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View Full Version : MBB: Duke 109, Fairfield 59 Post-Game Thread



kAzE
11-15-2014, 10:03 PM
Nearly doubled them up on the glass. Best rebounding Duke team in a looooooong time.

Quinn is a completely different (and better) player when he's hunting for his own jump shot rather than trying to create for others.

All 4 freshmen are phenomenally poised, none of them look or play like freshmen. It's insanity. Grayson Allen plays like a starving shark who just smelled blood in the water. He's a madman out there trying to get to every loose ball and attacking like it's going out of style. I don't HOW he doesn't earn a firm spot in the rotation. He's too good to leave on the bench . . .

mapei
11-15-2014, 10:04 PM
Great stuff. We'll know more next week, but what a beginning!

fuse
11-15-2014, 10:06 PM
Too soon to say I wish the basketball team could have given the football team some points today?

This is a fun group to watch.
Tuesday will be a more interesting contest.

dukelifer
11-15-2014, 10:06 PM
Nearly doubled them up on the glass. Best rebounding Duke team in a looooooong time.

Hope to watch it later. The box score suggests that everyone was involved and the Freshman played well in a back to back game. Big step up in opponent coming up.

JNort
11-15-2014, 10:08 PM
Nearly doubled them up on the glass. Best rebounding Duke team in a looooooong time.

Our 2010 team might have something to say about that rebounding statement. How about best assisting team! 30 assists last game and 22 this game! 29-5 assists to turnovers from pg play alone (I included Sheed since he has played point in the 2nd platoon). Or our 24 steals and 8 blocks in two games.... Best yet how about the scoring output , I know they both are weak opponents but still we have had weak ones before and have never gone over 100 back to back games (recently anyway)

Karl Beem
11-15-2014, 10:08 PM
The most physically imposing team since...?

Saratoga2
11-15-2014, 10:09 PM
Totally overpowered Fairfield and still were able to play a lot of guys. Can someone fill in what happened with Rasheed? Looking around the lineup, it looks as if the player combinations seemed to get more than 20 points per position. No weak spots in the lineup at all. Matt played very well and appears to be over the dizzy spell of last game. Now we start playing the big boys.

Remind me of how many wins coach K now has.

kAzE
11-15-2014, 10:11 PM
Totally overpowered Fairfield and still were able to play a lot of guys. Can someone fill in what happened with Rasheed? Looking around the lineup, it looks as if the player combinations seemed to get more than 20 points per position. No weak spots in the lineup at all. Matt played very well and appears to be over the dizzy spell of last game. Now we start playing the big boys.

Remind me of how many wins coach K now has.

Seemed like Sulaimon was just out there focusing on the full court press and trying to distribute the ball on offense. I don't remember him even attempting a shot. If a junior like him can buy in to this kind of role, that's impressive.

GGLC
11-15-2014, 10:12 PM
The kid look like they're having a blast. It seems like they really like each other and love playing together, and it shows both on the court and on the bench. It's awesome to see. And on that note, I thought Rasheed had a great game tonight -- despite being the only scholarship player not to score. More than that, his body language looks focused, engaged, excited, and loose...if we can get everyone to buy in to the team like they have been so far, this could be a very special season.

NSDukeFan
11-15-2014, 10:34 PM
This has been a lot of fun so far, but now it is time to get ready for a big step up in competition. I think this team is ready. They have been so fun to watch so far (mind you, I feel that every year, as I always enjoy watching Duke play.)

FireOgilvie
11-15-2014, 10:37 PM
Totally overpowered Fairfield and still were able to play a lot of guys. Can someone fill in what happened with Rasheed? Looking around the lineup, it looks as if the player combinations seemed to get more than 20 points per position. No weak spots in the lineup at all. Matt played very well and appears to be over the dizzy spell of last game. Now we start playing the big boys.

Remind me of how many wins coach K now has.

On offense, Sulaimon looked very disengaged. Many times in the second half he would stand way behind the top of the arc off to the side, but not in a position to shoot. I was specifically watching him for several plays in a row because I thought it was so odd. He would just stand there or shuffle his feet a little bit while watching everyone else play. I honestly think he has a lot of trouble whenever we're not running a set play on offense and has no idea what to do off the ball. Previously, he'd at least put himself in a position to get a spot up 3 pointer, but he didn't do that at all today.

When he gets the ball and drives, as others have pointed out the past 2 seasons, he gets tunnel vision and drives to the basket and stays away from contact. He almost never passes when he gets it in his head that he's going to the basket. The game has not slowed down for him on offense, which is surprising considering he is a junior. He doesn't have the natural feel for the game that even the freshmen this year already all seem to have. Some games are obviously better than others when he decides to be super aggressive, but it's not constant. He reminds me of Nolan Smith or Gerald Henderson, where he has so much talent but just hasn't figured out how to be a good basketball player (and they eventually did figure it out and were very good). The opposite is true with guys like Scheyer and seemingly Justise Winslow.

Also, I'm a big Sulaimon fan, and once things "click" for him, I think he's going to be huge for us with his ability to get to the basket.

Marc81
11-15-2014, 10:40 PM
We beat our first two opponents by a total of..wait for it...119 points! That is really impressive no matter how bad the competition may be.

duke4ever19
11-15-2014, 10:41 PM
On offense, Sulaimon looked very disengaged. Many times in the second half he would stand way behind the top of the arc off to the side, but not in a position to shoot. I was specifically watching him for several plays in a row because I thought it was so odd. He would just stand there or shuffle his feet a little bit while watching everyone else play. I honestly think he has a lot of trouble whenever we're not running a set play on offense and has no idea what to do off the ball. Previously, he'd at least put himself in a position to get a spot up 3 pointer, but he didn't do that at all today.

When he gets the ball and drives, as others have pointed out the past 2 seasons, he gets tunnel vision and drives to the basket but always stays away from contact. He almost never passes when he gets it in his head that he's going to the basket. The game has not slowed down for him on offense, which is surprising considering he is a junior. He doesn't have the natural feel for the game that even the freshmen this year already all seem to have. Some games are obviously better than others when he decides to be super aggressive, but it's not constant. He reminds me of Nolan Smith or Gerald Henderson, where he has so much talent but just hasn't figured out how to be a good basketball player. The opposite is true with guys like Scheyer and seemingly Justise Winslow.

Also, I'm a big Sulaimon fan, and once things "click" for him, I think he's going to be huge for us with his ability to get to the basket.

I know he didn't score, but I really think he had a great game today. He was animated, passed up ok shots to distribute the ball for a great shot. I thought it was a great sign of maturity from him to not get a bucket and still bring the intensity and enthusiasm on the defensive end.

