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dukelifer
03-04-2007, 08:56 PM
It has taken me this long to calm down to post this. First, UNC played very well. They took it to Duke on every possession. Duke never was able to get control of the game like they did in Durham. UNC determined the tempo and the play from the get go. I thought Duke did a decent job of not panicking when down big. A lot of that was the stellar play of Henderson. The kid loves the big game. That ability to rise is what make a star. I thought Paulus did very well as well. He had his troubles with Lawson but I don' think that was the difference. He is a dependable shooter and Duke needed every point he hit. The difference was Carolina's inside presence. Duke had no match for that on D or on O. It was another poor night by McBob. Clearly he had his hands full and no help at times- but Duke needed him to be a star today and that did not happen. This is who he is right now- but you need your best players to play big in big games and he did not. Hansblahblah was an annoying force and he played great throughout- although he lost all respect for trying to take it up with 20 seconds to go against a walkon- but more on that later. The only positives were the fine rebounding effort on the offensive boards and Duke's ability to make the run in the second half when they looked like Carolina was about to blow them out. They also never hung their heads. But both Nelson and Scheyer were just fair when Duke needed more from them. Both will be better- particularly Scheyer. He is still hesitant. But to me, McBob needed to be bigger. Unless he can raise his game in the postseason- the postseason will not last very long. Every game from here on out is a dog fight and you have to fight back. I am sure his play was a focus going into the game- so that is concerning- he could not translate the plan to the game. He seemed to press and made a lot of mistakes that were somewhat unforced.

Of course all of this was before the last 20 seconds. Duke had to play Henderson or a starter because two players had fouled out- but what in the world was Mr Everything doing out on the floor with a 12 point lead. And after he gets the bound on the miss throw- why does he go UP- why not kick it out? I dont get it. What was that message there? Henderson went up to block that shot because TH was rubbing it in. But the ball got out his hands and in mid air-Henderson needs to rotate his elbow to swat at the BALL. Hansblahblah jumped into him as he came down. It was a brutal hit and the blood was unsettling- but it was not intentional. It was a very unfortunate play that may have really hurt Duke in the long run. But they will need to rally around this somehow. As we know, State is perfectly capable of playing great. Duke's D is not great right now and that is a problem. But the end of the game was so so unfortunate and it just did not need to happen if TH could have contained himself to score one more bucket on a walkon. Now GH will have to deal with a legion of Duke haters for the next few weeks- and believe me if Carolina does not go all the way because TH has a bad game- they will blame this play.

Duke15304
03-04-2007, 09:07 PM
well hopefully we can get some talk about todays game instead of just the incident, but that will be hard, i get the feeling this one will be talked about until at least sunday, if we dont play, then next Feb, anyway, yes we got killed down low, I wonder why we didnt play Z more, he did a good job on TH the first game, he seems to get away w/ alot but w/e its a worthless cause, Greg played well again, and so did Gerald, he is starting to come around, jon needs to shoot more, Nelson and Mcroberts are really struggling, and the bench really dint give us anything, hopefully, we can play good basketball this week, NC state is def our game and I think UVA is def beatable, i know Singeltary and Reynolds are good, and we struggle against good gurads, but we almost beat them there, and by the way, this is our tournment

bluebear
03-04-2007, 09:14 PM
Good game summary and great review of THE PLAY...
We really struggled inside despite being good on the offensive glass...Josh is just not a post-up player and that really hurts us...he is an incredible talent and would be even better if we had someone big down low..Markie, McClure and Scheyer needed to step up today but struggled. Paulus had a great game despite not being able to keep up with Lawson (which was expected)..A lot of things have to go right for this team to beat Carolina..it is possible but not tonight..

bluebear
03-04-2007, 09:15 PM
I forgot to mention that despite the incident, GH had a great game..he is going to be a star at Duke..

Constantstrain 81
03-04-2007, 09:15 PM
The UNC inside strength is just that - strength. We can't change that right now. Tyler H is strong (and apparently draws fouls from strong breezes from the air conditioning system) and that's a fact. Brandon Wright isn't necessarily strong - but his "strength" is being tall and long. He also doesn't have the pressure of being the "man" or the "main" option. We counter with Josh, who is very good, but can be "bumped" out of place against physical teams. That will not change until next year. We will have trouble with UNC's strength this year (but we will still beat them in the ACC Tournament).

We needed a few more layups and 3 pointers to drop at the right moments today and it didn't happen. I'll still take our crew, anyday.

Duke15304
03-04-2007, 09:21 PM
even though a few were shakey, most of the time they were fouls, but it seemed like every time i looked up, UNC was on the line and they made their FTs

dukestheheat
03-04-2007, 09:32 PM
dukelifer-

1) we missed many open shots (jumpers). we also missed many close to the basket shots.

2) we also missed quite a few free throws and in fact that has been a plague for the guys this year, imo.

