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View Full Version : MBB: Duke 67, Maryland 61 (ACC Tournament) Post-Game Thread



Bob Green
03-14-2009, 06:13 PM
Post your game thoughts here.

hurleyfor3
03-14-2009, 06:14 PM
OK... on to the championship game with FSU. Wasn't sure this game was going to get out of the 50s until the free-throw shooting started.

Son of Mojo
03-14-2009, 06:15 PM
Hard fought game--needed better defensive stops in those last two minutes. Step it up one more game & win the title. McClure & Smith stepped up big today as well.

sandinmyshoes
03-14-2009, 06:15 PM
I'm getting too old for this.

FerryFor50
03-14-2009, 06:16 PM
Physical game. Good defense on both sides, save for the last stretch by Hayes.

Poor shooting by most of the team. McClure was the savior.

TaiAdmiral
03-14-2009, 06:16 PM
Solid SOLID SOLID game by Scheyer. And what's even better, our free throws were outstanding.

dukebsbll14
03-14-2009, 06:16 PM
Good win. Lets get rested and ready for FSU tomorrow; going to be a very good game I presume.

GO DUKE!!!

pamtar
03-14-2009, 06:17 PM
A very good win, although I have to give some credit to our seeding. Great job of shutting down Vasquez in the second half. Great job by Dave and Jon on O and Kyle and Nolan on D. Look out Noles! An ACC tourney win would be very sweet! LGD!

DukieInBrasil
03-14-2009, 06:18 PM
on to the ACC Finals!!! We can beat the Noles!!! WeŽre gonna have to start to doing a better job of hitting the front end of our FT sessions in pressure situations thoŽ. We missed two in a row on the front of 2 shots late.
Great game Jon!!! Nice to see Nolan coming along. He was pretty quiet against BC but seemed a bit more assertive tonight...he may have even gotten the starting gig back, seeing as how EWill is not taking anyone by surprise anymore.

miramar
03-14-2009, 06:18 PM
1) As the Crazies said to Dave McClure on Senior Night, "Five more years!"

2) The free throw shooting improved in this game, which was good to see.

3) FSU will be a really tough game, but I am delighted they knocked off Carolina.

cruxer
03-14-2009, 06:18 PM
Great win when our offense wasn't clicking on all cylinders. I thought we looked particularly uncomfortable in our end-of-game set where we spread the floor and run clock. That surprised me a bit since we've run that set well this year.

Hayes was pretty incredible at the end for the Terps and hit several tough shots while being fairly well defended. He's the only reason the final was within 10 pts.

Overall, it's one-and-done, so survive and advance! Look forward to tomorrow when we'll have to beat another very good team for a third time to when the championship. If we cut down the nets, we'll have damn well earned it!

-c

DankeShane
03-14-2009, 06:19 PM
I don't know if this showed on the ESPN feed, but on Raycom at the end when Nolan Smith was shooting those FTs, it looked like some Maryland fans behind the Duke bench were heckling him quite a bit. After Smith made the FT Coach K turned around and it looked like he gave those idiot terp fans a nice verbal smackdown of some sort.

Anyways, that might have been my favorite part of the game.

chrisheery
03-14-2009, 06:19 PM
Last year, in a game that physical when the refs were not calling normal fouls, Duke would have lost that game.

This year, we have found a way to stay in games like this until we can get free and play better. That is a nice development.

Nolan is almost back to being himself. I thought he played great.

The defense seems to be back to previous level. Really helping well and tipping balls. Today, we didn't secure them well, but if we had hung on to a few in the first half and converted on the other end, this might have been a blowout.

Things that need to improve:

We need to do a better job rebounding the ball. Specifically, boxing out the guys crashing from the outside and hanging onto the ball when it comes our way.

Push the ball when a team presses or when we get a rebound.

E Will should take those shots or he can't play in big games.

Paulus might have been valuable playing more off the ball. He made a big three in his limited minutes and missed a layup he should have made. He also played well on defense and provided a huge spark.

Jumbo
03-14-2009, 06:21 PM
Once again, it wasn't a thing of beauty (except for the textbook fastbreak where McClure grabbed the rebound, tossed the outlet to Henderson who threw a great bounce pass to Scheyer for the layup), but Duke got it done.

Big props to Coach K for not forcing Elliot Williams out there in a game where he clearly was struggling, and instead going with Nolan Smith, who played very well. I was hoping to see more of Zoubek, but given the way the team is playing defense (so much better than the last few games of the regular season), maybe it's just not possible to use him and keep switching screens and helping the way we are.

