Man of the Match vs. Wake Forest (II)

[Hancock 4 Duke]

I already posted this, but forgot the poll part. It's not as fun without a poll, right?

[mgtr]

G is MOTM, for sure. Jon is second, not far behind. EWill is the happy, surprise star-in-waiting.

[Ben63]

Today is definitely a day for co-MOTM, but gave it G because I had to pick someone.

[Faison1]

MotM....G
1A. Scheyer
1AA. E-Will......Way to go, frosh, in setting the tone early!!!

[tbyers11]

Gerald gets my vote with a big nod to Jon and a hat tip to Elliot. Maybe we should do MOTM voting like the 3 stars at the end of a hockey game?

[JDev]

Jon and Elliot were outstanding, but G gets the nod. Unbelievable game. There is no better word than "unstoppable" to describe him today.

[geraldsneighbor]

Henderson/Scheyer for president.

[darkblue2769]

Tough time deciding on this one (and this is definitely a good thing!). Hard to deny giving it to G, but I've got to go with Scheyer. What slump? Plus, he proved he could serve as the point without giving up his scoring.

Kudos to E-Will as well. I really love seeing him in the game, and love what he has done while he has been there.

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match in the home game vs. Wake Forest. (Had to lock the other thread -- didn't include all the guys who played. I'll add the comments back into this one, but you guys need to re-vote.)

[jipops]

Can we vote for two on this one? Seriously.

[captmojo]

Had to vote twice for G.

[elvis14]

Whoo Hooo, I got the first vote in! I voted for G!

BTW, Jon and Elliot were great tonight. Lance and Kyle were really good but you can only pick one and G put up 35 and the way he did it was impressive.

What fun.

[MonitorMom]

Tonight I vote for Coach K. He came out first in player introductions unexpectedly and fired up the fans and players, threw off his coat, hugged and kissed his players. He said he was determined to find out how to fire up this talented team. Perhaps he did.

[kinghoops]

i had to go with gee, but with the disclaimer that ewill and jon were both 1a!

[quickgtp]

Really Jon or G should get it, but I was just very impressed with how Email came out and got after the Wake guards and caused 3 or 4 quick TO's. He gets my vote because it was his first start in a BIG game, and he delivered, IMO!

[FireOgilvie]

Scheyer for dropping 30 while doing a really solid job at point guard... 3 assists and only 1 turnover.

[jv001]

I voted for Gerald but could have voted for Jon just as easily. Both played great and were clutch down the stretch. Looks like by being named the PG/PF Jon has regained his confidence and shooting like we know he can. Go Duke!

[Faison1]

Ha Ha!!! I got to vote twice.......voted for E-Will this time to show him some love......keep it up kid!!!!!!

[jipops]

Ok, I'm giving it to Jon then. I'd rather have a co-MOTM joining G, but since most are loading up on G I'm going with Jon. He was simply superb in a pg role tonight, faced ridiculously difficult defensive assignments, and still managed to pump in 30. Also had 4boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and only 1 turnover.

[dukestheheat]

I realize that G will win this poll but I'm voting for Scheyer tonight. He is steadying the point spot right now and he just doesn't turn that ball over coming up the floor! Certainly, he's not speedy or flashy, but he's consistently excellent holding onto that ball and we desperately need this.

This is a huge win for Duke.

dth.

[Saratoga2]

Great game for Henderson. He played well in all phases. Scheyer also had a great game and would easily have earned MOM except for the incredible Henderson effort.

[Madrasdukie]

Tough, but edge to G.

[ArkieDukie]

Tough call, but I went with G. He got a slight nod over Jon and Elliot because he messed up Coach K's hair when he came out of the game! Priceless! (As was the response of the players and assistant coaches when he did it.)

[Papa John]

Not tough at all... G was a man the entire game--no lapses... Nice showing by Email--he should have the staff's complete confidence now...

[Madrasdukie]

Tough call, but I went with G. He got a slight nod over Jon and Elliot because he messed up Coach K's hair when he came out of the game! Priceless! (As was the response of the players and assistant coaches when he did it.)

I wish I had seen that. Were you at the game or did you see it on TV ?
I saw the hug and and the tap on the head but didn't see the "messing the hair" part. It was awesome listenting to K in Bob Harris's post-game show...when asked if he needed to have his ribs checked (given the two big hugs), he quipped that he's from Chicago, he's tough, he got their inner ribs...I could go on...what joy!

[Jumbo]

Obviously, there is no wrong answer to this question as far as G and Jon go. But I had to go with Jon by a fraction, just because he got his 30 while also running the point exceptionally well.

[tele]

Who had the ball at crunch time? Plus 30 pts and just one turnover? That's just real good. But can't go wrong voting for G too. What a fun game to watch, well played and well coached.

[Jumbo]

I wish I had seen that. Were you at the game or did you see it on TV ?
I saw the hug and and the tap on the head but didn't see the "messing the hair" part. It was awesome listenting to K in Bob Harris's post-game show...when asked if he needed to have his ribs checked (given the two big hugs), he quipped that he's from Chicago, he's tough, he got their inner ribs...I could go on...what joy!

