MBB: Duke 79, Wake Forest 71 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[wsb3]

Whew. It was ugly but it's a win. Kind of had a feeling it would be like this. As tired as they looked Sunday I did not see them being energized tonight. Glad Wake did not take advantage of our mistakes & missed free throws.

[Saratoga2]

Didn't see the game but would love to hear what was going on low percentage shooting, Luke Kennard not getting on the board, Marshall's big night, etc.

If I read the Amile string right, it doesn't look like he will be back, so what we had tonight will be all we have going forward.

[weezie]

Hard to argue against Marshall as MOTM, what heart! And to think, his last game in Cameron is nigh...

[FerryFor50]

Weird game.

Wake in the first half? Hitting 5/9 from three, but turning the ball over a ton. Duke? Can't shoot, but played decent D to force turnovers. Plumlee owned boards.

Result? 1 point lead for Duke.

2nd half Wake regressed back to mean and Duke started hitting shots late in the half, so Duke wins.

Lots of points left at the FT line (13 misses, 5 by Allen, 6 by MP3). Allen shot 19 FTs, but that was deceptive - wasn't until late when he started getting to the line. Allen still getting absolutely mugged on drives, as well as getting cleared out on rebounds.

Ingram looked rough early but woke up. He also helped a lot of the boards.

Just glad they won and no one got (seriously) hurt. Was a little nervous when Jones tweaked an ankle.

[MCFinARL]

Weird game.

Wake in the first half? Hitting 5/9 from three, but turning the ball over a ton. Duke? Can't shoot, but played decent D to force turnovers. Plumlee owned boards.

Result? 1 point lead for Duke.

2nd half Wake regressed back to mean and Duke started hitting shots late in the half, so Duke wins.

Lots of points left at the FT line (13 misses, 5 by Allen, 6 by MP3). Allen shot 19 FTs, but that was deceptive - wasn't until late when he started getting to the line. Allen still getting absolutely mugged on drives, as well as getting cleared out on rebounds.

Ingram looked rough early but woke up. He also helped a lot of the boards.

Just glad they won and no one got (seriously) hurt. Was a little nervous when Jones tweaked an ankle.

Generally agree with this, especially the observation that it was a weird game. In the first half Duke clearly outplayed Wake but couldn't hit shots and barely led. In the second half Duke made more mistakes generally and got a lot shakier on defense but somehow won because Wake stopped hitting so many outside shots. Very strange but I will take the victory.

[arnie]

We simply gutted it out. Didn't finish drives in 1st half and Wake made shots they don't normally make, but D much stronger in last 10 minutes. Hoping for another miracle Saturday.

[KandG]

One field goal in the final 7:05...yikes.

Even with a 30 second clock, those possessions down the stretch up 68-60 were the definition of labored: it looked the return of a former favorite topic around here, "stall ball", with lots of dribbling in place, little movement, and one possession fizzling out after another. Thank goodness we got to the line a lot and that our defense held up. Wake's self-destructive tendencies helped immensely as well, no more so than that Devin Thomas pass to the backside of Ingram.

Glad to see Thornton pick up his play again in the final 10 minutes or so, after a rough game and a half, even with a couple of unsightly possessions. Kennard was surprisingly invisible for the game, so much so that K had Jeter in the game to replace Plumlee after he fouled out, leading to hack-a-Jeter. Good for Chase for making the one FT and keeping the game from getting any more tense. (Marshall was *very* impressive and I'm glad he rebounded after his outing against Pitt)

Hope the team can get some rest to recharge batteries for the big game on Saturday. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't worried given how empty the team's tank has looked the last two games, but I don't doubt UNC in the final home game will give them an extra spark. GTHC!!

[dukelifer]

Duke needed this win to keep a decent NCAA seed. Wasn't pretty but it was a win. The UNC game will be emotional on senior/grad student night and I expect the guys will come out with a lot of energy. After that- it is all about getting tourney experience. Going to be tough without Amile to get far in either tourney- particularly the ACC. Duke is looking at a 4 or 5 seed- maybe a 6 in the NCAAs if they lose the next two. Always an adventure with this group. Has been fun to watch the growth.

[Billy Dat]

I only saw the second half.

For the first 12-13 minutes, we couldn't get a stop.

Then we started to score, then we started to get stops, or maybe they just missed. Devin Thomas was so sloppy with the ball, that kid really seems to have a ton of unrealized potential.

DT, after giving us nothing on offense, broke the ice with a couple of buckets, Grayson had a big 3, MJones hit a few big 3s, but when we had a chance to salt it away with about 5 left, we went cold and then went stall ball a bit early. The final 2 minutes took at least 10-20 in real time, Wake managed to keep fouling without any time winding off the clock and they were scoring really quick lay-ups on the other end. There were about 20 total possessions in the final 2 minutes.

K took the jacket off with about 5 to go.

Ingram had a couple of galvanizing plays - a huge block, a big defensive board in traffic, he also was scoring when we needed buckets earlier in the second half.

Marshall did a lot of his stat accumulation in the first half which I didn't see. He fought like crazy in the second half but was hit and miss, but his physical presence and tenacity were very important. Compare him to Devin Thomas. Imagine if Thomas played with MP3s drive and passion and commitment - he could be an AA.

We take the win and look to Saturday. It's hard to tell what will happen. Was that Louisville-UVA-UNC run the peak of the season? Who knows. It'll be good to have a day of rest tomorrow followed by 2 good days of practice. It's March...9F!

[DukeWarhead]

Didn't see the game.
Why was Luke such a non-factor? Did he ride the pine all night?
Tired of hearing how tired we are. Other teams play the same schedule and yes, maybe they have a deeper rotation, but some people make it sound like we are just so exhausted.
Finally, we need to do something to cure the damn foot jinx for this team. If Amile gets redshirted, I'm sure I'll be happy next season, but right now this is just sad - would have loved to see him get this team over the hump.

I dunno. I have no expectations for this team going into March, but at least I think they can compete with just about anybody because of the crazy good parity this season.

[FerryFor50]

I only saw the second half.

For the first 12-13 minutes, we couldn't get a stop.

Then we started to score, then we started to get stops, or maybe they just missed. Devin Thomas was so sloppy with the ball, that kid really seems to have a ton of unrealized potential.

DT, after giving us nothing on offense, broke the ice with a couple of buckets, Grayson had a big 3, MJones hit a few big 3s, but when we had a chance to salt it away with about 5 left, we went cold and then went stall ball a bit early. The final 2 minutes took at least 10-20 in real time, Wake managed to keep fouling without any time winding off the clock and they were scoring really quick lay-ups on the other end. There were about 20 total possessions in the final 2 minutes.

K took the jacket off with about 5 to go.

Ingram had a couple of galvanizing plays - a huge block, a big defensive board in traffic, he also was scoring when we needed buckets earlier in the second half.

We take the win and look to Saturday. It's hard to tell what will happen. Was that Louisville-UVA-UNC run the peak of the season? Who knows. It'll be good to have a day of rest tomorrow followed by 2 good days of practice. It's March...9F!

It felt like the defense was weak when the offense wasn't scoring. Lots of transition points, guys not getting back, hung heads.

