Nolan Smith Toe Vigil

[wilson]

Dump the Nike's and go back to the Adidas they used to wear in the early 90's and before. Don't remember any foot probs back then.

ARo24

...and while we're at it, rid our uniforms of the terrible, terrible, ugly black trim, and return them to their resplendent early '90s glory.

[devildeac]

I admit it. I was sucking EA's toe.

Hey, find your own keyhole.

[Hurley2Hill]

Duke medical staff needs to create a steel-toe shoe. This toe stuff has to stop.

The new Nike "Timberlake"...

I wonder if this injury might be more of a day to day thing. Hope to see him back on Sunday at the latest...hehehe.

[Atlanta Duke]

If it beats Louisville tonight my guess is Notre Dame is locked into a #1 seed

Since I also think Duke locked in a #2 seed by winning tonight (I do not believe the tournament committee will take the psyops pre-game brandishing of Kyrie Irving into account) I wonder if K can channel Roy's disdain for the ACC tournament and sit Nolan Smith even if he can go to rest up for the real tournament next week

[hurley1]

Wow, if Nolan cant go, Duke would be playing without the ACC/NCAA player of the year and the #1 pick in next years nba draft. man, am I the only 1 that still thinks Duke can win it all? Im always op"toe"mistic!


if kong can get 2 pitch forks I should be able to get at least 1!!!

duke can win it all...curry is handling the ball well, and he is a thief on defense...we can play well, and fast with him on the point...as duke gets deeper in the ncaat, i believe you will see both plumlees on the floor together more...singler is heating up...that leaves dawkins...the best form in the ncaa...if dawkins heats up red hot, we will be very hard for anyone to beat...dawkins looked good on defense tonight too....remember, our lead was extended significantly with these 5 on the floor...singler, curry,dawkins, plumlee and plumlee...that ain't no joke ...lol....miles looked good tonight too...heck, they all looked good....and nolan had a terrible night...

[Kedsy]

If it beats Louisville tonight my guess is Notre Dame is locked into a #1 seed

Since I also think Duke locked in a #2 seed by winning tonight (I do not believe the tournament committee will take the psyops pre-game brandishing of Kyrie Irving into account) I wonder if K can channel Roy's disdain for the ACC tournament and sit Nolan Smith even if he can go to rest up for the real tournament next week

Well, Notre Dame failed in OT, but even if they hadn't, I doubt Nolan's availability would be governed by the concept of resting him for the NCAAT. If he's given medical clearance he'll play, and if he isn't he won't.

[uh_no]

duke can win it all...curry is handling the ball well, and he is a thief on defense...we can play well, and fast with him on the point...as duke gets deeper in the ncaat, i believe you will see both plumlees on the floor together more...singler is heating up...that leaves dawkins...the best form in the ncaa...if dawkins heats up red hot, we will be very hard for anyone to beat...dawkins looked good on defense tonight too....remember, our lead was extended significantly with these 5 on the floor...singler, curry,dawkins, plumlee and plumlee...that ain't no joke ...lol....miles looked good tonight too...heck, they all looked good....and nolan had a terrible night...

And the question becomes: how many stars can duke lose before dbr no longer thinks they will win the tournament!

Op-toe-mistic on both our star guaards

[ChicagoCrazy84]

First, how does Kong have more tridents than I do?? Come on!!

Secondly, Nolan should not play tomorrow because honestly, even if we lose and he is then upgraded to probable for the tourney (plus Kyrie ) it shouldn't damage our seeding very much.

[Kedsy]

Nolan should not play tomorrow because honestly, even if we lose and he is then upgraded to probable for the tourney (plus Kyrie ) it shouldn't damage our seeding very much.

If it drops us from a #1 to a #2 I think that's a big issue. But I agree he shouldn't play unless the medical staff is pretty sure he's not risking further injury.

[SCMatt33]

Secondly, Nolan should not play tomorrow because honestly, even if we lose and he is then upgraded to probable for the tourney (plus Kyrie ) it shouldn't damage our seeding very much.

