Women v Tenn - 7:00 EST - espn2

[bludev03]

Here are the facts:
* Duke had 11 OBoards, but got 0 second chance points
* Tenn had 13 OBoards, but got 21 second chance points
* Duke missed 5 free throws, but lost by 3


Another Stat:
Wal-Mart Bags = Hornbuckle 0-4 from the line
No Wal-Mart Bags = Hornbuckle 4-4 from the line
No Wal-Mart Bags + Hornbuckle 4-4 from the line = Tenn 3 point win

I'm sure Pat can sleep well tonight knowing she had to stoop to such low and drastic measures in order to get a win...

[dukelifer]

This is just horrendous.

There is such a disconnect b/w the team, the players themselves, and the coaching staff. Coach G has really disrupted this program. Insert Coach P...and it only got worse.
What's up with Wanisha laughing at times after a TO...the players act like they don't even get along...like they know this season is a waste...they don't like the new coaching staff...it's so so so so sad.
You have Aby balling in tears at the end...and then some of the others on the bench are laughing...I just don't understand.

No sense of urgency amongst the staff or the players during this game. It seems to me they have lost the intangible of appreciating each possession...instead we see girls who are frankly PO'd..could give a care...and just going through the motions. This was not the case last season.

I am very afraid for our program. I mean we are seriously in big trouble. With the incoming recruits next year...what we have this season is the best we are going to get! :

Duke played the defending national champs to a close 3 point loss and this is horrendous? How exactly? The season is a waste? This Duke team played very hard today against a very good opponent. Black was under the weather and this team is really missing a shooter. This was not a horrendous loss by any stretch. Duke played hard and the game was competitive until the final shot. As for Smith laughing- hasn't she always done this? Every player is different in how they show their emotions. This women's team has lost to the 1,2 and 4 teams in the country and beat the number 3 team. If Abby can get her stroke back and they hit their free throws they can compete with anyone.

[chrishoke]

Spoiled, whiney fans. I thought it was a great effort by our team. They are improving by leaps and bounds. I was there, and believe me, they played with passion and intensity. I am very proud of my team!

[dukepsy1963]

I felt there was a lack of cohesiveness and singlemindedness of purpose by the Duke women in this game. They didn't seem to be playing or working together.

I too was perplexed by the last "attempt" to score and their management of time, but then they looked ragged throughout the game to me. Some of the most awkward attempts at shooting I have seen in a long time, especially under the basket. It is rare that you can score directly under the basket by shooting "straight up."

Defense sparkled at times, but the offense left a heck of lot to be desired. I think they should have worked on trying to get more people open for three's and short jumpers. It was awful inside!

I wonder mostly about the apparent "lack of drive" that seemed to be in evidence tonight. Some very talented athletes running around with little apparent "team purpose."

I love and support our women, but god is it hard to watch them at times! Downright painful!!

Frankly, I was surprised that the game was within reach. Had Tenn played a just a tad better, I think it would have been a blowout. Maybe next time...eh what?

Go Duke!!

[calltheobvious]

Duke played the defending national champs to a close 3 point loss and this is horrendous? How exactly? The season is a waste? This Duke team played very hard today against a very good opponent. Black was under the weather and this team is really missing a shooter. This was not a horrendous loss by any stretch. Duke played hard and the game was competitive until the final shot. As for Smith laughing- hasn't she always done this? Every player is different in how they show their emotions. This women's team has lost to the 1,2 and 4 teams in the country and beat the number 3 team. If Abby can get her stroke back and they hit their free throws they can compete with anyone.

Your response seems a little bit unfair. I think it's clear that Dukelifer is not arguing that a 3-pt loss, per se, is horrendous. Don't you agree that there were some very, very troubling aspects to the last six minutes of the game that can't be completely explained by Black's illness?

Even if you're right that Smith has always been a care-free personality on the court, aren't there still some issues that you find problematic?

[dukelifer]

Your response seems a little bit unfair. I think it's clear that Dukelifer is not arguing that a 3-pt loss, per se, is horrendous. Don't you agree that there were some very, very troubling aspects to the last six minutes of the game that can't be completely explained by Black's illness?

Even if you're right that Smith has always been a care-free personality on the court, aren't there still some aspects of the game that you find problematic?

I am not sure I saw anything different in the last six minutes than in the rest of the game? Maybe I missed something- but Tenn had a max of a 5 point lead. Duke shot poorly all night but kept up the defensive pressure. The game was tied with under a minute. How do you see players out there who don't care when that happened. What am I missing?

[dukelifer]

I wonder mostly about the apparent "lack of drive" that seemed to be in evidence tonight. Some very talented athletes running around with little apparent "team purpose."

