MBB: Duke vs. St. Louis Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[CameronBornAndBred]

For Triangle viewers, it's been moved to Fox 50 due to coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' funeral.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/8755563/

Wanted to make sure folks new if they were planning on setting their DVR's.

[Bob Green]

St. Louis is a small team which started three guards (6'2", 6'3", 6'3") and two forwards (6'6", 6'7") in their most recent outing a 69-60 loss to the Portland Pilots. The two starting forwards combined for 10 points and two rebounds in the game. Rob Loe, a 6'11" 240 New Zealander played 21 minutes off the bench before fouling out with two points, five rebounds and four turnovers. A fourth forward, 6'5" Dwayne Evans, scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.

I do not believe the Billikens have the size to successfully play man-to-man defense against the Blue Devils. If they try, we should invert our offense and post up Singler repeatedly. Additionally, the Plumlee Brothers could be looking at a multitude of alley-oop opportunities.

If St. Louis throws a zone at us, our long list of excellent 3-point shooters will have to make them pay. We are making 3-pointers at a .410 clip (89-217) but St. Louis has only given up 16 3-pointers over six games this season. This could be a strength versus strength match-up.

It will be interesting to see how Coach Majerus decides to try and defend Duke.

[CDu]

St. Louis is a small team which started three guards (6'2", 6'3", 6'3") and two forwards (6'6", 6'7") in their most recent outing a 69-60 loss to the Portland Pilots. The two starting forwards combined for 10 points and two rebounds in the game. Rob Loe, a 6'11" 240 New Zealander played 21 minutes off the bench before fouling out with two points, five rebounds and four turnovers. A fourth forward, 6'5" Dwayne Evans, scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.

I do not believe the Billikens have the size to successfully play man-to-man defense against the Blue Devils. If they try, we should invert our offense and post up Singler repeatedly. Additionally, the Plumlee Brothers could be looking at a multitude of alley-oop opportunities.

If St. Louis throws a zone at us, our long list of excellent 3-point shooters will have to make them pay. We are making 3-pointers at a .410 clip (89-217) but St. Louis has only given up 16 3-pointers over six games this season. This could be a strength versus strength match-up.

It will be interesting to see how Coach Majerus decides to try and defend Duke.

If anyone was ever going to throw some junk defenses at us, it'd be Majerus. I would not be surprised to see him go with several different defensive looks, potentially including the box-and-one and triangle-and-two along with some straight up zone and man-to-man.

That said, I'd expect us to run over St Louis regardless of the defense Majerus throws at us. Barring some really crazy events, we'll see Coach K move one step closer to Smith and Knight.

I'm interested to see the following:
- Dawkins' followup to his first start and career-best performance
- Curry's play (and how much time he gets at the PG) as he gets his second straight game of extended minutes with the regular rotation
- Whether we can improve our defensive rebounding
- Whether the Plumlees step up
- What we see of Hairston and Thornton

Can't wait for the game.

[MChambers]

- Curry's play (and how much time he gets at the PG) as he gets his second straight game of extended minutes with the regular rotation.
Seems to me that on the defensive end Curry has often been used to pressure the opposing team's point guard. I think that will be important with Irving out, because I really don't know if we can expect Nolan to play the other team's point guard on both ends of the floor. Last year, he did that on the defensive end, but did not have to do it on the offensive end.

[CDu]

Seems to me that on the defensive end Curry has often been used to pressure the opposing team's point guard. I think that will be important with Irving out, because I really don't know if we can expect Nolan to play the other team's point guard on both ends of the floor. Last year, he did that on the defensive end, but did not have to do it on the offensive end.

Yes, it's a lot to ask of Smith to run the offense and take the primary on-ball defensive job. That's part of why I'd like to see how/if Curry handles some of the PG role offensively as well. The more solid options we have in the PG role (both offensively and defensively) the better.

[obsesseddukefan]

I live in Illinois and work in STL. While I dont think that SLU has the ability to beat Duke, there were some issues regarding star players and sexual assault. One of the players was a potential 1st round draft pick. While to this day there is speculation as to what really happened, I have to say that if these players were still on the team, Saturdays game might have been a close 1st half of ball.

