Mark Few on Mike and Mike this morning......

[rsvman]

Did anybody else hear this interview? Greenburg asked a question specifically related to how far their offensive efficiency fell below their season average when they played us. Those who didn't hear the interview, any guesses as to what his first thought was?


Perimeter defense! The very thing that has been Duke's nemesis off and on over the past few years. That was the first thing he said. And he specifically cited Quinn Cook. He said Quinn made it impossible for Pangos to "get anything going."

Quinn did the same thing to Delon Wright; oh, and to Marcus Paige, too. Quinn's defensive effort has certainly been noticed by people on this board, but I think mostly overlooked elsewhere. I thought it was interesting that Coach Few immediately cited Quinn's ability to shut down the opposing team's best guard as one of the main reasons his team was unable to beat Duke.

I am hopeful that Quinn will do the same thing to Trice tomorrow.

[NYBri]

Did anybody else hear this interview? Greenburg asked a question specifically related to how far their offensive efficiency fell below their season average when they played us. Those who didn't hear the interview, any guesses as to what his first thought was?


Perimeter defense! The very thing that has been Duke's nemesis off and on over the past few years. That was the first thing he said. And he specifically cited Quinn Cook. He said Quinn made it impossible for Pangos to "get anything going."

Quinn did the same thing to Delon Wright; oh, and to Marcus Paige, too. Quinn's defensive effort has certainly been noticed by people on this board, but I think mostly overlooked elsewhere. I thought it was interesting that Coach Few immediately cited Quinn's ability to shut down the opposing team's best guard as one of the main reasons his team was unable to beat Duke.

I am hopeful that Quinn will do the same thing to Trice tomorrow.

I will take 8 pts from him if he can shut down Trice. We have other scoring options and locking down Trice is like adding 20 pts to our total.

[OldPhiKap]

Trice is playing fantastic ball right now, it will be a big challenge for Quinn.

Quinn has said that a big part of his defense lately has been Jah, Marshall and Amile communicating so he knows he's not out on an island.

And, he said that after three years, he finally decided to take shutting someone down as a challenge and that it was now fun for him to do so.

MSU reminds me a lot of Gonzaga -- excellent backcourt, bunch of bigs. MSU's backcourt is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. (Okay, only four teams are playing right now but you know what I mean).

[Ichabod Drain]

Trice is playing fantastic ball right now, it will be a big challenge for Quinn.

Quinn has said that a big part of his defense lately has been Jah, Marshall and Amile communicating so he knows he's not out on an island.

And, he said that after three years, he finally decided to take shutting someone down as a challenge and that it was now fun for him to do so.

MSU reminds me a lot of Gonzaga -- excellent backcourt, bunch of bigs. MSU's backcourt is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. (Okay, only four teams are playing right now but you know what I mean).

I agree about MSU's backcourt but I wouldn't say they have a "bunch of bigs." They really only have two guys over 6'6" (Costello and Schilling) and they both play exclusively at the 5 spot (and their both only listed at 6'9"). Jah had a good game against them the first time and I think with more experience he is going to have an even better game this time.

[Tripping William]

Quinn Cook: Lockdown Defender.

I like the sounds of that, and I have definitely liked the looks of that!

[MChambers]

Trice is playing fantastic ball right now, it will be a big challenge for Quinn.
My sense from watching MSU games (and I've seen quite a few, with MSU fans in my house) is that Trice gets a lot of his points on the break. Limiting our turnovers and bad shots will help limit Trice's points.

[OldPhiKap]

My sense from watching MSU games (and I've seen quite a few, with MSU fans in my house) is that Trice gets a lot of his points on the break. Limiting our turnovers and bad shots will help limit Trice's points.

That was perhaps my favorite stat from the Gonzaga game (besides the score of course) -- I think we only had three turnovers all game, and only one of those was a live ball turnover (very beginning of the second half)

[Edouble]

Trice is playing fantastic ball right now, it will be a big challenge for Quinn.

I'm sure the stats would back you on this. However, I saw one full MSU game (seen bits of others) during this tournament--the UVA game, and I was pretty unimpressed with Trice. He made a few plays and took a few shots that made it look like this was his first time playing basketball. I'm not buying the hype.

[killerleft]

I'm sure the stats would back you on this. However, I saw one full MSU game (seen bits of others) during this tournament--the UVA game, and I was pretty unimpressed with Trice. He made a few plays and took a few shots that made it look like this was his first time playing basketball. I'm not buying the hype.

