Duke MBB vs. MD postgame thread

[yancem]

nonslaught?

I noticed that too!

[Carlos]

And, If I haven't mentioned it lately, MGs are really great cars!

If you're a mechanic.
You must like warm beer, too.

[vango]

This has little to do with last nights game - but photo #9 in the Baltimore Sun's re-cap of the DU v. MD series since 01 is an awesome photo:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/c...8.photogallery

Pretty much summed up this years games thus far (may be 1 - or maybe 2? - more in the future though...)

[Billy Dat]

A couple of things that I don't think I've seen people comment on that I am interested in hearing opinions about:

-It cracked me up that on the day Kelvin Sampson gets in trouble for potentially breaking NCAA rules, ESPN throws up a graphic describing Osby's 15 classic cars! As Bill Simmons might say, "I think Bob Ley needs to do an 'Outside the Lines' on this story." In all seriousness, I am sure Osby got them legitimately, and they even inferred that most are reclamation projects, but it was still very funny. When I was at Duke, even the rich kids only had one car.

-While Vasquez had a very solid game, did anyone else notice how often K had someone different picking him up on D, and not off switches. I don't have the game taped, but I saw Markie, Paulus, Smith, Thomas, G and Scheyer all picking him up at different times. I thought it was a smart move to give him those different looks - sometimes a smaller quick guy, sometimes a tall long guy. I think it helped keep him from effectively feeding the post. It also kept the potential foul burden distributed. We had no foul trouble last night.

-Sometimes I think our guys, especially G, try to hard to finish a drive with a dunk instead of simply using glass or a Duhon-esque floater. It's like they are trying to make a statement. Fellas, just get the deuce. Of course, I am baffled by Gerald's frequent inability to convert dunks when he's got the ball 6 inches clear of the rim. It really seems like a mental block.

-Maryland was smart last night to allow some of our drives into the lane while staying at home and challenging the driver to make something happen. The result was often a blocked shot or turnover. For our O to continue to evolve as an unstoppable force, I want guys like G, Scheyer and Singler to try out the jump stop mid lane for that nice little midrange jumper. They way we drive and kick, that shot is there all the time. I think teams are going to play us the way MD D'ed us up last night and adding that little midrange shot will make us that much tougher to guard. I didn't put Markie on that list because I enjoy his bullrushes to the hoop too much, especially because he seems to always get fouled or put it in (something he wasn't able to do in years past).

-The job K has done with this team is right up there with his best jobs ever. The substitution patters have been masterful. I am sure this will be a recurring theme if we keep having this kind of success down the stretch.

-This is going to be a weird stretch run of the ACC. On 'Basketball and Beyond", K referred to these ACC teams with mediocre records (NC State, UVA, Wake) as 'wounded animals' that fight to the death because they are up against it and have nothing to lose. I am sure that phrase will get a lot of play in the locker room in the coming weeks.

What a season so far.

[Carlos]

The stall game is an absolute pleasure to watch this year.

...snip...

I assume the difference is we have a team full of guys who are legitimate threats to slash to the basket-- Nelson, Henderson, Smith, Singler, and Scheyer.

Partially - but the other big difference here is that when Duke goes into the delay game they're often doing it with the small lineup of Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, Nelson, and Singler. If the other team is playing their traditional lineup of two bigs on the floor then you're always going to have a mismatch somewhere with a big trying to check one of Duke's quicker players.

Last night Gary took the gamble and tried to have Gist guard Scheyer when Duke went into the spread/delay/stall/whateverthehellyouwanttocallit. Duke did - and has consistently done - a great job of identifying the mismatch and then abusing the defense. Some nights it's been Nelson, others it's been Henderson, and almost always Duke has an advantage with Singler.

The other difference isn't that Duke just has a group of slashers, but that they also have a team of shooters. If you take Singler out of the lineup and replace him with McRoberts the delicate balance of Duke's delay game crumbles. Teams didn't have to respect McRoberts away from the basket so they could pack the lane with their big. So, using last night as an example, when Scheyer got a high pick from Singler, Osby hesitated on the hedge because Singler was 6-9 from threes and he didn't want to leave him. If that's McRoberts then there's no fear of him hitting the outside shot and you just pack the lane and play for the drive.

[UncleBill]

Sweaty Gary must have really gotten on Vasquez at halftime for leaving Paulus open, I saw a few times in the second where he was dogging Greg step for step, in-your-face defense, in the backcourt, completely out of play, while the ball and eight other players where on the Duke offensive side of the court. But Greg wasn't open!