That being said after following this team for a few years, Majerus just cant seem to get his guys into any type of rhythm. I respect Majerus, but even to this day I am scratching my head as to why he would take the SLU job a few years back...

Here is a link to the story....I warn you it is graphic in nature.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2010/10/willie_reed_kwamain_mitchell_slu_basketball_sheddi ng_some_light_suspension.php

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2010/11/slu_basketball_sexual_assault_kwamain_mitchell_wil lie_reed.php

[mgtr]

Yes, it's a lot to ask of Smith to run the offense and take the primary on-ball defensive job. That's part of why I'd like to see how/if Curry handles some of the PG role offensively as well. The more solid options we have in the PG role (both offensively and defensively) the better.

I agree completely -- I would rather see Nolan be a slasher and shooter and let someone else run the offense. It worked out OK last year!! Where is a Jon Scheyer when we need him? Maybe Curry can fill that role.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Seems to me that on the defensive end Curry has often been used to pressure the opposing team's point guard. I think that will be important with Irving out, because I really don't know if we can expect Nolan to play the other team's point guard on both ends of the floor. Last year, he did that on the defensive end, but did not have to do it on the offensive end.

Seth plays very aggresive defense imo. I like it but sometimes it puts the team in a bad position but he also is leading the team in steals per 40 mins I think.

[Bob Green]

....but he also is leading the team in steals per 40 mins I think.

How hard is it to check? Instead of posting something and then throwing up the caveat: I think, why don't you check the stats and do the math?

Seth has 11 steals in 167 minutes, which equates to one steal every 15 minutes and 10.8 seconds (15.18) or 2.63 steals per 40 minutes. Yes, he leads the team.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

How hard is it to check? Instead of posting something and then throwing up the caveat: I think, why don't you check the stats and do the math?

Seth has 11 steals in 167 minutes, which equates to one steal every 15 minutes and 10.8 seconds (15.18) or 2.63 steals per 40 minutes. Yes, he leads the team.

I had some where I had to be and did not have the time. I was making the post then got a call from someone who needed me so I hit post and shut my cpu.

[Bob Green]

I had some where I had to be and did not have the time. I was making the post then got a call from someone who needed me so I hit post and shut my cpu.

You should have chosen to delay your post until you had the time to confirm the facts!

[Duke: A Dynasty]

You should have chosen to delay your post until you had the time to confirm the facts!

Or I could post it and someone who has credibiltiy can confirm it while I am away.

[ThePublisher]

Anyone know where the game is for triad residents? I really don't want to miss the game.

[nocilla]

Anyone know where the game is for triad residents? I really don't want to miss the game.

Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC.

jk, I assume you mean where on tv. CBS is carrying it but it was moved for the Elizabeth Edwards funeral to their alternate station. So it depends on how you get CBS as to where it ends up. Probably 5.2 on my tv. One article said channel 50 but I don't know what service that is referring to because 50 is Fox on my tv.

[DukieInBrasil]

I agree completely -- I would rather see Nolan be a slasher and shooter and let someone else run the offense. It worked out OK last year!! Where is a Jon Scheyer when we need him? Maybe Curry can fill that role.
Although Nolan did a great job of distributing the ball, running the point obviously affected his shooting. The other side of that coin is, who are you going to replace with Curry? I'm not sure that replacing Dawkins would be a very good thing to do, and no way that Curry is gonna replace Nolan or Kyle. If Curry were to start instead of MPI or II we would be tiny. Well, not relative to SLU but come ACC time, a lineup of Curry-Smith-Dawkins-Singler-Plumlee would be pretty small, but absolutely lethal from outside, if Smith can regain his outside touch.

[moonpie23]

sam and i scored tickets to the game today so we will be whooping it up !!! I know that everyone is down over the kyrie situation, but we intend to make sure we keep our energy level up for EVERY GAME!!!!!!!


GO DUKE!!!!!

