WBB: Duke vs UNC

[wandalee]

Game #1 it Monday night at 7:00 on ESPN2.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm excited for this game. I was really impressed with the way the team handled Miami, Richa Jackson did a great job with her first start. I'm curious to see who gets the starting call tonight, P never really has settled on a constitent 5, but with this team that has never seemed to be a hindrance. I'm assuming she is rewarding those who put the most into practice.
We'll be chatting in Section 21 (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/chat). GTHC!!!!

[-bdbd]

Really looking forward to this one!

Let's go ladies! Give 'em hell! We ARE the better team, so expect the win.

After playing in CT, I can't imagine any other opposing arenas will be termed "extremely hostile" by comparison.

Let's make NC@CH 0-for-the-week in BB!

:D

[stillcrazie]

I was at the game at Carmichael last year and it was ugly. It looked like a win and we let them come back and beat us. This year's team is tougher, and I don't expect it to happen again, not if Jaz has anything to say about it.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Lets Go Duke!!!!!

Jas is a great Senior leader and will lead the Blue Devils this evening!!! Coach P has done a tremendous job in coaching and recruiting. Lets get a W over at the Hill!!

I will be listening on Duke radio, and watching on TV.

I absolutely hate going to Chapel hill for games. I have made that trip several times. Prefer going to Cameron.

Lets go Ladies. Lets Go Duke! GTHC

[stillcrazie]

You can see the court really well at Carmichael, but even with the remodel it's a dismal place inside. And the fans do not have a sense of humor.

[pfrduke]

This game will be on espn3, for those with access.

[stillcrazie]

NICE start. 11-2. Don't let up, Devils!!!

[wandalee]

Not much of a crowd showed up! Keep playing strong, ladies!

[DevilWearsPrada]

I am watching on ESPN2 and listening on Duke Radio. We had a nice start and now Unc has gotten 2 quick buckets

[stillcrazie]

We are not playing at 100% effort yet. We have another gear. We're going to need to use it.

[buddy]

Too much playground ball on offense (dribble into the lane, do a 360, throw the ball of the glass), not enough interior defense. The color commentator was right--our zone defense was a farce. This Carolina team is a subtle as a truck. We will need a better effort next time.

[stillcrazie]

Where is everybody? I'll admit, that was not fun to watch. Can anyone help me understand why we played zone the whole night? Or why we did not play in transition at all? Why did it seem like we made no adjustments at halftime?

[Kfanarmy]

Where is everybody? I'll admit, that was not fun to watch. Can anyone help me understand why we played zone the whole night? Or why we did not play in transition at all? Why did it seem like we made no adjustments at halftime?

even on the final position, the immediate thought was to pull back before realizing a sprint to the goal was in order. Defense was not terribly active in the half court...they stayed back in the zone vice stepping out to challenge the ball handler for the most part...didn't quite get that.

But ok...someone, anyone describe Dukes intended offense. Seriously I still haven't figured out what they are trying to do on a consistent basis.

[DU82]

Just returned from the evil, mostly empty, Carmichael.

Bad game overall. We were outplayed, out-hustled and out-coached.

I'm not sure of the stats (afraid to look them up) but I don't want to see our shooting percentages. Gray hit three threes, and Jas one late, but other shooting was bad. Too much drive into trouble, and throw the ball up towards the basket. A few decent shots didn't go in, and that added up.

FREE THROWS! UGH!

On defense, Carolina did a good job of handling and then beating the press two on one. The 2-1-2 full court zone press needed to go early, but we kept going back to it. Clearly, they were well prepared for it, and how to break it easily. We didn't adjust properly.

I didn't think our half-court zone was too bad. I hadn't realized just how big the smurf front-court was (the backcourt duo does fit that nickname.) On offense, they pushed us around, and dominated inside, and we didn't react well. And Sylvia, I don't want to hear you anymore complaining about the "football players" you had to go against, after watching your players inside.

A couple of notes about the arena. Seems a little dark, but not as bad as Reynolds. Carolina Blue has lost any part of green it used to have in the '70s and '80s. (Before Carmichael was renovated, the old bleachers had the previous Carolina blue color, which had a significant green tint.) And the crowd size was terrible. The endzones were mostly barren, other than the band on our end, and about a dozen of us Duke fans. Their students fit in a third of the bench side of the court, with the other two-thirds the Duke section behind our bench, and their invited guests behind their bench. Not a lot of support there.

We have to have our students show up on March 27th (they have been doing a good job filling up the one side, although since I'm in section 15, I don't have a great view of just how full it is.)

[DU82]

Where is everybody? I'll admit, that was not fun to watch. Can anyone help me understand why we played zone the whole night? Or why we did not play in transition at all? Why did it seem like we made no adjustments at halftime?

Their size of their front court I think was the main reason for the zone. They would have eaten us alive even worse in a man-to-man. As I mentioned, the zone press was a total flop.

[-bdbd]

Don't hit the panic button. It wasn't our best game, but it wasn't our worst either. That game gets played in CIS and we win easily. We're still in first place in the ACC. We're play decent ball. Just need to work out a few kinks. But this team still can go a long ways in the NCAAT.

