CTC Impressions

[BlueintheFace]

Thoughts about new and improved Cameron, entertainment, and the actual game here...

[BlueintheFace]

Goodfellas poster.... very cool

[FireOgilvie]

Awesome player/coaches introductions. I didn't think Zoubek could dance... and I was mostly right. Ice Ice Baby.

I saw Hairston standing behind Coach K.

[Lord Ash]

More updates please... no updates on mystery coaching? No updates on recruits there? Come on, I thought this was the information/connected age, there should be updates with every basket from a thousand iphones!

[BlueintheFace]

1st half still

Nolan looking AMAZING. Started off 4-4 and 3-3 from three.

Dawkins will be a real 3pt threat when he gets some confidence. Beautiful stroke.

[FireOgilvie]

Guest coaches are Hurley and Laettner.

It looked like Scheyer dunked, but it was a bad angle.

The "Blue Team" looked lost - Curry, Dawkins, Lance, Zoubek, Kelly...

Zoubek attempted several 8 ft turnaround hooks. Ugly.

The Plumlees look solid. Miles looks better than Mason probably. I don't know the stats.

[Duvall]

Impression: NMN Athletics blows.

[BlueintheFace]

Nolan, Jon, and Kyle....going to be veeeeeeerrrrrrry good. Nolan has a completely new swagger about him.

[FireOgilvie]

Zoubek looks really bad. He keeps making silly mistakes.

I don't think Curry has scored yet.

Dawkins had a huge dunk and they missed it because they were showing the under-the-basket camera angle from the other side of the court.

Singler made an extremely long 3.

Lance looks the same as usual and isn't making much of an impact in the game.

Edit: Czyz playing some nice man-to-man defense on Singler. A few seconds beforehand, Czyz threw down a huge dunk.

[FireOgilvie]

Nolan finished the game by making 2 free throws with 0.8 seconds left to break a tie. He finished with 25. He looked awesome.

Curry hit 3 big 3s in a 2 minute span or something. He's a knockdown shooter when he gets hot.

[Devilsfan]

Nice to hear about Nolan. I personally don't like being reminded about someone playing badly. If you follow Duke you know how the players play and who the projects are, there's no need to call someone out.

[DukeUsul]

Zoubek looks really bad. He keeps making silly mistakes.

Maybe this is a good thing. In previous years, Zoubek has looked fantastic at this point in the pre-season, then come out and struggled. You never know what these kinds of sessions really mean....

[FireOgilvie]

Nice to hear about Nolan. I personally don't like being reminded about someone playing badly. If you follow Duke you know how the players play and who the projects are, there's no need to call someone out.

I mentioned it because I was really surprised at the way he was playing. It's just one game. I expect him to have a major impact on the team this year. He just looked frustrated out there because of his mistakes and people were asking for a play-by-play.

I also expected Lance to look better than he did. It's not to say that he is a bad player or anything, he just wasn't playing as well as I know he can.

[BlueintheFace]

Lets keep it positive folks. This game was a celebration and means basically nothing in terms of projecting individual performance over the season.

Nolan looked great and Dre can really stroke it. Singler and Scheyer look great as always.

[zingit]

Enjoyed the dunk contest, although I think they need to practice a bit more (there were a lot of missed dunks). Olek Czyz and Andre Dawkins were named co-champions. But arguably the best part was Nolan coming out in Johnny Dawkins' uniform (including the tighty-whitey shorts), and Coach K telling him later, "Just play like him!"

After all the complaints about how we didn't have any sort of midnight madness event, I think this satisfied the need for something bigger and more fun but without going over the top and silly.

[jipops]

How many did Melchionni have, 50?

[Greg_Newton]

Any impressions on the Plums from the game? Did they do anything on offense? Did they affect shots on defense? Get a lot of rebounds? Run the court and finish well? Did Miles jump over anyone's head?

Gracias.

[FireOgilvie]

Any impressions on the Plums from the game? Did they do anything on offense? Did they affect shots on defense? Get a lot of rebounds? Run the court and finish well? Did Miles jump over anyone's head?

Gracias.

They are obviously extremely athletic and both ran the court well. To me, it looked like Miles is more "polished" than Mason, although both are going to start (this game really made that clear to me). Both had several follow-up tip attempts and neither one of them scored from outside of the paint as far as I remember. Maybe one of them made a short jumper. Miles stole the ball from Mason at halfcourt and took it in for an insane dunk that I don't even really know how to describe (kind of a half windmill). It was hard to judge them on defense and rebounding from this game. Mason had maybe 2 goaltending calls against him.

