Scheyer was robbed...

[bjornolf]

I can't believe Scheyer went out of the game with over a minute remaining! If he'd stayed in 'til the end, he might have gotten his 10th rebound with all the misses in that last few possessions. As a guard, how many times in his career is he going to have a shot at a double-double with rebounds? Not to mention against a team full of behemoths. That's something he could have told his grandkids about. Oh, heck, by then I'm sure it will be a double-double with all the retellings. Still, a heroic effort on his part.


Speaking of which, what's up with Nelson having 7 assists and Paulus only 1. Does that concern anybody else slightly? Not that Nelson had 7, that's awesome, but that Paulus only had 1.

[jjasper0729]

Scheyer got to 9 and we were looking to get him that 10th, but then Coach took him out so that was that.

Nelson had half of his assists to King I believe. It was more a product of the ball rotation that was going on (skip passes over the zone as well). I don't look at it as a bad thing for Paulus to have only 1 assist if someone else had that many. It would be bad if Paulus has 1 and everyone else is just as low.

[JasonEvans]

The way we run our offense is not dependant on the PG to produce scoring opportunities. It is not at all surprising for Duke to have a big offensive game without a gaudy assist total from our PG. If anything, our big assist totals are more likely to come from the guys who drive and dish more -- Nelson, Scheyer, Henderson, and even Singler -- than from Paulus. Greg's assists will largely come in fastbreaks and on the times he does drive, which is not nearly as often as the other guys.

-Jason "whose line was more remarkable last night, Nelson's or Scheyers?" Evans

[riverside6]

Demarcus Nelson's line is more impressive. In his 109 games, Nelson has recorded 4 assists 5 times (most recently against Marquette), but never approached the seven he had last night. That being said, Nelson is no point guard. I can't speak to the details, but I'm almost certain that most of the assists came from swinging the ball around the perimeter, as opposed to driving and dishing.

In just 40 games, Jon Scheyer has recorded 7 rebounds 3 times already before recording 9 last night.

Throw in the fact that Nelson had 7 rebounds and 3 steals as well and I'll lean toward Nelson's performance every time.

[mgtr]

While each contributes in a different way, I would say we have to very, very pleased with our three Freshmen. Singler is already pretty much "there", but I see a lot of upside with both King and Smith.

[Cameron]

I agree with the above. Nelson had many of those assists while playing a two man game with King. Taylor setting a screen out top or on the wing for Markie and rolling out for sweet as silk 23-footers. In fact, there were a few more opportunities for Nelson to perhaps have had close to ten assists, had he dished to an open King instead of taking the ball off the screen himself. But Markie scored on the couple of occassions I remember, so I'm happy either way!

Greg doesn't really need to have big assist nights anymore. We just have so many different options that can create for us. It's a delightful feeling to know this.

Keep it rollin', Devils!

[Olympic Fan]

Assists are a little like RBI in baseball -- they are not really an individual accomplishment.

I was at the game last night, so I didn't get a chance to track it, but I was charting the Marquette game, when Greg was credited with three assists, which was a fairly low total for your point guards.

But I counted NINE other plays in that game where Greg would have had assists if his teammates had just finished the play. Fives, he fed the bigs insides for short shots that drew foul shots -- no assist, even though Singler or Thomas ended up with 2 FTs. Four other times, he fed teammates for easy shots that missed (and I'm not counting 3s).

As for DeMarcus last night, I think most of his assists came on plays were he penetrated, then kicked out for an open 3.

He was so successful driving to the basket against Marquette, that he tried to do the same Sunday against Eastern Kentucky. But they had seen the Marquette tape and it was obvious that keeping Nelson and Henderson from driving was a key to their defense. As a result, Nelson got into trouble several times when he forced things.

Last night, it looked like he made a great adjustment -- drive until he meets resistance, then kick out. Later, when Wisconsin spread out to stop the 3s, he was able to get to the basket (although he didn't do a good job converting his opportunities).

Off just my impression at the game, I think Paulus was more in a shooting mode last night. I suspect that was Coach K's plan -- Greg came out firing from the opening gun. Instead of driving (although he did drive a few occasions), he floated out to the perimeter, looking for the 3 (I'll take 4-of-7 3s).

But this thread does point out the extreme versatility of this team. Yeah, it's guard heavy, but the guards can play many roles -- Nelson and Scheyer are excellent rebounds and both can create.

And I agree that Nelson's final stat line is amazing -- 9 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. I can forgive the bad shooting night (3-11).

[bjornolf]

Scheyer got to 9 and we were looking to get him that 10th, but then Coach took him out so that was that.

K robbed him by taking him out! What was he thinking?! That's what I was trying to say. It was really a tongue in cheek comment. I wasn't really mad. I just thought it would have been cool for Scheyer to get the double-double against those trees. Talk about emasculating for the badger big men!

[Jumbo]

As for DeMarcus last night, I think most of his assists came on plays were he penetrated, then kicked out for an open 3.

He was so successful driving to the basket against Marquette, that he tried to do the same Sunday against Eastern Kentucky. But they had seen the Marquette tape and it was obvious that keeping Nelson and Henderson from driving was a key to their defense. As a result, Nelson got into trouble several times when he forced things.

Last night, it looked like he made a great adjustment -- drive until he meets resistance, then kick out. Later, when Wisconsin spread out to stop the 3s, he was able to get to the basket (although he didn't do a good job converting his opportunities).

To be honest, I'm not quite sure how Nelson got his assists. Because I remember very few kickouts. Once he or Henderson get into the lane, the ball is going up. This is an area where both still need to improve significantly, because they are missing wide-open players on the weak side wing or corner. I would guess that, as someone else said, most of Nelson's assists came from swinging the ball around the perimeter or the high pick and roll.