Keep your money. I hope Quinn's buying the hype and getting tuned up for the guy right now!:)

[budwom]

I heard the Few interview. Most interesting to me by far was his comment that in watching film before the regional (including the ACC Tournament), he and his staff were surprised that
Duke looked "disinterested" on defense. But then they watched the Utah game and realized Duke had changed a great deal.

Danny Manning chimed in that he was especially impressed by Matt Jones's contributions to Duke's defensive improvement.

[jimsumner]

I'm sure the stats would back you on this. However, I saw one full MSU game (seen bits of others) during this tournament--the UVA game, and I was pretty unimpressed with Trice. He made a few plays and took a few shots that made it look like this was his first time playing basketball. I'm not buying the hype.

You were unimpressed with Trice against Virginia? Yikes. That would be the same guy who had 23 points against arguably the nation's best defense?

I saw that game in person and Trice was the best player on the court and it wasn't close.

So, color me must definitely impressed.

[rsvman]

I heard the Few interview. Most interesting to me by far was his comment that in watching film before the regional (including the ACC Tournament), he and his staff were surprised that
Duke looked "disinterested" on defense. But then they watched the Utah game and realized Duke had changed a great deal.

Danny Manning chimed in that he was especially impressed by Matt Jones's contributions to Duke's defensive improvement.

I heard that, too. I had to assume he was talking about the first half of the ND game. No way he could've got that impression by tape of the NC State game! I was also somewhat amused by his misuse of the word "distinterested." I'm pretty sure he meant to say "uninterested."

[Wander]

You were unimpressed with Trice against Virginia? Yikes. That would be the same guy who had 23 points against arguably the nation's best defense?

I saw that game in person and Trice was the best player on the court and it wasn't close.

So, color me most definitely impressed.

Trice is easily one of the best players of the entire tournament so far - him and Winslow and Dekker are maybe the top 3.

[Tripping William]

Trice is easily one of the best players of the entire tournament so far - him and Winslow and Dekker are maybe the top 3.

David Glenn's show today was quoting K as saying that Trice has been *the* best player in this year's Tourney. Glenn wondered aloud if this might be a bit of coachspeak, but hyperbole does not tend to be K's style.

[NSDukeFan]

David Glenn's show today was quoting K as saying that Trice has been *the* best player in this year's Tourney. Glenn wondered aloud if this might be a bit of coachspeak, but hyperbole does not tend to be K's style.

Respect for the opposition and complimenting the teams Duke us facing or has faced is his style though. Trice certainly ranks among the best players in the tournament so far. Winslow is up there as well and I am hoping by the end that Jah and Quinn and Tyus will all rank as some of the to players in this tournament. Hopefully, Quinn continues his defensive stopper role and reduces Trice's impact in the next game.

[duketaylor]

"Quinn has said that a big part of his defense lately has been Jah, Marshall and Amile communicating so he knows he's not out on an island."

That's not a very good response, IMO. Play excellent d out there and if you get beat, they should b back there anyways. Quinn hasn't been any great defender until the last several games. Stay in front of your man, simple.

[weezie]

David Glenn's show today was quoting K as saying that Trice has been *the* best player in this year's Tourney. Glenn wondered aloud if this might be a bit of coachspeak, but hyperbole does not tend to be K's style.

David Glenn questioning the veracity of a K comment, that's rich. I'm with you Tripping.

After a nice long day of sports radio Sirius nitwits, it's fairly certain that none of the blathering class thinks Duke is anything more than a supporting player.

What fun it would be to shock the world.....

[roywhite]

"Quinn has said that a big part of his defense lately has been Jah, Marshall and Amile communicating so he knows he's not out on an island."

That's not a very good response, IMO. Play excellent d out there and if you get beat, they should b back there anyways. Quinn hasn't been any great defender until the last several games. Stay in front of your man, simple.

Really? Good communication is definitely an important part of good team defense. It can be very valuable to Quinn to hear from his teammates just where the next pick or screen is coming from, in what direction they see the offense going, whether to switch, etc. I think Coach K would attribute a good part of our defensive improvement to better talking on the court. IMO, both Quinn's individual guarding and our team defense has been very good in the tournament.

[tux]

"Quinn has said that a big part of his defense lately has been Jah, Marshall and Amile communicating so he knows he's not out on an island."

That's not a very good response, IMO. Play excellent d out there and if you get beat, they should b back there anyways. Quinn hasn't been any great defender until the last several games. Stay in front of your man, simple.

You're kidding, right?