[Acymetric]

Great post!!!! I wondered too. I don't like coaches on the floor, especially when they strike poses like Gary and Roy have done in successive games, getting down in defensive stances and screaming. This is a competition among college students. Coaches have their proper role.

Whatever it is, it should be done off the court. T em up, I say, if they step one foot on it. If they want to cheer lead; let em put on a skirt; if they want to play; their times have past. If they want to coach, let them behave like it. "End of discussion."

I thought it great to see Z on the court and thought he comported himself well. One thing I saw relative to Z that I really did not like. Z had made a decent play on the defensive end, Nelson had the ball, just caught it on the left wing as Z arrived down the court, set up in the middle with excellent position two feet from the rim and made himself low and available.

If there is a play that should be made and isn't, it hurts the team. The play that should have been made without thinking was for Nelson to relay the ball to Z low, let Z reach down to make a catch one-handed, an athletic play, and beat his guy. Z was in rhythm and it was a play waiting to happen.

A team will not reach its potential unless plays like that are made, and players are given the chance to succeed. Not Nelson's strength but he needs to show that ability sooner or later. I hope it is sooner. Way to go Z!!!

I can't even imagine Zoub making an athletic one handed catch (if he has done this then I'm sorry I missed it!) especially just getting back from injury. Let him use two hands for now, much safer.

[mapei]

I haven't seen anything from Z last year or what little he has been able to play this year that makes me totally comfortable when he's in the game. I see him as someone to put in just before or after a TV timeout to give someone else a rest for as few minutes as possible and hope nothing bad happens.

That doesn't mean he can't develop into much more than that. But I think he has a long way to go, and his injury hasn't helped.

[gw67]

Actually, it wasn't until late in the game that Vasquez switched to Paulus. For most of the game he defended Nelson.

gw67

[Classof06]

Great game last night, especially from Singler, and a great "supporting actor" performance by Paulus with 20, haha. I must say, I keep waiting to see a game where we struggle and that game hasn't happened yet. We look impressive each outing. Here are some things that stood out to me:

1) Gerald with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals - I love this because it shows a kid that is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Despite only getting 3 or 4 attempts from the field, Gerald didn't get discouraged by his lack of scoring and made an impact on the game in other ways. This is a huge step in maturation for Gerald and he quietly had a superb game.

2) 75% FT shooting - Gotta make 'em in the big games and after witnessing our horrid FT shooting in person against BC on Saturday, it was good to see us hit 'em last night.

3) Lance with 2 blocks - Lance is really stepping up and providing an interior defensive presence (5 blocks the last 3 games). And though he had 4 fouls last night, he's been better with foul trouble as of late.

4) Productive minutes by Zoubek - However you may feel about Brian, I maintain that Duke will eventually need 10-15 productive minutes per game from Brian in order to win a national championship. He doesn't have to be Lew Alcindor down there, just play defense, alter a few shots and most importantly REBOUND. Like the commentators said last night, having an active Zoubek down the stretch is a big bonus for Duke. Monumental.

Once again, I am so proud of this team.

[delfrio]

Was it just me, or did Z make a big block he wasn't credited for?

[3rd Dukie]

Partially - but the other big difference here is that when Duke goes into the delay game they're often doing it with the small lineup of Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, Nelson, and Singler. If the other team is playing their traditional lineup of two bigs on the floor then you're always going to have a mismatch somewhere with a big trying to check one of Duke's quicker players.

Last night Gary took the gamble and tried to have Gist guard Scheyer when Duke went into the spread/delay/stall/whateverthehellyouwanttocallit. Duke did - and has consistently done - a great job of identifying the mismatch and then abusing the defense. Some nights it's been Nelson, others it's been Henderson, and almost always Duke has an advantage with Singler.

The other difference isn't that Duke just has a group of slashers, but that they also have a team of shooters. If you take Singler out of the lineup and replace him with McRoberts the delicate balance of Duke's delay game crumbles. Teams didn't have to respect McRoberts away from the basket so they could pack the lane with their big. So, using last night as an example, when Scheyer got a high pick from Singler, Osby hesitated on the hedge because Singler was 6-9 from threes and he didn't want to leave him. If that's McRoberts then there's no fear of him hitting the outside shot and you just pack the lane and play for the drive.

Carlos, I think you nailed this issue perfectly. Great analysis!

[UncleBill]

Actually, it wasn't until late in the game that Vasquez switched to Paulus. For most of the game he defended Nelson.

gw67

Thanks, I was wrestling with toddlers and fighting a cold, I missed a few details of the first half.

[DukeDevil]

This has little to do with last nights game - but photo #9 in the Baltimore Sun's re-cap of the DU v. MD series since 01 is an awesome photo:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/c...8.photogallery

Pretty much summed up this years games thus far (may be 1 - or maybe 2? - more in the future though...)