[BlueintheFace]

Any impressions on the Plums from the game? Did they do anything on offense? Did they affect shots on defense? Get a lot of rebounds? Run the court and finish well? Did Miles jump over anyone's head?

Gracias.

Well, the base for these guys is going to be defensive positioning, shotblocking, and rebounding. This was hardly the event to judge those things in. The pre-season games should be a bit more revealing for those two. Both run the floor like antelopes though...

[mgtr]

If the Plumlees can control the inside on defense, and get some rebounds, the trio of Singler, Scheyer, and Smith will provide all the points we need. I was impressed. Will there be a box score?

[meloveduke]

Have any video clips hit youtube yet? I see some from years past but not this one.

[SilkyJ]

Zoubek attempted several 8 ft turnaround hooks. Ugly.


I noticed that he tried that several times in games last year, and assumed it was b/c he had shown the ability to hit it in practice. I was hoping he might have polished it a little more this year.


After all the complaints about how we didn't have any sort of midnight madness event, I think this satisfied the need for something bigger and more fun but without going over the top and silly.

A silly complaint b/c we often do have an event. I remember going to an awesome one my sophomore year when had someone take a half court shot for that year's spring tuition.


How many did Melchionni have, 50?

HAHA. Insert obligatory horvath comment here

[lpd1982]

More than 1500 undergrads. Place was PACKED and they had to turn folks away. Party continues in K-ville with coaches, players and a band until the wee hours. "The place is bumpin'-Dawkins is sic-we are going to be INCREDIBLE!".

[dukelifer]

To me, this was a game that showed who is playing with confidence and who is not. Scheyer and Singler looked like last year-there is nothing they cannot do on the court. Smith is playing with much more confidence. He wanted the ball, shot it quickly and attacked the rim. He was the best player tonight. Miles is a confident player right now. He is much stronger this year and is not afraid to mix it up and attack. Mason is confident- but is not quite there yet. He needs to stay much closer to the hoop- rebound and clean up the garbage. He will learn but is not quite ready to be Laettner-even though he wants to be. Expect a lot of quick fouls on him as he learns. Curry is confident - maybe too confident- but he really did not look comfortable for long stretches and then made many mistakes. But at the end of the second game - which was back and forth and he showed what he can do. He is a gamer like his brother- he plays well when there is game pressure. But we will need to wait to see him in action. Dawkins was a surprise. He is deferring too much -like most freshman- but the kid can play and shoot. He needs some games under his belt- but he is going to be a very good player toward the end of the year- mark that down. Kelly was almost hiding on the floor. Of all the players out there- he looked the most uncomfortable with the speed of the game. He needs to find a role- but he needs to put in a lot of work and stop hiding. Fans will need to be patient. Zoubs and Thomas did not have great games but we know what they can bring. I thought Peters showed some toughness- the best of the walkons.

Best play of the game- Miles picked his brother at mid court- ran down the court with Mason trailing and dunked with a great finish. Mason will hear about it tonight.

[El_Diablo]

Both run the floor like antelopes though...

That's almost exactly what I thought about the Plumlees...very fast and fluid in the open court.

I'm not sure what their rebounding totals were, but both seemed very active on the boards. Mason's arms seem like they're ten feet long; he sucked in a one-handed rebound that looked like it was going way over his head. Mase also had a nice steal when Kelly tried lobbing it over him to get it to Zoubek...he jumped up really high and just snatched it down. The Plumlees will block a ton of shots this season...it was tough going for any guard who tried going into the lane tonight.

It's true that Zoubek had some problems finishing, but he wasn't getting the ball very close to the basket. He had to catch the ball a few feet outside of the blocks, so maybe that was just good post positioning on Miles' part. Laettner pulled Z aside during one of the timeouts and gave him some one-on-one coaching.

[Newton_14]

Just got home from the game and it was a great night. Just a few thoughts..

They played 2 separate games. Game 1 was a huge blowout with Nolan leading the white team and looking very good and very confident playing the 2 guard spot almost exclusively.

They cleared the score after the first session and switched the teams around. Nolan and Miles moved to the blue team with Andre and Lance and Kelly moving to the white team. The last 3 minutes of game 2 was a barn burner with Seth and Nolan leading a comeback and the blue team took the lead. Then it went something like: Curry 3 answered by Singler, Curry 3 answered by Dawkins, and Curry 3 answered by Jon. It was a crazy stretch.

