MOTM: Duke vs. Pittsburgh (Jan 27, 2014)

[JBDuke]

Who was Man of the Match in Duke's 80-65 win over Pitt tonight?

[brevity]

Invalid poll. Like I said in chat, there needs to be an option for "Bajari Parker". He kept us competitive in the first half, before others helped take over.

[wilson]

I voted for Amile Jefferson. A hard-earned double double in a hostile, physical road game. I think he's really rounding into one of the more important players on our team, though not a stat-stuffer. In that sense, he's a classic Duke player of sorts. I'm really enjoying watching Amile play right now.

[OldPhiKap]

Amile double-double for me, but Dre was crazy hot and Jabari was super. Hood fantastic. MP3 great. Etc. etc. etc.

Team win. I vote for the dirty work guy usually, and that's Amile.

[mgtr]

I voted for Jefferson, but it was a tough call. Dawkins and Hood were right up there, I wouldn't be unhappy voting for any of the three.

[gurufrisbee]

I voted for Dawkins because those second half baskets were huge in Duke pulling away. But as soon as I did it, I kind of wished I voted for Hood - his defense on Patterson was terrific.

[CatDevil]

Andre Dawkins! Six of seven 3 pointers(Amazing)....when he smiles, I smile;)

[wilson]

I voted for Dawkins because those second half baskets were huge in Duke pulling away. But as soon as I did it, I kind of wished I voted for Hood - his defense on Patterson was terrific.Both good points. Also solid arguments for Jefferson in this thread, not to mention Jabari's typical excellence.
It's always a good sign when MOTM is a tricky decision like this.

[Native]

I voted Rodney. I loved Dre's late streak to seal it and Amile played awesome, but I felt like Rodney was our rock tonight. Smooth and consistent. Great, great, team win. There are a ton of guys you could pick today.

[OldSchool]

I probably should have picked Amile for his all-around awesomeness or Rodney for his defense on their best player, but I have to go with Dre for 6-7 3-point shooting. His threes in the second half just crushed the spirit of the home crowd.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Amile was fantastic but Dre was just lights out. Had to give him his props.

[lotusland]

I voted for Dre but Parker Hood, Jefferson and Cook were really good tonight.

[CDu]

I voted for Dawkins, but I would not question anyone's vote for Hood, Jefferson, or Parker. All four were terrific, and their contributions were similarly important.

However, I just realized that (according to the thread) we were supposed to be voting on a game from 21 years ago. So I have no idea who I should have voted for, as many of our players weren't alive yet. I guess my Dawkins pick looks even better now!

[FerryFor50]

I voted Amile, because while Dawkins was pivotal in helping Duke pull away, Amile was just as important in keeping Duke in it.

[wsb3]

Both good points. Also solid arguments for Jefferson in this thread, not to mention Jabari's typical excellence.
It's always a good sign when MOTM is a tricky decision like this.

Agree, when we are talking multiple players as the MOTM that is a very good thing. I voted for Andre because I felt his baskets were so huge in giving us separation. I thought the biggest one of the night was off the out of bounds play & my memory fails me but i think that put us up by 9.

[kAzE]

Dre is the sexy pick, with his hot shooting, but Jefferson was the real MOTM for me.

14 points on 5/5 shooting, 4/5 from the foul line, 10 rebounds (6 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 0 turnovers, in addition to all the little things he typically contributes that don't show up the box score. He played a perfect game. Don't get me wrong, Dre was a stud, he had 20 points on out of this world shooting with 2 rebounds and just 1 turnover, but what Jefferson did was like, jedi master-level. It blows my mind how much he has improved.

[DU82]

One of the guys gets a 21/11 and gets no votes. That's one heck of a game!

(FTR, I voted for Andre, for his threes, and what I thought was the key play of the game, his drive and self rebound basket that finally started giving us separation.)

[Newton_14]

This was tough for me, but I went with Andre for the exact reason CDu pointed out in the post-game thread. Andre was the "X_Factor" tonight. The game was pretty even with great play from kids on both sides, but Andre basically shot Pitt out of it. The 6th three was the final nail in the coffin ending any chance of a comeback by Pitt. The kid was just unreal. Layup city from 22 feet. A joy to watch! He also played good defense, had a great tip in, and ripped down a rebound in traffic with the big dudes. Well done 34. Well done.

Shout out to Amile for great all around game, Jabari for a good game except for a few bad shots, Hood for all around game and great shutdown defense on Patterson, and finally our new backup center, Mr Marshall Plumlee. MP3 is getting better game over game. Really bad the lefty jumphook did not fall. He deserved to make that.

