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View Full Version : MBB: Duke 77, St. Johns 68 Post-Game Thread



JBDuke
01-25-2015, 04:24 PM
Put your post-game thoughts here.

CDu
01-25-2015, 04:26 PM
That was incredibly satisfying. More thoughts later, but man that felt good!

vrob90
01-25-2015, 04:26 PM
What a good win and, with luck, not just for today.

DU82
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
First comment by Coach K about the game is about the "Magic" Marshall brought when he went in.

We know who the best player in the game was (Tyus) but Marshall's the MOTM.

kAzE
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
Putting Marshall in there late really gave us the toughness we needed to pull this one out. He was awesome. Quinn and Tyus were amazing down the stretch as well. Congrats to coach K on 1000. We're truly blessed to have the best basketball coach to ever do it.

grossbus
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
Huge gut check win. Great minutes by MP 3,

DukeDiva
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
Great TEAM effort to fight back! As Coach K said, Marshall gave the spark and the team responded. Congrats to K for 1000 wins.

dukelifer
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
Maybe the most important win of the season. The wheels were falling off- looking like a double digit loss and then an amazing effort led by the big Plum who righted the ship with his steady play and rebounding. T Jones showed he can take over. The shot by Quinn was big time. I gave up but know this is a young team. Grew up a lot today! They learned how to come back- very important lesson. Just wow- hats off to the effort at the end!

gurufrisbee
01-25-2015, 04:28 PM
Congrats to Coach K on the K.

Good road win over a talented team that was getting all the calls. Showed a lot of resolve for our team.

dukelion
01-25-2015, 04:29 PM
Marshall needs regular minutes....I'm not going to go overboard and say he needs to start or play 25+ mins a game......just regular minutes alongside Jah.

hurleyfor3
01-25-2015, 04:29 PM
We'll remember this one.

Emerrick
01-25-2015, 04:29 PM
PlumleeMOTM - his toughness turned this one around! Great day for Coach K!

bbosbbos
01-25-2015, 04:29 PM
At the end of the game there were some good plays. But without Marshall we must be crying now.

91devil
01-25-2015, 04:30 PM
Let's get 1001 in South Bend!

Duke76
01-25-2015, 04:34 PM
Let's get 1001 in South Bend!

end of story

IBleedBlue
01-25-2015, 04:35 PM
I think having Marshall in the game increased the level of defense a couple of notches. His length bothered the guards and not being in the center allowed him to scoop up a handful of rebounds when St.johns players shot long jumpers.
We will have to wait and see if Coach keeps this lineup for Notredame game
Kudos to Dominic Pointer. That guy has serious game. If he keeps up this kind of production, he will be playing the big league.

clodilla
01-25-2015, 04:36 PM
Duke alumna and Army civilian who will stride happily into work tomorrow having watched newly-minted Lt Plumlee help get it done!

DU82
01-25-2015, 04:39 PM
4657

(From MSG and my friend Bill.)

Lulu
01-25-2015, 04:40 PM
I had the same disgusting comcast/fox pixelated garbage as others here, so maybe it made me more sensitive to the commentary, but I've never heard the phrase "got away with" more times during a broadcast. What a joke, but not the highlight of the day.

DUKEinFW
01-25-2015, 04:40 PM
I work in a busy emergency room here in Fort Wayne. About 20 min prior to game time I cleared out the emergency room.... not one patient remained. Amazingly, not 1 patient came in to the ED during this historic game. Even the community is paying reverence to Coach K.

I might just have to jump over to South Bend for the ND game.

Troublemaker
01-25-2015, 04:43 PM
Ho-hum.

Dominate down the stretch of the game by using a zone, playing two centers together, and giving the 7th and 8th men extensive minutes.

Typical Duke win that we've seen a thousand times during Coach K's career.

Duke76
01-25-2015, 04:44 PM
4657

(From MSG and my friend Bill.)

and they took it and took it and then gave it and gave it and kept their poise so well! Surely the freshmen learned what NCAA tournament play was about today...the refs really let it go like in the tournament....they will really use this IMO to propel them on....so so proud to be a Blue Devil today

gurufrisbee
01-25-2015, 04:46 PM
Fox doesn't really know anything about college basketball, but they did a nice job with the post game tribute to Coach K. And even the comments from other coaches (Self, Calipari, Boeheim, even Roy) were pretty nice and funny.

weezie
01-25-2015, 04:46 PM
With the exception of the wacky timeout indicator, Fox was a blessed relief today. I have a very serious crush on Gus Johnson's vocal chords.

Dukehky
01-25-2015, 04:51 PM
With the exception of the wacky timeout indicator, Fox was a blessed relief today. I have a very serious crush on Gus Johnson's vocal chords.

I thought Jim Jackson was terrible.

I mentioned this in the chat, but I got tired of hearing Jackson, and Gus doesn't know that much about what's going on, he's just excitable, so I muted the tv. During the vast majority of the comeback, the Grateful Dead channel on Pandora had a 20 minute version of Terrapin Station. I give credit to that for the big comeback.

I really liked the little Forever Young segment right after the game. Bob Dylan doesn't get enough tv time. But that really reminded me of a SuperBowl commercial. Fox has practice with that though.

hurleyfor3
01-25-2015, 04:53 PM
I have a very serious crush on Gus Johnson's vocal chords.

I have a very serious crush on Molly McGrath.

lmb
01-25-2015, 04:56 PM
Right before they went on the run, I was complaining to my husband that they haven't fought back when trailing big yet this year. I was begging for Plumlee and he came up huge!

I haven't hollered that much during a game in a long time. So satisfying!

I'm sure they're all relieved to get this out of the way before these next 2 tough conference games. I'm sure K is glad not to have to face Brey with all the 1000 stuff swirling

gotoguy
01-25-2015, 04:57 PM
Congrats to the team for a gritty comeback and to Coach Krzyzewski for 1000 wins. Here's to never forgetting!

cptnflash
01-25-2015, 04:59 PM
With the exception of the wacky timeout indicator, Fox was a blessed relief today. I have a very serious crush on Gus Johnson's vocal chords.

+1 to this. Such a shame that Gus isn't doing the NCAA tournament any more. His basketball-calling talents are wasted at Fox.

Otherwise, a fantastic win for our guys, and quite an amazing turnaround in an extremely pressurized atmosphere. After giving up 59 points in the first 30 minutes, we only allowed 9 in the last 10. Zone defence to the rescue again!

Now it really gets difficult. The next two games will pretty much determine whether we have a shot to win the regular season title. Still need some help from the Hoos!

arnie
01-25-2015, 05:00 PM
Ho-hum.

Dominate down the stretch of the game by using a zone, playing two centers together, and giving the 7th and 8th men extensive minutes.

Typical Duke win that we've seen a thousand times during Coach K's career.

This might be trend for next thousand.

gotoguy
01-25-2015, 05:01 PM
Ho-hum.

Dominate down the stretch of the game by using a zone, playing two centers together, and giving the 7th and 8th men extensive minutes.

Typical Duke win that we've seen a thousand times during Coach K's career.



LOL spot on!

weezie
01-25-2015, 05:02 PM
I have a very serious crush on Molly McGrath.

Uhoh, I'm telling Erin.......

duke74
01-25-2015, 05:04 PM
Tough opponent, bordering on the dirty. Jah quiet most of the game but was being mugged. Will have bruises and fingerprints all over him tonight. Displayed his toughness near the end and showed a lot of emotion for him. Tyus was money on D and O all nite esp in last few minutes.

MP3 was the key for me. Brought grit and emotion. Played tough in the zone on the baseline wing and hit the boards.

Were fortunate to win. It a real learning opp with the W.

DukieInBrasil
01-25-2015, 05:04 PM
what happened with that StJ's 3 at the end of the half? I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the video clearly showed the ball in his hand with 0 on the shot clock. Yet, they counted the shot. It was weird, along withe rest of the officiating in today's game.

hurleyfor3
01-25-2015, 05:05 PM
what happened with that StJ's 3 at the end of the half?

Um, they counted it?

Brian Davis got that goaltend against unlv on what would have been an airball. So maybe it was a makeup for that.

Bob Green
01-25-2015, 05:08 PM
what happened with that StJ's 3 at the end of the half? I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the video clearly showed the ball in his hand with 0 on the shot clock. Yet, they counted the shot. It was weird, along withe rest of the officiating in today's game.

The announcers said the shot clock isn't reviewable, only the game clock.

Jarhead
01-25-2015, 05:10 PM
Fox doesn't really know anything about college basketball, but they did a nice job with the post game tribute to Coach K. And even the comments from other coaches (Self, Calipari, Boeheim, even Roy) were pretty nice and funny.

Even Wojo!!!;)

Bob Green
01-25-2015, 05:12 PM
I have a very serious crush on Molly McGrath.

I'm sure she is a nice person and intelligent and all that...but she is some serious eye candy!

6th Man
01-25-2015, 05:12 PM
What a great way to get 1,000! Intense basketball game with incredible heart down the stretch. Memorable game by a coach that has produced many memorable moments. Fitting.

NancyCarol
01-25-2015, 05:13 PM
who cried just a little? Or are you guys too tough for that :)

Saratoga2
01-25-2015, 05:13 PM
For a large part of the game, out defensive weakness in stopping transition was obvious. Our effort was miles behind St John's and our offense was not going well since Justise is still having his issues and Rasheed was back at his frenetic style. We found it very difficult to get Jahlil a lot of touches and it looked like it would be another tough loss. Coach K did attempt to find players that would match St Johns intensity, but it just wasn't happening. Even our zone couldn't stop open shots from penetration.

When Amile's fouls got up in number coach K went to the two big lineup with the zone and St John's stopped getting good looks inside. Our energy level went up and we got excellent leadership from Tyus, Quinn and Jahlil. From there on we seemed to be the ones with the energy and our guys were making shots and free throws. File this one in the category of finding an effective lineup that can match opponents in energy level and is pretty creative in scoring.

Congratulations to Coach K and the kids for giving us and exciting win for his 1000th. Now we need to get Justise back to playing the great all around style he showed earlier in the season and Rasheed has his very good moments, we just need more of those.

My hopes for Tyus coming alive offensively have certainly been realized. He has all the tools to be a great two way player.

szstark
01-25-2015, 05:14 PM
The announcers said the shot clock isn't reviewable, only the game clock.

I thought they said the shot clock was only reviewable at the end of the game or the end of overtime, not a halftime.

OldPhiKap
01-25-2015, 05:15 PM
I thought Jim Jackson was terrible.

I mentioned this in the chat, but I got tired of hearing Jackson, and Gus doesn't know that much about what's going on, he's just excitable, so I muted the tv. During the vast majority of the comeback, the Grateful Dead channel on Pandora had a 20 minute version of Terrapin Station. I give credit to that for the big comeback.

"Inspiration, move me brightly . . . ."

Duke31122
01-25-2015, 05:15 PM
Man some bad D again in the first half plagued us. My hope is they keep learning, and grow as a team these next couple months. Great effort the last 8 minutes. Very proud of the guys and how they stepped up.

Bob Green
01-25-2015, 05:16 PM
who cried just a little? Or are you guys too tough for that :)

The last time I cried after a Duke basketball game was 1986...I was 27.

jipops
01-25-2015, 05:16 PM
Great win that was badly needed. Plumlee gave us the toughness we needed and Quinn, Tyus, and Jah made huge plays on offense. We were also very fortunate that they started missing jump shots over the final 9 minutes. They continued to get some clean looks but thank goodness those didn't go down.

Excellent resolve showed by this team. They really looked ready to fold. But once they got a window they jumped on it.

Bob Green
01-25-2015, 05:17 PM
I thought they said the shot clock was only reviewable at the end of the game or the end of overtime, not a halftime.

Perhaps you are correct, I'm not sure.

BlueHeaven
01-25-2015, 05:24 PM
"Inspiration, move me brightly . . . ."

I guess you'll be listening to a lot of Grateful Dead for the remainder of the season. I was as stressed for this as for some final four games. South Bend, here we come.

TruBlu
01-25-2015, 05:24 PM
Great comeback. Team showed heart. 1K. :D

During the last 4 minutes of the game, my 18 month old Granddaughter (and parents) were packing up their stuff for a return trip to Indiana after a week long visit.:( :( :(

mgtr
01-25-2015, 05:28 PM
Subs to the rescue. Sort of like old westerns when you would hear the bugle and someone would shout "here comes the cavalry!" Great play off the bench, every bit was needed today.

subzero02
01-25-2015, 05:29 PM
I want a healthy Winslow back... A transition game like this really should be right down his alley

DukeDevil
01-25-2015, 05:31 PM
Random thoughts:

I would love to see MP3s plus minus in the second half...talk about bringing the energy. This game had all the ingredients for a blowout loss. Ref calls against us, opponent making absurd shots (falling away backwards fadeaway? are you serious?). Team visibly frustrated. etc. Then MP3 came in and the offense fed off the defense. It was amazing.

Anybody else think that "inadvertent whistle" was just the ref autowhistling Plumlee for a foul because he was close to their ballhandler? Then they realized he was running away from the guy and was never even close to making contact...I kid I kid but seriously...

I hate saying this about anyone...but that Harrison kid was a punk. Pushing people aside from behind. Fouling unnecessarily hard, etc.

The end of the first half 3 was just an absurd situation. My understanding is the "beating the shot clock" decision isn't review able. If there was no shot clock and he took the shot as time expired, they could have reviewed and overturned it. Regardless, it was a crummy call. I obviously have royal blue tinted glasses but I didn't think it was close.

The two reviewed plays that they just called fouls both seemed like they should have been flagrant 1s at least (or a Flagrant 12 for the second one as someone in chat commented). Just absurd. Harrison's shove from behind (I forget who was involved) during a scrum for a rebound on the ground was plain dangerous.

To end on a positive note...I'm glad the game went down this way. This team needed a win where they had to overcome adversity, buckle down, get their attitudes back in line, and win.

the 1K logo on the hats/shirts was sick. Someone did a good job with that.

All hail K.

OldPhiKap
01-25-2015, 05:32 PM
I guess you'll be listening to a lot of Grateful Dead for the remainder of the season.

The sacrifices I make.


I want a healthy Winslow back... A transition game like this really should be right down his alley

We are a much different team with Winslow as a scoring threat. Hope he gets his mojo back and feels better.

DU82
01-25-2015, 05:41 PM
Subs to the rescue. Sort of like old westerns when you would hear the bugle and someone would shout "here comes the cavalry!" Great play off the bench, every bit was needed today.

And the Army (Marshall) was up to the task!

subzero02
01-25-2015, 05:41 PM
The sacrifices I make.



We are a much different team with Winslow as a scoring threat. Hope he gets his mojo back and feels better.

I imagine if he were 100 percent he could've made a huge impact in slowing down their fast break offense...

Leelee902
01-25-2015, 05:43 PM
Said it on the motm thread, Matt Jones deserves some props today as well. He and mp3 came in and brought some real toughness. Matt got two super tough offensive rebounds off FT misses at the end that really showed we were here to fight.

Duke76
01-25-2015, 05:47 PM
Said it on the motm thread, Matt Jones deserves some props today as well. He and mp3 came in and brought some real toughness. Matt got two super tough offensive rebounds off FT misses at the end that really showed we were here to fight.

really think Cook is the one offensively who started it with the drive and one and then the 3 pointer....and then Tyus got that leaner to go.....then his 3 pointer was "money" this game should really give the team great confidence.....they still need to work on their lateral movement on defense....for another time tho

Leelee902
01-25-2015, 05:53 PM
I think the bench brought the spark, then our starters joined in and took over fanning the fire from there. But yes, clearly that step back three from Quinn was huge!

hudlow
01-25-2015, 05:55 PM
who cried just a little? Or are you guys too tough for that :)

I thought about it, but decided my time was better spent getting a beer.

GO DUKE!

MartyClark
01-25-2015, 06:00 PM
really think Cook is the one offensively who started it with the drive and one and then the 3 pointer....and then Tyus got that leaner to go.....then his 3 pointer was "money" this game should really give the team great confidence.....they still need to work on their lateral movement on defense....for another time tho

Yeah, I agree. It's time for some public display of affection for Quinn Cook. He came in highly recruited but injured. He may not have the size or lateral speed to be dominant but the kid is tough, smart, talented, and always willing to give his best. He's had a really good year.

tbyers11
01-25-2015, 06:01 PM
Ho-hum.

Dominate down the stretch of the game by using a zone, playing two centers together, and giving the 7th and 8th men extensive minutes.

Typical Duke win that we've seen a thousand times during Coach K's career.

Can't spork you but wanted say that I loved this post!