In the end the White team ran a play for Kyle and Nolan broke it up. They raced to the other end with less than 5 seconds and Nolan got fouled on a putback attempt and made the free throws.

In short:

-Nolan looked great, and Kyle and Jon both were very solid. Jon ran the point well, Kyle was Kyle with one very sick pass to Nolan and showed a good touch from 3.

-All 3 freshman can play. Mason did not score a ton but was very active on both ends and looked confident. Andre had a slow start but played very well and dude can shoot the rock and finish. Kelly did not have a great impact but I thought he showed he has great potential and will contribute.

-Miles looked much improved on both ends and Lance played very solid defense while guarding both Kyle, Nolan, and others.

Overall a great evening in Cameron. One of my favorite things was when they showed the Gone in 55 seconds clip that won best comeback. They showed that one during a timeout. Wojo was barking instructions in the huddle with all of the white team players and assistant coaches were tuned in to him, Coach K had his eyes glued on the video clip the entire time and did a little fist pump when the gameclock in the video hit zero.. That was cool!!

[El_Diablo]

The videos were pretty entertaining too. Nolan's Titanic scene had me almost crying with laughter. The streetball one seemed pretty generic at first, but it picked up and got the place amped--really nice work on that one. And does anyone want a "Sweaty Johnson"...? :D

[Newton_14]

The videos were pretty entertaining too. Nolan's Titanic scene had me almost crying with laughter. The streetball one seemed pretty generic at first, but it picked up and got the place amped--really nice work on that one. And does anyone want a "Sweaty Johnson"...? :D

Yeah I enjoyed that too! The Sweaty Johnson deal was hilarious. I also liked Wojo as "The Don" and doing the "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" then cut to Lance waking up in the bed with the Blue Devil's decapitated head under the covers.. Awesome.

The students packed the joint in the new seating arrangements which seem to work out fine but I will defer to the Crazies on that one...

And MP3 was in the house to hear the chant "One More Plumlee"....

[El_Diablo]

The new LED display on the TV side looked great. I was worried that it would be streaming ads the whole time, but I only noticed "Duke University" slowly shattering and reforming in regular intervals. They incorporated it nicely into the player introductions too...pretty slick.

[FireOgilvie]

PDF Boxscore:

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf5/649446.pdf?ATCLID=204815221&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Top scorers:

Smith - 25
Singler - 20
Scheyer - 18
Dawkins - 14
Miles Plumlee - 10, 6 reb
Seth Curry - 10

Mason had 2 pts, 6 rebounds.

Keep in mind that this was only a 24 minute game.

[jipops]

PDF Boxscore:

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf5/649446.pdf?ATCLID=204815221&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Top scorers:

Smith - 25
Singler - 20
Scheyer - 18
Dawkins - 14
Miles Plumlee - 10, 6 reb
Seth Curry - 10

Mason had 2 pts, 6 rebounds.

Keep in mind that this was only a 24 minute game.

Just a scrimmage but best stat from that box, Scheyer's 12 assists.

[dukebsbll14]

Anyone know if the player intros will continue all season? Or was it just a one-time deal for tonight?

What I've always loved about Duke is that we've never gone to the flashy pre-game intros like having a motorcycle come out on court, yada-yada. While I'm sure it was really cool, I'd hate to see us break from our tradition.

Can't wait to see what Cameron looks like at gametime with all the improvements! GO DUKE!

[FireOgilvie]

Just a scrimmage but best stat from that box, Scheyer's 12 assists.

Definitely. 12 assists in 23 minutes. Nolan had 7. Also, it says they had zero turnovers between them. Wow!

[Lord Ash]

Hm. Flashy intros? No thanks.

[FireOgilvie]

The intros were just a one-time season introduction thing. Every single midnight madness includes this.

It's all about having fun. Everyone there looked to be having a lot of it.

[riverside6]

Just a scrimmage but best stat from that box, Scheyer's 12 assists.

and zero turnovers

[ACCBBallFan]

First game was a big time mismatch with three of the most experienced perimeter guys in ACC (Scheyer-Smith-Singler) playing against 3 guys playing in their first college venue at Cameron Indoor (Curry-Dawkins-Kelly).

When Nolan was switched to Blue team for second half, all three played better.