[Saratoga2]

If anyone was ever going to throw some junk defenses at us, it'd be Majerus. I would not be surprised to see him go with several different defensive looks, potentially including the box-and-one and triangle-and-two along with some straight up zone and man-to-man.

That said, I'd expect us to run over St Louis regardless of the defense Majerus throws at us. Barring some really crazy events, we'll see Coach K move one step closer to Smith and Knight.

I'm interested to see the following:
- Dawkins' followup to his first start and career-best performance
- Curry's play (and how much time he gets at the PG) as he gets his second straight game of extended minutes with the regular rotation
- Whether we can improve our defensive rebounding
- Whether the Plumlees step up
- What we see of Hairston and Thornton

Can't wait for the game.

I just looked at a couple of comparable categories for some of the most hyped big men in the country versus what the Plumees have done to date. I assume the other teams have played a similar number of weaker teams on the schedule, so it is a reasonable comparison.

Kansas- The Morris Twins (They both have an M first initial so it is hard know which one is which.

Name Minutes PPG RPG
M. Morris 212 18.6 6.5
M. Morris 163 12.4 8.9

Ohio St
J Sullinger 209 18.1 9.9

Duke
Mason 239 9.6 8.4
Miles 138 5.1 4.2

The significant difference appears to be in interior scoring. Part of that has been the Duke reliance on guard scoring, but part also seems to be a lack of touch inside for both Mason and Miles. Would love to see them develop a fall away jumper and/or a jump hook or maybe a drop step ala Kevin McHale of the Celtics past. Rebounding numbers don't look that different.

So while I would like the Plumlees game to step up as you say, I think it is already good and should get better, especially on the offensive side.

[NSDukeFan]

I just looked at a couple of comparable categories for some of the most hyped big men in the country versus what the Plumees have done to date. I assume the other teams have played a similar number of weaker teams on the schedule, so it is a reasonable comparison.

Kansas- The Morris Twins (They both have an M first initial so it is hard know which one is which.

Name Minutes PPG RPG
M. Morris 212 18.6 6.5
M. Morris 163 12.4 8.9

Ohio St
J Sullinger 209 18.1 9.9

Duke
Mason 239 9.6 8.4
Miles 138 5.1 4.2

The significant difference appears to be in interior scoring. Part of that has been the Duke reliance on guard scoring, but part also seems to be a lack of touch inside for both Mason and Miles. Would love to see them develop a fall away jumper and/or a jump hook or maybe a drop step ala Kevin McHale of the Celtics past. Rebounding numbers don't look that different.

So while I would like the Plumlees game to step up as you say, I think it is already good and should get better, especially on the offensive side.

Marcus is the top scoring Morris and the one on some pre-season all-American lists. If we can ever get an inside player to have a quarter of the moves of Kevin McHale (or Adrian Dantley) I would be very happy.
I am very much looking forward to this game as this is the first game I will get to see on TV, instead of searching the internet for the game. I can actually DVR it and watch it whenever I choose as well. I will just have to remember to not reply to an in-game thread if I am watching it delayed as I once did last year.

[dukeblue1206]

For Triangle viewers, it's been moved to Fox 50 due to coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' funeral.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/8755563/

Wanted to make sure folks new if they were planning on setting their DVR's.

What about if WRAL is your local CBS affiliate but you get it through DirecTV without that Fox 50 channel? I live in Wilmington so I have my fingers crossed I get the game and not a depressing funeral.

[camion]

Is the game online anywhere?

[riverside6]

live tempo-based stats for the game here, starters are posted

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=6929

[_Gary]

It absolutely blows my mind just how different this team is without Kyrie on the court. Glad to see Seth hit his first shot just now.

[Vincetaylor]

It absolutely blows my mind just how different this team is without Kyrie on the court. Glad to see Seth hit his first shot just now.

It is incredible and depressing. They definitely aren't the best team in the country without him.

[1999ballboy]

Is the game online anywhere?

It's on at channelsports.co.cc

[_Gary]

It is incredible and depressing. They definitely aren't the best team in the country without him.

