MBB: Duke 80, Terps 62 Post-Game Thread

[pfrduke]

Post your thoughts about a great win here.

[WiJoe]

MOTM

Mason.

:D

[KShip21]

That's more like it. Here's to hoping MD helped another one of our big men breakout for the rest of the season.

[superdave]

Duke stepped up tonight. It was not always pretty, but a road win vs. a competitive Maryland team is a really nice step in the direction of winning the ACC regular season.

Kyle's 11 straight points in the 2nd half were the key offensively because Maryland pulled within 5. But Duke's D play just well enough in just enough minutes to put us over the top tonight. Maryland got going a few times (two different 9-2 runs that I can recall), but each time the Duke D settled down and got stops. They managed to slow Jordan Williams down as well.

Super "That 2nd half seemed to last forever" Dave

[sbroc012]

very nice game all around.
1. Mason set the tone underneath the basket early
2. TT starting actually helped space the floor and he did acceptable for his first start (alot of room to improve)
3. The underneath game allowed for a few of the kickouts for three's...ala last year
4. Solid games from everyone all around
5. And it looks like Mr. Irving is going to have a busy few days with an MRI tomorrow and cast removal Friday

[60's Devil]

WOW. Mason was great. Perhaps this was his coming out. Kyle was amazing with baskets when we needed them. A great win and I was really worried after St. Johns. Go Big Blue!

[tb3]

Great effort and contribution from everyone. Also, KYLE.IS.GOOD!

Hey did you hear the Maryland students went in 4 hours early...did you hear how quiet they were when Duke surged ahead!

[timmy c]

Foul issues couldn’t overcome a good shooting game from the perimeter - Seth and Dre returned to their early season form. Maryland did not have anyone to provide a stop against Kyle Singler. At one critical point in the 2nd half, Singler ran off 11 points in a row.

It was also nice to watch the game with the sound on.

[DU82]

Solid. They did get it to five, but never really in doubt.

Great games from Mason, Andre and Seth, along with the reliable Nolan and Kyle. Great to see Tyler get the start, and some good play from him. Miles was OK while Ryan regressed a bit, with some silly fouls that put him on the bench for most of the second half. Of course, that was also because of Mason's play, and playing three guards most of the time.

[OZ]

Tweet! Tweet

All right! Where is it? I have run all over this danged campus and I can't find a bonfire anywhere. All I have found is a bunch of red and yellow painted people hurriedly trying to wash themselves. I guess that explains why all these fire trucks are out here.

[camion]

That is about as comfortable a win as you will get in that building. The only thing that made me nervous was foul trouble.

The vibe tonight was very different from the St. Johns game. Everyone on the team was solid.

[Bob Green]

The team recovered nicely and notched a key road victory. There were a lot of positives in tonight's game:

1. Mason Plumlee was aggressive on offense and recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
2. Tyler Thornton was solid in his first career start.
3. Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry hit some key baskets.
4. Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith led the way with 22 and 21 respectively.
5. The bench contributed 22 points.
6. The team remained aggressive even though foul trouble was a concern.

[LSanders]

Mas, for once, came out with fire in his eyes. Don't know what K/Wojo/etc. said to him, but he got the message.

NOW ... will he keep it up ... Especially a week from tonight?

[Chris Randolph]

Kyle Singler > Terp Nation

Good win, very impressed how this team bounced back considering the youth in certain spots. Thornton made a statement and when Dre/Seth/Mason play well, we are very tough to beat.

Do Maryland students have anything left to live for? They must be heart-broken, I'm sure they have some excuse. LOL that they were there 5 hours before tip, had them quiet by the 8 min mark in the 1st half. Bandwagon fans!

[BattierBattalion]

I was really impressed with Tyler Thornton's defense. He was responsible for 6 or 7 of Maryland's turnovers in the first half. He's got a long way to go on offense, but I'm more than elated with his first starting performance.

[mgtr]

It was terrific to see Mason step up offensively. The moves and shots he took tonight are probably available in every game. And, he didn't foul out. Good all around performance by the team.

[Billy Dat]

This was a really important win. We can put the St Johns massacre in the rearview and be happy with a solid effort.

I think that the Smith and Singler foul trouble was a bit of a gift because it forced extended minutes for the Mason, Miles, Tyler, Andre, Seth line-up....what? Being unable to resort to Nolan and Kyle watching, those guys got aggressive and I think it help loosen them up. Even when Kyle was dominating on offense for the stretch in the second half, I thought it was bad for the team because we need some of these other guys to have a healthier offensive ego. Too often, it's Nolan pounding the ball looking for a gap. During our best stretches, guys like Seth were setting up Andre, in rhythm, squared to the basket. I like how we went early and often to Mason, we should have kept doing that. When he was isolated on Williams, he was able to drive and make some things happen. Even Miles got into the act with his banked jumper. We are so much better when the ball moves, everyone gets involved, and guys are looking for their shots.

I thought we rebounded well, but I am concerned that the scouting report is to drive on us and teams seem to be doing it with relative ease. That needs to tighten up because it leads to foul trouble.

Kudos to Kyle and Nolan for staying in there with foul trouble, although Nolan's 3rd was a really dumb foul for him to commit (the reach in off a turnover). Amazing that we won by so much with such an unbalanced foul shooting scenario.

Maryland had ample opportunities to hit big shots to make it really interesting, and they had a lot of clean looks, especially some 3s that would have swung the momentum in a huge way...they just couldn't convert.

[g-money]

It was great to see Kyle emphasizing his mid-range game over shooting threes tonight. To me that was the biggest improvement (or dare I say Coach K adjustment?) we made since the St. Johns game.

It also helped to have Mason converting a high percentage of his opportunities and Andre and Seth hitting some clutch shots.

Go Duke.

[Oriole Way]

It was obvious that many of the glaring problems from the St. John's game were addressed in practice - namely tighter defensive rotations, better defending on the ball, and better shot selection and ball movement on the offensive end.

Kyle was on fire. Mason had his best game of the season aside from the Marquette game. He played more within himself, rebounded well, and damn, that was one nasty slam.

Still a few too many wide open shots, many of which Maryland missed, but it was still a great performance in a tough spot. Tyler struggled a little bit, but I thought he did a nice job in his first start, and with running the team for most of the 1st half. I like how he nailed a no-hesitation 3, and he did a good job of coming up with loose balls. Curry and Dawkins had an excellent game off the bench. They hit huge 3's to help stifle Maryland's runs, and in a big game, this was one of their best performances as a tandem.

Lots of good stuff to take away from this game. You learn so much about a team both coming off of a loss, and during how it plays in a tough road environment.

[Duke76]

why would we ever wear those stinkin black jerseys again,,,
should be banished forever....I'd like to see how worse the record is in black
jerseys vs blue since they came out with them. Anybody up for that
challenge?

guess this should be a new thread

[SCMatt33]

Great bounce back for Duke. It was nice to see a good shooting game for us on the road. We did a good job pushing the lead back out after their runs, though Maryland helped out some with some bad shots and missed easy shots. It always feels good when the final score equals the largest lead of the game.

As for specifics, I loved that we went straight down low to Mason on the first play of the game to get him in the flow offensively. I wasn't too concerned that so many people got in foul trouble as it was a very tight game from the refs. I was a little frustrated that Duke didn't take advantage as well by going to the rim, but when you're making jump shots like that, there is really no need.

The one thing that continues to give me some pause is the perimeter D. For a team that is not known for guard play, Maryland got to the paint on drives pretty easily. They missed a lot of layups, but got some open shots too when the big guys were forced to help. If this was a one game thing, I wouldn't think anything of it, but it was the third game in a row that this happened as both BC and St. John's had a lot of success driving into the paint. The good news for us is that BC turned it over and got blocked a lot and Maryland missed many of the shots. Obviously St. Johns took full advantage. Gotta keep an eye on it to see if we can improve.

Overall, an 18 point win at college park is always great. I particularly enjoyed two moments. The first was early in the second half. Duke took a charge (I forget who took it), but the crowd was dead silent. Maryland fans are almost always good for a "boo" after a foul goes against them, especially a charge, but they were dead silent and there was still a ton of time left. The second was in the the last minute before Nolan took his last two free throws. Once again, you could hear a pin drop as the players walked down the floor. That was a pretty awesome silence.

[diveonthefloor]

My heart stopped when I saw Jamie Luckey take the floor tonight.

Despite his best efforts (actually worst efforts!), the FIST really came through tonight.
Maryland's press was really a non-factor (only one turnover that I can remember because of the press and it wasn't during a close part of the game)....what a turnaround from the St John's game!

[taiw93]

A couple quick thoughts:
1) As bad as we looked Sunday, we looked that good and more tonight.
2) Mason played like a man down low. With the exception of the St. John's game, he has been consistently excellent lately, posting double digit rebounds in six of his last seven game (with the only exception, again, being Sunday). Loved what I saw from him offensively too - he positively bullied Jordan Williams on one play.
3) Tyler Thornton is a very efficient PG who plays great defense and runs the team very well. He's just rock solid.
4) Kyle Singler just was not missing today. Would have liked to see him take a few more shots
5) Seth Curry and Andre were both great shooting the ball today. I especially liked what I saw from Seth, who played solid defense and displayed good ball handling and court vision today. I think he had the assist on all three of Andre's three pointers, and had five in total. Wow.
6) It's kind of funny to think that this was an off shooting night for Nolan. He is so quick and crafty when he drives - almost Kyrie-esque. I really liked the lineup with him and Tyler sharing ball-handling duties.
7) We handled the press like champs.
8) Kelly had an off night. I guess he's mortal after all :P

All-in-all a terrific game. If we play like this come tournament time, we're a Final Four team (and perhaps a national championship team) even without Kyrie. The question for the rest of the season is who shows up: tonight's Blue Devils or the Blue Devils of Sunday. I imagine the correct answer is somewhere in between, but hopefully skewing towards tonight's performance.

[OldSchool]

Good, hard-fought win in a tough environment.

Offensively the big differences for us tonight versus the St John's game:

1. Kyle made some very tough shots. He was on fire, even being well defended.

2. Three point shooting was much better. This was because the shots we took tonight were for the most part open looks in which the defense was out of position so our shooters could set their feet and step into their shots. That wasn't the case at St John's.

3. Mason was more aggressive. It seemed like at the beginning of the game, the play in which he took his defender off the dribble for a score at the rim, really got him going and he was more aggressive throughout.

I still am worried about the clunkiness of our offense. Our best play by far is Nolan penetrating using ball screens, and that works better against some teams than others. After that, nothing comes very easily. Again, Kyle was magnificent hitting some tough shots tonight. Some of the roughness in our offense is Tyler getting more experience at the point and going through the process of discovering how to best use the weapons at his disposal.

Defensively, we did very well facing Maryland's half-court sets. But too many times on transition defense we let a Maryland player drive all the way to the rim.

