MBB: Duke 80, Ga Tech 71 Post-Game Thread

[dukelion]

I noticed. I hit rewind and watched in slow motion. Grayson said "would you please shut the f*** up" then gave him a big push in the chest. I didn't like that.

Getting the sense that DT isn't the most popular player on the team. He seems left out at times on the sidelines and the other players don't react too enthusiastically when he makes a play. Case in point...his nice "and one" in the second half was a huge play but only Marshall (who was closest to him) celebrated with him...MJ and GA barely acknowledged it.

Also, the excellent Duke Blue Planet vids that follow victories rarely feature DT. This seems odd since in years past it usually featured most players a fair amount of the time.

[Newton_14]

I noticed. I hit rewind and watched in slow motion. Grayson said "would you please shut the f*** up" then gave him a big push in the chest. I didn't like that.

I feel like Coach K made a mental note of that from his bed. Love the fire, but that's not what I want to see from a team leader.

While I would rather not see it either, it happens on every team in sports. It just does. Emotions are high, teammates differ on something that happens, or whatever, words are exchanged, sometimes blows, and afterwards, they hug, make up and go on. I hate it got caught on camera, and hate it happened at all, but its not something to worry about or make a huge deal out of. I said the exact same thing to a coach one time who was getting on me for a bonehead play that I was already getting on myself on. I apologized after the game, we hugged/made up and then celebrated the victory.

Grayson took a beating out there tonight, got little reward for it, got called for iffy stuff that fouled him out of the game in the middle of Duke playing give away, and Derryck just had 2-3 bonehead plays himself. Both guys are emotional. Grayson should have been smarter with 4 fouls, Derryck should have been smarter, it's just two guys that don't need to be giving each other advice at the moment in time. Guarantee you they were fine in the locker room. Hurley and Laettner had those type moments more than once or twice. It worked out ok I think.

[Furniture]

We scored 80 so we win. DT had a great game. The criticism he is getting by several on this board reminds me of Quinn Cooks first years.
Many have said Brandon didn't have a good game I just think the ball was rolling for him. He looked really focused to me out there. Double double too...
It was great to see that one of the runs we had was with four freshmen...Jeter is improving.

[pamtar]

It seemed like the big second half run was made with a six man rotation, and that sixth man was Chase Jeter (not Luke Kennard). Luke with only fifteen minutes tonight.

Which I think is probably a good thing for now. It seems like Luke is one of those guys who needs shots to get going. Is it really worth him going 1-5 early so he can go 4-12 on the game? We've got good backcourt play, we lack depth up front. I think Kapel made a great call rotating the bigs rather than forcing a small lineup. 15 minutes for Luke is just enough to give Matt and Grayson some rest. If he's on, leave him in. If not, let the big guys get some burn.

[archand1]

While I would rather not see it either, it happens on every team in sports. It just does. Emotions are high, teammates differ on something that happens, or whatever, words are exchanged, sometimes blows, and afterwards, they hug, make up and go on. I hate it got caught on camera, and hate it happened at all, but its not something to worry about or make a huge deal out of. I said the exact same thing to a coach one time who was getting on me for a bonehead play that I was already getting on myself on. I apologized after the game, we hugged/made up and then celebrated the victory.

Grayson took a beating out there tonight, got little reward for it, got called for iffy stuff that fouled him out of the game in the middle of Duke playing give away, and Derryck just had 2-3 bonehead plays himself. Both guys are emotional. Grayson should have been smarter with 4 fouls, Derryck should have been smarter, it's just two guys that don't need to be giving each other advice at the moment in time. Guarantee you they were fine in the locker room. Hurley and Laettner had those type moments more than once or twice. It worked out ok I think.

Yeah, I agree, we've all been there in sports. I think it's not a huge deal, just one of this K will use as a teaching moment like he did with Bobby, and like he says he's touched on with Grayson. As was said by K about Christian, Grayson's fire can burn your house down, or keep it warm for you. I think he's kept it pretty warm so far.

[Newton_14]

We scored 80 so we win. DT had a great game. The criticism he is getting by several on this board reminds me of Quinn Cooks first years.
Many have said Brandon didn't have a good game I just think the ball was rolling for him. He looked really focused to me out there. Double double too...
It was great to see that one of the runs we had was with four freshmen...Jeter is improving.