Coach K kissed G. (Unless I was seeing things.) And then Chris Collins nearly ripped off Jon's head with a bear hug. Yikes!

[roywhite]

Went with G, but pretty good case for Jon, too.

By the way, I think G has edged ahead of Kyle as leading scorer for the year.

[BlueintheFace]

Seriously, the greatest injury risk to our players is the love given to them by our coaching staff. I love Duke Basketball.

[ArkieDukie]

I wish I had seen that. Were you at the game or did you see it on TV ?
I saw the hug and and the tap on the head but didn't see the "messing the hair" part. It was awesome listenting to K in Bob Harris's post-game show...when asked if he needed to have his ribs checked (given the two big hugs), he quipped that he's from Chicago, he's tough, he got their inner ribs...I could go on...what joy!

I saw it on TV. The "hair mess" was after the hug - at least, it looked more that and less a hair pat. I even rewound to watch again. It cracked me up. Nate just about doubled over.

[Madrasdukie]

Coach K kissed G. (Unless I was seeing things.) And then Chris Collins nearly ripped off Jon's head with a bear hug. Yikes!



Too cool !! ...thanks for sharing.

I did notice the Chris Collins reaction, and Nate beeeeeaming with happiness, not to forget the G/Jon hug towards the end of the game.

[Madrasdukie]

I saw it on TV. The "hair mess" was after the hug - at least, it looked more that and less a hair pat. I even rewound to watch again. It cracked me up. Nate just about doubled over.

You're probably right...I didn't have the luxury of the rewind option - I was trying to soak in as much as I could.

[dubayuw]

It is not very often that three players have career games in the same game :D.

[Cameron]

Gerald played amazing tonight. He was just incredible. At times, completely unstoppable. That flurry of dunks he had to help us open a 41-19 lead was the best stretch of basketball we've played since Jon's three-point shootout against Xavier back in December. To be honest, that was one of the most thrilling Duke runs I've seen this decade, at least in terms of regular season play. Are you kidding me? 35 on the biggest stage of the year? Mr. Henderson, you have solidified yourself as an all-time Blue Devil great. (And, for me, that praise began its campaign when he saved the entire program from a burial in DC last March, with that last second lay in.)

But, Jon Scheyer gets the nod. During the most important game of the season thus far, Jon not only answered the call as our point general, but he also played assassin as a scoring guard on the perimeter. He was lights out tonight. He nailed five triples tonight. It can't be stressed enough how big that is. This might have been the game that finally breaks the chains he's been locked down with from distance lately. Heading into the gauntlet of games we face in the next two weeks, this is a wonderful sign.

Thank you, Jon and Gerald. This was a performance for the ages.

And to everyone else on the team and staff. Fun night to be a Blue Devil fan.

[ArkieDukie]

You're probably right...I didn't have the luxury of the rewind option - I was trying to soak in as much as I could.

I DVRed the game and watched it late. Duke loses games I watch live, so I quit doing that. Had to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I saw. A couple of G's dunks got rewinds as well. The one off the steal was amazing!

[Delaware]

Gotta be one of the toughest calls of the season. I went with G, but Scheyer was right there. EWill in the first 10 minutes set the tone.

BUT.... Coach K would have gotten my vote if he was on the battot! The moves he has made that a lot of people were calling for (Jon at the point) cannot be easy for him... loyalty is what he is about. Sitting Greg has got to be tearing him up inside. Now if he starts using the 1-2-2 halfcourt or 1-3-1 halfcourt trap a bit more to go with the occasional full court trap to mix things up, this team will be scoring 90-100 and giving up 75-80 which will be fine by me.

[dukejim1]

The ball is moving great when in Jon's control. G made spectacular plays but I much prefer our offense when it goes through Jon's hands. The true man of the Match was Coach. I've never seen him work harder.

[Madrasdukie]

I DVRed the game and watched it late. Duke loses games I watch live, so I quit doing that. Had to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I saw. A couple of G's dunks got rewinds as well. The one off the steal was amazing!

Ah! yes...whatever superstition works :)

I liked the one where G is mid-air with the ball in both hands raised near the head, and then he hangs, and then he dunks one-handed...

[devildeac]

Jon was amazing.

G was very slightly more amazing.

What a couple of performances.

[ncexnyc]

Without a doubt it was G. That stepback 3 at the buzzer was just nasty.

[devildeac]

Without a doubt it was G. That stepback 3 at the buzzer was just nasty.

Jon hit a huge one near the end of the shot clock, too. I am sorry I got home a bit late and didn't get a chance to vote in the 1st poll. That way I could have voted for G on one poll and Jon on the other.;)

[COYS]

G was amazing, but Jon gets the nod from me. He has been asked to serve a different role than he has served for most of his career at Duke and he was lights out, tonight. One turnover against a long, quick, and opportunistic Wake D is incredible. Add 30 points including a few clutch threes and the best offensive game of the season for the team with Jon running things from the point and, as much as it pains me to stiff G, I gotta give it to Jon.