There were several occasion where he began to drive into the lane and I'm thinking, "he's going to get tunnel vision and just plow into the lane and force up a shot," but he passed it to the perimeter for a wide open three etc. I rather liked this development.

duke09hms
11-15-2014, 10:42 PM
On offense, Sulaimon looked very disengaged. Many times in the second half he would stand way behind the top of the arc off to the side, but not in a position to shoot. I was specifically watching him for several plays in a row because I thought it was so odd. He would just stand there or shuffle his feet a little bit while watching everyone else play. I honestly think he has a lot of trouble whenever we're not running a set play on offense and has no idea what to do off the ball. Previously, he'd at least put himself in a position to get a spot up 3 pointer, but he didn't do that at all today.

When he gets the ball and drives, as others have pointed out the past 2 seasons, he gets tunnel vision and drives to the basket and stays away from contact. He almost never passes when he gets it in his head that he's going to the basket. The game has not slowed down for him on offense, which is surprising considering he is a junior. He doesn't have the natural feel for the game that even the freshmen this year already all seem to have. Some games are obviously better than others when he decides to be super aggressive, but it's not constant. He reminds me of Nolan Smith or Gerald Henderson, where he has so much talent but just hasn't figured out how to be a good basketball player. The opposite is true with guys like Scheyer and seemingly Justise Winslow.

Also, I'm a big Sulaimon fan, and once things "click" for him, I think he's going to be huge for us with his ability to get to the basket.

I thought Rasheed played well. This team moves the ball around so quickly like a homeless man's Spurs. He was involved with 4 assists, played solid D, and had a great attitude.

GGLC
11-15-2014, 10:45 PM
I thought Rasheed played well. This team moves the ball around so quickly like a homeless man's Spurs. He was involved with 4 assists, played solid D, and had a great attitude.

Couldn't agree more. 4 assists and 0 turnovers speaks for itself.

Troublemaker
11-15-2014, 10:57 PM
Seemed like Sulaimon was just out there focusing on the full court press and trying to distribute the ball on offense. I don't remember him even attempting a shot. If a junior like him can buy in to this kind of role, that's impressive.

Yep. I thought he played well for a second game in a row. His focus on penetrating-to-pass over these past two games has been a nifty solution for him. See, if we try to turn him into a pure catch-and-shoot guy, it would waste his great quickness. But, of course, his penetration over the past couple of years has also often resulted in poor finishes around the rim. What to do, what to do. The solution seems to be for him to drive looking primarily to kick or dump off, and only as a last resort, when the basket is wide open, does he look to finish himself. I think that's a change that's occurred, and I like it.

FireOgilvie
11-15-2014, 10:59 PM
I know he didn't score, but I really think he had a great game today. He was animated, passed up ok shots to distribute the ball for a great shot. I thought it was a great sign of maturity from him to not get a bucket and still bring the intensity and enthusiasm on the defensive end.

There were several occasion where he began to drive into the lane and I'm thinking, "he's going to get tunnel vision and just plow into the lane and force up a shot," but he passed it to the perimeter for a wide open three etc. I rather liked this development.


I thought Rasheed played well. This team moves the ball around so quickly like a homeless man's Spurs. He was involved with 4 assists, played solid D, and had a great attitude.


Couldn't agree more. 4 assists and 0 turnovers speaks for itself.

Well, hopefully the period I was focusing on him was just an anomaly in the second half. I was watching him specifically right before he got pulled with maybe 5 or so minutes to go. Again, I'm only talking about offense. He seems to have a positive attitude, but it looked like he was just physically taking himself out of the game on offense in the second half, which I found strange.

FireOgilvie
11-15-2014, 11:07 PM
After looking at the box score, it does look like all 4 of Sulaimon's assists were in the first half. Not sure why things changed in the second half.

Selover
11-15-2014, 11:17 PM
I managed to make it out tonight for my third game at Cameron and first since 2007. Gosh, what a fun group to watch! I was thrilled to see Grayson get a dunk down.

It seems as though we have a pretty good squad to press with, but we shall see how it looks against MSU.

ACCBBallFan
11-15-2014, 11:18 PM
http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=26314&bView=0

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=26328&bView=0

Several +/- stats will surprise everyone. Semi had best yesterday. Matt was best today.

For the two games combined

YTD min YTD +/-

32 62 Matt

30 59 MP3

46 57 Tyus

36 55 Sheed

31 55 Grayson

52 53 Quinn

50 49 Jah

40 46 Amile

30 42 Semi

41 41 Justise

I am sure no one would have thought that Justise was at the bottom on +/- albeit with a very respectable +41, and that all the starters except Tyus crowd Semi at the bottom. Depth, with a big thank you for the starters for wearing the opponents down and getting them in foul trouble

Newton_14
11-15-2014, 11:25 PM
Couldn't agree more. 4 assists and 0 turnovers speaks for itself.
Agree. FireOgivie posts makes absolutely no sense at all to me. I had great seats tonight thanks to a very kind friend and I thought Rasheed played a really good game, while not even looking for his shot. Outstanding game in fact. He was fully engaged the entire time out there and played with the mindset that he was going to be a beast on defense and facilitator/distributor on offense. He was setting up teammates all game long. He ended up with 4 assists I believe and would have had several more had his teammates made a few more shots. He worked hard to get others shots. THis after playing a really great game last night where he drove several times, each time with his head up and he either finished himself when it was there for him and the right thing, or kicked to an open teammate when it was the right play. His decision making, energy, and attitude has been great in both regular season games. Very refreshing to see him play well.

This team is just so much fun to watch. They share the basketball better than any Duke team in recent memory. All of them seem to relish setting up a teammate for a score just as much as scoring themselves. They make so many extra passes to pass on good shots to get great shots. Very potent offensive team. Okafor is a beast and is so poised and patience when he catches it on the block. He waits to see what the defense is going to do, or sometimes sneaks in with an immediate quick shot and scores, but he is just as apt to hit Amile or Justise cutting to the hoop or rifle a pass to a wide open teammate behind the line for a wide open 3. Agree on the rebounding too. With Jahlil, Amile, and Winslow, we have 3 guys that can rebound like mad men.


Fairfield hung around a little longer than expected but that is likely a good thing because it teaches the kids they are going to have to work hard night in and night out. Quinn said K really got into them at the half, and the second half defense was much better. Grayson looked good again tonight also.

So an A+ for the exhibition games, an A+ for the first two regular season games against weaker opponents meaning they have done exactly what they should have in these first four games, two of which that counted. Now it is time to go toe to toe with one of the big boys and see how they perform.

