have they shown growth in that department as the season progressed?

DC: This is the question of the day. One of the most important differentiators between wins and losses this season has been turnovers. It’s hard to win games when you’re giving away free points. It was definitely a bigger issues early in the season with such a young and inexperienced team, but it is still an issue that the Blue Devils struggle with. Donovan is one of the more problematic players on this front, as her ambition sometimes clouds her judgement.

Lawson has drilled the important of protecting the rock into her players all year, and she probably will do so again before tipoff Sunday. Ohio State is fast, and that press will exacerbate issues already present for Duke. The biggest thing will be keeping a level head. The Blue Devils get ambitious and excited, especially in big games. That often works to their advantage, but they will find themselves disrupted against the Buckeyes. Donovan needs to play smart and escape those immaturity issues that have been present at moments, and the same goes for the rest of the rookies.

Brown, Richardson and Jackson haven’t had issues this year. The newbies have, and how they play will probably determine the outcome of this game. If Donovan, Okananwa and Delaney Thomas can be smart and keep an eye on Taylor and the rest of that perimeter defensive group, this is a winnable game for Duke. If they give the ball up like they did at the beginning of the season, it’s going to be a long plane ride back to Durham.

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