[sivartrenrag]

I went with Gerald for multiple reasons already posted, but I just have to say that so many guys performed incredibly well in this game. There was about a 10 minute stretch of the game where I was getting anxious, but this was the best game of the season thus far for me. Hopefully these guys can continue to play like this and we'll have many difficult MOTM decisions in the future! =D

[ArnieMc]

I couldn't decide, so I went to my stat formula:
Pts + Reb + Asst + Blk + Stl - TO
G had a 36, Jon a 38 - Jon by a hair.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Totally Gerald's game, but it's good to see Scheyer looks to have his game back and it's great to see EWill looking like the real deal. Those strings of steals on consecutive inbounds play were amazing, I was laughing so hard by the time he got his last one.

[bjornolf]

Jon played PG against some of the better guards in the ACC (this game proved to me that he CAN be a legitimate option at the point going forward), played for 37 minutes, shot 50% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc, 9-11 from the charity stripe, put pressure on their defense, got 30 points, 4 OFFENSIVE boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover, and 2 steals. I like to include steals when I look at assists and turnovers, since a steal is like a negative turnover. Since he had 2 steals and 1 turnover, that's actually a +1 in the ball-handling column for him. Offensive boards are HUGE in that department as well, since it basically denies your opponent a possession and gives your team an EXTRA one. He also nailed some clutch shots when Wake was making a push that kept Duke ahead (G did too, of course, but I'm making Jon's case here ;) ).

The world-beater guards for Wake combined for 6 assists 7 turnovers, and only 1 steal and averaged about 17 points. Scheyer outplayed all three of them in overall guard play. They scored more total points, but there were three of them. Although they scored okay, I didn't think they ever looked very comfortable in this game. They seemed to be hurrying and pushing and getting frustrated almost constantly. Despite their point production, I thought Jon and the other defenders took them out of their comfort zone.

For those reasons, I had to go with Jon as MOTM.

[bjornolf]

Let me just add this:

G had a great game, but none of it was really out of his norm. The totals might have been a little greater, but it was all stuff that we've seen before. I wouldn't be shocked to see him do this EVERY game (god that would be great). Jon Scheyer redefined his entire Duke career last night and basically unmade his slump (he didn't just break out of his slump, he made it look like it never existed) at the same time. Maybe Jon should have played the point from the moment he stepped onto Duke's campus. When he's busy thinking about all his other duties as a PG and his shot is just an unconscious reaction for him, he doesn't have room in his mind to think about his slump, and the beauty just comes back. What slump?

[moonpie23]

we have a sayin in my business:

I'm not sayin'.........I'm just sayin' !


well, i was at the game and i had my 6TH man Duke Shirt on, and i thought the 6th MAN was pretty darn good too!!


I'm not sayin'.........I'm just sayin' ! :)

[davekay1971]

Need to have a co-MOTM choice for this game: Henderson and Scheyer.

[91devil]

Coach K should win this game's award. He had more energy than anyone in the building, and its a building that needed energy. Did anyone notice the sizable chuck of empty student seats? Against Wake Forest....a Top 10 Team.....in a game we HAD to win.....coming off a rough patch in the schedule when the team NEEDED the crowd.....and the student section wasn't full (especially glaring since it was the section right by the locker room, and its pretty much the first thing the team sees when it emerges).

Coach, thanks for getting EVERYONE involved.

[mapei]

It is wonderful to see JS get his mojo back, and to see EWill emerge. But G gave one of the all-time performances last night, maybe the best in Cameron since JJ roamed the 3-point arc.

[Son of Jarhead]

G on a coin flip. That was the only way I could pick between Jon & G. Nice problem to have.

[ACCBBallFan]

From a metrics standpoint, which cannot totally measure the impact G's aggressiveness had on Wake, Scheyer gets the nod:

Four guys two from each team played outstandingly. Aminu played poorly (for him) in his first Cmaeron adventure and Lance and Elliott over Ish Smith was the difference after others paired off.

If Chas MacFarland could stay out of foul trouble, he could have been problematic for Lance, where Zoubek would be a better option, but Chas played most of his 16 minutes with 4 fouls and was pretty ineffective as Lance had his way on Offensive boards and putbacks.

Rating Player
89 Jon Scheyer, G
88 Jeff Teague, G
86 James Johnson, F
83 Gerald Henderson, G-F

67 TOTALS-Wake
61 TOTALS-Duke

60 Kyle Singler, F
60 L.D. Williams, G

56 Lance Thomas, F

52 Elliot Williams, G
51 Ishmael Smith, G

47 Al-Farouq Aminu, F
41 Chas McFarland, C

14 Greg Paulus, G
13 David Weaver, F-C
12 David McClure, F
10 Nolan Smith, G

04 Tony Woods, C
03 Gary Clark, G
03 Miles Plumlee, F
02 Harvey Hale, G