Exciting times. They will face adversity along the way, likely fall behind double digits to a power team somewhere along the way, and will have a few games where nothing seems to go right on either side of the ball, so I am anxious to see how they respond in those situations.

With Okafor and Winslow having the ability to get easy buckets in the paint, they won't have to rely on the 3 ball to bail them out. With that, if they can defend at a high level most nights, they are going to be extremely difficult to deal with and/or beat.

Bring on the Spartans. The first big test for the guys and its not in Cameron. How will they respond? I expect good things.

Go Duke!

kAzE
11-16-2014, 01:58 AM
Sucks to be Tom Izzo right now. We just scored 109 on a team who played the slowest possible offense to try to limit our possessions. How the hell do you come up with a defense to stop this? Double team Okafor? He'll find shooters and cutters all day for wide open buckets. Take away the 3? We've got all kinds of slashers who will kill you with the pump fake. Pressure full court? Man, we've got like 5 point guards, and everyone on the team has passing skills. No matter what you try to take away, this team is so unselfish, the ball is going to find its way to the open man. I know we say this every year, but this has got to be one of the deepest teams we've had, and one of the most versatile offenses. When Grayson Allen is the 8th or 9th man . . . that's a freakin deep team.

Okafor is the first freshman that I can completely agree with his preseason 1st team AA selection. It was nice having MP2 down low, but Okafor is on a completely different level. He makes everything SO easy on offense, it's amazing.

I don't imagine we will hang 100 on MSU, but I have a hard time imagining anyone completely being able to stop us from scoring. We've got the complete repertoire offensively. Shooting, passing, low post scoring, offensive rebounding, slashing, cutting, pick and roll, fast break. We've got it all this year, and to top it all off, we finally have the personnel to play the type of defense that Coach K likes to play. Just keeping every appendage on my body crossed that everyone stays healthy all year.

Edouble
11-16-2014, 02:56 AM
The team looks great. Reminds me a bit of '97-98 had Brand not been injured. We have a very nice blend of youth, experience, talent, and depth. Tough to see us not in the mix at the end of the season if we stay healthy.

We look like a (good) NBA team. Despite the quality of competition, we are beating people down the floor at a pace that would be detrimental to many conference opponents. Our level of collective strength and athleticism is not ordinary.

I'm not sure that Sparty will be much of a challenge as they were pushed pretty hard by Navy. I think their top 20 ranking, at this point in the season, is due to reputation.

Looking around the rotation, Semi was 1-6 and 2-5 for 3s against Presbyterian and Fairfield, respectively. Those three point attempts accounted for all of his field goal attempts. He has 3 steals and 6 rebounds total for both games in a combined 30 minutes of play, which are not bad numbers. He is the lone scholarship player with zero assists on the year. I'll be curious to see what kind of minutes Semi gets against MSU and if he can use some of his well advertised muscle down low, when he is in the game.

Acymetric
11-16-2014, 02:59 AM
The team looks great. Reminds me a bit of '97-98 had Brand not been injured. We have a very nice blend of youth, experience, talent, and depth. Tough to see us not in the mix at the end of the season if we stay healthy.

We look like a (good) NBA team. Despite the quality of competition, we are beating people down the floor at a pace that would be detrimental to many conference opponents. Our level of collective strength and athleticism is not ordinary.

I'm not sure that Sparty will be much of a challenge as they were pushed pretty hard by Navy. I think their top 20 ranking, at this point in the season, is due to reputation.

Looking around the rotation, Semi was 1-6 and 2-5 for 3s against Presbyterian and Fairfield, respectively. Those three point attempts accounted for all of his field goal attempts. He has 3 steals and 6 rebounds total for both games in a combined 30 minutes of play, which are not bad numbers. He is the lone scholarship player with zero assists on the year. I'll be curious to see what kind of minutes Semi gets against MSU and if he can use some of his well advertised muscle down low, when he is in the game.

It is really tough to gauge this early in the season, but I expect Semi to essentially be the last guy on the totem pole (behind Allen) and don't expect to see much of him once ACC play starts. Would naturally be happy and excited to see him as a regular contributor, but even if K plays his deepest rotation in recent memory (ever?) Semi still might not see time in big games.

**Please do not turn this into a 15 page discussion of minute breakdowns and what constitutes being "in the rotation"!

Edouble
11-16-2014, 03:15 AM
It is really tough to gauge this early in the season, but I expect Semi to essentially be the last guy on the totem pole (behind Allen) and don't expect to see much of him once ACC play starts. Would naturally be happy and excited to see him as a regular contributor, but even if K plays his deepest rotation in recent memory (ever?) Semi still might not see time in big games.

**Please do not turn this into a 15 page discussion of minute breakdowns and what constitutes being "in the rotation"!

I agree.

During the second half, we played a lineup of four guards and a big, with no "4". By that, I mean Amile, Justise, and Semi were all on the bench.

The lineup was Grayson, Tyus, Rasheed, Matt, and Marshall. I believe this is the first time we have seen such a lineup this year, including the two exhibition games.

Despite our wealth of guards, if Coach K decides that we can go without Semi when both Amile and Justise are not in the game, Semi may be the first to fall out of the rotation.

FireOgilvie
11-16-2014, 03:40 AM
Agree. FireOgivie posts makes absolutely no sense at all to me. I had great seats tonight thanks to a very kind friend and I thought Rasheed played a really good game, while not even looking for his shot. Outstanding game in fact. He was fully engaged the entire time out there and played with the mindset that he was going to be a beast on defense and facilitator/distributor on offense. He was setting up teammates all game long. He ended up with 4 assists I believe and would have had several more had his teammates made a few more shots. He worked hard to get others shots. THis after playing a really great game last night where he drove several times, each time with his head up and he either finished himself when it was there for him and the right thing, or kicked to an open teammate when it was the right play. His decision making, energy, and attitude has been great in both regular season games. Very refreshing to see him play well.


You're right about his defense and his attitude! I don't disagree. He was pressing on defense, did a great job, and maybe that was his big focus for tonight. Someone asked why he didn't take a shot, etc. and I tried to give my impression from seeing him in the second half. But your post compelled me to go back and re-watch the game parts when he played. People were saying he played the role of distributor tonight, etc.. For stretches of the game, that was absolutely true. He made other players better while not never even thinking about taking a shot; maybe you could call that the ultimate pass-first PG. But, there was the other half of his playing time (~8.5 min) when he literally stood around on offense and touched the ball for a total of maybe 10 seconds. Maybe he was just tired from all of the pressing on defense. He gave 18 good minutes on defense and 9 on offense.

