MBB: Duke vs. Georgia State Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Please use this thread for pre-game and in-game discussions regarding Duke's season opener versus Georgia State in Cameron.

[dcar1985]

@bretstrelow: As @DavidCMorrison noted, Duke's game notes are out, and probable starters listed are Cook, Curry, Sulaimon, Kelly, Mason Plumlee. No Murphy


Interesting tweet I just ran across...not so thrilled about the 3 guard lineup but you have to be encouraged that Seth will be out there with all this talk of his injury the past few days.

I would've rather we be going with Amile at the 3 and kept the size or stuck with Murphy so he can build some early confidence which seems to be missing at this point

[loran16]

@bretstrelow: As @DavidCMorrison noted, Duke's game notes are out, and probable starters listed are Cook, Curry, Sulaimon, Kelly, Mason Plumlee. No Murphy


Interesting tweet I just ran across...not so thrilled about the 3 guard lineup but you have to be encouraged that Seth will be out there with all this talk of his injury the past few days.

I would've rather we be going with Amile at the 3 and kept the size or stuck with Murphy so he can build some early confidence which seems to be missing at this point

Just because Murphy doesn't start doesn't mean he won't play a ton of time.

Pomeroy has Duke as 94% favorites over GSU - Georgia State was actually pretty solid last year and a contender in the CAA, but graduated 4 senior starters and a major reserve. Even so, last year GSU was bad at Offense, but amazing on Defense...and without 5 seniors, one would expect the D to only get worse.

[COYS]

With Seth out for a while, or at least severely limited, I think backcourt play will be a big focus.

Rasheed has been everything Duke fans could have hoped for, thus far. He's been relentless on defense and mature beyond his years on offense with a knack for getting to the rim. His length and athleticism are evident. Can he keep it up? He'll need to . . . and he'll need to be a consistent threat on offense to help make up for Seth's absence. He's shown glimpses of some impressive court vision. Can he keep that up? It would be awesome if he can become a consistent playmaker, too, to help take some off the pressure off of Quinn. Which brings me to my next point.

This really becomes Quinn's team, now on the offensive end. Tyler is solid, but he's not much of a creator. Rasheed has shown glimpses of being a good combo-guard, but he's definitely not a full-time point guard at this point, nor do I think we'll ever want him to be as long as he's on a Duke team with Quinn and (hopefully) a new recruit for 2014/15. In the meantime, Quinn is going to get even more burn than we previously thought. He showed great ability to be a distributor last year and has done a good job quarterbacking the offense this year, even if he's been more of an indirect creator of shots. However, the competition is going to get tough, quickly. I hope he starts to show that he's settled in against GSU. He especially needs to make sure he gets Mason the ball, early and often.

Tyler is also going to play a lot more. We all know his strengths and weaknesses. His value to the team skyrockets if he can hit open threes. He's hit some big ones in his time at Duke, but he has yet to become a consistent threat. By the end of the season last year, no defender even bothered getting within 10 feet of him when he was on the perimeter. Wide open threes will be available for him all day long. Can he hit them? If he starts to, it opens up the floor and will make life a lot easier for everyone else on the team!

Finally, I think we'll probably want to see Alex and Amile score more for the team than we anticipated going in. Amile looked great playing alongside Mason and Ryan on offense. Amile would post up on the left block and Ryan would float out to the perimeter or the high post to give Amile space. Alex has looked dangerous making quick cuts to the rim, but has struggled to finish the play with either a well timed pass or a layin. He's clearly capable, but has yet to put it all together. If the team is struggling from three point range, we will need Amile and/or Alex to be a threat to score inside the arc. They give us versatility on defense, for sure, but we'll probably want a little bit more out of them on offense, now.

[dcar1985]

Just because Murphy doesn't start doesn't mean he won't play a ton of time.

Pomeroy has Duke as 94% favorites over GSU - Georgia State was actually pretty solid last year and a contender in the CAA, but graduated 4 senior starters and a major reserve. Even so, last year GSU was bad at Offense, but amazing on Defense...and without 5 seniors, one would expect the D to only get worse.

