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wandalee
02-02-2015, 12:29 PM
Duke vs Louisville tonight at Cameron. Game time is 7:00 and it will be shown on ESPN2. Plenty of tickets still available for what should be a great game!

CameronBornAndBred
02-02-2015, 12:48 PM
Another huge game for the women. They proved that they could win tough games by taking down UNC on the road, and happily this one is in Cameron. A big crowd would be great to see on TV. The article posted on GoDuke.com sums this one up pretty well for me.

Head coach Joanne P. McCallie doesn't always know what she's going to get from No. 17 Duke.
Her Blue Devils (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have been good enough to knock off No. 10 Kentucky and take top-ranked South Carolina to the final seconds.
They've also been bad enough to lose to struggling Boston College.
So, which Duke team will show up Monday night to face No. 8 Louisville is questionable at best.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22760&SPID=1846&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209872188&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Crossing fingers that Amber will be playing tonight; we'll need her if we want to stay in the game.

killerleft
02-02-2015, 03:21 PM
Another huge game for the women. They proved that they could win tough games by taking down UNC on the road, and happily this one is in Cameron. A big crowd would be great to see on TV. The article posted on GoDuke.com sums this one up pretty well for me.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22760&SPID=1846&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209872188&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Crossing fingers that Amber will be playing tonight; we'll need her if we want to stay in the game.

That article has a very interesting remark by Coach P regarding the transfer of Sierra Calhoun: 'McCallie called Calhoun's move ''the saddest thing I've ever seen in college athletics'' because ''she wanted to stay and other decision-makers were moving along.'''

CameronBornAndBred
02-02-2015, 03:24 PM
That article has a very interesting remark by Coach P regarding the transfer of Sierra Calhoun: 'McCallie called Calhoun's move ''the saddest thing I've ever seen in college athletics'' because ''she wanted to stay and other decision-makers were moving along.'''
Overall, that is one of the most interesting articles I've ever read on GoDuke, about any sport. Very rarely do you find such honesty posted about their own teams. (Unless they've won.)

killerleft
02-02-2015, 03:30 PM
Overall, that is one of the most interesting articles I've ever read on GoDuke, about any sport. Very rarely do you find such honesty posted about their own teams. (Unless they've won.)

Yeah, you're right. Don't know what to make of it. But I wish I could go tonight and cheer them on. TV will have to do.

DU82
02-02-2015, 06:59 PM
Yeah, you're right. Don't know what to make of it. But I wish I could go tonight and cheer them on. TV will have to do.

Rarely do I see comments like that. First word regarding a transfer from Coach P that I remember (other than an announcement of the transfer, not that we've always received those.)

anyway, plenty of seats available. I see the GA upstairs a bit more crowded than usual (not that it's full.). Not a lot of UL fans, either. That's what a Monday night game instead of Sunday afternoon does.

Regarding attendance, I saw that Maryland didn't have a lot of fans at their top 20 matchup yesterday, either. A problem for live sports everywhere.

DU82
02-02-2015, 07:11 PM
If this is size vs. speed, then size is winning. 11-2 at the first TO, called by UL.

Oderah has three baskets, but unfortunately our two fouls, so Kendall is in. Azura had a close shot, missed badly off the front rim, and then just cherry-picked the rebound over the UL player, and hit the second.

Duvall
02-02-2015, 07:28 PM
This is...unpleasant.

DU82
02-02-2015, 07:30 PM
This is...unpleasant.

Well, yes. When Oderah went out, so did our offense. Louisville hasn't been much better, with the score 13-11 at the 7:41 mark and a Too.

It seems the refs have made illegal screens a point of emphasis tonight.

burnspbesq
02-02-2015, 07:51 PM
If Duke would consistently do what it did on its last three full possessions of the half, we would get good shots every time. We were patient, probed the defense with inside-out and ball reversal, and got it in great spots late in each possession.

brevity
02-02-2015, 07:54 PM
Just tuned in and the halftime score is Duke 25, Louisville 19. What happened? Because it looks like they scheduled an ACC women's game and a Big Ten men's game broke out.

Duvall
02-02-2015, 08:13 PM
This? Is pleasant.

DU82
02-02-2015, 08:14 PM
After hitting their first two shots of the half from the elbow, Duke, and Elizabeth in particular, have shut them down.. Meanwhile, offense has been found on the Pantone 187 side. 37-23 at the 15:30 mark.

dukelifer
02-02-2015, 09:03 PM
Nice win by Duke. Still battling

killerleft
02-02-2015, 09:03 PM
The Women easily handle No. 8 Louisville. Azura & Elizabeth lead the way, all five starters score at least 10! Defense is very good, at least 11 blocks.