The team is a improvin boys an girls... grab your popcorn and enjoy the ride game by game. One at a time. Time to focus on Syracuse.

Go Duke!

[brevity]

However, I just realized that (according to the thread) we were supposed to be voting on a game from 21 years ago. So I have no idea who I should have voted for, as many of our players weren't alive yet.

Great point. The game is dated January 27, 1993. I had a hard time choosing. Thomas Hill and Cherokee Parks did a great job in the second half, but I went with Antonio Lang.

[NYBri]

Wish there was a "Team" entry to vote for. If there was, I'd vote for that.

Bajari gets my vote for first half.
Dre gets my vote for the last 10 minutes.
Amile gets my vote for the glue.
Rodney gets my vote for his D.
Quinn and Marshal get my vote for guts and grit.

All that adds up to "team"

[dukelifer]

Had to give it to Mr. Dawkins. Andre sealed the deal. He was great tonight. Amile was excellent as well. If the guards continue to pass the ball, Amile will deliver. Parker was outstanding, of course, but still does some things that make you shake your head. He is so much better 8 feet from the hoop.

[mph]

There are so many good choices but Hood earned my vote by being the primary guy responsible for holding Patterson to 4-14 shooting.

[MCFinARL]

Dre is the sexy pick, with his hot shooting, but Jefferson was the real MOTM for me.

14 points on 5/5 shooting, 4/5 from the foul line, 10 rebounds (6 offensive), 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 0 turnovers, in addition to all the little things he typically contributes that don't show up the box score. He played a perfect game. Don't get me wrong, Dre was a stud, he had 20 points on out of this world shooting with 2 rebounds and just 1 turnover, but what Jefferson did was like, jedi master-level. It blows my mind how much he has improved.

Though I voted for Andre, for the reasons many others have mentioned, you make an excellent case for Amile. I would expect no less of a Philly guy playing in Pittsburgh (and i say that as someone who grew up in Pittsburgh--no love lost between those two cities).

[devildeac]

I voted for Dawkins because those second half baskets were huge in Duke pulling away. But as soon as I did it, I kind of wished I voted for Hood - his defense on Patterson was terrific.

I voted for Hood for this reason. When I listened to K from the locker room after the game, he praised Parker for his relentless rebounding, Amile for the same and 5/5 shooting, Dre for 20 points in 15 minutes on 6/7 from long distance but sounded especially pleased with Hood for his D on Patterson (14 points on 14 shots with 5 TO). I'm pretty happy with Quinn's 9 points and 6A:2TO night in 27 gimpy minutes.

[Cameron]

I went with Andre. But this honor could've went to any number of guys. It's a common refrain in this thread after most games, but it's especially true of this one. Jabari owned the first half offensively, really paving the way for our second-half performance. Rodney played lock-down D on Lamar Patterson and came up with big shot after big shot during the middle portion of the second stanza to keep Pitt at arm's length. Amile had a monster night on the glass and finishing at the hoop. So many options from which to choose.

Andre, however, was just wow. He came into the game with his team clinging to a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and closed it out in a manner redolent of late '90s-era Mariano Rivera. He cut out Pittsburgh's heart and dined on it in front of 13,000 horrified Panther supporters. As soon as that first three fell, the last three dropped like dominoes. He is one cool customer with the game on the line. Down three with a minute left. Scratch that. Down six with a minute left, dare I say I want Andre Dawkins with the ball in his hands more than any other player at Duke since Jason Williams. J.J. is the greatest shooter in the history of the program, but, relative to their roles within the team, I think an argument can be made that Andre has been every bit as clutch in big-game environments. Either way, it's high praise for the kid just to be mentioned in that company.

[wallyman]

If you were just choosing on basketball virtues you could make a case for Amile, Rodney or Jabari. But looking at Andre's smile was as cool as all those threes and the final score. What a performance and what a feel-good story. Had to be Dre All Day.

[Henderson]

Jabari doesn't get enough love sometimes in these polls, because he's supposed to be that good. Just another routine double-double. Ho hum.

But he gets my vote tonight. Despite his questionable shot selection sometimes (i.e. trying to do too much too fast) and poor shooting percentage, without his 16 points in the first half, there wouldn't have been a second half.

Overlooked stat: As a result of his performance tonight, Jabari now holds the Duke freshman record for most 20 pt. games in a season (beating Gene Banks' 36 year old record).

MOTM say I. But Andre and Rodney were both keys tonight too.

