MBB: Duke 94, UNLV 45 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[BLPOG]

GGLC

[Bob Green]

More than double! :cool:

[DavidBenAkiva]

Well that was fun. On the downside, we have to wait 10 days to see this team play again. On the upside, we get to think about THAT for the next week+.

[91devil]

I am glad we developed new food nicknames for most of our players.

[subzero02]

"Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." - L.L. Grayson

[Volunteer Duke]

We are really good. Like really good. Scary good.

We just beat UNLV by 49 points and Harry Giles didn't even play.

We may go 40-1.

[Tripping William]

More than double! :cool:

And covered the spread by more than double. If only this had been the national title game ....

[BLPOG]

So, anyone else about to re-watch the game? :cool:

[DukieInBrasil]

That was a very satisfying win!
Glad to see the explosive Grayson back, and he had some very exciting plays! +6-9 from 3? I'll take it!!!
Another 2x-double for Amile. Another solid game from Kennard. Another big-time struggle on offense from Matt.
Tatum continuing to stuff the stat sheet. Bolden even seemed to play with a little more verve.
Glad that Chase got to score a bucket in front of his family and friends. Otherwise, he had a pretty pedestrian game.
Was bummemd that the final unit didn't score for the final 3 minutes, and we missed out on a chance for 100 points.
First time we've shot over 40% on 3s in a while. Great shooting from the field overall, and great from the line as well.

[duke4ever19]

Several fantastic dunks in this game. Grayson with two of them.

[Saratoga2]

We won going away big with a mixture of players getting significant time. Good for the team spirit and we will probably see similar routs until we get into Conference play. By then, Giles should be back and be getting integrated into the team.

Grayson is getting healthier and it showed tonight. Explosive off the floor both aggressive and accurate with his shot and going to the basket.

Amile had another very good night sort of like the man playing against the boys. I don't know yet if he got a double double but wouldn't doubt it. Good with blocks, rebounds et. al.

Luke sort of was in the background, acting as the facilitator without concentrating on scoring although I'll bet he got to double figures. Those that dis his defense might want to reconsider as it was good tonight.

Jason had a good but not overpowering game. The variety of lineups on the floor was unusual tonight. When you put Amile, Jason, Luke and Grayson on the floor together and either Frank or Matt who can stop them?

Frank is special as well and had a nice night. Matt, not so much.

This team ranks with the best teams in the great history of Duke basketball and is getting better as the guys get integrate. What a team.

[Indoor66]

ON the 100 points, K tends to call off the dogs. He is a better sport than some of the fans.

[MarkD83]

All the great offense and Duke held UNLV to 19 second half points and less than 30% shooting for the game.

About 10 mins into the 2nd half Duke was on an 18-0 run and the announcers asked why Dukes 2nd team wasn't in the game, well Duke's 2nd team was in the game including Tatum, Jackson, Bolden and DeLaurier....Luke was the one starter in the game. That is scary if this is the 2nd team.

[grossbus]

"Several fantastic dunks in this game. Grayson with two of them."

I liked all three of his dunks. :cool:

[Utley]

What's the opposite of alarmingly unathletic? Intimidatingly athletic?.

[TKG]

Complete mismatch.

Glad the game is over so I do not have to hear anymore about the 1990 and 1991 games.

[duke4ever19]

We are really good. Like really good. Scary good.

We just beat UNLV by 49 points and Harry Giles didn't even play.

We may go 40-1.

That would be 1998-99 Final Four team good.

Interestingly, that team lost their lone regular season contest in November to Cincy by a score of 75 - 77.

This years team also lost in November -to Kansas- by a score of . . . 75 - 77.

Hopefully this Duke team can keep its last loss in the regular season.

[BLPOG]

All the great offense and Duke held UNLV to 19 second half points and less than 30% shooting for the game.

This point is crucial. The team kept playing. Two or three times last year (see ACC tournament against ND) the team stopped playing. Maybe they backed off on defense, maybe their shots just weren't falling - doesn't matter. They collapsed after building a lead.

This game suggests they won't suffer that pitfall this year, and that makes me damn happy.

[CDu]

Total domination from the opening tip. That was fun to watch.

I hope today was a sign that Allen is getting healthy. He certainly seemed to have his springs back. What a performance by him!

Kennard with a quiet 16 on 12 shots. He was a menace in the passing lanes.

A ho-hum double-double by Jefferson.