Most surprising stat to me was with all that height only two blocked shots, not counting a couple of goal tending calls. Could be a testament to good shot selection. The blocks BTW were by Scheyer who also had a dunk and by Nolan, not by any of the bigs.

Second most surprising stat is that the guards Nolan and Seth were some of the leading rebounders, only one fewer than Mason, Miles and Lance who led with 6. Nothing wrong with 6 boards in 24 minutes though, so more a testament to good rebounding by the guards.

Seemed to have all the ingredients to compete with anybody in ACC and NCAA.

[El_Diablo]

Most surprising stat to me was with all that height only two blocked shots, not counting a couple of goal tending calls. Could be a testament to good shot selection. The blocks BTW were by Scheyer who also had a dunk and by Nolan, but by any of the bigs.

There were a lot of altered shots and double-pumps in the lane though. Heck, Zoubek is 7-1 and had to take hookshots! :) And I know the scorers missed at least one block--someone (Lance maybe?) got a finger on one of Casey's corner shots.

There were some communication issues that led to errant passes, but I guess that's to be expected in the first scrimmage.

[Olympic Fan]

Let me just tell you what I got out of the scrimmage (understanding that a single scrimmage can be misleading).

We KNEW that Kyle and Jon were going to be very good ... and they were. Kyle really adjusted to playing on the perimter -- 20 points on four of seven 3s, 5 assists and three steals. I can't believe Jon had 12 assists and no turnovers.

The really good sign was that rumors of Nolan's explosion over the summer were not exaggerated. I know he did a Johnny Dawkins impersonation in the dunk contest, but he really played like Jason Williams, combining the three-point range (3 of 6), the power in the lane (the one drive where he went among the big guys, spun 180 degrees then threw it backwards off the glass and in was a beauty), plus Jason's strength on the boards (five rebounds) and as a playmaker (seven assists, no turnovers).

Okay, I know he doesn't do that every night, but if he's consistently good -- as I'm sure Kyle and Jon are going to be consistently good, it's going to make a huge difference.

The other key is how well the two Plumlees play. We know that Lance and Brian can be contributors, but neither appeared to have elevated their games. Kelly looks like the most immature of the freshmen, but that's okay -- he can mature this year.

But Miles looked strong and quick. He made a great spin move and drive, then missed the dunk, but he still had a strong game -- 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and no turnovers in 21 minutes. Mason wasn't quite as good, although he also had six rebounds. But he was so close to about four or five spectacular plays -- usually follow shots that he just couldn't quite get ahold of. If you noticed, he had several great outlet passes after rebounds to get the break started. Plus he and Miles do run the floor great for big guys. I thought in the first half, especially, their defense against Lance and Zoubs was terrific.

If they can both do the job, our starting lineup will be great. Lance and Zoubs will be useful frontcourt subs.

The other real positive was Andre Dawkins. He was just what we hoped he'd be -- great shooter/scorer and great athlete. Even though he only had one turnovers, I think he was a little shaky with the ball. He also got lost on defense a couple of times. He'll learn. He looks like he'll give us that backcourt depth we need so badly.

And I liked Curry, even before he finally exploded late in the second game. He's very quick with the ball. He has a quick release and great range -- that last 3 had to be from 35-feet.

Anyway, good start ... great atmosphere.

BTW: I saw Josh Hairston, Tyler Thornton and MP3 there tonight. There were a couple of other guys who I think are local prospects for the future, but nobody else that is on our immediate recruiting radar.

[jacone21]

Just want to say thanks for the reports, guys. For those of us scattered about the country and world, they're awesome to read. Keep 'em coming! They're much appreciated.

[darkblue2769]

Not much to say regarding the game that hasn't been said. Personally, though, I really enjoyed this first exposure to the atmosphere in Cameron (Class of 2013, baby!) and know it can only get better from here. Plus, I love my line-free seat just behind the basket... :)

And I was on the 11 o'clock news on NBC! (Personal victory, felt like sharing anyways)

[FireOgilvie]

I mentioned this earlier, but did Scheyer dunk on a breakaway or did it just appear that way from the terrible angle on the streaming video? If it was a dunk, have we ever seen him dunk before? Anyone that saw it live probably had the best vantage point.

[proelitedota]

I mentioned this earlier, but did Scheyer dunk on a breakaway or did it just appear that way from the terrible angle on the streaming video? If it was a dunk, have we ever seen him dunk before? Anyone that saw it live probably had the best vantage point.

