MBB: Duke 70, Lehigh 75 Post-Game Thread

[cspan37421]

This year the team seemed dis-jointed. Trying to find answers to the question: How is this season different from all other seasons? The answer I keep coming up with is the addition to our coaching staff. Just my opinion.

IDK about that but it is interesting to notice that 3 of our top assistants were all Duke guards during the mid 90s, an era of rather underwhelming success bookended by championship-caliber eras. [Though Collins started much of the year for the '94 team, during his upperclassman years Duke had middling success]

[freedevil]

Just adding my appreciation for Miles. His post-game remarks about not wanting to be remembered for this game were very thoughtful, but this fan will remember Miles for his contributions to a National Championship and his ridiculous dunks. A great four years. Congrats to him on a wonderful career.

Lehigh played well.

Go Duke.

[Devilsfan]

Miles became a MAN in the last two months. All Duke fans loved and appreciated his recent play.

[Zeke]

I can remember when UNLV just ran over Duke (and particularly Bobby Hurley) in ?1990 (was it really that long ago). Anyway that was the worst, but UNLV wasn't a 15th seed. Guys tried but couldn't on that night, but next year it was all different.

[naclsean]

I was wondering if anyone had any inside knowledge on the specific team chemistry issues that have been discussed above...Was it the cause of Dre's shooting etc...

I've never posted on these boards but I assure you I am a true Duke fan. I have been since 86 when Dawkins and company beat Navy and David Robinson. My dad told me that I was born at Duke hospital as he cheered for his alma mater Navy to beat Duke. I instead chose to cheer for Duke because that was where I was born. Duke won that game went to the final four and I became a Duke fan for life.

I have watched many teams throughout the years and this one gave us many great memories. The Kansas game in Maui, the NC State game in Cameron, and the UNC game at chapel hill were incredible games that were some of the best games I have seen in 25+ years. I loved this team's will to win. But I would be silly to say that this team had great chemistry. I noticed it at CTC when Dawkins and Curry got very excited about beating Rivers team. I wondered then if they really liked each other. I saw it again in the teams body language throughout the season. You just never were sure if they really got along. When I heard the report that the team had voted to boycott social media sights to work on their team relationship, I thought that was a good sign. I think it helped as we saw them start to come together at the UNC game in Chapel Hill. They played well together at FSU and it looked like they made the turn in becoming a team. But there was obviously some animosity the last couple of weeks and Curry and Rivers both hinted to that in their post game interviews last night. We were not a fist last night, but instead five fingers trying to be an inferior opponent.

Kelly's injury hurt us because he was the quiet leader that kept everyone cool. The other leader of this team, Thornton, got some bad foul calls on him last night and it took his head out of the game. I'm not blaming him, but I believe his leadership was key to them staying together. Well that is what I think and that doesn't mean much.

I believe Thornton made the best comment after the game when he said we will be at the gym tomorrow practicing. I will not give up these guys, they are too talented to not get better. I hope they all come back because they do have something to prove now. I also want to thank Miles for four awesome years. Hope to see him in the NBA next season.

[sagegrouse]

This year the team seemed dis-jointed. Trying to find answers to the question: How is this season different from all other seasons? The answer I keep coming up with is the addition to our coaching staff. Just my opinion.

IDK about that but it is interesting to notice that 3 of our top assistants were all Duke guards during the mid 90s, an era of rather underwhelming success bookended by championship-caliber eras. [Though Collins started much of the year for the '94 team, during his upperclassman years Duke had middling success]

I don't know if it's glue or dope you guys are sniffing, but I want some. Capel is the son of a coach, was a successful assistant and head coach at ODU, and had his good moments at Oklahoma. K thought enough of Jeff to bring him onto the staff and then to give him greater responsibility -- he sat with the players during the game the last half of the season. Collins and Wojo have the complete confidence of sibillant K. Since a "fish stinks from the head," any inadequacies of the assistants go directly to the head coach that hired and tasked them. Or, maybe you have a different view?

We get to do an experiment, nevertheless, if one or two of the three depart for HC gigs. I expect that to happen. Then, presumably, Nate James, who has a ring, returns to his former role.

sagegrouse

[dukemsu]

But I still watched almost all the games. A few thoughts:

1. Duke has always had its best teams when it had an elite point guard. Seth, Tyler, and Quinn all took shots at it with varying levels of success, but none made it to an elite level at both ends. Even the "surprise" champs of 2010 had really solid, consistent point guard play with Jon.

2. I was worried about Lehigh right away, as I saw them come into Breslin earlier this season and play Michigan State tough for 40 minutes. They're good. McCollum can and did go off, but they are just a tough, well-schooled bunch of players who weren't uncomfortable in any situation.

3. Miles and Mason both came a long way, though the results weren't always consistent. But they've improved enough to help put to bed some of the Duke Big Man stuff. Mason was a bear last night.

4. As for the board closing down, well, I thought it was an acceptable decision. The entire nation cheered as Duke fell (other than Duke fans), so just from an invasion standpoint I thought it was a good call. The sun came up today. As bad as Duke alums/fans feel, keep in mind that the players and coaches feel a lot worse.