Tatum looked good again. The crazy thing is he is so good yet we don't even have to rely on him for offense. So many weapons, it is borderline criminal. If Giles is better than Tatum, yikes!

This game reminded me of the 1999 team, where we would just run over teams.

Here's hoping for good health the rest of the way, because this could be really fun!

[subzero02]

That would be 1998-99 Final Four team good.

Interestingly, that team lost their lone regular season contest in November to Cincy by a score of 75 - 77.

This years team also lost in November -to Kansas- by a score of . . . 75 - 77.

Hopefully this Duke team can keep its last loss in the regular season.

I'd be much happier if this season did not end like that one. I would like to go into the national championship game as 12 point favorites though.

[hsheffield]

I'd never noticed until tonight how much Luke is guiding the freshman-he practically pulled Bolden to the top of the key so he'd set a pick, he pointed at some other freshman to run the baseline and take a three from the other side (Jackson?), then there was the ball flip to Tatum. Bodes well for the young ones coming along quickly!

[MChambers]

I'd never noticed until tonight how much Luke is guiding the freshman-he practically pulled Bolden to the top of the key so he'd set a pick, he pointed at some other freshman to run the baseline and take a three from the other side (Jackson?), then there was the ball flip to Tatum. Bodes well for the young ones coming along quickly!
At one point in the first half, before UNLV shot a free throw, Grayson put his arm around Marques's waist, and talked to him, while pointing with his other hand. He seemed to be very nicely explaining to Bolden how he should have rotated on the play.

Seemed like a nice moment.

[MChambers]

Is a Duke fan

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/807756546260156416

Amazing how a big baseball player looks small next to the Duke team.

[YmoBeThere]

We are really good. Like really good. Scary good.

We just beat UNLV by 49 points and Harry Giles didn't even play.

We may go 40-1.

Just as long as we don't go into the championship game with 37 wins. That hasn't worked out well for us either time.

[Newton_14]

Wow. That was impressive as heck. First, welcome back Grayson my man! He looked like the National Player of the Year today for the first time. The drive with killer dunk finishes were the guy we all know and love. That first one was pure nasty. The thing I loved about Grayson today even more, was the outward show of passion. It is the first time I recall seeing it all season. I don't know if it has been the injuries, or trying to change because of the incidents last season, but he has been holding it back. His expressions at times have looked like he were attending a funeral. Not today! Hopefully with the long break now with 1 game over like 14 days or whatever it is, he can heal up completely and be 100% come VaTech game 1.

Total team effort though despite Grayson's 34. He was so efficient he got the 34 without dominating the ball and without taking a lot of shots. JJ esque in that regard. Like someone else mentioned, when Tatum doesn't even have to be the go to guy on your offense, your offense is pretty darn good. Add in a Harry Giles and it just isn't fair. If you are the opposing coach, just who do you game plan for? Kennard, Amile, Grayson, Tatum, big times scorers all of them right now and will only get better as the chemistry develops. I see a lot of blowouts upcoming.

The other thing is, these kids play defense. They are active, jump the passing lanes a lot, block shots, force turnovers. Very fun to watch. Nice also to get the first road game out of the way before heading into conference play.

Awesome day. Can't wait to see them again and this time young Mr. Giles is going to check in the game and Cameron Indoor is going to explode!

[UrinalCake]

That would be 1998-99 Final Four team good.

Interestingly, that team lost their lone regular season contest in November to Cincy by a score of 75 - 77.

This years team also lost in November -to Kansas- by a score of . . . 75 - 77.

Hopefully this Duke team can keep its last loss in the regular season.

Interesting indeed. If memory serves, Cincinnati beat us on a final shot right before the buzzer too, a hook and ladder play leading to a dunk by Kenyon Martin.

Someone can do the math, but it felt to me like we played the "small" lineup with Amile at the 5 and/or Tatum at the 4 for about half the game, while playing a "big" lineup with two of Amile/Bolden/Jeter for about half as well. That seems to be the biggest question now that Tatum and Bolden are back - how much will we go big - and while this game was not a definitive answer it does seem like we'll mix in some of both.

Fantastic game all around by all.

[MChambers]

Someone can do the math, but it felt to me like we played the "small" lineup with Amile at the 5 and/or Tatum at the 4 for about half the game, while playing a "big" lineup with two of Amile/Bolden/Jeter for about half as well. That seems to be the biggest question now that Tatum and Bolden are back - how much will we go big - and while this game was not a definitive answer it does seem like we'll mix in some of both.