That's not exactly the case. The selection committee only goes by who has been available, not who is "expected" to be available. Obviously, if they went by what teams said, we could just say that both Nolan and Kyrie are "expected" to play, get a better seed, and then back track from that if necessary. Now, if Nolan's injury is not severe, and there appears to be a good chance that he will come back in the committee's mind, the affect on Duke's seeding would be less. Of coarse, this only comes into play if he doesn't play and we lose because of it. If the rest of the team steps up like they did tonight, it won't matter that he's hurt.

A few recent examples of this are UNC in 2009, who probably lost the number one overall seed because of Ty Lawson's injury, even though he was expected to be available in the tournament, and Syracuse last year, who might have swapped seeds with Duke because of Onawaku, even though his status was uncertain. In both cases, the seed drop due to injury was minimal, but did happen. The same could happen to Duke. If we lost tomorrow without Nolan, the committee could decide to drop us to a lower 2 seed (we'd already be a 2 seed by losing with or without Nolan), and may end up traveling farther for a regional.

[FourWins]

I can't be the only one who saw electricity surge through Duke when Nolan left, the Terps were still in it; we have 3 guys on the floor with 3 fouls and then we’ve got Curry and Dawkins*driving* ..suddenly Duke is not looking like a team that "lives by the 3, dies by the 3" but one capable of handling UNC without needing to be white-hot from beyond the arc.

I have nothing against the man, but Nolan is simply not good enough of a player to hog the ball as much as he does. Don't get me wrong, he can score at will and plays great D, but it gets to his head. The better he's playing, the fewer times he wants to part with the ball. Was getting him and Seth to combine for 50+ really going to work twice against UNC?

This is Duke. Six guys have put up 20 or more points this season. The other options are there. I want to see what Tyler can do. They may not come through, but in any event I cannot see a Smith-led team returning even to the Elite Eight.

[Bluedog]

No....we are better with Nolan.

[CDu]

The answer is no. Be thankful that the team responded, but by no means is this team better without Smith. There is a good chance we won't make the Elite-8 with Smith (same is true for any team). There is minimal chance we make the Elite-8 without him.

[VaDukie]

You saw roughly five offensive possessions against a team that went 7-9 in a historically weak ACC and you determine that we're better off without the guy that carried us here?

[Duke: A Dynasty]

I would say no. But I see where you are coming from. We rely on him a little to much and the guys stand around and wait for Nolan to create but I would rather play with him than without.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Funny stuff, kong!

Anyone who is offended isn't seeing that you're making fun of the incredibly long thread, NOT the injuries.

[Johnboy]

Not a fan of opposing team fans making light of our player's injuries - even if it is intended just to poke fun at the fan base.

(1) To quote Sgt. Hulka: "Lighten up, Francis."
(2) "In-hale!, Ex-hale!"*

*Granted, this was chanted after player had recovered from injury, but it was us making light of their player's injury in good fun.

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

However, it would be nice to see that patented Duke spacing and ball movement we had at the end of the game (and earlier in the season) with Nolan in there. It makes the team a lot more dangerous. I think we will see it moving forward with Nolan and, who knows, maybe with Kyrie too.

GO DUKE!

[Namtilal]

We're not better without Kyrie, but in his absence, we saw how his aggressiveness had rubbed off on Nolan. We're not better without Nolan, but I felt like I was seeing the same effect with Seth late in today's game. When it was his turn to lead, he was fearless and aggressive like Nolan and Kyrie.

[Edouble]

I can't be the only one who saw electricity surge through Duke when Nolan left, the Terps were still in it; we have 3 guys on the floor with 3 fouls and then we’ve got Curry and Dawkins*driving* ..suddenly Duke is not looking like a team that "lives by the 3, dies by the 3" but one capable of handling UNC without needing to be white-hot from beyond the arc.

I have nothing against the man, but Nolan is simply not good enough of a player to hog the ball as much as he does. Don't get me wrong, he can score at will and plays great D, but it gets to his head. The better he's playing, the fewer times he wants to part with the ball. Was getting him and Seth to combine for 50+ really going to work twice against UNC?

This is Duke. Six guys have put up 20 or more points this season. The other options are there. I want to see what Tyler can do. They may not come through, but in any event I cannot see a Smith-led team returning even to the Elite Eight.

This is your one and only post? Hopefully when I get out of bed in the morning this entire thread will have been deleted.

Go Duke!!!!

Go Nolan!!!