No doubt it's very depressing, both when I think about how bad and frustrated Kyrie must feel and also for the blow to the team. It was an absolute thing of beauty to watch when Kyrie was at the helm. I still love Duke and enjoy seeing them play, but I'd be lying if I said the offense looked anywhere close to as good as it did previously. I believe we'll have to see Duke against bigger and better teams in order to get a real idea of where we are at, especially on the offensive end, without Kyrie in the lineup.

As for your second point, I've not seen enough of the other top teams to say for sure. But my initial thoughts are that I agree with you. Only time will tell, and I'm still hoping for a minor miracle and a return of Kyrie by no later than early February.

[RoyalBlue08]

I loved watching Kyrie celebrating Nolan's dunk. Genuine excitement for his teammate. That kid is the real deal in just about every way imaginable. I hate that he has to go through sitting out, more for him than for us fans.

[RoyalBlue08]

It is incredible and depressing. They definitely aren't the best team in the country without him.

You pick one team and I'll take Duke. I like my side to win it all.

[muzikfrk75]

I'm in Greensboro and the game is on CBS here.

What happened to Majerus in Utah? Can someone refresh my memory? He bought a player some pizza?

[DukeGirl4ever]

Right now, I think Nolan looks phenomenal taking care of and distributing the basketball. The maturity from his sophomore year when he played the point to now is quite evident.

[SupaDave]

With all due respect, I don't believe it matters IF we're the best team in the country. We play to win the game and we play hard - no matter who's out there. That's all that matters.

Last year - Kentucky was generally considered the best team in basketball - and Kentucky fans still think so. Still means nothing b/c we're the reigning champs.

Besides, who brings MORE to the table than we do?

[SupaDave]

Hairston is gonna be a big part of the offense in the next couple years. I'm excited with his development. He's looks to be as big as Miles.

[34dukegal]

I loved watching Kyrie celebrating Nolan's dunk. Genuine excitement for his teammate. That kid is the real deal in just about every way imaginable. I hate that he has to go through sitting out, more for him than for us fans.

My highlight of the game so far, the dunk was great, but I was so happy to see the how excited Kyrie was. He seems like a really good kid, other stars have been injured and seem disinterested while watching (not any former Duke players) but he's so into the game and seems genuinely happy for his teammates.

[COYS]

Also, I fail to understand how watching Duke right now is "depressing." I agree it's very sad to see Kyrie on the bench knowing how much he wants to be out there, but the team is playing well. We were a little cold on offense to begin with, but, as the best Duke teams always do, we emphasized defense and made it a point to prevent the Rams from scoring, holding them to all of 12 points with a few minutes to go in the first half. The pace of the game is slow so our scoring total isn't high, but our efficiency has quickly been climbing. We're rebounding well and getting some steals. This is hardly a depressing game.

[dairedevil]

Nice to see that the lid has come off of the basket, and we're starting to pull away. Is it beginning of the game jitters? Playing without Kyrie? At least today, the beginning defense looked better than it did Wednesday.

[DukeGirl4ever]

Also, I fail to understand how watching Duke right now is "depressing." I agree it's very sad to see Kyrie on the bench knowing how much he wants to be out there, but the team is playing well. We were a little cold on offense to begin with, but, as the best Duke teams always do, we emphasized defense and made it a point to prevent the Rams from scoring, holding them to all of 12 points with a few minutes to go in the first half. The pace of the game is slow so our scoring total isn't high, but our efficiency has quickly been climbing. We're rebounding well and getting some steals. This is hardly a depressing game.

Totally agree! I think the first game without Kyrie was a learning experience and you know this team will only continue to improve and rely on everyone's strengths. This game looks much improved from first half of last game.