I think you're about right on the split today, although it was skewed a bit by the last few minutes with lots of bigs. But when Giles joins the group, Duke will have another very talented and mobile big, so I expect to see more of big lineups. But it's a nice set of choices for K to have.

[Saratoga2]

The only negative in the game was listening to the Dickie V show. I found myself back on the mute button more often than not. What ever happened to Bobby Knight?

[wilson]

The only negative in the game was listening to the Dickie V show. I found myself back on the mute button more often than not. What ever happened to Bobby Knight?Vitale's broadcast partner (a new guy whose name escapes me at the moment) said probably 5 times that Duke beat UNLV in 1991 to win the championship, which is of course wrong. Vitale never once noticed or responded. He was talking about the likes of Dionne Warwick and "I left my heart in San Jose" (also wrong).

[duke4ever19]

The only negative in the game was listening to the Dickie V show. I found myself back on the mute button more often than not. What ever happened to Bobby Knight?

His contract was not renewed after the 2015 season. His last game was the NIT Championship.

I don't know that any incidents precipitated the exit (It is Bobby Knight, afterall), or if he just decided that having a job that is "one or two steps above prostitution" wasn't for him. (His words, not mine :))

[BLPOG]

His contract was not renewed after the 2015 season. His last game was the NIT Championship.

I don't know that any incidents precipitated the exit (It is Bobby Knight, afterall), or if he just decided that having a job that is "one or two steps above prostitution" wasn't for him. (His words, not mine :))

For what it's worth, I loved Knight as a commentator/analyst. I always learned something when watching/listening.

I thought Vitale was tolerable today.

[sagegrouse]

His contract was not renewed after the 2015 season. His last game was the NIT Championship.

I don't know that any incidents precipitated the exit (It is Bobby Knight, afterall), or if he just decided that having a job that is "one or two steps above prostitution" wasn't for him. (His words, not mine :))

Knight is 76 years old.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Vitale's broadcast partner (a new guy whose name escapes me at the moment) said probably 5 times that Duke beat UNLV in 1991 to win the championship, which is of course wrong. Vitale never once noticed or responded. He was talking about the likes of Dionne Warwick and "I left my heart in San Jose" (also wrong).

The announcer with Vitale, Jason Benetti, has a very interesting backstory - he was born with cerebral palsy and has overcome that to have a successful broadcasting career - he does play by play for the Chicago White Sox. I don't envy the task of anyone trying to work with Vitale, particularly someone relatively young, and even more-so during a blowout. He definitely wasn't perfect, but I've also heard worse.

[BLPOG]

Knight is 76 years old.

A lesson I learned years ago was that a man's age should be judged in proportion to whether he could open a can of whup I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. over an opponent.

I don't really want to fight Coach Knight.

Edit: Apparently I am foul-mouthed. I completely forgot the language filter was that restrictive.

[BluDvlsN1]

Duke was represented really well at the game.
A little hard to tell in the picture, but a load of
Blue in the stands.

6930

A few Random thoughts..
Nice to let Jeter start.
The obvious; Grayson is healed what a game.
We could have put up Loyola Marymount numbers.
It always seemed we had multiple more gears available as a team.
3/4 of the game it seemed K was just tinkering with options.
With multiple bigs in, there were some 1 high/1 low post sets,very effective.
Tatum is a stud, plays within the game,heady ball player, does it all, freshman only in academics.
We're sneaky quick.
This team is unselfish, they like each other, they find the open man.
With a month of practices and game situations to incorporate all the elements,
we are in for an entertaining remainder of the season, and thats me being measured. :)


Can't get this to straighten out.
6933

[BD80]

Just as long as we don't go into the championship game with 37 wins. That hasn't worked out well for us either time.

Given the choice, I'll take a season with 37 wins and headed to the championship game...

[DukieInBrasil]

The only negative in the game was listening to the Dickie V show. I found myself back on the mute button more often than not. What ever happened to Bobby Knight?

I watched on ESPN3, which was broadcast in Spanish. I didn't catch everything they said, but i could tell they were talking about the game. That was refreshing. I tried to listen to the internet broadcast while watching ESPN3 but the audio was 10-15 seconds behind the video, which itself was behind the box score by 10-15 secocnds.

