Who was the Man-of-the-Match?
Bob Green
It had to be Rivers for the all around game. He was great on offense and defense. Great steal at the end when we could not get a rebound to save our lives. Dawkins shot great but it was not a complete game on both sides.
The Terrapin Assassin
Miles, Andre, and rRivers.
Seth and Kelly even hit some big shots.
Nobody played bad, save Mason, but Andre put us in position to win. Great, great effort my Miles too. Had he kept it up in the second half he would have easily won my vote. Alas, the giant POS Teddy Valentine shut him down...
Austin and Miles both made important contributions--and Miles really set the tone at the beginning, which was big. But Andre was the difference maker in this game.
It became very apparent that this team is now looking like a tough Duke team. Great effort all over the court.
Couldn't go wrong with either Austin, Miles, Ryan, Seth but my vote goes to Andre for the lift he gave us in the first half. Those threes were very big, especially for our confidence. Miles is one tough dude. GoDuke!
Voted for Miles as he did the dirty work, even with 2-3 really cheap calls by teddy "the show" valentine. Can easily see votes for Dre and AR, too. Really fine games for both of them.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Miles and Ryan were in the middle of lots of plays that took opportunities away from FSU. Oh - and Andre dropped a few on them, too. Tough pick for me, but I'll give it to Miles, with Ryan right behind him.
I'm voting for Austin for two reasons, toughness and aggression. He tweaked his ankle twice during the game, both times caused by an FSU player who didn't get called for a foul, but he just seemed to come back and take it at them. I think he got a little wild a couple times, notably at the start of the second half where he hit threes on the first two possessions, and then appeared to have an open drive the next time down, but pulled it back out to take a contested three that missed badly. Overall, though he was the most aggressive guy on the floor, and was willing to challenge the FSU defense all the way to the rim, hustled well for loose balls, got that huge steal at the end, and had 4 assists to just 2 turnovers. I think the next big step for Austin (which probably won't happen this year) is for him to let the game come to him in terms of his decision making. Too often, he seems to make up his mind on drive, pull up or pass before he starts his move. For a freshman, though, that's a rare thing to have, and hopefully, he takes another year here to develop it.
Voted for Austin for his solid perimiter defensive work. No game winning 3s from FSU tonight and Austin was a big part of that. He also hit his free throws when the game was on the line. He played like a man and a winner.
If I could split my vote, it would be between Andre and Austin but I've got to pick one and that's Andre. He set the tone in the first half and gave them confidence going into the second half. Great effort though as a team.
Hard to pick just one guy tonight as so many players stepped up and made big plays. If "The Defense" was an option, I'd vote for that 8-).
Agreed.
I can only add that I was really impressed by Miles' on offense. In particular, I really liked one move along the baseline; Miles beat the guy, slowed and with poise took it under the rim to score. We see more of that kind of play, watch out. He also was sprinting out to set picks with a focus and purpose that reminded me of, dare I say it, the Z man.
Miles has had a collection of really good games lately. If he continues to play without rushing on offense, and with the confidence he is showing, he might well take a very talented group a step or two higher. He did tonight, playing "strong wire to wire," as superdave says. Without Miles' effective play against State's talented front line, I don't think that the considerable contributions of his teammates would have mattered. I vote for Miles.
Dre's shooting in the first was huge but I thought Austin was better all around. I love this kid.