MOTM: Duke vs Kansas State (Nov. 23, 2010)

[Bob Green]

Who was the Man-of-the-Match against Kansas State?

[uh_no]

kyrie

[CampbellBlueDevil]

Kyrie, with props to Dawkins silky smooth jumper

[ajgoodfella7]

Kyrie was super, scintillating, sensational!!!

[CLW]

Allot of players really played well tonight:

Mason looked solid again.

Andre has REALLY improved from last season. Kid would be starting for just about any team in the country right now.

But I voted for KI who just DOMINATED Pullen all game long.

[DevilHorns]

Kyrie just shredded a preseason All-American in Pullen... again... and again. Most importantly, by dismissing him on the offensive front, he gutted any sense of energy that Pullen had on the floor. Pullen is a kid who lives off energy. He's vocal and streaky. Kyrie just mentally squashed him.

I don't think Pullen has had to ever guard the likes of a PG like Kyrie, and looking at what Pullen said in his pre-game comments, he was expecting to be guarded by Nolan. Surprise!

[Bluedevil114]

Kyrie was jaw dropping. Could you possibly imagine him with Austin Rivers next to him next season.

Sorry, I rather have Kyle and Nolan next to him. This season is going to be so much fun. Go Duke!!

[uh_no]

Andre has REALLY improved from last season. Kid would be starting for just about any team in the country right now.

seth and andre would start on just about any other team in the country.....except maybe UNC....i think roy likes what he has right now

[chrisheery]

Nolan guarded Pullen almost the entire game. The only 3 Pullen hit was on a switch when Kyrie was late getting back to Pullen. Coach K even addressed the fact that Nolan checked Pullen in his post game interview with Vitale.

[timmy c]

Kyrie wins tourney MVP. Amazing!

[BleedsP287]

My vote for best point guard in the country. They had no answer for KI. Imagine a day in March when more of those slashes to the basket find the bottom of the net. Awesome baby! The whole team made me proud tonight to be a fan.

[jv001]

Nolan guarded Pullen almost the entire game. The only 3 Pullen hit was on a switch when Kyrie was late getting back to Pullen. Coach K even addressed the fact that Nolan checked Pullen in his post game interview with Vitale.

I think Coach K said that Nolan guarded Pullen when Kyrie was out. To me it looked like Nolan guarded him most of the first half and Kyrie guarded him most of the 2nd half. Both get praise for holding him to a very subpar game. Go Duke!

[cascadedevil]

It was a team effort, but Nolan set the tone of the defense on Pullen. I love this group!

[cakerace]

I vote Kyrie, but how about some love for Casey Peters? Our winning percentage is off the chart whenever he's on the court...

[juise]

Kyrie's penetration was huge tonight. He made some really tough shots at the rim and drew plenty of attention from the defense. What's scary is that he also made some freshman mistakes a long the way... so we can expect better games to come!

[deezl]

I could've sworn Pullen played for K-State. Oh well, big important win for The Great One - 800!!!

[ajgoodfella7]

Great tweet from Dave Telep of ESPN:

"Watch college basketball closely this year. When you find a PG who is better finisher than Kyrie Irving (left or right) please report back"

http://twitter.com/#!/DaveTelep/status/7301711110602752

[Wander]

Kyrie Irving is Duke's best player and will be a serious NPOY candidate. I am not kidding.

[4decadedukie]

What a pleasure to vote for Irving; his performance reflects a maturity and skill level that belies his experience.

[weezie]

What a pleasure to vote for Irving; his performance reflects a maturity and skill level that belies his experience.

Coach K. Look at this fine team so early in the season! Gives me goosebumps!

[superdave]

I actually voted for Kyle because I though his defense and rebounding took away K State's interior athleticism advantage. We did not have much of an answer for Curtis Kelly's game until Kyle started helping on him or guarding him.

I also thought Kyrie and Nolan forced too many shots and played too fast at times.

Who am I kidding? We just kicked #4 square in the butt and turned our backs and walked away. I have no complaints.

[tele]

Nolan. He was a steady performer all game and even took over at point when KI got in foul trouble. Nice to have senior go to guys like Nolan and Singler on the team to go to when the game gets close or you need a defensive stop. K state really brings it on defense so not a lot of easy baskets. Great team effort for a win in a hostile arena, should be good to see this team back in Cameron...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Kyrie, by a smidge over Nolan!

[OldPhiKap]

Great tweet from Dave Telep of ESPN:

"Watch college basketball closely this year. When you find a PG who is better finisher than Kyrie Irving (left or right) please report back"

http://twitter.com/#!/DaveTelep/status/7301711110602752

It's official: Kyrie is TOTALLY amphibious.

[peterjswift]

I wish I could vote for the Dawkins/Curry combo. They are literally instant offense off the bench, and Curry especially played tenacious defense. Kyrie was spectacular (I think we'll be seeing this a lot this year), but Andre just took the crowd out of the game completely on multiple occasions. His discipline at the end of the game to run time off the clock instead of taking an open 3 (and then hitting a three later in the possession) exemplifies team play.

I know every analyst has probably said this ad nauseum, but our bench players would not only be starters on any other team, I think they would be the stars of most other teams.

[superdave]

It's official: Kyrie is TOTALLY amphibious.

I enjoyed watching Kyrie hang long enough to adjust his shot and finish some plays tonight. He's got a strong body to be able to take a hit and knock his shot in. He did force some shots and put his head down at the end of some coast-to-coast drives where he took on 2-3 guys. By Feb he'll either back those out or figure out how to finish them.

Super "Vitale was killing Pullen last night" Dave

[Indoor66]

I enjoyed watching Kyrie hang long enough to adjust his shot and finish some plays tonight. He's got a strong body to be able to take a hit and knock his shot in. He did force some shots and put his head down at the end of some coast-to-coast drives where he took on 2-3 guys. By Feb he'll either back those out or figure out how to finish them.

Super "Vitale was killing Pullen last night" Dave

Good observations about Kyrie - I agree. He will learn a little more restraint - but as K has said in the past - you don't rein in a thoroughbred (or he said something similar).

I think Pullen was killing Pullen last night. Vitale was just reporting the facts.

[OldPhiKap]

I think Pullen was killing Pullen last night.

I think Nolan and Kyrie were aiding and abetting.

[Indoor66]

I think Nolan and Kyrie were aiding and abetting.

No question about that. The poor kid couldn't figure it out.

[SilkyJ]

Kyrie Irving is Duke's best player and will be a serious NPOY candidate. I am not kidding.

I think you're right, which is scary. He has this knack for finishing that you just can't teach. And he can shoot it (great to see him step up and knock down FTs tonight on a big stage). Oh, he's kinda fast too...

[COYS]

I think you're right, which is scary. He has this knack for finishing that you just can't teach. And he can shoot it (great to see him step up and knock down FTs tonight on a big stage). Oh, he's kinda fast too...

It's incredible how far Kyrie has come in the past two years. He went from a mid-tier prospect (remember back in 2008 when Watzone let us in that Duke was going to make a certain 4.0 student and #1 player in the class from Florida named Brandon Knight our priority?), to a top 10 player and a top 3 point guard, to THE top point guard in the class, to perhaps the top point guard in the nation at the collegiate level and a possible top 3 pick in the NBA draft. He obviously has some growing to do and he will see his ups and downs. But even in a one-off scenario, there are only a very few people out there who could come out and shoulder the weight of leading Duke's offense while also being the primary defender on an All American under the bright lights of ESPN in a hostile city. Oh yeah, it was also just his second game in his life against top tier NCAA competition.