Who was the Man-of-the-Match?
Who was the Man-of-the-Match?
Bob Green
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.
The bigs opened it up for Dre. Dre opened it up for Austin. And all our guards figured out how to get past FSU's over playing guards to the basket - which I believe was HUGE.
Quote of the night: "We've gotta get someone on Dawkins. He didn't miss a shot the whole first half" Well he did miss a COUPLE.
BUT that 3 off the rebound was nothing but pure being in the moment. If he's good like that for a half every game we are pretty much unstoppable.
I stated early that Andre was the key. He really IS the JJ of this team and I'm glad he's finally starting to play like a star. At this point he's had a lot more up games than down and he just may be rounding into form (remember the kid is still only supposed to be a SOPH).
Yesterday was certainly Dre Day.
I voted for Miles. I thought he anchored the team last night. Sometime during last night's game I realized that Miles is my favorite player on this team. He's not the best player and I know his weaknesses but I just want him to succeed so much.
With all due respects and as much as I love 'Dre & voted for him, he is nowhere near JJ. JJ was money 99% of the time. With 'Dre, Seth, Austin you never know which one is going to have the hot hand that night. It seems to be one game a player is unstoppable the next game he couldn't hit the ocean standing on shore. That is when one of our other guards gets hot. When JJ was here I trusted the ball in his hands.
99% of the time? That's the problem right THERE!!! No - JJ was not!! In his freshmen and sophomore years he was a MAJOR defensive liability and it wasn't until Coach K challenged him that he came back with a vengeance his junior year. JJ shot just 23% overall his freshmen year and ended at 35% by his senior year. His 3pt percentage was 39% his freshmen season and hopped up to 42% by his senior year.
JJ got to shoot a WHOLE lot more than Dre and it was certainly needed his last two years but now I would politely like for you to go look at Andre's stats. He's on course to double the amount of 3's he shot as a spot duty freshmen - at 42% a clip no less which may have increased last night.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/duke/jj-redick
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pla.../andre-dawkins
Last edited by SupaDave; 02-24-2012 at 11:28 AM.
Sorry, Supadave, but you're not quite right on this one. You're looking at his "shot %," which is the percentage of his team's shots that he takes when he's on the floor. That ranged from 23% of his team's shots his freshman year to 35% his senior year.
His shooting percentage was much, much higher. JJ shot 41% his freshman year (39.9%, i.e., 40% from three, better than Andre's freshman year), and ended at 47% his senior year (42% from three, pretty much exactly what Andre's shooting now).
Your larger point, that Andre just as reliable a shooter, although with many fewer shots, I completely agree with.
I agree. If Andre was "the guy" that all his teammates were always looking to pass to and set screens for, he'd be an all-conference player (in any conference). I even think he plays better defense when he's scoring more, so the "allowed not to play D" might not even be an issue.
Pretty easy to make a case in 3 different directions!
Miles played great and smart and I am so happy for him, if a point value for all his game contributions were in place he would be right there.
Austin has turned into that guy we wanted and needed this year, points yes 3's and penetration, and now with smart dishes that result in good looks, his all around hustle,diving for balls, really moving his feet on defense,
He is leading by example as a freshman, but a case can be made, in basketball terms, he is NO LONGER, a freshman.
I voted for Andre, because the sheer volume of the three's in the first half, created some seperation, put some doubt in the Noles, and the team continued to respond from there throughout the game.
What a problem, needed three votes.
Let's go DUKE !!!
It's b/c FSU employed the "anybody but Dre" defense in the second half while Austin was putting daggers in their heart to start the half. Teams used to do it to JJ all the time (which is one of the reasons he became so good off the screen).
Right now the whole team's confidence is high. They are feeling strong. I saw a few possessions last night where everyone touched the ball. It was a thing of beauty.
Miles, Andre, and rRivers.
Seth and Kelly even hit some big shots.
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!