Man of the Match vs. NC State

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match vs. NC State?

[grc5]

Jordan Davidson!

[NovaScotian]

Jordan Davidson!

HUMAN
VICTORY
CIGAR
HUMANVICTORYCIGAR

[speedevil]

Jordan Davidson!

how the hell was jordan davidson the man of the match?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I voted for that lousy point guard of ours - Greg Paulus! He had a great game.

[ehdg]

I voted for that lousy point guard of ours - Greg Paulus! He had a great game.

I say after that sub par performance last night by Greg we should just cut him and bring in another walk on.

[Acymetric]

I say after that sub par performance last night by Greg we should just cut him and bring in another walk on.

Nah, just give the pt to Jordan! Give him 20 minutes against Carolina, I bet he drops 40.

[jjasper0729]

I think also on defense (aside from "Orange," I think the "man" defense entirely befuddling in its zone principles, which seems to have "littles" coming from nowhere to steal entry passes when no one could possibly see or anticipate their being there) that is entirely new, and doing it so well, is unprecedented.

it's almost as if we're playing an amoeba zone with all the switching in the man defense. the only issue, and i noticed this a LOT last night, is that the guards are always switching, regardless, rather than understanding who they are guarding. I got the feeling that gonzalez and/or johnson werent going to take much less make many perimeter shots, yet when costner or hickson would set the screens, greg or nolan or jon would switch and that would create a terrible mismatch (which was exploited early) rather than know the opponent, go under the screen and not give them the pick and roll opportunity.

[BlueDevilJay]

it's almost as if we're playing an amoeba zone with all the switching in the man defense. the only issue, and i noticed this a LOT last night, is that the guards are always switching, regardless, rather than understanding who they are guarding. I got the feeling that gonzalez and/or johnson werent going to take much less make many perimeter shots, yet when costner or hickson would set the screens, greg or nolan or jon would switch and that would create a terrible mismatch (which was exploited early) rather than know the opponent, go under the screen and not give them the pick and roll opportunity.

Good points you make there, but wasn't the term "amoeba" in regards to defense retired after we defeated UNLV in the national semifinals? I got SO sick of hearing that freaking term back then.

Anyways, on topic, I voted for Greg, with Kyle having my Honorable Mention for the game. His ability to play the low post and the angles he creates for entry passes still freakin amazes me, as he is ALWAYS ready to score upon receiving the pass. If he could just teach Thomas to DUNK THE FREAKIN BALL!!! we would have a decent post game.

[SilkyJ]

Am I the only one who thinks that that guard who scored off of Scheyer's pass at the end could probably be a starting point at half the programs in the country?

agree with the overall post, but didn't understand this part. The guard who "scored off of scheyer's pass" was Gerald, if you're talking about that no look over the D pass when G was on a run-out. And I can't imagine you are saying Gerald could start at PG for a bunch of teams. I guess you're saying that Scheyer's pass was wicked good and that he could start at PG at a lot of places? If so, I agree with your basic premise which is that his passing is underrated.

On a sidenote, Jon played 17min last night...I believe his lowest total of the season.

how the hell was jordan davidson the man of the match?

cause he took it to the rack and got an And-1!!!! That never happens with our starting short, white, PG, much less the walk-on!!

G He drew 2 five-second calls on his man in the first half and his defense was very good all night.

Great point, and i think it speaks to how much greg has improved his Defense. I assume the foot had something to do with it last year, but greg is definitely quicker on D. we switch a lot on screens which helps him, but in general I think we can all agree that he is not getting blown by nearly as often.

anyone not voting for Jordan Davidson is some kind of communist

haha. potd. I would change my vote if I could!

And what is this voting for team option nonsense? That's weak sauce.

I do agree with this part of your post, but Jumbo's argument below is very, very solid. and he didn't even reference the +30, which is obviously HUGE. I guess I wouldn't have even thought to vote for Kyle, b/c of how he got his pts and made his contribution "quietly," at least for me.

Kinda like scheyer in a lot of games. you look at the box score, and say, oh wow, scheyer had a really good game. I don't know about you guys, but I find myself doing that a lot with scheyer and kyle...

I guess the thing about greg was the timing and the "spurt" factor. he just exploded in a couple minute stretch, when we were down, and it changed the entire course of the game.

Didn't realize that voting for a guy who scored 19 points (including 12 in the second half) and who -- in a foul-plagued game -- managed to give us 19 minutes in the second half (with Thomas, McClure and Scheyer all on the bench in foul trouble) was purely a case of my "damn head" being in my "plus/minus calculator." Quick quiz -- whose three-pointer started Duke's second-half run? Whose ability to pull bigs out of the paint opened up the driving lanes for Henderson and Nelson? Whose threat as a high screener helped set Paulus up for his threes.

Greg played a fabulous game, but I'm standing by my Singler pick.

[Magnolia888]

I have to vote for Greg, with an honorable mention to Kyle -- and Jordan Davidson, whose smile at the end was awesome!