[ricks68]

I watched on ESPN3, which was broadcast in Spanish. I didn't catch everything they said, but i could tell they were talking about the game. That was refreshing. I tried to listen to the internet broadcast while watching ESPN3 but the audio was 10-15 seconds behind the video, which itself was behind the box score by 10-15 secocnds.

Why not in Portuguese?

ricks

[Newton_14]

The only negative in the game was listening to the Dickie V show. I found myself back on the mute button more often than not. What ever happened to Bobby Knight?

I thought the same thing. It is such a shame really. The man needs to retire. If you are an uneducated basketball fan watching the game needing to learn, and needing to know who the players are, you will be out to lunch if Vitale is a part of the broadcast. He has fallen so far from when he was actually really good it is sad. Even rewatching the 1998 Duke/uncCheat game at CIS last night, he and Musburger were really good. They explained things, gave insigiht, stayed 100% focused on the game in front of them. As much as people hated Billy Packer, he always stay locked in on the game at hand, and provided commentary on the actual plays the players were making in the game he was calling. The old ACC games with Packer, Jim Thacker, and Bones McKinney were really good in my opinion.

Today Vitale talked about everything except the game in front of him and missed a hundred things that happened due to the yapping. I used to be a huge Vitale fan, and still think he is a really good man and person but he is now absolutely terrible at his job. A darn shame. Please for the love of basketball and the young kids needing to learn the game, please please please retire. Like now. Like tonight if possible. Get comp tickets for yourself and family for the games you want to go see and just be a fan like the rest of us. I think I would be quite happy if his retirement was my only Christmas present this year! That's how bad he annoys me now. Aarrgghhh!

[richardjackson199]

Interesting indeed. If memory serves, Cincinnati beat us on a final shot right before the buzzer too, a hook and ladder play leading to a dunk by Kenyon Martin.

Someone can do the math, but it felt to me like we played the "small" lineup with Amile at the 5 and/or Tatum at the 4 for about half the game, while playing a "big" lineup with two of Amile/Bolden/Jeter for about half as well. That seems to be the biggest question now that Tatum and Bolden are back - how much will we go big - and while this game was not a definitive answer it does seem like we'll mix in some of both.

Fantastic game all around by all.

My memory didn't serve either, so I Youtubed it. The final dunk off the hook and ladder with 3 seconds left was by Melvin Levett, not K-Mart. Right before that dunk Will Avery tied the game with a clutch shot, giving him 30 points for the game. After the Levett dunk, Duke ran a full court play with 1 second on the clock. Avery hit another tough shot - unfortunately as time was expiring so it didn't count.

This year, I'm cool with 39-1, or any record that results in Natty #6.

There were more Duke alums and fans at this game than at Wally Wade for Va Tech - seriously. T-Mobile (very nice arena btw) looked sold out with capacity over 19,000. Upper decks all full too. It almost felt like a Duke home game with all the Defense cheers. Pre-game and all through the game, UNLV kept showing highlights of the 1990 championship, and never mentioned 91. Bryan Davis and Anderson Hunt were introduced at halftime.

This was a huge success. I imagine Duke will return to Vegas to play.

[OldPhiKap]

To be fair to Vitale -- and I am a constant critic -- not sure how you talk about a manhandling blowout as a color guy. If you were not a Duke fan, this game was not worth watching after the early minutes.

[devildeac]

I am glad we developed new food nicknames for most of our players.

Yep. Make no mis-steak about it.

[devildeac]

All the great offense and Duke held UNLV to 19 second half points and less than 30% shooting for the game.

About 10 mins into the 2nd half Duke was on an 18-0 run and the announcers asked why Dukes 2nd team wasn't in the game, well Duke's 2nd team was in the game including Tatum, Jackson, Bolden and DeLaurier...Luke was the one starter in the game. That is scary if this is the 2nd team.

I listened on WDNC on our trip back from the NC coast and they were giddy about Luke and 4 of the freshman on the floor at the time. Yo. Yo. Yo. Amazing.

[gofurman]

Is a Duke fan

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/807756546260156416

Amazing how a big baseball player looks small next to the Duke team.




great stuff - only negative is Grayson's foot is wrapped in that photo. I hope they really take it easy with him and his toe these next few weeks.. give more minutes to Bolden or Jayson or Frank.. they all need practice.

*Anyone know if Grayson is still being held out of practice??? thanks for information - it was said publicly that for a while he wasn't practicing. Only playing in games. Whats the word on that now?? Limited practice? full contact?