Interestingly, his +/- numbers correspond exactly with his activity level on offense. When he was actively moving, playing PG for a few minutes, and asking for the ball in two sessions on the court, the team was +18 and looked great. When he wasn't in his other two sessions, the team was +0 in roughly the same amount of minutes. He also was on the court for the last minute of the game after Grayson fouled out; I ignored that because we were just running out the clock.

1st half
He actually played PG for several minutes early in the first half in his first stint off the bench. He looked good. He made some nice drives across the top of the paint and passed it to Semi a couple times for 3s (made one) and Amile once down low for a layup. (2 total assists, +/- was +7)

When he came in again for the last part of the first half, he was playing off the ball. He didn't move off the ball; he stood basically in one place on the perimeter and we spaced out the floor. He didn't cut to the basket or put himself in a position to catch and shoot on the perimeter or even really try to get open. Maybe this was by design; I don't know. The offense didn't run through him except for a couple times when he got it while standing 5 feet behind the three point line and tossed it in to Jahlil, who had put himself in great position and scored both times. (2 more assists, +/- was +2 in over 5 min)

2nd half
His first stint in the second half was actually very good, much like when he was playing PG in the first half. He went to get the ball from the PG instead of hanging off to the side and he ended up with 3 of what would count as assists in hockey where his pass led to an assist. That was great. He was aggressive. One of those was when he drove to the free throw line (not at the basket) until a man came to him and he passed it out to the open man on the perimeter. (0 assists, 3 hockey assists, +/- was +11)

Now to the period that I referred to in the second half where he looked disengaged (8 min to go to about 5 min to go). In his second stint off the bench in the 2nd half, he touched the ball on offense for maybe 2 seconds total in 3+ minutes. He got the ball and made a nice pass to Amile, who traveled. But other than that, he was always on the other side of the court from the action. The offense didn't run through him and he he didn't look for it to run through him either. He didn't ask for the ball and never put himself in a position to get the ball or to get an open shot. Coach K pulled him out after 3 minutes. (0 assists in this 3:06 min period, +/- was -2)

Overall, there were two versions of Rasheed out there tonight on offense. One was aggressive coming into the game and out from halftime and +18, the other was not and was +0 in the tail end of the 1st and 2nd halves. Confusingly to me, neither version made any attempt to get open for a shot or score a point, but he did do a great job as a pass-first PG when he was actively engaged and aggressive with the ball.


Also, I thought the stats below were kind of interesting.

From SCACC Hoops data: +/- combos with Rasheed playing with each scholarship player from tonight:

Matt Jones +22
Marshall Plumlee +22
Grayson Allen +12
Tyus Jones +6
Amile Jefferson +6
Quinn Cook +5
Semi Ojeleye +0
Justise Winslow -3
Jahlil Okafor -4

FireOgilvie
11-16-2014, 03:54 AM
I agree.

During the second half, we played a lineup of four guards and a big, with no "4". By that, I mean Amile, Justise, and Semi were all on the bench.

The lineup was Grayson, Tyus, Rasheed, Matt, and Marshall. I believe this is the first time we have seen such a lineup this year, including the two exhibition games.

Despite our wealth of guards, if Coach K decides that we can go without Semi when both Amile and Justise are not in the game, Semi may be the first to fall out of the rotation.

That "no 4" lineup was actually +11, second best overall behind the starting lineup.

Something else I noticed, Justise was +16 with the starting lineup overall, but -3 outside of that. There's still a lot of room for growth as guys get used to playing with each other.

sagegrouse
11-16-2014, 06:31 AM
It is really tough to gauge this early in the season, but I expect Semi to essentially be the last guy on the totem pole (behind Allen) and don't expect to see much of him once ACC play starts. Would naturally be happy and excited to see him as a regular contributor, but even if K plays his deepest rotation in recent memory (ever?) Semi still might not see time in big games.

**Please do not turn this into a 15 page discussion of minute breakdowns and what constitutes being "in the rotation"!

I dunno, Acy. As I channel K, it seems to me his plan to bring his rotation from the FIBA World Cup to Duke is working perfectly. Everyone is playing and contributing:

As shown by his shooting and athleticism, Grayson Allen is gonna play. Besides, he's our lightning rod for opposing fans at ACC road games.
Semi HAS to play -- it's his second year at Duke -- and he is one of our best shooters and our strongest player; otherwise, send him over to Coach Cut.
Matt Jones is a defensive and offensive contributor.
Legendary three-point shooter Marshall P. is a horse and has become an effective college center. He will only improve.
Jah, Justise and Tyus are the best players on the team and play together like they have known each other for years. Oh, they have?.
Cooke, Amile and Rasheed started last year and acquitted themselves well then.

We'll see if "K the Leopard" has changed his spots when we take on Michigan State Tuesday night.

Kindly, Sage
'Isn't it fun to consider that K may change his decades-long pattern?'

Devilwin
11-16-2014, 07:16 AM
My brother, who for some reason yet unknown to me is a UNC fan, said to me, "Y'all ain't played nobody yet."
I agree, but we are dropping 100+ every night! If we had won those games by 15 to 20, I would be concerned. I feel this has the potential to be the best Duke team ever. They're deep, athletic, great shooters, great rebounders, awesome passers, and defensively appear better than last year.
Add our new three point threat Marshall, and you have all the makings of a NCAA title contender!

Troublemaker
11-16-2014, 07:47 AM
As I channel K, it seems to me his plan to bring his rotation from the FIBA World Cup to Duke

Hey Sage, you are possibly more right than you even know, minus one unfortunate stanchion injury. I think Coach K has re-created this past summer's FIBA team in college form.

Okafor --> Davis:... Centerpiece of the team, albeit with different primary strengths; O for Okafor, D for Davis.
Jefferson --> Faried:... Invaluable for his energy and rebounding. Unusual for K that his PF can't shoot.
Winslow --> George:... Physical do-it-all forward that can play the 3 or 4 for K. No stanchions at Cameron!
Cook --> Curry:... PG that plays SG for K. Best shooter on the team. K counts on him to be a leader.
Tyus --> Kyrie:... Tyus and Kyrie are Duke’s two highest-ranked PG recruits of the past 15 years. Terrors in transition.
Matt --> Thompson:... 3-and-D guy off the bench with good size. Perhaps K's best overall perimeter defender.
Sulaimon --> Rose:... Amazing bursts of quickness. Looking to re-capture consistency of a couple years ago.
Ojeleye --> Gay:... Gives K an athletic stretch-4 option to backup Jefferson/Faried.
Allen --> DeRozan:... The (currently) 6th perimeter player trying to move up on the totem pole. Best dunker on the team.
Plumlee --> Cousins:... Enough said. Two human beings that couldn't be more alike. Commence Twilight Zone music.

roywhite
11-16-2014, 07:58 AM
Yeah, an additional nod to the influence of USA Basketball on this team; not only the National team, but the age group teams developed a template that suits this Duke team -- defensive pressure, push the ball in transition, use depth and athleticism to wear down the opponents, good ball movement leading to opportunities near the rim or open 3-pt shots, and play hard.