Greg gets my vote because of his toughness and tenaciousness -- plus, he seemed to be pissing off the State guys soo much and that was interfering with their concentration and effort. But he kept his cool (for the most part) and used his anger to fuel his game in a positive way.

[Jumbo]

agree with the overall post, but didn't understand this part. The guard who "scored off of scheyer's pass" was Gerald, if you're talking about that no look over the D pass when G was on a run-out. And I can't imagine you are saying Gerald could start at PG for a bunch of teams. I guess you're saying that Scheyer's pass was wicked good and that he could start at PG at a lot of places? If so, I agree with your basic premise which is that his passing is underrated.

He was talking about Jordan Davidson at the end, not Gerald.

[Jumbo]

On a sidenote, Jon played 17min last night...I believe his lowest total of the season.

Three fouls in the first half. Fourth foul midway through the second half.

[bird]

Being at the game, I was tremendously impressed by Singler's calm efficiency - he's a freshman? Man.

Being at the game, however, I was caught up in the fiery passion Paulus brought and focused in the second half.

K gave Paulus a ceremonial departure at the end, maybe that's something of a symbolic MOM in and of itself, and if so, I agree with K. I give the nod to Paulus.

As for Jordan Davidson, I have thought more than once that he could play at at a CAA, or even A-10 level. I also wonder if he DID play at that level whether he would be good enough to do so - what benefit he gets going up against Duke players and receiving Duke coaching. Anyway, his layup was a fine way to cap the game. And is NOT a human victory cigar.

[CDu]

As for Jordan Davidson, I have thought more than once that he could play at at a CAA, or even A-10 level. I also wonder if he DID play at that level whether he would be good enough to do so - what benefit he gets going up against Duke players and receiving Duke coaching. Anyway, his layup was a fine way to cap the game. And is NOT a human victory cigar.

I don't think Davidson would have a prayer of starting or playing regularly at the CAA level, much less the A-10. The point guard play at those levels isn't too big a dropoff from ACC level. Can you imagine him competing with Eric Maynor or Folarin Cambpell?

Generally, the difference between the major conferences and the "mid-majors" or even "low-majors" (whatever that means) is in big men. The big men in the major conference tend to be bigger and more athletic. This is because the supply of really good guards is much greater than the supply of really good big men.

Davidson is a good team guy, scrappy and hard working. But he's simply not on par with D-1 point guard play.

[greybeard]

Davidson is a good team guy, scrappy and hard working.

Man, you always demand so much from your point guards CDu, don't you. Difficult to please, but that ain't bad.

I really haven't seen enough of the kid to dispute you on this, but you have to admit that that was one heck of a finish. A terrific catch, to begin with, the pass was to his left butt, if I remember right. Then, he switches it to his left, protects the ball, and sweeps it in lefty off a tight angle that would have made blocking it extremely probelmatic if anyone really, really tried (actually, I think a for real shot blocker might well have gone after it and missed badly.)

I seem to remember Davidson hitting a three or two in an earlier game, and running the team for a few moments. In those phases of the game, he had the look of a "player", not just a player, if you know what I mean.

BTW, back to the topic at hand, on reconsideration, I vote for the guy from State who made that insane block.

[CDu]

Man, you always demand so much from your point guards CDu, don't you. Difficult to please, but that ain't bad.

I really haven't seen enough of the kid to dispute you on this, but you have to admit that that was one heck of a finish. A terrific catch, to begin with, the pass was to his left butt, if I remember right. Then, he switches it to his left, protects the ball, and sweeps it in lefty off a tight angle that would have made blocking it extremely probelmatic if anyone really, really tried (actually, I think a for real shot blocker might well have gone after it and missed badly.)

I seem to remember Davidson hitting a three or two in an earlier game, and running the team for a few moments. In those phases of the game, he had the look of a "player", not just a player, if you know what I mean.

Nah - I just recognize that there are some really gifted point guards out there in division-1 basketball, and I don't think Davidson is close to their level.

It was a very nice catch and finish. But one nice play doesn't make a player worthy of being a division-1 point guard.

[greybeard]

Nah - I just recognize that there are some really gifted point guards out there in division-1 basketball, and I don't think Davidson is close to their level.

It was a very nice catch and finish. But one nice play doesn't make a player worthy of being a division-1 point guard.

I bet he might have helped NCSt; never saw a point get quite so defeated.

[CDu]

I bet he might have helped NCSt; never saw a point get quite so defeated.

Doubt it. He'd have been even more overwhelmed. Just because Gonzalez and Johnson struggled doesn't mean they aren't much better than Davidson.

I agree though - we did thoroughly overwhelm Johnson, and wore down Gonzalez to the point that he was trying anything to get a call.

[Cali-Duke]

although i voted for greg, lance had a great game. tons of energy, great press defense, and more confidence in his offensive game. add 5 rebounds against jj hickson...not too bad (considering hes had games with 0 rebounds)