Once again, it seemed like we tipped a lot of balls that went the wrong way. We need to grab rebounds, not just get a hand on the ball. We're playing very good defense -- just need to finish.

mr. synellinden
03-14-2009, 06:23 PM
Maybe this deserves a separate thread, but someone needs to test him for a degenerative brain disease. I am serious. He constantly gets the score or the team or the player wrong and he can't seem to follow the score progression. I keep noticing it more and more, and it's extremely annoying watching him do a game. I could list about ten times that he made obvious mistakes, calling Maryland Florida St. at one point - ok, I understand he's doing two games, but at least realize it and correct it. One time Vasquez drove and he said it was Tucker. During the end of the game he kept getting the score and point spread wrong. It's like a drunk Harry Caray at this point. ESPN needs to give him a vacation.

InSpades
03-14-2009, 06:25 PM
Great defensive effort. To win a game when Kyle+Gerald go 6 for 26 combined from the floor is something that never would have happened without an inspired effort on the other end of the floor.

Welcome back Nolan! We missed you. An even better game from him today. He's a nice compliment to Elliot, he provides some of the same defensive intensity but is a much better scorer/shooter.

McClure was his usual awesome self. We will miss him a lot next year (and every year after that).

Let's have a good shooting game tomorrow!

BlueintheFace
03-14-2009, 06:27 PM
Ugly UGLY win, but it is march so every win is beautiful.

1) Greg Paulus in the first half and Dave McClure in the second half were awesome. Both made big plays on both ends of the floor that really ignited the team. They brought what we really needed.

2) G had trouble getting in to the game and hitting shots. He really needed to get to the rim more and draw contact, but MD's occasional sagging defense stopped him from doing so.

3) That same sagging defense rendered E-will ineffective on the perimeter exposing his inability to hit the three while taking away the drive.

4) Nolan looked better and had some solid plays on both ends. He still is having trouble with stupid fouls, but it wasn't that bad.

5) Jon played great and definitely has his shooting touch working.

6) Kyle's first half was good, but it seemed as though we stopped running things for him in the second half like we did in the first, so his only big plays on offense were on the boards. That last rebound was very nice.

7) Did I mention that Dave is awesome? He is.

rthomas
03-14-2009, 06:29 PM
I could list about ten times that he made obvious mistakes, calling Maryland Florida St. at one point

At one point early in the game Patrick called us Noth Carolina and I threw up a liitle bit inside my mouth. The dude needs to retire and so does Vitale.

ChrisP
03-14-2009, 06:30 PM
That was one of the worst officiated games I have ever seen. Those 3 refs simply did NOT seem to know what a charge looks like. There were several in that game that were either called incorrectly or not at all. Granted, it was reasonably physical both ways (I thought our guys got away with some bumps on their cutters through the lane and some bumps on some shots) but that was just awful. Here's to hoping those 3 zebra-clad bozos do NOT make the final tomorrow.

It's not terping if you win, right?

sagegrouse
03-14-2009, 06:30 PM
I was muttering that David was the key player for Duke BEFORE he scored those two buckets. When he came in, suddenly we started getting rebounds and grabbing loose balls. He made a big difference in the energy level of the Duke team.

sagegrouse

CBDUKE
03-14-2009, 06:30 PM
My heart is beating and I'm still breathing. I'm too old for this too! GO DUKE

loran16
03-14-2009, 06:31 PM
Elliot showed some poor play in the first half. Still in the 2nd half he had a few good solid boards, including 3 Offensive rebounds and one putback.

I want him to remain our starter, but K has to emphasize he should NOT take an open 3 pointer unless its near the end of a shot clock or the team has had a chance to survey its opportunities. He's NOT a great 3 point shooter, but he can drive, pass, and play D.

This is something K should have a word about, and he should be fine though.

Great play by nolan though.

weezie
03-14-2009, 06:33 PM
Here's to hoping those 3 zebra-clad bozos do NOT make the final tomorrow.

It's not terping if you win, right?

No, it's not terping, it's just par for the course when Duke is playing. The game is too fast for the refs and they are too short. They can't see the entire body in play and they focus only on the waist.

Be careful what you wish for, Hess is definitely in the rotation for tomorrow's game.