And I continue to wish they were more aggressive in exploiting the full-court press. We seem to prefer to settle for getting it across half court and letting everyone get back and running our half court offense than taking it all the way to the basket from the inbounds.

[gcashwell]

I thought Mile had some good rebounds and lockouts tonight. I was actually impressed.

It seed like Duke always had something working. In the first half they got turnovers, then kickouts to threes. In the second half Singler was hot. Duke was always a step ahead.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

A very satisfying win for all of the reasons stated above. Not even overly aggressive foul calling by the striped shirts could deny us tonight. :cool:

[SCMatt33]

why would we ever wear those stinkin black jerseys again,,,
should be banished forever....I'd like to see how worse the record is in black
jerseys vs blue since they came out with them. Anybody up for that
challenge?

guess this should be a new thread

Didn't we use to say about the blue jerseys in past years.

[jv001]

I thought Mile had some good rebounds and lockouts tonight. I was actually impressed. It seed like Duke always had something working. In the first half they got turnovers, then kickouts to threes. In the second half Singler was hot. Duke was always a step ahead.

I was impressed with Miles and Mason tonight. Both used the bank shot tonight and Miles made his. Mason was a little far away from the goal for his, but at least he tried it. Go Duke!

[jv001]

Didn't we use to say about the blue jerseys in past years.

Not me. I love those uniforms and I hate the ugly black ones. Go Duke!

[Duke Parent 06]

why would we ever wear those stinkin black jerseys again,,,
should be banished forever....I'd like to see how worse the record is in black
jerseys vs blue since they came out with them. Anybody up for that
challenge?

guess this should be a new thread
Yesterday ESPN rebroadcast the 2001 MD game at MD -- you know, the one in which Battier et al scored 10 in the last minute of regulation to tie and put the game into overtime. What color jerseys do you think we were wearing?

[Lord Ash]

Loads of fun, need to go to sleep now, but I DO have to say...

Loved the Plumbeard that was going on there.

Keep mirroring last season... go ahead, keep mirroring...

[Dr. Tina]

Like Coach K, I'm very pleased with this win...

I'm so happy that Tyler got the start, and I think he did a good job with it. He had a few problems with the press, but other than that, I thought he was very solid. I think he can really help us at the point. He's pesky on D and I like that.

Kyle's offense was excellent tonight, and many of those shots were not easy. He seemed to be in the flow of the game and shooting instinctively. I think it's probably his best offensive performance in many games.

So happy that Mason finally started scoring to complement his great rebounding. I agree with K that this was his best performance to date. I think it's important to get him into the game early, so he starts with an aggressive mindset.

Nolan was slow to warm up, but he's a master at driving and getting shots around the basket as the shot clock expires.

Miles looks to be growing a Zoub-like beard again, and it seems to be helping because I saw two strong rebounds with kickouts for 3's that were Zoubesque!

Mason, Miles, Kyle, and Ryan did a decent job on Jordan Williams. He got most of his points because of going to the line.

Seth and Dre were deadly with the 3's. I really enjoyed watching some of the ball movement that created those 3 opportunities. Nice to see them contribute and play decent D.

Big shout out to Tyler, Mason, Miles, Seth, and Dre for extending the lead when both Nolan and Kyle went out for 5-6 minutes at the end of the 1st half. I thought that was such a good part of our performance because we really needed to protect Nolan and Kyle. It gives the guys confidence that they can contribute and score without relying on their captains so much. That part of the game was huge for us, even if MD did make a little run at the end.

Also, I loved how we responded to MD's punches. Mason's jam in the 2nd half to put us up by 7 again was great! We got some stops and started doing better on the glass towards the end, too.

Always a good feeling to sweep MD...right up there with sweeping the Tarholes... :)

[94duke]

MD put the ball on the floor and drove a ton. They were the team that made more FT's than we attempted (Duke:10-16, MD:20-27).

but.....

We did make more 3's than they attempted (Duke:10-23, MD:2-9).

:)

Good win by the Blue Devils. Go Duke!!

[Jarhead]

Didn't we use to say about the blue jerseys in past years.
Not that I can remember. Take it from me; a solid majority prefer the blue jerseys, over the black. I just took a survey. Mrs. Jarhead and I both prefer blue for the road games. White for the home games. Duke colors are not black and white. They are blue and white. Nike has everybody wear black for some misguided reason.
Is Nike a goth word?http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

[SCMatt33]

Not me. I love those uniforms and I hate the ugly black ones. Go Duke!

I didn't mean whether you like them or not. I just seem to remember that some years we would always lose in the blue and win in the black. I personally don't care since I'm not superstitious. Personally, I just love when we get to wear white through the entire tourney and not have to make that choice.

[devildeac]

Outstanding effort. Improved shooting (except FT), beat them on the boards, only 8 TO and 13 assists, improved perimeter and interior D and we weathered all their runs. Kudos to Jordan "Tyler" Williams for another double-double, shooting as many FT as our entire team :rolleyes:.

[Bluedevil114]

Kyle Singler played out of his mind tonight. Obviously wanted to take over the leadership role after the St. Johns loss but I was very impressed with the Mason Plumlee appearance tonight. This could be the same point that Zoubek showed up for us last year. Lets keep this riding. We definitely need to play with less fouls as that could have really hurt us at the end of the first half when we take our primary ball handler out of the game. Thornton had a huge three during that stretch.

Dawkins was hitting some monster shots tonight. Besides the one charge taken by Kelly he seemed kind of lost and slow out there tonight. Big win tonight and living in Maryland will make my day very fun tomorrow. GO DUKE!!

[jipops]

Man I hope this game is a turning point.

A nicely executed game tonight. Consider the fact that with 16 minutes left we had 4 guys on the floor with 3 fouls but still managed to play solid defense and keep the ball out of the post, for the most part... on the road. That is the most impressive facet of this win. K took the chance on the Terps' below average shooting perimeter players beating us and it worked out.

As a previous poster stated, I love seeing Singler working the mid-range game. His pull-up jumpers are deadly. And you could tell he REALLY wanted this game. A very nice game by Curry as well.

One red flag with this one is Duke's inability to stop any kind of transition. Once any team gets out running we don't react very well or show much poise. Our games have to stay halfcourt games - I think that may have become obvious already after the St Johns game.

Anybody could the number of times Bilas used the term "ball screen"?

Tyler got some great experience in this game. K kept trusting him even through some of his struggles. But for the most part Tyler came through.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

I didn't mean whether you like them or not. I just seem to remember that some years we would always lose in the blue and win in the black. I personally don't care since I'm not superstitious. Personally, I just love when we get to wear white through the entire tourney and not have to make that choice.

I don't ever remember that. There has never been fan sentiment (that I have detected) for the black unis - although I have heard that the players like them. A lot of bad losses have been in the black unis.

Go Duke (blue)

Jim T'70

[The Kidd]

Is it perhaps coincidental that Kyle's superb 2nd half performance had something to do with his time on the bench in the first half? Of course I don't want to see Singler in foul trouble that early in any game, but maybe Coach K has a lineup or two that can handle an opponent for 4 or 5 minutes while Smith and Singler get a little bit of a break. There is no shame in playing 35 minutes (as opposed to 40). Besides, Kyle seemed a lot fresher in the 2nd half.

The Kidd

[Bluedevil114]

Is it perhaps coincidental that Kyle's superb 2nd half performance had something to do with his time on the bench in the first half? Of course I don't want to see Singler in foul trouble that early in any game, but maybe Coach K has a lineup or two that can handle an opponent for 4 or 5 minutes while Smith and Singler get a little bit of a break. There is no shame in playing 35 minutes (as opposed to 40). Besides, Kyle seemed a lot fresher in the 2nd half.

The Kidd

He was hot before he went out with foul trouble. Some of that was a senior focussed after a humiliating loss but I agree a few less minutes could benefit both Singler and Smith just not together. We need one of them on the floor at all times. Go Duke!!

[moonpie23]

Our best play by far is Nolan penetrating using ball screens, and that works better against some teams than others.

actually, i think our best play is kyle coming from under the basket to curl to the foul line to take the shot......when you watch it unfold, it's amazing...

[Kedsy]

Of course, that was also because of Mason's play, and playing three guards most of the time.

Well, not really. We played three guards only 15 of the 40 minutes. Although I'm not sure what the numbers are for the 2nd half only, if that's what you mean.

[Bluedevil114]

actually, i think our best play is kyle coming from under the basket to curl to the foul line to take the shot......when you watch it unfold, it's amazing...

And pretty unstoppable as he has two guys setting picks on either side of him. His shot at the top of the key has a nice arch on it. He was HOT tonight!!

[Oriole Way]

I didn't mean whether you like them or not. I just seem to remember that some years we would always lose in the blue and win in the black. I personally don't care since I'm not superstitious. Personally, I just love when we get to wear white through the entire tourney and not have to make that choice.

The black jerseys started the year after we lost the National Championship game to UConn in 99. We lost in the blues in the title game, then we lost back to back games (to Stanford and UConn) to start the following season in 1999-2000, also while wearing the blues. Pretty sure it was after that the team decided to ditch the blues and start wearing the black uniforms.

I personally love the classic blues and wish we would go back to them. I don't mind the blacks once in a while, but not at the expense of never seeing the classic blues. The recent blues with black trim, which we wore tonight against Maryland, I am also mostly indifferent towards. I would be fine never seeing the blacks or tonight's blues ever again if it meant the classic blues came back.

[nyr484]

Am I being too sensitive here, or did anyone else find ESPN showing the clip of Nolan getting hurt 2 years ago a bit distasteful? I expect that kind of treatment from the always-classy Maryland fans (guy with the "Hey Nolan... remember this" sign), but I did not appreciate them showing that clip with Jay Bilas laughing about it. As an aside, could you ever imagine a Duke student bringing a sign to a game to remind an opposing player about an injury they suffered 2 years earlier in a game at Cameron? Just completely ridiculous if you ask me. Anyway, at least we all know what the next play after Nolan's injury was: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckLHEUkNOgE

[Kedsy]

Always a good feeling to sweep MD...right up there with sweeping the Tarholes... :)

Sorry, not even close. It's not just a teasing joke; Maryland really isn't our rival.

[dukepsy1963]

It is all coming together for the entire team in the next few weeks. Everyone is going to start playing at their peak/best each game..
Am I an optimist? Well, yes. But I think the curtain is beginning to rise. Even if it didn't, have you ever seen a bunch of guys that really have fun playing ball and, and...really like each other too!
I love these guys.
Go Duke!!

[Kedsy]

Man I hope this game is a turning point.

Yeah, because we've been so awful up until now. I hate it when we're only 19-2.

[ElSid]

St. Johns was an anomaly. We just played like we didn't care. And they played their best game of the year by far. Wasn't that we got blown out because the Big East is so amazing or that we have insurmountable weaknesses. The Dukes all had Sparks NYC steak coma vs. St. Johns, is my theory.

Lots to say about this game. But first...