DukeHLM'13
01-25-2015, 06:03 PM
A huge stat that probably goes unnoticed is that our bench players had 15 rebounds. 5 out of Marshall I guess is about what you'd expect, but I'm almost sure above his season average, but Matt and Sheed combining for another 10 rebounds is huge!

I think this win does a lot for the confidence of this team going forward. We really hadn't responded to adversity well this season and never really showed much fight in the 2 losses once it wasn't going our way. But today we were really able to pull it back together after looking pretty terrible for about 20 or so minutes in the middle of the game.

ncexnyc
01-25-2015, 06:09 PM
I was starting to have flashbacks of our last MSG debacle against St. Johns and suddenly MP3 came in to give us a huge spark. WOW, in fact let's throw in another WOW just for good measure.

The team really amped up the intensity and hit several key shots down the stretch.

A great team effort and a nice way for Coach K to score his milestone victory.

Duvall
01-25-2015, 06:15 PM
Hey, how about that new MSG? Those renovations look great.

BobbyFan
01-25-2015, 06:25 PM
We have a new entry into the K's greatest wins list.

dairedevil
01-25-2015, 06:27 PM
First, congratulations to Coach K! I'm so glad that landmark is behind, and the pressure and distraction to reach it is off of this young team.

I had a meeting this afternoon, so I taped the game. I watched with my mom. She keeps a season notebook, keeping track of the fouls, and making notes about the game. Since she is 88 and can't hear very well, I usually follow the play by play on the computer. That way, I can let her know who gets called for the foul without having to listen to the announcers ;) I also was looking at the in-game thread. So, I knew the outcome before I saw it, and knew a few things to look for.

A few observations:

This game reminded me how much I hated the Big East style - just brutal, physical play. I don't like watching a game worrying that someone is going to get hurt.

I was glad to see this team adapt to the in-game changes that K made, to see Plumlee make some critical rebounds, and to see these guys dig deep and pull out a tough road win in a game that they very easily could have lost. One of the last closeups that they showed of Okafor he looked completely drained and exhausted.

Often a loss is described as a learning experience. I think /hope that today this team learned a lot about themselves and gained the confidence that they can find a way to win, even in tough situations when it appears all may be lost.

I appreciate that Lavin pulled his players off the court the last 30 seconds and allowed Duke to savor the record. For all the physical play, the St. Johns team appeared gracious to K and the team in the post-game handshakes.

weezie
01-25-2015, 06:30 PM
Hey, how about that new MSG? Those renovations look great.

During post presser K said Lou Carnesecca stopped by before game and said, "Don't steal the chandeliers. "

duke74
01-25-2015, 06:31 PM
Often a loss is described as a learning experience. I think /hope that today this team learned a lot about themselves and gained the confidence that they can find a way to win, even in tough situations when it appears all may be lost.

I appreciate that Lavin pulled his players off the court the last 30 seconds and allowed Duke to savor the record. For all the physical play, the St. Johns team appeared gracious to K and the team in the post-game handshakes.

Agree with this. My son (T'02) had the same comment (we were there) about Lavin's move. Showed class.

dairedevil
01-25-2015, 06:38 PM
Oh, and I almost forgot.....Plumlee's floor slap!

duke74
01-25-2015, 06:41 PM
Oh, and I almost forgot.....Plumlee's floor slap!

I think I also saw one by Tyus, as we strengthened up....

FerryFor50
01-25-2015, 07:09 PM
Gutsy win.

Going in to this, I worried about St. John's guard play - they have athleticism.

I was also concerned with their shot blocking bigs.

And their physical Bug East style, especially if the calls did not go their way. How would this young team respond?

Then I watched Duke build an 11 point lead, only to watch it evaporate as those concerns came to fruition.

Athletic drives. Transition buckets. Physical play with refs allowing it. Contested shots falling. Getting outmuscled and outhustled.

When the iligitimate 3 fell well after the shot clock for a 4 point Red Storm lead, I thought there was no way St Johns could keep up that torrid 54% shooting.

At the beginning of the 2nd half, it was looking like I was wrong. St. Johns poured it on and built a 10 point lead. K and Duke tried everything. Man to man. Zone. Full court press. Grayson Allen. Nothing worked... That is, until K showed why he has 1000 wins.

MP3 (MP now stands for military police) checked in to the game and made an immediate impact alongside Jahlil Okafor. He skied for rebounds that were barely escaping Amile Jefferson. He scored. He protected the rim. He brought energy and toughness that ignited the Devils as they raced to a 9 point win with hustle, heart and aggressiveness that we have not seen from them all year.

They grew up in real time. Proud of this win, especially considering some of the classless physicality the Johnnies showed. 2 uncalled flagrant fouls, one of them complete with a stare down/stand over by De La Rosa that is at least worth a taunting technical foul.

Then the uncalled two hand push of Matt Jones by Harrison that led to a Duke turnover and chippy play as the loss was cemented? Plus the pregame smack talk?

Glad K got 1000. Glad it was against this St Johns team and Steve Lavin. And glad they gave the Johnnies hope before ripping the still beating heart out of their chests on their home court.

53n206
01-25-2015, 07:32 PM
I can only say, thank you coach K for being at Duke.

Gargoyle
01-25-2015, 08:08 PM
Here's a write-up from SI about K's 1000th win.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/01/25/mike-krzyzewski-duke-blue-devils-1000-wins

Rich
01-25-2015, 08:30 PM
I love and am proud to be a part of Duke basketball and Coach K history. #coach1k

4658

4659

roywhite
01-25-2015, 08:57 PM
I'd prefer a gluten-free discussion of Coach K's great accomplishment.

I loved the fight Duke showed in the last 10 minutes; it's been a characteristic of so many big wins throughout Coach K's career.

bluenorth
01-25-2015, 09:03 PM
What a great way for Coach K to achieve this milestone. It'll be much more memorable for the way Duke won than if SJU had merely rolled over. I thought that Lavin did a classy thing at the end by not perpetuating the usual parade of fouls, as so many other coaches might have done in the name of a few teaching moments. As far as the foul on Tyus Jones, the guy holding the whistle had the only opinion that counted. Stealing a phrase from an old sportswriter, What could have happened, did happen. Now on to South Bend for a reunion with Coach Brey.

gep
01-25-2015, 09:13 PM
I am so happy with this win. Things were looking ripe for another disheartening, spirit-crushing loss. But instead, our guys found the resolve to pull it out. I don't want to make too much of a single win, but I hope this is the type of win we can look back at and say was season-changing.

Like in February (?) 2010 against Maryland (?) with Zoub's coming-out party? :cool: [my memory may not be correct...] GO DUKE!!!

Newton_14
01-25-2015, 09:23 PM
Lots of random thoughts on this one, many of them covered already so apologies for repetitiveness. I have had to be away from the boards for awhile so forgive me if I show a lack of knowledge on some topics. First, congrats to Coach K and every current and former Duke player, manager, coach, trainer. Just a huge accomplishment and we are privileged as heck to have both witnessed and been a part of the history as fans.

I was worried all week, and up until the tip that the hype was just going to be too much on our young team but, they got it done. That they were knocked to the canvas literally and figuratively, and were down for the count, yet somehow managed to get themselves up off the floor and fight back was impressive. Say what you want, but teams with lesser mental toughness would have folded and gotten run out of the building. I wasn't sure they had it in them, but they showed me something today.

Counting the 3 to end the half was laughable and as poor of officiating as I have seen in awhile and that was just one of numerous missteps by the guys in striped shirts. After watching the mugging of Amile, the mugging of Rasheed, the pushdown of Matt Jones, and the pushdown of Quinn, I will just say St Johns is the dirtiest team we have played in awhile and leave it at that. Making the comeback against a group like that was quite satisfying. I did not see much laughter from the Red jersey's after the 26-7 run to close out the game.

Great job Marshall Plumlee. His defense, rebounding, and toughness in those last 10 minutes helped turn the game back in our favor. We had used the twin towers look in the Wofford game with pretty good success and FerryFor50 and I both discussed that we felt like that was practice for a conference opponent, so I was sort of surprised we had not seen it yet in conference play. I thought it helped our interior defense a lot, and it helped rebounding on both ends. I hope we see it more often, at least in stretches. MP3 can play. He is not Jahlil on the block by any stretch but his footwork is good, and he has developed good touch around the rim. Much more poised than he used to be when catching on the block. We need every offensive weapon we can get so I am all for giving him a small amount of touches down there (like with Amile), and then both asking and expecting him to get us points.

Winslow- I have to believe this kid is hurting way more than anyone has let on. He is far too good of a player to not be able to get to the rim and finish, and to be mired in the slump he is in, for injuries to not be a part of the equation. I was hoping the week off would help him heal but in my view he is clearly not his normal self. It wasn't that long ago he was jumping over a player to block a shot. He just doesn't have the strength and explosiveness he has shown us when healthy. We need him back so hopefully he heals up soon. Being a freshman doesn't help, so I think that is likely a factor as well, but injuries have to be a factor.

Good to see Quinn knocking down shots again. He and Tyus both were big today on offense, as was Jahlil who just continues to wow us every game. I loved his final basket on the block where he just bulled the guy right to the rack and finished thru heavy contact with no foul called. That's right about the time the laughing stopped. The final offensive dagger was the Tyus 3 from the corner on the assist from Quinn. Amile also scored the ball effectively despite the right cross to the nose.

Defense- We had a bday party for both kids today as their bdays are only 7 calendar days apart in January, so I had a houseful of people during the game, with no sound, and lots of distractions, so after everyone left I watched it again alone, on the DVR. Regarding our defense and the game itself, really, I was reminded of the opening line of The Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". I thought our defense in m2m to open the game was actually pretty good. They were active and showing intensity. Then from midway 1st half to midway 2nd half our defense on the whole was nonexistent and the transition defense was in a word, horrible. Once MP3, came in with 10 to go, the intensity came back, we were far more active, and started getting a hand in the face of shooters and protecting the rim. I do agree wholeheartedly with Coach K on one thing he has said and do not believe it is "Coachspeak", in that I believe this particular team plays much better defense when they are making shots themselves. With Winslow not 100%, it appears that maybe our best defensive unit is Jahlil/MP3/Matt/Rasheed and one of Tyus/Quinn, and since the latter two are going to be on the floor most of the time, take one of Matt/Rasheed. The unit of Tyus/Quinn/Matt/MP3/Jahlil got the ship righted today for instance and started getting stops.

Personally, and take it FWIW, just my opinion, I think to maximize the success for this team, K is going to have to continue on this current path he is on and mix up the defenses throughout the game, using all of "man to man", "zone", "fullcourt press no trapping", "fullcourt press trapping", "halfcourt press trapping, with fall back into zone". K has used all of those in the last two games alone. I hope he continues to work on developing them in all 5 of those defenses, sometimes using man more or zone more depending on opponent. I think that is their best chance for success. The transition defense can get better by simply forcing more hustle getting back, and forcing them to understand you cannot stop to celebrate a made basket, or argue a call or pout on missed baskets for even a half second. You just can't do it because every team is now looking to push it as fast as possible to take advantage of what is right now a very weak transition defense. I swear hustle and determination can cut down on 50% of that right away.

One other quick thought and sorry for the long post. I have no idea if K did this or not, but he could have used today as a "practice" for a Championship type game. With how it was hyped, how it was attended, treated, etc, right down to passing out hats and shirts at the end, it had the feel of a championship game which was a great experience for the team to go through, and something no other team in the country (outside of St Johns obviously) will have a chance to simulate. Have no idea if they approached it that way but either way it was a great experience for our team, and it ended up being a great day. Great day for the Duke Blue Devils! Go Duke!

P.S.> As I write this NC State has just poo poo-ed away a win at home against ND and we needed State to pull that upset! Up 5 with a minute to go, up 2 with less than 5 seconds to go and they can't finish. Went to OT and they had a lead there too. A last minute 3 to tie it was halfway down and spun out! Blew a 18 point lead...sigh:(

Billy Dat
01-25-2015, 09:25 PM
As for the game, what an awesome display of toughness down the stretch. St. John's tried their hardest to dirty up the game, and for about 30+ minutes it worked. But thankfully Cook, Plumlee, the Jones bros, and Okafor just refused to let us lose. Just a monster, monster finish.

I am so happy with this win. Things were looking ripe for another disheartening, spirit-crushing loss. But instead, our guys found the resolve to pull it out. I don't want to make too much of a single win, but I hope this is the type of win we can look back at and say was season-changing.

All I kept thinking down the stretch was how remarkable it was that Plumlee and Matt Jones were part of the 5 that made it happen. I never would have pegged Okafor, Jones, Jones, Cook and Plumlee as a comeback line-up.

I, too, am thrilled with the win for so many reasons. Knowing K would eventually reach this milestone, I just wanted it to happen so that it could be properly celebrated and then moved past. With the unexpected conference losses, it was starting to loom too large for too long. When it looked like we would lose, I feared the road games with ND and UVA might push it out another week, at which point this board would have been in a complete free fall. Instead, we got an EPIC win.

Without doing too much research, it feels like the best comeback win since Austin Rivers 3 against the Holes. It doesn't surpass that ending, but it was close.

The game was extremely intense, and I really thought we were going to fold with about 10 to go when we couldn't seem to chip away at that double digit lead. But, the comeback started exactly when it needed to, early enough to make it happen and not so late that we'd start to panic too early. There were so many big shots, especially Quinn's 3 to take the lead and Tyus' 3 to seal it. The Jah 3 point play was awesome. It was really a charged atmosphere.

What else can be said about Marshall? All of a sudden, that Twin Towers look feels like another part of the defensive evolution. One assumes he'll get more opportunities, I wonder if K would start him based on this performance? Notre Dame is so small, that wouldn't really make sense. Still, he was so big today. What a week for him.

I am getting worried about Justise as I think he's a very important player, but we are kind of playing "next man up" and these reserves are looking ready. I was shocked when he went with Grayson in the first half, but K was obviously looking for some toughness, some energy..something.

The recency effect is in play, but with the milestone, the comeback and the rocking MSG, this win trumped Wisconsin in my book. It just felt bigger on many levels. Congrats, Coach!

freshmanjs
01-25-2015, 09:26 PM
4661

uh_no
01-25-2015, 09:45 PM
i'm not one for largely arbitrary milestones. so refuse to get especially worked up about win 3e8.

From a high perspective, the team played terribly for 32 minutes, and out of this world for 8.

I tried to compile some numbers, but the SCACC numbers are messed up for this game. Either way, for the first 32 minutes, st johns put up like a 130+ on offense...and then a sub-20 for the rest of the game.

This inconsistency closely aligns with the pitt game, where we played great for the first half, and then really poorly in the second half, as well as the BC game where we had a killer 10 minutes, and then very poor other 30.

On the game, we ended up at about where we should have been per kenpom....but that's NOT good news....unless we want to go into march with a barely top 50 defense.....we want to be seeing improving performances, but we're seeing reinforcing performances.

Is the novelty of the zone wearing off? have we lost the element of surprise? I saw a lot of confusion at times....the reds were screening the guards at the top of the zone and walking into the lane like celebrities on the red carpet....and we are largely unable to set any defense after coming back in fast transition...sometimes even after 5 or 10 seconds we're still all over the place.

I expect that changing schemes up takes time to get used to....but at some point i hope to see progress rather than performances at our current mediocre rating.

It's frustrating that we show we can do it....for long stretches.....we shut them down completely down the stretch....how could we be so inept at stopping them the rest of the time? I concede there was a big game feel (surprise there will be in march too...better get used to it), and that there were foul issues....but this defense still has a long way to go....and january becomes february in a week.

to not take the wind out of the sails: it was incredible what this team did down the end. I was about to get up and head out when we were down 10....and then BAM. we saw something we didn't see in either of our two losses....we punched back instead of getting down. having that experience is certainly beneficial to the team.

that's one for the ages, but doesn't allay my worries long term

gofurman
01-25-2015, 09:46 PM
Couldn't watch the game. What is wrong with Winslow? Just illness? Or something physical like an ankle? Thanks for information

jv001
01-25-2015, 09:51 PM
i'm not one for largely arbitrary milestones. so refuse to get especially worked up about win 3e8.

From a high perspective, the team played terribly for 32 minutes, and out of this world for 8.

I tried to compile some numbers, but the SCACC numbers are messed up for this game. Either way, for the first 32 minutes, st johns put up like a 130+ on offense...and then a sub-20 for the rest of the game.

This inconsistency closely aligns with the pitt game, where we played great for the first half, and then really poorly in the second half, as well as the BC game where we had a killer 10 minutes, and then very poor other 30.

On the game, we ended up at about where we should have been per kenpom....but that's NOT good news....unless we want to go into march with a barely top 50 defense.....we want to be seeing improving performances, but we're seeing reinforcing performances.

