MOTM: Duke vs. N.C. State (Jan 19, 2011)

[Lord Ash]

Who was Man of the Match in Duke's 92-78 win over N.C. State in Raleigh?

(Hope no one minds I put this up. Thoughts on including a limited box score as well? Good? Bad?)

[buddy]

Tonight there needs to be an option called "Team". This was an extremely satisfying win. Everyone played their part. The bigs were strong, Nolan was superb, Kyle hit some big shots (after struggling) and grabbed important rebounds, Seth and Andre both contributed, Tyler had excellent minutes when we really needed them. I cannot pick one star, so will cast a vote for "Team."

[magjayran]

I thought Miles had 13 but no matter. I went with Nolan.

[wilson]

Tonight there needs to be an option called "Team". This was an extremely satisfying win. Everyone played their part. The bigs were strong, Nolan was superb, Kyle hit some big shots (after struggling) and grabbed important rebounds, Seth and Andre both contributed, Tyler had excellent minutes when we really needed them. I cannot pick one star, so will cast a vote for "Team."Well said.
I went with Miles, though, because the frontcourt really made a statement tonight, especially in light of State's frontcourt strength. I don't recall seeing this strong a rebounding performance all season, and the offensive production from the bigs was also stellar. Since the bigs so distinguished themselves, I voted for the guy who seemed to shine brightest among them (and who frankly kind of needed it the most).

[Neals384]

Wow! You know you have a strong team when Nolan scores 22 and is barely in the running. Kyle scores 18 with 9 boards and gets 0 votes! Duke was seriously deep today!

[Greg_Newton]

Love the limited box score. I think you could justify either Nolan, Miles, Mason, Kyle, or really even Ryan to some extent - all were huge during different times of the game (although Kyle's 6-18 was pretty awful). Heck, I thought Andre would get it after he scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting in the first few minutes.

I thought both Miles and Mason played superbly. Even more than their numbers, they just seemed to be doing everything right, and not making many mistakes. I mean, the Plumlees! That's a huge deal for them, even if they never develop a back-to-basket game at all.

And Ryan's corner three was the best shot I've seen him take in his entire career. That's the confidence and form we need from him - smooth and fluid, rather than jerky and with a hitch at the peak of his jump. Hopefully all three guys can build on what they respectively did well tonight.

[JasonEvans]

Several of ya'll beat me to it but I came here to say there needed to be some way to vote for "All of the Above" (we could call the vote, the anti-Brewster). I cannot think of a single guy on the team who did not play well tonight.

Failing that, it is a pity we cannot just vote for "M Plumlee" as both Ms had wonderful games, especially on the defensive end and the boards.

I know he won't get any votes, but I loved seeing 'Dre figure out ways to score when his 3-bomb was not on. He had some sweet moves tonight.

By the way, Mason's dish to 'Dre for a slam early in the first half was the moment I knew we were going to win this game. Too soon?

In the end, I cast my vote for Miles because he has taken so much abuse here on these boards for his diminished playing time and production lately. It would have been easy to crawl into a shell and watch his younger brother and not be a factor for this team any more this year. But Miles clearly worked hard in practice and earned early minutes in the game and then produced nicely in those minutes as well as the rest of the contest. All the folks who were saying less than nice things about both Plumlee bros got a huge heaping plate of crow to eat tonight!

--Jason "I am not sure anyone played really great, but everyone played pretty good and that combines for a great team effort" Evans

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I voted for MP2 here and MP1 in the DBR article poll. If there was a third poll, I'd vote for Ryan or Nolan. Great team effort!