For those of you on "the twitter", who I assume follow @ndotsmitty, who saw Nolan retweet a Maryland fan tweet saying essentially "I hope your bus crashes and you all get paralyzed". Love it in the sense that Nolan is steely and retweeted it, like he posted that photo of a UPS box arriving this summer that said "die duke" or something, and yet, by many accounts, he is still leading the country in awesomeness this year. The pressure on these guys is enormous and it's really admirable how they handle it.

But. I hate it in the sense that the anonymity of the internet makes this hate speech impossible to sufficiently shame. Takes restraint to not contact this person via the twitters with some reprimand. I'm afraid all I'd do is start some sort of bicker war. Not worth it.

It's for another forum to discuss, I suppose, but the blogs and the twitters and the googles...I don't like how they let vermin hide and spew whatever filth they wish.

On the other hand, another reason to love it...the hate level is indicative of the level of accomplishment of these kids and the program. I'm sure Coach K has taught that pysch lesson well. The more people hate, the more you rate. Think Kentucky fans last year constantly posting "Yay! People hate us again! We're relevant". If you bothered to poke around in some of their forums, that was a not uncommon comment.

[KandG]

So many good things in this game, especially given the slide in shooting and general quality of play the last few games.

1) Tyler starting, and giving Nolan valuable time *off* the ball. It was a little rough early in the game, because Tyler still doesn't have the experience, so some possessions took a long while to get going. But I saw more good than bad, overall. And he was terrific on D.

2) Feeding the ball inside to the Plumlees, and running more stuff for Kyle inside as well on curls. There was even a side pick and roll between Thornton and Miles toward the end of the 1st half where Miles rolled and converted a short jumper. My jaw dropped -- more of this, and we force people to respect our inside game and make it harder for opponents to close out on our shooters when we kick out.

3) Kyle overall on both ends of the floor. I'm sure several people saw what Seth Davis wrote about him earlier this week, and I can't say I disagreed. On the other hand, every season Kyle seems to have a short lull where his shot won't fall and he seems to be forgotten by the team. I was just really glad to see him get out of it tonight.

4) Screens. Last year Zoubek made our offense flow well by setting great screens. Tonight, it seemed like the Plumlees were able to do the same for Kyle and our shooters.

5) More diverse offense from Andre & Seth. I mean, they're going to take 3s because that's what they do well, but it was starting to feel like all the opponent had to do was make them take a dribble and they were much less effective. There was more driving and kicking, and Dre converting the 15 footer after a shot fake from further out made me as happy as any of his long bombs.

Eighty points on the road against a very good defensive team was terrific. Good bounce back win.

[Utley]

Such a satisfying win. I don't know why I do this but I continue to measure this team in terms of the overall competency of the team. I just love the way last years team was so efficient on offense and so tenacious on D - they just had a rhythm. Tonight's effort had a sense of deja vu to it.

Most noticeably, Kyle who was easily the best player on the court tonight - just like he was for much of last year. I was at the game and you could see it from the first moments. Mason was a monster as well and both Andre and Seth had a sense of swagger - "if you get me the ball when I am open you might as well just give us the 3 points".

A real treat to get this kind of effort and relatively easy win at MD. As I think someone already noted, let's hope MD is again our launchpad to a great second half run.

[brumby041]

Big win tonight and living in Maryland will make my day very fun tomorrow. GO DUKE!!

Amen to this!

I can hardly wait to hear how Duke got all the calls...oh, wait...

I'm sure they'll think of something.

[-bdbd]

A great win behind terrific effort! I had predicted a double-digit win, here, with the guys coming out fired up. It was important that we took the lead barely 8 minutes in and essentially never allowed them within five after that. It took a lot of the starch out of the crowd (and thus the MD team), which made a lot of other things easier.

It is cool that, even with their "very aggressive defense" in the last ten minutes, MD finished the game with fewer fouls than Duke (20 vs 21) and MD made more FT's (20 of 27) than Duke even attemped (10 of 16). It pre-empts/reverses one of the perpetual whines of the Terp fans.

Any time you shoot 53% against a very good defensive team, and 44% from three, you've executed very well.

Duke out-rebounded a good rebounding MD squad, 33 to 28. Mason was a monster on the boards, and it was terrific to see him assert his abilities offensively too. Heck, he was our only double-double player (12 pts, 11 boards). Now, if we can only do something about those FT's - some weren't even close... I hope that the coaches are working with him on that a lot as the season progresses, since it could really bite us down the road.

Once again MD's strategy centered around stopping Nolan, or at least making him work very hard with a token-full-court-press -- something for which we were clearly prepared by (A) starting and playing lots of Tyler Thornton (28 minutes, for a frosh at MD!! Though his stat line can be improved: 4 T/O's, 3 Ast, 3 Pts...); and (B) by stationing bigs on either sideline at the 1/3-court marks, which served as the primary pass-to points from under our basket. Also, the 15 point first half lead enabled K to sit Nolan for a long stretch during foul problems, plus gave him useful rest.

I thought different players seemed to step up at key times, whether it be Kyle getting hot early in the second half, Nolan repeatedly cutting into the lane or controlling the flow, Mason fighting for key rebounds and asserting himself offensively (a couple of emotional, inspiring slams!), Curry and Dawkins hitting some back-breaking threes and logging significant minutes, Miles playing solid for the foul-prone Kelly (wow - only 6 minutes for Kelly!). It was a tremendous team effort.

Lastly, I didn't so much mind the scramble for the loose ball in the early second half, which resulted in a MD 3/4-court breakaway jam, b/c it was clear that the team had been doing loose-ball drills, as the guys seemed to be competing to see who could get the most floor burns. I LOVED that intensity!!

This was an important win on many levels, and certainly appears to have us righting the ship for a strong run in the second-half of the ACC schedule. Let's see that intensity continue guys! Great win! Great effort!!!

:) :D :rolleyes: :cool:

[Kedsy]

This was an important win on many levels, and certainly appears to have us righting the ship for a strong run in the second-half of the ACC schedule.

I was pleased with tonight's win. Having said that, why do people make sweeping pronouncements based on one game? Tonight's win did not "right the ship" any more than Sunday's loss pronounced irrevocable doom. One game is one game.

[zack2014]

This was my 1st Duke game and it was a great first game. Kyle & Dre took the life out of the crowd in the 2nd half. Also, I appreciated Gary's effort to stop the F Duke chant.

[gep]

I liked what I saw in the boxscore (ESPN)...

Kyle - 34 min 22 pts 6 rb
Nolan - 28 min 21 pts 6rb 3 assists
MASON - 36 min 12 pts 11 rb
Tyler - 28 min

Miles, Seth, Dre getting 20-25 min each...

I know Kyle and Nolan sat out because of fouls... but if the TEAM can continue like this, Kyle and Nolan can sit out "regularly". What a luxury:cool:

[Kedsy]

but if the TEAM can continue like this, Kyle and Nolan can sit out "regularly".

Based on Coach K's track record, this is very unlikely to happen.

[DUKIE V(A)]

1. Loved the mentality tonight...Bringing the ball inside and attacking the hoop...The team was aggressive and it actually opens up much better looks at threes...

2. Great ball movement...the team seemed willing to make the extra pass...E.g.,Curry made several nice looks to Dawkins late in the shot clock...By the way, it was nice to see those two playing well together.

3. Did anyone else notice our bigs return to throwing the ball out for uncontested threes after offensive rebounds? Where have we seen that before? Loved it...Again, unselfish play...By the way, Mason is an absolute beast...He (and the team as a whole) was dominating the glass and forcing tough finishes around the basket...

4. Kyle and Nolan played great IMO, but it seemed they were able to do so without needed to "force" the action. They were in total control. It seemed that other players stepped up and when that happens their jobs become so much easier...

5. TT's intensity and strength are a necessary ingredient to our success...It has nothing to do with points-- though that 3 he hit was huge...The guy is a winner and puts so much pressure on the other team's offense...He plays with attitude and it seems to rub off...

6. Not in the least bit worried about Kelly...just got into foul trouble...

7. Kudos to Kyle for not only shooting lights out, but his passing on the press was "clinical"...Very impressive to see him shreading the press with completely on the money half court bullet passes...He was unflappable...Plus, the only thing that stopped him from getting 30 (or close to it) was foul trouble as he was on his way to a huge first half when he came out...Probably his best game of the season (and that is saying a lot)...Underrated and underappreciated nationally for all he does...

8. A fellow Duke grad from Miami always asks, "Why do you get so worked up about Maryland? They're harmless. So what if we lose to them every now and then." My response is "You don't live in the D.C. area." I think for many of us living in the D.C. area the games against Maryland and the one at Maryland in particular are a pretty big deal. While Carolina is clearly our top rivalry, beating Maryland (especially at Maryland) gives me and I think many D.C. area fans (and no doubt many Duke fans) tremendous joy. While beating Carolina is by far the biggest deal, beating Maryland is for me by far the second biggest deal of our ACC opponents. I love seeing Duke beating Carolina and for me the experience is about beating the team and coach (whoever it may be). I don't like their teams or their coach, but I respect the program. Carolina fans are fairly insignificant to me now that I don't live in North Carolina. For me, beating Maryland is largely about sticking it to the most obnoxious and out of control fan base in college hoops. The environment in the Comcast Center is thuggish...and playing that well in that hostile an environment is a big deal and speaks well of our coaches and team.

[Richard Berg]

I don't ever remember that. There has never been fan sentiment (that I have detected) for the black unis - although I have heard that the players like them. A lot of bad losses have been in the black unis.

Go Duke (blue)

Jim T'70
No, he's right. People on this board regularly pulled for black jerseys not so long ago. The sentiment seemed to peak in the Duhon years (2001-04).

See also: HPR 5B.

[cato]

The black jerseys started the year after we lost the National Championship game to UConn in 99.

Are you sure? I distinctly remember* seeing Elton Brand in the original black unis. I also recall seeing them in the bookstore, but I left Durham spring 1999.

*Of course, my cat will point out that I distinctly remembered feeding her last night, only to discover an empty bowl and angry cat in the morning. So take that for what it's worth.

[Duvall]

Are you sure? I distinctly remember* seeing Elton Brand in the original black unis. I also recall seeing them in the bookstore, but I left Durham spring 1999.

The black uniforms were first unveiled in a home game (yes) in the Preseason NIT against St. Joseph's on Nov. 20, 1996.

[gw67]

Last night was an excellent all around performance by the Devils on a foreign court. They took care of the ball against a press, often made the extra pass, shot well from all distances, rebounded aggressively, fought for loose balls, made big plays when Maryland got close, and played tough defense around the basket. In addition, Coach K and the staff had a good game plan and was able to exploit all Maryland’s weaknesses. The only negatives were the ability of the Maryland guards to drive to the basket (where they were defended by the big men) and Plumlee continuing to brick his foul shots. The individual highlights were the aggressive play by Plumlee, the clutch play by Singler and the outside shooting by Dawkins, Curry and Thornton. This win can be a springboard for the remainder of the season.

gw67

[DU82]

Are you sure? I distinctly remember* seeing Elton Brand in the original black unis. I also recall seeing them in the bookstore, but I left Durham spring 1999.