Duvall
02-02-2015, 09:05 PM
Great, tough win. Size matters.

CameronBornAndBred
02-02-2015, 09:11 PM
Excellent win. The foul fest at the end was beyond annoying. Not even mentioning the foul with .4 left on the clock (ok..I mentioned it, so cheap), I seriously dislike the fouls before the ball has even been inbounded. There should be a rule against that.

My one worry about the game was that we had no points from the bench; I'd like to see some points coming in, that can be an issue when we have foul problems.

burnspbesq
02-02-2015, 09:15 PM
Quick comparison of tonight's Louisville stats vs. their season stats underlines just how good our defense was tonight.

Prior to tonight, Louisville's lowest-scoring game of the year was 63 (twice, against Pitt and FSU). They came in averaging 77.5 points per game. On the season, the Cards were shooting 46.7 percent from the floor, and getting 1.046 points per possession.

Tonight they got, 58, 35.4 percent, and 0.866.

Nicely done.

burnspbesq
02-02-2015, 09:20 PM
Kalia and Becca were a combined 6-12 from three, and every one of them was (in keeping with tonight's theme of "size matters") HUGE. None bigger than the one Ka'lia hit with 5:47 to go to shut off a Louisville run and restore the double-digit lead.

GGLC
02-02-2015, 09:30 PM
Huge win.

Des Esseintes
02-02-2015, 09:32 PM
The Women easily handle No. 8 Louisville. Azura & Elizabeth lead the way, all five starters score at least 10! Defense is very good, at least 11 blocks.

I love how this team has responded to its challenges--and largely blown through them. Their ceiling is almost certainly limited this year, but they sure seem to running as close to that ceiling as it's possible for a team to run. Massive credit to the players, and massive credit, too, to the coaching staff. If it was K beating ranked teams without a point guard *anywhere* on the depth chart, the encomiums would be trumpeted loud and long. This isn't Scheyer and Smith adapting their games to the point. This is, I don't know, if Nate James or Gerald Henderson was our ablest distributor. (And I do of course think K could have won that way.)

CameronBornAndBred
02-02-2015, 09:38 PM
Keeping BC in mind, Duke should have a bit of a breather in their next 3 games, although 2 of them are on the road. We'll face a bad Wake team in Winston, an even worse Clemson team at home, before capping off with a road trip to Charlottesville. Those are three good games to keep working on being the best team we can be before we head off to South Bend in two weeks.

burnspbesq
02-02-2015, 09:57 PM
If you want something to fret about, there's this. After Duke made its last field goal with 4:15 to go, we didn't even attempt a field goal the rest of the way, and went only 8-16 from the line. That's not exactly state of the art as far as closing out games is concerned.

-jk
02-02-2015, 10:29 PM
Don't worry - this board is quite good at finding things to fret about...

-jk

devildeac
02-02-2015, 10:44 PM
Don't worry - this board is quite good at finding things to fret about...

-jk

Maybe even this:

4696

OZ
02-02-2015, 11:12 PM
I love how this team has responded to its challenges--and largely blown through them. Their ceiling is almost certainly limited this year, but they sure seem to running as close to that ceiling as it's possible for a team to run. Massive credit to the players, and massive credit, too, to the coaching staff. If it was K beating ranked teams without a point guard *anywhere* on the depth chart, the encomiums would be trumpeted loud and long. This isn't Scheyer and Smith adapting their games to the point. This is, I don't know, if Nate James or Gerald Henderson was our ablest distributor. (And I do of course think K could have won that way.)

Thanks for a good post.

Kedsy
02-02-2015, 11:16 PM
I love how this team has responded to its challenges--and largely blown through them. Their ceiling is almost certainly limited this year, but they sure seem to running as close to that ceiling as it's possible for a team to run. Massive credit to the players, and massive credit, too, to the coaching staff. If it was K beating ranked teams without a point guard *anywhere* on the depth chart, the encomiums would be trumpeted loud and long. This isn't Scheyer and Smith adapting their games to the point. This is, I don't know, if Nate James or Gerald Henderson was our ablest distributor. (And I do of course think K could have won that way.)