No coincidence the defense got better once Allen got his shot back.

[dukelifer]

Didn't see the game.
Why was Luke such a non-factor? Did he ride the pine all night?
Tired of hearing how tired we are. Other teams play the same schedule and yes, maybe they have a deeper rotation, but some people make it sound like we are just so exhausted.
Finally, we need to do something to cure the damn foot jinx for this team. If Amile gets redshirted, I'm sure I'll be happy next season, but right now this is just sad - would have loved to see him get this team over the hump.

I dunno. I have no expectations for this team going into March, but at least I think they can compete with just about anybody because of the crazy good parity this season.

This team is tired and that is true for a lot of teams. Nobody is tearing it up right now. UVA struggled with Clemson. UNC struggled with Syracuse. Duke did what was needed. Luke is a Frosh and has off nights. He will be much more consistent next year.

[CameronDuke]

The guys played like a scene out of Rocky, especially Marshall. They didn't finesse themselves to the win tonight - it was mainly heart and grit. They kept answering the bell. I hope they rest up these next three days for a barn burner on Saturday night as they go for the sweep of UNC.

I've been saying it for a month plus now, but Amile looks more and more like he's going to redshirt and come back next year. There's still time yet for him to return, but after missing 17 of 18 ACC regular season games, one has to wonder how effective he would be and how arduous it would be to incorporate him back into our team's on court plan and concept. This may go down as the worst injury in Duke's history in the last at least 25 or so years in terms of missed games being the metric for severity of the injury. Kyrie missed the entire ACC regular season and ACC Tournament but at least came back for the NCAA Tournament. Boozer, Brand, and Kelly all came back too. I would be shocked to see Amile back on the floor this year. Nonetheless, the guys keep giving it all they've got (mostly) and that's all one can ask for!

[Ballboy1998]

Pretty uneventful game. Honestly felt like Wake took ill advised threes all game and made a lot of them for the first 3/4. Once their shooting reverted to the mean, the good guys got a working margin.

Did not like seeing Grayson get blatantly pulled down with no flagrant. Dangerous play and really feels like open season on him now. I look forward to the outrage on Sportscenter (yeah, right).

Again very happy with Thornton's performance.

GTHCGTH!

[FerryFor50]

Did not like seeing Grayson get blatantly pulled down with no flagrant. Dangerous play and really feels like open season on him now. I look forward to the outrage on Sportscenter (yeah, right).



Don't forget the hip check at the end of the game when a simple touch foul to put him on the line would have sufficed.

[Newton_14]

It was ugly, but will definitely take the win. I thought we started out really well in the first 10 minutes with a good verve and energy, but despite playing well in a lot of areas, we just could not make shots. We were getting good shots, but just could not make them, and were missing FT's as well. With that, instead of the lead being 15-17, it was 5-7. That led to a quiet crowd, and suddenly we were flat, and Wake was making shots. Had we just shot it normal during those first 10 minutes, the rout is on, and the flatness of the next 10 minutes likely never happen. It was the trickle down effect. Suddenly its the 2nd half and you look up and Wake is leading. I was proud of how the guys fought through that and made enough plays to get separation finally at 68-60. The place was rocking at that point, but darn if we didn't have a repeat of the first 10 minutes there and suddenly could not make shots or FT's again. Thankfully our defense held strong and we got enough stops and made free throws in those final 3 minutes to hold on.

Can't say enough about Marshall Plumlee and Grayson Allen. I know Marshall got a little too excited on 2 or 3 of his shot attempts, but those aside, the kid was just a beast. An absolute beast. I'm not sure they had his rebound count correct either. He started the game with 3 to 4 really quick rebounds, yet during a stop in play I noticed they only had him at 1. After a few minutes they did bump it to 2, but I really thought it was 3 or 4 at that point. Either way, what a game. Great defense all game long, even with knowing he had to be smart and stay on the court. Timely buckets, and just rebound after rebound after rebound. He was directing traffic out there on defense ala Amile as well.

Grayson is just other worldly good. Some of those 3's he made (and has made them consistently all year) were just huge. We are witnessing greatness. If that kid decided to stay all 4 years, he would light up the record book and 3 would forever hang in the rafters in Cameron thereafter. A joy to watch. And Wake absolutely went after him at every opportunity to get in his head. Manning even sent the walk-on in on our last 1st Half possession to foul him, which he did, by grabbing his jersey right in front of the ref before Grayson air mailed the pass over Derryck's head. Say what you want, the kid takes a beating out there, mostly from body blows, but the guy fouled the crap out of him on that break away. I suppose it looked on TV as a play on the ball, but he actually hammered him on the shoulder, not even close to the ball.

Matt was very solid, and Brandon was Brandon other than a tough shooting night. He made up for it in other categories and the intangibles like he does so often as well. Another player destined for greatness. Luke laid another goose egg and he is just hard to figure out. I know some kids do not show emotion but Luke is like a zombie out there. I know he cares and probably wants to win as much as the next guy but I think he would be better served finding ways to get more pumped/angry/amped up, whatever. He is far too talented to not score at all in a game, even with limited minutes. He got lost a few times on defense as well, and got yelled at by K and teammates. We need the good Luke heading into uncheat round 2 and the tourneys.

Danny Manning is a horrible coach. Loved him as a player, but whatever those kids achieve they are basically doing it on their own. I do not see him lasting as a HC. Probably a good assistant, but does not appear to have a clue as a head coach.

Lastly, I do hope we as a fan base collectively, appreciate what it has taken for this team to win 22 games and counting. I am fully in the camp with others that K needs to be in the running for ACC Coach of the year. It kills me we lost Amile because I truly think we are a top 5 team with him, and would be in first place in the ACC and a Top 5 team, but to win the amount of games they have won without him is remarkable. No depth. One quality big man, who just happens to be Marshall Plumlee, no true Power Forward, a Freshman PG who had to reclassify late rather than be in High School right now, missed the entire summer with his teammates, Jones misses most of the uncheat game and all of Louisville.... this crazy ridiculous horrendous ACC scheduling.... all that, and this team came up 1 game short of being able to play for a share of the Regular Season Title this Saturday. 1 freaking game short. Amazing. The guys and the coaching staff should be applauded. My two cents.

Go Duke!

[uh_no]

Pretty uneventful game. Honestly felt like Wake took ill advised threes all game and made a lot of them for the first 3/4. Once their shooting reverted to the mean, the good guys got a working margin.

Did not like seeing Grayson get blatantly pulled down with no flagrant. Dangerous play and really feels like open season on him now. I look forward to the outrage on Sportscenter (yeah, right).

Again very happy with Thornton's performance.

GTHCGTH!

overall i was happy...but he's still far too shaky on offense. it took most of the game before he scored, and still has trouble finding his place....he still makes a few highly questionable decisions...but that's okay.

He really needs to be more aggressive earlier in the game though...otherwise the D just keys in on grayson and brandon.

[tbyers11]

You could tell that there was an emphasis on taking the ball to the hole instead of settling for threes after Sunday. However, in the first half this led to some contested layups and runners that weren't bad shots but they weren't great shots either. It seemed like we were thinking too much and not playing by feel. When the shots didn't fall you could see that we were pressing a bit. The D was scattershot in the first half. Very good for a possession here or there but we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Wake also hit some deep 3s by not great shooters. Then we got a working margin and instead of maintaining or extending we gave it all back.