3) i was very proud of paulus' play and also hendo's play as well.

4) the foul was flagrant imo and he was punished for it; he'll grow from it.

GO DUKE!

dth.

DukieUGA
03-04-2007, 09:40 PM
Even though UNC is young, they do have some nice veterans, Terry had a very nice game. Once again, inability to stop penetration wore us out again and again and again. McRoberts had a strong game if you ignore his offense, which was once again not terrible, but just pressing and taking shots that he shouldn't take in ways he shouldn't take them. Nelson had a very shaky game as did McClure and LT. Scheyer was mediocre but Henderson was very good. He had some dry spells but he had several very hot stretches to keep Duke in the game, until he got thrown out of it.
After this game, who doesn't think that developing depth through the year is not important? When Duke worked that 2nd half lead down to 2 points and then Lawson came back in, Duke had no answer for that energy. When UNC went to the bench over and over for Hansbrough/Wright and the half-dozen other big guys they have and K just left McRoberts in there, Josh had no answer for the energy that UNCs big guys had at the end of the game.
Game negatives:
Duke's lack of authoritative inside game was worn out by UNC inside, LT and McClure got some shots just swatted cuz they looked like deer-in-headlights, hesitated and then went up and got rejected. Nobody could really guard Lawson. Lack of leadership, other than Paulus, the other experienced guys didn't play well.
Game positives:
Gerald Henderson, he averaged 15 ppg vs UNC this year, where is that scoring against everyone else? He showed some great offense, although he missed all 3 3pt attempts. Paulus shot the ball well, again. Paulus may not be able to drive past people all the time, but the team just runs so much better when he's on the floor. His shooting touch has totally transformed his game and truly made him a scoring threat.

Bob Green
03-04-2007, 09:41 PM
A frustrating loss for sure. We shot 7-23 (.304) from behind the arc and that just won't get it done against Carolina. We needed to sink more 3-pointers. Additionally, Josh only took 7 shots. We need more offense from him but I don't see anything changing at this point in the season.

Defensively, DeMarcus Nelson was guarding Ty Lawson and Lawson's speed was a problem. Paulus was matched up against Ellington alot. Inside, we've got no answer for Carolina's big men (Hansbrough, Wright, & Thompson). As good a defenser as McClure is he gives up alot of height.

Henderson has really come on strong the last couple of weeks and I believe he will be a star in the future. We will need someone to step up and provide additional points against State on Thursday. With Henderson suspended, our backs are against the wall. I am optimistic that Coach K & staff will utilize the suspension as a rally cry, and we will play inspired basketball against State.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

dukelifer
03-04-2007, 09:43 PM
dukelifer-

1) we missed many open shots (jumpers). we also missed many close to the basket shots.

2) we also missed quite a few free throws and in fact that has been a plague for the guys this year, imo.

3) i was very proud of paulus' play and also hendo's play as well.

4) the foul was flagrant imo and he was punished for it; he'll grow from it.

GO DUKE!

dth.

Duke missed 5 of 16 which is not pathetic. Josh missed 3 of the 5. Duke took a ton of threes- 23 and made 7. UNC gives up the three and Duke did not knock them down. But in the end, Duke did not make big plays when the game got close. Ginyard's three was huge (did he hit it off the backboard?). UNC always had an answer when it got close. As for the play- GH was having none of that Dunk in that situation but he did not go after TH. He simply got up to make an emphatic rejection. Yes he was punished but so was Duke. Still - there is no reason for TH to be on the floor in that situation- none at all- and less reason for him to go up and try to dunk.

Mr. Reality
03-04-2007, 09:51 PM
It has taken me this long to calm down to post this. First, UNC played very well. They took it to Duke on every possession. Duke never was able to get control of the game like they did in Durham. UNC determined the tempo and the play from the get go. I thought Duke did a decent job of not panicking when down big. A lot of that was the stellar play of Henderson. The kid loves the big game. That ability to rise is what make a star. I thought Paulus did very well as well. He had his troubles with Lawson but I don' think that was the difference. He is a dependable shooter and Duke needed every point he hit. The difference was Carolina's inside presence. Duke had no match for that on D or on O. It was another poor night by McBob. Clearly he had his hands full and no help at times- but Duke needed him to be a star today and that did not happen. This is who he is right now- but you need your best players to play big in big games and he did not. Hansblahblah was an annoying force and he played great throughout- although he lost all respect for trying to take it up with 20 seconds to go against a walkon- but more on that later. The only positives were the fine rebounding effort on the offensive boards and Duke's ability to make the run in the second half when they looked like Carolina was about to blow them out. They also never hung their heads. But both Nelson and Scheyer were just fair when Duke needed more from them. Both will be better- particularly Scheyer. He is still hesitant. But to me, McBob needed to be bigger. Unless he can raise his game in the postseason- the postseason will not last very long. Every game from here on out is a dog fight and you have to fight back. I am sure his play was a focus going into the game- so that is concerning- he could not translate the plan to the game. He seemed to press and made a lot of mistakes that were somewhat unforced.