COYS
03-14-2009, 06:35 PM
I loved watching this win. Yeah, it wasn't pretty but with the refs swallowing their whistles (except for fouls away from the ball), this game was destined to be a physical, defensive struggle. I love seeing our renewed commitment to lock-down defense. Also, Nolan had his best game in a month or so. The rust is starting to come off. Good timing, too, since Elliot's limitations were exploited today by Maryland. Still, good defensive effort from the freshman. If Nolan starts scoring, it's going to take the pressure off of Elliot to be a fourth scoring option. Ironically, I think this will make him a more effective force on the offensive end as he can pick his spots and play within his comfort zone and focus on being a defensive stopper. I DO expect to see him knock down those open threes next year, though.

It's always tough beating a team three times in one season. We got one chance to do that today and were successful. Hopefully we can make it two for two, tomorrow. FSU will be tough and I expect another physical, defensive game. Hopefully Gerald will regain his shooting touch and, as a team, we can grab (instead of just tipping) more rebounds and loose balls to keep a tall FSU team from getting easy buckets. I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the idea of cutting down the nets and claiming the ACC title. Given how successful Duke has been in the past during these tournaments, it's easy to forget that, with the exception of Paulus, Pocius, and McClure, no one else on this team has any kind of post-season trophy to celebrate. I'm sure that our guys will be just as hungry for that trophy tomorrow as FSU.

Bob Green
03-14-2009, 06:36 PM
Our reserves scored 19 points off the bench. That is 28.4% of the points we scored today. One weakness this team has had is bench points. This is a really nice development at the right time of the year. We are going to need to play eight or nine players the rest of the way and we need the three or four who come off the bench to score points when they are in the game.

miramar
03-14-2009, 06:36 PM
Duke shot 11/33 (33%) on two pointers but 9/22 (41%) on threes. FTs were an impressive 18/21 (86%). Duke had a 9-4 advantage on threes and an 18-7 advantage on FTs. Rebounds were tied at 28, but Duke had a 14-12 advantage on the offensive end. It's kind of strange to see 30 defensive rebounds and 26 offensive. Nolan's 10 off the bench were key and must have been very satisfying all around.

Faison1
03-14-2009, 06:38 PM
I thought some of the best ball played by Duke was in the first half with Paulus, Nolan, and McClure in the game....besides, of course that little run they went on around the 7 to 5 minute mark in the 2nd half.

Glad to see signs of life from Greg. A few nice threes will come in handy tomorrow.

FSU is going to be tough......

devildm
03-14-2009, 06:39 PM
Speaking of terping, I just heard Mike Hogewood point out (emphatically) that Duke had 21 free throws while Maryland only had 9. Did he not watch the last 90 seconds of the game in which Maryland kept fouling Duke, causing Duke to shoot 10 free throws? I get so frustrated when sports comments make statements on statistics when they don't put them into context.

weezie
03-14-2009, 06:41 PM
Speaking of terping, I just heard Mike Hogewood point out (emphatically) that Duke had 21 free throws while Maryland only had 9. Did he not watch the last 90 seconds of the game in which Maryland kept fouling Duke, causing Duke to shoot 10 free throws?

No, he was waiting in line for the half-priced hot dogs at the end of the game.

COYS
03-14-2009, 06:45 PM
Speaking of terping, I just heard Mike Hogewood point out (emphatically) that Duke had 21 free throws while Maryland only had 9. Did he not watch the last 90 seconds of the game in which Maryland kept fouling Duke, causing Duke to shoot 10 free throws? I get so frustrated when sports comments make statements on statistics when they don't put them into context.

He also could point out that Maryland has one of the worst free throw rates in the country, rarely getting to the line. They are primarily a jump shooting team that simply does not draw many shooting fouls. Based on that statistic alone, Duke would be far more likely to have an advantage from the free throw line. Then add in the 8 free throws that Duke took while Maryland was trying to foul us and the margin of 21-9 is not surprising at all.

77devil
03-14-2009, 06:47 PM
There use to be a strongly held belief among ACC basketball writers that the league was disadvantaged in the Big Dance because of tighter ACC officiating. This has been changing for awhile now but today demonstrates that the transition is complete. It's no wonder it was an ugly game. This Duke team doesn't back down though

natkap
03-14-2009, 06:50 PM
Sure is nice to be playing tomorrow when Carolina will be sitting at home talking about how the ACC championship doesn't matter. I was very impressed with the defensive effort and thought that McClure really stepped up. We really needed that extra boost since G was struggling today. Go Duke!!!

MB in MD
03-14-2009, 06:55 PM
This was a gratifying, if ugly, win. I thought we played hard but Maryland out hustled us--it seemed like every loose ball that was pingponged around went out of bounds off of us because they didn't let us get a clean grab. Our defense was great--we held Vasquez in check, made MD play in the half court most of the time, and most of their shots were contested. I think that that Hayes explosion in the last bit was calculated--we wanted to deny 3's and not foul to run clock and K knew that with the margin we had to work with it didn't matter if Hayes made a bunch of 2's (as long as we hit our free throws, which we fortunately did).