The style of play (along with their ability and maturity) has made the transition to college basketball easy so far for the freshmen.

slower
11-16-2014, 09:19 AM
Semi HAS to play -- it's his second year at Duke -- and he is one of our best shooters

Of course, he doesn't HAVE to play. And is he REALLY one of our best shooters? That assertion doesn't seem to pass the eye test.

Look, I love the kid, but I just don't see it happening for him this year the way some people are predicting, barring injury to a better player. There's just TOO much talent in front of him. I can absolutely see him being used situationally, as needed against specific opponents.Just my opinion, of course - I'm not one of the greater basketball minds around here.

davekay1971
11-16-2014, 09:30 AM
My brother, who for some reason yet unknown to me is a UNC fan, said to me, "Y'all ain't played nobody yet."
I agree, but we are dropping 100+ every night! If we had won those games by 15 to 20, I would be concerned. I feel this has the potential to be the best Duke team ever. They're deep, athletic, great shooters, great rebounders, awesome passers, and defensively appear better than last year.
Add our new three point threat Marshall, and you have all the makings of a NCAA title contender!

Kindly ask your brother to check UNCs schedule to date and make a fair assessment of how the Heels looked against that competition before disparaging Duke's season to date. Yes, we've played outmatched opponents. We've also destroyed them. UNC played what should have been an outmatched opponent and struggled to generate offense doing so.

I will agree with one implication your brother is making, however: we haven't faced the level of competition that we need to face in order to judge this team's championship potential. The early returns are promising. But, as Coach K said, wait to see how we look after the first 9 days of the season.

slower
11-16-2014, 09:40 AM
As shown by his shooting and athleticism, Grayson Allen is gonna play. Besides, he's our lightning rod for opposing fans at ACC road games.

Agreed, although it still remains to be seen how MUCH he plays. I LOVE this kid - sure, he has the athleticism, but he also has the quiet warrior swagger of Singler (he's obviously not in Kyle's league yet - because Kyle was the ultimate warrior - but it's there). And yeah - people have already started making him the new poster boy for Duke hate. It was inevitable.

ALL the freshmen have "the look." There's no fear in any of their eyes. Even with Jabari last year, you could see the doubt creep in at times. These guys are here to do the job.

Billy Dat
11-16-2014, 10:02 AM
K spent a large chunk of his post-game presser lauding Sheed's recent play. He praised his defense and spoke about how he pushes it end to end quicker than anyone and in a herky-jerky style that gives us a different look. Smells to me like Rasheed is playing exactly the way K wants him to and this praise and attention are meant as re-enforcement.

In second-hand news, on CBS' Eye on College BBall podcast, Gary Parrish said that he was a recent guest on K's Sirius radio show. They talked about the Kentucky platoon and Parrish reported K said it was a highly effective way to figure out who was better when you had a glut of guys around the same skill level. If its not just lip service, maybe Allen, Ojeleye, M.Jones and Rasheed are all getting their chance to separate themselves with Rasheed having a clear leg up as a Junior.

mgtr
11-16-2014, 10:12 AM
Agreed, although it still remains to be seen how MUCH he plays. I LOVE this kid - sure, he has the athleticism, but he also has the quiet warrior swagger of Singler (he's obviously not in Kyle's league yet - because Kyle was the ultimate warrior - but it's there). And yeah - people have already started making him the new poster boy for Duke hate. It was inevitable.

ALL the freshmen have "the look." There's no fear in any of their eyes. Even with Jabari last year, you could see the doubt creep in at times. These guys are here to do the job.

Yes, count me in the Grayson Allen camp. I posted elsewhere that he is "my guy" for a number of reasons. I think he will be a great four-year player at Duke.

moonpie23
11-16-2014, 11:18 AM
something that struck me after the first two games was that there wasn't the kind of "new-guy-star-watching-he's-got-to-dominate-and-win-the-game-for-us-while-we-stand-around-and-watch" that happened with Austin Rivers and Jabari Parker.....

these guys seem to have an excellent "team" mentality already. They also look like they are having fun. :)


let's see what they'll look like when they're down 16.....

Kedsy
11-16-2014, 12:11 PM
I dunno, Acy. As I channel K, it seems to me his plan to bring his rotation from the FIBA World Cup to Duke is working perfectly. Everyone is playing and contributing:


Here's the thing about the World Cup rotation: Team USA didn't play any games with a margin of 20 points or fewer. And in the closest game, a 21 point win over Turkey, only 8 guys played 10 or more minutes. I'm not convinced that Coach K would have played the 9th and 10th man very much if he'd been confronted with a close game against a quality opponent. And I doubt it'll happen much this season, either, in a close game once the calendar shifts to 2015.

Now, if we keep winning games by 50+ points, I think we'll see plenty of everybody. ;)

jimsumner
11-16-2014, 12:28 PM
Half of K's post-game press conference was spent praising Sulaimon. K noted that Sulaimon had a lot of hockey assists, i.e. assists where he made a great pass to player B who assisted player C. But it was player A, i.e. Sulaimon, who started the sequence. And an awful lot of his passes were made off drives, where he very much had his head up and very much was not determined to shoot at all costs.

K also mentioned that Sulaimon's slashing style generates shots against a man-to-man defense but generates passes against a zone, which Fairfield played most of last night. He also mentioned that Sulaimon's future at the next level is at a point and games like last night help him in that regard.

Chemistry? It seems to be really, really good and K has gone out of his way to tell everyone what a good bunch of kids he has this year. Actually he uses the word "great" to describe the personalities and interactions of his team.

And yes, things might change when Duke starts hitting some bumps in the road. But I don't think so. I've been in locker rooms when there were some issues and this isn't one of them.

I think Quinn Cook deserves a lot of credit for this. He's a co-captain and the only senior but it's more than that. He's a senior, incumbent point guard who's had the ball in his hands all of his career. And he's is being asked to give up the reins to a freshman. He could have pouted, could have gone all me-first-entitled-senior.

Instead he's not only accepted this, he's embraced it. He exults in it. He's gone out of his way to help Tyus Jones adapt to college ball, to take away his job. And everyone on the team recognizes this. He's the undisputed leader of this team.