[CLW]

Lots of viable candidates (Dawkins, Jefferson, Parker) but I went with Hood. His D on Patterson was outstanding. He almost always takes a good shot within the flow of the offense.

[jv001]

It's great when we have so many candidates to choose from for MOTM. That usually means we played very well. I hope this trend continues through the rest of the 2014 season. GoDuke!

[ChillinDuke]

Had to go Andre because he was the reason we pulled away. Throughout the first part of the second half, I felt we were solidly outplaying Pitt, but they seemed to just not miss jump shots and the game remained a 2-6 pt lead for quite some time. As soon as their shots stopped falling, we had a chance to pull away. And Andre made the most of that chance. He doesn't hit those shots and this game could have been a nailbiter to the end. You just never know in an environment like that.

That said, Jabari was fantastic. One of his best games, I thought. Still took some dumb shots here and there, but by and large played poised and under control and seemed very engaged all over the court.

Rodney was superb in all facets as well, especially his defense. Really seemed like he took pride in outplaying Patterson on the defensive end.

Amile continues to baffle me how he grabs these boards. I keep thinking it's some sort of abnormal run that he's on - but this is well past that at this point. Really impressive.

Rasheed is playing with a chip on his shoulder. And, although his stat line wasn't impressive tonight, I like that.

Quinn had some poor decisions here and there, but was solid throughout (on apparently two? bum ankles).

I also want to shout out to Tyler. The last couple of games I have gotten the sense that he has found a groove when he's on the court as sort of a free range defensive "spy" (I use "spy" as a comparison to a "spy" on a football defense, admitting that I don't even know what that is really). He just has unorthodox approaches to plays that seem to throw off the other team/player. Not every time (and sometimes it results in a foul), but he got his hands on balls defensively and had that block attempt from behind that evidences an approach to defense that I really like as an off look from our normal stay-in-front man-to-man style.

Just a big win. One of those that really satisfies, especially on a Monday. Pretty jacked up about it. Let's bring that same intensity at Cuse.

- Chillin

[vick]

I also want to shout out to Tyler. The last couple of games I have gotten the sense that he has found a groove when he's on the court as sort of a free range defensive "spy" (I use "spy" as a comparison to a "spy" on a football defense, admitting that I don't even know what that is really). He just has unorthodox approaches to plays that seem to throw off the other team/player. Not every time (and sometimes it results in a foul), but he got his hands on balls defensively and had that block attempt from behind that evidences an approach to defense that I really like as an off look from our normal stay-in-front man-to-man style.

Tyler's playing great basketball right now. He is by far the ACC leader in steal percentage in conference-only games, at 6.2%, next closest is 4.2%, and even when he's not getting steals he's fairly disruptive, breaking up fast breaks and the like. As one of those who didn't really agree with the ~25 mpg role he was playing earlier in the year, I couldn't be happier with the way he's playing in his current ~15 mpg role.

[killerleft]

Any of four players could be chosen, I went with Jabari for his first half and great rebounding. MP3's continued improvement is becoming a real story.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I have been one of the posters arguing that Dawkins disappears during big games this year (or at least against solid competition). I couldn't be more happy to eat crow, and I'll take a second helping of it as well.

I voted for Dawkins as MOTM, but not because he was our best of most important player (that goes to Jabari and Hood, respectively, for this game). Rather, it's because he did something that no other player has done this year: he destroyed the will of the other team. His 3pt just sucked the life out of Pitt. It was glorious.

There is one 3pter in particular that was a thing of beauty. He were up 13 and Pitt goes for a quick 2 and foul. Back to 10. Dawkins quickly gets the ball, fakes, dribbles once, and then hits it. Right after he does, like clockwork, all 5 Pitt players drop their heads. That, my friends, is who you kill will.

[Ichabod Drain]

That, my friends, is who you kill will.

If this was a game of Clue it would have been "Sir Andre Dawkins in the Oakland Zoo with the three ball."

[rsvman]

After a game like that one, it is almost ludicrous to try to pick a MOTM.
Parker was outstanding and got us through the first half in good shape.
Jefferson played a great all-around game and was absolutely instrumental.
Dawkins hit the big shots when we really needed them and absolutely demoralized them in the latter part of the game.

All are excellent choices for MOTM.


I voted for Hood.

Without him smothering Patterson the whole game, Dawkins big shots might not have produced a cushion. The game was won on the defensive end, and Hood was the most important cog in the defensive machine.