Maryland put an outstanding combo package on Henderson, with Mosely doing the heavy lifting, but consistently running him into help. If he'd made a few more of his pullups then maybe the rest of his game would have opened up, but I wouldn't chalk his performance up to just a bad game--Gary had a good game plan.

Our best lineups today, especially in the second half, had Smith and McClure, and Jon's offensive consistency kept us just enough ahead that MD had to work too hard.

I'd love to see the defense we've seen in the last couple of games get matched up with the offensive machine we saw down the stretch in the regular season. We will need to shoot better than 33% from 2 point range.

Still, we are still playing and Carolina is not. How sweet is that!

Saratoga2
03-14-2009, 07:04 PM
Gary Williams has taken his share of criticism on this site, however, he did come up with a good defensive strategy against Duke. They zoned and sagged back against anyone not named Henderson, Singler and Scheyer. They dared Williams to shoot and know we tend to be a three headed offensive threat. Nolan helped that situation as did McClure. I think others will try that defense on us, since it was fairly successful.

GOOD WIN!

mgtr
03-14-2009, 07:10 PM
It is wonderful that we have a three-legged stool (G, Jon & Kyle), but the great news is that we can find a few extra legs when we need them! That gives me a lot of optimism for the NCAAs.

Bob Green
03-14-2009, 07:12 PM
I think others will try that defense on us, since it was fairly successful.

Exactly! Which is why it is so important for our bench players to score when in the game. The 19 points off the bench today were huge.

InSpades
03-14-2009, 07:15 PM
Watching ESPN2 at halftime of Baylor vs. Mizzoo... Some guy asking Steve Lavin "so coach, who has the edge tomorrow in the ACC final?". As they show the combined result of the 2 games Duke has played against Florida St. this year Lavin replies "It's got to be Florida St., they just present a matchup problem for Duke". The other guy was almost laughing as he replied "but coach, they've beat them 8 of the last 10 and twice this year...".

dukelifer
03-14-2009, 07:37 PM
The bench really played well today. Smith has some really nice moments and McClure gave great energy. All is all, a strong effort. Is it me, but Duke seems to be able to play O or play D but not both at the same time. I thought Duke relied too much on the jumper today. I wish this team would pass the ball more and attack more. But a win is a win and it is great to be in the finals again. A conference tourney win would be a great accomplishment for this team- but it will take a great effort tomorrow. Toney Douglas is on a roll.

Dr. Tina
03-14-2009, 07:37 PM
Jon had a great game today. He's responded so well to the PG spot and I think it rather suits him. It's worked to our advantage in many ways. We have fewer TO's and his offense has picked up as a result.

G needs to play better for us tomorrow. I'm wondering if he's putting too much pressure on himself or something? I think he wants to be SuperG out there sometimes and can start trying to do too much. It leads to poor decisions. The upside is that I think there's potential for him to be fresher in tomorrow's game because his minutes were limited on Friday and he only played 33 minutes today.

Kyle had a great first half. His offensive boards helped, but I think he could have gotten more if they all weren't playing volleyball out there so much when the ball was up for grabs. He looks good for the postseason. I don't get this worn out vibe from him.

Nolan has benefited from his break on the court. He did really well today. He hit some good shots for us and played good D. I'm happy to see him back.

McClure is huge whenever he can give us defense AND offense. He really lifted us in the 2nd half with his play. Greg's 3 was good and I thought he did a decent job.

EWill played a bit more tentatively today and MD took advantage. I hope he recognizes that teams are going to tempt him to take an open 3 and he'll be more assertive. I love the fact that he does play so well in general for us that we now have 3 options at guard with him, Nolan, and G.

Overall, good game and I feel positive about our prospects tomorrow and in the NCAA's. It's nice to feel like we're playing better at the end of the season for once. Also, who doesn't like seeing UNC vanquished so they have no chance at an ACC Tournament championship? :)

dukelifer
03-14-2009, 07:45 PM
Watching ESPN2 at halftime of Baylor vs. Mizzoo... Some guy asking Steve Lavin "so coach, who has the edge tomorrow in the ACC final?". As they show the combined result of the 2 games Duke has played against Florida St. this year Lavin replies "It's got to be Florida St., they just present a matchup problem for Duke". The other guy was almost laughing as he replied "but coach, they've beat them 8 of the last 10 and twice this year...".