DukieInBrasil
11-16-2014, 03:14 PM
FWIW, i have been very impressed by the team so far. Since i did not get to watch any practices, exhibitions or other venues prior to these two games, i gotta say that i am A) blown away by how well Justise moves on the court, and how he finishes at the rim, B) impressed with how poised and under control Jahlil plays C) pleased with how well the Cook & TJones combo is playing so far and D) mega-impressed with how Jefferson and Sulaimon have taken with their roles on this team.

Justise may have a Maggette or Deng-like season, in which he came in highly regarded but very few were talking 1-and-done, but ended up being 1&D. Everyone assumes that Jahlil is 1&D, and he has done nothing so far to dissuade me from holding that opinion. I have been impressed with everyone on the team so far, withe exception of Semi, who is actually doing everything well except shoot the 3 (and most of his shots have been quality looks withe exception of maybe 1 or 2). He has already shot more 3s this year than he shot all of last year, and Matt has made as many 3s as he made last year, so there's a weird symmetry there.

I have been impressed withe growth of Matt Jones' game. I have been impressed withe play of Allen. I have been impressed with Cook's game and his demeanor.

As a team, Duke came outta the gates playing at a much higher level than either UK or UNCheaters. This looks to be a fun team to watch and follow as a fan, i'm hoping to enjoy the ride!

kAzE
11-16-2014, 03:27 PM
FWIW, i have been very impressed by the team so far. Since i did not get to watch any practices, exhibitions or other venues prior to these two games, i gotta say that i am A) blown away by how well Justise moves on the court, and how he finishes at the rim, B) impressed with how poised and under control Jahlil plays C) pleased with how well the Cook & TJones combo is playing so far and D) mega-impressed with how Jefferson and Sulaimon have taken with their roles on this team.

Justise may have a Maggette or Deng-like season, in which he came in highly regarded but very few were talking 1-and-done, but ended up being 1&D. Everyone assumes that Jahlil is 1&D, and he has done nothing so far to dissuade me from holding that opinion. I have been impressed with everyone on the team so far, withe exception of Semi, who is actually doing everything well except shoot the 3 (and most of his shots have been quality looks withe exception of maybe 1 or 2). He has already shot more 3s this year than he shot all of last year, and Matt has made as many 3s as he made last year, so there's a weird symmetry there.

I have been impressed withe growth of Matt Jones' game. I have been impressed withe play of Allen. I have been impressed with Cook's game and his demeanor.

As a team, Duke came outta the gates playing at a much higher level than either UK or UNCheaters. This looks to be a fun team to watch and follow as a fan, i'm hoping to enjoy the ride!

Chad Ford actually had him #5 on his big board at one point before the season. He's backed off Winslow since then, but I've been saying all along this guy is a lottery pick after 1 year.

BlueSheed
11-16-2014, 05:04 PM
On offense, Sulaimon looked very disengaged. Many times in the second half he would stand way behind the top of the arc off to the side, but not in a position to shoot. I was specifically watching him for several plays in a row because I thought it was so odd. He would just stand there or shuffle his feet a little bit while watching everyone else play. I honestly think he has a lot of trouble whenever we're not running a set play on offense and has no idea what to do off the ball. Previously, he'd at least put himself in a position to get a spot up 3 pointer, but he didn't do that at all today.

When he gets the ball and drives, as others have pointed out the past 2 seasons, he gets tunnel vision and drives to the basket and stays away from contact. He almost never passes when he gets it in his head that he's going to the basket. The game has not slowed down for him on offense, which is surprising considering he is a junior. He doesn't have the natural feel for the game that even the freshmen this year already all seem to have. Some games are obviously better than others when he decides to be super aggressive, but it's not constant. He reminds me of Nolan Smith or Gerald Henderson, where he has so much talent but just hasn't figured out how to be a good basketball player (and they eventually did figure it out and were very good). The opposite is true with guys like Scheyer and seemingly Justise Winslow.

Also, I'm a big Sulaimon fan, and once things "click" for him, I think he's going to be huge for us with his ability to get to the basket.

Have to disagree, Sulaimon has had multiple drive and dishes already two games into the season. I haven't seen any instances of him having tunnel vision this season.

pamtar
11-16-2014, 05:38 PM
Didn't see this up-thread or on ekb but sorry if repost. Good stuff from Duke Blue Planet!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Rv7A3r0a7Ns

howardlander
11-16-2014, 06:07 PM
Didn't see this up-thread or on ekb but sorry if repost. Good stuff from Duke Blue Planet!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Rv7A3r0a7Ns

Anyone know who the guy in the white shirt at the end of the bench is? A recruit?

Howard

millerecu
11-16-2014, 06:18 PM
Sean Obi....transfer

timmy c
11-16-2014, 06:22 PM
Anyone know who the guy in the white shirt at the end of the bench is? A recruit?

Howard

Transfer from Rice, Sean Obi. Despite the white shirt, he is taking a required "red shirt" this year.

Acymetric
11-16-2014, 07:50 PM
Not sure what is funnier to watch...the players or the coaches!

Newton_14
11-16-2014, 08:09 PM
You're right about his defense and his attitude! I don't disagree. He was pressing on defense, did a great job, and maybe that was his big focus for tonight. Someone asked why he didn't take a shot, etc. and I tried to give my impression from seeing him in the second half. But your post compelled me to go back and re-watch the game parts when he played. People were saying he played the role of distributor tonight, etc.. For stretches of the game, that was absolutely true. He made other players better while not never even thinking about taking a shot; maybe you could call that the ultimate pass-first PG. But, there was the other half of his playing time (~8.5 min) when he literally stood around on offense and touched the ball for a total of maybe 10 seconds. Maybe he was just tired from all of the pressing on defense. He gave 18 good minutes on defense and 9 on offense.

Interestingly, his +/- numbers correspond exactly with his activity level on offense. When he was actively moving, playing PG for a few minutes, and asking for the ball in two sessions on the court, the team was +18 and looked great. When he wasn't in his other two sessions, the team was +0 in roughly the same amount of minutes. He also was on the court for the last minute of the game after Grayson fouled out; I ignored that because we were just running out the clock.