Of course all of this was before the last 20 seconds. Duke had to play Henderson or a starter because two players had fouled out- but what in the world was Mr Everything doing out on the floor with a 12 point lead. And after he gets the bound on the miss throw- why does he go UP- why not kick it out? I dont get it. What was that message there? Henderson went up to block that shot because TH was rubbing it in. But the ball got out his hands and in mid air-Henderson needs to rotate his elbow to swat at the BALL. Hansblahblah jumped into him as he came down. It was a brutal hit and the blood was unsettling- but it was not intentional. It was a very unfortunate play that may have really hurt Duke in the long run. But they will need to rally around this somehow. As we know, State is perfectly capable of playing great. Duke's D is not great right now and that is a problem. But the end of the game was so so unfortunate and it just did not need to happen if TH could have contained himself to score one more bucket on a walkon. Now GH will have to deal with a legion of Duke haters for the next few weeks- and believe me if Carolina does not go all the way because TH has a bad game- they will blame this play.


Cheap shot by a guy that has (to the best of my knowledge) never done it before. But to say that it was not intentional is simply a great case of burying
your head in the sand. GH will be labled a thug for life. A good kid lost his cool and did not take the loss like a man. Period.

dukestheheat
03-04-2007, 09:53 PM
dukelifer-

On TH being in there at the end; you are right in that he wasn't needed in the game at that time of the game. however, his presence and his attempted dunk doesn't warrant the force asserted on that play. if that happened to one of our guys, we'd be totally livid and deservedly so.

it's over, dealt with, and hendo will grow from it.

dth.

willywoody
03-04-2007, 09:54 PM
Cheap shot by a guy that has (to the best of my knowledge) never done it before. But to say that it was not intentional is simply a great case of burying
your head in the sand. GH will be labled a thug for life. A good kid lost his cool and did not take the loss like a man. Period.

and you will be labeled a unc supporter for the rest of my life but you are welcome to your opinion.

dukelifer
03-04-2007, 09:57 PM
Cheap shot by a guy that has (to the best of my knowledge) never done it before. But to say that it was not intentional is simply a great case of burying
your head in the sand. GH will be labled a thug for life. A good kid lost his cool and did not take the loss like a man. Period.

The replay does not support that. He never looked at TH. He eyes were following the ball as was his hand. The elbow was where it needed to be to swat at the ball. GH did not rake him down with two hands or undercut him. I agree he intentionally went up to swat down a shot that was only meant to embarrass. His mistake was not letting that go and letting TH show the world what kind of player he is to try to dunk a shot in traffic with the game over.

77devil
03-04-2007, 09:58 PM
Cheap shot by a guy that has (to the best of my knowledge) never done it before. But to say that it was not intentional is simply a great case of burying
your head in the sand. GH will be labled a thug for life. A good kid lost his cool and did not take the loss like a man. Period.

Where is the ignore button?

jaimedun34
03-04-2007, 10:01 PM
Josh was a non factor. He had 10 rebounds, and I think 5 were offensive. Other than that, his contributions were not positive. Throwing the ball away, getting into foul trouble (his fourth foul was a Lance Thomas-esque body block on a hedge), and basically getting abused all night long.

DeMarcus and Scheyer didn't play well at all. Scheyer seemed hesitant, and DeMarcus, well he took shots that were there but when his outside shot isn't falling, he becomes much easier to defend.

Gerald Henderson, for his play tonight, deserves a piece of my heart.

dukelifer
03-04-2007, 10:08 PM
dukelifer-

On TH being in there at the end; you are right in that he wasn't needed in the game at that time of the game. however, his presence and his attempted dunk doesn't warrant the force asserted on that play. if that happened to one of our guys, we'd be totally livid and deservedly so.

it's over, dealt with, and hendo will grow from it.

dth.

I would bet that if a Duke player had tried to dunk on TH being down by 12- he would not have let it go- but we will never know. We would be livid, of course, but if our guy got seriously hurt on such a play we would also be upset with K for keeping him in there. But yes- it is over. TH is fine, fortunately- GH will need to hear about this for the next 4 days and then there will be something else.

CDu
03-04-2007, 10:08 PM
Reasons we lost (in no particular order):

1. Transition defense
2. Turnovers
3. UNC is just really really good, and they were playing at home, and they were playing with something to prove.

Honestly, this had little to do with our offense tonight. UNC topped 80 points. They have great players, and they have lots of them. They are the more talented team, and that's a large part of why they won.

We played very well to get it close in the second half. But we have a very small margin for error against a team like UNC (who is a terrible matchup for us), and tonight we didn't play a perfect game.

crimsondevil
03-05-2007, 01:20 AM
Props to whoever said last week that we needed to keep UNC to 71 or less...