Of course he will, just saying that for a first year guy who a lot seems to be expected of, this might hurt his already somewhat shaky confidence...he's been penciled in by just about everyone as the starting 3 since last season ended. Starting Curry and Sheed especially Curry being not at 100% could be seen as a bad sign as far as where Murph is at right now...my hope is that as the season gets going Alex will start to get more comfortable and things will slow down for him and he'll be a solid contributor

[loran16]

Of course he will, just saying that for a first year guy who a lot seems to be expected of, this might hurt his already somewhat shaky confidence...he's been penciled in by just about everyone as the starting 3 since last season ended. Starting Curry and Sheed especially Curry being not at 100% could be seen as a bad sign as far as where Murph is at right now...my hope is that as the season gets going Alex will start to get more comfortable and things will slow down for him and he'll be a solid contributor

"already shaky confidence" - based on what? If a guy can't handle coming off the bench at times, he's got to man up. This is a team game...you don't start people to avoid bad feelings.

[dcar1985]

"already shaky confidence" - based on what? If a guy can't handle coming off the bench at times, he's got to man up. This is a team game...you don't start people to avoid bad feelings.

He just doesn't seem comfortable with his game to me, I think he's a better shooter than what he's shown, free throws are gimmies, stroke doesn't look bad seems more of a confidence in my game thing...my opinion

I couldn't care less about his feelings, but getting him confidence against lesser comp could help

[loran16]

He just doesn't seem comfortable with his game to me, I think he's a better shooter than what he's shown, free throws are gimmies, stroke doesn't look bad seems more of a confidence in my game thing...my opinion

I couldn't care less about his feelings, but getting him confidence against lesser comp could help

No offense dude, but using your opinion as to how he plays to judge his confidence is well....silly at best. He'll play where he'll play.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

No offense dude, but using your opinion as to how he plays to judge his confidence is well....silly at best. He'll play where he'll play.

Well, it's likely that he's eager to get on the floor after a season on the bench, but I like to think that it will take more than two pre-season warm ups to break his confidence. I'm eager to see what role he has on the team this year. Feels like delayed gratification after hearing about him for so long!

Go Duke!

[dcar1985]

No offense dude, but using your opinion as to how he plays to judge his confidence is well....silly at best. He'll play where he'll play.

None taken...98% of the stuff posted here is opinion though, just sharing mine...

[Billy Dat]

I think he's a better shooter than what he's shown

I thought we were talking about Alex Murphy, not Ryan Kelly (rim shot!)

I just read the Blue Ribbon preview of Georgia State. It looks like they are a guard dominant, 3 point bombing squad that plays a tough to prepare for zone. Maybe K is going 3 guards, if that's confirmed, because of the match-up. It sounds like their point guard, Devonta White, is rock solid, a 5'10" speed demon. The coach's son, RJ Hunter, is a 6'5" beast who had offers from VTech and Wake but wanted to play for his dad. They have another solid guard, Cameron Solomon. The center sounds kind of like a stiff.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I thought we were talking about Alex Murphy, not Ryan Kelly (rim shot!)

I just read the Blue Ribbon preview of Georgia State. It looks like they are a guard dominant, 3 point bombing squad that plays a tough to prepare for zone. Maybe K is going 3 guards, if that's confirmed, because of the match-up. It sounds like their point guard, Devonta White, is rock solid, a 5'10" speed demon. The coach's son, RJ Hunter, is a 6'5" beast who had offers from VTech and Wake but wanted to play for his dad. They have another solid guard, Cameron Solomon. The center sounds kind of like a stiff.

I was under the impression that Coach K starts his 5 best players, or at least the 5 that make the team the best. Also, Coach K rarely starts a line-up depending on the opposition. Sounds like Quinn, Curry, Sulaimon, and the 2 trees are gonna be the starting line-up for the next few games until a potential 3 displaces them.

