Duke 114, Penn 55 Post Game Thread

[Bob Green]

Discuss the game here.

[delfrio]

Methinks the women's team is not impressed with our margin of victory.

[mgtr]

Ah, you are a spoilsport. We played 12 players, what do you expect. I was very happy to see Mason Plumlee get extra time. and all the other guys were helped. Our son is here from Japan, and he remarked that Zoubs seemed clumsy. I agreed, but told him to watch how he got rebound and short put-backs. He agreed that he made a real contribution.

[delfrio]

Spoilsport? We just totally dominated Penn. I was just making a silly comment on how much that says about the women's Central game. Anyway, my main impressions were that our big three are absolutely great, Andre shot badly from outside, and Mason had impressive hands on the defensive end (really disrupted their passing). I wonder if Penn would have been any better if they had less injuries though. Looked a bit like a JV squad out there.

[Saratoga2]

Lots of players got extended PT and lots of combinations. There was no question who would win, so things could be tried. We had a zone D going for a while. Mason showed some of why people are so high on him. More will come in meaningful games this season.

[Mrezt]

Glad to see Mason get 18 points. Yeah, yeah.. it was against a winless Penn team but i think this is good for him, gives him more confidence and he had more playing time. He missed playing the easy teams when he was injured and would have used those games to get into the groove playing with the team so it was good for him to do that tonight.

Also glad that Smith is still continuing to shoot the ball well (23 points) and Singler is shaping up too. Hopefully this wasn't mainly due to the team we were playing. Everyone else did pretty well, Jon had 11 assists and 19 pts, and Zoubek played a productive game. One thing that i really wanted to happen but didnt was for Andre to hit a lot of threes, but it was no big deal

[dukelifer]

If this game showed anything - it showed that Penn is not very good. Scheyer had a few uncharacteristic TO's that were unforced - odd - but played well. MP2 showed us a glimpse of the Future. Nice game. Zoubs continues to play well. All in all, a good tuneup for what will likely be a war on Sunday.

[BlueDevilCorvette!]

Glad Duke won and thankful that I don't have to listen to Len Elmore anymore tonight...Geez, he ragged on Duke for the slightest things (chanting airball, uncalled travels or fouls, clearing space i.e. Zoubs with elbows, etc.)

Good win Duke! Glad to see lots of players get quality PT.

[Jderf]

It was good to see all of our weapons get some ball time. Never hurts. Yet, it's hard to say what we can definitely read into the game.

It was definitely Mason's best outing of the season. It seemed to me that the team made a concerted effort to set MP2 up with alley-oops on the break. I hope that becomes a recurring theme throughout the season. Mason also picked up four steals.

Nolan was hot tonight (8 for 11 from the field) and he was looking to dish to his teammates more while on the drive, which is something I think he's been working on.

Obviously Scheyer's 19 pts and 11 assists will just further the ACC POY talk.

Hopefully the players worked out any kinks and can carry that through to the season-opener with Clemson.

[roywhite]

The way Duke can spread the floor, move the ball around, and get really good looks on 3-pointers (and hit a high %) is becoming something beautiful to see. Among their other skills, Scheyer, Smith, and Singler have excellent passing ability and are developing great chemistry.

Couple this with improved inside play and now Mason getting into the swing of things...team is looking really good. Big test Sunday night.

[Lord Ash]

I, for one, thought it was very cool of Denzel to coach his son's team while dressed like Malcom X.

Fun game to watch just to get our last look at each of the guys before the real deal begins... glad to see Mason and Miles get lots of burn, glad to see Ryan get time, glad to see our big boys really pile it on.

Mark it down; our fist ACC game is Kyle Singler's first game back to serious, All-American form.

[chrisheery]

I was happiest to see Mason and Miles both get chances on the block in this game. I was less pleased to see both of them take too long to get into making their move. Especially against a smaller team, just practice immediately turning and shooting over the top at game speed. If they can make that shot, it will be a serious weapon against almost any level of competition with their ability to jump. I am happy they got to try some things, but against a good team, a double team will come quickly and with some gusto. They won't have time to take two dribbles standing still.

[Greg_Newton]

Mason and Ryan are going to be fun to watch develop together. They seem to have very good chemistry, and always seem to be looking for each other... Ryan especially always seems to know where Mason is.

I don't think Mason showed anything too substantial tonight because the ability to dunk anything thrown at the basket, but that's okay... he's seemed like he's had a lot of pent-up dunks that he needed to get out of his system! Hopefully he can settle down a little bit now that he's shown everyone how much bounce he's got.

[CrazyCat]

This was a fun game to watch. I agree, Mason and Ryan just have that spark that is going to be very exciting to see ignite into something really cool. What a great way to start out the New Year.

[chrisheery]

I love Ryan's game. I think he and Mason should be dynamic together when he gains a little weight and remembers just how good he was in high school. He seems to miss short a lot, which screams of a lack of scoring confidence to me. But, he is incredibly aware and his handle is as good as anyone I have seen his size.

[Kedsy]

I was happiest to see Mason and Miles both get chances on the block in this game. I was less pleased to see both of them take too long to get into making their move. Especially against a smaller team, just practice immediately turning and shooting over the top at game speed. If they can make that shot, it will be a serious weapon against almost any level of competition with their ability to jump. I am happy they got to try some things, but against a good team, a double team will come quickly and with some gusto. They won't have time to take two dribbles standing still.

Perhaps I am misinterpreting your statements in another thread, but I thought it was your argument that the MPs offense on the block was important because they had to be able to draw the double team, to keep defenses honest so they won't be able to lock down our perimeter players? Again, I may be misinterpreting, but now you seem to be complaining that if they play the way they did tonight, they'll draw a double team?

