MBB: Duke 70, Lehigh 75 Post-Game Thread

[diveonthefloor]

A buddy of mine put it like this:
Last night's first game loss sort of like ripping off a bandaid quickly.

This team, IMO overachieved all year. As teams began to scout us better and the year wore on, our margin for error became smaller and smaller.

As for the youngsters on next year's team, the character building nature of a disappointing loss will no doubt serve as great motivation to put in the work necessary to become a champion down the road. Just look at the 82-83 team. Tyler's announcement last night that he would be in the gym "at practice" today tells me that Duke Basketball still has that character.

The future is what we make of it, and that future is bright.

[kville33]

First of all, I commend the moderators for taking proactive measures against the inevitable venting and nonconstructive criticism after the game last night. As a fan of course I am disappointed in the outcome, but as always the team demonstrated a level of class that is rare in basketball today. I'm proud to see that same decorum among the posters on DBR.

I felt the exact same way when I saw that the boards were taken down last night. Despite the typical high-level quality of posts we see on DBR, I was afraid that after a game like that, even DBR posters might have resorted to merely complaining about the outcome and heckling the Lehigh team. I'm proud that we were able to maintain our composure in the face of adversity.

On to the game. I personally thought Andre Dawkins should have gotten more shots in the second half, he has always been our best three shooter and we definitely needed a few for a comeback. It didn't seem like the other guys, especially the big men, were looking to kick it out to Dre. By my eye he seemed to be loosely guarded most of the night. The other key, in my opinion, was that Thornton was playing too unselfishly. He has a habit of deferring to his teammates, but is a more than capable slasher/scorer when hes looking for his own shot. We could have used his offense last night. Other than that, we just got beat by an excellent Lehigh team who I think could give Kentucky a run for their money. We should all be looking forward to next season. Go Duke!

If you look at the stats, Mason avereaged 7.4 field goal attempts per game, and last night he took 9 shots! I agree that he was trying to do to much by himself on offense, and he should have focused more on other aspects of his game, such as assisting (he had 0 assists). Mason also had 4 turnovers, which I think shows that we were trying to force things through our center too much. Although I agree that Andre is clearly our best 3 point shooter, I would have actually liked to see Thornton be the target of Mason's kick outs because he has been known to make big shots in clutch situations for us. I think Andre should have put the ball on the floor more and tried pull up for a mid-range shot or 2. His mid-range game has become highly dangerous, and he has shown hints of brilliance when driving to the hoop. I think next year, we will see Thornton develop into more of a shooter and see Andre develop his mid-range game much more. Although this is a bleak day to be a Duke fan, I think Tyler and Andre give us reasons to be very excited about next season.

[sagegrouse]

I actually didn't see the game. My fiancee and I were on our way to a bar/restaurant to watch a DJ we were thinking of booking for our wedding (and in my case, to watch the second half of the game), when a guy made a left turn directly into us at an intersection for a head-on collision. The other guy was at fault and there was nothing I could have done. Luckily, we were both relatively okay -- I was somehow completely unblemished, and she had some bumps and bruises but nothing more. While I was standing outside giving the police report, my phone was blowing up with texts and tweets about the Duke game, and I honestly couldn't care less. I just kept seeing the other car coming at us, and I was relieved my fiancee was okay. (Me? I'm indestructible.)

I know it's a cliche, but something like that really puts a Duke loss, even one in the first round to a Patriot League school, in perspective. What are you going to do? They just didn't have it, especially without Kelly, whom I have a whole new respect for. But there are SO many more important things in life to think about and worry about. You know? Duke's a big part of our lives, but it's not even close to all there is.

Glad the damage is only to the vehicles. But, Starter, do you think there is some bad karma at work here?

sage

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

Many are saying that the loss of Kelly was the reason for the losses to FL State and Lehigh. Yet Syracuse is playing without Melo and has advanced to the Sweet 16. Duke was aware of Kelly's injury three days before the ACC tourney. Syracuse just found out about Melo on Monday of this week. Syracuse coaching staff was able to adjust and win. Duke coaching staff was unable to prepare team for game against a 15 seed.

When Duke wins big, K gets credit as a coaching genius. The Lehigh loss gets blamed on the players. K is a great coach and a classy guy, but sometimes he has a bad day. I think he was out-coached last night.