Wow...did you guys check out markie in that last pic? Damn...what a change!

[77devil]

An undefeated ACC season is within reach, IMO.
gw67

Sssh. Don't write or utter this again. Don't even think it.

[vango]

Wow...did you guys check out markie in that last pic? Damn...what a change!

I did - compare photo 16 with photo 19.

[vango]

Was it just me, or did Z make a big block he wasn't credited for?

I noticed that too in the box score - he did get a block from behind (hardly left the floor as I recall).

[SilkyJ]

That said, I'm a bit uncomfortable seeing bench minutes decline, even though the top six are competing superbly. If you do need to put a Smith or a King in for an offensive spark (assuming the top six are cold on three-pointers), you want those guys coming in fully confident in themselves.

not to mention, this is going to be one of our longer seasons and with all the running we do I want Kyle/Demarcus/Greg to be fresh come March.

Kyle played 37 mins last night, and I think he played 37 against UNC and he played 34 against BC. He's a freshman so we really need to keep him rested, especially with all the banging he's doing.

Hopefully games against Wake and GaTech can give the boys some rest for the final push.

Also dkbaseball's point about keeping Nolan and Taylor confident and "in the flow" (my words) is very true. Its tough to come in cold to any game, but especially when you've been sitting on the bench for the most part for several games.

[Mudge]

Coach K:
How funny was that, when Coach K got mad at Paulus for not getting open, and using a hip to seal off the MD player guarding him? K was waving his arms in the air, and bumping Paulus all over the huddle-- can't you just see Bobby Knight doing that? Coach K's coaching heritage really shown through on that one last night. And for those who wonder about how much longer Coach K keeps doing this, did you see him jumping around on the sidelines, with his two artificial hips last night? That was more animated than I remember him getting all of last season. I think he's enjoying this season, and this bunch, a hell of a lot more than last year's team (me too, by the way), and if it keeps up like this, he'll keep doing this for a while to come yet.

Gary Williams:
Who the hell is Gary talking to, when he turns and froths at his bench, as his team gets murdered on the court, and what does he expect them to do, as he rages at them? What are these guys supposed to do-- check themselves into the game, and start doing whatever he's foaming on about?

Digger Phelps:
How can somebody have been so perceptive and insightful as a coach (beating the unbeatable UCLA teams more than once), and then be so clueless as an analyst of the game now? Are the demands of television pushing him to say inane things, or is something akin to senility setting in?

Dick Vitale:
How many times did Vitale assure us that Redick would do well in the NBA, and then, last night, in noting that Redick doesn't play at all, he says "It's a different game. His confidence is shot; he can't make a shot-- he's got to get with a team that needs someone to make an outside shot." This from a guy who is certainly geographically positioned to be aware of why Redick is not playing-- which has nothing to do with his confidence or his shot. Also, was anyone else surprised to see Vitale indirectly attacking a basketball coach with his comments about Indiana last night? Normally, a college basketball coach has to practically murder Mother Teresa to get on Vitale's bad side-- but not when it provides Vitale an opportunity to resuscitate the reputation of his favorite three-named basketball icon, Robert Montgomery Knight; does anybody think Vitale would have been half as indignant about Sampson and IU, if it didn't offer Vitale a chance to get on his soapbox about Knight (whom he still won't let retire in peace-- even Knight's son is not looking for him to come back, but Vitale is sure Knight's got "10 more good years in him".) I was hoping when Vitale didn't say much to start the game that he was experimenting with the "less is more" approach-- then it turned out that he just wasn't in his broadcast perch yet, and the reason we couldn't hear him was that he wasn't there... aaah, but we could hope, couldn't we?

Mike Patrick:
Patrick comes out with, "Kyle Singler has really improved his rebounding THIS SEASON"-- my question would be "How does Patrick know what Singler's rebounding was like last season? Was he watching Singler play in HS last year? Somehow, I doubt it." I haven't noticed an appreciable difference in Singler's rebounding technique from the beginning of this season to today.

[SeattleIrish]

Mike Patrick:
Patrick comes out with, "Kyle Singler has really improved his rebounding THIS SEASON"-- my question would be "How does Patrick know what Singler's rebounding was like last season? Was he watching Singler play in HS last year? Somehow, I doubt it." I haven't noticed an appreciable difference in Singler's rebounding technique from the beginning of this season to today.

Mudge:

I had that same initial thought, but after considering the comment, it's probable Patrick was stating Kyle has improved his rebounding since the beginning of THIS year. It does make sense in that context.

s.i.