Countdown to Craziness

[gurufrisbee]

I'm thinking if I am potential recruit I loved seeing that. Good stuff from so many guys - and you know at least half of them will still be there next year, too.

[OldPhiKap]

Blue Devil Nation ‏@BlueDevilNation 2m2 minutes ago
We got next

Bro on left needs a closed shirt or a bra. Just sayin'

[ipatent]

Anyone see a box score yet?

[dragoneye776]

GoDuke should have some official ones soon, but they always keep live stats

http://www.goduke.com/liveStats/v2/b...db_oem_id=4200

[devilnfla]

Did anyone else think the shorts, especially Grayson's looked a little shorter than normal? More like the 1980's style.

[ipatent]

Tatum must have scored early, I tuned in a few minutes late and his totals surprised me.

[indy1duke]

Could someone post their analysis of today's scrimmage. I am outside the country without the bandwidth to see the action.

[Furniture]

Tatum must have scored early, I tuned in a few minutes late and his totals surprised me.

I had not expected it and maybe I should have but I think he was the most impressive player of the night! It was just so easy for him and it just made me wonder how good we will be with Harry Giles!

[diablesseblu]

What a pleasure to watch...and Harry Giles wasn't even on the floor. It's going to be a fun year. (And, that Frank Jackson can dance!)

On another note, I was blown away by the technology in the player introductions. Have long thought that Duke BB is way ahead of the curve in using social media, training of players re: media exposure and in developing special platforms, e.g. Duke Blue Planet. Tonight's event shows they're continuing to push the envelope.

Have always thought that the support staff for the team is really strong top to bottom across all of their respective responsibilities. Am grateful for the ACC Extra coverage and being able to watch tonight festivities.

[rocketeli]

It was just an early scrimmage, but these were my thoughts
Tatum was player who stood out the most. great offensive gifts, athletic
Jefferson was Jefferson (which is a good thing)
Bolden looked lost or out of condition early on, but became more solid as the scrimmage went on and put in some workmanlike if unspectacular work around the basket
Allen had little assistance on offense and therefore Matt Jones could concentrate on him so he was somewhat frustrated. Made an unnecessary and risky play which ended up with him clipping Jefferson
Kennard shooting, shooting (in a good way)
Jeter like last year, lacking a certain something
Jackson active,talented but didn't do much to move the offense on his side
Jones the steady veteran who knows the system. If only he had any ability or talent for point guard
White not terrible--big question can he dunk? if so he can be this years caucasian bench rider that some DBR posters can obsess about playing time, possible transfer, why the coaching staff is so dumb etc.
Others--Robinson hit a nice three
Since it is just a scrimmage at the beginning of the season there wasn't as much polished offense or great communication etc. Team does have plenty of talented members

[fuse]

Enjoyed the scrimmage. Miss the days when Duke played 2 halves and mixed the teams up.

Price and content wise, I'm starting to move past Countdown unless Duke figures out a way to inject some variety and new life into the pregame programming, or offers more basketball- either longer scrimmages, add the dunk contest back and a 3 point contest, something.

Expecting a fun year and will be glad to put Grayson in front of other teams so he can take it out on players other than his team mates.

[Kedsy]

Could someone post their analysis of today's scrimmage. I am outside the country without the bandwidth to see the action.

I saw it on TV, rather than live, but here are my thoughts:

-- Matt's D was tremendous. If he can bottle up and frustrate Grayson like that, he can guard pretty much any perimeter player in college today.

-- Marques looked pretty good, but he didn't look like a one-and-done player to me.

-- Frank has the athleticism, the skills, and the handle to be an outstanding lead guard, but he doesn't quite have the court vision he needs to lead an offense at this level. I expect he'll get there, but he's not there yet.

-- Jayson can sure score the ball, but I'll be interested to see how well he and Grayson can co-exist on offense (if you didn't watch, Jayson and Grayson were on different teams tonight).

-- Chase looked sharp on offense, much better and more confident than last year, but he won't be able to stay on the floor if he fouls as much as he did tonight.

-- The best passer on the floor was Amile. He also hit an 18-foot jumper and looked comfortable doing it.

-- Jack White hit 2 for 2 on three-pointers, and looked confident taking them. He also guarded Jayson, and while he certainly didn't stop Jayson, he didn't look totally overmatched, either.

-- Grayson's crazy foul on Amile at the end was pretty scary. Assuming Amile's OK, I think we dodged a bullet on that one.

-- Javin can jump, but he needs a fair amount of work before he's ready to play a big role. Not surprisingly, his foul rate was pretty high, too.

-- Luke still doesn't square his body on his three-point shots, but he showed confidence and they went in.

-- Antonio hit a 15-footer without hesitation; Justin hit a three. Neither will play much once the season starts, but it was fun to see.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

FYI - available on ESPN replay

[duke4ever19]

Enjoyed the scrimmage. Miss the days when Duke played 2 halves and mixed the teams up.