Florida State does have the advantage because I think the shooting from down deep is most likely to be affected by the three days of playing. As a result, the inside play will be big tomorrow. Duke will need to have great midrange shooting game and turn to's into points to be effective. The goal will be to keep it close and then try to win it at the end. Duke has the advantage at the end of the game.

DU82
03-14-2009, 08:06 PM
A couple of notes now that I'm inside and dry (it's been two cold days in Atlanta, today adding a nice rain to the mix.)

I concur with the comment about Gary having a good defensive game plan tonight. It was clear they were daring Elliot to shoot 3s. After two (I believe) he made the good decision not to.

Some comments in this thread about our defense, and Hayes scoring so much late. I think it was more denying Vasquez the ball late, and daring Hayes to beat us with twos, instead of Vasquez's possible threes. To his credit, he did make a lot of tough baskets to keep them close.

Please Dave, SHOOT THE BALL! Good things happen when you do!

Yesterday Kyle, today Jon, tomorrow Gerald?

MonitorMom
03-14-2009, 08:34 PM
Apparently Coach K was very dissappointed with some Maryland fans heckling Nolan about his injury. Usually K lets that stuff roll off his back so it must have been pretty bad, or as he says,"some true humanitarians." He gave Nolan big kudos though-great to hear.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_basketball/

Saratoga2
03-14-2009, 08:39 PM
Thomas had limited minutes today and I think it was because his mobility seemed to be compromised. It is probably due to his ankle sprain, but after his inability to stay in front of Vasquez on a couple of plays, coach changed his assignments and actually he had to sit. I wonder how close he is to 100% going into the NCAA's

mr. synellinden
03-14-2009, 08:43 PM
What's so frustrating about Thomas is that he is basically in there to play interior defense, set screens and rebound. But he just can't seem to get the knack for rebounding. He has poor positioning, doesn't anticipate well and has bad hands. I was looking at his rebounding stats and he hasn't had one game with more than 6 rebounds since the pre-conference schedule.

We need to do a better job rebounding tomorrow and in the tourney and it would be nice to see Thomas make that more of a focus of his game.

dukelifer
03-14-2009, 08:52 PM
What's so frustrating about Thomas is that he is basically in there to play interior defense, set screens and rebound. But he just can't seem to get the knack for rebounding. He has poor positioning, doesn't anticipate well and has bad hands. I was looking at his rebounding stats and he hasn't had one game with more than 6 rebounds since the pre-conference schedule.

We need to do a better job rebounding tomorrow and in the tourney and it would be nice to see Thomas make that more of a focus of his game.

I have been surprised that Miles has not seen a minute since the Florida State game where he got a minute. I suppose if someone gets into foul trouble- we may see him- but he is fresh and could give a few minutes tomorrow against their bigs.

DankeShane
03-14-2009, 08:53 PM
Apparently Coach K was very dissappointed with some Maryland fans heckling Nolan about his injury. Usually K lets that stuff roll off his back so it must have been pretty bad, or as he says,"some true humanitarians." He gave Nolan big kudos though-great to hear.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_basketball/

Yeah, that's what I saw from the Raycom feed. While Nolan was preparing his first FT there at the end of the game the camera panned across these neanderthal-like Maryland fans that were right behind the coach's portion of the Duke bench. You could tell they were giving Nolan a hard time. After Nolan's made FT Coach K leaped up and started giving it back to that Terp crowd. I was like, damn you never see Coach K actually react back with fans... typical Maryland behavior.

elvis14
03-14-2009, 08:59 PM
I thought all season long that the style of play in the ACC was more physical than in the past. This tournament has been called rediculously bad. Aside from the Va Tech/UNC game which was just an embarassment for the league, all the games have bee officiated to allow just about anything in the paint. On one hand, it's disappointing because it's ugly basketball and it doesn't usually help Duke. On the other hand, sadly, the NCAAT has been called that way of late so having Duke play and succeed in this style is good practice.

It nice to see our guys continue to play well and to see Nolan back in the mix today. He played well, espeically considering how they neutralized Elliot. After watching us play 2 days in a row, I have a question. We have had success of late brining G off screens and having him attack the lane. Tonight, UMD double teamed G until he stopped and gave up the ball. My question is this: has anyone else noticed that we seem to be unable to make an entry pass on a pick and roll? I've seen guys roll to the hoop and be wide open and we don't even look to get them the ball. It seems like we could either directly make that pass or swing it to the outside then make an extra entry to the guy rolling off that pick for a layup. I think other teams have noticed that we don't make this so they get to cheat and hold their double teams off screens longer. Thoughts?