[NYBri]

Damn, this is so much frickin' fun.

[NYBri]

Is a Duke fan

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/807756546260156416

Amazing how a big baseball player looks small next to the Duke team.

Giles looks like a beast in this photo.

[duke4ever19]

Knight is 76 years old.

Is Knight's age the reason Knight said he left ESPN? I tried to find a reason from Knight himself, but couldn't find a quote. If you have a link to his comments, it would be much appreciated.

There are lots of guys still doing that line of work at Knight's age: Lee Corso is 81, Marv Albert is 75, Dick Vitale and Brent Musburger are 77. Vin Scully just retired at 89.

Heck, I'm never going to limit a guy like Bobby Knight based on his age.

[uh_no]

To be fair to Vitale -- and I am a constant critic -- not sure how you talk about a manhandling blowout as a color guy. If you were not a Duke fan, this game was not worth watching after the early minutes.

To be fair, isn't he considered an "analyst?"

At least in baseball, you often get three guys on TV....play by play, analyst, and color. That works great as you have one guy who is great at calling the game as it's happening, one who is a good baseball mind, and one who is there for the lulz.

DIcky V would be great as that third guy in the baseball booth...who keeps it fun when not much is going on. But in basketball, when you almost invariably have two men teams, that second guy needs to be providing that insight (given very few commentators actually do provide ANY useful insight...it's all intelligent sounding filler these days) along with amusing fluff from time to time. Dicky V is so far over the line as to be ridiculous. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but when you have so much of what he says untempered by other guys in the booth, it becomes unbearable.

given the financial troubles that ESPN is running into, and the fact that he has already been demoted off the top team at ESPN in favor of Bilas (who i have my own qualms with....and nothing to do with duke...), I don't expect Dicky V to be around for too much longer. That is unfortunate to some degree because he does love the college game and does get excited for these players and games, but he's past his ability to be effective on the mic.

If only every second guy on broadcasts could be as knowledgeable as the general.

[Furniture]

I watched on ESPN3, which was broadcast in Spanish. I didn't catch everything they said, but i could tell they were talking about the game. That was refreshing. I tried to listen to the internet broadcast while watching ESPN3 but the audio was 10-15 seconds behind the video, which itself was behind the box score by 10-15 secocnds.

ESPN3 tinha em inglês também!

[53n206]

The energy, the enthusiasm, the skill, this team has it all. This team is a FORCE!

[Isaac Sours]

ON the 100 points, K tends to call off the dogs. He is a better sport than some of the fans.

/s/ Screw those fans who want to watch enjoyable basketball for the last five minutes of the game! It's more important to pick an arbitrary number past which "true gentlemen" should never score, even if it requires throwing out some truly pedantic and inept offense while wasting everyone's time. /s/

Seriously, there's a difference between running up the score and simply continuing to play the game while being slightly less aggressive. I see nothing reprehensible about the latter. Completely throwing away the last segment of the game is silly: no learning or growth for the players, while still risking injury (although injury to subs is less bad than injury to starters), and further embarrassing the opponent by essentially saying "y'all are so bad we have to play like middle schoolers in order to keep from scoring."

I really don't understand this attitude. Fans want to see entertaining sport. Bench players want to get valuable experience and game practice. If Duke wins by 60 instead of 49, it's still a blowout. Should we stop dunking after a 20 point lead or something? institute the ten pass rule? no threes in the second half? that would be silly, but only marginally more silly than putting a cap on scoring for respectability's sake. Let the kids loose, have some fun.

[Kedsy]

*Anyone know if Grayson is still being held out of practice??? thanks for information - it was said publicly that for a while he wasn't practicing. Only playing in games. Whats the word on that now?? Limited practice? full contact?

The announcers said he practiced yesterday (Friday) for the first time in awhile. I guess it worked.

[heyman25]

Very good photo of Cool Hand Luke.Sheldon Andelson's newspaper. On paper Andelson lost 3 billion in 30 minutes on his Sands share price. China crack downed on how much Yuan can be taken from the Mainland to Macao.Maco has 4 times the amount of gambling as Las Vegas.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/unlv/basketball/unlv-rebels-fall-duke-t-mobile-arena-94-45

[lotusland]

His contract was not renewed after the 2015 season. His last game was the NIT Championship.