Price and content wise, I'm starting to move past Countdown unless Duke figures out a way to inject some variety and new life into the pregame programming, or offers more basketball- either longer scrimmages, add the dunk contest back and a 3 point contest, something.

Expecting a fun year and will be glad to put Grayson in front of other teams so he can take it out on players other than his team mates.

Both Grayson and Matt were complaining about each other to the refs throughout the scrimmage. It was amusing to watch.

[weezie]

Both Grayson and Matt were complaining about each other to the refs throughout the scrimmage. It was amusing to watch.

We even practice politely relentless griping! No wonder we're so good.

[gep]

That was the most Grayson play ever. I mean, there's really no reason to dive for a ball on an outlet pass like that in any game, let alone a scrimmage. There is zero chance of actually getting a turnover, and you don't gain that much knocking it out of bounds as it wasn't like a fast break. Sometimes there's good reckless Grayson, but that was bad reckless Grayson.

With all due respect... when Matt hit a ball out-of-bounds while on defense... commentator(s?) said that it was a good play... play stops and lets your defense set up. And while it wasn't a real fast break, the ball was moving rather quickly down the court... Besides... that's what started the move against Wisconsin.

But saying that... I screamed "NOOOO" when that happened. GOOD THING nothing (apparently) came of it.

Tatum must have scored early, I tuned in a few minutes late and his totals surprised me.

Reminded me a lot of Brandon Ingram.

[hallcity]

You'll never guess who was unimpressed with Duke tonight.

[weezie]

^^^ haha, I'll bet the "spy" was really excited to be infiltrating enemy territory in order to burnish his message board status. Probably furiously thumb typing away with his mouth hanging slightly open from the suspense of it all.
Let's all go over to his lair and give him a few wildcat poops or whatever they reward each other with. Or not.

[SCMatt33]

With all due respect... when Matt hit a ball out-of-bounds while on defense... commentator(s?) said that it was a good play... play stops and lets your defense set up. And while it wasn't a real fast break, the ball was moving rather quickly down the court... Besides... that's what started the move against Wisconsin.

First, diving on the floor is not the same as launching yourself a few feet above it. Second, he's not chasing a ball shoulder to shoulder with a guy, he's diving towards a player receiving a pass. Now there was never actually a clear view of Amile on the play as he was out of frame until the last second live and the second angle was following only Grayson making it tough to tell how far Amile came back to the ball, but that was a very dangerous play imo, and much different than going to the ground or lunging to tip a ball then diving into the stands afterwards due to momentum, which are plays that happen all the time. Grayson has an ultra competitive nature, which is his both his biggest asset and his biggest weakness at times.

[Newton_14]

You'll never guess who was unimpressed with Duke tonight.

Meh... I have always been in the camp that you can't really learn anything about where a team is collectively in the Blue/White scrimmage. Tonight was not any different. None of the combinations of the blue team will see the floor together this season other than early season blowouts of over matched opponents for instance. You can learn a little bit in the two exhibition games, but mainly only if you are learning they are not going to be great. I will never forget texting Kedsy from the first exhibition game of 2014 in a panic because the reigning D2 Champs shred our defense like hot butter (they actually led at the half) for instance.

Tonight was really fun. There was a ton of buzz/electricity/atmosphere in Cameron, even during the skits/events prior to the players coming out. Player introductions were really cool and electic as well.

Tatum continues to impress with his scoring ability. The kid can play. I am anxious to see him on the same team with Grayson in a real game to see how they mesh and coexist. Two very dynamic scorers. Grayson earned every single point tonight because Matt Jones were in his shorts the entire night. I will cut Grayson some slack on the play with Amile. He was simply trying to hustle and make a play. He was immediately terrified when he saw Amile down in pain. Scared to death. As was I and everyone else in the building. Seeing Milly get up and shake it off was a sight to behold! So thankful!

Kennard looked really good, especially knocking down shots. I am convinced his shooting percentages will go way up this season from last. Frank looked strong and athletic, good defender, and ball handler. Our backcourt is just sick with talent. I don't care that none of them are pure points guards. They all can play, and each of them have their own unique skillset and identity. We will have to see in that first tough game but I still believe we will overcome the lack of a true PG just fine. Not worried at all at this point.

None of the bigs sans Amile had great nights, but none were terrible either and each had a few nice moments. I am also perfectly fine if we post Amile up when we want points in the paint because I have high confidence he can get it done. That aside, this is not a team you look at and wonder where the points will come from.

All in all a good night and inline with what I saw in the two practices. A very strong team. If Giles ends up being his normal self when he comes back it becomes a very very strong team.

And you can rest assured we will see a line up of Amile, Tatum, Jones, Allen, Kennard, for more than token minutes.. especially early on...