K not sure about Nolan's status, won't know until the morning, concerned that he wasn't able to return to the game.
Tournament games are never easy so it was good to see Dukie come out and be competitive from the word go. Singler was on and he started us off well. It continued throughout the game with player after player contributing. Nolan had his worst game this year with his handle, his decision making and his shooting off. Who know why, but the team played better tonight when he went out. His toe doesn't sound serious and I expect Nolan to be the same great player as he was for the entire year until this game. We need him to play his best to move on in the tournaments.
Observations:
1. Singler was great getting inside, making shots, getting rebounds, playing defense and hitting from the line. His three point shooting and that of Nolan was 0-8. He is better sticking with the game that was working.
2. Kelly's mid range game was great in the first half. Both Plumlees did very well tonight but I was surprised Kelly didn't see much PT in the second half. Maybe coach K feels his rebounding isn't as good as the Plumlees.
3. Both Plumlees had stellar games, providing scoring, rebounding and defensive pressure. Also Mason provides a reliable outlet for our in bounds play.
4. Curry started off slow but was instrumental in the win, particularly with Nolan not having his usual good game and then going out with a toe issue. Curry handled the ball well and was able to get inside and score or get fouled. Excellent game for him.
5. Andre had a very good game. His 2 made threes with one more in and out was a good showing from 3 point land. His drive and 1 was also beautiful. He also played decent defense and got a couple of important rebounds. You could see he enjoyed the moments in the game. Hope it leads to more time going forward.
All in all a good game with a lot of players contributing. We should learn from this game and it may be helpful in tournament play going forward.
Congrats to Singler for passing Gminski tonight! The 3pt shot is still off for him but it was nice to see him show his scoring versatility.
Great game from pretty much everyone but Smith and Thornton tonight. Thank goodness the depth showed up tonight.
I hope Smith is okay. We won't go far without him.
But it was a strong performance tonight. I'm very pleased with the team's play. It's good to get the first day out of the way!
Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.
But why wasn't he in during the second half?
Great game, everyone! Even before Nolan got hurt, the other guys really stepped up. Mason with 5 assists! I LOVE IT!!!
DukeDevilDeb
Pending Nolan's status, this was either the most satisfying Duke win in quite a while, or the most devastating.
Focusing on the positives for now:
Good things happen when Mason Plumlee touches the ball. 4-5 shooting, 5 assists (could easily have been 6 had a Dawkins three that was halfway down not found a way out of the hoop.) And 2-3 of those assists were of the jaw-dropping variety. Mason’s playmaking is just a tremendous asset.
Andre hit a couple of threes, could easily have hit a third (see above), played solid defense … he also made his first two-point shot since January 30 against St. Johns, and his first FT since Feb 2 against Maryland.
Ryan went 5-5 by taking good shots -- a couple of mid-range jumpers, a dunk off a drive-and-dish, a driving layup off a pump-fake from the perimeter, and a wide-open three off a great pass from Mason.
Kyle shot 10-15 -- 10-11 from inside the arc.
8 (!) offensive rebounds for Miles.
Duke made only 20 percent of their threes, but won -- in large part because they were 3-15 from outside rather than 6-30.
I could pick a few nits, but there was a lot to like about this game, and to build on going forward. I’d like to see them get the ball to Mason even more in upcoming games.
Last edited by pfrduke; 03-11-2011 at 09:52 PM. Reason: fix quote tag
Singler is IRON
I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
Hard to say except that the MPs were playing well and giving us some needed toughness. Also Kyle slid down to the 4 to give us another ball handler. having Kyle handle the ball against MD's 4 was a good call. You could hear K yelling "dribble" to Kyle once just before he got fouled and went to the line there at the end.
Also can't say enough about what a great job Kyle did in-bounding the ball against the press tonight. He used the whole baseline, kept his poise and got it to the right guy almost every time without a 5-second violation. Pretty good considering his low BB IQ
Sans Nolan, we really looked like a well oiled machine tonight. I liked the passion from our bench guys and there was a shared feeling of "us" out there tonight, just just Kyle/Nolan and then everyone else. This was a great team win and should boost confidance in Kelly, Andre, Mason and Miles. Really proud of our boys and proud of Maryland forcing us to play so well in order to win.
We were focused, sharp and tough.
We played light years better than UNC did in their game today. Miami pissed that one away!
Offensively, I thought this was a very solid performance. Balanced scoring from people who don't always score consistently and some really nice passing (Mason) and rebounding (both Plumlees and Singler). Glad to see that Kyle didn't push the three like he has the past few games. Defense didn't always seem intense until near the end when Smith was out. Hope the solid play continues tomorrow.