It was definitely a dunk from from what I saw. The whole crowd was roaring after that.

[MCragg]

From everyone in our basketball program - a gigantic THANK YOU to our fans! It was a great night to celebrate the start of the season and our Duke players - past and present. Clearly, we all had a lot of fun together in Our House, especially "Retro Johnny D". Hope to see you all at the Open House later this morning and next Saturday at 6:30 pm against Pfeiffer. Go Duke!

Mike Cragg

[whereinthehellami]

Thanks for the reports and for the posters who keep it real. While these reports don't always mean anything, some things can be gleaned from them.

[dukebballcamper90-91]

I have been to the past 3 or 4 of the blue/white games and this 1 was the most amazing 1 yet. Was that Michael Buffer doing the intros? It was nice to introduce the girls also. The crowd was great, Nolan's rollin' chant was good. The special guest coaches was the best thing for me. The dynamic duo from our back to back champion seasons are in "my 5".
The Game...... I have had a lot of false impressions so I quit using this game as a first look to see who can do what. I just go because I'm so jacked up about the season getting ready to start and I like it casue it is all Duke on the court.

[BlueintheFace]

Videos for those who didn't see the festivities:

Cinematic History:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCIRXVJkv4

Season Cancelled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2V_4QF-YBY&feature=channel

Countdown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lHphP1SvI0&feature=channel

Hype Video with Mike Posner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izKfjwsm7LQ&feature=channel

[RainingThrees]

The team poster looked really good. Casey Peters looked like he could actually be in the mafia.

http://twitgoo.com/4dj7d

[jgehtland]

It was definitely a dunk from from what I saw. The whole crowd was roaring after that.

Our seats were right behind that backboard -- he threw it down. It wasn't Dawkins-esque, but he dunked.

And I swear he threw a few down last year in games; I mean, c'mon, he IS 6'5".

[RelativeWays]

This was my first B&W game and I had a pretty good time. I wouldn't read too much into our players performance since its essentially a playground game with refs but I think we can take a few things from it.

Nolan and Miles will be our most improved players this year.

Olek looks more comfortable on the court

I think a year out with Seth Curry may not be so bad, it'll give him a chance to catch up to ACC level. You saw what he could do when he started to heat up.

Zoubeard did miss a couple of easy tip ins but give him a bit of time to get in sync. He played well at the end of last season, particularly on defense and rebounding.

Peters seemed to hold his own. Don't be surprised to see him on the court, even if he's not first off the bench.

Didn't really see enough of Ryan, Mason and even Lance in the game to make any judgements

Its the blue and white game, its for fun.

[roywhite]

This was my first B&W game and I had a pretty good time. I wouldn't read too much into our players performance since its essentially a playground game with refs but I think we can take a few things from it.

Nolan and Miles will be our most improved players this year.

Olek looks more comfortable on the court

.


Last year, there were expectations for Olek that didn't pan out. This year, there are virtually no expectations, at least based on what I see from articles and fan comments. Wouldn't it be nice if he found a role and got some playing time on this team? He's got some tools.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Wasn't at the game, but did see the videos.

Not sure if anyone saw them, but the Nolan / Titanic skit was @#$%$ awesome. I think it shows Nolan's confidence - there aren't many athletes who wouldn't mind being put in that position.

That said, Andre Dawkins looked a little too interested in drawing Nolan nude :rolleyes:

[Edouble]

Not much to say regarding the game that hasn't been said. Personally, though, I really enjoyed this first exposure to the atmosphere in Cameron (Class of 2013, baby!) and know it can only get better from here. Plus, I love my line-free seat just behind the basket... :)

And I was on the 11 o'clock news on NBC! (Personal victory, felt like sharing anyways)

This post gives me fond thoughts of my own "baptism". Congratulations, and enjoy your four years.

[dukeENG2003]

forget the NBC news, I'm on the front page of DBR!

I was also impressed with Peters, although there was one play where he was guarding Singler, and Singler just took him into the post and WORKED him. I suppose thats what you would expect when you get NPOY candidate vs. Walk on.

[CMARTZ]

Olek made a 3!

[dcarp23]

Who's the guy sitting next to to Singler in the picture with Nolan in his short shorts?

http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&KEY=&SPID=1845&SPSID=22724

[El_Diablo]

Who's the guy sitting next to to Singler in the picture with Nolan in his short shorts?

http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&KEY=&SPID=1845&SPSID=22724

Joshua Hairston, high school senior and future Blue Devil.