5. Chemistry is a real, tangible thing in basketball. This team never seemed to fully develop it, though I don't buy the "no fire in the belly" nonsense. The parts just never seemed to fully come together. Looking forward to next season already.

All the best to Miles. I've enjoyed watching the young man play and improve. Hope Austin and Mason return, though I suspect that won't be the case on both of them.

dukemsu

[Kishiznit]

First of all, I agree with the mods' decision to lock it up last night. Coming from someone that has been suspended after a conference loss, I was protected by this move.

Key observations:
-all season when we needed a bucket, we would go to the high pick and roll. It was defended last night to perfection. It would have been nice to see what would have happened if Austin came off the pick and reversed the ball to have a 2 on 1 situation; we never made any adjustments to their defense of this play.
-DUKE haters continue to make the comment "live and die by the 3" - I never take offense to this because it is our style. I like our chances and unfortunately last night we didn't survive.
-like many posters have stated, I think the trip to china allowed this team to be stronger out of the gate. We constantly played to the level of our competition since this trip and hopefully our kids will develop that killer attitude to blow teams away like we had a decade ago.
- I need to be careful what I wish for...over the last 20 years I have been critical of the coaching staff for only concentrating on athletic 6'5-6'7" wing players and having an abundance. I miss those days, I take back my complaints.
-I will miss Miles Plumlee...he is a champion and I'm glad he stayed on the East Coast. Thank you Miles!
-I know that these kids will work hard in the offseason and I can't wait to book my trip to the Bahamas
(can someone confirm??) for tourney next year.
-K handled last night night with so much Klass...proud to be a DUKE fan!

[Furniture]

Hello
How can I see the after game press conference?

[Pernell]

I disagree. The desire was there. The effort was there. We lacked quickness to blow by their guards or to defend their guards, and K didn't adjust. Btw, Mccollum is the best player in the tourney and certainly, the best player Duke's played against all year. He IS that good and showed it last night. He will be i NBA a long time.

I would agree. I think the team definitely had the desire to win but we were plagued by our persistent Achille's heel, our perimeter defense.
Aside from Austin, our guards don't have the foot speed to keep up with typical athletic guards. This has been an issue for awhile and should be a surprise
to no one.

Mccollum is a talented player, but the best player in the tourney? I mean, I know that one shining moment will highlight his moves against Duke(as they often do when Duke exits early)
but c'mon, the best player in the tourney? I think he played a great game but some of his best plays were made against Hairston and Curry.

What I hope to see next year, is some evidence that the assistants have worked with our guards in terms of their quickness. It's a shame that Dawkins, who totally disappeared the last month of the season.
was unable to get on the court in stretches toward the end of the season because he is a liability on defense. I'm also interested to see how the younger Plumlee has developed during his redshirt year. And I would
agree with other posters who question the development of our players. I think that's always been a critique of K and it still holds today.

Austin is nice, definitely has game. But he needs to refine his game and be more decisive with his moves. Everyone on the court knows that he's going to take a few dribbles and dribble backwards or sideways and contemplate
what he's going to do. The beauty of Kyrie, and there is only one Kyrie, is that he goes N to S and he forces defenses to make decisions based on his decisive moves. Austin is a phenomenal talent and I love his first step. But
sometimes I would love for him to just commit to his moves more quickly.

Much more to say, but I'll write more later. Just focus on praying that Carolina does not win the championship this year

[sjl14]

First of all, I commend the moderators for taking proactive measures against the inevitable venting and nonconstructive criticism after the game last night. As a fan of course I am disappointed in the outcome, but as always the team demonstrated a level of class that is rare in basketball today. I'm proud to see that same decorum among the posters on DBR.

On to the game. I personally thought Andre Dawkins should have gotten more shots in the second half, he has always been our best three shooter and we definitely needed a few for a comeback. It didn't seem like the other guys, especially the big men, were looking to kick it out to Dre. By my eye he seemed to be loosely guarded most of the night. The other key, in my opinion, was that Thornton was playing too unselfishly. He has a habit of deferring to his teammates, but is a more than capable slasher/scorer when hes looking for his own shot. We could have used his offense last night. Other than that, we just got beat by an excellent Lehigh team who I think could give Kentucky a run for their money. We should all be looking forward to next season. Go Duke!

[MCFinARL]

This year the team seemed dis-jointed. Trying to find answers to the question: How is this season different from all other seasons? The answer I keep coming up with is the addition to our coaching staff. Just my opinion.

This is one of the best (or, looked at another way, worst) examples of post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning I have ever seen, and since I teach college writing I have seen a few. You might just as logically say that the team is different because two players are redshirted, or because they wore hideous Nike uniforms in one game, and that these events are to blame for disjointed play. I'd need a LOT more evidence before I drew any conclusions about the relationship between coaching changes and team cohesion.