- Gotta improve FT shooting dramatically.
- Full-court zone trap wasn't very effective - improve it or drop it. Though there were a few t/o's, there were innumerable easy lay-ups foir the Evil Empire.
- Work the ball into the middle instead of passing around the perimeter for 30 seconds then heaving up a contested three (repeatedly)! Sigh.
- Aggreessivenes. Just need to be much more active/aggressive overall, from tip to buzzer. We seem to "play young" a lot, and get tentative for long stretches. We need to get tougher, and not be intimidated (by the crowd or the opponent).
- There's going to be nights like this where the opponent seems to get 4 times as many FT opporunities and close calls as us. Need to be tough and play through it.

Good effort. I have no doubt we'll win the come-back game in a few weeks. Shake it off ladies. Next play!

[DevilWearsPrada]

Carmichael Arena looked empty on TV. A few Duke fans, a few Unc fans, and a handful of students.

Girls got off to a good start, but that diminished. Our girls didnt get back on defense, and throw up some wild shots. I thought Coach P should have called the last time out to set up the offense. Chelsea did do a pull up jump shot at the end, and probably would have made the basket. The Unc girl was waiting on her. The freshman did well though. Young team. With the exception of our Seniors.

Still in first place!!! Lets learn and get on pressing into the Next game!!!

GTHC GTH!

[-bdbd]

Carmichael Arena looked empty on TV. A few Duke fans, a few Unc fans, and a handful of students.

...Still in first place!!! Lets learn and get on pressing into the Next game!!!

GTHC GTH!

Note to UNC fans: If you "storm the court" after a 2 point win in a sloppy game for both sides, make sure that you do it WITH MORE THAN 30 FANS! Otherwise, it just looks silly/pathetic on TV... :eek:

[jtelander]

We'll be chatting in Section 21 (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/chat). GTHC!!!!

The link in your messages re chat does not work.

[stillcrazie]

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. When I went to Carmichael last year, it was full, but it was a Sunday. Guess that's when the wine and cheese crowd comes out.

Two things still mystify me: 1. We came out on fire. Carolina adjusted, caught us, and we never regained that intensity. How does that happen against your biggest rival? It seems to me that a. we did not adjust to their adjustments (I just like saying that), and b. the coaching staff was unable to coach us back into the attack mindset. 2. Against Miami in the second half we did a lot of long full court passes that blew us past their defense time and again. It was very successful. Why did we not try that even once last night?

All right, make that 3 things: Karima Christmas is extremely athletic and talented. She played very well vs. Miami. Not so much last night. Krystal also put up a string of very good games post-Kentucky, but seemed to regress last night. I realize the coaching staff is not playing the games, but something is lacking in terms of psychological preparation and - to beat a dead horse - offensive strategy.

I do expect that we avenge this loss in a couple of weeks. Cameron is like a natural endorphin and should provide a psychological boost.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Sigh...I hope the ladies solve find the solution for the ineffective offense before tourney season. Having that great lead, and then watching it fade away over such a long scoring drought was depressing. The defense is there of course, but I don't see this team going as far as I had hoped unless they figure out how to drive. I've enjoyed watching AV's play recently, she has improved alot, and could be a real weapon inside if she gets fed the ball more. Can't say I was a fan of that last play once we had the rebound, it was like we froze up, didn't know what to do, so forced the action with no results...she was very close to walking even before getting the shot off. This is a game I think they can learn from much more than the loss to UCONN.

[Lid]

This was a very tough game to watch. I agree with most of what has been said -- it appeared as if there was something missing psychologically, and it's hard to imagine that in a rivalry game like this. I was a bit surprised Selby didn't get more burn, since she's been instrumental in turning up the intensity in recent games. I was pleased to see Vernery be a bit more effective offensively, and Chelsea looked more comfortable out there than almost anyone else. That's a positive for a freshman, and something to build on.

I was pretty surprised to see the boxscore and see that we pulled down more rebounds. It didn't feel like that during the game. Also, I'm not sure when I've seen two teams shoot worse from the line. Just ugly.

CB&B, I think you're right that they can learn more from this loss than the UConn one -- I just hope that happens. We need to get into an attacking, team-oriented mindset on offense.

I do hope that students turn out for the rematch at Cameron. There have been very few students at games this year (with the exception of the Div School contingent at the last game, which was super!), and I think it could really help the team to have loud, obvious support. You know the Carolina folks will be there, since the game is on a Sunday afternoon, and I, for one, dread having that awful "Tar.... Heel..." cheer be louder than anything the Duke fans muster. I heard that general admission tickets are sold out already (reserved seats remain), and I hope that they're not all full of the wrong blue. [/soapbox]

[DevilWearsPrada]

NEXT GAME! NEXT PLAY!!!! Better to lose now, than in March and April!!!

Lets Go Duke!

GTHC

[Class of '94]

I do hope that students turn out for the rematch at Cameron. There have been very few students at games this year (with the exception of the Div School contingent at the last game, which was super!), and I think it could really help the team to have loud, obvious support. You know the Carolina folks will be there, since the game is on a Sunday afternoon, and I, for one, dread having that awful "Tar.... Heel..." cheer be louder than anything the Duke fans muster. I heard that general admission tickets are sold out already (reserved seats remain), and I hope that they're not all full of the wrong blue. [/soapbox]

Please, local Duke fans go to that game! I hate that "Tar....Heel" chant as well; and it would a disgrace to all things Duke if that chant is conducted and heard (especially over anything else) in Cameron.