*Of course, my cat will point out that I distinctly remembered feeding her last night, only to discover an empty bowl and angry cat in the morning. So take that for what it's worth.

They were first used in a preseason NIT game against I believe St. Joes in 1997. There was a big deal made about it (and St. Joes helped by wearing white in Cameron.). The poster theme that year was "Back in Black".

[Indoor66]

Where is Kong with his comments?

[wilson]

This was the most balanced offensive attack we've displayed in quite some time. A couple of times, particularly when Maryland surged in the second half, the team seemed to lapse into the jump-shooting offense, but for the most part, they looked for and found very good shots from both inside and outside the arc.
Mason's play, to me, was a good indicator of this. It seems that the coaches got in his ear a bit and told him to be more aggressive on offense, with clear results. His hard-fought double-double was a key to the win. There were still a couple of times when he (seemingly instinctively) kicked it out for a long-range shot instead of going strong to the hoop, but I think he displayed definite progress last night, especially against a frontcourt as strong as the terps'.
Kyle, of course, was spectacular. Many have mentioned his stretch of 11 straight points, but I want to add in and say that that was the first stretch I've seen from any of our players this season where I said, "Get him the ball. He's not going to miss."
Nolan didn't shoot the ball especially well, but he stuck a couple of daggers in on some very impressive moves through the lane late. I will be very interested to see how long the Tyler Thornton "experiment" at the point lasts.
I have a feeling I'm in the minority, but I'd rather see Nolan off the ball as much as possible. I'm not sure that Tyler is a better answer at the point right now than Nolan, though, so I'm intrigued as to how that situation will continue to develop.
I also thought it was interesting to see K sit Nolan for the last 6 minutes or so of the first half. First of all, Nolan deserves a breather every once in a while, and second, I think K would like to see the team continue to move away from the "Watch Nolan do his stuff" offense.
Overall, a very, very solid response to an always-tough environment, at what I think was a key moment for this year's team. I hope the team on the whole will build on the steady balance of last night's game, and that a couple of individuals, most especially Mason and Andre, will build on the confidence they displayed last night.

[Channing]

I think last night showed that if the Plumlees are fed the ball in the post (either one of them) there is a pretty good chance something good will happen. Whether they make a move to try and score or turn around and kick it out, they both showed solid instincts down low.

[Saratoga2]

Prior to reading the thread, these are my thoughts.

I thought the refs were giving the benefit of the doubt to Maryland early on. We did foul on many of the whistles, and Maryland was forcing the ball inside and also driving to the basket, but it still seemed the refs gave questionable calls to Maryland, putting us in foul trouble early. I wonder if in a hostile environment that the phschology is such that the refs inadventently lean in one direction. The calls esentially took Ryan out of the game and sat both Nolan and Kyle for significant minutes. Towards the end of the game, Duke got quite a few catch up fouls their way so the final result was only 21 to 20 but at one point Maryland had a 2 to 1 advantage.

The starting lineup was one I advocated after the SJ game. Kelly has certainly played well enough to start and Tyler has shown the toughness and energetic defense needed in the ACC. He is strong with the ball, even though he does make some freshman mistakes (4 TO's) but he then allows Nolan to play off the ball, where he is best.
The finishing lineup was sort of forced on us, but it also made a lot of sense, with Nolan and Kyle a given and Mason a force inside (except for FT) and the Andre and Seth in this case, since it was working.

Coach K had the idea of going into Mason early and trying to put Jordan Williams into a position of having to guard and possibly fould early on. I agree with coach K that this turned out to be Mason's best game. If he can just improve his free throws, he can become a major force inside for Duke. He is already rebounding at an all ACC clip and if he can aggressively score as well, even if it only 10 or 12 a game, this team takes on a new dimension.

Kyle was also extremely efficient last night. He really hit a lot of contested shots as well as rebounding very well and playing solid help defense. Last night was his best game in quite a while, maybe since Oregon. With Kyle and Nolan getting 40+ points, and with a solid defensive effort, we only need reasonable contributions from the remaining players. Mason got 12 I believe and Andre hit some key shots to add 11 while Seth got 8 from open shots and he also got 4 or 5 assists. In the past I thought Seth's handle was marginal and he wasn't big, quick or tough enough to play top notch defense or to threaten to make his own shot. He has definitely improved his defense and got stuck in and got a tough rebound at a key part of the game. He still has his limits but if used in situations where he can shine, he can provide excellent minutes for Duke. I look for continued growth from him.

Going into a hostile arena and playing a team that has just won 3 games, and a team that had played us to within 7 on our home court, after we had just been embarrassed at SJ was a real test. The team responded very well and played hard for entire 40 minutes and smartly for about 35 minutes. Good game for our guys and progress in some critical areas.

[dukelifer]

Several thoughts. Excellent effort by Duke in a charged environment. Maryland wanted this game- played pretty well- but Duke was up to the challenge. I very much liked starting Thornton- he was not perfect but many Freshman in their first start would have wilted under those conditions - but he was pretty solid. In that stretch where Nolan, Ryan and Kyle were out, he ran the team with aplomb and actually guided a mini run before Maryland had theirs. I think Duke is much better when then have Thornton running the point at least to start the game. I also liked the way they used Kyle. A lot more curls in the lane and he worked inside to out as the game went on. He was a man tonight and the team fed off his effort. Mason was very focused and aggressive. His rebounding has been outstanding all ACC season but he needs to keep his offense simple and use his length. He did that last night. If he starts to hit his throws- he could be a double-double guy. Great to see Andre confident again- he is such a weapon. Lets hope Duke can build on this against State.

[UrinalCake]

Key moment of the game was late in the first half when Singler and Smith both had to sit with fouls. As a Maryland fan you've got to feel pretty good about your chances at making a run. Instead we get threes from Curry (2), Thornton, and Dawkins, and extend our lead. The game gets really easy when you make shots.

I'm cautious about getting too content with our performance defensively because Maryland missed a lot of open looks, as well as free throws; if they had hit them it would have been a much closer game. In the first half it seemed like their guards could blow past ours at will, they just had trouble finishing. Perhaps it was in our game plan to concede the open threes and to foul Williams, knowing that these are areas in which Maryland struggles.

Curry and Dawkins played well together they seem to be able to find each other really well and I hope we get to see them on the floor at the same time more often. Nice to see Curry put the ball on the floor and drive to create some open looks.

[Gthoma2a]

Man, Maryland fans can't lose well if this is one of them. If you want to know what I mean look at the explicit tweet that one of them sent Nolan (JDSherman22). That was truly one of the worst things I have ever seen someone say over a game... Nolan is all class, and deserves nothing but respect. It turns my stomach to see the way some people behave.

[moonpie23]

just read some of the MD fans tweets to smitty...


you stay classy turtles... sheesh...

[wilson]

why would we ever wear those stinkin black jerseys again,,,
should be banished forever....I'd like to see how worse the record is in black
jerseys vs blue since they came out with them. Anybody up for that
challenge?

guess this should be a new threadThe color black, in any quantity, should be henceforth eradicated from all Duke sports uniforms. It looks horrible.
I mean, really...this
http://raftersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/grant-hill.jpg or this?http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/3246947/480/Coaches---NCAAF/kyle-singler-jump.jpg?v0

[Channing]

I may be in the minority, but I wasn't too upset to see both singler and smith sit.

(a) When both or either of them are on the court the rest of the team seems to defer too much. We do a lot of "JJ watching" expecting one of those two to take the shot. On occasion, both Smith and Singler have taken the ball and forced a really ill advised shot.

(b) Its not like there is no firepower on the court. A lineup of Curry, Dawkins, Thornton, Plumlee and Kelly has A LOT of firepower. Curry and Dawkins showed a nice chemistry on a number of occasions. Can you imagine being a defender and having to choose which of those two guys to close out on? It felt like the team played more as a team, with a drive and kick or a post pass and swing when they didn't have the safety blanket of Smith or Singler to fall back on. I wouldn't mind seeing that lineup a bit more, if for no other reason than to instill confidence in the "supporting players" that they can succeed, and succeed very well, without having to defer to Smith or Singler every time down court.

[wilson]

...another reason to love it...the hate level is indicative of the level of accomplishment of these kids and the program. I'm sure Coach K has taught that pysch lesson well. The more people hate, the more you rate. Think Kentucky fans last year constantly posting "Yay! People hate us again! We're relevant". If you bothered to poke around in some of their forums, that was a not uncommon comment."Oderint dum metuant." --Caligula
Translation: "Let them hate, so long as they fear."

[Billy Dat]

2. Great ball movement...the team seemed willing to make the extra pass...E.g.,Curry made several nice looks to Dawkins late in the shot clock...By the way, it was nice to see those two playing well together.


Good observation...when they announced that Tyler was starting, I thought K was doing it for the reasons he stated post-game - to give Nolan a chance to be off the ball - but I also thought it might provide some better chemistry off the bench with Curry and Dawkins playing together. I see them as very complimentary, and I am guessing that they might look for each other out there, which they did last night (especially Seth looking for Andre) It might be a good look moving forward. I wonder if K will stick with that line-up for the State game?

I also thought Seth did a really nice job on the boards last night, he pulled down a few big caroms in a crowd in the last part of the 2nd half.

[Billy Dat]

I may be in the minority, but I wasn't too upset to see both singler and smith sit.

(a) When both or either of them are on the court the rest of the team seems to defer too much. We do a lot of "JJ watching" expecting one of those two to take the shot. On occasion, both Smith and Singler have taken the ball and forced a really ill advised shot.

(b) Its not like there is no firepower on the court. A lineup of Curry, Dawkins, Thornton, Plumlee and Kelly has A LOT of firepower. Curry and Dawkins showed a nice chemistry on a number of occasions. Can you imagine being a defender and having to choose which of those two guys to close out on? It felt like the team played more as a team, with a drive and kick or a post pass and swing when they didn't have the safety blanket of Smith or Singler to fall back on. I wouldn't mind seeing that lineup a bit more, if for no other reason than to instill confidence in the "supporting players" that they can succeed, and succeed very well, without having to defer to Smith or Singler every time down court.

Yes...Yes...Yes...the game was very important for this reason. We can't be "championship good" unless guys other than Kyle and Nolan are confident in their scoring ability within the context of the offense. With our leaders on the bench, the next 5 stepped up big, on both sides of the ball. It helped that some 3s were falling, too.

[Channing]

"Oderint dum metuant." --Caligula
Translation: "Let them hate, so long as they fear."

you can't steal second with your foot on first .... NO FEAR

if you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space ... NO FEAR

the sky is not the limit, the ground is ... so shut up and jump ... NO FEAR

sorry, your post reminded me of some of my childhood t-shirts.