Suppose Elizabeth hadn't been hurt in late November/early December, and we'd beaten Texas A&M, Nebraska, and South Carolina (I know Elizabeth played against SC, but she clearly wasn't full strength and we lost by one measly point). Coach P would be in the running for national coach of the year. And here at DBR, people would still be calling for her to be fired. I agree with everything you've said here, regarding our roster and our ceiling. But I really like this year's team, and admire the job Coach P has done this season.

In sum, nice win. Azurá Stevens remains my hero.

uh_no
02-02-2015, 11:21 PM
Don't worry - this board is quite good at finding things to fret about...

-jk

focusing only on things you do well is a highway to mediocrity....not that people can't enjoy good wins and point out positives as well.

Des Esseintes
02-03-2015, 12:16 AM
focusing only on things you do well is a highway to mediocrity....not that people can't enjoy good wins and point out positives as well.

Yeah, slippery slope here, people. The unrealistic standards of message board fans are all that stand between Duke women's hoops and mediocrity. God only knows how many losses our vigilance has prevented. If we stopped whining, McCallie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and all the rest would quit working hard the very next day.

jv001
02-03-2015, 07:56 AM
I love how this team has responded to its challenges--and largely blown through them. Their ceiling is almost certainly limited this year, but they sure seem to running as close to that ceiling as it's possible for a team to run. Massive credit to the players, and massive credit, too, to the coaching staff. If it was K beating ranked teams without a point guard *anywhere* on the depth chart, the encomiums would be trumpeted loud and long. This isn't Scheyer and Smith adapting their games to the point. This is, I don't know, if Nate James or Gerald Henderson was our ablest distributor. (And I do of course think K could have won that way.)

If Coach P has ever done a good job of coaching, it's this season. As I watched the game last night I was amazed that Duke doesn't have one above average ball handler. But the team keeps winning. It's not pretty not even plain Jane, but it's winning. Good job. GoDuke!

dudog84
02-03-2015, 09:17 AM
Yeah, slippery slope here, people. The unrealistic standards of message board fans are all that stand between Duke women's hoops and mediocrity. God only knows how many losses our vigilance has prevented. If we stopped whining, McCallie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and all the rest would quit working hard the very next day.

HA! Excellent retort!

uh_no
02-03-2015, 09:25 AM
Yeah, slippery slope here, people. The unrealistic standards of message board fans are all that stand between Duke women's hoops and mediocrity. God only knows how many losses our vigilance has prevented. If we stopped whining, McCallie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and all the rest would quit working hard the very next day.

and yet we say stuff like "next game people!" as if it matters whether fans dwell....and people are chided for looking too far past the next game. shrug.

CameronBornAndBred
02-03-2015, 11:12 AM
If you want something to fret about, there's this. After Duke made its last field goal with 4:15 to go, we didn't even attempt a field goal the rest of the way, and went only 8-16 from the line. That's not exactly state of the art as far as closing out games is concerned.
Good news for us though, is that Louisville didn't score with over 4 left to play either, not until 27.7 left with a three and the game was sealed.

wandalee
02-03-2015, 01:30 PM
This team can be frustrating this year, but they are playing hard. I thought our defense was really good most of last night (except for when #4 went on a 3 point spree).

People have talked about how we are missing guards this season, especially after the loss of Sierra, but we have also been without Coach Al Brown (at least at all of the games; not sure if he's been around practices) due to an undisclosed medical issue. I'm sure his experience on the bench would be beneficial during games and practices.

Kfanarmy
02-03-2015, 02:10 PM
focusing only on things you do well is a highway to mediocrity....not that people can't enjoy good wins and point out positives as well.

Yeah, slippery slope here, people. The unrealistic standards of message board fans are all that stand between Duke women's hoops and mediocrity. God only knows how many losses our vigilance has prevented. If we stopped whining, McCallie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and all the rest would quit working hard the very next day.

Certainly don’t want to go down the slippery slope of not "focusing only on things you do well," though I'm not sure how that would represent an unrealistic standard.

It was a really solid win. certainly doesn’t mean all the team's flaws have melted away…22 turnovers in this game -- an average of over 20 for the past 10 games. Among all the things they did well against Louisville, TOs are among the things that could use a bit more focus.

AIM4excellence
02-03-2015, 08:43 PM
Overall, that is one of the most interesting articles I've ever read on GoDuke, about any sport. Very rarely do you find such honesty posted about their own teams. (Unless they've won.)

Interesting? Yes, absolutely. Honest? Well, yes, it was certainly sad. It was also run through the spin cycle more than a few times. I hope Sierra and her father will make a public statement at some point.