I don't know that any incidents precipitated the exit (It is Bobby Knight, afterall), or if he just decided that having a job that is "one or two steps above prostitution" wasn't for him. (His words, not mine :))

UK fans are convinced Knight was canned for comments on Cal. It was a bit aggressive even if accurate. Kinda hard to be considered neutral when you do that.

[sagegrouse]

Is Knight's age the reason Knight said he left ESPN? I tried to find a reason from Knight himself, but couldn't find a quote. If you have a link to his comments, it would be much appreciated.

There are lots of guys still doing that line of work at Knight's age: Lee Corso is 81, Marv Albert is 75, Dick Vitale and Brent Musburger are 77. Vin Scully just retired at 89.

Heck, I'm never going to limit a guy like Bobby Knight based on his age.

No, I don't think a reason was given, but age should not be ignored, or asked about too bluntly.

BTW, my homeboy Verne Lundquist (age 76) just wrapped it up last night with the telecast of the Army-Navy game. He seems to be as good as ever, but will limit his schedule to golf (Masters 16th hole = Verne) and some hoops (probably will lead one of the regional crews during the NCAAs). He has some health issues, as one would expect, and as a beloved person, has been fairly candid about them. In fact, during the telecast, Donald Trump showed up in the booth for a chat and Verne's partner Gary Danielson suggested that Verne be named Ambassador to Sweden, the home of Verne' ancestors.

[Indoor66]

Can't get this to straighten out.
http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6933&stc=1

One click to the right or three to the left. ;):cool:

[Indoor66]

Very good photo of Cool Hand Luke.Sheldon Andelson's newspaper. On paper Andelson lost 3 billion in 30 minutes on his Sands share price. China crack downed on how much Yuan can be taken from the Mainland to Macao.Maco has 4 times the amount of gambling as Las Vegas.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/unlv/basketball/unlv-rebels-fall-duke-t-mobile-arena-94-45

Yeah, those paper losses are as painful as the paper gains are thrilling. :confused::cool:

[slower]

Giles looks like a beast in this photo.

It may have something to do with his position in the photo. On the other side, look how huge Grayson's arm looks relative to Frank and Luke. He and Giles are just closer to the camera. Not that they aren't beastly, of course!

[NashvilleDevil]

/s/ Screw those fans who want to watch enjoyable basketball for the last five minutes of the game! It's more important to pick an arbitrary number past which "true gentlemen" should never score, even if it requires throwing out some truly pedantic and inept offense while wasting everyone's time. /s/

Seriously, there's a difference between running up the score and simply continuing to play the game while being slightly less aggressive. I see nothing reprehensible about the latter. Completely throwing away the last segment of the game is silly: no learning or growth for the players, while still risking injury (although injury to subs is less bad than injury to starters), and further embarrassing the opponent by essentially saying "y'all are so bad we have to play like middle schoolers in order to keep from scoring."

I really don't understand this attitude. Fans want to see entertaining sport. Bench players want to get valuable experience and game practice. If Duke wins by 60 instead of 49, it's still a blowout. Should we stop dunking after a 20 point lead or something? institute the ten pass rule? no threes in the second half? that would be silly, but only marginally more silly than putting a cap on scoring for respectability's sake. Let the kids loose, have some fun.

Lighten up Francis.

[BluDvlsN1]

One click to the right or three to the left. ;):cool:

Haha, Thanks indoor, when I previewed the post, both images
were there, a pano of the 1st one that does not show a valid link now.

The second, on the image file after downloading, I could not
find that option to adjust it. Should be simple.

Thanks for the feedback.

[DukieInBrasil]

/s/ Screw those fans who want to watch enjoyable basketball for the last five minutes of the game! It's more important to pick an arbitrary number past which "true gentlemen" should never score, even if it requires throwing out some truly pedantic and inept offense while wasting everyone's time. /s/

Seriously, there's a difference between running up the score and simply continuing to play the game while being slightly less aggressive. I see nothing reprehensible about the latter. Completely throwing away the last segment of the game is silly: no learning or growth for the players, while still risking injury (although injury to subs is less bad than injury to starters), and further embarrassing the opponent by essentially saying "y'all are so bad we have to play like middle schoolers in order to keep from scoring."

I really don't understand this attitude. Fans want to see entertaining sport. Bench players want to get valuable experience and game practice. If Duke wins by 60 instead of 49, it's still a blowout. Should we stop dunking after a 20 point lead or something? institute the ten pass rule? no threes in the second half? that would be silly, but only marginally more silly than putting a cap on scoring for respectability's sake. Let the kids loose, have some fun.