[Fuqua's Finest]

I wouldn't quite consider this depressing, but I do see where my fellow Dukies are coming from. The issue that I have is that the style of ball that we are playing. The ball is being dominated by Nolan and Kyle as expected. While Nolan is putting the ball in the basket, you would like to see the Plumlees getting fed in the post against a small team like St. Louis. I constantly see Miles posting up and Nolan reverting back to last year and staring him down and then deferring to Singler. Also, Dre has been non-existent. It's like their not even trying to involve him in the game after he popped off 28 last game. The flow of the offense just isn't there. It seems like Nolan either knows to attack to score or to play off and dish. He doesn't know how to combine both mentalities. I'm sure I'm being nitpicky but against a quality team I think we may be in trouble.

[davekay1971]

Unable to get the game on and following half from ESPN gametracker and half from DBR in-game thread. Quick question: notice Andre is 0-0 despite being listed as a starter. Anything going on with him in particular, or is the offense just flowing in a different direction today?

[COYS]

To recap this "depressing" first half, we held St. Louis to an abysmal (for them) .46 points per possession in the first half . . . I don't think we ever managed to accomplish that even last year. The pace is slightly faster than the last game, mostly because of all of the steals we've had. Despite going cold at first, we rebounded to shoot over 50% for the half, including 75% from three on only 4 attempts, which means we're looking to attack from inside the arc instead of relying on the three ball. We're scoring 1.17 points per possession despite that cold spell and despite bad FT shooting. If we come out and have a second half like we've been doing, I'd expect to see our offensive efficiency rise pretty quickly. Oh, and we've done all this with last game's leading scorer Andre notching exactly zero points. Oh, and the team only has 5 turnovers. It may not be the high flying, fast-paced offense we expected to see with Kyrie, but this team can still score way more than the other team. And if we dedicate ourselves to defense as we have in this game, we're going to be just fine.

All stats from: http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=6929&bView=0

[_Gary]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think everyone here is smart enough to understand where I was coming from when I posted early in the game. And yes, it is kinda depressing to not see Kyrie playing. How can that NOT be the case for a true Blue Devil fan. I believe it's possible to be excited for the T-E-A-M and at the same time feel bad that Kyrie isn't out there.

I'd also suggest we not get either too high or too low when playing an inferior opponent, at home, like we are today.

[CDu]

Unable to get the game on and following half from ESPN gametracker and half from DBR in-game thread. Quick question: notice Andre is 0-0 despite being listed as a starter. Anything going on with him in particular, or is the offense just flowing in a different direction today?

Smith and Singler have been looking to attack off the dribble, and we just haven't looked to the perimeter yet. And to be honest, we really haven't needed to do so. I don't see anything particularly wrong with Dawkins. We're just having success with other things, so we haven't looked to the perimeter shot much (only 4 attempted 3s as a team at the half).

[COYS]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think everyone here is smart enough to understand where I was coming from when I posted early in the game. And yes, it is kinda depressing to not see Kyrie playing. How can that NOT be the case for a true Blue Devil fan. I believe it's possible to be excited for the T-E-A-M and at the same time feel bad that Kyrie isn't out there.

I'd also suggest we not get either too high or too low when playing an inferior opponent, at home, like we are today.

I apologize if I came across as harsh. I totally understand how tough it is to see Kyrie on the bench, but that shouldn't take away from what the team is doing on the court. I am certainly not getting too high or too low on the team, but I am simply identifying some of the adjustments the team has made to continue its high level of play, which was reflected in the first half performance, I thought. Just wanted to make sure that the team got enough credit for playing a very strong first half.

[cbros]

I think this is a great opportunity for Dawkins, Curry, and Thurston to get quality PT and step up. We all heard a lot last year of Curry showing flashes of being the best player on the court during practice. This is his chance, albeit a dubious one, to show everyone.

[JMarley50]

I don't know how much more of this poor Duke, poor Kyrie crap I can take. None of our opponents will feel sorry for us, I'm sure our team don't feel sorry for themselves, and I can guarantee you that Kyrie doesn't feel sorry for himself.

Here we are blowing out a team by 20+ points in the first half, yet still people are crying about Kyrie and acting like the season is over. It is disrespectful to the other players to act like this. This team is great with or without Kyrie, he is not the only player on the team. I still don't see many teams beating us, actually none that I can think of right now.

