Duke MBB vs Virginia Tech Pre-Game & In-Game Thread

[SilkyJ]

washington has been killing us, im glad he's a senior and wont be back next year.
does anyone think lance can develop his game to that of washington? or are their games totally different.

i dont know if their games are completely different, but washington is a way better shooter and slasher, and lance, even though he's kinda skinny, is post player who prefers the ball with his back to basket and never more then 10 feet from it. Washington can also outjump lance by a lot.

I'd also like to see Nolan get a lot of point time today. He played very well last game running the point.

agreed. He keeps playing the way he is, its gonna be hard to keep him from starting.

This and Maryland upcoming are great tests for our warriors, and in my opinion Tech tonight is going to play with great effort despite not having Allen.

dth.

I almost wish they had Allen b/c even with him I think we win, but it would provide more of a test and I think we would improve more as a result, and possibly be able to take more away from this game. Without him, if we win as expected by a solid margin, then its just us "beating up on a way inferior team" and there's no real good takeaways, other than a road win.

If Greenberg came up with that offense, what's the chance he'll deploy his guys to effectively defend it? Pretty good, right?

Don't be surprised if Tech gives Duke a surprisingly tough run.

Nope, I haven't seen them play this year, but Greenberg can, as the ball coach used to put it, "coach 'em up."

As to the first part, that logic makes sense, but I fee like the saying "a taste of their own medicine" applies here, meaning, don't they say that teams that are good at doing one thing usually aren't good when they face it? For example, playing zone against a zone team? I don't know, maybe I'm reaching here...

As to the 2nd/3rd part, I think 77devil's statement is just as much referring to this part as the 1st part. Tech of old (i.e. the past) might have given us a tough run, but it just aint gonna happen this year...

[CDu]

washington has been killing us, im glad he's a senior and wont be back next year.
does anyone think lance can develop his game to that of washington? or are their games totally different.

I don't really see great similarities between the two players. Washington's game is based on his ridiculous vertical, and he's more of a slasher. Thomas doesn't have Washington's vertical, and he's more of a post player. Not that Thomas isn't really athletic - it's just that Washington has freakish hops. When/if the light really goes off for Thomas, I see more of an Antonio Lang type of player than a Deron Washington type of player.

[SilkyJ]

I don't really see great similarities between the two players. Washington's game is based on his ridiculous vertical, and he's more of a slasher. Thomas doesn't have Washington's vertical, and he's more of a post player. Not that Thomas isn't really athletic - it's just that Washington has freakish hops. When/if the light really goes off for Thomas, I see more of an Antonio Lang type of player than a Deron Washington type of player.

copycat

I like the comparison with lang though. much closer to lang than washington.

[greybeard]

i dont know if their games are completely different, but washington is a way better shooter and slasher, and lance, even though he's kinda skinny, is post player who prefers the ball with his back to basket and never more then 10 feet from it. Washington can also outjump lance by a lot.



agreed. He keeps playing the way he is, its gonna be hard to keep him from starting.



I almost wish they had Allen b/c even with him I think we win, but it would provide more of a test and I think we would improve more as a result, and possibly be able to take more away from this game. Without him, if we win as expected by a solid margin, then its just us "beating up on a way inferior team" and there's no real good takeaways, other than a road win.



As to the first part, that logic makes sense, but I fee like the saying "a taste of their own medicine" applies here, meaning, don't they say that teams that are good at doing one thing usually aren't good when they face it? For example, playing zone against a zone team? I don't know, maybe I'm reaching here...

As to the 2nd/3rd part, I think 77devil's statement is just as much referring to this part as the 1st part. Tech of old (i.e. the past) might have given us a tough run, but it just aint gonna happen this year...

As to your first point, I don't agree with it, at least in this instance. Seth is not yet fully appreciated for the coach that he is and he will have his guys ready to deploy defensively in a manner that bespeaks that accumen and his familiarity with the general style of Duke's half-court attack.

As for points 2 and 3, like I said at the outset, I really have not seen VT play this season.

It remains the case that I will not be surprised if VT defends Duke well in the half court; from what you guys are saying, I also will not be surprised if they don't, or if it don't come close to mattering, if they do. (say what?)

What remains then of my original post is that I like Seth as a coach a whole lot, and don't think that he has yet been given his due from fans around the league.

[CDu]

copycat

I like the comparison with lang though. much closer to lang than washington.

Yeah, you beat me to the punch. Glad to see someone agreed with me though.

[77devil]

Cuse me Dvil77, but all I said was that Virginia Tech is likely to defend Duke in an effective manner that might surprise people. I gave reasons that have nothing to do with the past except that Greenberg is very familiar with key elements of Duke's offense this year since he employed them last year.

I also think that it is wrong to underestimate Greenberg's ability to coach em up; he is, in my opinion, the best newcomer the ACC has seen in years.

Should you disagree with any of this why would I not be surprised. It would be nice while you accuse me of "living in the past" that you get what I said a little bit accurately. But, at the risk of being accused again of "living in the past," why should you start now.

Whatever. I still don't see any relevance in you orignial post to the outcome of the contest at hand.