[Saratoga2]

One more thing about Tyler's game last night. He actually drove from the corner into the basket and made a try at a layup. It was rejected, but I thought he was fouled. The fact is that he made an aggressive try, which signals he wants to contribute more to the offense. Tyler is becoming a more important cog in this teams wheel.

[gus]

my usual sites for watching games online were shutdown by the department of homeland security, and justin.tv had no feeds. I missed the game entirely.

[monkey]

This was a really important win. We can put the St Johns massacre in the rearview and be happy with a solid effort.

I think that the Smith and Singler foul trouble was a bit of a gift because it forced extended minutes for the Mason, Miles, Tyler, Andre, Seth line-up....what? Being unable to resort to Nolan and Kyle watching, those guys got aggressive and I think it help loosen them up. Even when Kyle was dominating on offense for the stretch in the second half, I thought it was bad for the team because we need some of these other guys to have a healthier offensive ego. Too often, it's Nolan pounding the ball looking for a gap. During our best stretches, guys like Seth were setting up Andre, in rhythm, squared to the basket. I like how we went early and often to Mason, we should have kept doing that.

Agree with this - not sure why we stopped doing that after the first few minutes - Mason still had a great game overall but it didn't look like they could contain him. OTOH, man were those FT ugly...

[sdotbarbee]

That was a great game, I think it started from the tip when we went directly into Mase and he aggressively took it at Williams. I really liked TT playing the point and Nolan playing off the ball, I thought the offense flowed a little better. I also liked Mase setting screens, I think we had backed off of that in a few games and we don't have guards that can take guys off the dribble so the screen gives them that little edge to get the defender on their hip. Mase also made some good passes out of the post to shooters which reminded me of Big Z. What I didn't like about the game was the refs, I didn't like some of the ticky tack fouls called out front on our guards that weren't called on MD. I remember specifically Nolan trying to turn the corner and got bumped and almost lost the ball but no foul was called. What else can Singler do but stand there when Williams had the ball down low? Singler was standing straight up and Williams used his body to bump Kyle out of the way, foul on Singler. Are you kidding me? Good game by our guys to just play through it.

[Channing]

while TT caused some heart burn while trying to break the press, I didn't realize he had such a good stroke. His jump shot looks very fluid and he seems to shoot a decent percentage (although he has only made three, I think they said).

Mason looks like he has stopped shooting free throws and has started pushing the ball to the rim.

[PADukeMom]

I am in the get rid of the black uniforms. The blue uniforms aren't what caused the loss to UConn, Trajan's walk did.

This was a good away win against our pretend rival. I am still waiting for this team to find it heart, soul & fire.

[UrinalCake]

...I also thought it might provide some better chemistry off the bench with Curry and Dawkins playing together. I see them as very complimentary, and I am guessing that they might look for each other out there, which they did last night (especially Seth looking for Andre) It might be a good look moving forward. I wonder if K will stick with that line-up for the State game?

I could see that happening. Similar to last year when Z and Thomas started, then the Plumlees would come in for them together. Having that set rotation added a lot of predictability and was to the team's benefit. I also noticed Curry and Dawkins looking for each other - perhaps a sort of shared brotherhood of both wanting to get more playing time and get the ball more once they're in.

Several years ago I noticed something similar. Center Greg Newton would always scream for the ball in the post, but the guards would never throw it to him. But every time Roshown McLeod (another inside guy) would get the ball on the wing he would immediately throw it into Newt. It's like he could identify with how much Newt wanted the ball, so he was more likely to give it to him. At any rate, Curry and Dawkins are so dangerous and we'll need them to continue hitting big shots.

[BD80]

my usual sites for watching games online were shutdown by the department of homeland security, and justin.tv had no feeds. I missed the game entirely.

So the Md fans, with the rioting, setting fires, throwing objects with intent to injure, and using the mail and internet to threaten opposing players, have finally made it to the watch list?

They are ... wait for it ... TERRAPISTS!

[AZLA]

I knew our players were heroic, but it turns out they're downright heros saving the welfare of Maryland students for them.

Who knew?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/crime-and-public-safety/calm----and-unhappy----after-u.html

Man, what kind of bizzaro world is Maryland and its administration living in when they have to shine the Big D spotlight in the sky to have Duke quell civil unrest?

Too funny.

[Devil Spawn]

He doesn't give up the ball, except in the press, (he'll get better at that and also wasn't well supported last nite). He's a pass first PG but is getting more confidence to shoot when open and necessary, he keeps Nolan at his natural SG 2 guard position, and he plays good D.

TT also did well with Dré and Curry as 2/3 guards. Those guys were rock solid when Nolan and Kyle sat. Let TT's experience pile up from now til March and we'll have a capable point and some relief for Nolan to keep him fresh and able to concentrate on disrupting the defense with his penetration and three balls.

I know Nolan and Kyle are super fit and TV games give them a rest with all of the mandatory TO's, but keeping their mileage a little lower won't hurt a bit and it diversifies the team's offense and can pay off in March.

[OldPhiKap]

I knew our players were heroic, but it turns out they're downright heros saving the welfare of Maryland students for them.

Who knew?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/crime-and-public-safety/calm----and-unhappy----after-u.html

Man, what kind of bizzaro world is Maryland and its administration living in when they have to shine the Big D spotlight in the sky to have Duke quell civil unrest?

Too funny.


As the final whistle blew on Wednesday night's game at the Comcast Center, the U-Md. students in the bars along Route 1 were in no mood to celebrate. There was no revelry, no flooding of the streets. Only dejected fans wondering whether this game is still even a rivalry.

"We feel like they're our rivals, but I don't think this game is more important to them than U-Va.," said Fernando Saltiel, 21, a senior studying economics. "I mean, it's pretty maddening that Maryland's not in it every year."

"To call it a rivalry, you need to have some sort of consistent competitiveness," added Ryan McCullin, 22, a senior English major. "We have the potential to be a top 10 program every year, and it just doesn't happen."

Heh.

[sdotbarbee]

He doesn't give up the ball, except in the press, (he'll get better at that and also wasn't well supported last nite). He's a pass first PG but is getting more confidence to shoot when open and necessary, he keeps Nolan at his natural SG 2 guard position, and he plays good D.

TT also did well with Dré and Curry as 2/3 guards. Those guys were rock solid when Nolan and Kyle sat. Let TT's experience pile up from now til March and we'll have a capable point and some relief for Nolan to keep him fresh and able to concentrate on disrupting the defense with his penetration and three balls.

I know Nolan and Kyle are super fit and TV games give them a rest with all of the mandatory TO's, but keeping their mileage a little lower won't hurt a bit and it diversifies the team's offense and can pay off in March.

I am in full agreeance with this, I like getting TT some time on the court for experience and keeping Nolan off the ball. Plus if TT can play 20-30 minutes and dish out assists, not turn the ball over and play good D it could really be the spark we needed.:D

[hq2]

Nice to see Mason doing good rebounding; he's getting Zoubesque numbers on the boards, although not quite as many on the offensive end. We need to have more Zoub-style rebounding and kickout to 'dre and Seth for 3s, which he did some of this game; then we could get it going again like last year.

[superdave]

Man I hope this game is a turning point.

A nicely executed game tonight. Consider the fact that with 16 minutes left we had 4 guys on the floor with 3 fouls but still managed to play solid defense and keep the ball out of the post, for the most part... on the road. That is the most impressive facet of this win. K took the chance on the Terps' below average shooting perimeter players beating us and it worked out.

As a previous poster stated, I love seeing Singler working the mid-range game. His pull-up jumpers are deadly. And you could tell he REALLY wanted this game. A very nice game by Curry as well.

One red flag with this one is Duke's inability to stop any kind of transition. Once any team gets out running we don't react very well or show much poise. Our games have to stay halfcourt games - I think that may have become obvious already after the St Johns game.

Anybody could the number of times Bilas used the term "ball screen"?

Tyler got some great experience in this game. K kept trusting him even through some of his struggles. But for the most part Tyler came through.

In addition to all your points here, I'd like to add one more thing that was notable and encouraging:

For about a 4-5 minute stretch at the end of the 1st half neither Singler nor Smith was on the floor and we continued to play well. I look forward to seeing the +/- on that period. The trial by fire in a tough building was nice to see. Our guys reacted well without the two leaders (and safety blankets) on the floor. I'm encouraged.

We just put a tough stretch of road games behind us. Now it's time to prove what we've learned and how we've improved. I'm ready to see the Dean Dome collectively cry.

[DukieInBrasil]

I am in full agreeance with this, I like getting TT some time on the court for experience and keeping Nolan off the ball. Plus if TT can play 20-30 minutes and dish out assists, not turn the ball over and play good D it could really be the spark we needed.:D
I agree with this I guess, but just to be clear, TT had 3 assists and 4 turns. So for your if... statement to be true, TT would certainly need to improve on his performance from last night. I believe that he is thoroughly capable of making that improvement if he keeps playing lots of minutes and gains experience under that sort of intense pressure. He can get there for sure, but he's not there yet. Totally normal for a Fr., and it would be sweet if he can get to that confidence/comfort level this year to pull a "Chris Duhon" for this year's team.

[sdotbarbee]

I agree with this I guess, but just to be clear, TT had 3 assists and 4 turns. So for your if... statement to be true, TT would certainly need to improve on his performance from last night. I believe that he is thoroughly capable of making that improvement if he keeps playing lots of minutes and gains experience under that sort of intense pressure. He can get there for sure, but he's not there yet. Totally normal for a Fr., and it would be sweet if he can get to that confidence/comfort level this year to pull a "Chris Duhon" for this year's team.

Isn't that what I said? "I like getting TT some time on the court for experience" and "Plus if TT can play 20-30 minutes and dish out assists, not turn the ball over". Just wanted to point out we feel the same way.:D

[BD80]

I am in full agreeance with this, I like getting TT some time on the court for experience and keeping Nolan off the ball. Plus if TT can play 20-30 minutes and dish out assists, not turn the ball over and play good D it could really be the spark we needed.:D

I find this so humorous compared to the posts (particularly after Cook committed) that wondered why we recruited Tyler, suggested he would never see the court and even a few suggesting he should transfer.

In particular, I remember MANY saying that Seth was our back-up point guard.

Kinda funny that Tyler is now starting, and he will soon be facing the PG he owned in high school - Kendall Marshall. Kendall is a great passer, but our biggest problem has been rotating to cover down low after penetration, and Kendall will NEVER get by Tyler off the dribble.

[Kedsy]

He doesn't give up the ball, except in the press, (he'll get better at that and also wasn't well supported last nite). He's a pass first PG but is getting more confidence to shoot when open and necessary, he keeps Nolan at his natural SG 2 guard position, and he plays good D.

TT also did well with Dré and Curry as 2/3 guards. Those guys were rock solid when Nolan and Kyle sat. Let TT's experience pile up from now til March and we'll have a capable point and some relief for Nolan to keep him fresh and able to concentrate on disrupting the defense with his penetration and three balls.