We didn't come out on fire in the second half and we were in for a game. D was pretty awful the first 10 minutes. Then Matt and Grayson hit a couple of 3s and our D got pretty good for about a five minute stretch. We got up 68-60 and closed the game out from there even though it was pretty with a couple of bad stall ball possessions and some missed FTs.

I don't think we looked that physically tired. There was a lot of effort, but you could see that mentally we were definitely not sharp. Without the ability to have a real practice after the Pitt debacle, I was afraid this might be the case. When our shooting was way below average in the first half and Wake's was well above average (from 3) we were in for a fight. Thankfully, Wake isn't that good, the 3 pt shooting reverted to the mean in the second half for both teams, and we came up with a really good stretch from the 10 minute mark to the 5 minute mark of the 2nd half.

Marshall was a beast tonight with 13 points and 17 rebs (10 offensive). He also played pretty good D against Thomas.
Grayson forced some shots in the first half but took it hard to the hole and drew fouls all game long. His shooting came around in the second half and he ended up with 30 points. He had 5 steals too. Both MP3 and Grayson were great all night.
Brandon was off shooting. He seems like he is thinking about his moves too much instead of being in a comfortable rhythm. He did hit a couple of key shots in the middle of the 2nd half. He did have 11 rebs and 3 key steals and a key block followed by a 3 on an important possession.
Matt was very good on D drawing the Miller-Macintyre assignment most of the night. Did have a couple of dumb fouls though. Shot very well from 3.
Derrick was really silent for the 30 minutes despite playing nearly all of them. Some very key drives/finishes and a nice feed to Marshall for a dunk at 70-62.
Luke took 2 good 3s and had a couple of nice drives in his first half. He didn't play a ton in the second half until FT time in the last 3 minutes and didn't shoot in the second half. I was bit surprised he had such an off game.

Overall, it was ugly but it got the job done. Hopefully with some time to recharge we can come out focused and loose against UNC on Saturday.

[Newton_14]

Didn't see the game.
Why was Luke such a non-factor? Did he ride the pine all night?
Tired of hearing how tired we are. Other teams play the same schedule and yes, maybe they have a deeper rotation, but some people make it sound like we are just so exhausted.
Finally, we need to do something to cure the damn foot jinx for this team. If Amile gets redshirted, I'm sure I'll be happy next season, but right now this is just sad - would have loved to see him get this team over the hump.

I dunno. I have no expectations for this team going into March, but at least I think they can compete with just about anybody because of the crazy good parity this season.

I think that is unfair actually, but we can agree to disagree. There is no other team I am aware of having to ride 6 guys as hard as we are having to ride Plumlee/Allen/Ingram/Jones/Thornton/Kennard, with 3 of those being Freshmen, and 1 being a Soph who played 7mpg as a Fr. That is a lot to ask of guys that young. Add in what I mentioned in my previous post about having 1 reliable big man who is a first year starter himself, having never played heavy minutes until this year; a freshman PG who was originally going to be in his final year of High School, and missed the summer training/school acclimation... and the only other guy that plays at all is also a freshman who wasn't quite ready for rotation minutes, and finally the very bad ACC scheduling (the only thing we have in common with other teams)... I don't get how anyone could feel these guys aren't gassed/running on empty. It's just not a formula for having a rested/tourney ready team...that's all...

Not sniping at you or anything... just feel the tired/running on empty/exhausted assessment is very fair and on point for this group

[OZ]

overall i was happy...but he's still far too shaky on offense. it took most of the game before he scored, and still has trouble finding his place...he still makes a few highly questionable decisions...but that's okay.

He really needs to be more aggressive earlier in the game though...otherwise the D just keys in on grayson and brandon.

I suspect one could say the same thing about Luke and Matt. Also, Luke doesn't have the added responsibility of running the team. I think much of our recent success can be directly attributed to DT's improvement. We quickly saw the difference when he was injured in the Louisville game. I am totally proud of the guy and am pleased with where he is.

[tbyers11]

Grayson is just other worldly good. Some of those 3's he made (and has made them consistently all year) were just huge. We are witnessing greatness. If that kid decided to stay all 4 years, he would light up the record book and 3 would forever hang in the rafters in Cameron thereafter. A joy to watch. And Wake absolutely went after him at every opportunity to get in his head. Manning even sent the walk-on in on our last 1st Half possession to foul him, which he did, by grabbing his jersey right in front of the ref before Grayson air mailed the pass over Derryck's head. Say what you want, the kid takes a beating out there, mostly from body blows, but the guy fouled the crap out of him on that break away. I suppose it looked on TV as a play on the ball, but he actually hammered him on the shoulder, not even close to the ball.


I forgot to address this in my post. Thanks for reminding me. The foul by Crawford on Grayson's breakaway dunk was bad on TV too. I guess you could make a claim that he attempted to make a play on the ball but when you are so far behind the player that you can only hit the back of their shoulder it is not actually a play on the ball. Combined with the force of the attempt it was dangerous in my opinion. I'm kind of shocked that the refs didn't at least take a look at it for a flagrant 1.

The walk-on at the end of the half bodied Grayson pretty strong on the drive and the grabbing of the jersey as he was falling to the ground was blatantly obvious on TV as well. Not sure how all 3 refs missed it.

Since one figures that Grayson will be under a microscope you would think that players guarding him would be watched closely as well. Neither of these instances were blatantly dirty plays by Wake but if Grayson had committed either of these plays against a Wake player, ESPN would have already posted the clips to their website and led the highlight clip with them on SportsCenter

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

This team doesn't owe me a THING!!!! God bless them every one!!!
Love, Ima

[uh_no]

I suspect one could say the same thing about Luke and Matt.
Yes....but Matt's role on the floor is not largely offensive...and Luke's not starting.

I think much of our recent success can be directly attributed to DT's improvement. We quickly saw the difference when he was injured in the Louisville game. I am totally proud of the guy and am pleased with where he is.

I agree on all counts. I don't think I said otherwise....That doesn't change the fact that I still think he needs to take a few more strides for us to be as successful as we can be.

[brlftz]

This team doesn't owe me a THING!!!! God bless them every one!!!
Love, Ima

i am eleventy-billion percent on board with this sentiment. they represent us well, play their guts out and clearly care deeply about excellence and each other. that's all i ask of the players that are out there. the rest is in K's hands, and we know that's something to be treasured as well.

[OZ]

Yes...but Matt's role on the floor is not largely offensive...and Luke's not starting.


I agree on all counts. I don't think I said otherwise...That doesn't change the fact that I still think he needs to take a few more strides for us to be as successful as we can be.



"but Matt's role on the floor is not largely offensive..." Neither is DT's. He also runs the team and plays good defense. In fact, Capel was recently quoted as having said that "DT became a better player once he quit worrying about scoring."


"and Luke's not starting." Exactly, my point. DT is starting with much more responsibility. In fact, if Luke were more consistent (and not as shaky), he might be starting.