Is the novelty of the zone wearing off? have we lost the element of surprise? I saw a lot of confusion at times....the reds were screening the guards at the top of the zone and walking into the lane like celebrities on the red carpet....and we are largely unable to set any defense after coming back in fast transition...sometimes even after 5 or 10 seconds we're still all over the place.

I expect that changing schemes up takes time to get used to....but at some point i hope to see progress rather than performances at our current mediocre rating.

It's frustrating that we show we can do it....for long stretches.....we shut them down completely down the stretch....how could we be so inept at stopping them the rest of the time? I concede there was a big game feel (surprise there will be in march too...better get used to it), and that there were foul issues....but this defense still has a long way to go....and january becomes february in a week.

to not take the wind out of the sails: it was incredible what this team did down the end. I was about to get up and head out when we were down 10....and then BAM. we saw something we didn't see in either of our two losses....we punched back instead of getting down. having that experience is certainly beneficial to the team.

that's one for the ages, but doesn't allay my worries long term

I think the Zone really began to work when Coach K put MPIII in the game with Jahlil. Marshall's length really helped cover more of the court. It especially helped when the ball went into the middle. And don't forget Matt's play in the zone as well. I don't see how Coach K can use that lineup for much of the game, but it can be a stopper on defense for short stretches. GoDuke!

tbyers11
01-25-2015, 09:54 PM
Couldn't watch the game. What is wrong with Winslow? Just illness? Or something physical like an ankle? Thanks for information

He's had a shoulder issue for a few weeks now. He also bruised some ribs in the last game against Pitt. I have wondered if physical issues have played a bigger role in his recent slump than we have been led to believe. I think it was pretty unmistakeable today that he is not himself physically. That being said he can't be hurt that badly or he would be in street clothes. The injuries have taken a toll but he is in a slump that is more than just purely injury-related. Here's to Justise getting healthy and playing more like Nov/Dec Justise. We'll need him.

Devilwin
01-25-2015, 09:56 PM
Random thoughts:

I would love to see MP3s plus minus in the second half...talk about bringing the energy. This game had all the ingredients for a blowout loss. Ref calls against us, opponent making absurd shots (falling away backwards fadeaway? are you serious?). Team visibly frustrated. etc. Then MP3 came in and the offense fed off the defense. It was amazing.

Anybody else think that "inadvertent whistle" was just the ref autowhistling Plumlee for a foul because he was close to their ballhandler? Then they realized he was running away from the guy and was never even close to making contact...I kid I kid but seriously...

I hate saying this about anyone...but that Harrison kid was a punk. Pushing people aside from behind. Fouling unnecessarily hard, etc.

The end of the first half 3 was just an absurd situation. My understanding is the "beating the shot clock" decision isn't review able. If there was no shot clock and he took the shot as time expired, they could have reviewed and overturned it. Regardless, it was a crummy call. I obviously have royal blue tinted glasses but I didn't think it was close.

The two reviewed plays that they just called fouls both seemed like they should have been flagrant 1s at least (or a Flagrant 12 for the second one as someone in chat commented). Just absurd. Harrison's shove from behind (I forget who was involved) during a scrum for a rebound on the ground was plain dangerous.

To end on a positive note...I'm glad the game went down this way. This team needed a win where they had to overcome adversity, buckle down, get their attitudes back in line, and win.

the 1K logo on the hats/shirts was sick. Someone did a good job with that.

All hail K.

They seemed to miss a lot of calls not mentioned here yet. Harrison had a blatant walk under the basket in the second half, and on one play the St John's kid touched the ball, it hit the end line, he recovered it and play continued. This happened under our basket in the second half.
Anyway, the team showed great determination when it counted, and I for one am extremely proud of the way they fought through adversity to win.
Maybe now the monkey is off their backs with the historical win, and the play can continue to improve. I also liked the two bigs in there together, threw them off it seemed, MP3 was a beast!
Congrats Coach, you're the best ever!!

Atldukie79
01-25-2015, 10:13 PM
It is interesting that the run which propelled us from our 10 point deficit into the lead was the result of 4 consecutive Duke scores that were 3 point plays...3 of which were "and 1's", the other a 3 point shot. That is a rather efficient way to make up ground.

And given Marshall's recent commitment to the army, his name association with General (and Sec of State) Marshall, and the benevolence of their respective work...I suggest that we henceforth refer to Ja and Marshall playing together as The Marshall Plan.

I like it anyway:)

subzero02
01-25-2015, 10:14 PM
Couldn't watch the game. What is wrong with Winslow? Just illness? Or something physical like an ankle? Thanks for information

The announcers said that Winslow has injured ribs. He wasn't moving well at all... His drives to the rim were especially ineffective.

Newton_14
01-25-2015, 10:20 PM
They seemed to miss a lot of calls not mentioned here yet. Harrison had a blatant walk under the basket in the second half, and on one play the St John's kid touched the ball, it hit the end line, he recovered it and play continued. This happened under our basket in the second half.
Anyway, the team showed great determination when it counted, and I for one am extremely proud of the way they fought through adversity to win.
Maybe now the monkey is off their backs with the historical win, and the play can continue to improve. I also liked the two bigs in there together, threw them off it seemed, MP3 was a beast!
Congrats Coach, you're the best ever!!
One of the 18 yr old kids at our party today watching the game is my wife's nephew and a unc fan and he was scratching his head right along with me at the officiating. At one point he made the statement that "this is the strangest basketball game I have ever watched" talking about the refs. Like I said before, the allowing of the 3 to end the half was one of the worst calls of the year. It wasn't like the ball was on his fingertips when the clock hit zero. The ball was still in his palm, and beside his head when the clock hit zero. Add in several walks, and fouls that were not called on top of the ones already mentioned and it was just bizarre to watch sort of.

And, the turning point was not the foul on the Tyus Jones 3. That's laughable as well. The turning point came with 10 to go when Marshall came in. That's when the game and momentum shifted to Duke. The final nail in the coffin was the 3 that Tyus made in front of the Duke bench to make it 72-65 with 1:15 to go. The foul call on the Tyus 3 was just another play in the game. If they don't call the foul and Duke inbounds, I don't think it changes a thing with the outcome. At that point, Duke had already seized control of the game, St Johns was reeling and Duke was not going to be denied.

Uh No, my only thoughts are that its possible you have crossed the tipping point to obsession with stats... to the point where it seems you are not enjoying the games anymore, win or lose. Just a thought. Not a call out or snark or anything. We played good defense for more than 8 minutes today, otherwise we would have lost. The d was certainly bad for long stretches but the last 10 full minutes were all Duke, as was the first 12 to 15 minutes.

Our defense is a work in progress for sure and needs to improve. No argument there at all, but stats can't measure the affect a comeback like today can have on a young team. You just can't measure something like that. It's a valuable experience in a long journey. Allow yourself to enjoy the win. It is certainly warranted.

Troublemaker
01-25-2015, 10:37 PM
I never would have pegged Okafor, Jones, Jones, Cook and Plumlee as a comeback line-up.

Interestingly, +/- would've done a good job predicting it, since MP3 and Matt have had the best +/- on the team (adjusted for minutes) out of all our rotation players, according to Neals' +/- thread at the top of the board. And their stellar +/- numbers are not just the result of some advantage in coming off the bench because Sheed actually has the lowest adjusted +/- out of everyone in the rotation.

Now, all of this could be meaningless. A lot of smart people (including Pomeroy) basically consider +/- to be worthless. But maybe, just maybe, today's result was a feather in the cap for a beleaguered stat.

duke09hms
01-25-2015, 10:46 PM
i'm not one for largely arbitrary milestones. so refuse to get especially worked up about win 3e8.

From a high perspective, the team played terribly for 32 minutes, and out of this world for 8.

I tried to compile some numbers, but the SCACC numbers are messed up for this game. Either way, for the first 32 minutes, st johns put up like a 130+ on offense...and then a sub-20 for the rest of the game.

This inconsistency closely aligns with the pitt game, where we played great for the first half, and then really poorly in the second half, as well as the BC game where we had a killer 10 minutes, and then very poor other 30.

On the game, we ended up at about where we should have been per kenpom....but that's NOT good news....unless we want to go into march with a barely top 50 defense.....we want to be seeing improving performances, but we're seeing reinforcing performances.

Is the novelty of the zone wearing off? have we lost the element of surprise? I saw a lot of confusion at times....the reds were screening the guards at the top of the zone and walking into the lane like celebrities on the red carpet....and we are largely unable to set any defense after coming back in fast transition...sometimes even after 5 or 10 seconds we're still all over the place.

I expect that changing schemes up takes time to get used to....but at some point i hope to see progress rather than performances at our current mediocre rating.

It's frustrating that we show we can do it....for long stretches.....we shut them down completely down the stretch....how could we be so inept at stopping them the rest of the time? I concede there was a big game feel (surprise there will be in march too...better get used to it), and that there were foul issues....but this defense still has a long way to go....and january becomes february in a week.

to not take the wind out of the sails: it was incredible what this team did down the end. I was about to get up and head out when we were down 10....and then BAM. we saw something we didn't see in either of our two losses....we punched back instead of getting down. having that experience is certainly beneficial to the team.

that's one for the ages, but doesn't allay my worries long term

Terrific win, but I have the same worries as you in terms of postseason success. The defense is just so inconsistent, and I think that just might be inherent to Quinn and Tyus being on the court at the same time. Great offensive duo, but huge defensive liabilities in that both are fairly small and slow for guards, so they don't complement each others' weaknesses like Scheyer and Smith did.

Newton_14
01-25-2015, 11:07 PM
Terrific win, but I have the same worries as you in terms of postseason success. The defense is just so inconsistent, and I think that just might be inherent to Quinn and Tyus being on the court at the same time. Great offensive duo, but huge defensive liabilities in that both are fairly small and slow for guards, so they don't complement each others' weaknesses like Scheyer and Smith did.

Even though I encourage my buddy Uh No to stop stressing so much with defensive stats, I do agree the concerns are valid, no doubt. One thing I said not long ago, is that I feel K hurts Quinn and the defense by playing him too many minutes. Part of that is the fierce loyalty to the Senior, and for sure, as a Senior, Quinn has certainly earned the minutes. For most of the season, when K has wanted to get Matt and Rasheed on the floor together for example, he has either pulled Tyus, or Amile, or Winslow, but almost never Quinn.

I think if K can dial back Quinn's minutes, just a little, not drastic, well I guess it could be considered drastic, to say 28-34 mpg, and same for Tyus, it would allow us to reduce the minutes Tyus and Quinn play together, but keeping one of them on the floor at all times, and giving us good size at the 2 thru 5 positions for longer stretches of the game. It would also keep Quinn and Tyus fresher down the stretch of games, hopefully saving their legs and helping those 3's go in at a high rate.

Just a thought. Not saying definitely that is the answer or would help, but it is possible. I think we showed today that Matt and MP3 both help our defense quite a bit actually, and I think it can be argued that Rasheed, Amile, and a healthy Winslow are good defenders.

Their is very delicate balance to be struck there though. Quinn an Tyus both are a huge plus on the offensive side, especially when Quinn is both knocking down his jumpshots and driving the lane successfully. He is a magician at the rim at finishing over bigger players even when fouled. We need their offense, and certainly Quinn's leadership.

Mixing in the better defenders to ensure we can play at a high level on both ends is challenging with this mix of players. If K keeps tweaking, especially with using the twin towers, he just might get enough defense out of the guys to go where they want to go. Today was special and a step in the right direction, that's for sure. Just like with committing to the zone as a real weapon starting with the Louisville game. Was the use of Marshall with Jahlil today akin to breaking out the zone, making it another game to look back on when all is said and done?

g-money
01-25-2015, 11:32 PM
The kid's a gamer. On the offensive end, he's pretty much everything you could want in a true PG: Good ballhandling, great passing, and clutch shooting/playmaking when necessary.

Selfishly, I would love to see Tyus wear the Duke uniform for another few years. And who knows, maybe his lack of size will keep him in the college ranks a bit longer than expected.

Either way, I'm going to enjoy watching him make big plays for Duke over the next few months.

Lastly, to Coach K: Congratulations!! The tributes on TV and the internet have been a real walk down memory lane. We are so lucky.

Wander
01-25-2015, 11:37 PM
Even though I encourage my buddy Uh No to stop stressing so much with defensive stats, I do agree the concerns are valid, no doubt. One thing I said not long ago, is that I feel K hurts Quinn and the defense by playing him too many minutes. Part of that is the fierce loyalty to the Senior, and for sure, as a Senior, Quinn has certainly earned the minutes. For most of the season, when K has wanted to get Matt and Rasheed on the floor together for example, he has either pulled Tyus, or Amile, or Winslow, but almost never Quinn.

I think if K can dial back Quinn's minutes, just a little, not drastic, well I guess it could be considered drastic, to say 28-34 mpg, and same for Tyus, it would allow us to reduce the minutes Tyus and Quinn play together, but keeping one of them on the floor at all times, and giving us good size at the 2 thru 5 positions for longer stretches of the game. It would also keep Quinn and Tyus fresher down the stretch of games, hopefully saving their legs and helping those 3's go in at a high rate.

Just a thought. Not saying definitely that is the answer or would help, but it is possible. I think we showed today that Matt and MP3 both help our defense quite a bit actually, and I think it can be argued that Rasheed, Amile, and a healthy Winslow are good defenders.

Their is very delicate balance to be struck there though. Quinn an Tyus both are a huge plus on the offensive side, especially when Quinn is both knocking down his jumpshots and driving the lane successfully. He is a magician at the rim at finishing over bigger players even when fouled. We need their offense, and certainly Quinn's leadership.

Yeah, and in addition to number of minutes, I'm not sure the best thing for our offense is Quinn taking as many shots as he's been taking. The last 7 games (i.e., since ACC play started) he's taken 82 shots compared to Okafor's 70. Note that the game this season with his least amount of shots by far was our best win. He is playing well so like you I'm not advocating anything drastic, but I get the feeling that the optimal distribution of Duke stats would involve a slight movement of minutes and shot attempts to other guys.

Dukehky
01-25-2015, 11:49 PM
Few things:

1. We have got to make a better effort of not going stretches without getting Jah the ball. Matt Jones, I don't care if you're wide open for a 3, lets get the ball to the best player in the country.

2. Winslow has been really out of sorts for about a month now, and it's not just on the offensive end. It's been defense and rebounding as well. I do not question Winslow's defensive abilities nor his motor, so I think that this is injury related. When did our defense start getting suspect? About a month ago. I don't think that is a coincidence. He is an incredibly versatile defender who can mask a lot of mistakes, and I think whatever his issues may be, are a big part of our defensive inconsistencies over the past several weeks.

3. Tyus Jones has the biggest pair of kahones in the world. I wanted to strangle him for not sprinting back on defense in the first half though. He was the worst of a bunch of culprits in that department.

This could be a toughness springboard for this team. Notre Dame is very good, and Jerian Grant may drop 40, but they can't stop our inside game, Jah or Amile, so i think we should pull it out.

Regardless we need one of these next two games. If I had my druthers, it would be the latter. Jay Williams is going to rip his shirt open to reveal a Brogdon jersey on GameDay and I would bet my house on that

Edouble
01-26-2015, 12:18 AM
At about the 11 or 12 minute mark, I told the person that I was watching the game with, "I think we're gonna win this game. Let's just see what happens at the 7:00 mark." St. John's guards had been crashing the boards, running back on D when they didn't get the boards, and running in transition all game. I thought they'd start to get gassed with a bit over 5:00 left. Sort of a "slow and steady wins the race" idea...

The Johnnies started front rimming the insane shots that they'd made in the first half and the wheels slowly came off. I thought our guys would be well rested enough to finish strong, especially because we had been playing some zone. Red Storm laughing and intrasquad bickering ensued.

I know Marshall had a huge game, but I think the loss was somewhat a matter of St. John's pushing on the accelerator too much for the first 30:00 of game time.

Congrats to Coach K on win #1,000!

ricks68
01-26-2015, 12:25 AM
So, am I the only one concerned about Amile's injury beginning at the 11:26 mark of the second half? Rerun the recording and begin the slo-mo there. Right after being helped up by his other 4 teammates, his right arms is dangling at his side as he goes back down court. K pulls him for Marshall at the 11:00 mark, just 24 seconds after the stop of play at the 11:24 mark. I think he did return for a very, very short time later to give someone a breather, but that was it.:(

Oh, I also played back the Tyus shot in super slo-mo and clearly saw his right leg go out to the SIDE of the opposing player while he was clearly first hit on his right arm causing the shot to fall way short. In addition, Tyus had to push out his left arm against the opposing player's chest as he went down to fend him off.

Lastly, it was definitely a flop on Pointer when Quinn came to a dead stop on his charging call. Kinda weird-looking. I played that back enough times to see Quin stop cold and Pointer just fall straight backwards.