[Lord Ash]

Just a reminder for everyone re: Ryan Kelly... he was dealing with a serious illness this summer, and lost a lot of weight... apparently he is only just beginning to put it back on and feel physically able.

[dcarp23]

Joshua Hairston, high school senior and future Blue Devil.

Thanks-that was my guess.

[El_Diablo]

As one down note, FREE THROW SHOOTING? Seriously? STILL? Our big three were solid, but the rest of the team was doing a Shaq impresssion. It needs to improve a lot. Most of our players are agressive with the ball, and should draw a lot of fouls. A upper-70's avg from the FT line could mean a 10-15 pt bounce.

We were 15/21 overall though (including 3/4 from Lance and 2/2 from Ryan).

[BlueDster]

Just as an FYI, for those of you who aren't goduke.com Inside Access members, you can view the entirety of the festivities online if you are a member.

[Greg_Newton]

Not sure if it'll get taken down, but someone posted the entire Blue-White game on youtube, in 4 parts. Thanks to "russellbuzz", and enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LukQYndRU&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4L2CvWp9SI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUqWZpcC7YI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcAkeZ0XIs0&feature=channel <--(start this one at 3:52 in to avoid overlap with the previous one)

The biggest thing I hope develops in practice is defensive discipline for the Plumlees (particularly Miles). I'm very excited about them - they're going to be huge on the offensive glass, in blocking/affecting shots and in transition - but they've got to learn a) you can't just jump towards the ball and make body contact when you're contesting shots and b) at 6'10+, you can't be getting off balance and reaching for the ball against smaller, quicker players. Otherwise we'll be seeing more Lance/Z than we might want to due to foul trouble.

I also hope missed dunks don't become a problem with Miles... he had 2 in the B/W game, and a fair amount in the summer league. Sometimes it almost seems like it's because he's coming from too high up, and doesn't angle the ball down enough (a problem I never had...:rolleyes:). Either way I hope it's a non-issue. The gigantic alley-oop he caught from Nolan in the halfcourt was just sick - I don't think teams will be helping off him much this year.

And lastly, Andre looked really, really good considering his situation. He has the body of an upperclassman, and it shows when he gets in traffic. He also looked very comfortable and confident to me, I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of our better players come conference time.

[ice-9]

Some quick thoughts...

- Wow the first game was really sloppy. We didn't look so good with all the turnovers, blown plays and mistakes. The second game was much better, but it'll be interesting to look back on these games at the end of the season to see how much the team has improved

- Curry looked WAY more comfortable as an SG than a PG. But perhaps it's because he was feeling jitters in the first game and half the second?

- Nolan and Singler are studs. Based on these two games, they look like they will be our main offensive weapons

- Nolan's shot was falling in both games, but he just looked so much more comfortable in shooting, moving, dribbling etc. In the second game, he did an excellent job as the PG and really drove the Blue team's win

- Singler is gonna be awesome at wing. His jumpshot looked sharp, he drove in successfully a few times, he just looked really good

- Scheyer was super steady as the PG -- the kind of player that you can be comfortable with entrusting the ball in his hands

- I actually didn't think Lance played that badly, especially in the first game where he was assertive offensively and went to the hoop multiple times (and drew fouls). He disappeared in the second game however

- The Plumlee brothers are going improve our interior defense and rebounding dramatically! Not only because they are tall but also because they are quick, have hops, and a desire to corral the rebound. They looked really good defensively

- I am a bit concerned about Miles though. He doesn't seem to have great hands and missed a few dunks. Anyone else notice this?

- Like Lance, I also thought Zoubek had a decent game. His relatively quiet offensive production is not due to regression or lack of talent but more credit to the Plumlees' defense. No longer can he easily establish position or receive the entry pass with a Plumlee defending him. The competition can only make him a better player

- Curry looks tiny even when compared to Nolan

[rthomas]

Has this been posted? Sorry if it has. But it is too funny.

Great Moments in Cinematic History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCIRXVJkv4&feature=player_embedded

[BD80]

Has this been posted? Sorry if it has. But it is too funny.

Great Moments in Cinematic History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCIRXVJkv4&feature=player_embedded

I found the Titanic skit somewhat disturbing. That is the kind of area where we could use a bit more cooperation between the men's team and the women's team. ;) If that were an opposing player, it would be fodder for the less politically correct of the Crazies.

I wonder what the skits will be like when a personality like Kyrie gets involved!