[Olympic Fan]

Don't know if anybody else saw it, but there was a funny scene late in the game.

If you remember, after Marshall fouled out, Wake came down and intentionally fouled Chase Jeter -- away from the ball. It's the kind of thing that's an intentional foul in the NBA, but it's legal in college ... teams get away with it all the time. No problem, Chase hits the first and misses the second ... but as Wake's bringing the ball up, Brandon gets the steal.

I happened to be watching Devin Thomas when the turnover happened and he immediately looked for Jeter again and headed for him to foul off the ball again. But Chase saw him coming and started sprinting away from Thomas. For about 3-4 seconds Thomas chased Jeter, until somebody else fouled Grayson. It was funny as all get out, watching Jeter literally sprint away from a foul.

[cato]

Say what you want, the kid takes a beating out there, mostly from body blows, but the guy fouled the crap out of him on that break away. I suppose it looked on TV as a play on the ball, but he actually hammered him on the shoulder, not even close to the ball.

Nope. It didn't look like a play on the ball at all. I eagerly await the ACC review.

[DukieInKansas]

Nope. It didn't look like a play on the ball at all. I eagerly await the ACC review.

And I'm not holding my breath.

There sure seemed to be quite a few times Duke players flew forward when they were under the basket - I'm sure there was no push in the back causing that, however. Must have been Jedi mind tricks.

Recorded the game to watch after a concert this evening and somehow managed to not set the DVR for 30 minutes extra - was grateful the WatchESPN allowed me to pick up the game at the Wake time out at the end so I could watch the finish instead of just finding out the score.

[Doria]

I totally agree with Newton's point that we should really appreciate what Coach K and our team has been able to accomplish this season. Sure, we have a lot of talent, no question, but our inexperience and the other adversity we've had the season has also inarguably created a tough situation. We've won a lot of games against other very good teams. Coming to the end of the season, I'm just really grateful to have been able to enjoy a whole season of watching this group of guys.

I very much wish I'd noticed the scene Oly described. That sounds hilarious and also like a very heads-up play by Jeter.

Also, does anyone have any idea what Coach K was talking to Mitoglou about, when he was waiting at the scorer's table to check into the game? They seemed on really friendly terms, and I was unaware of any prior relationship. The announcers online didn't explain any connection, so I wondered if anyone knows what that was about. It looked to be a really nice, collegial moment.

[plimnko]

The walk-on at the end of the half bodied Grayson pretty strong on the drive and the grabbing of the jersey as he was falling to the ground was blatantly obvious on TV as well. Not sure how all 3 refs missed it.

pretty much how they missed everything else lol

[luburch]

I really have come to enjoy watching this team play. Going to miss them after this next month. Grayson is something else. Hope he stays four years, but would understand if he chose not to.

[wsb3]

Lastly, I do hope we as a fan base collectively, appreciate what it has taken for this team to win 22 games and counting. I am fully in the camp with others that K needs to be in the running for ACC Coach of the year. It kills me we lost Amile because I truly think we are a top 5 team with him, and would be in first place in the ACC and a Top 5 team, but to win the amount of games they have won without him is remarkable. No depth. One quality big man, who just happens to be Marshall Plumlee, no true Power Forward, a Freshman PG who had to reclassify late rather than be in High School right now, missed the entire summer with his teammates, Jones misses most of the uncheat game and all of Louisville... this crazy ridiculous horrendous ACC scheduling... all that, and this team came up 1 game short of being able to play for a share of the Regular Season Title this Saturday. 1 freaking game short. Amazing. The guys and the coaching staff should be applauded. My two cents.

Go Duke!

I absolutely feel the same way. This has been one of the most remarkable teams I can recall. Such limitations. Think of how it changes the way you play by knowing you have virtually no bench. More & more it looks like we will not see Amile this year. It was not only what he said but his demeanor when Coach K said, they have given me everything.

& we are one year removed from a Natty.. It's good to be a Duke fan.

[Saratoga2]

Didn't watch the game but followed it on game tracker. Couple of thoughts:

Early on and recently in the Pitt game, Marshall seemed to back away from shooters, was less than aggressive rebounding and fumbled many of the passes thrown to him. Then there is the Marshall who is a real presence inside and the reason we won several of the games during our hot stretch. I remember people saying he played without aggression to stay in the game since we had no other big ready to play. I said and still say, I would rather have Marshall be aggressive and go as hard as he can out there, which I think gives us a better chance to win. He may foul out like last night, but he lasted most of the game and made a huge difference while in the game.

Luke is hard to figure. He is really talented and tries very hard out there but seems to get discouraged when not hitting. Someone said the coaches and players yelled at him and he looked like a zombie. We really need Luke out there playing significant minutes and producing to give us one more player during the meat grinder we will soon be in. (ACC and NCAA Tourneys). Somehow the coaches, team and players and Luke himself have to get him back to contributing or we will be drastically undermanned.

[fuse]

From the TV feed, it appears part of the post Pitt coaching for Marshall was letting out a mix of a Wookie growl and a Wilhelm scream every time he touched the ball. Net result seems to be Marshall got to the line a lot more.

[dukeENG2003]

Don't know if anybody else saw it, but there was a funny scene late in the game.

If you remember, after Marshall fouled out, Wake came down and intentionally fouled Chase Jeter -- away from the ball. It's the kind of thing that's an intentional foul in the NBA, but it's legal in college ... teams get away with it all the time. No problem, Chase hits the first and misses the second ... but as Wake's bringing the ball up, Brandon gets the steal.

I happened to be watching Devin Thomas when the turnover happened and he immediately looked for Jeter again and headed for him to foul off the ball again. But Chase saw him coming and started sprinting away from Thomas. For about 3-4 seconds Thomas chased Jeter, until somebody else fouled Grayson. It was funny as all get out, watching Jeter literally sprint away from a foul.

I was laughing so hard at this sequence, it was hilarious.

[devildeac]

Nope. It didn't look like a play on the ball at all. I eagerly await the ACC review.


And I'm not holding my breath.

There sure seemed to be quite a few times Duke players flew forward when they were under the basket - I'm sure there was no push in the back causing that, however. Must have been Jedi mind tricks.

Recorded the game to watch after a concert this evening and somehow managed to not set the DVR for 30 minutes extra - was grateful the WatchESPN allowed me to pick up the game at the Wake time out at the end so I could watch the finish instead of just finding out the score.

6052

Not me. I'm waiting for that reprimand from the acc orifice...

:rolleyes:

[DukieInBrasil]

for a large stretch of the game, it was fugly. Duke looked incompetent on offense for much of the 1st half, and incompetent on defense to start the 2nd half. Then somewhere in the middle of the 2nd half, Duke looked competent on both O and D, and got some separation. This would have been a double digit win if MP3 and Grayson hit their FTs at a better clip late in the game.
MP3!!!! Dude is becoming a stud! Starting to look like a Zoubekian Sr. season for the 5th year officer in waiting. He's actually employing legit offensive post moves and scoring with them. He's not quite as efficient on those as one might want, but it's hella better than where he was at last year.
Grayson continues be an amazing force on offense. Brandon however has been struggling hard to put together a complete offensive game for a while. He had a brief flurry of fluid, beautiful offensive possessions last night, but still ended up with pretty weak shooting stats overall. Dude is proving to be a much better rebounder than his toothpick frame might indicate.
Matt Jones again had a solid, understated game. I wish that he would never, ever shoot a 2pt shot again this year, though.
For much of the game Derryck was a non-factor on O, despite solid ball pressure on D. He made a couple of nice plays over a short span, but in general his shooting has been atrocious for more than a month now. Luke is also in full Offense Disappearance mode.