I know Nolan and Kyle are super fit and TV games give them a rest with all of the mandatory TO's, but keeping their mileage a little lower won't hurt a bit and it diversifies the team's offense and can pay off in March.

I guess I'm in the minority, and I suppose you can't argue with results, but I think Tyler would be better for the team in the short-burst-of-energy role rather than as a regular getting 20+ minutes. His turnovers were not only against the press (which wasn't that intense of a press anyway), and a couple of those turnovers came from somewhat sloppy passes. And I felt he wasn't playing defense as well as in earlier games. Several people have mentioned that Maryland guards had their way with penetration, and Tyler was defending those guards much of the time. To me, he looked a little over his head, although having said that, if he continues to start and his confidence increases, I assume that could change.

I also thought Nolan looked a lot more tentative when he was teamed with Tyler, which minimized the supposed advantage of moving him to his "natural" position. (Although, granted, I've never entirely understood what "natural position" means in this context.)

I understand Tyler is only a freshman and this was his first start and I'm sure he'll improve and be a great player for us someday. But I thought he played much better in 12 minutes in the first Maryland game than he did last night. This season, moving forward, if it were up to me (and of course I realize it isn't) I'd like to see him in the 8 to 12 minute slot in the rotation rather than as a 20+ minute starter.

Just my opinion, of course.

[sdotbarbee]

I find this so humorous compared to the posts (particularly after Cook committed) that wondered why we recruited Tyler, suggested he would never see the court and even a few suggesting he should transfer.

In particular, I remember MANY saying that Seth was our back-up point guard.

Kinda funny that Tyler is now starting, and he will soon be facing the PG he owned in high school - Kendall Marshall. Kendall is a great passer, but our biggest problem has been rotating to cover down low after penetration, and Kendall will NEVER get by Tyler off the dribble.

So very true, but that is why you recruit multiple guys at the same position in case something like an injury happens. I think that if Kyrie doesn't get injured TT doesn't get to see the floor that much but it just shows what kind of high character guys coach K recruits, that they might see little action but they are ready when called upon. I too can't wait to see the TT vs. Marshall matchup but I hope to see the Irving vs. Marshall matchup in the final game of the regular season.:D

[Dr. Tina]

Sorry, not even close. It's not just a teasing joke; Maryland really isn't our rival.

Sorry, but I happen to like when Duke beats MD, especially because of the way their profane, obnoxious fanbase acts towards our team.

[Kedsy]

Sorry, but I happen to like when Duke beats MD, especially because of the way their profane, obnoxious fanbase acts towards our team.

I like it, too. I just don't think it compares to beating the Heels.

[sagegrouse]

I guess I'm in the minority, and I suppose you can't argue with results, but I think Tyler would be better for the team in the short-burst-of-energy role rather than as a regular getting 20+ minutes. His turnovers were not only against the press (which wasn't that intense of a press anyway), and a couple of those turnovers came from somewhat sloppy passes. And I felt he wasn't playing defense as well as in earlier games. Several people have mentioned that Maryland guards had their way with penetration, and Tyler was defending those guards much of the time. To me, he looked a little over his head, although having said that, if he continues to start and his confidence increases, I assume that could change.

...................

I understand Tyler is only a freshman and this was his first start and I'm sure he'll improve and be a great player for us someday. But I thought he played much better in 12 minutes in the first Maryland game than he did last night. This season, moving forward, if it were up to me (and of course I realize it isn't) I'd like to see him in the 8 to 12 minute slot in the rotation rather than as a 20+ minute starter.

Just my opinion, of course.

Did anyone else notice how feisty and belligerent Thornton was in the St. John's game, even though he had three points and five fouls (one a T) in only nine minutes? He looked a lot tougher and scrappier than anyone else for Duke that day.

I think the coaches noticed, and they were looking for toughness as much as efficiency against the Terps, who themselves are tough but not efficient.

I also think that starting Tyler at the point does two things:

It enables Nolan to have more legs and stamina at the end of the game when he is really needed and really effective (eight points plus a gorgeous assist to Kyle in the last six minutes last night).
It also makes clear to Seth and Andre that their jobs off the bench are to bring beaucoup energy and instant offense, the latter a role they were both born to play.

sagegrouse

[jv001]

Did anyone else notice how feisty and belligerent Thornton was in the St. John's game, even though he had three points and five fouls (one a T) in only nine minutes? He looked a lot tougher and scrappier than anyone else for Duke that day.

I think the coaches noticed, and they were looking for toughness as much as efficiency against the Terps, who themselves are tough but not efficient.

I also think that starting Tyler at the point does two things:

It enables Nolan to have more legs and stamina at the end of the game when he is really needed and really effective (eight points plus a gorgeous assist to Kyle in the last six minutes last night).
It also makes clear to Seth and Andre that their jobs off the bench are to bring beaucoup energy and instant offense, the latter a role they were both born to play.

sagegrouse

It was great to see Tyler exhibit that energy and edge in the St. Johns game. I remember saying I wish the other guys would get into it like Tyler. He can play good on the ball defense and I hope we see this rub off on some of the other guys. Go Duke!

[CDu]

He doesn't give up the ball, except in the press, (he'll get better at that and also wasn't well supported last nite). He's a pass first PG but is getting more confidence to shoot when open and necessary, he keeps Nolan at his natural SG 2 guard position, and he plays good D.

TT also did well with Dré and Curry as 2/3 guards. Those guys were rock solid when Nolan and Kyle sat. Let TT's experience pile up from now til March and we'll have a capable point and some relief for Nolan to keep him fresh and able to concentrate on disrupting the defense with his penetration and three balls.

I know Nolan and Kyle are super fit and TV games give them a rest with all of the mandatory TO's, but keeping their mileage a little lower won't hurt a bit and it diversifies the team's offense and can pay off in March.

I don't know that I'd go that far about Thornton. In addition to his struggles with the press, he also threw a couple of very bad passes in the half court that resulted in turnovers. For all the positives about his hustle and intensity, he still has a ways to go as a ballhandler.

[Onlyduke]

I haven't read all the posts, but I just wondered if the Maryland crowd was as nasty as they usually are. I realize they didn't have a lot to cheer about, but did they still use all those really disgusting cheers ..... like "F... you Duke"?

[noyac]

I liked how from the tip you knew we were going to look to get the ball to the post. This sends the message to the bigs that if they keep working in the post they will get the ball. I know from some experience when you have position in the post and continually do not get the ball it get's very frustrating and it can carry over to other aspects of the game.

I thought we played well when our lineup was without Nolan and Singler. It was like taking a time machine to next year and seeing one of our potential lineups. Of course I know it will be differen with Rivers but there will be sometime when he is in foul trouble.

[ChicagoHeel]

Haven't read all the posts, so I'm not sure where the focus of discussion has been, but I have to say that I was impressed by Duke's D last night. Everything was contested. I'm really curious- and admittedly nervous- as to whether UNC can continue improving its offense in its next two games when it is facing actual defensive pressure.

Also, just came across this very unpleasant fact:

"Duke is one of three teams to currently rank in the top 15 of Pomeroy's adjusted offensive (ninth) and defensive (10th) efficiency ratings. Since 2004, every NCAA champion has been among the nation's top 15 in both categories".

Hopefully, a good game on Feb 9 will help push Duke down the list in both categories.

[_Gary]

I don't know that I'd go that far about Thornton. In addition to his struggles with the press, he also threw a couple of very bad passes in the half court that resulted in turnovers. For all the positives about his hustle and intensity, he still has a ways to go as a ballhandler.


Spot on, my friend. Most of us knew coming in that Thornton was not advertised as a big offensive threat, and that he would primarily be known as a solid defender and ball handler. I don't care if he isn't able to put a lot of points up on the board. That's just gravy if he does. And if he's not quite ready to crossover his defender and penetrate and dish that's fine too. But I did expect him to be a reliable ballhandler (someone who wouldn't get terribly rattled with traps), as well as someone who could direct the offense and make solid decisions/passes on the offensive end. And please don't misunderstand me. I love the kid and am excited to see him play. Right now we clearly need him and I'm sure he'll improve. But I'd be lying if I said I was happy with his ballhandling and passing last night. I didn't expect him to have as much trouble with those parts of his game as he did yesterday. He has to be able to help break presses when he's in. He can't be a liability in that aspect of the game. Hopefully last night was an aberration (fingers crossed).

[noyac]

Spot on, my friend. Most of us knew coming in that Thornton was not advertised as a big offensive threat, and that he would primarily be known as a solid defender and ball handler. I don't care if he isn't able to put a lot of points up on the board. That's just gravy if he does. And if he's not quite ready to crossover his defender and penetrate and dish that's fine too. But I did expect him to be a reliable ballhandler (someone who wouldn't get terribly rattled with traps), as well as someone who could direct the offense and make solid decisions/passes on the offensive end. And please don't misunderstand me. I love the kid and am excited to see him play. Right now we clearly need him and I'm sure he'll improve. But I'd be lying if I said I was happy with his ballhandling and passing last night. I didn't expect him to have as much trouble with those parts of his game as he did yesterday. He has to be able to help break presses when he's in. He can't be a liability in that aspect of the game. Hopefully last night was an aberration (fingers crossed).

I understand what you are saying but factor in that it was his 1st start, we were at Maryland, he is a freshman, and some of the time he was in there were only young players on the floor.

[Devil Spawn]

before we're in an elimination environment such as the ACC and NCAA tourneys. I'd rather be a little shaky with him for the next few weeks if that helps make him more reliable in March.

[toooskies]

I'm agreeing with a post a few weeks ago about there not being "JJ Watcher" moments in this game. Having watched the post-Kyrie offense slowly turn into a Nolan-Kyle two-man game where you knew one of the two would be trying to create independent of the rest of the team, and it looked like 2-on-5. Statistically you could watch Duke's overall numbers falling on KenPom, despite Nolan putting up some of the best numbers of his career and Kyle continuing to get his as well.

Last night we had a great offensive game against a great defensive team, and that's because the ball didn't stop when it got to Kyle or Nolan-- in fact, most often those two got their points in the rhythm of the offense, which led to great shots for Kyle and good shots for most of the team.

Finally, floor balance is key right now. Given that 6 of our 8 rotation players (everyone but the Plumlees) is a strong perimeter threat, that's all they are: threats. While Nolan and Kyle were doing their things on the perimeter, defenders knew they could position themselves for help defense and rebounding. Going directly to Mason on the first play of the game last night was a commitment to floor balance and the other team needing to play honest defense against us.

Really, I think last night was a bit of a return to how we played when Kyrie was healthy: we ran a good team offense instead of All-American/NBA-style basketball. Tyler needed to start to enable that.

Finally, speaking optoemistically, playing with Tyler in Kyrie's spot in the offense and the rotation (albeit with fewer offensive opportunities) is probably a great way to prepare for getting Kyrie back...