Back on point - great win by the Duke women tonight. Louisville is a good team and any win over a good team bodes well for DWB.

CameronBlue
02-03-2015, 08:55 PM
Yeah, slippery slope here, people. The unrealistic standards of message board fans are all that stand between Duke women's hoops and mediocrity. God only knows how many losses our vigilance has prevented. If we stopped whining, McCallie, Elizabeth, Stevens, and all the rest would quit working hard the very next day.

Yup, yup, see your point, see your point but...do we really want to risk it? I mean for those of us in the KNOW, that is. It's the massive cliff and the end of the slippery slope that motivates us...I realize it's hard but please just try to put yourself in OUR shoes, maybe then you'll understand.

burnspbesq
02-03-2015, 09:32 PM
BTW, if you want a reason to feel good about the future of Duke women's basketball, find a replay online of the fourth quarter of last Saturday's Rivas game. Angela is going to be the best combo guard in the ACC as of the first day of freshman orientation.

CameronBornAndBred
02-03-2015, 09:58 PM
Interesting? Yes, absolutely. Honest? Well, yes, it was certainly sad. It was also run through the spin cycle more than a few times. I hope Sierra and her father will make a public statement at some point.

Back on point - great win by the Duke women tonight. Louisville is a good team and any win over a good team bodes well for DWB.
My comment actually had nothing to do with Sierra, but more to the point of the initial blurb that I quoted. I've never seen a college's own website post an article that called the team "bad".

awhom111
02-04-2015, 12:36 AM
BTW, if you want a reason to feel good about the future of Duke women's basketball, find a replay online of the fourth quarter of last Saturday's Rivas game. Angela is going to be the best combo guard in the ACC as of the first day of freshman orientation.

At your service as always:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGbBrliHGoc

dudog84
02-04-2015, 09:48 AM
Saw this article on Angela, might be interesting to women's basketball fans. Explains what is going on in the Euro leagues and why we might be seeing more talent from there in college. Good for Duke? I would think only Stanford and maybe Notre Dame could match us for degree cachet back in Europe.

http://lovewomensbasketball.com/2014/09/17/cecilia-zandalasini-and-angela-salvadores-ranked-by-espn-as-top-5-college-prospects/

sagegrouse
02-04-2015, 10:22 AM
Saw this article on Angela, might be interesting to women's basketball fans. Explains what is going on in the Euro leagues and why we might be seeing more talent from there in college. Good for Duke? I would think only Stanford and maybe Notre Dame could match us for degree cachet back in Europe.

http://lovewomensbasketball.com/2014/09/17/cecilia-zandalasini-and-angela-salvadores-ranked-by-espn-as-top-5-college-prospects/
The end of the article has the following money quote re Misses Zandalasini and Salvadores:


Both appear to be a part of recent waive of young European stars that have decided to go through the college system with the likes of Leticia Romero (Spain) and Hind Ben Abdelkader (Belgium) going to the States last year (Ben Abdelkader did decide to go home in the winter, not finishing her first year). In each of the cases there might be different motivations, but one of the common ones might be that there is less money in the European women’s basketball than there was 5-7 years ago. Based on what quite a few top teams over the summer were saying, that trend isn’t close to reversing. So a six digit athletic scholarship might sound more appealing to young European players than ever before.

killerleft
02-04-2015, 11:27 AM
Interesting? Yes, absolutely. Honest? Well, yes, it was certainly sad. It was also run through the spin cycle more than a few times. I hope Sierra and her father will make a public statement at some point.

Back on point - great win by the Duke women tonight. Louisville is a good team and any win over a good team bodes well for DWB.

Coach P's statement is an open invitation to Sierra and her dad. Why would Coach P make that statement, and why would it run on GoDuke.com, if there wasn't another side to what you might have heard?

I don't worry so much that what we say on DBR influences parents or players. But there are other scenarios where unsubstantiated rumors, especially non-stop criticism, can take their toll. The successor to Coach K better have the patience of Job.

Des Esseintes
02-04-2015, 12:22 PM
Coach P's statement is an open invitation to Sierra and her dad. Why would Coach P make that statement, and why would it run on GoDuke.com, if there wasn't another side to what you might have heard?

I don't worry so much that what we say on DBR influences parents or players. But there are other scenarios where unsubstantiated rumors, especially non-stop criticism, can take their toll. The successor to Coach K better have the patience of Job.

Or at least the contract of Wizards-era Juwan Howard.