[Duke76]

6052

Not me. I'm waiting for that reprimand from the acc orifice...

:rolleyes:

who's suppose to get it going....I'm juiced to break their hearts again!!!!

[Matches]

Luke is hard to figure. He is really talented and tries very hard out there but seems to get discouraged when not hitting. Someone said the coaches and players yelled at him and he looked like a zombie.

I've never seen a guy have as many good-looking shots rim out as Kennard has this year. The rims clearly hate that guy.

I think the up and down is just normal freshman inconsistency though. I expect a good-sized leap between this year and next.

[gus]

I happened to be watching Devin Thomas when the turnover happened and he immediately looked for Jeter again and headed for him to foul off the ball again. But Chase saw him coming and started sprinting away from Thomas. For about 3-4 seconds Thomas chased Jeter, until somebody else fouled Grayson. It was funny as all get out, watching Jeter literally sprint away from a foul.

Was Yakety Sax playing in your head?

[wsb3]

I think the up and down is just normal freshman inconsistency though. I expect a good-sized leap between this year and next.

I was thinking the same thing. He has been awesome at times & I think the big difference is he will become more consistently good.

[jv001]

Was Yakety Sax playing in your head?

Did Jeter look back :cool: GoDuke!

[hallcity]

I was at the game and saw something that looked weird to me. Maybe it's been commented on before and I missed it. In the second half, I thought I saw Mitoglu kneeling at the scorer's table waiting to come in. I thought I saw Coach K walk down to Mitoglu, rub his head and say something friendly to him. Am I mistaken about what I thought I saw? What was going on? It certainly seemed weird at the time.

[jv001]

I was at the game and saw something that looked weird to me. Maybe it's been commented on before and I missed it. In the second half, I thought I saw Mitoglu kneeling at the scorer's table waiting to come in. I thought I saw Coach K walk down to Mitoglu, rub his head and say something friendly to him. Am I mistaken about what I thought I saw? What was going on? It certainly seemed weird at the time.

I saw the same thing but the announcers did not say much if anything about it. I don't guess Coach K was asked about it in his interview? GoDuke!

[Highlander]

I was at the game and saw something that looked weird to me. Maybe it's been commented on before and I missed it. In the second half, I thought I saw Mitoglu kneeling at the scorer's table waiting to come in. I thought I saw Coach K walk down to Mitoglu, rub his head and say something friendly to him. Am I mistaken about what I thought I saw? What was going on? It certainly seemed weird at the time.

It definitely happened and the ACCN crew replayed it. They joked that it probably had something to do with Mitoglu playing for Greece next summer at the Olympics, but they obviously had no idea.

[Billy Dat]

Lastly, I do hope we as a fan base collectively, appreciate what it has taken for this team to win 22 games and counting. I am fully in the camp with others that K needs to be in the running for ACC Coach of the year. It kills me we lost Amile because I truly think we are a top 5 team with him, and would be in first place in the ACC and a Top 5 team, but to win the amount of games they have won without him is remarkable. No depth. One quality big man, who just happens to be Marshall Plumlee, no true Power Forward, a Freshman PG who had to reclassify late rather than be in High School right now, missed the entire summer with his teammates, Jones misses most of the uncheat game and all of Louisville... this crazy ridiculous horrendous ACC scheduling... all that, and this team came up 1 game short of being able to play for a share of the Regular Season Title this Saturday. 1 freaking game short. Amazing. The guys and the coaching staff should be applauded. My two cents.

This is a great reminder that during the 3 game losing streak, all seemed lost and I think the euphoric winning streak against the best of the conference got everyone into an "if Amile comes back we can make a run at this thing" mindset which has been cooled by the seeming reality that Amile is not coming back on top of the loss to Pitt and the tough home wins against FSU and Wake.

There is also something of a pattern with Duke, and probably every other ACC team, having a late-in-the-schedule ACC game against a bottom feeder that goes sideways.

2012 - need OT to beat VTech
2013 - that team took care of business
2014 - the road Wake loss
2015 - needing OT to beat VTech on the road

I know as a fan that I was leery of these games, always kind of viewed them as a litmus test for the rest of the year, and felt bad if we lost or weakly won. Of course, last year proved that theory to have exceptions, but the VTech game was earlier - we throttled Wake in the same slot last year (second to last conference game). So, I exited last night feeling down, feeling like the Final Four run we might have in us exiting the spirited Louisville loss was a pipe dream.

But, Newton is right that we need to step back, look at the whole picture, and drink it in. These kids are fighters, they have scrapped like hell and achieved a lot in a very tough ACC, and, perhaps, with the light at the end of the tunnel, they can summon some resiliency, get some favorable bracket match-ups, and play in some high stakes fun games this month.

[Highlander]

First half Brandon and Luke were just off (2-14 from the floor in the 1H). Overall, Duke shot 29% in the 1H, which the tagline said was our worst half of shooting all season to date. It seemed like Wake was trying to stop the three pointer, which opened up driving lanes. However, every time we drove we seemed to miss a contested layup. Wake shot okay (45-ish % in the 1H), but had 13 or 14 turnovers, many of which were just sloppy play by Thomas. Wake's ability to hit three pointers kept them in a game that Duke should have been leading by double digits.

I think Wake missed one shot during the first 8 minutes of the second half, yet never led by more than 3. Kudos to our guys for refusing to wilt. We finally started to play better defense (or Wake finally started to miss), and Ingram started to get going on offense as we opened up a lead. One key sequence was when we ran a 1-3-1 for 3 straight possessions and ended up with 3 straight Wake turnovers and 2 fast break baskets.

Thomas passing the ball directly to Ingram during the last 2 minutes was pretty much the story of the game. An unforced error at a critical point in the game giving Duke a gift of an extra possession. Duke didn't play well at all, but Wake lost the game by playing even worse.

Biggest concerns from the game:
- FT shooting - has been a strength all year for this team, but we are losing our touch. Plumlee shot under 50% from the line. As well as he played on the boards, he could have also had 20-25 points if he hit layups and free throws. Grayson missing 5 was very odd.
- Defense. We looked disinterested in the first half outside of Plumlee. Wake is not a solid team, yet they scored at will for much of the game. Second game in a row this has happened, which is a bad trend to start this time of year.
- FG %. Just did not shoot well for much of the game, despite getting good looks. We beat UNC earlier in the season by hitting some very difficult shots. Tonight we missed a lot of easy ones.

[hudlow]

Strange game...I kept asking myself "Why isn't Duke up by 15?" the entire game.