I love and support our women, but god is it hard to watch them at times! Downright painful!!

Frankly, I was surprised that the game was within reach. Had Tenn played a just a tad better, I think it would have been a blowout. Maybe next time...eh what?

Go Duke!!

The team purpose was to play team defense- which the did well tonight. Duke's offense, mostly shooting, has been off. Waner is in a huge shooting slump from beyond the arc. Duke played a gutty performance particularly with Black under the weather. Perhaps not having Black at 100% affected what they did on O- but their D was intense all night long.

[wbs2455]

Considering all those second chance points duke gave up and the open looks abby missed that she probably would've knocked down last year, I think its hard to complain too much about this loss. A few things go differently and we win the game. There was definitely a lot of things Duke did well and I thought the heart and the hustle was there for sure. If I was on the Lady Vols I wouldn't be all that eager to take on Duke again in the tournament.

This may be a "readjusting" year or whatever you want to call it with the new coach, new system, etc, but I think we have showed that we can and will play anyone tough.

[Duke4Life]

I guess I'm just a stickler for detail.

I can see things brewing (heck, they've been present all season long) that don't have to exist with a new coaching staff.

What's the big change this season folks??? Yes Lindsay is gone. We insert Thomas at the point and she can hit some outside shots...she can penetrate very well for her age...we still have a big in Black that replaced Bales...so why in the world is our offense the worst shooting team since 1990??
What's the underlying difference?
It's not that hard folks. Call it coincidence or what...but Coach P is in her first season (I give her the benefit of the argument) but how's come we shoot the worst we have in 18 years!? 18 darn years???

How's come there is a large, obvious disconnect b/w the players themselves and the staff?

I don't believe in Coach P's offensive schemes. I didn't like her offense at MSU. That is my opinion. Coach G could coach offense with the best of them and that along with scrappy D propelled Duke to one of the best 4 programs in the country. Duke and the ACC can NOT play offense like they do in the struggling Big 10. Her defense is fine...and defense when it all comes down to it is all related to hustle and desire.

Offense on the otherhand is very controlling and can be very limiting of one's ability. That to me is the difference. In combination, we have lost that Duke swagger...like, "Yeah...we know who we are...we are one of the best programs out there and we are coming after the two dynasties..."
Instead, we look like..."Yeah, we are struggling...don't really believe in our coach...and we don't have fun." That to me is scary for a big Duke supporter. I LOVE the women's program! I want nothing but the best for the team. I get the feeling that Aby and Nish and the gang feel betrayed...


Too many times in the women's arena of NCAA hoops have we seen so-called rising powers lose ground and fall back to the 2nd tier and middle of the pack...ie. Virginia, Stanford, ODU, Georgia, Vandy, Iowa, La Tech. You can't afford to take a few years off in women's hoops as it will bite you in the butt! Once you are at the top...you have to fight and claw and keep your rear up there! I don't want to become one of those other programs. I want to be right there with UCONN and TENN. We aren't. We are close, but I feel like we are losing our ground...

[calltheobvious]

I am not sure I saw anything different in the last six minutes than in the rest of the game? Maybe I missed something- but Tenn had a max of a 5 point lead. Duke shot poorly all night but kept up the defensive pressure. The game was tied with under a minute. How do you see players out there who don't care when that happened. What am I missing?

Again with the strawmen. I didn't write that I saw players out there who didn't "care when that happened" (though I don't know what the antecedent of "that" is). I'm arguing that, as well as Parker was defended most of the game, she was not defended with any intensity whatsoever on the most important UT possession. Duke's offense, despite Abby's late 3, played without clarity of purpose in the last two minutes. And despite a time-out immediately preceeding Parker's final free throws and ensuing in-bounds play, Duke displayed a complete lack of organization on its final possession, which explains the painfully-low-percentage attempt. I'm not trying to be snide, but those are the things you're missing.

[watzone]

picture gallery

[OZ]

Duke4Life wrote..
"What's the big change this season folks??? Yes Lindsay is gone. We insert Thomas at the point and she can hit some outside shots...she can penetrate very well for her age...we still have a big in Black that replaced Bales...so why in the world is our offense the worst shooting team since 1990??
What's the underlying difference?"



You are joking..right... comparing Black to Bales... and Thomas to Lindsey (who was only the national player of the year)?

[jjasper0729]

I won't even start to try to compare this years' members to any from last year or any previous years. However, outside of Chante, they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat last night. How many layups does Cheek have to miss before she gets to make one? Same with Gay. Abby is a tireless player, but outside of her one 3 in the waning seconds and some nifty passing earlier, she was almost nonexistent on the offensive end. My wife yelled at me for screaming at the TV last night over all the missed layups (even ones on the break).