[subzero02]

I felt the exact same way when I saw that the boards were taken down last night. Despite the typical high-level quality of posts we see on DBR, I was afraid that after a game like that, even DBR posters might have resorted to merely complaining about the outcome and heckling the Lehigh team. I'm proud that we were able to maintain our composure in the face of adversity.



If you look at the stats, Mason avereaged 7.4 field goal attempts per game, and last night he took 9 shots! I agree that he was trying to do to much by himself on offense, and he should have focused more on other aspects of his game, such as assisting (he had 0 assists). Mason also had 4 turnovers, which I think shows that we were trying to force things through our center too much. Although I agree that Andre is clearly our best 3 point shooter, I would have actually liked to see Thornton be the target of Mason's kick outs because he has been known to make big shots in clutch situations for us. I think Andre should have put the ball on the floor more and tried pull up for a mid-range shot or 2. His mid-range game has become highly dangerous, and he has shown hints of brilliance when driving to the hoop. I think next year, we will see Thornton develop into more of a shooter and see Andre develop his mid-range game much more. Although this is a bleak day to be a Duke fan, I think Tyler and Andre give us reasons to be very excited about next season.

Anyone who takes 9 shots and makes all 9 of them needs to shoot more, not less.

[NYC Duke Fan]

I'm just really sorry it's over for these guys. The better team won today. Duke had a great season and unfortunately will likely be remembered more for the final game.

Please explain to me how this was a,"great ", season. Was it a good season, probably if you say we won 27 games. It was a great season up right after Coach K reached his milestone against MSU. After that No, No.

We only beat 2 good teams after that, UNC and FSU. We lost 3 homes to ACC opponents. Did UNC lose any home games..I do not know the answer ?

No I am sorry to disagree with you Duke did not have a great season. When you do not win the conference championship, do not win the ACC tournament and lose to a 15 seed, I would say that Duke had a disappointing season.

[proelitedota]

Many are saying that the loss of Kelly was the reason for the losses to FL State and Lehigh. Yet Syracuse is playing without Melo and has advanced to the Sweet 16. Duke was aware of Kelly's injury three days before the ACC tourney. Syracuse just found out about Melo on Monday of this week. Syracuse coaching staff was able to adjust and win. Duke coaching staff was unable to prepare team for game against a 15 seed.

When Duke wins big, K gets credit as a coaching genius. The Lehigh loss gets blamed on the players. K is a great coach and a classy guy, but sometimes he has a bad day. I think he was out-coached last night.

If you look at Cuse's roster, their bench is one of the best in the nation. Fab Melo isn't their 3rd best player either.

[uh_no]

From Sportsillustratedcnn.com:


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...uke/index.html

Lehigh seemed well prepared and had a lot of time to get ready to play Duke.
Still, we could have won if only we hit a few more 3's.

wow...they were stealing our signs? that's a baseball thing...but interesting to see someone doing it in bball

[Troublemaker]

Many are saying that the loss of Kelly was the reason for the losses to FL State and Lehigh. Yet Syracuse is playing without Melo and has advanced to the Sweet 16. Duke was aware of Kelly's injury three days before the ACC tourney. Syracuse just found out about Melo on Monday of this week. Syracuse coaching staff was able to adjust and win. Duke coaching staff was unable to prepare team for game against a 15 seed.

When Duke wins big, K gets credit as a coaching genius. The Lehigh loss gets blamed on the players. K is a great coach and a classy guy, but sometimes he has a bad day. I think he was out-coached last night.

That's a very interesting (poor?) example to use, considering Syracuse almost lost to a 16 seed and many folks felt refereeing aided their win against Asheville.

Melo's a good player but also averaged just 8 points and 6 rebounds. I think that Kelly is more important to Duke than Melo is to Cuse.

[Furniture]

Go to "goduke.com." Click on "Duke Falls in NCAA Tourney." When picture of the game appears above, click on picture to go article. In the right box on the article page is a video notation and the headline, "Press Conference: Coach K, Miles and Mason Plumlee." Or, go to Men's Basketball on contents on left of front page and go to the story.

sage

Thank you Sage!!

[zack2014]

Did UNC lose any home games..I do not know the answer ?