[tbyers11]

I was at the game and saw something that looked weird to me. Maybe it's been commented on before and I missed it. In the second half, I thought I saw Mitoglu kneeling at the scorer's table waiting to come in. I thought I saw Coach K walk down to Mitoglu, rub his head and say something friendly to him. Am I mistaken about what I thought I saw? What was going on? It certainly seemed weird at the time.

They showed it on TV and commented on it as well, but no one seemed to know exactly what was said. It does seem a bit odd for a coach to interact with an opposing player when the game was still marginally up for grabs late. However, it was all in good spirits as both Mitoglu and K came away smiling.

[Henderson]

First half Brandon and Luke were just off (2-14 from the floor in the 1H). Overall, Duke shot 29% in the 1H, which the tagline said was our worst half of shooting all season to date. It seemed like Wake was trying to stop the three pointer, which opened up driving lanes. However, every time we drove we seemed to miss a contested layup. Wake shot okay (45-ish % in the 1H), but had 13 or 14 turnovers, many of which were just sloppy play by Thomas. Wake's ability to hit three pointers kept them in a game that Duke should have been leading by double digits.

I think Wake missed one shot during the first 8 minutes of the second half, yet never led by more than 3. Kudos to our guys for refusing to wilt. We finally started to play better defense (or Wake finally started to miss), and Ingram started to get going on offense as we opened up a lead. One key sequence was when we ran a 1-3-1 for 3 straight possessions and ended up with 3 straight Wake turnovers and 2 fast break baskets.

Thomas passing the ball directly to Ingram during the last 2 minutes was pretty much the story of the game. An unforced error at a critical point in the game giving Duke a gift of an extra possession. Duke didn't play well at all, but Wake lost the game by playing even worse.

Biggest concerns from the game:
- FT shooting - has been a strength all year for this team, but we are losing our touch. Plumlee shot under 50% from the line. As well as he played on the boards, he could have also had 20-25 points if he hit layups and free throws. Grayson missing 5 was very odd.
- Defense. We looked disinterested in the first half outside of Plumlee. Wake is not a solid team, yet they scored at will for much of the game. Second game in a row this has happened, which is a bad trend to start this time of year.
- FG %. Just did not shoot well for much of the game, despite getting good looks. We beat UNC earlier in the season by hitting some very difficult shots. Tonight we missed a lot of easy ones.

Good analysis. I'd argue that every issue you've identified can be attributed to fatigue. As anyone who has played the game knows, when your legs are dead, shooting, FTs, and defensive quickness are much more difficult. Our guys look like they could use a rest.

[jv001]

Good analysis. I'd argue that every issue you've identified can be attributed to fatigue. As anyone who has played the game knows, when your legs are dead, shooting, FTs, and defensive quickness are much more difficult. Our guys look like they could use a rest.

I believe fatigue comes in to play in the things you mention. The one player that seems affected the most is Ingram. With his skinny frame and the physical play he has to endure during the games, it's no wonder he's fatigued. He could really use a rest. I'm glad we don't play again until Saturday. GoDuke!

[Matches]

I believe fatigue comes in to play in the things you mention. The one player that seems affected the most is Ingram. With his skinny frame and the physical play he has to endure during the games, it's no wonder he's fatigued. He could really use a rest. I'm glad we don't play again until Saturday. GoDuke!

I really really hate the "we're tired" excuse, but it's hard to argue with the idea that this team looks gassed. Generally I'm of the belief that 19-20 year old kids can play as many minutes as needed, but it feels like this team has had to expend more energy than most. It reminds me a lot of the '05 team that was really good but had a low margin for error and seemed to be running on fumes by the end. (That team won the ACCT, though, so who knows...) These guys have given every drop of what they've got, though - good group that has represented the university well.

[dukelifer]

Good analysis. I'd argue that every issue you've identified can be attributed to fatigue. As anyone who has played the game knows, when your legs are dead, shooting, FTs, and defensive quickness are much more difficult. Our guys look like they could use a rest.

Dead legs and mentally tired. Folks forget that these kids are going to class as well. Duke moved its Spring Break this year relative to the end of the season. Usually it happens the week of the ACC tourney- now it is the week after. There are exams and other things due around this time and the guys will be gone the bulk of that last week of classes which is bad. I assume they will need to get things done ahead of that. It is a grind with the travel and practice.

[NashvilleDevil]

I really really hate the "we're tired" excuse, but it's hard to argue with the idea that this team looks gassed. Generally I'm of the belief that 19-20 year old kids can play as many minutes as needed, but it feels like this team has had to expend more energy than most. It reminds me a lot of the '05 team that was really good but had a low margin for error and seemed to be running on fumes by the end. (That team won the ACCT, though, so who knows...) These guys have given every drop of what they've got, though - good group that has represented the university well.

Between watching Trump continue to pile up delegates and Duke's performance the first 30 minutes of the game the NashvilleDevil's house was not a great place to be. It all changed when Brandon made the block and game tying 3, that was the turning point of the game. As others have said this team is full of fighters and they continue to battle, now they need to rest and be ready to take on the cheats. I have no idea what the tournament holds for this team but this is one of those years that we are fortunate that Coach K is on the sidelines. Without him this team is probably fighting for their tournament lives but they are right in the mix for a 3 or 4 seed and damn near had a shot to win the ACC regular season.

On another note if Duke wins against UNC it eliminates the prediction that CoSprings made that this team would lose 10 or more games. Obviously, we want Duke to beat Carolina always but that poster's doom and gloom following the 3 game losing streak irritated me and to be 23-7 and no chance to lose double digits will be a bonus.

[rsvman]

I'm sticking with my theory that during the tourney Ingram will either carry us or kill us.

[tbyers11]

On another note if Duke wins against UNC it eliminates the prediction that CoSprings made that this team would lose 10 or more games. Obviously, we want Duke to beat Carolina always but that poster's doom and gloom following the 3 game losing streak irritated me and to be 23-7 and no chance to lose double digits will be a bonus.

Hate to bring more doom and gloom because I agree with you on the tone of the negativity being too strong around here after the 3 game losing streak. But as we are currently have 8 losses, at 22-8, beating UNC doesn't keep us from reaching double digit losses. We'd need to beat UNC and win either the ACC tourney or the national championship to not lose 10 games. I'm all for either. Or both.:D

[grad_devil]

On another note if Duke wins against UNC it eliminates the prediction that CoSprings made that this team would lose 10 or more games. Obviously, we want Duke to beat Carolina always but that poster's doom and gloom following the 3 game losing streak irritated me and to be 23-7 and no chance to lose double digits will be a bonus.

Aren't we 22-8? We're guaranteed 10 losses, unless we win the ACCT or NCAAT. I'm okay with winning either. Or both.

[dukelifer]

Hate to bring more doom and gloom because I agree with you on the tone of the negativity being too strong around here after the 3 game losing streak. But as we are currently have 8 losses, at 22-8, beating UNC doesn't keep us from reaching double digit losses. We'd need to beat UNC and win either the ACC tourney or the national championship to not lose 10 games. I'm all for either. Or both.:D

Duke will have to self-impose being ineligible for the ACC and NCAA tourney ala Louisville to keep this prediction from likely happening. I am sure the coaching staff and university admin are mulling this over right now. The shame of 10 or more losses is just too much.