[Son of Jarhead]

I'd like to vote for the whole team. Everybody contributed. Since I had to pick one, I went with Miles, partly because Coach K seemed very pleased with him in particular, giving him a big ol' hug after the game. I loved that moment. The MP's (my new nick name for them for the way they were guarding the basket) really were getting, in my opinion, too much criticism lately. I don't think the FSU game should be looked at so much as what Duke did wrong, but rather as what FSU did right. They are a darn good defensive team whose ball-preasure took away our ability to see teammates when they were open. And the whole team looked flat against UVA, not just the bigs. Coach K is starting to knit the pieces together on this team. What I think we'll be working on in practice a lot in the coming week will be defending penetration & weak-side help. I really liked what I saw from our TEAM tonight. Way to go, DUKE!

[Duke: A Dynasty]

I voted Kelly just because I thought he surprised me the most.

For me it would be like this:
Kelly
Mason
Dre
Miles
Nolan
Tyler
Kyle
Josh
Seth

[1999ballboy]

I for one think these polls are fine without the limited box score. It's a thoughtful idea, but in general I think people all watch the games and do a great job voting on these polls without the stats right there. If anything, the stats might make people get away from their gut votes. It's more interesting and helpful to see what people think just from watching the game. Plus, anyone who disagrees and really needs to see stats to make their vote can easily look them up. Just my $.02.

Still can't decide who I'm voting for. Really good game, great to see all 9 guys contribute.

[RelativeWays]

ESPN has Miles with 13 I believe. Anyway, I voted for him but all 3 bigs deserve it. This is what happens when they get confident. Like the 80's Nintendo slogan, now you're playing with power.

[Lord Ash]

Hey all,

Sorry if some numbers don't line up... I was working with the ESPN box score from immediately after the game.

[OldPhiKap]

Many great efforts, and IMO clearly Miles' night to shine.


FWIW, I'm not a fan of the limited box score because I use more of a gut test (as Stephen Colbert always points out, there are more nerve endings in the gut than in the brain. Probably not true, but is just part of wikiality. Maybe my favorite lurking neurologist can clear that up for me). But I think it is a good experiment to see what folks think.

[Devilsfan]

I think Ryan played great except for one transition play and when he was guarding (trying to guard) Leslie away from the basket. I thought he was more effective closer to the basket on D.

[ncexnyc]

I'm shocked to see Miles leading MOTM voting by such a large margin. I went with little brother, as I felt his rejections early on set the tone for this game.

[sleepybear]

Could of gone a couple different ways but I had to vote Mason. He set the tone right from the start.

[BD80]

Love and appreciate the select stats in the poll - didn't realize Ryan ripped down so many.

I know that either Nolan or Kyle deserve to win this award nearly every game, but I tend to vote for who most deserves more attention than he has been getting - thus I voted for Mason. He has had several big games in a row. Ryan is also stringing together solid performances - and had a break-out shooting night - he'd be #2.

In a way, Miles game was as frustrating to me as it was pleasing. As a junior who has been a regular part of the rotation for 3 years, it would be nice to see a bit more consistency. Maybe this is the start!

[killerleft]

I voted for Miles for all the obvious reasons. But this was a total team effort, and any of 5 players could be voted upon without a kick from me. Nolan & Kyle were solid, but this game was great for our big guys.

[PADukeMom]

I love my Nolan but I have to give it to Miles simply because last night's game gave him his confidence back.

[BleedsP287]

Miles gets my vote. So happy to see him play well, very much hoping he'll use this game as a jumping off point for a great season. Not a true believer yet, but definitely a hope-er.

[4decadedukie]

MILES - in what I sincerely hope (and believe) will be a key "breakout" game for Mr. Plumlee.

[NSDukeFan]

MILES - in what I sincerely hope (and believe) will be a key "breakout" game for Mr. Plumlee.

I agree completely, though this is one MOTM poll that I will not disagree with anyone's vote.

[Newton_14]

I too like the stats/snippets by each name. Nice touch LA. I voted for Miles for having the bounce back game. I rewatched the Maryland game Tuesday an Miles played well in that game, and was especially great on defense in the last 5 minutes. The FSU and UVA games he basically sat out and did not get a chance to really do anything.

Great team performance in this one and 54 points by players not named Nolan or Kyle was refreshing.