[phaedrus]

Yeah, you beat me to the punch. Glad to see someone agreed with me though.

actually, i think LT is more of a mid-range player who is trying to play like a post player. it's part of the reason he's been slow to develop. i would like to see him get the ball more 10-15 feet from the hoop, where he can pop a short jumper or blow by his man.

[greybeard]

Whatever. I still don't see any relevance in you orignial post to the outcome of the contest at hand.

Good point. None was intended nor implied. If one is only interested in outcomes, why watch, I always say. Given your nuanced appreciation of the game, I'd have to guess that so would you, 77duke, so would you.

[Surfsideron]

I'm new to this forum but not new to Duke basketball or the ACC.

I love this Duke team but their inability to rebound is bound to spell a loss in almost any game. Coach K has apparently accepted that his team cannot compete on the boards and thus he has implemented an aggressive perimeter defense to hopefully overcome the rebounding disparity. This worked well in both the FSU and Clemson games, however, if the Devils should suffer a bad shooting night or they run into guards who can handle the pressure or God forbid, both, then our boys are going to have a rough go. I don't see VT or even Maryland being able to handle the pressure, so hopefully we'll get by this week.

Just for another talking point: I think Jon Scheyer is Duke's MVP thus far this season.

[CDu]

I'm new to this forum but not new to Duke basketball or the ACC.

I love this Duke team but their inability to rebound is bound to spell a loss in almost any game. Coach K has apparently accepted that his team cannot compete on the boards and thus he has implemented an aggressive perimeter defense to hopefully overcome the rebounding disparity. This worked well in both the FSU and Clemson games, however, if the Devils should suffer a bad shooting night or they run into guards who can handle the pressure or God forbid, both, then our boys are going to have a rough go. I don't see VT or even Maryland being able to handle the pressure, so hopefully we'll get by this week.

Just for another talking point: I think Jon Scheyer is Duke's MVP thus far this season.

Welcome aboard. Good points about the boards and pressure perimeter defense. I agree - hopefully we'll force enough turnovers against Va Tech and Maryland that rebounding won't be a problem.

As for team MVP, Nelson gets my vote. That said, one of the strengths of this team is that so many different players can beat you this year. Scheyer is certainly one of those players.

[Devils8780]

Haven't seen Tech play this year either. There might be a handful of players in the country more athletic than Washington.

I see Duke winning a close game.

[CDu]

Haven't seen Tech play this year either. There might be a handful of players in the country more athletic than Washington.

I see Duke winning a close game.

If this is a close game, it will be either because Va Tech is playing out of their minds or because we're playing poorly (or both). There's no reason we shouldn't get out in front comfortably and run away and hide.

Va Tech simply lacks the backcourt play or post play to beat us. They have two good players (Vasaillo and Washington), but we have players athletic enough to take them out of the game. Then at every other spot I'd give us the edge (including in terms of depth).

I'm not saying that a close game won't happen - anything can happen in the ACC. I'm just saying that it shouldn't happen.

[RockyMtDevil]

This game will come down to how mentally tough our young team can be in a fairly hostile environment. FSU was loud, but Cassell is intimate. I'm not too worried, unless we are brutally cold from the field and someone other than Washington just goes Bootsy on us, I can see us winning by double digits.

I hope we press and apply our pace to the game, forcing Tech's young guards to run with us, if so, we'll run away with it...

RockyMtDevil

[speedevil]

actually, i think LT is more of a mid-range player who is trying to play like a post player. it's part of the reason he's been slow to develop. i would like to see him get the ball more 10-15 feet from the hoop, where he can pop a short jumper or blow by his man.

you must be talking about mcclure because eventhough i would love to see lance "blow by his man" but i dont think he has the handles to do that yet. lance might be the one player that coach k will bench if he took a short jumper. i think he should focus on defensive and offensive rebounding, and try to get some putbacks on the offensive end. anyways if lance ever becomes the player washington is, i would be very proud of him.

[Ben63]

My math teacher/ bowling coach went to VT. Had a heated discussion today in class. Duke never plays well in Blacksburg but I think we are better than we have been in the past.

Go Duke.

[jzp5079]

we should just get a live chat room going for this board. its good having 10 commentators at a time to give me in game details when I'm in the library trying to get my life together.

[jzp5079]

from the look of the box score... looks like the pace is a bit slow so far?

[Classof06]

The way they're calling fouls, our depth's gonna be tested tonight...

Lance is playing great, by the way and how about Nolan with the third time being the charn?

[SilkyJ]

from the look of the box score... looks like the pace is a bit slow so far?

There is a chat, silly. go to the fron page and and look the thread titled "DBR Chat 7pm EST" there is a link there

I beleive th url is www.snrub.com

[SilkyJ]

It remains the case that I will not be surprised if VT defends Duke well in the half court; from what you guys are saying, I also will not be surprised if they don't, or if it don't come close to mattering, if they do. (say what?)

What remains then of my original post is that I like Seth as a coach a whole lot, and don't think that he has yet been given his due from fans around the league.

oddly enough, I actually understoodified what you meant there.

actually, i think LT is more of a mid-range player who is trying to play like a post player. it's part of the reason he's been slow to develop. i would like to see him get the ball more 10-15 feet from the hoop, where he can pop a short jumper or blow by his man.

i guess, but i mean, he can't dribble or shoot so...