I really admire Okafor's incredible maturity in not complaining as he is being mugged over and over again in almost every game he plays. I think it will really pay off in later important games when the refs finally reward him for it. Just sayin'.

ricks

robed deity
01-26-2015, 12:36 AM
One of the 18 yr old kids at our party today watching the game is my wife's nephew and a unc fan and he was scratching his head right along with me at the officiating. At one point he made the statement that "this is the strangest basketball game I have ever watched" talking about the refs. Like I said before, the allowing of the 3 to end the half was one of the worst calls of the year. It wasn't like the ball was on his fingertips when the clock hit zero. The ball was still in his palm, and beside his head when the clock hit zero. Add in several walks, and fouls that were not called on top of the ones already mentioned and it was just bizarre to watch sort of.

And, the turning point was not the foul on the Tyus Jones 3. That's laughable as well. The turning point came with 10 to go when Marshall came in. That's when the game and momentum shifted to Duke. The final nail in the coffin was the 3 that Tyus made in front of the Duke bench to make it 72-65 with 1:15 to go. The foul call on the Tyus 3 was just another play in the game. If they don't call the foul and Duke inbounds, I don't think it changes a thing with the outcome. At that point, Duke had already seized control of the game, St Johns was reeling and Duke was not going to be denied.

Uh No, my only thoughts are that its possible you have crossed the tipping point to obsession with stats... to the point where it seems you are not enjoying the games anymore, win or lose. Just a thought. Not a call out or snark or anything. We played good defense for more than 8 minutes today, otherwise we would have lost. The d was certainly bad for long stretches but the last 10 full minutes were all Duke, as was the first 12 to 15 minutes.

Our defense is a work in progress for sure and needs to improve. No argument there at all, but stats can't measure the affect a comeback like today can have on a young team. You just can't measure something like that. It's a valuable experience in a long journey. Allow yourself to enjoy the win. It is certainly warranted.

I also agree it is clear the defense needs to get better, especially in transition. However, if the 3 at the end of the half is disallowed like it should have been, Duke's def efficiency for the game would have been about a .955 rather than the 1.01. Duke's kenpom ranking would have even improved a bit more. I think it's very easy to get overly consumed with these efficiency numbers in an individual game, especially when one basket or two changes the equation so drastically.

wavedukefan70s
01-26-2015, 12:45 AM
I was worried about this game and the toll from the mugging St. John's is known to do.i regretfully missed the last 6 minutes .i must remember to set my dvr for 30 minutes over.i doubt we will see another team litterly beat on us like today.i believe this game will help tremendously from a toughness standpoint.

martydoesntfoul
01-26-2015, 12:55 AM
I suggest we change the title of this thread to:

Duke 77 St. John's 68*

It will serve as something of a permanent silent protest as well as a reminder to the conspiracy theorists that we don't get all the calls, particularly those involving shot clock violations.

Epic win today. Let's hope there's enough time to get rested and ready for the incredibly tough week coming up.

mgtr
01-26-2015, 06:41 AM
And given Marshall's recent commitment to the army, his name association with General (and Sec of State) Marshall, and the benevolence of their respective work...I suggest that we henceforth refer to Ja and Marshall playing together as The Marshall Plan.

I like it anyway:)

I like it too. I was surprised that nobody else picked up on it. Anyway, nice job.

mgtr
01-26-2015, 06:55 AM
So, am I the only one concerned about Amile's injury beginning at the 11:26 mark of the second half? Rerun the recording and begin the slo-mo there. Right after being helped up by his other 4 teammates, his right arms is dangling at his side as he goes back down court. K pulls him for Marshall at the 11:00 mark, just 24 seconds after the stop of play at the 11:24 mark. I think he did return for a very, very short time later to give someone a breather, but that was it.:(


ricks

I noticed the arm dangling as well. I don't believe it was foul trouble. I guess that sort of forced Coach K to bring Marshall in, which worked out very well. However, we do not need another player injured. We probably won't learn anything until the ND game. Hope for the best.

fuse
01-26-2015, 07:47 AM
While I'm not expecting a phone call or a game ball from Coach K, you all can thank me for this win. ;-)

I was at my son's indoor soccer game and could not watch until the 7 minute mark of the second half.

You all are very welcome, I am glad to be of service! ;-)

(For those that are Internet tone deaf, this post is intended to be silly, irreverent- a joke, if you will. )

Go Duke!

bedeviled
01-26-2015, 07:53 AM
He's mostly rational, but his UNC-ness slips out frequentlyI wouldn't blame anyone for having extra anti-Duke feelings surrounding this game and Coach K's 1000th win. Even as a Duke fan, I was irritated with the hours and pages of media coverage that, I thought, crossed the line from respect and recognition into unctious praise. It is just a number, a milestone, on an unfinished journey.

Heck, Jim Boeheim is just 38 games short of 1,000 with one less season coached than Coach K (and, IIRC, either Calipari or Pitino would be close to the mark by age 67 if he hadn't had an NBA sojourn). I imagined Jim Boeheim sitting in a dark room with a private Ray-Finkle-"laces out" type of moment, having to listen to how great his friend is, knowing how close he was to being the glorified one. So, I found it humorous that his comment during the festivities was something like, "I don't know how anyone gets 1,000 wins. They must be really old and really good." Very awkward. It will be interesting to see how much hoopla surrounds JB's 1,000th win (if he sticks around)....and to see if there is a bit more pep in his step when hosting Duke on Valentine's Day.

Edit: found the ESPN article I had in mind (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/71440/most-likely-coaches-to-join-900-win-club) re: coaches' ages and wins

jv001
01-26-2015, 08:15 AM
I wouldn't blame anyone for having extra anti-Duke feelings surrounding this game and Coach K's 1000th win. Even as a Duke fan, I was irritated with the hours and pages of media coverage that, I thought, crossed the line from respect and recognition into unctious praise. It is just a number, a milestone, on an unfinished journey.

Heck, Jim Boeheim is just 38 games short of 1,000 with one less season coached than Coach K (and, IIRC, either Calipari or Pitino would be close to the mark by age 67 if he hadn't had an NBA sojourn). I imagined Jim Boeheim sitting in a dark room with a private Ray-Finkle-"laces out" type of moment, having to listen to how great his friend is, knowing how close he was to being the glorified one. So, I found it humorous that his comment during the festivities was something like, "I don't know how anyone gets 1,000 wins. They must be really old and really good." Very awkward. It will be interesting to see how much hoopla surrounds JB's 1,000th win (if he sticks around)....and to see if there is a bit more pep in his step when hosting Duke on Valentine's Day.

Edit: found the ESPN article I had in mind (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/71440/most-likely-coaches-to-join-900-win-club) re: coaches' ages and wins

I agree that for most non-Duke fans the hoopla over Coach K's 1K win probably got a little irritating. Heck, even I thought that the media went overboard with it. I liked the praise and kidding that came from K's Coaching buddies and I liked the celebration after the game. But I agree with the poster in that Wheat does have a UNCheaterness when it comes to his comments on most Duke games. Don't get me wrong, I like Wheat and respect him for his loyalty to his team. But every once in a while, he'll throw in a little "zinger" in his faint praise for a Duke win. :cool: GoDuke!

freshmanjs
01-26-2015, 09:55 AM
The next two games will tell us everything we need to know about this team. Win, and we are on the way to a number one seed and a good post season, lose and there is no telling where this team could go.

I don't agree with this at all. Many teams (including many Duke teams) look way different in March than in late January.

AIRFORCEDUKIE
01-26-2015, 09:59 AM
I don't agree with this at all. Many teams (including many Duke teams) look way different in March than in late January.

Duke hasn't in recent years, we were in march what we were in late Jan and Feb. If we can take a leap these next two games and win them both I think it would be huge. I also think losing both would put us in a bad position. Number 1 seeds are going to be very important this season, and these two games will help us get one of them. Sure we can change in March from what we are in the next two games, but the past few years that hasn't been the case so I am hoping for wins here.

freshmanjs
01-26-2015, 10:05 AM
Duke hasn't in recent years, we were in march what we were in late Jan and Feb. If we can take a leap these next two games and win them both I think it would be huge. I also think losing both would put us in a bad position. Number 1 seeds are going to be very important this season, and these two games will help us get one of them. Sure we can change in March from what we are in the next two games, but the past few years that hasn't been the case so I am hoping for wins here.

last year at this time, we had @pitt and @syracuse back to back and played great in both. then came our charge back up the rankings to #4 during Feb. did those 2 games tell us all we needed to know?

sagegrouse
01-26-2015, 10:18 AM
It is interesting that the run which propelled us from our 10 point deficit into the lead was the result of 4 consecutive Duke scores that were 3 point plays...3 of which were "and 1's", the other a 3 point shot. That is a rather efficient way to make up ground.

And given Marshall's recent commitment to the army, his name association with General (and Sec of State) Marshall, and the benevolence of their respective work...I suggest that we henceforth refer to Ja and Marshall playing together as The Marshall Plan.

I like it anyway:)


I like it too. I was surprised that nobody else picked up on it. Anyway, nice job.

And it complements the notion that MP3 has earned the designation "Field Marshall" for his performance and military commitment.

AIRFORCEDUKIE
01-26-2015, 10:18 AM
last year at this time, we had @pitt and @syracuse back to back and played great in both. then came our charge back up the rankings to #4 during Feb. did those 2 games tell us all we needed to know?

Yea it did tell us that if Andre Dawkins was hitting 6-7 from three point range we were going to beat anybody on that night, and the Syracuse game taught us that we would have trouble with guards and if we got into foul trouble we would have a hard time matching up with almost anyone. Which is exactly what happened in games down the stretch. I know that is a generalization, and maybe I am exaggerating a bit when I say its "all we need to know about this team". But, I think it will tell us a whole lot about where we are and where we could go.

freshmanjs
01-26-2015, 10:31 AM
Yea it did tell us that if Andre Dawkins was hitting 6-7 from three point range we were going to beat anybody on that night, and the Syracuse game taught us that we would have trouble with guards and if we got into foul trouble we would have a hard time matching up with almost anyone. Which is exactly what happened in games down the stretch. I know that is a generalization, and maybe I am exaggerating a bit when I say its "all we need to know about this team". But, I think it will tell us a whole lot about where we are and where we could go.

where did you think Connecticut could go at the end of January last year?

mpj96
01-26-2015, 10:39 AM
Said it on the motm thread, Matt Jones deserves some props today as well. He and mp3 came in and brought some real toughness. Matt got two super tough offensive rebounds off FT misses at the end that really showed we were here to fight.

Agree! Rebounding went way up during our comeback. That last offensive rebound recovered by Matt was pivotal.

gumbomoop
01-26-2015, 10:40 AM
Reminder for those working at home this morn: Duke-St. John's replay on very soon, 11:00 a.m., FoxSports1.

What with all the back-and-forth over the call, we get another look at it. IIRC, the play was replayed, maybe twice, from 2 different angles. At the time I thought it an obvious call, not that debatable, but maybe I'll reconsider. It can't ruin my day now, either way.

But way beyond the diversion this play has become, it'll be nice, knowing the happy ending, to see the whole game again, looking for good plays, bad defense, tough calls either way. Was the momentum shift in fact MP3's entrance?

sagegrouse
01-26-2015, 10:50 AM
Reminder for those working at home this morn: Duke-St. John's replay on very soon, 11:00 a.m., FoxSports1.

What with all the back-and-forth over the call, we get another look at it. IIRC, the play was replayed, maybe twice, from 2 different angles. At the time I thought it an obvious call, not that debatable, but maybe I'll reconsider. It can't ruin my day now, either way.

But way beyond the diversion this play has become, it'll be nice, knowing the happy ending, to see the whole game again, looking for good plays, bad defense, tough calls either way. Was the momentum shift in fact MP3's entrance?

Having lost TV access yesterday to Fox Denver's pet telethon, I DVRed the 3AM ET Fox Sports1 replay. Fox did show its Big East bias -- heck, it has a contract with the conference. It didn't show the game from the 8:30 mark to the 6:30 mark, when Duke closed the lead from ten points to four points.

AIRFORCEDUKIE
01-26-2015, 11:13 AM
where did you think Connecticut could go at the end of January last year?

I didn't have an opinion on them at the end of Jan last year, but you make a good point. Maybe I am being too pessimistic about Duke considering last years early exit. And in turn I am putting too much weight on the next 2 games. So let me rephrase, "The next two games will tell us whether we have a shot at a number one seed or not"

Fair compromise?

superdave
01-26-2015, 11:22 AM
Personally, and take it FWIW, just my opinion, I think to maximize the success for this team, K is going to have to continue on this current path he is on and mix up the defenses throughout the game, using all of "man to man", "zone", "fullcourt press no trapping", "fullcourt press trapping", "halfcourt press trapping, with fall back into zone". K has used all of those in the last two games alone. I hope he continues to work on developing them in all 5 of those defenses, sometimes using man more or zone more depending on opponent. I think that is their best chance for success. The transition defense can get better by simply forcing more hustle getting back, and forcing them to understand you cannot stop to celebrate a made basket, or argue a call or pout on missed baskets for even a half second. You just can't do it because every team is now looking to push it as fast as possible to take advantage of what is right now a very weak transition defense. I swear hustle and determination can cut down on 50% of that right away.

Great post, Newt.

I think you are spot-on about the defense. I think Coach K mentioned in the past few weeks that switching from defense to defense forces this young team to focus and communicate more on that end of the floor. If that is what it takes, so be it. I think switching up the defense helps to keep our opponents from getting into an offensive rhythm as well, or knocks them out of of rhythm (like vs St Johns yesterday).

The ability to keep adjusting until we start playing better is great to see. I continue to worry about playing Okafor too many minutes. Big guys just need a few more breaks so they dont take any plays off in order to stay on the court.

CDu
01-26-2015, 11:28 AM
Great post, Newt.

I think you are spot-on about the defense. I think Coach K mentioned in the past few weeks that switching from defense to defense forces this young team to focus and communicate more on that end of the floor. If that is what it takes, so be it. I think switching up the defense helps to keep our opponents from getting into an offensive rhythm as well, or knocks them out of of rhythm (like vs St Johns yesterday).

The ability to keep adjusting until we start playing better is great to see. I continue to worry about playing Okafor too many minutes. Big guys just need a few more breaks so they dont take any plays off in order to stay on the court.

I agree. I don't think this team is ever going to be good enough at man-to-man defense (especially on the perimeter) to play it exclusively. Nor are they going to be good enough at zone defense to play it exclusively. Also, Coach K is never going to play zone exclusively :). The hope is that we can keep the opponent off-balance enough that they can't get going offensively. And if we're clicking well enough offensively, we don't necessarily have to be a shut-down defensive team.

The important thing is that the coaches realize that there is a problem defensively, and they're working to fix it. In past years, we haven't seen as much willingness to change our defensive schemes midseason. But it sounds like the coaches are working hard to find the right strategy for this group defensively.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 11:34 AM
I agree. I don't think this team is ever going to be good enough at man-to-man defense (especially on the perimeter) to play it exclusively. Nor are they going to be good enough at zone defense to play it exclusively. Also, Coach K is never going to play zone exclusively :). The hope is that we can keep the opponent off-balance enough that they can't get going offensively. And if we're clicking well enough offensively, we don't necessarily have to be a shut-down defensive team.

The important thing is that the coaches realize that there is a problem defensively, and they're working to fix it. In past years, we haven't seen as much willingness to change our defensive schemes midseason. But it sounds like the coaches are working hard to find the right strategy for this group defensively.

I think the defenses played per game will depend heavily on the strengths of each team and/or how the in-game results are seen.

For instance, against a poor shooting team like L'ville (or UNC), I expect to see more zone. If those poor shooting teams go Bootsy Thornton on us, we will see more man.

If we play a team that can shoot and drive (like St. John's) we'll see a hybrid/switching defense.

Against UVA, I fully expect to see a lot of man to man.

superdave
01-26-2015, 11:39 AM
Jay Williams is going to rip his shirt open to reveal a Brogdon jersey on GameDay and I would bet my house on that

He should leave that gimmick to Lee Corso. And he should know better than to throw on the jersey of another ACC school.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 11:52 AM
"One obvious, correct call"-I see what you did there;). I wonder if FerryFor50 will catch that, too;).

Already did in the post below it. ;)

tux
01-26-2015, 11:53 AM
I think the defenses played per game will depend heavily on the strengths of each team and/or how the in-game results are seen.

For instance, against a poor shooting team like L'ville (or UNC), I expect to see more zone. If those poor shooting teams go Bootsy Thornton on us, we will see more man.

If we play a team that can shoot and drive (like St. John's) we'll see a hybrid/switching defense.