SMO
03-14-2009, 09:04 PM
Yeah, that's what I saw from the Raycom feed. While Nolan was preparing his first FT there at the end of the game the camera panned across these neanderthal-like Maryland fans that were right behind the coach's portion of the Duke bench. You could tell they were giving Nolan a hard time. After Nolan's made FT Coach K leaped up and started giving it back to that Terp crowd. I was like, damn you never see Coach K actually react back with fans... typical Maryland behavior.

I really enjoyed seeing Dave "hip check" Neal end his career losing 3 times to Duke.

Constantstrain 81
03-14-2009, 09:07 PM
I thought we were just deadly killer tough today. The games in the tournament have been called even - just allowing everyone to push and shove in the middle. We have stood up well to the challenge in the last two games (Singler has been great). Today, we had a lot of "bad" luck - so many balls that just didn't ounce our way. I didn't think it was being out-hustled, just bad luck. Still, we never lost our cool and we adjusted our play to match the officiating.

Duke76
03-14-2009, 09:24 PM
was at the game, Gerald was fading away on all his shots, he's got to go straight up. He did make a key 3 at an crucial time in the 2nd half.. Williams got to take those shots. Singler and Jon are iron men. Has Kyle come out at all?? Gonna be special tomorrow when we win.

Bob Green
03-14-2009, 09:47 PM
I really enjoyed seeing Dave "hip check" Neal end his career losing 3 times to Duke.

Bob Harris interviewed Nolan Smith during the radio broadcast pregame show and Smith stated that the screen was legal and Dave Neal is not a dirty player. Smith went on to state that Neal came onto the team bus after the game and spoke to him.

It seems Nolan Smith has no ill feelings toward Dave Neal so I believe we should all follow Nolan's lead and move on.

dukestheheat
03-14-2009, 09:47 PM
Apparently Coach K was very dissappointed with some Maryland fans heckling Nolan about his injury. Usually K lets that stuff roll off his back so it must have been pretty bad, or as he says,"some true humanitarians." He gave Nolan big kudos though-great to hear.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_basketball/

on TV deriding Nolan as he shot free throws! Were they actually sitting behind Duke's bench? Man oh man, they were stooopid. I'm not surprised though; I still rate Maryland's fans as the #1 boorish group out there.

dth.

RepoMan
03-14-2009, 09:48 PM
Big props to Coach K for not forcing Elliot Williams out there in a game where he clearly was struggling, and instead going with Nolan Smith, who played very well.

At the same time, I am glad that he didn't abandon E. I hope we keep this same starting lineup. Let Nolan come in as 6th man.

It is 100% clear what E needs to work on this offseason. He needs a better outside shot. Still, the dude is has great rebounding instincts.

Another solid win.

This game present a great example of why this is our best team in a long long time. G and Kyle struggle a bit. No problem. Jon, Nolan, and Dave step it up.

2 great games by Dave in a row.

A championship would mean a lot. I'd love to see this team firing on all cyliders. It has not happened all season, and I think it wilol before its over.

gumbomoop
03-14-2009, 09:49 PM
What's so frustrating about Thomas is that he is basically in there to play interior defense, set screens and rebound. But he just can't seem to get the knack for rebounding. He has poor positioning, doesn't anticipate well and has bad hands.

Agree 100%. For me, this is one of the few troubling issues [sure, a few others, too] in an otherwise stirring response to our brutal end-schedule and always tough tourney. Amid lots of good news, we can, following K, tell the truth about areas of concern in a constructively critical way.

At times LT scores a good putback, and sometimes he switches reasonably well. Yet, to make the obvious and painful contrast with Scheyer, LT doesn't yet have good court awareness, and he's not gonna develop it this year. His chief strength - his ferocious energy - is simultaneously his chief weakness, for he's too often wildly out of control. So not only does he have no knack for rebounding, he also loses possession for us too often with illegal blocks. Again, he's not got the knack [lots of other big guys lack it too] for staying still, keeping arm/elbow/shoulder in, etc. Further, he's not solid at free throw line block outs, and I tend to scream at him, K, the world, when the opposition gets an offensive rebound on free throw. For most coaches, this is, as it should be, an unpardonable sin.

Contrast all this with DMc, who blocks out [today!], blocks shots [today!], keeps offensive rebounds in play [today!], flicks passes [today!], steals from the passing lanes [today!].

