Man of the Match vs. Clemson

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match vs. Clemson? (I know, I know, I know ... but it's a formality.)

[geraldsneighbor]

I'm not voting. It's like asking who the MVP of this year's Detroit Lions was. We aren't them but tonight we looked poor.

[FireOgilvie]

I think it's absolutely no question Lance Thomas. He was the only player that I noticed keeping his head up and giving 100% effort throughout the game. He also didn't miss a shot or free throw and went for 10 points, 5 rebounds. Good work.

[coldriver10]

It was either G or Lance, not just for their scoring but for their heart. They were the only ones out there that really looked like they even cared. I voted for Lance.

[Ben63]

Gave it to LT, he's the only one that looked like he even cared out there.

[Dukiedevil]

I'm not voting. It's like asking who the MVP of this year's Detroit Lions was. We aren't them but tonight we looked poor.

Calvin Johnson... and it wasn't close

[JDev]

I guess G, but this was an overall debacle. G I thought did play harder then any other Devil not named Lance, especially prior to hitting his wrist on the backboard, and even then he was trying to make a play. That being said, I guess saying the Devil that played the hardest tonight doesn't carry with it the same weight as usual.

[Madrasdukie]

I'm going with the guy who showed the most fight - Lance.

[Oriole Way]

Thomas. He was the only guy who played hard all game, and he tried to exhort his teammates. I'm disappointed that no one followed his lead.

[greybeard]

Lance, and he was underutilized. There were two instances in the first 6 plus minutes of the game when he had his guy sealed right in front of the basket, angled to his left, and he did not get the ball. He could really have gotten off had he gotten the ball those two times. Unfortunate. Lance played well, and could have handled Booker on Duke's offensive end; heck he was handling him. Duke cannot afford not to miss post ups like that. For those of you who have the game recorded, check it out. You'll see it clearly. The second came right before a time out with 14 something on the clock. The first was an even more wide open set.

A, shortly after he got in, had a pretty decent set up in the paint, was seen and didn't get it. After that, I didn't see him try to set for a reception. He relegated himself to setting off the ball screens and fighting for rebound positions. Not good.

Too much ambivalence this late in the season about whether getting it inside off the pass is a top priority, in my opinion. See for yourself who the culprits were.

[Oriole Way]

Lance, and he was underutilized. There were two instances in the first 6 plus minutes of the game when he had his guy sealed right in front of the basket, angled to his left, and he did not get the ball. He could really have gotten off had he gotten the ball those two times. Unfortunate. Lance played well, and could have handled Booker on Duke's offensive end; heck he was handling him. Duke cannot afford not to miss post ups like that. For those of you who have the game recorded, check it out. You'll see it clearly. The second came right before a time out with 14 something on the clock. The first was an even more wide open set.

A, shortly after he got in, had a pretty decent set up in the paint, was seen and didn't get it. After that, I didn't see him try to set for a reception. He relegated himself to setting off the ball screens and fighting for rebound positions. Not good.

Too much ambivalence this late in the season about whether getting it inside off the pass is a top priority, in my opinion. See for yourself who the culprits were.

It seems to me that our guards:

A. pass around and dribble around the perimeter WAY too much without initiating any attack towards the basket

B. ignore Zoubek and Thomas when they establish position and ask for an entry pass.

I also don't think we do a good enough job of setting screens and taking advantage of them. I've seen this team make a half-hearted attempt to penetrate off a screen, only to stop and re-set (Smith, Paulus, Scheyer in particular). Sometimes the screen-setters themselves are flashing too early or not moving to an ideal spot after setting it. I have to imagine that coaching is at fault for this.

I just think our offense lacks structure and purpose. It's too much of a pure motion offense. We don't have NBA players who can take their man off the dribble or create plays, but K seems to implement that line of thinking. For past Duke teams, that might have worked, but not for this one. I know K likes for his players to "make plays". I don't think that philosophy works for this team. Granted, I don't know if that's how he views it, but I think our offense needs some serious work.

Would you agree with any of that, or have you observed any of those things?

[Native]

It seems to me that our guards:

A. pass around and dribble around the perimeter WAY too much without initiating any attack towards the basket

B. ignore Zoubek and Thomas when they establish position and ask for an entry pass.

I also don't think we do a good enough job of setting screens and taking advantage of them. I've seen this team make a half-hearted attempt to penetrate off a screen, only to stop and re-set (Smith, Paulus, Scheyer in particular). Sometimes the screen-setters themselves are flashing too early or not moving to an ideal spot after setting it. I have to imagine that coaching is at fault for this.

I just think our offense lacks structure and purpose. It's too much of a pure motion offense. We don't have NBA players who can take their man off the dribble or create plays, but K seems to implement that line of thinking. For past Duke teams, that might have worked, but not for this one. I know K likes for his players to "make plays". I don't think that philosophy works for this team. Granted, I don't know if that's how he views it, but I think our offense needs some serious work.

Would you agree with any of that, or have you observed any of those things?

THANK YOU. I 100% agree, I think Coach K needs to revamp the offense, and stopping this is the main objective. All we do is stand on the perimeter and dribble/pass around until someone either

a) drives against a big twice his size and gets blocked
b) takes an off-balance 3 with :04 left on the shot clock

Against lesser ACC teams like Maryland, it will work. However, against decent-to-good ACC teams (Wake, UNC, Clemson, Miami), it will take much more teamwork to beat them. I don't think we have a "team" on offense. We have a group of guys who are trying to score, but we don't have a "team". Not yet.

[DukieBoy]

My vote goes to Jordan Davidson. He seemed to do the most positives of the night. However, in all seriousness, my vote goes to Lance. The image of him yelling during the time out showed how much he cared. Too bad no one else on the team seemed to care tonight.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I voted for Lance because he deserved it. I came very close to totally abstaining because I don't think anyone would want to be the man of THIS match.

[weezie]

I'm not voting. It's like asking who the MVP of this year's Detroit Lions was. We aren't them but tonight we looked poor.

I can't believe I'm seeing the Lions and the Blue Devils mentioned in the same sentence. Good grief.

LT for showing heart, GH for hanging in.

[bjornolf]

Lancelot was a man fighting alongside a bunch of boys last night. I hate to say it. They were well-intentioned, talent, good-hearted boys who wanted to believe SO bad, but THAT'S what they were last night. They just didn't have it. Whatever it is.

[SupaDave]

I'm just hoping someone remembers this good stuff about Lance when it's mentioned that we don't have anyone playing the 5 again..

[millerecu]

I for one hope Kyle, Jon, and Nolan would see this poll and notice they did not receive one vote. When three of our top 5 players don't get at least one vote you know something went wrong.

[killerleft]

Gerald had the best game. Nobody played well. Away from home, talented and on-their- game Clemson. Great crowd. I did NOT think that the effort wasn't there. Somehow we just left our brains at home. We made lots of silly plays, most of them unforced.