Against UVA, I fully expect to see a lot of man to man.


I think a lot could get fixed by more work on transition defense, to echo Newton's and other's points. As an example, yesterday Tyus missed a 3-pointer in the first half, held his follow through and stood there for a second or two watching the miss. His defender leaked out to half court, leading to a run out by SJU. Now, Tyus is not the only culprit, but that sort of thing needs to get cleaned up.

When K talks about our offense affecting our defense... well, there's no more direct link between the two than transition defense. And one thing about a young team: the coaching staff is probably working so much on half court principles (and communication) that they may have had little time to focus on transition stuff. I.e., there's only so much practice time...

Given that we've tended to play our zone after made baskets --- that could be skewing our feelings about the relative effectiveness of the zone vs the man-to-man. We've been pretty awful after our misses. Even when the sequence doesn't lead to a quick shot, Duke seems to spend way too much time (5-10 seconds) chasing the ball around trying to regroup... and when an opponent gets a bunch of easy buckets in transition, their confidence starts to skyrocket.

Kedsy
01-26-2015, 11:57 AM
I thought our defense in m2m to open the game was actually pretty good. They were active and showing intensity. Then from midway 1st half to midway 2nd half our defense on the whole was nonexistent and the transition defense was in a word, horrible. Once MP3, came in with 10 to go, the intensity came back, we were far more active, and started getting a hand in the face of shooters and protecting the rim.

Based on my vantage upstairs at MSG, I'm going to partially disagree with my friend Mr. Newton. Our m2m defense at the beginning of the game was pretty bad. We miscommunicated on screens, failed to stop penetration, and didn't close out well on shots. Starting with the very first possession. In fact, I think our m2m D was pretty bad the whole game. I do agree that our transition defense was horrible the entire game.

The zone was a mixed bag. Mediocre for much of the game (though not as bad as our man-to-man), and then extremely effective the last 8 minutes of the game. Marshall actually made a couple egregious defensive errors in the last 10 minutes, but overall I agree with everyone that he was the catalyst that brought the win. For a heretofore questionable defensive rebounder, playing in a zone, he absolutely owned the defensive boards, and his rebounding enthusiasm appeared to be contagious; after watching Marshall's ferocious defensive rebounding, Jahlil, Matt, and Quinn all seemed to fight for those boards a little harder. If we can continue to rebound well in the zone (something we hadn't really done in earlier games or last night before the last 8 minutes), then we may be on to something.

Another interesting thing about Marshall and Jahlil together in the zone is how close to the basket Marshall played. At first, I thought we were actually in a 3-2, rather than a 2-3. St. John's didn't really try to punish us from the wing on Marshall's side, or maybe Marshall was able to get out there fast enough to bother a potential outside shooter, I'm not sure which. Either way, the defense for the last 8 or 10 minutes worked really well.



Winslow- I have to believe this kid is hurting way more than anyone has let on. He is far too good of a player to not be able to get to the rim and finish, and to be mired in the slump he is in, for injuries to not be a part of the equation. I was hoping the week off would help him heal but in my view he is clearly not his normal self. It wasn't that long ago he was jumping over a player to block a shot. He just doesn't have the strength and explosiveness he has shown us when healthy. We need him back so hopefully he heals up soon. Being a freshman doesn't help, so I think that is likely a factor as well, but injuries have to be a factor.

I don't know what the problem is, but we are clearly a very different (and much better) team with an effective Justise Winslow. And we haven't had an effective Justise Winslow for five consecutive games now. Hopefully he'll break through the freshman wall and/or get healthy soon.


But, regardless its still a confidence booster for Duke, because now they know they can make those comebacks, a lesson I don't think we learned last season.

The bolded part above was my immediate takeaway from the game. For 30 minutes, this seemed like a replay of NC State/Miami, except the team (especially Tyus) seemed to figure out it didn't have to be that way. Now that they know how it feels to make a comeback, and the level of effort they need to expend to get there, I have hopes that we can be in a position to win every game from here on it. I do *not* think we will win every game, but I do have hopes that we won't be blown out again, that every game will go down to the last few minutes.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 11:59 AM
I think a lot could get fixed by more work on transition defense, to echo Newton's and other's points. As an example, yesterday Tyus missed a 3-pointer in the first half, held his follow through and stood there for a second or two watching the miss. His defender leaked out to half court, leading to a run out by SJU. Now, Tyus is not the only culprit, but that sort of thing needs to get cleaned up.

When K talks about our offense affecting our defense... well, there's no more direct link between the two than transition defense. And one thing about a young team: the coaching staff is probably working so much on half court principles (and communication) that they may have had little time to focus on transition stuff. I.e., there's only so much practice time...

Given that we've tended to play our zone after made baskets --- that could be skewing our feelings about the relative effectiveness of the zone vs the man-to-man. We've been pretty awful after our misses. Even when the sequence doesn't lead to a quick shot, Duke seems to spend way too much time (5-10 seconds) chasing the ball around trying to regroup... and when an opponent gets a bunch of easy buckets in transition, their confidence starts to skyrocket.

Agreed. There is either a lot of ball watching going on or that "head-down because I missed the shot" stuff that causes the transition D to break.

House G
01-26-2015, 12:02 PM
Whatever happened to the Playcaller?
There has been little discussion about the hard foul on Jefferson by De La Rosa. Is this just "Big East Basketball" or should he have received a flagrant foul and, if so, a 1 or a 2? Should he have gotten a technical foul for taunting? Had he gotten both, would he have been tossed? Need a rules interpretation please.

CDu
01-26-2015, 12:08 PM
Agreed. There is either a lot of ball watching going on or that "head-down because I missed the shot" stuff that causes the transition D to break.

agreed. transition defense needs to get better. MUCH better.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 12:10 PM
Whatever happened to the Playcaller?
There has been little discussion about the hard foul on Jefferson by De La Rosa. Is this just "Big East Basketball" or should he have received a flagrant foul and, if so, a 1 or a 2? Should he have gotten a technical foul for taunting? Had he gotten both, would he have been tossed? Need a rules interpretation please.

I mentioned this in a post earlier in this thread. It was here (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?35059-MBB-Duke-77-St-Johns-68-Post-Game-Thread&p=773028#post773028).

Absolutely think a taunting T at minimum. The ref actually warned him.

As for the foul, I think it was flagrant 1 worthy, given the emphasis to combat contact above the shoulders. I suppose you could argue he made a play for the ball but was too fat/slow to get there in time, but the fact that he stood over Amile after made it obvious it was one of those "statement" fouls.

Fun fact:

De La Rosa has played in a whopping 9 games this season for an average of 4.7 mpg. He averages 1.1 fouls (extrapolates to 9.5 fouls per game!), 1 rebound and .3 points per game. That's right - he averages more fouls than rebounds.

I think it's pretty obvious why he was in the game.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 12:11 PM
agreed. transition defense needs to get better. MUCH better.

To be fair, we were saying that the half court/penetration defense needed to get better and Duke busted out the zone and it got (somewhat) better.

I think they'll work on transition, too.

tux
01-26-2015, 12:15 PM
Online forums aren't conducive to letting trivial disagreements die. Everyone has just one last point to make... (like I'm about to prove below)

My duke bias told me yesterday that the refs called a game very much in SJU's wheelhouse. A ton of physical play was allowed throughout. Plus, the "call" at the end of the first half was laughably bad. I mean, could you imagine the outcry if that had been a Duke basket ?!?

I'm pretty sure a picture of the Duke player with the ball in his hands and the shot clock at 0 would have accompanied every article and highlight.

"Coach K gets 1000th win despite controversial call" ... they'd probably change the rule to allow 1st half reviews ... ;)

House G
01-26-2015, 12:23 PM
I mentioned this in a post earlier in this thread. It was here (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?35059-MBB-Duke-77-St-Johns-68-Post-Game-Thread&p=773028#post773028).

Absolutely think a taunting T at minimum. The ref actually warned him.

As for the foul, I think it was flagrant 1 worthy, given the emphasis to combat contact above the shoulders. I suppose you could argue he made a play for the ball but was too fat/slow to get there in time, but the fact that he stood over Amile after made it obvious it was one of those "statement" fouls.

Fun fact:

De La Rosa has played in a whopping 9 games this season for an average of 4.7 mpg. He averages 1.1 fouls (extrapolates to 9.5 fouls per game!), 1 rebound and .3 points per game. That's right - he averages more fouls than rebounds.

I think it's pretty obvious why he was in the game.
At 6'11" and 240, he pales in comparison to his brother Adonis who, at 7'1" and 322, is listed as a freshman on the St. John's roster by ESPN. I'd hate to try and dunk on him.

tux
01-26-2015, 12:24 PM
I'd hate to try and dunk on him.

You can dunk?

Trey21
01-26-2015, 12:29 PM
Congrats to K for his 1000th victory. A true honor and blessing to have him on the sidelines.

T. Jones was clutch in the final 10. M. Jones and Marshall brought some real toughness to the squad. What a great week for Marshall, I think this was his best game as a Duke player. Winslow has definitely hit a wall, but I'd imagine he'll break out of it soon enough. Hopefully sooner rather than later because we're going to have some trouble these next couple games if he isn't playing at a high level. I enjoyed the twin towers look. It is a nice defensive switch up and gives up great length.

St. Johns was really physical which will be nice preparation for March. Honestly I thought the refs were terrible on both sides (although my blue tinted glasses say they slightly favored St. Johns). Not to spark another debate but that video that grad_devil posted it seems that Jones foot is on the line. Look 42 seconds into it. Should it have been a 2 pointer?

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 12:31 PM
Congrats to K for his 1000th victory. A true honor and blessing to have him on the sidelines.

T. Jones was clutch in the final 10. M. Jones and Marshall brought some real toughness to the squad. What a great week for Marshall, I think this was his best game as a Duke player. Winslow has definitely hit a wall, but I'd imagine he'll break out of it soon enough. Hopefully sooner rather than later because we're going to have some trouble these next couple games if he isn't playing at a high level. I enjoyed the twin towers look. It is a nice defensive switch up and gives up great length.

St. Johns was really physical which will be nice preparation for March. Honestly I thought the refs were terrible on both sides (although my blue tinted glasses say they slightly favored St. Johns). Not to spark another debate but that video that grad_devil posted it seems that Jones foot is on the line. Look 42 seconds into it. Should it have been a 2 pointer?

No. That was the NBA line (remember, that is where the Knicks play). The college line was blue.

Papa John
01-26-2015, 12:32 PM
Whatever happened to the Playcaller?
There has been little discussion about the hard foul on Jefferson by De La Rosa. Is this just "Big East Basketball" or should he have received a flagrant foul and, if so, a 1 or a 2? Should he have gotten a technical foul for taunting? Had he gotten both, would he have been tossed? Need a rules interpretation please.

Not offering an interpretation, but I agree with the sentiment that there were far more controversial calls to examine than the Tyus leg-kick (yes, there was a leg-kick... also, Tyus did embellish the arm contact a bit with a B-movie-quality acting performance... but, yes, there was clearly arm contact by the defender in addition to the leg contact—whether simultaneous or just a moment prior—so the foul call was legit... but, yes, the defender did initially get ball with his hand prior to the arm and leg contact, and the game had been called pretty loosely throughout so it would not have been surprising to see the whistle swallowed in the situation... but, it wasn't—the call was made, and the call was perfectly fine).

First and foremost was the atrocious miss on the shot-clock violation at the end of the first half. This one wasn't that close [as the replay clearly showed], and should have been a fairly easy call. This resulted in at least a 3-point swing, but potentially more (because the correct call would have resulted in no points for the Johnnies and Duke ball with around 2-and-a-half seconds on the clock which, as GHill and Laettner will tell you, is plenty of time to score a basket).

Second was the reviewed hard foul you cite committed by De La Rosa on Jefferson. This should have resulted in either a technical for taunting or a flagrant-1. De La Rosa went for the ball hard, fine, but the issue was that he then continued his motion and literally palmed Jefferson's head unnecessarily, then stood over Jefferson jawing and glaring after-the-fact. By not T-ing him up there, the refs basically communicated that they had no interest in controlling the physicality of the game, and St. John's responded to this by continuing to commit a number of hard fouls that bordered on cheap/flagrant (indeed, they had a second one reviewed, and the refs neglected to establish control again—which could have easily been done without calling a flagrant in either instance but by calling Lavin and K to the scorers table to say something to the effect of 'next thing that looks even remotely cheap, we're T'ing up, so you'd best tell your players to keep it clean).

Third was the NBA-like observance of the traveling violation being accorded to the Johnnies... I haven't seen that much walking since I took my son to the Natural History Museum on the mall last year...

House G
01-26-2015, 12:34 PM
You can dunk?

Maybe with a small trampoline.

Duvall
01-26-2015, 12:40 PM
Whatever happened to the Playcaller?

I think this is him. (https://twitter.com/jbotsmitty) If so, he was unimpressed by yesterday's refs.

CDu
01-26-2015, 12:42 PM
I mentioned this in a post earlier in this thread. It was here (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?35059-MBB-Duke-77-St-Johns-68-Post-Game-Thread&p=773028#post773028).

Absolutely think a taunting T at minimum. The ref actually warned him.

As for the foul, I think it was flagrant 1 worthy, given the emphasis to combat contact above the shoulders. I suppose you could argue he made a play for the ball but was too fat/slow to get there in time, but the fact that he stood over Amile after made it obvious it was one of those "statement" fouls.

I could be mistaken, but I think they didn't give him a technical because they can't retroactively call a technical. I think they can use the reviewe to assess/change a flagrant foul or determine a punch/elbow or not, but not a taunting foul. So while it was clearly taunting, since they missed it live they couldn't change the call. Hence the "talking to" that the player got instead. (again, I could be wrong about this - the rules change seemingly every year on this stuff)

I could live with the non-excessive foul call because you could argue that the block attempt led to the face hit. While I suspect his intent was to give an excessively hard foul, it's too hard to judge that in the flow of play.


Fun fact:

De La Rosa has played in a whopping 9 games this season for an average of 4.7 mpg. He averages 1.1 fouls (extrapolates to 9.5 fouls per game!), 1 rebound and .3 points per game. That's right - he averages more fouls than rebounds.

I think it's pretty obvious why he was in the game.

I think you are right. The tenor of the game certainly changed after he came in. And St. John's definitely started playing much more... "physically"... after that.

I think they knew the only way they could win was to dirty the game up. Beat up on Okafor and hope the officials swallowed the whistles. They got their wish. Thankfully we survived it.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 12:45 PM
I could be mistaken, but I think they didn't give him a technical because they can't retroactively call a technical. I think they can use the reviewe to assess/change a flagrant foul or determine a punch/elbow or not, but not a taunting foul. So while it was clearly taunting, since they missed it live they couldn't change the call. Hence the "talking to" that the player got instead. (again, I could be wrong about this - the rules change seemingly every year on this stuff)

I could live with the non-excessive foul call because you could argue that the block attempt led to the face hit. While I suspect his intent was to give an excessively hard foul, it's too hard to judge that in the flow of play.



I think you are right. The tenor of the game certainly changed after he came in. And St. John's definitely started playing much more... "physically"... after that.

I think they knew the only way they could win was to dirty the game up. Beat up on Okafor and hope the officials swallowed the whistles. They got their wish. Thankfully we survived it.

Oh I'm not saying they should have retroactively issued a T. But when they reviewed the play, the contact itself warranted a flagrant 1. The taunting afterward would have sold me on intent, and possibly issuing a flagrant 2.

CDu
01-26-2015, 12:45 PM
To be fair, we were saying that the half court/penetration defense needed to get better and Duke busted out the zone and it got (somewhat) better.

I think they'll work on transition, too.

Oh, I think so too. Just that it hasn't yet been addressed. I'm also optimistic that it will get addressed, just like (to a large degree) the dribble penetration has been somewhat addressed by the zone.

alteran
01-26-2015, 12:46 PM
We were also very fortunate that they started missing jump shots over the final 9 minutes. They continued to get some clean looks but thank goodness those didn't go down.

Excellent resolve showed by this team. They really looked ready to fold. But once they got a window they jumped on it.

Agreed. This is the first time in awhile I've seem a team look rattled against us in a game that was competitive. Something in our demeanor, the look of our defense, or... something, had the johnnies rattled. In a game where no physical insult from them was actionable, no less.


Amazed by this game, and our guys.

killerleft
01-26-2015, 12:52 PM
Forget the stats, the defense, or Wheat, Wheat, and Wheat. I finally realized AFTER the game just how much the players wanted this win for Coach K. The pressure they put on themselves to win was problably the most important factor in how we played. Not only was he going after win 1000, but the players certainly have been educated about how much he reveres Madison Square Garden and playing in NY. If that wasn't enough, just a look at some of the famous basketball players, coaches, and fans who were present had to give our guys some extra butterflies!