[Class of '94]

before we're in an elimination environment such as the ACC and NCAA tourneys. I'd rather be a little shaky with him for the next few weeks if that helps make him more reliable in March.

As previoulsy stated, Tyler is a freshman and his first start with significant minutes of playing time in a very, very hostile enviornment. I can't think of many freshman that haven't been shaky in their first start at home, let alone first starts in hostile enviornments. Tyler is going to get better and better and he gains more experience and time as our starting PG (until Kyrie returns at the end of Feb/early March :D). I expect him to have a much improved game against NC State this weekend and give Marshall all that he can handle next week.

[-bdbd]

I was pleased with tonight's win. Having said that, why do people make sweeping pronouncements based on one game? Tonight's win did not "right the ship" any more than Sunday's loss pronounced irrevocable doom. One game is one game.

Sorry, but gotta respectfully disagree with you Kedsy. One game is most definitely NOT always "one game" in terms of impact.

It is maybe hard to remember now, but just 24 hours ago Duke was coming in licking its wounds, having been trounced in NY, and having played without spirit and with some key flaws revealed. The team's confidence at least wasn't perceived as being very high. If we played equally as bad vs. MD, then we're reeling and on a losing streak heading into games against our two closest rivals down in North Carolina. It isn't like we were playing out of our minds for the most part for the last three weeks of January either. And, rightly or wrongly (I strongly favor the latter view) they were perceived as a "disappointing" team to date, in actual performance if not in record. (I say that was unfair b/c some of the "undefeated" prognostications were totally unreasonable and unfair to the guys, most certainly so after KI went down.)

Now, we head back to NC with a lot of confidence, with key contributions coming from players who'd not contributed much lately, and I for one would expect that renewed confidence -- from Mason, Tyler, Dre, Seth and even Kyle -- to continue to build off of what they showed in an environment last night that was as difiicult as any we will face this season. I for one was VERY worried that this season was turning into the "Nolan and Kyle show." Our long-term success hinges on those other guys growing stronger into (and even expanding) their roles.

We can agree to disagree on how important that confidence and momentum is for the coming games out of those important contributors -- Mason, Tyler, Dre, Seth. But who knows -- maybe you're right, and they turn around and lay an egg vs NCSU .... but I sincerely doubt it, now.

;)

[Kedsy]

Sorry, but gotta respectfully disagree with you Kedsy. One game is most definitely NOT always "one game" in terms of impact.

It is maybe hard to remember now, but just 24 hours ago Duke was coming in licking its wounds, having been trounced in NY, and having played without spirit and with some key flaws revealed. The team's confidence at least wasn't perceived as being very high.

That's OK. I don't mind when people disagree with me. You may view it as semantics but I never said one game can't have an impact, or that one game can't act as a turning point of sorts. I certainly never said one game can't affect a player's or a team's confidence. My point was more along the lines of (a) the "ship" wasn't sinking just because of one bad game against St. Johns; and (b) if it was sinking, it wasn't "righted" by one good game against Maryland.

I would argue that the team was not "licking its wounds," unless those wounds were inflicted during the undoubtedly tough practices between Sunday and Wednesdays. I would argue the St. Johns game did not "reveal" any flaws. But if you think it did, I would argue the Maryland game doesn't mean we don't have those flaws -- Maryland didn't have the right players to take advantage of any of the alleged flaws "revealed" in the St. Johns game.

Finally, I hadn't heard that the team's confidence was down. Some of the fans' confidence may have been down, but that's a completely different thing.


If we played equally as bad vs. MD, then we're reeling and on a losing streak heading into games against our two closest rivals down in North Carolina. It isn't like we were playing out of our minds for the most part for the last three weeks of January either. And, rightly or wrongly (I strongly favor the latter view) they were perceived as a "disappointing" team to date, in actual performance if not in record.

Well, again, I would say the perception lay in the fans (and possibly the prognosticators) rather than the team or coaching staff. And certainly one game can have an affect on the perception of fans and prognosticators, but that was sort of what I was protesting about in the first place.

Having said that, I agree that if Maryland had blown us out we may have had confidence issues with the team itself, and that could have turned into a problem (of course, at that point, it would have been two games rather than one; although even two games are not conclusive, last year the State and Georgetown debacles were only ten days apart). But I think the fact that it didn't happen that way supports my view that one game is one game and doesn't control the rest of the season.

To clarify my view, I do believe a single game can be important. I don't think one game can "right the ship," and I don't believe one game can sink it.


But who knows -- maybe you're right, and they turn around and lay an egg vs NCSU ....

I'm not predicting the team will "lay an egg vs NCSU," so if it happens it would not mean I am right.

I am a little worried about the State game, though. I don't think the Maryland result will have much if any impact on our performance against State.

[NSDukeFan]

That's OK. I don't mind when people disagree with me. You may view it as semantics but I never said one game can't have an impact, or that one game can't act as a turning point of sorts. I certainly never said one game can't affect a player's or a team's confidence. My point was more along the lines of (a) the "ship" wasn't sinking just because of one bad game against St. Johns; and (b) if it was sinking, it wasn't "righted" by one good game against Maryland.

I would argue that the team was not "licking its wounds," unless those wounds were inflicted during the undoubtedly tough practices between Sunday and Wednesdays. I would argue the St. Johns game did not "reveal" any flaws. But if you think it did, I would argue the Maryland game doesn't mean we don't have those flaws -- Maryland didn't have the right players to take advantage of any of the alleged flaws "revealed" in the St. Johns game.

Finally, I hadn't heard that the team's confidence was down. Some of the fans' confidence may have been down, but that's a completely different thing.



Well, again, I would say the perception lay in the fans (and possibly the prognosticators) rather than the team or coaching staff. And certainly one game can have an affect on the perception of fans and prognosticators, but that was sort of what I was protesting about in the first place.

Having said that, I agree that if Maryland had blown us out we may have had confidence issues with the team itself, and that could have turned into a problem (of course, at that point, it would have been two games rather than one). But I think the fact that it didn't happen that way supports my view that one game is one game and doesn't control the rest of the season.

To clarify my view, I do believe a single game can be important. I don't think one game can "right the ship," and I don't believe one game can sink it.

I think it was a big win for the team, but am now concerned. Is Ryan in the doghouse? ;)

[Kedsy]

I just had a thought. In the first Maryland game, the Terps double and triple teamed Nolan, forcing him into 5 turnovers and one of his worst (5 for 18) shooting performances of the season. They were the first team to institute a "stop Nolan" strategy as a means of shutting down our offense (although Florida State and maybe another team or two went that route in subsequent games).

It was pretty successful at the game in Cameron, and presumably Gary had his team practicing that tactic all week. So what happens when the teams line up for the opening tip? Tyler is at point and Nolan is off the ball. If I'm right about Maryland's pre-game strategy it would have totally thrown them off their game. Which it did.

I'm just speculating, but if that's the way it played out, Coach K made a pretty smart move (no surprise). But it also means Tyler starting at the point might have been a one-game surprise, rather than a long-term thing.

Time will tell.

[noyac]

I think they once they realized he was not running PG they went to a soft full court press to try and get Tyler to make some turnovers.

I don't know if they were trying to emulate St. John's press but they did it poorly, we learned how to break the press better, or if they intentionally were not pressing more agressively.

[Bojangles4Eva]

Been Cruising this site for the last 6 years, and finally decided to start posting here (originally motivated by the lame tone of some of the post St. Johns threads, but since it took a few days to activate the account I decided to start things up in this thread instead). So I'll start with a few questions/comments...

1) I was just wondering if anyone has links to post game audio for the MD game (it appears these are posted here and there in various post-game threads, but I haven't found one in here yet). I subscribe to Inside Access but it doesn't look like they have it up yet.

2) In regard to the MD fans, I went to VA Tech for undergrad (yet still cheer for Duke since I was born and raised in Durham and have been a Duke fan since the 1986 season, the first one I clearly remember as a child) and was about as close to being in the belly of the beast terp-fans wise you could get aside from actually going to UMD. That being said I have had to put up with their fans throughout all 4 years there, as well as every time I go to Baltimore/DC to visit friends. The attitude of their fans for all sports (although college bball is highlighted here) is the most un-sportsmanlike of anywhere I have ever been in the country. If it makes you mad to see all their despicable conduct during the game, during the riots, or recently on twitter, just try having an intelligent conversation with one of them about basketball. You will no doubt resort to a sweating red-in-the-face rage a-la Gary Williams within a few minutes of discussion. I bring this up because (as others pointed out in earlier threads) what makes this whole "rivalry" with their fans so confusing of late is that they conjure up the most venomous hate for us out of no real reason. Back in 2000-2002 I can see how they had a reason (just bring up the 2001 season) but now they struggle to pinpoint exactly why we deserve a "beat Duke" weak, and this was exemplified to perfection in the interviews of UMD students during the game. I don't think one of them gave a concise reason why they hate us, yet that still allows them to somehow conduct themselves in a manner not fitting of any honorable fanbase (i.e. post game tweets)....I just have to laugh

3) I find it very funny (more funny than ironic) that a few posters on this board would get on Roy Williams for throwing his team under the bus in post-game pressers, then in a few weeks were blaming some of our teamates in a similar manner after the St. Johns game, only to be praising said player(s) in this thread for the very skills they claimed the player(s) didn't possess only a few days ago. I am thankful our coaching staff is not as subject to knee-jerk reactions and hypocrisy than some in the wonderful world of sports forums.

[pfrduke]

I think they once they realized he was not running PG they went to a soft full court press to try and get Tyler to make some turnovers.

I don't know if they were trying to emulate St. John's press but they did it poorly, we learned how to break the press better, or if they intentionally were not pressing more agressively.

Maryland's press, to my recollection, has always been a first-pass (or first two passes) press. They look for an initial trap and steal off of the inbounds, but once that trap is broken, they fall back rather than continue the aggressive trapping until the ball reaches the front court. It's reasonably effective at giving them an opportunity to force press-style turnovers while minimizing the exposure to press-break transition opportunities.

[DukieinSoCal]

I think we discovered 2 of the keys for the rest of the season last night.

First of all, Mason was aggressive and looking to take the ball to the hoop. Most of the season, he's been taking fadeaways or just looking to pass the ball back out to our guards, but last night, he was taking advantage of his athleticism and taking on Maryland's bigs. He needs to continue this the rest of the way.

The other key was Kyle's mid-range game. Most of the time, Kyle will have a height advantage when he is playing the 3 and he seems very comfortable shooting 10-15 footers over smaller players. We need him to keep taking these shots to open up the rest of the floor. Plus, it seemed to help him get into a good rhythm early as opposed to other games where he is starting off with too many long-range attempts. He's also been shooting low percentages because he gets stuffed too much when he takes the ball all the way to the hoop. The mid-range game is where he should be getting most of his looks.

