PDA

View Full Version : Which team will follow BC's lead



arnie
01-06-2009, 10:19 AM
Intersting column by Tudor in the N&O - basically says Duke is not equipped to handle the Heels, but Clemson and WF have the right matchups to mimic BC. The link is in today's DBR headlines under ACC roundup.

dukelifer
01-06-2009, 10:39 AM
Intersting column by Tudor in the N&O - basically says Duke is not equipped to handle the Heels, but Clemson and WF have the right matchups to mimic BC. The link is in today's DBR headlines under ACC roundup.

On paper- perhaps that is true. But the Duke UNC game is not about what is on paper. The one thing we know though is that UNC won't be caught napping when they play Duke. As for the Wake and Clemson games, this is again a matter of timing. UNC plays Wake next and only once this year- My guess is that they will be focused for a knockout in this game. I am very interested to see this game as Wake is talented but a bit raw. Clemson is a mystery. But UNC plays Clemson once at home where UNC has NEVER EVER EVER lost to Clemson- EVER. I don't expect Clemson will win that game. So who can knock off the Heels again- I am not sure. Wake has a shot but the Duke games will be close and so I give Duke a good shot to win one.

Indoor66
01-06-2009, 10:41 AM
So who can knock off the Heels again- I am not sure.

Maryland or FSU.

roywhite
01-06-2009, 10:42 AM
Tudor is to print analysis what Digger Phelps is to TV analysis. Occasionally he'll make a point, usually an obvious one, and sometimes he's just clueless.

FTA: "But by getting bigger and stronger, the Blue Devils have surrendered enough quickness that it will be difficult to match Carolina's speed over the course of 40 minutes." Uh, are you sure about that, Caulton?

I don't know why he thinks Duke is not able to match up with the Heels. We beat them once last year, and played them close a second time; the Devils are bigger and stronger, but I don't see how that's been at the expense of speed and quickness. There's Nolan Smith now getting more minutes...plenty of speed and quickness there. In the middle both Zoubs and Lance are improved over last year. Singler is stuck inside less now, but that's helped the defense, not hurt it. A healthier McClure, improved Scheyer and Henderson....this makes us less able to match up??

pbc2
01-06-2009, 10:51 AM
Tudor has never been a Duke fan, and rarely writes anything worth reading.

ddsdevil
01-06-2009, 11:15 AM
Hmmm. I really believe that Duke has a good shot at beating UNC. Other than Duke, I'm not sure. I really thought that Wake would have a good opportunity to beat them but now I'm not so sure. Now that Wake is ranked really high and UNC just lost, Wake will not sneak up on UNC this Sunday.

hurleyfor3
01-06-2009, 11:34 AM
Intersting column by Tudor in the N&O - basically says Duke is not equipped to handle the Heels

That guy's still writing? I guess when you're a unc sycophant living in the Triangle you have guaranteed employment.

bird
01-06-2009, 11:43 AM
What I saw in the BC game was:

-- making shots
-- not turning over ball
-- sending hordes to the offensive glass
-- inverting offense, posting up Rice

I say Duke is well positioned on the latter two. We are dang good offensive rebounding team. Henderson can be seen posting up more often. Nolan can turn the ball over at times, but we have other strong ball handlers for crunch time, particularly Jon. We'll do OK on turn overs. Making our shots is my big concern. That seems to come and go this season.

Fish80
01-06-2009, 11:45 AM
As noted in today's ACC Roundup, UNC does not play world class defense. If their offense is off or slowed by their opponent's good defense, they are vulnerable.

Our defense is very good and getting better. We have a great shot at slowing down their offense and beating them (like a rented mule / ram :D).

And we all know in ACC play, on any given day, . . .

jv001
01-06-2009, 12:18 PM
After Duke and Wake, if unc loses in the conference it will take a great game from someone else and the holes will have to play poorly. They can play poorly defensively at times but they have a lot of fire power on offense. Before I actually pick us to win Feb 11th, I want to see Zoubs in a few conference games. He has really improved which is a direct result from being healthy. If he continues to improve, we have a good chance at beating unc, if he regresses then we could be in trouble. I look for the former. He will get better. Wake has the inside power to compete and with Teague in the backcourt, they could beat unc. This is going to be an interesting ACC season. Go Duke!

ClosetHurleyFan
01-06-2009, 12:42 PM
I expect, as in 2005 that Carolina's defense will continue to improve. It actually has been very good at times this year thus far and will need to get more consistent. Despite what the front page said, I actually think the Carolina team in 2005, during the second half of the season was a great defensive team, it was just obscured by their incredible offensive prowess. If I recall correctly, they held teams to around 40 or just under 40 percent shooting for the year and that will flat get it done the vast majority of the times.

Defense concerns me less than having a consistent fire in the belly. I am also beginning to wonder if Hansborough's return, with no blame on anyone, has neverthless stimied some of Deon and other's improved performance.

But make no mistake, if Deon and Ty keep playing the way they have been before BC, they will be a tough out for anyone. And Carolina is not going to shoot like that very often if at all again this season.....Wake Forest game will tell us an awful, awful lot about Carolina going forward.

davekay1971
01-06-2009, 12:59 PM
One of the things that I think caught UNC off guard and contributed to their offensive woes against BC was that this was the first time this season they've had to play a significant amount of time in a half-court game. BC didn't give them easy points from fast breaks or run-outs. UNC looked like they fell into the same pattern Duke did against Michigan - becoming stymied on offense, then inactive, and then resorting to jacking up 3s. UNC has developed this year as a flow team, meaning that they have been able to play at a fast pace and run offense in a smooth flow. This was the first game they had to work extensively through half court sets, and they weren't ready for it. If they have to play that way frequently, they'll get better at it. BC did UNC a big favor in waking them up and exposing them to the kind of game a strong defensive squad will try to throw at them in March.

As for Tudor, he's an old-school Duke-hatin' UNC-lovin' hack. I don't put any stock into anything he writes about Duke. Duke is very nicely equipped to handle UNC...not saying we'll beat them, but we've got the tools.

Duke1986
01-06-2009, 02:29 PM
I'm not a huge Caulton Tudor fan myself, but I have to point out that in a column entitled "Devils will lead the way" on 11/9/2008, Tudor picked Duke to win the ACC over UNC.

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/tudor/story/1287812.html

Devilsfan
01-06-2009, 09:48 PM
I don't think anyone should be able to beat a rested heels team. That said I'm cracking open a bottle of Champagne when they lose in the "Big Dance".