Given the circumstances, the pressure must have felt like an NCAA tournament game to them. So, for me, the way they finished this game, when it was all "on the line", was very satisfying. It was a great lesson learned, I think, and should give them confidence down the road when another such finish might be needed.

Coach K really does know what he's talking about when he tells the players to win for themselves. It helps reduce the pressure.

Before the game, I was like some of you in thinking that the 1000th win wasn't bigger than 999 or 1001. But it was, wasn't it? Like Coach K said, those wins belong to a lot of people, and a lot of us wanted to celebrate. Here's to even numbers!

p.s. - I apologize if this was adequately covered by others. I had to give up on the thread when Wheat's post somehow became a bit too important.

jv001
01-26-2015, 12:54 PM
Some takes from the game and some posts. I thought that our man to man to begin the game was very poor, as Kedsy pointed out from his courtside view. I look back(hindsight) and wish we had opened in a zone defense in that maybe a usually poor shooting St. Johns team would miss a lot of shots and their confidence would be low.

The zone worked against Louisville(poor shooting team) and Pittsburgh(see Louisville). Our man to man will not be effective if we extend it, but I believe it would be adequate if we bring it back somewhat. Our zone defense wasn't working to begin with because our guys showed little energy. Just because we're in a zone doesn't mean players should stand around and not communicate. It's just as important as playing a man to man.

I believe our guys were surprised at how physical(dirty) the Johnnies were playing this game. I think that knocked our team back a notch. I agree with the poster that said something about our players not getting back on defense because of missed shots. It's not just on missed shots, it's on makes as well. I've seen every Duke player clowning to the crowd after a made field goal and not getting back on defense.

When Marshall and Matt began to get after it on defense, that's when the intensity picked up on defense. Great move by Coach K when he brought Marshall in. When Marshall started in, he started to replace someone other than Amile and you could hear Coach K, say, no not him, Amile. What a turnaround.

Now for the Wheat comments. I've been on this board for several years now and I can see what Wheat tries to do when he makes a back handed compliment to Duke. He has to throw in a zinger. You know, the comment that is sure to fire up some Duke posters. We have many posters that are fans of other teams that come on this site regularly and they never start an argument that runs for 6 or 7 pages long. They are gracious with their compliments and praise. Once in awhile they make a comment that says what they think of a weakness of the Duke team and that's ok. Matter of fact, Wheat's comment on Duke defense against dribble penetration is positive criticism and there's noting wrong with that. But when you make a comment that basically says, Duke may have won the game on a bad call, then that's trolling. He could have added that the shot clock violation that cost Duke 3 points and the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds at the end of the first half was a bad call and that no call could have cost Duke the game. Then probably he wouldn't have gotten the response he's gotten so far. As I said in previous posts, I respect Wheat for his loyalty to the cheaters, but he should realize he's going to get plenty of flack when he make some his comments. GoDuke!

GGLC
01-26-2015, 12:55 PM
I'll add a few more...

- numerous uncalled travels on pivots/head fakes/drives
- the blocking call on Matt Jones when Pointer was spinning out of control on a fast break
- no offensive foul called on a few of the "knees up" drives by the Johnnies

- the two-handed shove in Matt's back that went uncalled

alteran
01-26-2015, 12:57 PM
I think I also saw one by Tyus, as we strengthened up....

It wasn't synchronized, but I'm pretty sure the whole team floor slapped.

TruBlu
01-26-2015, 01:10 PM
Congrats to K for his 1000th victory. A true honor and blessing to have him on the sidelines.

T. Jones was clutch in the final 10. M. Jones and Marshall brought some real toughness to the squad. What a great week for Marshall, I think this was his best game as a Duke player. Winslow has definitely hit a wall, but I'd imagine he'll break out of it soon enough. Hopefully sooner rather than later because we're going to have some trouble these next couple games if he isn't playing at a high level. I enjoyed the twin towers look. It is a nice defensive switch up and gives up great length.

St. Johns was really physical which will be nice preparation for March. Honestly I thought the refs were terrible on both sides (although my blue tinted glasses say they slightly favored St. Johns). Not to spark another debate but that video that grad_devil posted it seems that Jones foot is on the line. Look 42 seconds into it. Should it have been a 2 pointer?

Not so sure that Winslow "hit a wall". According to reports, he has been playing with an injured shoulder and bruised ribs. (Maybe this Freshman wall thing is getting more dangerous in its old age, and is causing increased physical damage.)

Concur that we need him back to reach our full potential.

duke09hms
01-26-2015, 01:16 PM
Not so sure that Winslow "hit a wall". According to reports, he has been playing with an injured shoulder and bruised ribs. (Maybe this Freshman wall thing is getting more dangerous in its old age, and is causing increased physical damage.)

Concur that we need him back to reach our full potential.

Bruised ribs will make it hard to do anything. Pain upon breathing and core stabilization are going to hinder any athlete, so it's not surprising Justise's overall play has suffered. Only proper rest and recovery will let them heal, so hopefully the Duke staff are treating him properly.

FerryFor50
01-26-2015, 01:25 PM
Bruised ribs will make it hard to do anything. Pain upon breathing and core stabilization are going to hinder any athlete, so it's not surprising Justise's overall play has suffered. Only proper rest and recovery will let them heal, so hopefully the Duke staff are treating him properly.

I think he's been more affected by his shoulder. Regardless, he's banged up and hopefully can heal up soon.

duke74
01-26-2015, 02:34 PM
Lost in all this Wheat angst is a tidbit from K's press conference. From the NY Post (if someone else posted this, apologies):

How many games are left in his career? Not as many as many people think.

“There’s an end in sight,” said Krzyzewski, who has won 927 games at Duke after beginning his career with five seasons at Army. “I’m going to be 68 next month and it’ll end sooner than later, but hopefully not real soon.”

I know not a surprise but a damper on the celebration. Aka reality.

Kedsy
01-26-2015, 03:13 PM
It wasn't synchronized, but I'm pretty sure the whole team floor slapped.

That's what it looked like to me as well. I noticed Marshall and Jahlil doing it, at least one of the guards, and I think Matt, too.

Saratoga2
01-26-2015, 03:20 PM
I also agree it is clear the defense needs to get better, especially in transition. However, if the 3 at the end of the half is disallowed like it should have been, Duke's def efficiency for the game would have been about a .955 rather than the 1.01. Duke's kenpom ranking would have even improved a bit more. I think it's very easy to get overly consumed with these efficiency numbers in an individual game, especially when one basket or two changes the equation so drastically.

One thing I noticed when Marshall came in was his willingness to sprint back on defense. You could see in his face the effort he was making to get back. That is not something Jahlil does and perhaps helped us get a big back in time to stop easy baskets by St John. I did also notice many of our players were not putting full effort in getting back. Maybe they are tired but I think coach K would be telling them to increase their effort in transistion.

superdave
01-26-2015, 04:05 PM
One thing I noticed when Marshall came in was his willingness to sprint back on defense. You could see in his face the effort he was making to get back. That is not something Jahlil does and perhaps helped us get a big back in time to stop easy baskets by St John. I did also notice many of our players were not putting full effort in getting back. Maybe they are tired but I think coach K would be telling them to increase their effort in transistion.

Marshall must have watched film of Zoubek who did the same thing. Getting back on defense, for a guy that big, is all about effort.

Given our poor transition defense the last few weeks I think Marshall's minutes could creep up some because of little things like this.

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2015, 04:25 PM
Coach K talked about MP3 and M Jones. This board talked a lot about T Jones. Wheat talked about god knows what and murdered this thread.

But, I must say that my MOTM and game changer was Quinn Cook. He took care of the ball during the comeback, initiated the first basket (that insane and-one) that got the team rolling offensively, and made that beautiful skip pass to T Jones in the corner. Also, his D was very solid during the comeback.

This Quinn that is playing ball is amazing. His shot hasn't been falling as of late, but he's been so sound.

I am the proudest owner of a Duke #2 jersey (okay, Nolan Smith inspired that jersey, but having Quinn wear it doesn't hurt).

Papa John
01-26-2015, 04:33 PM
But, I must say that my MOTM and game changer was Quinn Cook. He took care of the ball during the comeback, initiated the first basket (that insane and-one) that got the team rolling offensively, and made that beautiful skip pass to T Jones in the corner. Also, his D was very solid during the comeback.

This Quinn that is playing ball is amazing. His shot hasn't been falling as of late, but he's been so sound.

And he followed up that insane and-one with that 'I have cajones the size of watermelons' step-back three to put us ahead by 1... I can't disagree with choosing Cook as MoM—to me, it was between him and Marshall, but I went with Marshall because I tend to agree with others that he brought an intensity with him onto the floor that seemed to kick everyone else's intensity up to eleven...

I have been thoroughly impressed with the leadership and maturity Quinn has been showing this season... In years past, it was frustrating to watch him hang his head when things weren't going right—he simply became unfocused. Not so anymore—I haven't seen that at all this season. He's grown. He's quieter than Jefferson, but a solid leader nonetheless.

CDu
01-26-2015, 04:37 PM
Never seen soo many people let one comment side track them from what should have been a very happy moment (as a fan.)

what kind of anger is boiling in there that won't allow someone to look past what might be a tiny bit of jealousy and just celebrate the moment?

Sometimes the board is a bummer.

No anger from me. Just not going to let a UNC fan's trolling slide. As Duvall said, it's been fun for me to watch him try to rationalize what essentially boils down to a moment of sour grapes.

As for the game, this game went from being a point of frustration to a point of pleasure. The first 30 minutes seemed like a big step back after a couple of decent games defensively, as we struggled with dribble penetration and we completely failed in transition. On top of that, we were letting St. John's rough us up physically and it seemed to be getting to us. But then (perhaps by necessity), Coach K went with Plumlee and Matt Jones to add some toughness to go along with his best scoring threats on the day in Tyus Jones, Cook, and Okafor. And we went to the zone almost exclusively for a long stretch. And it worked. Plumlee and Matt Jones made hustle play after hustle play, combining for 11 rebounds including some key offensive rebounds that led to big buckets. Cook made a few great drives and one "onions-y" 3pt shot that spurred the charge. And Okafor responded to Obekpa's overt challenge by abusing him in the post for some buckets and fouls. It was just awesome to watch.

The nice thing about this win as opposed to the win in Wisconsin this year and the win at Pitt and the near-win at Syracuse last year is that this game was won largely on toughness and not on ridiculous shooting. Yes, we hit a bunch of shots. But it was our defensive intensity, our rebounding (on both ends) and our toughness that let us take over the game down the stretch. Even when we were missing shots, we were fighting for every rebound. And that is something that we can control moving forward, as opposed to hoping that the shots fall.

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2015, 04:38 PM
He's quieter than Jefferson, but a solid leader nonetheless.

I dunno about that. Jefferson clearly has a vocal advantage on D, but I think Cook has a vocal advantage every where else (huddles, interviews, offense, congratulating T Jones and Okafor after a great play).

Cook has always been vocal, but, as you said, he really learned to channel that energy into something positive this year.

kmspeaks
01-26-2015, 04:43 PM
What else can be said about Marshall? All of a sudden, that Twin Towers look feels like another part of the defensive evolution. One assumes he'll get more opportunities, I wonder if K would start him based on this performance? Notre Dame is so small, that wouldn't really make sense. Still, he was so big today. What a week for him.



Well that's one advantage of the zone, K can use the twin towers and not have to worry about one of his big guys chasing a stretch 4 or guard all over the floor. Marshall and the guards up top need a little work on when to pass off guys on the wing to each other but being in a zone eliminates the idea of going small and spreading the floor to drive on the big guys from an opposing coach's mind. Also, the corner three is often an easy shot to get against a 2-3 zone but I'd imagine the window for getting the shot off shrinks a little if there's a 7 footer jumping out at you. I don't know that Marshall will (or should) start a game this year but I don't think the size of the opposing team limits K's ability to go to him as long as we're in the zone.

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2015, 04:56 PM
Well that's one advantage of the zone, K can use the twin towers and not have to worry about one of his big guys chasing a stretch 4 or guard all over the floor. Marshall and the guards up top need a little work on when to pass off guys on the wing to each other but being in a zone eliminates the idea of going small and spreading the floor to drive on the big guys from an opposing coach's mind. Also, the corner three is often an easy shot to get against a 2-3 zone but I'd imagine the window for getting the shot off shrinks a little if there's a 7 footer jumping out at you. I don't know that Marshall will (or should) start a game this year but I don't think the size of the opposing team limits K's ability to go to him as long as we're in the zone.

Excellent point. Sporks for you!

The Twin Towers would be a disaster in man-to-man, especially given our ineffectiveness in defending the pick-and-roll. But, as long as we play against shady 3pt shooting, penetrating teams, the zone - and the Twin Towers - will always come in handy.

slower
01-26-2015, 05:25 PM
To me, the most memorable part of the game was seeing Tyus show some raw emotion near half-court. THAT'S the kind of passion we need from these guys. We get it pretty regularly from Amile, Quinn and Sheed, but if Tyus and Jah get in the spirit, it's gonna be fun.

I'm sick and tired of seeing teams try to punk us. It happens year after year. Thank God for the Thorntons and Singlers of the world, because turning the other cheek is NOT the right way to respond to teams that try to bully you. In street-ball, incompetent-ref games like last night, you just can't be soft. The mental game and confidence is hugely important. If our guys get treated like punks and don't respond, they'll be perceived as punks or soft. You don't think other teams can smell that? I WANT Tyus pumping his fists and I WANT Jah talking smack and absolutely punishing people and I WANT Marshall and everybody else in there trading blow for blow. Heck, I don't even care if somebody takes a swing and gets ejected, I just don't want them to get bullied. You know that K is tough as nails under his classy exterior, and he probably secretly wouldn't mind a good scuffle to instill some team toughness and swagger.

Look back at our championship teams. Yes, they had great talent. But they didn't let people push them around. How do you think Laettner, Hurley, JWill or Kyle would have acted last night? I would have LOVED to see one of those guys out there. Let's hope our current squad channels the toughness of those great teams.

DukieInBrasil
01-26-2015, 05:59 PM
But, I must say that my MOTM and game changer was Quinn Cook. He took care of the ball during the comeback, initiated the first basket (that insane and-one) that got the team rolling offensively, and made that beautiful skip pass to T Jones in the corner. Also, his D was very solid during the comeback.

This Quinn that is playing ball is amazing. His shot hasn't been falling as of late, but he's been so sound.

I am the proudest owner of a Duke #2 jersey (okay, Nolan Smith inspired that jersey, but having Quinn wear it doesn't hurt).

he 4-8 3FGs, so that shot was falling.

Troublemaker
01-26-2015, 06:05 PM
The Twin Towers would be a disaster in man-to-man, especially given our ineffectiveness in defending the pick-and-roll.

I'm not sure why you would think that, FDD. For one thing, if a big man gets pulled out on a pick-n-roll, it would be nice to have another 7-footer behind him to protect the basket. I would love to see how a Jah/MP3 combo looks like in man-2-man. Perhaps it doesn't go well, but I'm betting it does.

Duke3517
01-26-2015, 08:27 PM
Duke will go as far as Tyus takes them. Probably the best point guard in the country. He is outstanding. Still needs to work on his defense. He had some bad positions in the first half.

The zone defense is an interesting look for Duke. I don't know how long this will last. I bet until the young guys fully learn Coach K's pressure D.

CajunDevil
01-26-2015, 08:27 PM
Huge win. We were the anvil for the first 30 minutes but turned into the hammer the last ten. That transition to imposing our will on St. John's which happened during the second half was impressive. Usually such stark transitions occur after halftime, if at all.

Marshall's spirited play changed the game, and Quinn's step-back three was the shot of the game. Matt had several excellent hustle plays and Jah was a beast. The emotion and shot making Tyus and Jah displayed was great! Like others have said, we grew up today.

The next two games will be very interesting. I want to see Justise take a huge step forward and a continuation of the defensive intensity from the last 10 minutes if St. Johns. I think we win both and Justise finds his groove.

NYBri
01-26-2015, 08:45 PM
The Jonnies had one clear strategy... RUN. They pressed and ran at every chance. We were hammered until we stopped the track meet, and that was mainly because Marshall clogged the lane from the foul line to the base line.

I watched the last 8:22 today and things changed when we stopped the run outs and the bleeding.

Beautiful to watch.

Utley
01-26-2015, 08:45 PM
Ended up with some really nice seats for the game - and got there early and stayed late. Here's some color from the experience:

Quinn is the emotional leader of the team. He does a great job keeping the others light on the road - the whole team was really loose pre-game. When things looked bleakest - 10-12 minutes you could see him working to encourage Tyus - who was looking a little stunned - I think it steadied him. What a treat to watch him develop as a person - he really seems to be enjoying this year.

