Originally Posted by
Newton_14
A few things to consider here. First, except for the dumb dead ball foul, Mason played a heck of a game. This despite only getting 3 shot attempts. He defended really well, had amazing passes and was all over the place making things happen. People will point to MSU missing "easy shots", but much of that was due to the pressure the 3 bigs were putting on the MSU bigs. Our bigs challenged shots, especially Mason and Kelly, and either blocked, altered, or caused MSU to rush numerous shotsl Give some credit to the defense.
... Under that pressure, this inexperienced team could have laid an egg. THey didn't.
I agree completely. I thought this was a great win for the team early in the year. I also thought Mason played very well and has played strong in every game this year. Like many, I disliked the over the shoulder fade away hook Mason seemed to employ some of the time the past couple of years. I feel like he has taken the ball strong on just about all his offensive moves, has passed nicely from the post and has been a force defensively and on the glass. His numbers may not have been great this game, but I thought he was, against a very physical team.
Originally Posted by
Duke79UNLV77
I thought Mason played better than some are giving him credit for. Yes, he only took 3 shots, but his 10 free throws were largely a result of assertive offensive moves. 5-10 free throws actually is progress, so hopefully that will continue to trend upwards. I also thought there should have been a goal tend called on one of his hooks, and he made another nice hook, unfortunately after a travel. He made himself a threat. He also made some great passes and defended against a lot of size, until the final minutes when we went to the matador defense. Ryan has become reliable and has added some variation to his game. Miles, on the other hand, had a really off game.
I also thought Mason showed a lot of toughness in this game and has so far this year.
Austin at least showed that he can get by people, which the team needs. He also is starting to look to pass at times, but needs to be stronger with the ball and to finish the layups when he gets there. I think he'll really grow throughout the year.
Obviously, great to see a big game from Dawkins.
I saw Murphy shooting around pre-game. Is he still out with the concussion? I thought he showed enough promise in preseason that I would be surprised if he redshirts.
Thank you, Coach K!!!!!
I also think we will see great things from Austin this year. I don't think there is any thought that Murphy would redshirt and don't think he can since he played in the exhibitions, but since he is just coming back from the head injury, I am not shocked he didn't get in this game. Hopefully, we see him against Davidson and get solid contributions from him this year.
Originally Posted by
Troublemaker
...
I can't say enough about Dawk. I believe he's a clutch shooter and that's a nice weapon to have in Duke's arsenal. I'll forever be grateful for the two three's he hit against Baylor his freshman year that helped send Duke to the Final Four. He of course sealed the game against Belmont in the season opener this year, and now this. With countless former Duke greats looking on and with all the media attention about 903 and all the self-imposed pressure to win it for Coach K, the entire team played jittery in the first half except for one man who shot lights out and allowed the team to weather the storm. Gotta love that kid. Hopefully this game will springboard him into becoming a consistent starter for the rest of the season.
I agree completely. Way to go Dre. That's a few times that when the team has needed him most, he has come through.
Originally Posted by
Troublemaker
Agreed. Mason had a good game. I give him a ton of credit for helping Michigan St miss close-in shots with his shotblocking presence and length. Sure, MSU's post players aren't the most polished, but I firmly believe the intimidation factor played a part as well.
He's become a guy that we can rely on in the post. He has scoring moves, improved touch, and just as importantly, good court vision and passing ability to find cutters and open shooters. You can now throw the ball into him in the post and be pretty confident that something positive will happen. That's a great weapon to have in the arsenal.
Also agree that Miles struggled mightily. He's still not able to translate his practice dominance to real live game play. Yet. Hopefully it'll come at some point this season because we'll definitely need him to round out a very good 3-man post rotation. He's the missing piece right now with Ryan and Mason being so solid. If he can play with more confidence and have poise when he receives the ball, then he'll start to see the kickout opportunities and reduce the strips and fumbling of passes that he has suffered through.
Overall I like where we're at. We're a good team right now who has a lot of upside contained in Rivers and Miles finding their games at some point this season. We have time.
Well said.
Originally Posted by
feldspar
Biggest frustration of the night was the mental mistakes by the brothers Plumlee. Both of them earned completely unnecessary technical fouls. Especially in a game like last night's, there's just no room for that.
I agree with your sentiment, but in this game, there was enough room for that.
I have obviously been impressed with Mason's play and toughness so far this year, but I also can't say enough about Tyler's toughness in a physical game like this one. He is a guy that I am getting the feeling is never going to get out-toughed, which is a nice thing to have on your team. The team showed nice toughness in a pressure filled game where everyone from Duke was hoping to see victory #903. Congratulations to the team for coming through.
“Those two kids, they’re champions,” Krzyzewski said of his senior leaders. “They’re trying to teach the other kids how to become that, and it’s a long road to become that.”