I'm sure that K will continue to rotate DMc, LT, and Z, possibly MP1 in spot situations; and any of those could be a key contributor in any of our remaining 7 games. Odds are, however, that DMc's spot minutes will be, not spotty, but serious floor time. Honestly, even at his size disadvantage, it's clear to me that we're a better team when he's our 2d "big" with KS. And I do not believe that when he's that 2d big, that KS must play the opposing 5. With our switching, shoot, JS or G is just as likely to be defending down in the lane.

I hope LT and Z will contribute at key moments. I absolutely and confidently expect DMc to do so.

roywhite
03-14-2009, 10:02 PM
Contrast all this with DMc, who blocks out [today!], blocks shots [today!], keeps offensive rebounds in play [today!], flicks passes [today!], steals from the passing lanes [today!].



He made some sensational plays. I really liked the block of the 3-point attempt by Eric Hayes (today's Biko Paris) from the corner.

loran16
03-14-2009, 10:04 PM
LT's rebounding issues is very similar to Zoo's....you just notice it less since he's not as big a guy. He can jump and get the board....but any contact and the ball slips from his hands like he's Casey Sanders.

Offseason, how bout this exercise for the two big guys. One guy keeps shooting 3s a bit hard so as to try to allow rebounds, and zoo, lance and lets say a walk on (steve johnson?) try and out muscle each other for the boards....so as to see whether they can HOLD ON to the ball after contact.

tele
03-14-2009, 10:53 PM
Not disputing what you're saying re LT and Z, but keep in mind LT had a pretty bad ankle injury, high sprain? and Z has a broken nose. It is somewhat surprisning they are even playing at all. Have to give them some credit for toughness and wanting to be out there helping their team win, even if it might make them look ineffective and open them to criticism. The team is going to need them to make a good long run in the NCAAs. Not to mention the ACC championship. It is easy to forget how hard this team plays every game. If you watch a big ten game now and then it refreshes your memory. Anyway good to see the team getting healthy and LUCK in the ACC chanmpionship game tomorrow.

arnie
03-14-2009, 10:57 PM
LT's rebounding issues is very similar to Zoo's....you just notice it less since he's not as big a guy. He can jump and get the board....but any contact and the ball slips from his hands like he's Casey Sanders.

Offseason, how bout this exercise for the two big guys. One guy keeps shooting 3s a bit hard so as to try to allow rebounds, and zoo, lance and lets say a walk on (steve johnson?) try and out muscle each other for the boards....so as to see whether they can HOLD ON to the ball after contact.

These two guys are at the end of their junior year - if they haven't figured it out by now, I don't think its going to happen. The moving screens that Z seems to set in every game just kill me. Here's hoping Dave plays more and more during the tournament - we give up some size, but he understands the game.

gumbomoop
03-14-2009, 11:02 PM
LT's rebounding issues is very similar to Zoo's....you just notice it less since he's not as big a guy. He can jump and get the board....but any contact and the ball slips from his hands like he's Casey Sanders.

Offseason, how bout this exercise for the two big guys. One guy keeps shooting 3s a bit hard so as to try to allow rebounds, and zoo, lance and lets say a walk on (steve johnson?) try and out muscle each other for the boards....so as to see whether they can HOLD ON to the ball after contact.

Yes, the comparison to Casey Sanders is valid, not just for the hands, but for Casey's bad footwork, too. I swear CS just didn't know which was his pivot foot, so he seemed always off balance on offense. Like LT, sort of out of control, off balance, not quite in tune with the rhythm of the game.

I'm confident that K will be straight with both LT and Z, and lay it on the line after the season about what they must work on to play solid minutes next season. I wish he could do it now, but it's too late for fundamental fundamentals this season. Or is it?

Back to Casey to end on a positive, and fondly remembered, note: in some interview or maybe an ESPN retrospective, K told how Carlos and Casey were good buddies, and that at halftime of the NC game v. Arizona, K had to make sure that Carlos wouldn't worry about hurting Casey's feelings [!!] if Carlos started the 2d half. So, as K tells it, he asked Casey, in front of Carlos, "Casey, are you ok with not starting this half?" K does psychology pretty well.

And let's hope for a fairy tale ending in '09, with LT and Z making Casey-like contributions to a NC.

feldspar
03-14-2009, 11:26 PM
Bottom line, we've been able to do what other teams have not: slow down Vasquez.

If we can do that to some measure against Douglas, we'll be in good shape tomorrow.

jipops
03-14-2009, 11:32 PM
Our reserves scored 19 points off the bench. That is 28.4% of the points we scored today. One weakness this team has had is bench points. This is a really nice development at the right time of the year. We are going to need to play eight or nine players the rest of the way and we need the three or four who come off the bench to score points when they are in the game.