The season must continue, injuries are a part of basketball. Stop crying!

[dukeimac]

FYI, Thurston Howell III was on Gilligan's Island not the Duke basketball team. LOL, jk.

Without Kyrie, Duke is playing a slower, not a slow game but slower game, and the game seems to fit them better.

Miles is playing much better, thus I think the he is getting lost in the fast pasted game. Dawkins and Mason can play both ways but even Nolan and Kyle seem much more at ease with this style. They both can play the up tempo game but they just seem at ease with this style. Like, instead of learning something new they are doing something they are comfortable with.

And I think Curry will be able to run things much better in this style.

Overall, in Coach K I trust. :)

[_Gary]

You're exaggerating what some of us are saying. No one thinks "poor Duke" simply because we feel bad that Kyrie is out. And no one is saying we can't or won't win a championship with him out.

BTW, here in the second half we've been burned by penetration and excellent, self-less passing by St. Louis. And offensively, we aren't sharing the ball enough. Do we have any assists for this half thus far?

[davekay1971]

Smith and Singler have been looking to attack off the dribble, and we just haven't looked to the perimeter yet. And to be honest, we really haven't needed to do so. I don't see anything particularly wrong with Dawkins. We're just having success with other things, so we haven't looked to the perimeter shot much (only 4 attempted 3s as a team at the half).

Thank you! I was hoping that was the case.

[-jk]

We seem to be making a concerted effort to push the ball inside this game. Even when it's a bit forced.

-jk

[throatybeard]

I had to take the car to get inspected so I was listening to SLU radio locally. SLU playbyplay announcer keeps talking about some guy named Mike Plumlee. Damn, them Plumlee parents are prolific.

[CDu]

We seem to be making a concerted effort to push the ball inside this game. Even when it's a bit forced.

-jk

Yeah, we've virtually ignored the 3-point shot in this game. Definitely seems like we're trying things out. The play has looked a bit sloppy at times. But, it's nice to be able to experiment with the offense against a team that you know you'll beat by 20+.

[Fuqua's Finest]

Well, I've quietly wanted Seth to run the pg (post-Kyrie). I firmly believe Nolan isn't a good pg, but a good combo guard. I think Nolan needs to touch the ball, but I don't think he should be the dominant ball-handler. Smith tends to over-dribble trying to make a spectacular play and almost always turns it over. Meanwhile, Seth plays within the game. He sees passing lanes and he anticipates a lot better than Nolan. I think it will be interesting to see if K makes Seth a Scheyer clone and revert Nolan back to his role a la 2009-2010. Any thoughts?

[JMarley50]

You're exaggerating what some of us are saying. No one thinks "poor Duke" simply because we feel bad that Kyrie is out. And no one is saying we can't or won't win a championship with him out.

BTW, here in the second half we've been burned by penetration and excellent, self-less passing by St. Louis. And offensively, we aren't sharing the ball enough. Do we have any assists for this half thus far?

Don't get me wrong I'm not referring to just the comments in this thread, but the attitude in general by a lot of people, including all of the experts who just continue to talk about Kyrie. But at the same time you just proved what I am talking about. So we've got burned a few times and aren't passing great. If Kyrie was in the game we would be saying, man Kyrie needs to pick it up on D or something along those lines. But he's not in the game, and instead of talking about Nolan, Seth or whoever is at fault we are saying man if only Kyrie was in the game it would be different, or Kyrie would have made that play, etc. You catch my drift? The situation is what it is and we should be focused on the team as it is right now and that is without Kyrie...

[CDu]

Well, I've quietly wanted Seth to run the pg (post-Kyrie). I firmly believe Nolan isn't a good pg, but a good combo guard. I think Nolan needs to touch the ball, but I don't think he should be the dominant ball-handler. Smith tends to over-dribble trying to make a spectacular play and almost always turns it over. Meanwhile, Seth plays within the game. He sees passing lanes and he anticipates a lot better than Nolan. I think it will be interesting to see if K makes Seth a Scheyer clone and revert Nolan back to his role a la 2009-2010. Any thoughts?

