Originally Posted by
CDu
My thoughts:
1. I agree with those who say Michigan is not a great team (probably a 4/5 seed come tourney time). But I also agree with those who are very pleased with this win. We controlled the game, leading by 10+ for much of the game and extending that lead to 18 late before the foul game ensued. Sure, it wasn't an elite opponent, but we won that game handily. And it's our most impressive win of the season to date, with the team playing fairly well on both ends of the floor for perhaps the first time since Davidson. So for that we should be pleased.
2. I mentioned in the in-game thread that the Dawkins fans, the Plumlee fans, and the Jefferson fans should all be pleased with this game. All three had very nice moments, and their play should at least get them in the conversation for more playing time moving forward. I thought Jones acquitted himself nicely as well, playing tenacious defense on Stauskas when he was in the game.
2a. This was the best I've ever seen Plumlee play in a Duke uniform. He was energetic as always, but his energy didn't seem to be useless, spastic energy as it has in the past. He hustled down an offensive rebound (technically the ball went off him out of bounds and the refs blew the call, but the hustle is what mattered). He snatched an in-traffic, out-of-zone defensive rebound. He blocked a shot. He altered a couple of other missed shots. He caught and finished smoothly on his one recorded FGA. He snatched up another offensive rebound and drew a foul under the rim (next step: make a free throw). More than anything though, he didn't look lost on the floor. There was one sequence where he and Jefferson got confused on a switch, which led to a 3pt attempt. Not sure who is to blame there, but thankfully it didn't cost us. And aside from that miscue, things looked generally positive for Mr. Plumlee. Hopefully he builds on that performance, and hopefully that performance gives Coach K the confidence in him to continue giving him looks. A functional Plumlee changes the dynamic of the team in many ways.
2b. Dawkins was terrific. He filled, exactly, the role for which I think he's best suited: instant offense off the bench. He came in and canned two HUGE 3s, and his presence on the floor allowed Cook a wide open 3 as well (which Cook hit). He even tossed in a driving floater. And he added a deflection on a post pass that resulted in a turnover. There were still some miscues (got beaten a couple of times back-door), but he is a huge weapon in spurts. If he can take on the "Microwave" role, that would be fabulous.
2c. Jefferson did a terrific job on the boards, and he got back to his game offensively (standing on the baseline waiting for the dump-off pass to finish an angled layup). I could see a 2.5-headed monster moving forward with Jefferson playing 20-ish minutes and Plumlee/Hairston playing another 25-ish minutes to complement Parker at the PF/C spot. If he and Plumlee can play like they did last night on a consistent basis, I think our frontcourt concerns might be sufficiently mitigated.
3. Quinn Cook was the best player on the floor last night. He just had the game on a string. One sloppy turnover and another turnover trying to do too much, but otherwise he was flawless running the show. He does need to do better to keep his cool out there (that was a DUMB technical from a veteran PG). But he showed what he's capable of doing last night. More of that, please.
4. I loved the way Parker played last night. He recognized the double team and passed out of it. When he got isolated one-on-one in the post, he attacked decisively and (generally) effectively. I really like the ability to use him as a post scorer or a perimeter threat. He's just such a tremendous talent. Probably the most talented, NBA-ready freshman we've ever had at Duke. Not necessarily the best player we've had at Duke, but the most-ready freshman.
5. Nice to see Hood put up another solid performance against a BCS school. The 3s weren't falling, but he was otherwise pretty effective. We need him to be a presence on both ends, and last night he was (several nice defensive rebounds).
6. Interesting that Sulaimon got no PT. Also interesting that the team looked fine without him on the floor. Hopefully he's able to shake things off. I think our ceiling is higher if he's playing, but it appears that our floor is higher if he's not (at least at the moment - hopefully that changes).