But, again, it was truly a team victory. I hope we have a lot more games like this where it is really, really hard to decide who to vote for in the MOTM polls. That would bode well for the team in a big way.

[Dev11]

I have been one of the posters arguing that Dawkins disappears during big games this year (or at least against solid competition). I couldn't be more happy to eat crow, and I'll take a second helping of it as well.

I voted for Dawkins as MOTM, but not because he was our best of most important player (that goes to Jabari and Hood, respectively, for this game). Rather, it's because he did something that no other player has done this year: he destroyed the will of the other team. His 3pt just sucked the life out of Pitt. It was glorious.

There is one 3pter in particular that was a thing of beauty. He were up 13 and Pitt goes for a quick 2 and foul. Back to 10. Dawkins quickly gets the ball, fakes, dribbles once, and then hits it. Right after he does, like clockwork, all 5 Pitt players drop their heads. That, my friends, is who you kill will.

I couldn't figure out how to explain why I voted for Andre until I read this. Every time that dude got the ball in the second half, I raised my hands in the air preemptively, knowing that baby was going in.

Jabari came in second for me. He had a play where he muscled around a dude for a lay-in, and then on the next possession bombed in a 3. He's so comfortable everywhere, it's astounding.

[Indoor66]

Rodney. His defense on Patterson kept him out of the game. Patterson is the leading player for Pitt. His ineffectiveness affected the entire team, IMO. Rodney was also quite steady on offense. He had a heck of a game.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Rodney. His defense on Patterson kept him out of the game. Patterson is the leading player for Pitt. His ineffectiveness affected the entire team, IMO. Rodney was also quite steady on offense. He had a heck of a game.

Rodney is a great choice. When ever you shut down the future ACC Player of the Year, it's impressive.

BTW, did the coaching staff give Rodney some pepto before the game? ;)

[rsvman]

BTW, did the coaching staff give Rodney some pepto before the game? ;)

Better. They gave him ondansetron, aka Zofran. The best anti-emetic drug on the planet.

[Troublemaker]

Tyler's playing great basketball right now. He is by far the ACC leader in steal percentage in conference-only games, at 6.2%, next closest is 4.2%, and even when he's not getting steals he's fairly disruptive, breaking up fast breaks and the like. As one of those who didn't really agree with the ~25 mpg role he was playing earlier in the year, I couldn't be happier with the way he's playing in his current ~15 mpg role.

We're on the same page now, vick. When Coach was running an 8/8.5 man rotation, I wanted Tyler on the court for 20mpg. Now that we're running 10 guys, 15 mpg sounds right to me.

I'm hoping the final evolution of Duke's defense will be to force turnovers consistently. The past few games, we've seen some signs to suggest that could be a possibility eventually. If it happens, Tyler will be a big part of that evolution. With his ballhawking, 3-pt shooting, and leadership, he's definitely more valuable than the 5mpg backup PG people want him to be. (He's not even a PG!)

[El_Diablo]

Rodney is a great choice. When ever you shut down the future ACC Player of the Year, it's impressive.

BTW, did the coaching staff give Rodney some pepto before the game? ;)

I believe the trainers gave him Zofran. The announcers mentioned it during the game.

EDIT: Yep, rsvman beat me to it.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I believe the trainers gave him Zofran. The announcers mentioned it during the game.

Oh, are you serious? I thought that the nausea was a 1-2 time thing, not an every-game thing.

Do we nickname Rodney "Willie Beamen" from Any Given Sunday?

[J_C_Steel]

I voted for Amile Jefferson because he out-toughed a physical Panthers front line and played efficiently on both sides of the floor. Putting up 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, with 5-5 shooting from the floor and 4-5 from the line (in 27 minutes) is probably Mr. Jefferson's best performance of his young career.

Check out his numbers during the Blue Devils' five-game winning streak:

26.4 minutes per game
8.6 points per game
16/23 from the floor (.696 shooting %)
11/17 from the line (.647 shooting %)
9.2 rebounds per game
1.6 assists per game
0.8 turnovers per game
1.2 blocks per game
1.0 steals per game
2.8 fouls per game

Those are the contributions of a very good power forward in the ACC. Efficient, big on the boards, and solid on the defensive end. Great stuff.

[FerryFor50]

I'm kind of curious why coachbob voted for Josh Hairston...

[coachbob]

I'm kind of curious why coachbob voted for Josh Hairston...

I thought that I had voted for Dre.

[MCFinARL]

I thought that I had voted for Dre.

Gotta watch out for those hanging chads!