If we can keep Mason aggressive down low and Kyle efficient from mid-range, we won't have to live and die by the 3. The 3 will just be another weapon in our arsenal and we'll also have more open looks, leading to higher shooting percentages.

[AZLA]

I agree! Having TT run point worked pretty well and I'd be lenient on a few freshmen turnovers that are bound to happen now and then. Which there were a few, okay, but Duke had a lot of movement and energy away from the ball. I especially enjoyed those minutes before the half when Singler and Nolan got a long spell on the bench. The squad on the floor played with a lot of energy and moved extremely well away from the ball.

The biggest advantage I see to TT getting meaningful minutes at the point is it serves as a working template. Just in case a certain someone and his big toe happen to come back at the end of the season, the team doesn't have a major strategy change to contend with. Nolan's scoring threat at the 2 surpasses his passing threat at point IMO. Or to be blunt, TT's passing ability is probably no less effective than Nolan's. So why not let Nolan, our best scorer by stats, focus on getting bucket?

Then it's just a matter of swapping in that certain someone for TT. Plus TT can spell that certain someone as he gets his "game legs" back. Granted, that certain someone has a whole different dynamic to his game, but this way, IF he comes back, he won't disrupt the formula, he'll accentuate it.



He doesn't give up the ball, except in the press, (he'll get better at that and also wasn't well supported last nite). He's a pass first PG but is getting more confidence to shoot when open and necessary, he keeps Nolan at his natural SG 2 guard position, and he plays good D.

TT also did well with Dré and Curry as 2/3 guards. Those guys were rock solid when Nolan and Kyle sat. Let TT's experience pile up from now til March and we'll have a capable point and some relief for Nolan to keep him fresh and able to concentrate on disrupting the defense with his penetration and three balls.

I know Nolan and Kyle are super fit and TV games give them a rest with all of the mandatory TO's, but keeping their mileage a little lower won't hurt a bit and it diversifies the team's offense and can pay off in March.

[dukelifer]

I think it was a big win for the team, but am now concerned. Is Ryan in the doghouse? ;)

No - the foulhouse.

[dukelifer]

I don't know that I'd go that far about Thornton. In addition to his struggles with the press, he also threw a couple of very bad passes in the half court that resulted in turnovers. For all the positives about his hustle and intensity, he still has a ways to go as a ballhandler.

Not perfect-yes- but he brings intensity and a defensive mentality- Duke will only win if they play good D. He also showed ability to run the show and make good decisions. He is Frosh with one start- he can get better. He definitely does not look scared out there.

[superdave]

I just had a thought. In the first Maryland game, the Terps double and triple teamed Nolan, forcing him into 5 turnovers and one of his worst (5 for 18) shooting performances of the season. They were the first team to institute a "stop Nolan" strategy as a means of shutting down our offense (although Florida State and maybe another team or two went that route in subsequent games).

It was pretty successful at the game in Cameron, and presumably Gary had his team practicing that tactic all week. So what happens when the teams line up for the opening tip? Tyler is at point and Nolan is off the ball. If I'm right about Maryland's pre-game strategy it would have totally thrown them off their game. Which it did.

I'm just speculating, but if that's the way it played out, Coach K made a pretty smart move (no surprise). But it also means Tyler starting at the point might have been a one-game surprise, rather than a long-term thing.

Time will tell.

I think you might be right about TT throwing a matchup monkey wrench into Gary's game plan. Also, Nolan played only 28 minutes, so there was a second reason why alleged Gary game plan could have been thrown off last night. I think most of those 12 minutes on the bench were in the 1st half too.

[Kedsy]

Nolan's scoring threat at the 2 surpasses his passing threat at point IMO. Or to be blunt, TT's passing ability is probably no less effective than Nolan's. So why not let Nolan, our best scorer by stats, focus on getting bucket?

I completely disagree with this. First of all, freshman Tyler is not nearly as good a passer as senior Nolan. It's true that Tyler is more of a pass-first guard while Nolan is more of a shoot-first, but think about Nolan's pass to Kyle late in the 2nd half against Maryland. It was superior to anything we've seen from Tyler.

Second, Nolan is best with the ball in his hands. He gets more points and gets more assists. My biggest issue with Tyler at the point is that Nolan looked a lot worse as the SG beside Tyler as he has as the PG aside any of our other guards. If we had Kyrie at the point, then we can live with Nolan's lesser production at the SG position. But don't kid yourself, Nolan scores more and distributes more when he is the initiator.

[gofurman]

Great game ! only concern I had was everyone knows you are supposed to make a team pay for the press and DUke would wear themselves out getting it up the court only to pull back and play 5 on 5. Press is bball equivalent of the blitz.... if you beat it, beat it big time.

BBall 101 says if the D presses and you beat it - GO at the basket as you have 2 on 2 or 3 on 3

Why did we not do that? To pull back for 5 on 5 only wears out the O and gains nothing once you beat the press. Any thoughts? possibly bc we had TT out there?

[taiw93]

http://dukeblueplanet.smugmug.com/2010-11/Games/Duke-80-Maryland-62/15695877_sznPH#1176460515_HNnZ4

I found this very funny, especially since it's a verb in that context...

[Newton_14]

I completely disagree with this. First of all, freshman Tyler is not nearly as good a passer as senior Nolan. It's true that Tyler is more of a pass-first guard while Nolan is more of a shoot-first, but think about Nolan's pass to Kyle late in the 2nd half against Maryland. It was superior to anything we've seen from Tyler.

Second, Nolan is best with the ball in his hands. He gets more points and gets more assists. My biggest issue with Tyler at the point is that Nolan looked a lot worse as the SG beside Tyler as he has as the PG aside any of our other guards. If we had Kyrie at the point, then we can live with Nolan's lesser production at the SG position. But don't kid yourself, Nolan scores more and distributes more when he is the initiator.

I am torn on this one Kedsy. Call it a conundrum of sorts. First, I agree with all you say here. I feel Nolan is best with the ball in his hands, and I feel more comfortable with Nolan running the point. I also agree that Nolan did not seem all that comfortable last night and did not shoot the ball well from outside. That said....

I loved our offense on the whole in the first half last night. It looked soo much better to me watching all 5 guys involved and scoring, with us not playing 2 on 5. We made it a point to establish Mason as a scoring threat and it greatly helped him. We also looked for Miles in the post. We moved and shared the ball better, and it led to shots coming in the rhythm of the offense, and good shots like that tend to go in the basket. It totally confused Maryland. The last 17 points in the first half came from guys not named Nolan or Kyle. Aside from the last minute it was a really good half for our offense. I was disappointed that we went away from that quite a bit in the 2nd half.

To be all it can be, this team must get points from the supporting cast on a regular basis, and share the ball the way it was being shared when we had Kyrie. If Tyler can cut down on his mistakes (all of them last night were bad passes. 1 against the press and 3 in the half court set), and be able to play even 15 to 20 minutes, I think it can help. Honestly.

Now, for it to come together perfectly, we have to figure out how to get Nolan comfortable, even if it means he still runs the point quite a bit with Tyler on the floor.

On the other hand, there is really no reason why we cannot run the offense we ran in the 1st half, no matter who is on the court. We should be able to share the ball, establish the post, make the extra pass, etc no matter which of the guys we have on the floor. That is key imo. That and tightening our defense where we are not getting beat off the dribble and letting penetrators get in the lane at will.

I am interested to see how this plays out over the next few games.

[Utley]

I haven't read all the posts, but I just wondered if the Maryland crowd was as nasty as they usually are. I realize they didn't have a lot to cheer about, but did they still use all those really disgusting cheers ..... like "F... you Duke"?

I live in northern VA and have been to 10 of the last 10 MD home games (including 2001 :)) I would characterize this as the most subdued crowd during that time. I spoke to a few Terps I work with who verified that - who at the same time made it clear that its always the highest intensity game of the season. Last year's game was electric, as were the games between 2001 - 2003.

I only heard one burst of profanity - an F Duke chant just before tip-off. A sizable lead and a strong sense of us being in control had the fans fretting throughout. I also saw more Duke Blue than I ever remember. MD let the students in four hours and gave a number of sportsmanship messages pre-game including one from renowned Duke hater and Terp alumni SVP. I think the lack of alcohol during those 4 hours was really helpful as well.

[tbyers11]

Great game ! only concern I had was everyone knows you are supposed to make a team pay for the press and DUke would wear themselves out getting it up the court only to pull back and play 5 on 5. Press is bball equivalent of the blitz.... if you beat it, beat it big time.

BBall 101 says if the D presses and you beat it - GO at the basket as you have 2 on 2 or 3 on 3

Why did we not do that? To pull back for 5 on 5 only wears out the O and gains nothing once you beat the press. Any thoughts? possibly bc we had TT out there?

As pfrduke noted above, Maryland generally only traps the first or maybe the second pass in their press and then they get back and play halfcourt D. We thwarted this by generally passing directly to a player (frequently a big man) just in front of halfcourt. We did have a slight advantage in numbers but is it really an advantage if the ball is in Miles or Mason's hands?

Additionally, MD uses this press more as an attempt to increase tempo than to actually force steals. They do this because they are quite effective at transition offense. As noted a few times last night and in previous games, transition defense is not one of Duke's strong suits. I think Duke was wise to throw over the top (to avoid the one strong trap) and then to slow it up to avoid getting in a running game with the Terps.

[UrinalCake]

I live in northern VA and have been to 10 of the last 10 MD home games (including 2001 :)) I would characterize this as the most subdued crowd during that time.

I kind of got that sense even watching the game online. I couple of times a Maryland player was called for an obvious foul and the fans didn't even bother to complain to the refs about it, which is usually mandatory. Either they're starting to recognize that some good calls do go against them (not likely) or they just didn't care enough.

[Kedsy]

On the other hand, there is really no reason why we cannot run the offense we ran in the 1st half, no matter who is on the court. We should be able to share the ball, establish the post, make the extra pass, etc no matter which of the guys we have on the floor. That is key imo. That and tightening our defense where we are not getting beat off the dribble and letting penetrators get in the lane at will.

I completely agree that these are the keys. And I also agree that we can run the share-the-ball offense with Nolan running the point as good or better than with Tyler at PG.

I have no hard evidence for this, but I believe the coaching staff has told Nolan to think shot-first when he's running the point. Remember his first game at PG he dished 10 dimes and scored two points? (As an aside, his scoring average would be close to a point higher per game if he'd try to score in that game, which is interesting to think about.) I think Nolan could find a happy medium between 2 pts 10 assists and 22 points, 6 assists, and that this whole conversation could be moot.

I'm thrilled that Tyler has found his niche on the team and is contributing as a freshman. My issue is minutes are limited and I'd rather see him go all out for 12 minutes and let Andre, Seth, and Miles get theirs than have him conserving his energy for 28 minutes and making one or more of the other guys sit.

Just my opinion, of course.

[AZLA]

Sound points and opinion -- but I would get used to seeing TT having more minutes running point.