[Billy Dat]

Great Manning quote, he's learning the tricks of how to pivot a press conference question to the topic he's really most interested in addressing:

On Mitchell Wilbekin guarding Grayson Allen:
“Grayson Allen is a talented basketball player; he had a heck of a game. They probably hit about 28 free throws in about three minutes to go before we started fouling. We have to figure out a way to get to the basket and get to the free-throw line. I look at the stat sheet and see that we had 34 points in the paint so I know we are getting the ball to the basket, we just have to figure out a way to get to the free-throw line and I guess we just have not figured that out yet.”

[FerryFor50]

Aren't we 22-8? We're guaranteed 10 losses, unless we win the ACCT or NCAAT. I'm okay with winning either. Or both.

Yeah, when the 10 loss claim was made, I was in the camp that it wasn't likely. Then someone pointed out they were including ACCT and NCAAT.

For me, a regular season record of less than 10 losses with this shorthanded team is awesome.

But I sure would like to go back in time and win those Clemson and Syracuse games.

[MCFinARL]

I'm sticking with my theory that during the tourney Ingram will either carry us or kill us.

I agree, if what you mean is that his level of play will likely make the difference. But he won't be able to carry us without at least an average-level game from Grayson Allen (and average for Grayson is very, very good), not to mention role players doing what they do.

[Lar77]

Someone earlier made reference to this being like a Rocky movie. I agree. I love this team. We shot poorly, but still won. We were worn out by the "scorched earth" Wake strategy, but we still won.

Hey cheats, you are Ivan Drago. We have guys who have to dig 7 foot deep foxholes.

9F

[killerleft]

Courtesy of my friend Shelly Belle, I was able to see the game in person last night from nearly center court in section 6, about halfway up. She got the tickets from an Iron Duke member who lives in the Greensboro vicinity, and I will say here a big THANK YOU to the folks who gifted them to us!

As reported by others, Grayson was mauled several times without a foul being called. There were at least two fouls that should have been checked on the monitor for flagrant 1 violations. I was concerned that he might be playing without his usual abandon, but he seemed to be more or less back to his usual self as Tripgate starts to fade. Marshall, of course, played a big-boy game. He gets my vote for MOTM, even though Grayson was at least as good.

Get off my lawn moment: in both 1986 and 1988 my brother-in-law Kenneth (RIP since earlier this year) and I advertised in several newspapers and were able to buy season tix. The total, if I remember correctly, for each of us was about $225 for 15-16 games. The printed price on my ticket last night? $105. And, yes, I realize that much more money was donated before anyone even gets the right to purchase tickets. Times have changed, huh?

[COYS]

Others have pointed out how strange this game was and I completely agree. We played strong defense in the first half, forcing lots of steals, but shot terribly. Marshall and Grayson carried us. Meanwhile, Wake nailed a whole bunch of three's, a few of them well contested and from well beyond the arc, to make the game seem close. In the second half, we played extremely inconsistently on both ends of the floor, but Wake couldn't stop gifting us turnovers. That was enough for Grayson to help us win it with some timely help from Brandon, Matt, and Derryck.

While I am loathe to point to fatigue, there is no doubt that the team is a little out of sorts right now. However, I am still confident that it is nothing more than a blip. We have played a grueling schedule while relying on two freshmen to carry us in the starting lineup with a short bench consisting of two more freshman. The team has demonstrated just how good it can be in its wins against Louisville, UVA, and UNC (and, honestly, I would even include the loss to Louisville in that list). Hopefully the game @Pitt was rock bottom. The game last night came only a little bit more than 48 hours later. Even if physical fatigue isn't an issue, mental fatigue has to be.

Now, we've got some time to rest a bit before focusing on Saturday. A week without travel and with more concentrated practice time will be good for these guys. Anyone who has played a team sport knows that it is simply impossible to have the whole team hit peak energy level for every single game. Coach K is one of the best at getting his guys to play all out on every play, but the reality is that it is impossible to maintain that edge all the time. A good team can find a way to win even when they aren't quite operating at full power. That's what we did last night. Something tells me, though, that it will be a little easier to get energized for a game against UNC on Saturday.

[Kedsy]

Duke will have to self-impose being ineligible for the ACC and NCAA tourney ala Louisville to keep this prediction from likely happening. I am sure the coaching staff and university admin are mulling this over right now. The shame of 10 or more losses is just too much.

Well, either that or go out and win the ACC Tournament.

[NashvilleDevil]

Aren't we 22-8? We're guaranteed 10 losses, unless we win the ACCT or NCAAT. I'm okay with winning either. Or both.

Crap you are right. I guess we can expect the gloating post from CoSprings when Duke losses that 10th game.

[FerryFor50]

Crap you are right. I guess we can expect the gloating post from CoSprings when Duke losses that 10th game.

Haven't seen him pop up into this thread yet. Guess we won last night.

[Kedsy]

Crap you are right. I guess we can expect the gloating post from CoSprings if Duke losses that 10th game.

FIFY

[Saratoga2]

Others have pointed out how strange this game was and I completely agree. We played strong defense in the first half, forcing lots of steals, but shot terribly. Marshall and Grayson carried us. Meanwhile, Wake nailed a whole bunch of three's, a few of them well contested and from well beyond the arc, to make the game seem close. In the second half, we played extremely inconsistently on both ends of the floor, but Wake couldn't stop gifting us turnovers. That was enough for Grayson to help us win it with some timely help from Brandon, Matt, and Derryck.

While I am loathe to point to fatigue, there is no doubt that the team is a little out of sorts right now. However, I am still confident that it is nothing more than a blip. We have played a grueling schedule while relying on two freshmen to carry us in the starting lineup with a short bench consisting of two more freshman. The team has demonstrated just how good it can be in its wins against Louisville, UVA, and UNC (and, honestly, I would even include the loss to Louisville in that list). Hopefully the game @Pitt was rock bottom. The game last night came only a little bit more than 48 hours later. Even if physical fatigue isn't an issue, mental fatigue has to be.

Now, we've got some time to rest a bit before focusing on Saturday. A week without travel and with more concentrated practice time will be good for these guys. Anyone who has played a team sport knows that it is simply impossible to have the whole team hit peak energy level for every single game. Coach K is one of the best at getting his guys to play all out on every play, but the reality is that it is impossible to maintain that edge all the time. A good team can find a way to win even when they aren't quite operating at full power. That's what we did last night. Something tells me, though, that it will be a little easier to get energized for a game against UNC on Saturday.

With all the intelligent medical people who are associated with Duke, can one of them define what mental fatigue is? Physical fatigue is something we all experience but what is mental fatigue?

[flyingdutchdevil]

With all the intelligent medical people who are associated with Duke, can one of them define what mental fatigue is? Physical fatigue is something we all experience but what is mental fatigue?

Is the Thomas pass to Ingram's backside the basketball equivalent of the "butt fumble"? If it isn't, can we make it?

[dukelifer]

With all the intelligent medical people who are associated with Duke, can one of them define what mental fatigue is? Physical fatigue is something we all experience but what is mental fatigue?

Who needs intelligent medical people when you have Wikipedia. Clearly Allen Ingram should not be operating large vehicles.