10 of those scored by Nolan. I am absolutely delighted that we've gotten Nolan back into rhythm now. Hid D was nice at times too with a couple of take-aways.

I actually thought Elliot had a pretty good game if you take away his shooting woes. He was on the boards and was very effective on the ball and on Vasquez. Though the 21 footer is not his strength he needs to maintain the confidence he's been playing with this last half of the season.

McClure was huge at the key point of the game.

Weks
03-15-2009, 01:13 AM
Maybe this deserves a separate thread, but someone needs to test him for a degenerative brain disease. I am serious. He constantly gets the score or the team or the player wrong and he can't seem to follow the score progression. I keep noticing it more and more, and it's extremely annoying watching him do a game. I could list about ten times that he made obvious mistakes, calling Maryland Florida St. at one point - ok, I understand he's doing two games, but at least realize it and correct it. One time Vasquez drove and he said it was Tucker. During the end of the game he kept getting the score and point spread wrong. It's like a drunk Harry Caray at this point. ESPN needs to give him a vacation.

I am constantly in disbelief that he gets paid money for what he does...

hustleplays
03-15-2009, 01:18 AM
I also confess that I do not understand why/how a duke basketball player cannot stop doing something so basic as moving screens. And, then, after the fact, look bewildered and victimized. I understand that someone like me might "lose it" in a game situation, but a junior year duke player? I truly don't get it. Same with the LT stuff -- out of position, reaching in, over the back, traveling -- shuffling the feet, I mean this is their third year!
Having said this, I want to finish with emphasizing the positive -- how the other players play such good, sound team basketball. I really enjoy their camaraderie and mutual support. And DMC is an absolute joy -- the epitome of a classy team basketball player. What an amazing contribution he makes -- he figures out how to contribute, a little bit differently, in every game. I loved it when he drove to the basket -- I think he could do that a little bit more. Great game tomorrow -- what a privilege.

gw67
03-15-2009, 08:52 AM
I agree with many of the comments in the thread. From my perspective, the defensive play on Maryland's perimeter players was very good and Singler, while not shooting well, effectively battled on the boards. The key, IMO, was the terrific offensive response by the Devils when the weary Terps went to a zone in the second half. Making those threes broke the back of the Terps. I still think that the team has a chance to be special in the NCAAT but Coach K needs to figure out how to compete on the boards against teams that are much larger and stronger than the Terps.

I had to grin at Zoubek's obvious hip/arm check (screen?) of Vasquez early in the game. Based on Zoubek's smirk afterward, I read it as the baseball equivalent of an inside pitch by your pitcher after the opponent knocked your man down earlier (Neal/Smith).

As far as the Terps go, it was clear in the 2nd half of the game that their tank was running on empty, particularly Milbourne, Vasquez and Mosley. Milbourne reminds me of Singler last year. The youngster is playing out of position and, at 200 lbs, he has taken a beating from the bigger players he has to guard and battle for rebounds. I like the grittiness of this year's team and hope that they make the NCAAT although it will probably be close.

gw67

captmojo
03-15-2009, 09:07 AM
He made some sensational plays. I really liked the block of the 3-point attempt by Eric Hayes (today's Biko Paris) from the corner.

Of high importance, it should also be mentioned that came with 1 second on the shot clock! Great anticipation and awareness with his back to the basket. The resulting in-bounds play yielding nothing but a violation.

I didn't care for the stoppage of play afterward. Singler already had the ball and was looking to push, yet was delayed by the ruling, allowing md the time to fall back into defending position.

davekay1971
03-15-2009, 09:11 AM
Another tough, good win by Duke. I have to agree with the comments on the front page writeup about Maryland's team. As much as I dislike their fans, and as much as I would like to see Vasquez stop acting like a punk, you have to admire this team. They have done more with less, and this has to be one of Gary's best coaching jobs.

Hope we complete the job today. That would tie us with the Lesser Blue for ACC championships.

SMO
03-15-2009, 11:10 AM
Bob Harris interviewed Nolan Smith during the radio broadcast pregame show and Smith stated that the screen was legal and Dave Neal is not a dirty player. Smith went on to state that Neal came onto the team bus after the game and spoke to him.

It seems Nolan Smith has no ill feelings toward Dave Neal so I believe we should all follow Nolan's lead and move on.

I was actually referring to his hip-check on Paulus during yesterday's game. Believe what you want about moving on, but I enjoy seeing our guys hit back by winning and I'm not going to stop enjoying that just because you think I should.