1st half
He actually played PG for several minutes early in the first half in his first stint off the bench. He looked good. He made some nice drives across the top of the paint and passed it to Semi a couple times for 3s (made one) and Amile once down low for a layup. (2 total assists, +/- was +7)

When he came in again for the last part of the first half, he was playing off the ball. He didn't move off the ball; he stood basically in one place on the perimeter and we spaced out the floor. He didn't cut to the basket or put himself in a position to catch and shoot on the perimeter or even really try to get open. Maybe this was by design; I don't know. The offense didn't run through him except for a couple times when he got it while standing 5 feet behind the three point line and tossed it in to Jahlil, who had put himself in great position and scored both times. (2 more assists, +/- was +2 in over 5 min)

2nd half
His first stint in the second half was actually very good, much like when he was playing PG in the first half. He went to get the ball from the PG instead of hanging off to the side and he ended up with 3 of what would count as assists in hockey where his pass led to an assist. That was great. He was aggressive. One of those was when he drove to the free throw line (not at the basket) until a man came to him and he passed it out to the open man on the perimeter. (0 assists, 3 hockey assists, +/- was +11)

Now to the period that I referred to in the second half where he looked disengaged (8 min to go to about 5 min to go). In his second stint off the bench in the 2nd half, he touched the ball on offense for maybe 2 seconds total in 3+ minutes. He got the ball and made a nice pass to Amile, who traveled. But other than that, he was always on the other side of the court from the action. The offense didn't run through him and he he didn't look for it to run through him either. He didn't ask for the ball and never put himself in a position to get the ball or to get an open shot. Coach K pulled him out after 3 minutes. (0 assists in this 3:06 min period, +/- was -2)

Overall, there were two versions of Rasheed out there tonight on offense. One was aggressive coming into the game and out from halftime and +18, the other was not and was +0 in the tail end of the 1st and 2nd halves. Confusingly to me, neither version made any attempt to get open for a shot or score a point, but he did do a great job as a pass-first PG when he was actively engaged and aggressive with the ball.


Also, I thought the stats below were kind of interesting.

From SCACC Hoops data: +/- combos with Rasheed playing with each scholarship player from tonight:

Matt Jones +22
Marshall Plumlee +22
Grayson Allen +12
Tyus Jones +6
Amile Jefferson +6
Quinn Cook +5
Semi Ojeleye +0
Justise Winslow -3
Jahlil Okafor -4

Thanks for the reply and please know I was not meaning to ridicule you with my post. I felt kind of bad rereading my post thinking I was a bit too harsh. It was just that I was baffled that the analysis was so different than what I had just witnessed watching Rasheed in person. His attitude and approach the entire game was nothing short of positive.

Jim Sumner hit on one aspect that impacted Rasheed's scoring in that the zones Fairfield played really made driving lanes, especially from the angles Rasheed usually chooses to drive from, very clogged and difficult. It was some kind of hybrid zone that at times looked like a 2-3, a 1-3-1, a 2-2-1, and a 1-2-2. I am sure it confused the kids at times in the first half especially, as it sure as heck confused me in trying to figure out exactly what they were running. One of the weirdest zone looks I have seen. At one point I asked myself "are they trying to mimic the old UNLV Amoeba zone?" At any rate, I did think that defense limited Rasheed's ability to drive for his shot so he very early on decided to drive with the intent to pass to shooters.

In other news, MP3 is looking really good at foul shooting. Very smooth and he looks at ease. That's refreshing. Another thing is Amile. When he catches at the foul line in the high post and the defender is going to layoff him some 5 feet, he HAS TO SHOOT THE BALL!! I screamed at him to do just that last night on one occasion and he did shoot it and made it. I think he can hit that shot and we need him to keep the defender honest and shoot the dang thing. I don't even care if he makes it sometimes. Just pull the trigger and crash the boards if you miss. Shoot the ball young man. You can hit that shot!!

pamtar
11-16-2014, 08:22 PM
Not sure what is funnier to watch...the players or the coaches!

Seriously, not even a smile. That's gotta take some practice.

UrinalCake
11-16-2014, 08:46 PM
It honestly feels sometimes like Coach K entered this season saying "let's just do the exact opposite of what we did last season." Last year was basically everyone watching Parker and Hood go one on one. We had very few assists, and the offense was so often stagnant (despite the fact that our offensive efficiency was very high, among the tops in the country, largely due to shooting so many threes). Our defense was terrible, and of course we had a gaping hole in the middle.

This season, at least so far, we appear to be changing everything. We're sharing the ball and getting everyone involved. Our defense hasn't really been tested, but looks great so far and it does appear that we've changed our scheme. We're using our bench (how many games did we have last year where we continued to play the starters even when the outcome was no longer in doubt?). And of course our biggest strength is having big Oak inside. Nobody is playing out of position, so we don't have to use any gimmicky types of defenses.

gep
11-16-2014, 10:15 PM
Not sure what is funnier to watch...the players or the coaches!

I had to go re-watch that clip to check out the coaches. The first few times I watched that clip, I was mostly concentrating on Quinn and Rasheed. Wow... those two REALLY looked totally happy. The just kept jumping. Even if Marshall didn't see it, I think the feeling in Quinn and Rasheed (as the "elders") to me, speaks well about them.:cool: I think the "team chemistry" is well past the growing/exploring stages.

Bluegrassdevil1
11-16-2014, 10:49 PM
Not sure what is funnier to watch...the players or the coaches!

Credit must be given to Scheyer. For him to not be that far removed from being a player, and yet still maintain the impassive grimace, is a true testament to his dedication to being a coach.

"Is Nate going to smile? No. Certainly not."

"How about Jeff? Nothing to see there."

"Coach K? Wow, now that is expressionless."

"Yeah, so I am just supposed to sit here. Just sit here. Keep sitting still. Even though I played with his brothers and saw him at games all of the time. Just sit. Can I at least raise my arms like Amaker? No. We show nothing. I wish Zoubek had done that. Oh, yeah. I won a national championship. Never mind. Dumb kids."

Acymetric
11-17-2014, 12:18 AM
People keep talking about the coaches being "expressionless" but look again: K clearly puts his hand over his mouth to hide a smile, the other coaches hold back as best they can but they are closer to smiling than remaining stoic. Nate is the first to break (ear scratch to mouth cover, then the camera moves over and we lose him).

Oriole Way
11-17-2014, 02:50 AM
People keep talking about the coaches being "expressionless" but look again: K clearly puts his hand over his mouth to hide a smile, the other coaches hold back as best they can but they are closer to smiling than remaining stoic. Nate is the first to break (ear scratch to mouth cover, then the camera moves over and we lose him).

Yep, Scheyer is by far the coach closest to showing a poker face. And we all know he was grinning ear-to-ear inside.

howardlander
11-17-2014, 08:59 AM
Sean Obi....transfer

Oh right, thanks. Big dude.

Scariest part of the clip is how good Marshall's form looks. Wonder if he is going to take a few more? :)

Howard

CDu
11-17-2014, 09:53 AM
Quinn Cook's reaction just reiterates why I love having him in a Duke uniform. His emotion (when it's to the good) is just unbridled joy to watch. His enthusiasm is just infectious. My only concern was that he was going to hurt either himself or Jefferson or Winslow with his exuberant celebration.