I don't know if it's glue or dope you guys are sniffing, but I want some. Capel is the son of a coach, was a successful assistant and head coach at ODU, and had his good moments at Oklahoma. K thought enough of Jeff to bring him onto the staff and then to give him greater responsibility -- he sat with the players during the game the last half of the season. Collins and Wojo have the complete confidence of sibillant K. Since a "fish stinks from the head," any inadequacies of the assistants go directly to the head coach that hired and tasked them. Or, maybe you have a different view?

sagegrouse

Agreed.

[Starter]

I actually didn't see the game. My fiancee and I were on our way to a bar/restaurant to watch a DJ we were thinking of booking for our wedding (and in my case, to watch the second half of the game), when a guy made a left turn directly into us at an intersection for a head-on collision. The other guy was at fault and there was nothing I could have done. Luckily, we were both relatively okay -- I was somehow completely unblemished, and she had some bumps and bruises but nothing more. While I was standing outside giving the police report, my phone was blowing up with texts and tweets about the Duke game, and I honestly couldn't care less. I just kept seeing the other car coming at us, and I was relieved my fiancee was okay. (Me? I'm indestructible.)

I know it's a cliche, but something like that really puts a Duke loss, even one in the first round to a Patriot League school, in perspective. What are you going to do? They just didn't have it, especially without Kelly, whom I have a whole new respect for. But there are SO many more important things in life to think about and worry about. You know? Duke's a big part of our lives, but it's not even close to all there is.

[spinoza]

From Sportsillustratedcnn.com:

Lehigh had all the answers. If it seemed as if the Mountain Hawks knew what Duke was going to run, it's because they did. At several points Duke would flash its signals for an offensive set only to have Head Coach Reed and his assistants spring to their feet, flashing the same signals and calling out the plays to their defense.

Asked later if they knew what was coming, Reed grinned and said, "We pride ourselves on being one of the nation's most prepared teams, and this was one of the longest preps we've ever had."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...uke/index.html

Lehigh seemed well prepared and had a lot of time to get ready to play Duke.
Still, we could have won if only we hit a few more 3's.

[muzikfrk75]

I disagree. The desire was there. The effort was there. We lacked quickness to blow by their guards or to defend their guards, and K didn't adjust. Btw, Mccollum is the best player in the tourney and certainly, the best player Duke's played against all year. He IS that good and showed it last night. He will be in NBA a long time.

He's not even the best player in his region.

[sjl14]

He's not even the best player in his region.

He's AT LEAST on par with Anthony Davis...

[Zafort]

Hate to say it, but I think that we got flat out-coached last night...with the talent level we have, there is no reason why we should not have pulled out the win.

Yes, Coach K and the staff has done an incredible job throughout the year (excluding last 3 weeks) of overplaying our talent against tougher opponents. But the development of the players was not there, and when we needed a change and a spark, just could not get done.

That being said, good luck to Miles - one of the class guys to have come through the Duke program.

One sign that the coaching was deficient is that our losses in the last four games (and probably in the one we won) revealed that the opposing coaches learned to have their bigs come off a Plumlee screen to stifle the ball handler long enough for the man guarding him to recover enough to shut him down and prevent a good look at the basket or a drive toward the basket.
Another apparent sign of coaching nonadjustment was the inability to defend against penetration and prevent offensive rebounds that usually led to scores. This is not a blanket condemnation since the bounce of the ball did easily overcome the best situated defender often enough. Duke did lead in offensive rebounds yesterday, but the impression left from this game was that Lehigh benefitted more from its ORs than did Duke. I'll have to check the recording, painful as that will be, to verify that assumption.
Since these weakness were blatantly evident in the first half of the second Carolina game and apparently corrected in the second half--which Duke "won" (Rah!)--why did they resurface in the FSU and Lehigh games?

Another mystery is why Duke never seemed to have enough confidence in Michael Gbinije's athleticism to put him into games this year. Perhaps some of you know. At the beginning of the season he displayed the kind of speedy finesse that reminded me of Grant Hill. Why was he relegated to meaningless minutes?

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

He's not even the best player in his region.

He clearly was the best player in last night's game.

[sagegrouse]

Hello
How can I see the after game press conference?

Go to "goduke.com." Click on "Duke Falls in NCAA Tourney." When picture of the game appears above, click on picture to go article. In the right box on the article page is a video notation and the headline, "Press Conference: Coach K, Miles and Mason Plumlee." Or, go to Men's Basketball on contents on left of front page and go to the story.

sage

[Gthoma2a]

I have to say. Watching this tournament is hard, but looking at the teams that are still in it, I can see the difference. These teams just want it too much for trepidation. They are playing like thisgame is everything. It is something that we had a couple of years ago, but not really in the NCAA the past couple of years. Ohio State and Zaga are fighting for every loose ball, nobody is going unobstructed, and they are playing volleyball with every rebound they can't grab to keep it alive. I think it was just the personality of this team to be reluctant to go all out all game. I hope we get that kind of personality next year. I think Lehigh, Norfolk State and so many other underdog teams prove that attitude is one of the biggest parts of winning in this environment. They don't have the best players in the country, but they fight to get the most out of themselves. That, and they trust their teammates. We were a team of individuals towards the end. I don't really want to see isolation offense anymore.