"Mental fatigue is a temporary inability to maintain optimal cognitive performance. The onset of mental fatigue during any cognitive activity is gradual, and depends upon an individual's cognitive ability, and also upon other factors, such as sleep deprivation and overall health. Mental fatigue has also been shown to decrease physical performance.[4] It can manifest as somnolence, lethargy, or directed attention fatigue. Decreased attention is known as ego depletion and occurs when the limited 'self-regulatory capacity' is depleted.[16] It may also be described as a more or less decreased level of consciousness.[17] In any case, this can be dangerous when performing tasks that require constant concentration, such as operating large vehicles. For instance, a person who is sufficiently somnolent may experience microsleep. However, objective cognitive testing can be used to differentiate the neurocognitive deficits of brain disease from those attributable to tiredness.[citation needed]"

[Steven43]

Luke is hard to figure. He is really talented and tries very hard out there but seems to get discouraged when not hitting. Someone said the coaches and players yelled at him and he looked like a zombie. We really need Luke out there playing significant minutes and producing to give us one more player during the meat grinder we will soon be in. (ACC and NCAA Tourneys). Somehow the coaches, team and players and Luke himself have to get him back to contributing or we will be drastically undermanned.
I have a feeling Luke will play very well against UNC and might even be the X factor that gets Duke the victory. He is a good, though inconsistent, player who will definitely be GREAT one day. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

[Channing]

Is the Thomas pass to Ingram's backside the basketball equivalent of the "butt fumble"? If it isn't, can we make it?

As absurd as that play looked, I think it was more than just a mental lapse by Thomas. BI did a great job of showing in the passing lane which caused Thomas to try and readjust the initial pass he was intending to make. The fact he only had one hand on the ball led to it slipping away from him, but BIs defense was the key to that play.

[OZ]

Is the Thomas pass to Ingram's backside the basketball equivalent of the "butt fumble"? If it isn't, can we make it?

Others have brought up the 'strange" and "weird" of last night's game, but the "butt fumble" brought to mind another scene that occurred during the last seconds. Allen was fouled and was walking to the other end to shoot his free throws; Coach K was pointing and gesturing to someone; and suddenly Matt walked up behind Allen, placed his hands on Allen's butt and pushed him to the foul line. From the stands this seemed a little "strange-weird." For those who watched on t.v. did the announcers mention as to what that was about?
Apologies if previously mentioned.

[Channing]

Others have brought up the 'strange" and "weird" of last night's game, but the "butt fumble" brought to mind another scene that occurred during the last seconds. Allen was fouled and was walking to the other end to shoot his free throws; Coach K was pointing and gesturing to someone; and suddenly Matt walked up behind Allen, placed his hands on Allen's butt and pushed him to the foul line. From the stands this seemed a little "strange-weird." For those who watched on t.v. did the announcers mention as to what that was about?
Apologies if previously mentioned.

I think this was right after Allen missed two free throws. The only mention from the commentators was that "allen's teammates were pushing him to get right back to the line".

[elvis14]

I've never seen a guy have as many good-looking shots rim out as Kennard has this year. The rims clearly hate that guy.

Josh McRoberts says "hello".

[kmspeaks]

I've never seen a guy have as many good-looking shots rim out as Kennard has this year. The rims clearly hate that guy.

I think the up and down is just normal freshman inconsistency though. I expect a good-sized leap between this year and next.

We've been saying this about Kennard all year and every time someone mentions it I remember there was another Duke player who some thought had a little sideways spin on the ball that caused more shots to rim out. I can't for the life of me remember who that was, can anybody help me out? I'm pretty certain it was someone in the last 5 years.

Anyways, any shot docs think Luke's shot has a funky spin that's causing all these halfway down 3's to bounce out?

[Newton_14]

We've been saying this about Kennard all year and every time someone mentions it I remember there was another Duke player who some thought had a little sideways spin on the ball that caused more shots to rim out. I can't for the life of me remember who that was, can anybody help me out? I'm pretty certain it was someone in the last 5 years.

Anyways, any shot docs think Luke's shot has a funky spin that's causing all these halfway down 3's to bounce out?

I thought you were kidding at first but then realized you were serious. John Scheyer. His off hand was near the top of the ball rather than on the side as normal, and it created the sidespin. While he went thru two significant slumps his Jr and Sr year, he recovered, and shot it well, hitting some huge shots in the ACC and NCAA Tourney's as a Sr taking both titles of course.... "Scheyer off the screen from Zoubekkkkkkkk.... GOT IT!! Duke has beaten GA TECH for the 2010 ACC Championship!! How Sweet It Is"

[MartyClark]

I'm late to this thread but wanted to add a few things.

I was at the game, my first game at Cameron. It was a great experience.

Back to the game. I was impressed with Thornton. He is really quick. He didn't have many points but I thought he played a good game. He's going to be good.

I thought Duke played really hard but agree with those who think they are fatigued. In my amateur speculation, I wonder whether the fatigue is more mental than physical. I don't know how these kids get up for two ACC games a week, attendant travel, and studies.

Finally, to further digress, my son and I also went to the Carolina-Syracuse game on Monday. We hung out until 25 minutes before game time and ended up buying tickets on Stub Hub for less than face value. We cheered for Syracuse and irritated a few people around us. I was pretty surprised that their pregame video, where they are bragging about the ACC titles, Final Four appearances etc., specifically said 6 National Championships (consistent with the banners). There has been more honesty in the presidential debates this year than we saw on this issue of Carolina championships.

Go Duke.

[CoSprings]

Crap you are right. I guess we can expect the gloating post from CoSprings when Duke losses that 10th game.

You are still keeping it classy NashvilleDevil. You also said Clemson was a tournament team and I predicted they were a 12 loss team. Look at their record now. Nobody is going to gloat about us losing 10 games, but your utter lack of reality about the fact that it was a real possibility and now looks imminent shows how much you and others on this board are terrified of the real. That is the point, it isn't about losing 10 games it's about a lack of perspective from you and others about the potential of this year's team. Who cares if they lose 10 games, they have overcome so much and I for one am proud as heck of them for having the record they do have.

I shouldn't have been so negative about them in the past, that was my bad. But the fact that you actually remember that post from like 2 months ago says a lot about you.

[CoSprings]

FIFY

I didn't respond because I was out of the country working. Not because we won. This whole sub-posting about someone is pretty classless.

[jv001]

You are still keeping it classy NashvilleDevil. You also said Clemson was a tournament team and I predicted they were a 12 loss team. Look at their record now. Nobody is going to gloat about us losing 10 games, but your utter lack of reality about the fact that it was a real possibility and now looks imminent shows how much you and others on this board are terrified of the real. That is the point, it isn't about losing 10 games it's about a lack of perspective from you and others about the potential of this year's team. Who cares if they lose 10 games, they have overcome so much and I for one am proud as heck of them for having the record they do have.

I shouldn't have been so negative about them in the past, that was my bad. But the fact that you actually remember that post from like 2 months ago says a lot about you.

He/She has a good memory? :cool: Just kidding. I think most of us get down on our team at times, but we need to remember that these kids give it their all. I'm hoping we come out with fresh legs and take it to the cheats tonight. GoDuke!