I guess you don't remember that great comeback in Chapel Hill

[sjl14]

Anyone who takes 9 shots and makes all 9 of them needs to shoot more, not less.

I don't think kville33 was implying that Mason shooting 9-9 was bad (obviously), but that maybe he was being asked to do to much offensively. Mason has never been a volume shooter, we probably shouldn't expect him to be. Anyways, him shooting 9-9 says nothing of his future field goal success...

[jv001]

I don't think kville33 was implying that Mason shooting 9-9 was bad (obviously), but that maybe he was being asked to do to much offensively. Mason has never been a volume shooter, we probably shouldn't expect him to be. Anyways, him shooting 9-9 says nothing of his future field goal success...

Oh, I thought it was shoot until you miss,

[Starter]

Glad the damage is only to the vehicles. But, Starter, do you think there is some bad karma at work here?

sage

Thanks man. I'll miss the royal blue Mustang, but it took the hit like a champ and it's a small price to pay.

As for karma (?)... I ran a UNC fan off the road once. But he totally deserved it.

[NYC Duke Fan]

First of all, I commend the moderators for taking proactive measures against the inevitable venting and nonconstructive criticism after the game last night. As a fan of course I am disappointed in the outcome, but as always the team demonstrated a level of class that is rare in basketball today. I'm proud to see that same decorum among the posters on DBR.

On to the game. I personally thought Andre Dawkins should have gotten more shots in the second half, he has always been our best three shooter and we definitely needed a few for a comeback. It didn't seem like the other guys, especially the big men, were looking to kick it out to Dre. By my eye he seemed to be loosely guarded most of the night. The other key, in my opinion, was that Thornton was playing too unselfishly. He has a habit of deferring to his teammates, but is a more than capable slasher/scorer when hes looking for his own shot. We could have used his offense last night. Other than that, we just got beat by an excellent Lehigh team who I think could give Kentucky a run for their money. We should all be looking forward to next season. Go Duke!

Sorry to respectfully disagree with you about the moderators taking the steps that they did. Yes I understand that this is a Duke Basketball forum but for God's sake it was a loss of a basketball game in my estimation and previous posting, by a very overrated team. Taking time for personal reflection...a little over reaction. We are not talking about a National catastrophe here. Duke's loss, while it bothers some or many, does not change anyone's life.

There were people who wanted to intelligently discuss the game right after it was over when our memory was very fresh. If there were posts that were against the moderator's rules they could have deleted them.

Being sad over a basketball game no matter how rabid a fan you are is a little too much.

This team was never a top 8 team and getting a number 2 seed was wrong. If we were a number 2 seed than FSU should have been a number 1 !!

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

I know that selfishly I would like both Mason and Austin to stay at Duke, but does anyone feel either player is ready for the NBA? Also, can someone please give me the status of Cook's knee? Was he at 100% by the end of the season? Did Shabazz (not sure if I spelled that right) give a date when he will decide where he will attend school?

I am super sad and not sure what else to say.

GO DUKE!

[NYC Duke Fan]

I guess you don't remember that great comeback in Chapel Hill

Whoops...Forgot Sorry...Did they lose any other ?

[Starter]

I'd suggest, by the way, that anyone who can't go a single night without venting on a forum about a basketball team they purportedly love needs to check his/her priorities. Just MHO.

[jv001]

Sorry to respectfully disagree with you about the moderators taking the steps that they did. Yes I understand that this is a Duke Basketball forum but for God's sake it was a loss of a basketball game in my estimation and previous posting, by a very overrated team. Taking time for personal reflection...a little over reaction. We are not talking about a National catastrophe here. Duke's loss, while it bothers some or many, does not change anyone's life.

There were people who wanted to intelligently discuss the game right after it was over when our memory was very fresh. If there were posts that were against the moderator's rules they could have deleted them.

Being sad over a basketball game no matter how rabid a fan you are is a little too much.

This team was never a top 8 team and getting a number 2 seed was wrong. If we were a number 2 seed than FSU should have been a number 1 !!

Most posters that come on the thread right after a Duke loss are probably not like you. They make comments directed at individual players. Comments that are darn right vile. So, I agree with the shut down. GoDuke!

[zack2014]

Whoops...Forgot Sorry...Did they lose any other ?

Im pretty sure that was their only loss.