I know he has his downside: streaky player whose emotion can sometimes be a detriment when he's struggling. But his personality is one of my favorite things about this Duke team (and I have many things I like about this Duke team).

Ichabod Drain
11-17-2014, 10:29 AM
Didn't see this up-thread or on ekb but sorry if repost. Good stuff from Duke Blue Planet!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Rv7A3r0a7Ns

This is actually from the Presbyterian game so this may have been discussed in that thread, but with Marshall's shot we had eight players make a three pointer in that game. Every scholarship player sans Jahlil and Amile. I feel like that has to be some kind of record for Duke.

Selover
11-17-2014, 11:28 AM
Quinn Cook's reaction just reiterates why I love having him in a Duke uniform. His emotion (when it's to the good) is just unbridled joy to watch. His enthusiasm is just infectious. My only concern was that he was going to hurt either himself or Jefferson or Winslow with his exuberant celebration.

I know he has his downside: streaky player whose emotion can sometimes be a detriment when he's struggling. But his personality is one of my favorite things about this Duke team (and I have many things I like about this Duke team).

Along these lines, one of my favorite parts of the game was in the second half when Quinn hit a three from the corner and turned around to slap hands with one of the crazies. Maybe not a best practice, but it sure is something to see a player get that fired up with a 30+ point lead.

uh_no
11-17-2014, 01:09 PM
Along these lines, one of my favorite parts of the game was in the second half when Quinn hit a three from the corner and turned around to slap hands with one of the crazies. Maybe not a best practice, but it sure is something to see a player get that fired up with a 30+ point lead.

they way the crazies have been....(phenomenal)...is absolutely deserving of the love the team has given them

i don't care that they've sold some of the section 17 seats, cameron has been ROCKING for 2 games....it doesn't matter if we're up 2 or 50....the place goes nuts when anyone scores.

I love the gesture of the players going and high fiving the fans as thank you immediately after the game. I hope that becomes tradition

jimsumner
11-17-2014, 02:54 PM
I love the gesture of the players going and high fiving the fans as thank you immediately after the game. I hope that becomes tradition

You're not the one on the business end of all those elbows. :)

uh_no
11-17-2014, 04:58 PM
You're not the one on the business end of all those elbows. :)

perhaps you should kindly ask duke to only knock the ball out of bounds on the OTHER side of the floor :D

it's always an interesting interaction with the writers...some are great, some hate it. It's uncomfortable for both the fans in the first row and the writers (i'm sure)...but we're not exactly accomodating to the commentators either...sitting up in the crows nest...not sure which i'd prefer!

I did have several good interactions with writers though. It often helps to introduce yourself and say you'll do your best to ensure both are comfortable. Several times i lent my login to writers having trouble getting on to the wireless!

other times i just prank called the phone on press row....i mean who thought it was a good idea to put the number on that thing....sighhhh

jimsumner
11-17-2014, 05:53 PM
perhaps you should kindly ask duke to only knock the ball out of bounds on the OTHER side of the floor :D

it's always an interesting interaction with the writers...some are great, some hate it. It's uncomfortable for both the fans in the first row and the writers (i'm sure)...but we're not exactly accomodating to the commentators either...sitting up in the crows nest...not sure which i'd prefer!

I did have several good interactions with writers though. It often helps to introduce yourself and say you'll do your best to ensure both are comfortable. Several times i lent my login to writers having trouble getting on to the wireless!

other times i just prank called the phone on press row....i mean who thought it was a good idea to put the number on that thing....sighhhh

Hey, I've drawn a few charges there. Goes with the turf. But this new thing where the players line up and high-five the crazies? Might have to apply for hazard pay.

But, seriously, the energy level in the student section has been very high for four games against hopelessly outmanned competition. Hope they bring that to Wade Thursday night.

uh_no
11-17-2014, 06:35 PM
Hey, I've drawn a few charges there. Goes with the turf. But this new thing where the players line up and high-five the crazies? Might have to apply for hazard pay.

But, seriously, the energy level in the student section has been very high for four games against hopelessly outmanned competition. Hope they bring that to Wade Thursday night.

Pretty much every young alumnus i know is grabbing up tickets. i imagine the student body will be out, especially since they've been pretty good all year

Newton_14
11-17-2014, 09:09 PM
they way the crazies have been....(phenomenal)...is absolutely deserving of the love the team has given them

i don't care that they've sold some of the section 17 seats, cameron has been ROCKING for 2 games....it doesn't matter if we're up 2 or 50....the place goes nuts when anyone scores.

I love the gesture of the players going and high fiving the fans as thank you immediately after the game. I hope that becomes tradition

I am glad you brought this up. I noticed the same thing. Very different from the last few years. Native and crew deserve major props. The undergrads and grads have absolutely packed the joint in both regular season games. I mean packed too. Like sardines in a can packed. Inclusive of the corners on both ends of the non-TV side. They have been very loud too. I love it.

uh_no
11-17-2014, 09:24 PM
I am glad you brought this up. I noticed the same thing. Very different from the last few years. Native and crew deserve major props. The undergrads and grads have absolutely packed the joint in both regular season games. I mean packed too. Like sardines in a can packed. Inclusive of the corners on both ends of the non-TV side. They have been very loud too. I love it.

To be fair, they have been selling a few hundred seats in section 17 (don't know the exact number), but still better attendance than has been, for sure.

Newton_14
11-17-2014, 09:40 PM
To be fair, they have been selling a few hundred seats in section 17 (don't know the exact number), but still better attendance than has been, for sure.

This is true but scanning the crowd both nights it appeared that a good 80% or so? were actually students. Now some of them could have been college aged kids from elsewhere so hard to know the exact number, but l honestly have not seen the wrap around that full and packed in several years. Impressive.

Whats not impressive (thread hijack alert, sorry) is the ridiculous prices Duke is now charging. They have pushed the envelope too far and at some point that bubble is going to burst. The 3 price levels this season are $60, $75, $90, and the exhibitions were treated just like regular season games with the exact same pricing. That is beyond ridiculous an unfortunately for me it is going to mean watching more games on TV this season than I care too. I absolutely love going to games and each season get into as many games as possible with Unc being really the only ticket I can't get for face value. I can usually get into most every other game for face, with a few exceptions here and there. The pricing this year is going to make it very difficult to justify going to all of the games possible. Which sucks.

They are pushing the middle class right out of the gym to be honest, which maybe is the goal? Don't know. Doesn't make any sense.