Put another way, I agree they'll have to get their shots up more quickly if they want to score a lot, but if all they have to do is keep opposing defenses honest, tonight's performance seemed like a good start to me.

[chrisheery]

I don't think you are misreading anything I am saying. What I said is certainly somewhat contradictory. I am glad they got opportunities today. I do not think they have value soley in drawing double teams, though. I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I think they will need to score occasionally on their own to keep defenses honest. Making decisions more quickly will help them do both things, though: score or make a pass that leads to someone else scoring.

I just hope they continue to get these chances against better competition so they can learn how they will be able to score (or not) as we get into tournament time.

[Sixthman]

We played, we won, nobody got hurt, nobody can say we didn't bring it. Next game.

[BlueintheFace]

Thank God, we developed our talent like 10 games worth with the PT our bench got. ;)

[oldnavy]

I thought it was a very impressive outing from all the guys. Jon had probably his "worst" game of the season and still was spectacular. It looked to me that there was a concerted effort to get Kyle rolling again, and I think it worked out pretty well. Nolan is still playing lights out, I hope he continues to get better. There is a very high ceiling with this team IMO and Nolan and the Plumlees continued progression will determine how far we can go. Clemson will be a good test, but I do not think they are any better than Gonzaga or UConn.

Does anyone else get the feeling or sense that this team's chemistry is better than what we have seen form a Duke team in a while?? To me they just seem to "click" with each other better. It isn't anything that I can point to that would quantify what I see, but I just get this feeling...

[Lord Ash]

I thought it was a very impressive outing from all the guys. Jon had probably his "worst" game of the season and still was spectacular. It looked to me that there was a concerted effort to get Kyle rolling again, and I think it worked out pretty well. Nolan is still playing lights out, I hope he continues to get better. There is a very high ceiling with this team IMO and Nolan and the Plumlees continued progression will determine how far we can go. Clemson will be a good test, but I do not think they are any better than Gonzaga or UConn.

Does anyone else get the feeling or sense that this team's chemistry is better than what we have seen form a Duke team in a while?? To me they just seem to "click" with each other better. It isn't anything that I can point to that would quantify what I see, but I just get this feeling...

No kidding... FOUR turnovers. Is it wrong that that kills me?:)

[striker219]

I posted this in the ESPN complaints thread, but since it is relevant to this game...

Len Elmore has always reminded me of a bitter ex-spouse at their ex's wedding reception.

They show up at the wedding/reception to show the world how "over it" they are of their previous marriage, and to "happily" support their ex in their new life. They're there to show their kids that they've matured and moved on with their life, but secretly everyone is waiting for the disaster to strike. And then it happens.

They get drunk at the reception and start making comments. It might start small, maybe with a subtle comment about him being a quicker shot than Billy the Kid, or her enjoying shoe shopping more than intimacy, but by the end they're toasting to a long and happy three and a half years before she's banging the pool boy.

That's how I see Len. Hopelessly bitter and totally incapable of saying anything positive. In the event that he did make a positive comment about Duke, it would almost certainly be an accident and would be hidden inside an insult.

I also hear that he's a quicker shot than Billy the Kid...

[chrisheery]

Absolutely hilarious. Just a perfect post.

[dukebluelemur]

I liked that I could still hear the crazies over the TV in spite of doubling up the opposition... that said, the announcer did have a point (if overwhelmingly stated) that it is kind of rubbing it in to be chanting airball when up 50 with under 2 to play.

Also, it saddens me to see the cheapness to which the "Our House" chant has fallen. As an 03 grad, I was there when it started. Back then it was something special. It only came out when the team REALLY needed a boost. When the game was on the line, last second plays, etc. I know it means different things to the current batch, but it saddens me to hear it over the TV at the end of a 60 point blowout of the local YMCA wheelchair team...

[Bballaholic]

I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread but I noticed that we played alot of zone in the 2nd half. Wonder how much zone we'll see against Clemson? Now that Ogilvy is gone do the tigers have anyone that can shoot over the zone? If not we may see more zone to keep the ball out of Bookers hands.

Anyway great game from our guys against a dilapidated Penn squad. Good to see the freshmen get plenty of minutes. Hope they keep earning it in practice.

[Bob Green]

Now that Ogilvy is gone do the tigers have anyone that can shoot over the zone?

Clemson is 3rd in the ACC with 7.1 made 3-pointers per game. David Potter is shooting .453 from behind the arc and Andre Young is shooting .397.

[jimsumner]

The second-half zone in a blow-out is Krzyzewski's subtle way of keeping the final margin smaller than otherwise. Duke could have won by 80 last night had it been so inclined.

I don't think that will be a concern versus Clemson.

[Bballaholic]

Thanks for the update Bob. I haven't really had a chance to see Clemson this year so I'm not up to date on what they have this year. I know they lost a little bit in KC Rivers and Ogilvy so I'm a little surprised they've been that good behind the arc so far this year. Hopefully we can change that on Sunday. Looking forward to getting a little revenge on the Tigers after the beating we took in Little John last season.

[ice-9]

I liked that I could still hear the crazies over the TV in spite of doubling up the opposition... that said, the announcer did have a point (if overwhelmingly stated) that it is kind of rubbing it in to be chanting airball when up 50 with under 2 to play.

Also, it saddens me to see the cheapness to which the "Our House" chant has fallen. As an 03 grad, I was there when it started. Back then it was something special. It only came out when the team REALLY needed a boost. When the game was on the line, last second plays, etc. I know it means different things to the current batch, but it saddens me to hear it over the TV at the end of a 60 point blowout of the local YMCA wheelchair team...


I know what you mean man...02 grad and the "Our House" chant was most special when we were playing a tough game and came back in the last few minutes of the game to seal the win.

Sends chills down my spine just thinking about it...