Man of the Match vs. Duquesne

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match vs. Duquesne?

[dukefanSD]

Wow!! It was great to see a great performance from Lance.

[Bob Green]

Lance Thomas!!! He was perfect from the field, finished with authority, got out in transition, and just played a wonderful game. Too bad he missed that one free throw or I would say he played a perfect game.

[CameronCrazy'11]

I know it was only Duquesne, but does anyone think Lance could have put up that type of performance last year? He's really improved a lot.

[Jumbo]

I know it was only Duquesne, but does anyone think Lance could have put up that type of performance last year? He's really improved a lot.

Exactly. Yes, the matchup was easy for him, but he still had to convert. The old Lance would've fumbled a couple of passes. The new Lance caught and converted, even off some less-than-idea feeds.

The poll will obviously be a Lance-slide ...

[JDev]

Duke played great as a team, but this vote should be a landslide.

[Madrasdukie]

It was easy to pick Lance.

[mgtr]

I was very critical of LT the last two years, but I was delighted to him my vote. Keep it up!

[AtlDuke72]

Wow!! It was great to see a great performance from Lance.

I have been Thomas' biggest critic. Really happy to see him prove me wrong! What a game!

[dukelifer]

Didn't see the game but Lance's play sounded great on radio. Best play- hitting the shot when fouled- and then the two throws with no one on the line! His free throw shooting is really coming along of late.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Lance was an animal today!

Most one sided vote I've seen in these polls. 59 - 2 - 1 after I voted.

[SupaDave]

PLAY OF THE GAME:

End of the first half...

30 something seconds left.

Nolan runs down the clock and Jon floats to the wing.

Lance runs over to Jon as if to throw a pick - the defender reacts to the pick.

Lance fades to the basket without ever actually throwing a pick

Takes the pass from Jon - DUNK. (insert me going bananas right about here...)

NEVER have I been more impressed with the development of a player or a play.

That, to me, changed the whole season....

Kudos to Lance for his hard work.

[devildeac]

LT had a sensational game today and we hope it is one in a long series of excellent contributions from him.

[ncexnyc]

Without a doubt this game belongs to Mr. Thomas. The Dukes played a style, which enabled us to push the ball and the match-ups suited Lance perfectly.

As has already been mentioned this year's Lance is converting. Since that 0'fer game at the line he has been just about automatic and for a big man that is essential.

[Hurley2Hill]

Beyond Lance's stellar play today, he deserves credit for emerging as a leader. There were a couple of plays today where Plumlee might have wandered out to the concession stands if Lance hadn't been there to steer him in the right direction. On one inbounds play Lance actually had to push him into the right spot...there was no time to tell him! LOL. Besides that aspect, he seems to be the most vocal guy on the squad this year as far as leadership. It was a joy to watch him abuse the Dukes in person today! Good job 42!

[OldPhiKap]

Lance showed major play. Great game!

Nolan's contributions were very solid, as were Greg's.

Best offensive outing so far, and the defense was phenominal.


Nice way to end our recent run.

[Newton_14]

Lance Thomas in a runaway. Great all around game. Career high in points, great defense, solid rebounding and continued solid free throw shooting. I am not sure he did anything wrong all day outside of fumbling one pass on a fast break but that was a difficult catch to make anyway. He looks much more confident and the added strength is enabling him to finish strong in the paint. The finish on the intentional foul was incredible...

The 3-Headed Post Monster is getting better game by game!!

[ACCBBallFan]

Lance was Duke's man of the match. It remains to be seen is he can play as well and as confidently when matched against guys taller and/or heaveir than him, but Lance and Zoubs have been greatest surprise so far, with Gerald for the most part most disappointing so far except for one great half.

Zoubek surprised everybody dribbling from half court and putting up a nice move. Also made a nice grab of not that great a pass from Greg if I recall. Marty made a nice entry pass to Miles and also a blow by drive.

Greg had a better game than Gerald did today.