The team seems to be made up of really good people. As the players were doing their drills and were slapping hands with each other, they would slap the hands of a bunch of kids sitting court side. Quinn and Rasheed went around the court post game and took pictures with a bunch of kids and even one of my buddies.

Both teams played with a level of intensity that was reminiscent of a very late season tourney game. The kids elevated this game to the level it deserved. That beings said, I think we really elevated even the perimter D at the end. Quinn in particular seemed to step up - all of a sudden his man stopped getting by him - and if he did - he stole the ball from behind. It does lead me to think we have another gear on D - perhaps seeing a game of that first hand at UVA could get us to play there regularly.

I was with Newton in thinking the D was solid during the first 1o minutes but I also don't think I have ever been right and Kedsy wrong so that give me pause. One thing I did notice was the guys did a lot of talking on D the first 10 minutes but seemed to get away from it as the game went on (and I thought that's when the D really started to lag.

I totally love the Okafor family. When the rest of Blue Devil nation (this poster included) was sagging as the wheels came off - they stood and cheer and carried our banner.

Random crowd sightings (not sure if these were on TV) - Carmelo and Felipe Lopez in Fedoras on the floor in the Saint John's section. I though Carmelo might have some love for K given the Olympics. P*ssy. from the Sopranos was midcourt - 3 rows from the Sopranos. I didn't see him during the game but ran into Mason after the game ended.

Totally love Gus Johnson - he hung with us for a little post game and was as regular guy as you could be. Totally personable and I think really enjoyed the whole event. He did kind of remind me of the guy from Los Pollos Hermanos on Breaking Bad.

Finally - not sure if this was obvious from tv - but the environment was similar to when I have seen us win ACC tournament at the end of the game with the press, shirts, hats and jubilation afterwards. K was way more emotional than I expected and the players were jubilant. A great day to be a Dukie.

NYBri
01-26-2015, 08:58 PM
Ended up with some really nice seats for the game - and got there early and stayed late. Here's some color from the experience:

Quinn is the emotional leader of the team. He does a great job keeping the others light on the road - the whole team was really loose pre-game. When things looked bleakest - 10-12 minutes you could see him working to encourage Tyus - who was looking a little stunned - I think it steadied him. What a treat to watch him develop as a person - he really seems to be enjoying this year.

The team seems to be made up of really good people. As the players were doing their drills and were slapping hands with each other, they would slap the hands of a bunch of kids sitting court side. Quinn and Rasheed went around the court post game and took pictures with a bunch of kids and even one of my buddies.

Both teams played with a level of intensity that was reminiscent of a very late season tourney game. The kids elevated this game to the level it deserved. That beings said, I think we really elevated even the perimter D at the end. Quinn in particular seemed to step up - all of a sudden his man stopped getting by him - and if he did - he stole the ball from behind. It does lead me to think we have another gear on D - perhaps seeing a game of that first hand at UVA could get us to play there regularly.

I was with Newton in thinking the D was solid during the first 1o minutes but I also don't think I have ever been right and Kedsy wrong so that give me pause. One thing I did notice was the guys did a lot of talking on D the first 10 minutes but seemed to get away from it as the game went on (and I thought that's when the D really started to lag.

I totally love the Okafor family. When the rest of Blue Devil nation (this poster included) was sagging as the wheels came off - they stood and cheer and carried our banner.

Random crowd sightings (not sure if these were on TV) - Carmelo and Felipe Lopez in Fedoras on the floor in the Saint John's section. I though Carmelo might have some love for K given the Olympics. P*ssy. from the Sopranos was midcourt - 3 rows from the Sopranos. I didn't see him during the game but ran into Mason after the game ended.

Totally love Gus Johnson - he hung with us for a little post game and was as regular guy as you could be. Totally personable and I think really enjoyed the whole event. He did kind of remind me of the guy from Los Pollos Hermanos on Breaking Bad.

Finally - not sure if this was obvious from tv - but the environment was similar to when I have seen us win ACC tournament at the end of the game with the press, shirts, hats and jubilation afterwards. K was way more emotional than I expected and the players were jubilant. A great day to be a Dukie.
Great post, Utley.

Duke76
01-26-2015, 09:37 PM
I could be mistaken, but I think they didn't give him a technical because they can't retroactively call a technical. I think they can use the reviewe to assess/change a flagrant foul or determine a punch/elbow or not, but not a taunting foul. So while it was clearly taunting, since they missed it live they couldn't change the call. Hence the "talking to" that the player got instead. (again, I could be wrong about this - the rules change seemingly every year on this stuff)

I could live with the non-excessive foul call because you could argue that the block attempt led to the face hit. While I suspect his intent was to give an excessively hard foul, it's too hard to judge that in the flow of play.



I think you are right. The tenor of the game certainly changed after he came in. And St. John's definitely started playing much more... "physically"... after that.

I think they knew the only way they could win was to dirty the game up. Beat up on Okafor and hope the officials swallowed the whistles. They got their wish. Thankfully we survived it.


that's why I am hoping it will be a defining game for us.....they tried to punk us pretty bad and we withstood they bully moves and punched them back, held our composure...it was a great game for us...the best of the year because we proved to ourselves we had heart.

Bet K show the last 8 minutes of that game a number of times over the next 48 hours

Duke76
01-26-2015, 09:50 PM
To me, the most memorable part of the game was seeing Tyus show some raw emotion near half-court. THAT'S the kind of passion we need from these guys. We get it pretty regularly from Amile, Quinn and Sheed, but if Tyus and Jah get in the spirit, it's gonna be fun.

I'm sick and tired of seeing teams try to punk us. It happens year after year. Thank God for the Thorntons and Singlers of the world, because turning the other cheek is NOT the right way to respond to teams that try to bully you. In street-ball, incompetent-ref games like last night, you just can't be soft. The mental game and confidence is hugely important. If our guys get treated like punks and don't respond, they'll be perceived as punks or soft. You don't think other teams can smell that? I WANT Tyus pumping his fists and I WANT Jah talking smack and absolutely punishing people and I WANT Marshall and everybody else in there trading blow for blow. Heck, I don't even care if somebody takes a swing and gets ejected, I just don't want them to get bullied. You know that K is tough as nails under his classy exterior, and he probably secretly wouldn't mind a good scuffle to instill some team toughness and swagger.

Look back at our championship teams. Yes, they had great talent. But they didn't let people push them around. How do you think Laettner, Hurley, JWill or Kyle would have acted last night? I would have LOVED to see one of those guys out there. Let's hope our current squad channels the toughness of those great teams.

another great post....well said

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2015, 09:59 PM
I'm not sure why you would think that, FDD. For one thing, if a big man gets pulled out on a pick-n-roll, it would be nice to have another 7-footer behind him to protect the basket. I would love to see how a Jah/MP3 combo looks like in man-2-man. Perhaps it doesn't go well, but I'm betting it does.

If it worked well, wouldn't Coach K have tried it, especially during the NC State or Miami games? I firmly believe that Coach K tried the Twin Towers in man-to-man during practice and saw it didn't work and I'm willing to bet he did the game during zone practice and was impressed. Coach K isn't the kind of coach to randomly try line-ups during games that he hasn't seen in practice. I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised if Coach K was that spontaneous.

There is a reason that Coach K used the Twin Towers during the zone; another tall bigman provides excellent rebounding while the over bigman contests the shot. Furthermore, a bigman will never be "out of position" during a zone, something that really hurt Jahlil during the man-to-man. I don't really see the defensive value of Twin Towers in man-to-man. Having Amile or Justise - two mobile 4s - makes a lot more sense.

devil84
01-26-2015, 10:04 PM
Wheat posted his praise of the team and his opinion of a certain play where Tyus kicked his legs. Many people took it as trolling and led to a lengthy dissections of Wheat's post and the video of the call. We have taken the time to delete the original post and the myriad replies that derailed a thread about a significant win into something that looked more like middle-schoolers calling each other out on the playground than an intelligent discussion. It did not reflect well on any of the parties involved. Nobody wants to read that kind of discussion, especially after this particular game. (There was a bit of collateral damage. Some good stuff in breaking down the film as well as a number of posts sticking up for Wheat or advising posters to take the high road when reading something they disagree with.)

If you feel someone is trolling, your best bet is to NOT FEED THE TROLLS. Don't give a troll the attention they want. DO respond positively to any praise or good qualities of the troll's post. But don't point out how a troll is trolling. That's exactly the desired behavior a troll is looking for! Moreso, DO NOT POKE A TROLL WITH SHARP STICKS. Attacking the poster, instead of the post, likely will net you an infraction for incivility. Besides, it angers a troll and may encourage them to troll even more.

We've dealt with many trolls on this board, some fans of other schools, others who are Duke fans. Wheat does post some comments that could be considered trollish, but also provides insight and furthers most discussions. He's not nearly in the same category as an average Internet troll.

In deleting these 129 posts (NEARLY HALF THE THREAD, Y'ALL!), there should have been a number of infractions for incivility and needless posting. C'mon people. You can behave better. This was a great win for our team and a milestone victory for our Coach.

Back to celebrating this game. Congrats Coach 1K for coaching this team to a spectacular victory.

-jk
01-26-2015, 10:06 PM
If it worked well, wouldn't Coach K have tried it, especially during the NC State or Miami games? I firmly believe that Coach K tried the Twin Towers in man-to-man during practice and saw it didn't work and I'm willing to bet he did the game during zone practice and was impressed. Coach K isn't the kind of coach to randomly try line-ups during games that he hasn't seen in practice. I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised if Coach K was that spontaneous.

There is a reason that Coach K used the Twin Towers during the zone; another tall bigman provides excellent rebounding while the over bigman contests the shot. Furthermore, a bigman will never be "out of position" during a zone, something that really hurt Jahlil during the man-to-man. I don't really see the defensive value of Twin Towers in man-to-man. Having Amile or Justise - two mobile 4s - makes a lot more sense.

Frankly, I suspect K was as surprised as the rest of us. If Amile hadn't gone out injured, I don't think we'd have seen that line up.

-jk

CDu
01-26-2015, 10:07 PM
All I kept thinking down the stretch was how remarkable it was that Plumlee and Matt Jones were part of the 5 that made it happen. I never would have pegged Okafor, Jones, Jones, Cook and Plumlee as a comeback line-up.

I, too, am thrilled with the win for so many reasons. Knowing K would eventually reach this milestone, I just wanted it to happen so that it could be properly celebrated and then moved past. With the unexpected conference losses, it was starting to loom too large for too long. When it looked like we would lose, I feared the road games with ND and UVA might push it out another week, at which point this board would have been in a complete free fall. Instead, we got an EPIC win.

Without doing too much research, it feels like the best comeback win since Austin Rivers 3 against the Holes. It doesn't surpass that ending, but it was close.

The game was extremely intense, and I really thought we were going to fold with about 10 to go when we couldn't seem to chip away at that double digit lead. But, the comeback started exactly when it needed to, early enough to make it happen and not so late that we'd start to panic too early. There were so many big shots, especially Quinn's 3 to take the lead and Tyus' 3 to seal it. The Jah 3 point play was awesome. It was really a charged atmosphere.

What else can be said about Marshall? All of a sudden, that Twin Towers look feels like another part of the defensive evolution. One assumes he'll get more opportunities, I wonder if K would start him based on this performance? Notre Dame is so small, that wouldn't really make sense. Still, he was so big today. What a week for him.

I am getting worried about Justise as I think he's a very important player, but we are kind of playing "next man up" and these reserves are looking ready. I was shocked when he went with Grayson in the first half, but K was obviously looking for some toughness, some energy..something.

The recency effect is in play, but with the milestone, the comeback and the rocking MSG, this win trumped Wisconsin in my book. It just felt bigger on many levels. Congrats, Coach!

I missed this post earlier, but I agree. I think the Wisconsin game was a phenomenal win, but it was a good matchup for us and we shot incredibly well. This game was just different. We played poorly for so much of the game that we could have given up. But the team didn't give up, and instead absolutely dominated the last 5-10 minutes. It was a thorough beating on both ends. St. John's was fouling us on every play, with most going uncalled. But we didn't back down, and guys like Plumlee and Matt Jones made a ton of gritty plays to show St. John's that we weren't going to back down.

The Wisconsin win was a talent win. This was was an effort and character win.

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2015, 10:11 PM
Frankly, I suspect K was as surprised as the rest of us. If Amile hadn't gone out injured, I don't think we'd have seen that line up.

-jk

I'm not so sure. Coach K was surprised by how the game played out (Duke killing it, followed by St John's killing it, followed by Duke killing it again) and praised MP3 and M Jones for their effectiveness in the last third of the game. I didn't hear anything that suggested that MP3 hasn't capable or that the line-up was a surprise. If he was surprised by the effectiveness of MP3 in the line-up, then he was certainly surprised by M Jones's play. Cus he used both names at the same time and didn't single out on player over the other.

Also, going to Amile, has he really injured? I know he got smacked, so was that the play? I have no idea; I thought MP3 was brought in to shake things up, not because Amile was injured.

duke74
01-26-2015, 10:43 PM
The Jonnies had one clear strategy... RUN.

That's their game, but I might rephrase (augment) that strategy...Play smashmouth basketball. Foul hard and rely on noncalls by the refs and our assumed softness. While I agree with your assessment about the end of the game, we also fought back a bit and got tougher ourselves.

I was lucky to be there (courtesy of a partner's SJU alumni ticket allocation as an athletic donor), and saw our intensity (D and O) pick up and our faces get harder. Loved it when Jah finished at the rim and emoted!

Troublemaker
01-26-2015, 11:25 PM
If it worked well, wouldn't Coach K have tried it, especially during the NC State or Miami games? I firmly believe that Coach K tried the Twin Towers in man-to-man during practice and saw it didn't work and I'm willing to bet he did the game during zone practice and was impressed. Coach K isn't the kind of coach to randomly try line-ups during games that he hasn't seen in practice. I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised if Coach K was that spontaneous.

I think Duke's in a tinkering phase where surprising coaching decisions can happen. Twin Towers in zone had only been seen for one minute (against Louisville) before being played down the stretch against SJU. Twin Towers in man has been seen for four minutes previously (against Wofford), and I think it'll be seen again pretty soon.



There is a reason that Coach K used the Twin Towers during the zone; another tall bigman provides excellent rebounding while the over bigman contests the shot. Furthermore, a bigman will never be "out of position" during a zone, something that really hurt Jahlil during the man-to-man. I don't really see the defensive value of Twin Towers in man-to-man. Having Amile or Justise - two mobile 4s - makes a lot more sense.

I like Twin Towers in general -- both man and zone -- because I think having two shotblockers makes the defense much more effective.

Kedsy
01-26-2015, 11:36 PM
I like Twin Towers in general -- both man and zone -- because I think having two shotblockers makes the defense much more effective.

Seems to me, Twin Towers in man-to-man only works if the opposing PF isn't too mobile for the 2nd center to guard. If I'm right about that, then Notre Dame would seem to be a bad fit.

Furniture
01-26-2015, 11:39 PM
I thought this guys thoughts on the game were kinda cool and he was there in person...


http://nypost.com/2015/01/25/thomas-supplanting-gimpy-stoudemire/

Troublemaker
01-26-2015, 11:45 PM
Seems to me, Twin Towers in man-to-man only works if the opposing PF isn't too mobile for the 2nd center to guard. If I'm right about that, then Notre Dame would seem to be a bad fit.

I think Marshall might be able to stick with Connaughton. Would love to see it, even if I end up being proven horribly wrong.

duke74
01-26-2015, 11:46 PM
I thought this guys thoughts on the game were kinda cool and he was there in person...


http://nypost.com/2015/01/25/thomas-supplanting-gimpy-stoudemire/

The local press here has been very complimentary of Lance and his contribution to this very bad Knicks team. Hope he does well, but not well enough to help the Knicks blow a better chance at Jah.

Kedsy
01-26-2015, 11:58 PM
I think Marshall might be able to stick with Connaughton. Would love to see it, even if I end up being proven horribly wrong.

It would surprise me, though I have been surprised before, so who knows?

ricks68
01-27-2015, 01:11 AM
Frankly, I suspect K was as surprised as the rest of us. If Amile hadn't gone out injured, I don't think we'd have seen that line up.

