I miss Bobby Knight.
Post your thoughts on the game in this thread.
I miss Bobby Knight.
Nice balanced play tonite. Again poor shooting in the first half from behind the three point line but they seemed to adjust the offense at the end of the 1st half and second to adjust. I'd like to see more inside set plays in the early months of the season to get some practice for the tough stretch. However will savor this victory and it was well deserved 2 days in NYC
AMEN! I was seriously tempted to just turn the sound off and watch the game, which would have been a lot more than the announcers were doing.
Does Vitale feel obligated to talk continuously about things that generally have absolutely nothing to do with the current basketball game??
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Duke showed me a lot this game. They really moved the ball well and were able to get into the paint almost at will. About the only negative thing I can say about their play was their poor 3 point shooting. Of course if they tried shooting from the college 3 point line instead of the NBA 3 point line they may have made a few more shots.
There was some commentary a week or so ago that we weren't playing well. I think we are playing very well indeed for mid-November. I think the outlook for the season is bright.
I like DV, especially after an off-season. Not as good as Knight, but I don't need serious insight all the time - that's what my day job is for. Now, ask me the 3rrd or 4th time I see DV this year and I may have a different answer.
Good all-around game tonight. Only weakness was 3-point shooting. Gerald was great, Kyle solid. Good rebounding - UM got very few second chances. Some excellent passes. Jon was quieter than usual of late, and I'm puzzled why Z didn't play in the second half until garbage time. He was superb again in the first.
A good win for Duke. Michigan looks more like an ACC team than any team Duke has played this year- although they only have a couple of players that are dangerous. Harris is really good. I have been worried about Duke's outside shooting. They were pretty bad from deep once again. Although they are likely a bit tired- but Duke needs Paulus to get healthy. The inside play was pretty good though. EWill's and McClure play gave Duke a lift. Both were big pluses tonight. Nolan Smith was very good as well. I agree with Vitale that Singler would do very well if he spent more time near the basket. He is very good around the hoop.
Duke plays Michigan very soon again at their place. It will be a tough road game. Duke will need to be sharper than tonight.
Duke did a great job attacking the zone. The shot selection tonight was outstanding. If Duke would have shot a little better from three the game would have been decided a lot earlier. They moved the ball very well, made the defense rotate, and took advantage. Duke is a hard team to zone when they are passing and attacking lanes that well, even when they aren't shooting as well as they can.
We have so many weapons, any one of which is capable of going off at any given time.
Hendo and Singler are really comming along nicely. Welcome to the season, Hendo. Both these guys are scary good. I wish Kyle wouldn't look so natural stroking NBA threes, but that's really nitpicking. And Hendo's athleticism is scary. He will have a Top 10 play virtually every game.
Scheyer played OK, but I wish he would just play sometimes. He has a great IQ and feel for the game, but it seems like he overthinks it sometimes. And he shouldn't feel bad when he misses a few shots. Sometimes, when he misses a few in a row, he starts to think about it, and he hesitates a little. Just shoot it. Be Singler. He misses a few, and doesn't let it bother him.
Nolan played solid. He isn't on par with the Duke greats at PG, YET. The potential is definitely there. He is aggressive and attacking, and I love it. His mistakes are sins of commission, not sins of omission. I can live with that at this point in his career.
As for Lance and Brian, wow. So much more than I had hoped for. All we need out of the low post is competant play, so that Singler can play inside out. They are really delivering. Solid scoring, good to great D, and reliable rebounding. Come Feb and beyond, those guys are going to be really solid for us.
The bench is pretty solid. Heck, our mop up squad would win a few ACC games this year, and we really haven't been able to say that since 99 (When our scrubs might have made the NCAAs, and certainly the NIT).
Greg must be more injured than they are letting on. His play is solid, but I saw him overplay a few times, and he seemed to have trouble checking his momentum. Just a warrior being out there. I know it is a blow to his pride, but he is practically the ideal backup PG in college. Solid, steady, heady and a great shooter when healthy. The reduced load really seems to suit him. He might be mentioned for national 6th Man awards by the time this season ends.
Overall, the most positive thing from all our games is the steady improvement. We are a pretty good team so far, and we are just getting better. I love it.
Good game although we are still not shooting 3's very well. Why did K sit Zoubek almost the whole second half? I thought he was playing well. Maybe he was trying to preserve by having good ball handlers on the court?
I like Zoubek's presence, and I also am excited that E-Mail is working his way into the rotation!
1) I am loving the Zoubek progress
2) Except for a few Freshmen mistakes E-will put in some very quality time
3) Gerald is still athletic apparently
4) Nolan looked consistently solid throughout an entire game for the first time and it was a big reason for our consistency on offense for much of the game. He was awesome
5) Jon had a tough shooting night, but somehow still managed to look very good.
6) Communication on Defense was great and when Lance is in the game, he is very obviously the quarterback in there.
I'm glad that we're finding ways to win while our outside shooting is not particularly great. If the well runs dry this March, we'll already know what to do.
Between Lance, Zoubek, and McClure Duke got 13 points and 8 rebounds, per the ESPN box score, which might not be 100% accurate. I'm lumping McClure in there with the post guys, right or wrong. That isn't quite as much production down there as yesterday, but still not bad at all, especially when you consider that Duke did not score as much, and this was a game with a lot of wings slashing to the basket.
I love Kyle, Gerald, Nolan, Lance. . .
I love Duke Basketball!
Tonight's game was fun. I can't wait to see them play on Sunday.
My Theory on Zoubek is this: I think coach K may incorporate a scheme in which he plays Z a lot in the first half, relieving Singler from having to play down low. Then in the second half will put Kyle back down low a lot, because lets face it, Singler is quite skilled down low. Thus Singler will play half as much down low this year, hopefully saving his body from shutting down in March. This will also force teams to have to switch their defense at halftime in every game. Of course I could be totally wrong and he is just wanting to build Z's confidence, and gradually give him more time as the season goes.
Also want to say how happy I am to see Thomas and Williams developing so well.