No one is saying the kid is terrible or cant play. I gave very fair constructive criticism of his play tonight, without being destructively negative. The constructive criticism is very much warranted. Quinn is a great comparison actually. I think Quinn would be the first to tell you he made a lot of mistakes on the floor his first couple of years while he was developing into the player he became. Derryck will develop into a very good/great player but I find nothing unfair about saying he is not a great player right now.

The Bobby Hurley's and Tyus Jones's are very rare, which is why we should marvel at them when we have them, but even Hurley made a ton of bonehead type plays all of his freshman yr and the first part of his Sophomore year.

Derryck will be fine. He just has a lot of growing to do most notably in court awareness and controlling games as a PG.

[Duke76]

While I would rather not see it either, it happens on every team in sports. It just does. Emotions are high, teammates differ on something that happens, or whatever, words are exchanged, sometimes blows, and afterwards, they hug, make up and go on. I hate it got caught on camera, and hate it happened at all, but its not something to worry about or make a huge deal out of. I said the exact same thing to a coach one time who was getting on me for a bonehead play that I was already getting on myself on. I apologized after the game, we hugged/made up and then celebrated the victory.

Grayson took a beating out there tonight, got little reward for it, got called for iffy stuff that fouled him out of the game in the middle of Duke playing give away, and Derryck just had 2-3 bonehead plays himself. Both guys are emotional. Grayson should have been smarter with 4 fouls, Derryck should have been smarter, it's just two guys that don't need to be giving each other advice at the moment in time. Guarantee you they were fine in the locker room. Hurley and Laettner had those type moments more than once or twice. It worked out ok I think.

was at the game and didn't notice any of that,,,but what I did notice was the pushing and pulling on Grayson, was a very physical game and the refs just swallowing their whistles.

I thought the boys were very slick tonight, just very polished with their offensive sets. new plays and for the first time I saw JJ in Grayson, they were calling his number exclusively in the second half to start and there was none of this pump faking...he was just going straight up with it and just love those sets when you see the guys setting the screens...you gotta be in shape to run those plays and make those shots...I'd rather live and die by Grayson and Ingram...Ingram was a beast on the defensive boards as was Marshall...I think they used the off time to really hone in their offensive sets...was a really big Duke crowd tonight, was impressed with that as well..."Let's go Duke" was roaring at about the 7 minute mark after that big run by us..

maybe it was the team we played against tonight...but I think we advanced a little in team and player development...also thought Derryck had his best game with even the bad pass in the second half and the quick shot at the 1 minute mark at end of first half...anyway, also great theatre to see our boys live...the only downer is the game seemed like it lasted for all of 5 minutes.

[FerryFor50]

No one is saying the kid is terrible or cant play. I gave very fair constructive criticism of his play tonight, without being destructively negative. The constructive criticism is very much warranted. Quinn is a great comparison actually. I think Quinn would be the first to tell you he made a lot of mistakes on the floor his first couple of years while he was developing into the player he became. Derryck will develop into a very good/great player but I find nothing unfair about saying he is not a great player right now.

The Bobby Hurley's and Tyus Jones's are very rare, which is why we should marvel at them when we have them, but even Hurley made a ton of bonehead type plays all of his freshman yr and the first part of his Sophomore year.

Derryck will be fine. He just has a lot of growing to do most notably in court awareness and controlling games as a PG.

Coaches always would rather you make physical errors than mental ones. Physical ones happen - missed shots, errant passes.

It's the mental ones that are within your control. Knowing who you're passing to, when to shoot, when to pull it back out. It's magnified when you're a PG.

[archand1]

I saw in the presser, Capel said Duke didn't walk through a single man to man play. I give him a ton of credit for making the adjustment and trying a few wrinkles.

[Steven43]

DT showed the complete mental breakdown end of 1st and 2nd half.

What complete mental breakdown? Could you explain?

[Steven43]

Grayson said "would you please shut the f*** up" then gave him a big push in the chest. I didn't like that.

At least he said "please".

[gotoguy]

I was fortunate to view the game in person from just behind the Tech bench and must say the Ingram was a beast on the defensive glass and in the lane helping to block or alter many shots. His was a terrific performance. Kudos to Marshall also. Nice second half excepting the last two minutes

[HK Dukie]

I noticed. I hit rewind and watched in slow motion. Grayson said "would you please shut the f*** up" then gave him a big push in the chest. I didn't like that.

I have no problem with this at all, on the contrary I love the fire. Grayson put up 27 and his last three fouls were all BS. That wasn't the time for Thornton to get in Grayson's grill.