-jk

Finally. That makes 2 of us plus Coach K that caught it. I was also wondering if that hadn't have happened, would Coach K have put the "twin towers" in at that point in time. It would be an interesting question to ask Coach K in an interview. Anyone out there in that position to pull that off?

ricks

jv001
01-27-2015, 08:14 AM
I believe MPIII is better suited for zone defense than man to man. Especially if the opposing teams runs a 3 guard offense. Our two biggest weaknesses are defense against runs outs and defending the pick and roll. I don't think Marshall would be very good at defending a quick guard or wing man. GoDuke!

kmspeaks
01-27-2015, 11:48 AM
I believe MPIII is better suited for zone defense than man to man. Especially if the opposing teams runs a 3 guard offense. Our two biggest weaknesses are defense against runs outs and defending the pick and roll. I don't think Marshall would be very good at defending a quick guard or wing man. GoDuke!

I'm going off (non-DVR aided) memory here so I fully acknowledge the possibility that I have no idea what I'm talking about but I feel like Marshall has not been as bad at this as you would expect a 7 footer to be. I remember a few times where he's gotten switched onto a guard and you can see the guy's eyes light up, like I've got a layup here but then he tries his best And1 mixtape crossover and Marshall is still in front of him. I don't know whether he could do it on a consistent basis, or if K would or should give him the opportunity but I think Marshall would fare better than many here might expect. Fumbling passes and rebounds makes him look uncoordinated but his feet are pretty good.

jv001
01-27-2015, 01:22 PM
I'm going off (non-DVR aided) memory here so I fully acknowledge the possibility that I have no idea what I'm talking about but I feel like Marshall has not been as bad at this as you would expect a 7 footer to be. I remember a few times where he's gotten switched onto a guard and you can see the guy's eyes light up, like I've got a layup here but then he tries his best And1 mixtape crossover and Marshall is still in front of him. I don't know whether he could do it on a consistent basis, or if K would or should give him the opportunity but I think Marshall would fare better than many here might expect. Fumbling passes and rebounds makes him look uncoordinated but his feet are pretty good.

I hope you're right about Marshall being able to guard a quick wing player. That would make a asset in a man2man rather than a liability. I don't believe he will get a start but I could see his playing time go up by playing with Jahlil. Coach K will probably use him to spell Jahlil as he has done all season. We don't want either to get in early foul trouble against a very good opponent. We need both ready to play hard in the 2nd half. The way it worked out against St. Johns was perfect. Neither player was in foul trouble and Coach K was able to use them together. GoDuke!

MarchedWithGHill
01-27-2015, 08:05 PM
First-time poster! Late to this little party, but here goes.

Coach K was obviously thrilled that the game was in Madison Square Garden. It works so well because it is close to Army where he started coaching.

Rewatching, it was obvious that Quinn Cook's baseline drive and-one sparked the comeback with about 8 minutes left. Plumlee came in at 11 min and stabilized things, but he really got going after Cook's big play, and with him the team. Cook had another *huge* emotion play when he tipped away a ball, went to the floor, and came up with the warrior's face and stormed victoriously to the bench for the timeout. St. John's kept the ball. But the freeze-frame of Tyus is priceless: he is looking on, amazed at Cook's fierce face. And later Tyus tipped away a ball and threw himself into the same victorious joy, pumping the air unforgettably.

Coach K said on Mike and Mike today that gone are the days when seniors teach freshman stars anything at Duke, as Ferry did for Laettner and Laettner for Parks. But this Cook-Tyus moment shows that seniors have some really important things to teach freshman, and that is how much winning matters, and how much fight is required to win. On the coach's show this week, K said that the majority of his task is teaching these freshmen how to win. Cook is, in that respect, the extension of the coach on the floor.

Also rewatching the DVR, I followed Sheed closely, and he played extremely well in this game. I'd like to talk about Rasheed as he is my favorite Duke player and I'm very happy with how he is playing this year. Against St. John's, he worked hard for some creative passes and dished the ball perfectly. I believe he delivered the pass that resulted in the flagrant foul against Jefferson--no stat for Sheed. He also got fouled very hard himself on a transition baseline drive -- by a friend with whom he had played a lot of ball in Houston. He took the ball directly at the defense and forced his friend to lay him out on the floor to stop the basket. Good hard physical play by Rasheed. The flagrant call never came but he just got up and kept playing. Rasheed also started the second half.

Rasheed's passing was consistently excellent and always purposeful. He was credited for one assist but had many more snappy passing plays that led to scores. He knows exactly what he plans to do with the ball when he gets it. He clapped for the ball on the wing in the second half and fed it straight through to Okafor in the post for a score. (I wish Okafor would go straight to the rim in a single fluid motion instead of waiting for the double.) He did a drive-and-dish to Winslow -- indeed, in every game he works hard to set up Winslow for open threes to get his juices flowing, something Winslow thanked him for in a post-game interview a couple weeks ago. And that pass to Amile -- AJ was absolutely soaring, and the vicious foul would have gotten some ball had not the ball been so high over the basket. Great passing like that gives scorers confidence and quickness on the shot.

There was only one goofy play by Rasheed in the entire game, and that was after he missed a three. He overplayed by doubling the Red who got the rebound, leaving a man uncovered and a 4-on-3 on the other end. Duke's three defenders did not adjust properly and it was an easy basket. (In that respect, we miss Winslow, who can be like a second Grant Hill by breaking up a fast break even when badly outgunned.) Rasheed got tagged on two ticky-tack foul calls in quick succession, effectively ending his game with four fouls. But on the bench he was punching Plumlee in the chest in the time out, pumping him up. Sheed also sat next to K and called the defense in during a free throw: "Twelve! Twelve!" And he was resurrected after Plumlee's exit with one minute left (after 10 straight minutes on the floor). Sheed made one of two free throws and skyed for a big rebound on a St. John's miss. Solid, disciplined game for Rasheed, where he did almost everything right, made his teammates better, and rejoiced when they shined.

Rasheed was the first one to embrace Coach Mike Krzyzewski when he sealed his one thousandth career victory. A great Duke victory.

gam7
01-27-2015, 10:20 PM
First-time poster! Late to this little party, but here goes.

Coach K was obviously thrilled that the game was in Madison Square Garden. It works so well because it is close to Army where he started coaching.

Rewatching, it was obvious that Quinn Cook's baseline drive and-one sparked the comeback with about 8 minutes left. Plumlee came in at 11 min and stabilized things, but he really got going after Cook's big play, and with him the team. Cook had another *huge* emotion play when he tipped away a ball, went to the floor, and came up with the warrior's face and stormed victoriously to the bench for the timeout. St. John's kept the ball. But the freeze-frame of Tyus is priceless: he is looking on, amazed at Cook's fierce face. And later Tyus tipped away a ball and threw himself into the same victorious joy, pumping the air unforgettably.

Coach K said on Mike and Mike today that gone are the days when seniors teach freshman stars anything at Duke, as Ferry did for Laettner and Laettner for Parks. But this Cook-Tyus moment shows that seniors have some really important things to teach freshman, and that is how much winning matters, and how much fight is required to win. On the coach's show this week, K said that the majority of his task is teaching these freshmen how to win. Cook is, in that respect, the extension of the coach on the floor.

Also rewatching the DVR, I followed Sheed closely, and he played extremely well in this game. I'd like to talk about Rasheed as he is my favorite Duke player and I'm very happy with how he is playing this year. Against St. John's, he worked hard for some creative passes and dished the ball perfectly. I believe he delivered the pass that resulted in the flagrant foul against Jefferson--no stat for Sheed. He also got fouled very hard himself on a transition baseline drive -- by a friend with whom he had played a lot of ball in Houston. He took the ball directly at the defense and forced his friend to lay him out on the floor to stop the basket. Good hard physical play by Rasheed. The flagrant call never came but he just got up and kept playing. Rasheed also started the second half.

Rasheed's passing was consistently excellent and always purposeful. He was credited for one assist but had many more snappy passing plays that led to scores. He knows exactly what he plans to do with the ball when he gets it. He clapped for the ball on the wing in the second half and fed it straight through to Okafor in the post for a score. (I wish Okafor would go straight to the rim in a single fluid motion instead of waiting for the double.) He did a drive-and-dish to Winslow -- indeed, in every game he works hard to set up Winslow for open threes to get his juices flowing, something Winslow thanked him for in a post-game interview a couple weeks ago. And that pass to Amile -- AJ was absolutely soaring, and the vicious foul would have gotten some ball had not the ball been so high over the basket. Great passing like that gives scorers confidence and quickness on the shot.

There was only one goofy play by Rasheed in the entire game, and that was after he missed a three. He overplayed by doubling the Red who got the rebound, leaving a man uncovered and a 4-on-3 on the other end. Duke's three defenders did not adjust properly and it was an easy basket. (In that respect, we miss Winslow, who can be like a second Grant Hill by breaking up a fast break even when badly outgunned.) Rasheed got tagged on two ticky-tack foul calls in quick succession, effectively ending his game with four fouls. But on the bench he was punching Plumlee in the chest in the time out, pumping him up. Sheed also sat next to K and called the defense in during a free throw: "Twelve! Twelve!" And he was resurrected after Plumlee's exit with one minute left (after 10 straight minutes on the floor). Sheed made one of two free throws and skyed for a big rebound on a St. John's miss. Solid, disciplined game for Rasheed, where he did almost everything right, made his teammates better, and rejoiced when they shined.

Rasheed was the first one to embrace Coach Mike Krzyzewski when he sealed his one thousandth career victory. A great Duke victory.

Nice first post! Something about your writing is Walton-esque.

NYBri
01-27-2015, 10:55 PM
I'm going off (non-DVR aided) memory here so I fully acknowledge the possibility that I have no idea what I'm talking about but I feel like Marshall has not been as bad at this as you would expect a 7 footer to be. I remember a few times where he's gotten switched onto a guard and you can see the guy's eyes light up, like I've got a layup here but then he tries his best And1 mixtape crossover and Marshall is still in front of him. I don't know whether he could do it on a consistent basis, or if K would or should give him the opportunity but I think Marshall would fare better than many here might expect. Fumbling passes and rebounds makes him look uncoordinated but his feet are pretty good.

Marshall can play D. No question.

gep
01-27-2015, 11:14 PM
First-time poster! Late to this little party, but here goes.

Coach K was obviously thrilled that the game was in Madison Square Garden. It works so well because it is close to Army where he started coaching.

Rewatching, it was obvious that Quinn Cook's baseline drive and-one sparked the comeback with about 8 minutes left. Plumlee came in at 11 min and stabilized things, but he really got going after Cook's big play, and with him the team. Cook had another *huge* emotion play when he tipped away a ball, went to the floor, and came up with the warrior's face and stormed victoriously to the bench for the timeout. St. John's kept the ball. But the freeze-frame of Tyus is priceless: he is looking on, amazed at Cook's fierce face. And later Tyus tipped away a ball and threw himself into the same victorious joy, pumping the air unforgettably.

Coach K said on Mike and Mike today that gone are the days when seniors teach freshman stars anything at Duke, as Ferry did for Laettner and Laettner for Parks. But this Cook-Tyus moment shows that seniors have some really important things to teach freshman, and that is how much winning matters, and how much fight is required to win. On the coach's show this week, K said that the majority of his task is teaching these freshmen how to win. Cook is, in that respect, the extension of the coach on the floor.

Also rewatching the DVR, I followed Sheed closely, and he played extremely well in this game. I'd like to talk about Rasheed as he is my favorite Duke player and I'm very happy with how he is playing this year. Against St. John's, he worked hard for some creative passes and dished the ball perfectly. I believe he delivered the pass that resulted in the flagrant foul against Jefferson--no stat for Sheed. He also got fouled very hard himself on a transition baseline drive -- by a friend with whom he had played a lot of ball in Houston. He took the ball directly at the defense and forced his friend to lay him out on the floor to stop the basket. Good hard physical play by Rasheed. The flagrant call never came but he just got up and kept playing. Rasheed also started the second half.

Rasheed's passing was consistently excellent and always purposeful. He was credited for one assist but had many more snappy passing plays that led to scores. He knows exactly what he plans to do with the ball when he gets it. He clapped for the ball on the wing in the second half and fed it straight through to Okafor in the post for a score. (I wish Okafor would go straight to the rim in a single fluid motion instead of waiting for the double.) He did a drive-and-dish to Winslow -- indeed, in every game he works hard to set up Winslow for open threes to get his juices flowing, something Winslow thanked him for in a post-game interview a couple weeks ago. And that pass to Amile -- AJ was absolutely soaring, and the vicious foul would have gotten some ball had not the ball been so high over the basket. Great passing like that gives scorers confidence and quickness on the shot.

There was only one goofy play by Rasheed in the entire game, and that was after he missed a three. He overplayed by doubling the Red who got the rebound, leaving a man uncovered and a 4-on-3 on the other end. Duke's three defenders did not adjust properly and it was an easy basket. (In that respect, we miss Winslow, who can be like a second Grant Hill by breaking up a fast break even when badly outgunned.) Rasheed got tagged on two ticky-tack foul calls in quick succession, effectively ending his game with four fouls. But on the bench he was punching Plumlee in the chest in the time out, pumping him up. Sheed also sat next to K and called the defense in during a free throw: "Twelve! Twelve!" And he was resurrected after Plumlee's exit with one minute left (after 10 straight minutes on the floor). Sheed made one of two free throws and skyed for a big rebound on a St. John's miss. Solid, disciplined game for Rasheed, where he did almost everything right, made his teammates better, and rejoiced when they shined.

Rasheed was the first one to embrace Coach Mike Krzyzewski when he sealed his one thousandth career victory. A great Duke victory.

Very nice post on Rasheed. One more "minor" point on Rasheed that I think I saw. After Rasheed got that last rebound... about 25 seconds left, he dribbled to Tyus and gave him the ball. Then he jogged off toward the Duke bench. I thought that was pretty cool to let Tyus handle the ball at the buzzer (at least, for me).

Reminds me of Chris Duhon at the end of the NC game... he dribbled over to Jason Williams to hand him the ball... but Jason was so wildly celabrating that Chris had to chase Jason to give him the ball before the buzzer. Something like when Chris first met Jason, Jason said something to the effect that his dream was to have the ball at the buzzer of the NC game. And Chris remembered that. Great moment for me.

BD80
01-27-2015, 11:22 PM
The local press here has been very complimentary of Lance and his contribution to this very bad Knicks team. Hope he does well, but not well enough to help the Knicks blow a better chance at Jah.

Lance could be the second coming of Karl Malone and not significantly improve the Knicks.

subzero02
01-28-2015, 12:29 AM
I'm going off (non-DVR aided) memory here so I fully acknowledge the possibility that I have no idea what I'm talking about but I feel like Marshall has not been as bad at this as you would expect a 7 footer to be. I remember a few times where he's gotten switched onto a guard and you can see the guy's eyes light up, like I've got a layup here but then he tries his best And1 mixtape crossover and Marshall is still in front of him. I don't know whether he could do it on a consistent basis, or if K would or should give him the opportunity but I think Marshall would fare better than many here might expect. Fumbling passes and rebounds makes him look uncoordinated but his feet are pretty good.

I distinctly remember Plumlee going out to guard one of St. John's wings. The guy made a quick move to the baseline and the play was over, easy layup. Marshall barely had time to react.

NSDukeFan
01-28-2015, 05:51 AM
I believe somebody (ies) mentioned this above, but I am really happy about the team's first victory coming back from a significant deficit. It was nice the first 10 games winning them all by double digits, but I think learning to win close games and overcoming deficits are important skills to have. This team is developing those. Big few days ahead. Go Duke.

tbyers11
01-28-2015, 09:40 AM
I distinctly remember Plumlee going out to guard one of St. John's wings. The guy made a quick move to the baseline and the play was over, easy layup. Marshall barely had time to react.

Yes, that was one of the first possessions that Marshall was in during the final 11 minutes. I'm not certain if we were in man or if the zone just hadn't gotten setup, but Pointer blew by MP3 on the wing and hit a short pull up jumper.

I am of the opinion that unless a team plays a true PF/C combo, which ND certainly does not, that MP3 and Okafor can't co-exist together in a man-to-man for an extended period. If we are playing zone then I think they can work well together

pfrduke
01-28-2015, 11:09 AM
I believe somebody (ies) mentioned this above, but I am really happy about the team's first victory coming back from a significant deficit. It was nice the first 10 games winning them all by double digits, but I think learning to win close games and overcoming deficits are important skills to have. This team is developing those. Big few days ahead. Go Duke.

Watching the game, I couldn't help think of a poster (who shall remain nameless) who, during the 2009-2010 time frame, kept saying that we weren't a national championship-caliber team unless we passed certain tests (which was, in my view, a silly thing to say, but that's beside the point). One of those "tests" was a comeback victory on the road, so this year's team can at least check that particular box.

subzero02
01-31-2015, 01:00 PM
St. John's has a knack for hitting 3's before or in our case, just after halftime... Porter just nailed a deep 3 against Providence. Although this 3 actually beat the halftime buzzer.