I really like the idea of having Sulaimon out there. He may not be the best offensive weapon, but defensively he is automatically the best on the ball defender we have.

[Newton_14]

None taken...98% of the stuff posted here is opinion though, just sharing mine...

I will defend you here. Alex was very tentative on offense in the WSS game. It was obvious. He needs to just play and stay aggressive hunting his shot. Also agree with you that he is not Kyle. Which is fine. The good news is that so far Murph's defense on the perimeter and in the paint have been strong, and he is aggressive on the boards. He also has a good handle. Once he finds a comfort level on offense he will be fine.

Maybe coming off the bench for a game or two will help him settle down. I definitely want him starting at the 3 longterm, and hope the 3 guard lineup is used only in short stretches. We need Alex and Amile on the floor more often than not. Their size and length make a big difference on both ends of the floor.

[JBDuke]

Snrub chat seems to be down. Not sure if we'll have an online chat option for the game tonight.

The game is on ESPNU at 7 pm tonight, and you can watch online via this link, I believe: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/source/ean/

Goduke.com also offers a streaming audio feed, for a fee.

Watch Duke play at 7 pm, and then switch over to watch the Twerps get pasted by Kentucky on ESPN. That game starts at 8:30.

[dukedoc]

Snrub chat seems to be down. Not sure if we'll have an online chat option for the game tonight.

The game is on ESPNU at 7 pm tonight, and you can watch online via this link, I believe: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/source/ean/

Goduke.com also offers a streaming audio feed, for a fee.

Watch Duke play at 7 pm, and then switch over to watch the Twerps get pasted by Kentucky on ESPN. That game starts at 8:30.

Excited for the season to begin... and so is fake Amile LINK

Thanks to Airowe and his crew for a good laugh in the morning

[lotusland]

Snrub chat seems to be down. Not sure if we'll have an online chat option for the game tonight.

The game is on ESPNU at 7 pm tonight, and you can watch online via this link, I believe: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/source/ean/

Goduke.com also offers a streaming audio feed, for a fee.

Watch Duke play at 7 pm, and then switch over to watch the Twerps get pasted by Kentucky on ESPN. That game starts at 8:30.

Maryland passes my "are you an ACC school other than UNC" test so I pull for them against all non-conference opponents especially UK

[gumbomoop]

...watch the Twerps get pasted by Kentucky...

Definitely possible, but I don't think it will happen this way. I assume Dez Wells has continued to practice with the Terps, so he should be ready to play, plenty. I think it should be a good game, not a blowout.

Btw, I see where Calipari says Jon Hood needs more confidence in himself. UK does need him as 8th man. They've got 7 guys who can play, and several at multi-positions, but still need Hood to play some.

[rocketeli]

Maryland passes my "are you an ACC school other than UNC" test so I pull for them against all non-conference opponents especially UK

No wake-up calls for UK please. For this one game I want them to beat Maryland by 40 points, so they'll be nice and over confident for Duke.

[Mr_English]

Hello Duke,

This is just an FYI and I come in peace. I just wanted to let you know about our website and forum to give any basketball diehard a bit more of a rounded perspective about our program. I think you will enjoy GSUs alumni/fan page as we're all very excited to be playing a program like yours. Feel free to browse or comment.

GSU v Duke
http://www.panthertalk.com/georgia-s...n-gsu-vs-duke/

GSU v Duke Game Thread
http://www.panthertalk.com/community...e-1-duke.6415/

Good luck and Go Georgia State!

[NSDukeFan]

Definitely possible, but I don't think it will happen this way. I assume Dez Wells has continued to practice with the Terps, so he should be ready to play, plenty. I think it should be a good game, not a blowout.

Btw, I see where Calipari says Jon Hood needs more confidence in himself. UK does need him as 8th man. They've got 7 guys who can play, and several at multi-positions, but still need Hood to play some.

I wonder if Hood would have more confidence if Calipari had renewed his recruited teammates scholarships when he first arrived and played Jon for more than 5 mpg?