[BlueintheFace]

Other fanbases will inevitably have pictures from that sketch up in every arena, but in the end, winning cures all.

[BD80]

Other fanbases will inevitably have pictures from that sketch up in every arena, but in the end, winning cures all.

I say we counter with pictures of Ashley Judd :D

[rthomas]

One has to be pretty self confident of himself (or herself) for a skit like that. Props to him. Nolan is OK with it; I'm OK with it. Let the haters hate, I say. They will anyway.

[Bob Green]

Has this been posted?

Yes, a link is posted in the CTC impressions thread so I'm merging the two.

[NSDukeFan]

I found the Titanic skit somewhat disturbing. That is the kind of area where we could use a bit more cooperation between the men's team and the women's team. ;) If that were an opposing player, it would be fodder for the less politically correct of the Crazies.

I wonder what the skits will be like when a personality like Kyrie gets involved!

My impression is that as great as a personality as Kyrie may have, I think we already have someone with a great personality that seems to come out in lots of Blue Planet videos in Nolan.

[ice-9]

Not to mention the Johnny D impersonation!

[Kedsy]

Not sure if it'll get taken down, but someone posted the entire Blue-White game on youtube, in 4 parts. Thanks to "russellbuzz", and enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LukQYndRU&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4L2CvWp9SI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUqWZpcC7YI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcAkeZ0XIs0&feature=channel <--(start this one at 3:52 in to avoid overlap with the previous one)



Just watched Blue/White on YouTube, and I had a few observations.

(1) We're really spoiled. For probably half of Division I, the first half Blue team of Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas, Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Ryan Kelly, with Olek Czyz and Casey Peters off the bench, would be the best team in their school history.

(2) I was watching small, quick Seth Curry being guarded by Jon Scheyer and thinking "that's a really tough matchup for Seth" -- NOT that's a really tough matchup for Jon.

(3) Miles Plumlee looked good, but by the end of the season Mason Plumlee will be the better of the two. He's just so in-control of his body.

(4) Olek held his own out there, even against Kyle. He did not look lost out there like he did last year.

(5) We've been having a conversation about who's going to be the slasher and go-to scorer, but switching Nolan from the White to the Blue turned a blowout for White into a close win for Blue. Just sayin'.

[Greg_Newton]

Am I stupid, or is there no link to the "fun videos" from Saturdays practice on the front page? Has anyone found them? Thanks.

[juise]

Am I stupid, or is there no link to the "fun videos" from Saturdays practice on the front page? Has anyone found them? Thanks.

They are on the DukeBluePlanet YouTube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCIRXVJkv4&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2V_4QF-YBY&feature=channel

[almostrufio]

While Mason might seem more in control of his body, when I watch him with the ball he looks like he is moving in slow motion.

Miles, on the other hand, is fast and explosive. He looks much smoother than Mason dribbling the ball and if he can learn to finish all of his dunks(its much like the problem that Gerald had during his sophomore year), he will be much more effective than Mason.

[Greg_Newton]

They are on the DukeBluePlanet YouTube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlCIRXVJkv4&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2V_4QF-YBY&feature=channel

Thanks, but those are the DUI videos from CTC... the DBR front page snippet says there are "videos from the open practice on Saturday, with some looks at Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, among others." Anybody find 'em?

[Lord Ash]

Uhmmm... okay, that Nolan Smith/Titanic thing made me laugh/cringe more than anything I've ever seen. The... uhm... onions that kid has to do that, knowing how much crap he is going to be given for it... man. Any wonder that a freshman had to do the drawing? Must have picked the short straw...

Anyway... totally funny, and totally unreal.

[juise]

Thanks, but those are the DUI videos from CTC... the DBR front page snippet says there are "videos from the open practice on Saturday, with some looks at Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, among others." Anybody find 'em?

Wow, I totally misread your post... not sure how I did that. Anyway, DBR's post has been corrected to link to chipslate's YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/chipslate). There are some short videos of the players you mentioned there. I think my original original links were more "fun." ;)

[altitech]

DR produced a pretty good CTC highlight video with an independent overview of all players this year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irEsoxmrpPU

[BD80]

The "Titanic" video will not go gentle into that good night.

Jon is promising to get involved in Twitter, and to post more than Nolan.

Which prompted:


Just remember to keep your clothes on! RT @JonScheyer: I'm going to start tweeting more than Nolan though so stay tuned!

http://twitter.com/SethDavisHoops