Smith has struggled to create for others today (2 assists, 4 turnovers), but he has done well creating for himself (17 points). I agree that Smith isn't ideally suited for the PG spot, don't know that Curry is any more suited to play the position than Smith. As such, I don't think we're going to ask any one player to exclusively handle the playmaker role.

[wacobluedevil]

Anyone as impressed by Hariston as I am?

[JMarley50]

Well, I've quietly wanted Seth to run the pg (post-Kyrie). I firmly believe Nolan isn't a good pg, but a good combo guard. I think Nolan needs to touch the ball, but I don't think he should be the dominant ball-handler. Smith tends to over-dribble trying to make a spectacular play and almost always turns it over. Meanwhile, Seth plays within the game. He sees passing lanes and he anticipates a lot better than Nolan. I think it will be interesting to see if K makes Seth a Scheyer clone and revert Nolan back to his role a la 2009-2010. Any thoughts?

I agree with you. No offense to Nolan but I think Seth is capable of being a better PG. I think Nolan running point goes against his strengths as a slasher and moving without the ball. And like Jon, Seth will still be able to keep the defense honest with his shooting ability.

[CDu]

Anyone as impressed by Hariston as I am?

I have enjoyed seeing him hit that 12-15 foot jumpshot a couple of times. He's looked promising.

[1 24 90]

Anyone as impressed by Hariston as I am?

Yes, and I really liked that pass from Thornton to Miles.

[dukelifer]

Smith has struggled to create for others today (2 assists, 4 turnovers), but he has done well creating for himself (17 points). I agree that Smith isn't ideally suited for the PG spot, don't know that Curry is any more suited to play the position than Smith. As such, I don't think we're going to ask any one player to exclusively handle the playmaker role.

Thornton can play it but does not have the experience. He passes better than Curry and Smith. Smith really struggles at the point- he is a natural and gifted off guard and a below average point. Curry may be a tad better but not a natural passer. Thornton is Duke's best bet to play the point but it will be a different team. Tough call for K- but he has the ability to mix it up.

[wacobluedevil]

Anyone as impressed by Hariston as I am?

Nice cut to the basket

[_Gary]

I agree with you. No offense to Nolan but I think Seth is capable of being a better PG. I think Nolan running point goes against his strengths as a slasher and moving without the ball. And like Jon, Seth will still be able to keep the defense honest with his shooting ability.

I feel exactly the same way. At this point there's no doubt in my mind that Seth is the best PG we have available to us right now. He's certainly been the best we've had at guarding their lightning quick PG, McCall (#11). Seth has been the only person that's been able to crouch down defensively and keep him from penetrating at will. Props to Seth for the excellent defense today (as well as some wonderful shooting).

[Jholt915]

Anyone as impressed by Hariston as I am?

First post on this site. I have been super impressed with Hairston today. He kind of reminds me of Lance Thomas, but I think he has a chance to be a much better offensive player than Lance. I just hope he hustles as much as Lance did.

[wacobluedevil]

Could Andre be under the weather? Hasn't played much, and not very active when he's been in there.

[DukeGirl4ever]

For those of you who say Nolan isn't disrupting the ball...I'm not sure I agree with that. Yea, his numbers may not show a lot of assists, but he has been moving the ball pretty well, IMO.

I saw no major problems with him today. I've never seen Seth handle the ball for a consistent amount of time, so I can't speak for that, but I'm not sure he's the answer either. He just seems like he's a step slower sometimes - that will change, though, with more game time experience.

[Jholt915]

Could Andre be under the weather? Hasn't played much, and not very active when he's been in there.

I'm thinking this is a game that just doesn't play to Dawkins strength the 3 point shot. St. Louis has been good all year at defending the three.

[wacobluedevil]

First post on this site. I have been super impressed with Hairston today. He kind of reminds me of Lance Thomas, but I think he has a chance to be a much better offensive player than Lance. I just hope he hustles as much as Lance did.

Very nice mid-range jump shot.