[OZ]

I have no problem with this at all, on the contrary I love the fire. Grayson put up 27 and his last three fouls were all BS. That wasn't the time for Thornton to get in Grayson's grill.

In all fairness to Thornton, we really don't know what he said.
Grayson, didn't score the last 7-8 minutes; had a few shots (he usually makes) bounce off; got roughed up a few times while driving to the basket (that were not called); made a bad pass; and was called for two fouls (one total bs). When he came to the bench, he was obviously not happy and seemed to be trying to explain things to Scheyer. At that point DT looked as if he were trying to console Grayson and placed a hand on his chest. Perhaps, he was just trying to make light of the situation and was ragging Grayson a bit. Whatever he said, Grayson was clearly in no mood for it.
But as has been said, this happens all the time in every sport. Thornton will learn when to jump in and when to keep a lid on it. However, in spite of his rushed shot at the end of the first half and his couple of second half turn overs, he had a good game; and I am not sure we would have won without him. Its remarkable how the shot and a couple of turn overs are so vividly recalled while his ball handling and some incredible shots go unmentioned. He's learning.

[BigWayne]

I think the call on DT was carrying, not over and back. It's a similar signal from the ref. DT had some great moments and really showed the quickness at times ... Also showed the complete mental breakdown end of 1st and 2nd half.

Yes it was carrying. Len and his buddy got it wrong. It was a severe case of carrying.

[BigWayne]

Again, I think the strategy this season with the depleted roster is to zone up the first half and stay within striking distance.

The combination of the zone and the way the game was called in the first half kept us out of foul trouble so we had the opportunity to play man in the 2nd half.

[NashvilleDevil]

Getting the sense that DT isn't the most popular player on the team. He seems left out at times on the sidelines and the other players don't react too enthusiastically when he makes a play. Case in point...his nice "and one" in the second half was a huge play but only Marshall (who was closest to him) celebrated with him...MJ and GA barely acknowledged it.

Also, the excellent Duke Blue Planet vids that follow victories rarely feature DT. This seems odd since in years past it usually featured most players a fair amount of the time.

I believe you're trying to see something that isn't there.

[fuse]

Really liked how Capel owned the game and made the team his.
The decision on man to man, and the play of Jeter and Vrankovic may give K some food for thought.

Everybody is pretty hard on Thornton.
Most of the time we appear to be a better team with him on the floor.
I still marvel a bit at how quick he is, with his play against Cat Barber in the State game.

It's a shame DT's time comes at Kennard's expense.
DT's style gives us a wrinkle that seems to keep the other team's D honest.

A well needed victory. Here's hoping this win is the start of a long streak!

[Saratoga2]

Not to repeat a lot of what has been said about Thornton except his end of half and end of game play were not helpful to Duke. Derryck needs to review the game replay to see where he had made mistakes that hurt the team. Grayson also seemed to be very frustrated with getting bumped and when he retaliated he got the fouls. Maybe there was a lot of talking going on and the refs were watching Grayson because of it. It was like both lost track of the goal of finishing the game. I was hoping that Luke would be brought in to stabilize the play, as he is not turnover prone and is a great FT shooter. When he was brought in the game appeared to settle down. Luke seems to disappear offensively and needs to be a meaningful part of the offense when in the game. Probably why he played so little.

I thought Brandon played excellent interior defense despite his frail body. He gets into rebounding position and also really contests shots when in the game. With a few more pounds on him he will make an outstanding pro.

I have been wondering about the big man situation. Vrank did finally get into a game. The guy is really big and is pretty athletic. Clearly he doesn't have the kind of game awareness yet to contribute but there is promise with him. The 3 second violation, the call for essentially holding inside and another call all should be items he can overcome with more experience. Interesting Sean got no PT, maybe its his knees. Chase did have some good moments and it appeared to help MP3 as his energy level was good in the second half.

Our zone in the first half was not good. MP3 is not the quick shot blocker needed to make the 2-3 zone work. GT had a field day scoring on us and if Grayson hadn't been on fire it could have been a huge hole to dig out of. All in all it was a good win on the road in an ACC game. Chase and Derryck have shown improvement and Amile can't be too far from ready. Need one more win before going into the meat grinder portion of the schedule.

[Atlanta Duke]

Really liked how Capel owned the game and made the team his.

Capel borrowed the keys to the car last night - at some point it looks like he will be getting title to the car