[OldPhiKap]

If coachbob says Josh, then damnit, it's Josh. coachbob has never steered me wrong.

[daveyro]

I voted for Amile Jefferson because he out-toughed a physical Panthers front line and played efficiently on both sides of the floor. Putting up 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, with 5-5 shooting from the floor and 4-5 from the line (in 27 minutes) is probably Mr. Jefferson's best performance of his young career.

Check out his numbers during the Blue Devils' five-game winning streak:

26.4 minutes per game
8.6 points per game
16/23 from the floor (.696 shooting %)
11/17 from the line (.647 shooting %)
9.2 rebounds per game
1.6 assists per game
0.8 turnovers per game
1.2 blocks per game
1.0 steals per game
2.8 fouls per game

Those are the contributions of a very good power forward in the ACC. Efficient, big on the boards, and solid on the defensive end. Great stuff.

I voted for Amile for the reasons above. Without looking up Kelly's stats, these are the do-everything performances Kelly gave us at his best.

Wonder how many MOTM's Quinn has won. Even before his ankle problems, his decision making varies between poor and eh. Nobody is fooled now by his spin move in the lane. Wish he'd learn the tear-drop. Good thing we have so many players who can handle the ball.

Liked Flying Dutch Devil's Steamng Willie Beamon analogy. At least Rodney doesn't do it on the floor

[DukieInKansas]

I went with Amile because I remember thinking during the game that he has really started to shine. I noticed him for good plays.

But it was a hard choice as the others mentioned were truly deserving, too. Where is the all of the above option when you need it?

[Kedsy]

Wonder how many MOTM's Quinn has won. Even before his ankle problems, his decision making varies between poor and eh. Nobody is fooled now by his spin move in the lane. Wish he'd learn the tear-drop. Good thing we have so many players who can handle the ball.

Whoa, way harsh on Quinn. First of all, the spin move is still working pretty well. I agree his decision making isn't always the best, but he's by far our best floor general when it comes to running the offense. As Exhibit A, I offer how flat our offense looked at the beginning of yesterday's game, with Rasheed and Tyler instead of Quinn and Matt in the starting lineup.

And, despite the fact that he could be better, Quinn leads all active ACC players in assists per game (only Jerian Grant is ahead of him), is 5th in the league in Assist Pct (4th w/o Grant), and is 7th in the league in A/to ratio, at 2.9 (6th w/o Grant). And his defense is vastly improved. So don't hate on Quinn.

[azzefkram]

Whoa, way harsh on Quinn. First of all, the spin move is still working pretty well. I agree his decision making isn't always the best, but he's by far our best floor general when it comes to running the offense. As Exhibit A, I offer how flat our offense looked at the beginning of yesterday's game, with Rasheed and Tyler instead of Quinn and Matt in the starting lineup.

And, despite the fact that he could be better, Quinn leads all active ACC players in assists per game (only Jerian Grant is ahead of him), is 5th in the league in Assist Pct (4th w/o Grant), and is 7th in the league in A/to ratio, at 2.9 (6th w/o Grant). And his defense is vastly improved. So don't hate on Quinn.

Amen. The Quinn hate is ludicrous around here.

[jv001]

Whoa, way harsh on Quinn. First of all, the spin move is still working pretty well. I agree his decision making isn't always the best, but he's by far our best floor general when it comes to running the offense. As Exhibit A, I offer how flat our offense looked at the beginning of yesterday's game, with Rasheed and Tyler instead of Quinn and Matt in the starting lineup.

And, despite the fact that he could be better, Quinn leads all active ACC players in assists per game (only Jerian Grant is ahead of him), is 5th in the league in Assist Pct (4th w/o Grant), and is 7th in the league in A/to ratio, at 2.9 (6th w/o Grant). And his defense is vastly improved. So don't hate on Quinn.

I have been critical of Quinn myself, but I also know he's a very valuable player in Duke's success. I guess I get upset sometimes because I know Quinn can be a very good point guard. He can handle the ball well, plays good defense, has good basketball instincts and for the most part is the floor general for this team. I believe the thing that I hate most is when he gets caught with the shot clock running down. I tell my wife here goes Quinn with a forced three or a drive to the basket. Where most of the time he will shoot a contested layup. He seems to never pass because he doesn't leave time on the clock to do so. But I can live with that as long as he doesn't pout and loaf back down court. GoDuke!

[blUDAYvil]

I voted for Dre. And based on this Laura Keeley tweet from just after the game yesterday, it appears that the team wouldn't disagree with me:


Chants of Dre all day from the #Duke locker room