Rating Player
98 Damian Saunders, F
72 Lance Thomas, F
67 Aaron Jackson, G
66 Kyle Singler, F
53 Nolan Smith, G
48 David McClure, F
47.3 TOTALS-Duke
47 Greg Paulus, G
47 David Theis, F
46.2 TOTALS-Duquesne
46 Bill Clark, G-F
43 Gerald Henderson, G-F
41 Jon Scheyer, G
38 Brian Zoubek, C
33 Martynas Pocius, G
32 Melquan Bolding, G-F
29 Rodrigo Peggau, F
29 Miles Plumlee, F
28 Eric Evans, G
26 Elliot Williams, G
19 Jason Duty, G
15 B.J. Monteiro, G-F
13 Chase Robinson, G
4 Oliver Lewinson, F-C
2 Lucas Newton, G
2 Olek Czyz, F

[SupaDave]

Lance was Duke's man of the match. It remains to be seen is he can play as well and as confidently when matched against guys taller and/or heaveir than him, but Lance and Zoubs have been greatest surprise so far, with Gerald for the most part most disappointing so far except for one great half.

Zoubek surprised everybody dribbling from half court and putting up a nice move. Also made a nice grab of not that great a pass from Greg if I recall. Marty made a nice entry pass to Miles and also a blow by drive.

Greg had a better game than Gerald did today.

Rating Player
98 Damian Saunders, F
72 Lance Thomas, F
67 Aaron Jackson, G
66 Kyle Singler, F
53 Nolan Smith, G
48 David McClure, F
47.3 TOTALS-Duke
47 Greg Paulus, G
47 David Theis, F
46.2 TOTALS-Duquesne
46 Bill Clark, G-F
43 Gerald Henderson, G-F
41 Jon Scheyer, G
38 Brian Zoubek, C
33 Martynas Pocius, G
32 Melquan Bolding, G-F
29 Rodrigo Peggau, F
29 Miles Plumlee, F
28 Eric Evans, G
26 Elliot Williams, G
19 Jason Duty, G
15 B.J. Monteiro, G-F
13 Chase Robinson, G
4 Oliver Lewinson, F-C
2 Lucas Newton, G
2 Olek Czyz, F

I think it's safe to say they all had pretty good games today. Gerald is continuing to show his outside stroke and Paulus could wind up being lightning in a bottle.

Singler showed me why the pros are salivating with a full court drive and dish and he continues to spot up from behind the NBA 3pt line.

McClure continues to make his presence known with a couple tremendous stretches during this game. Williams and Plumlee are getting good game experience. The team is playing very deep this year.

Lance and Zoubs are not necessarily surprises. Development was expected - especially since they both showed progress at the end of last season. Things could be special if their confidence starts to soar. I think we may have seen the beginning of a new Lance today.

[Heelkiller1]

Lance by far , I am really glad to see him coming on strong this year. I hope he continues to get better.







9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F 9F

[DukieInBrasil]

Pretty much everything i wanted to say about LT has been said, but, YEEESSSS!!!
I mentioned awhile ago that Duke had 5 players capable of going for 20 on any given night; Paulus has been hurt lately and though he has been extremely steady and scoring well, Nolan has yet to go for 20. Well, add LT to that list. Congrats LT, it seems like it´s all starting o cometogether for him....

[cape cod]

I agree with the sentiments and observations made above, but there's got to be a story here about his running. If you don't recall, he used to run with a rather high stepping gait that looked rather inefficient and just plain awkward. I suspect he's worked his buns off in that area also. Way to go, Lance.

[ACCBBallFan]

Lance and Zoubs are not necessarily surprises. Development was expected - especially since they both showed progress at the end of last season. Things could be special if their confidence starts to soar. I think we may have seen the beginning of a new Lance today.

Surprise as in pleasant surprise as opposed to did not have the potential to do well. Most Duke fans had written one or the other off, even though conventional wisdom is it takes 2-3 years for a big man to develop,

I have no way of knowing but suspect some of the credit goes to Miles Plumlee and Olek Czyz for giving Zoubek someone heavier to practice against and alllowing Lance and Kyle to save wear and tear plus go at one another along with McClure, while only occasionally having to guard Z or Miles.

Very interested to see how they fare against bigger opponents starting with Purdue's Calasan 6'9" 247 pounder who is their only big man who plays about 20 MPG, solid but not outstanding about 11 points and 5 boards

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=38444

Should be a great match up with Singler and Hummel pairing off.