MOTM: Duke vs. UNC (Feb 13, 2013)

[JBDuke]

Who was Man of the Match in Duke's 73-68 win over the Tarheels?

[Les Grossman]

Quinn

[rifraf]

Tyler proved tonight why he gets the minutes he gets.

Also impressed with Sulaimon, awesome freshman.

[mapei]

I just cast a vote for Tyler. Came up large in several aspects of the game. Kept us in position to win.

[pamtar]

I'll wait on the poll but IMO TT made the shots/passes when we needed them. My vote for MOTM goes to him. Rasheed a close second.

[ncexnyc]

TT was clearly the MOTM. One of the few Blue Devils who didn't look like he was playing in quicksand.

[CDu]

I'll wait on the poll but IMO TT made the shots/passes when we needed them. My vote for MOTM goes to him. Rasheed a close second.

I'll agree with that. Also, kudos to Hairston for subbing in for Mason during the critical turning-point stretch. Now, if he could only stop shooting that 20-footer...

[SCMatt33]

Mason held the ball for about 3 seconds after his rebound with 30+ left in the game. Up five with a one and one, a front end miss would be huge. He wanted to take that shot. He got a good roll, but that's because he was shooting straight as an arrow. No sideways bounces off the rim. That gives it a good chance to roll in. He also really manned up in the last 4 minutes with four fouls. He was pressing early trying for the fancy plays, but during winning time, he wanted the ball and made a huge difference.

[OldPhiKap]

Voted for Sheed, but cannot disagree with votes for Quinn, Mason, or Tyler.

[J4Kop99]

TT's off. rebound started it all. He also made some big 3's. He deserves it imo

[CLW]

tyler came up with some big shots and big offensive boards and got my vote.

[scottdude8]

Gotta be Tyler's clutch shooting and defense. But really any of the non-seniors deserve it. Earlier in this season if Seth and Mason had a bad game on the same night we lose by 10. Today our youngsters picked up the slack.

[AsiaMinor]

Voted for Sheed. I've loved him since day one. Nothing taken away from the rest of the team. AND I wish the Coaching Staff could get a vote. GREAT decisions made tonight.

[coldriver10]

I almost voted for Tyler but ended up going for Quinn. Besides his scoring and defensive effort, he gave the team and the crowd enthusiasm and intensity when we all needed it. I really love and appreciate his-- I'm breaking the synonym-usage rule, but I can't think of a better word for it-- intensity.

[sagegrouse]

Gotta go with Tyler. Three daggers when they really counted!

The clincher: No frigging turnovers. Quinn may have been my choice except for the five turnovers (and Mason had four).

sagegrouse

[timmy c]

I voted for Quinn, but Tyler was huge. He brought 9 points and gritty defense.
Anyone think that Thornton would be getting crunch time minutes at the 4?

[-bdbd]

You just HAVE to love this guy's game. Smallest guy on the court much of the night, and was constantly in the right place at the right time. The Carolina guys probably detest him, he is SUCH A PEST!!!

Yes. the three 3's were clutch. But I thought his disruptive, turnover-generating D was maybe even more impactful. And a key play late in the game was on Rasheed's (?) desperation heave at the shot-clock buzzer that caught heavy iron and was bouncing out long... TT hadrebounding position, I think on Hairston, but b/c of the long 'bound, he was NOT getting that rebound himself. But he "sold": the over the back on Hairston, and we're shooting FT's instead of NC@ch breaking the othere way. Just a smart, smart player. He also had an earlier brilliant tip on the offensive end, where he WASN'T getting the rebound over a much taller NC player, but managed to tap it out to a fellow Dukie...fresh 35 and deflating for NC@ch.


:D

[Greg_Newton]

I could easily see Tyler, and I guess I could see Quinn or Mason for their clutch FTs and overall numbers. I thought Sheed really came to play tonight, though, and was our most consistent offensive creator - he had a few huge assists, in addition to buckets. Big night for him.

[DevilYouthCoach]

I almost voted for Tyler but ended up going for Quinn. Besides his scoring and defensive effort, he gave the team and the crowd enthusiasm and intensity when we all needed it. I really love and appreciate his-- I'm breaking the synonym-usage rule, but I can't think of a better word for it-- intensity.


Quinn made some really awesome offensive moves tonight -- drives, finger rolls, floaters -- I love watching him congratulate and encourage everyone else -- knocking them about after big plays, etc. Had some good rebounds too. All around excellent player, IMHO! Course we were darn lucky to get TT's 3's to fall as well. Quinn gets the edge for me....

[magjayran]

Tyler does things that can't be quantified. I voted for him.

During the radio post-game show Capel basically said that Tyler wasn't going to let the team lose. Coach Capel stated that Tyler was doing a lot of the talk in huddles and helped the team refocus.

I've heard Tyler referred to as our Pit Bull. My Pit Bull is way nicer than Tyler. Tyler is more like a rabid mutt. I love him.

[El_Diablo]

Great game by Tyler, tipping rebounds, guarding bigger guys all night, and hitting some big threes.

A close second for Rasheed, who attacked the rim, hit some nice jumpers, and got some assists as well (more than the rest of the team combined, in fact).

Mason finished with some solid numbers, but he was very shaky in the first half and easily could have been called for some offensive fouls down the stretch.

A good second half, but only a so-so game overall from Seth. Usually, when the shots aren't falling, he seems to have very little impact on a game. But at least he pulled down some boards tonight and even had a nice block.

Quinn--meh. Lots of points, but he's not getting my vote if he's just going to hang his head and jog back on defense after every turnover. A cherry-pick (after, again, jogging back on D and then not boxing anyone out) and a couple free trips to the line at the end padded his points total, but a 2:5 assist-turnover ratio is pretty bad for a point guard. Pretty nice job on the boards though. He needs to learn to control his emotions to take the next step, but he has a ways to go in that respect.

Amile was getting a bunch of rebounds, but did he even play in the second half? He must have, but it could not have been much.

[Dukeblue91]

I had to go with Tyler no question about it, without his plays we would have lost this game.
Rasheed was my second choice as he too was huge especially for a freshmen.
Tyler always does the little things to help us win like last night, but this time every one of his points were needed and the timing on them were even bigger.

[jv001]

Just call him Robbie West Thornton. Tyler made a big 3 in the first half when we couldn't buy a 3. Then two more big 3s in the 2nd half. He's like having a coach on the floor. The tip back to Seth for a 3 and a big rebound and pass to Quinn for a layup. Those were just big time plays. GoDuke!

[camion]

Tyler does things that can't be quantified. I voted for him.

During the radio post-game show Capel basically said that Tyler wasn't going to let the team lose. Coach Capel stated that Tyler was doing a lot of the talk in huddles and helped the team refocus.

I've heard Tyler referred to as our Pit Bull. My Pit Bull is way nicer than Tyler. Tyler is more like a rabid mutt. I love him.

I gave Tyler an 8.6 on the unquantifiable things. Just had to. :D

And my vote for MOTM.

[Durham Thunder]

Tyler was certainly our player of the game.

However, please do not overlook Amile Jefferson. Our biggest weak-spot last night was rebounding, and our lowest point was basically the entire 1st half.

In the 1st half, Jefferson ripped down rebounds over McAdoo when McAdoo was fired up. Those rebounds kept us in the game, and kept UNC from getting more 2nd chance baskets.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Rasheed "Sully" Sulaimon was excellent last time. Great defense all around, and a constant threat on offense.

I love his role on this team.