Very disheartening because it's not just been last night, but most of the season that the offensive woes have been around.

[DUKIECB]

Good grief! You people act like the sky is falling!

I was at the game last night and yes there were some things we could have done better, but I think the positives still outweigh the negatives. You have to put things into perspective.

1) We have a new coach with a new system, and that takes time to learn.
2) We don't have a national player of the year point guard running the show, we have a freshman playing point.
3) The team has fought through injuries and is just now getting healthy.
4) Chante was under the weather last night.
5) The best shooter on the team, Abby, is in a horrible shooting slump right now.

And even with all of the above we gave the defending national champions and probably the best team in the country everything they wanted and more.

Give them a break.

[bird]

Good grief! You people act like the sky is falling!

I was at the game last night and yes there were some things we could have done better, but I think the positives still outweigh the negatives. You have to put things into perspective.

1) We have a new coach with a new system, and that takes time to learn.
2) We don't have a national player of the year point guard running the show, we have a freshman playing point.
3) The team has fought through injuries and is just now getting healthy.
4) Chante was under the weather last night.
5) The best shooter on the team, Abby, is in a horrible shooting slump right now.

And even with all of the above we gave the defending national champions and probably the best team in the country everything they wanted and more.

Give them a break.

I was there too. I agree with the above.

[watzone]

The team has played a tough schedule and is still gaining chemestry. They'll be the kind of team you don't want to draw in March. Despite all the complaints here - they were close to getting a win over the number two team in the country.

[Duvall]

And even with all of the above we gave the defending national champions and probably the best team in the country everything they wanted and more.

Er, no.

The problem is not that Duke had an off night offensively. The problem is that Duke has looked lost on offense the entire season. Even in games where the defense generated a comfortable margin of victory, this team looks lost in the halfcourt. You can't pin it all on a freshman point guard.

[Teton Jack]

My take on the game involves the lack of confidence I saw in many of our inside players. In previous years, we played with a swagger. Having Lindsay Harding and Allison Bales, the Human Eraser, sure helped. Yet, we had a number of incredible passes inside that led to fumbles, air balls and missed opportunities. Our inside players often looked ill-at-ease with the ball and glad to be rid of it.

It's not that we played the #2 team to a 3-point loss, it's that we did not close out the game as we could have. For us to be a national challenger we cannot take comfort from any loss, even to the "Orange" of TN.

Regards,

Teton Jack

[dukelifer]

Again with the strawmen. I didn't write that I saw players out there who didn't "care when that happened" (though I don't know what the antecedent of "that" is). I'm arguing that, as well as Parker was defended most of the game, she was not defended with any intensity whatsoever on the most important UT possession. Duke's offense, despite Abby's late 3, played without clarity of purpose in the last two minutes. And despite a time-out immediately preceeding Parker's final free throws and ensuing in-bounds play, Duke displayed a complete lack of organization on its final possession, which explains the painfully-low-percentage attempt. I'm not trying to be snide, but those are the things you're missing.

Parker is clearly the best player in the women's game. Duke defended her well most of the game. But yes- she is tough to play when she makes up her mind to make a move. The last few minutes of O for Tenn was not a thing of beauty either. They struggled as well. As for the last shot- yes there was a lack of organization- but that was a prayer to get that in, regardless. The game could have been won on Abby's three. She missed by a little- perhaps taken from too far out- but she has made those before. The biggest difference of this team to the last few is the lack of a true star player- there is no Harding, or Currie or Beard who can takeover. Waner is capable but she is in a mental slump. As for shooting woes, some of it is the offensive sets and much of it is just missing. Waner last year was shooting very well from long range - and Harding had a great mid range game. Those two players accounted for much of Duke's good shooting. If anything this team will get after you on D and rebound well. The O will be a challenge- much like the Duke Men's team last year. It will get better.

[BlueDevilBaby]

The team has played a tough schedule and is still gaining chemestry. They'll be the kind of team you don't want to draw in March. Despite all the complaints here - they were close to getting a win over the number two team in the country.

I agree with watzone and the others who have posted similar thoughts. I was concerned Duke would lose badly in this game because the offense has not been clicking or is not so smooth as in prior years, and after seeing the MD game in person. However, even when the offense was a bit rough, they were still able to hold TN and Parker down for most of the night. A few layups and foul shots fall for Duke, or a prayer of a three by TN at the shot clock buzzer does not go down, and maybe a double team on Parker at the end there (why did they stop doing that?), and it's a happy ending for us. I'm still proud of our girls!