I wanted to see the last unit score some, and i don't think they weren't trying. Matt launched a clean look at an open 3 and missed, badly. That last unit just didn't have the right mix to score effectively. Matt was the PG, Jack was the 2G and then we had 3 F/C dudes. They had no flow and didn't have a way to get good looks, aside from Matt. I'm not gonna disparage our subs, it's not like we put in walk-ons. From what i could tell, they were playing hard, Jack even got a steal.
On a lighter note, from the Podcast conversation, they were joking about how many 100+ pt games Duke would have this year, and nobody said "0". Like it was a given that we were going to, just a question of how many times. Apparently nobody considered that K might not really have any desire for the score to get to 100, unless the opponent is scoring easily against our D.
K is competitive as hell, but he is also truly concerned about the players. He knows that UNLV has a 1st year coach, whom he respects, and that the entire team is new (either Fr. or otherwise new to UNLV). I think K didn't place very much value on letting Duke get to 100, and as neat as it would have been for Jack or Javin etc to score that 100th point, i'm not upset that Duke didn't.

[Saratoga2]

Knight is 76 years old.

So am I. Whats wrong with that?

[rsvman]

So am I. Whats wrong with that?

Precisely.

My father is 83 and still plays golf from the white tees. And plays to about a 5 handicap. Walking with a push cart. And he's sharp as a tack.


So much ageism in American society; it's kind of frightening. I would think that a 76-year-old who is healthy enough to do the job should be preferred over a 35-year-old, if anything, because he/she is likely to bring so much more experience to the table.


As for the game, I really enjoyed watching it. I especially liked watching Grayson play like Grayson! I hope he stays healthy and all the guys are eventually well enough to play to their abilities. If that happens, this team will be unbelievably entertaining and also very, very difficult to beat.

It's good to be a Dukie.

[BluDvlsN1]

So am I. Whats wrong with that?

Not a thing, I'm 70 and it's a mindset not a handicap.
Sure beats the alternative.

It was funny though in the favorite rock songs thread,
moonpie said..."There is some serious age telling on this thread"

Good stuff!;)

[OldPhiKap]

/s/ Screw those fans who want to watch enjoyable basketball for the last five minutes of the game! It's more important to pick an arbitrary number past which "true gentlemen" should never score, even if it requires throwing out some truly pedantic and inept offense while wasting everyone's time. /s/

Seriously, there's a difference between running up the score and simply continuing to play the game while being slightly less aggressive. I see nothing reprehensible about the latter. Completely throwing away the last segment of the game is silly: no learning or growth for the players, while still risking injury (although injury to subs is less bad than injury to starters), and further embarrassing the opponent by essentially saying "y'all are so bad we have to play like middle schoolers in order to keep from scoring."

I really don't understand this attitude. Fans want to see entertaining sport. Bench players want to get valuable experience and game practice. If Duke wins by 60 instead of 49, it's still a blowout. Should we stop dunking after a 20 point lead or something? institute the ten pass rule? no threes in the second half? that would be silly, but only marginally more silly than putting a cap on scoring for respectability's sake. Let the kids loose, have some fun.

Coach K does not want to show up a fellow coach or his team. I'm not sure how that is a bad thing.

[OldPhiKap]

Not a thing, I'm 70 and it's a mindset not a handicap.
Sure beats the alternative.

It was funny though in the favorite rock songs thread,
moonpie said..."There is some serious age telling on this thread"

Good stuff!;)

"Hope I die before I get old". -- Roger Daltry (72) and Pete Townsend (71)

"What a drag it is getting old" -- new father Mick Jagger (73)

[FadedTackyShirt]

Great to see Grayson come back strong.

Nice that K gave Chase a start in his home town. It's starting to click for Chase and he's shown flashes, but his minutes will get squeezed when Giles and Bolden are both fully healthy.

[uh_no]

So am I. Whats wrong with that?

I think in knight's case it might be more to him not wanting to do it...or wanting enough cash to do it that ESPN doesn't want to pay up (which is reasonable given the massive cutting of high paid people they've done in the past year).

Now whether that's how the other poster meant it, I don't know.....but hell, when I'm 76, not sure I'll want to be putting up with corporate big wigs trying to tell me what I can and can't say on the air!

[OldPhiKap]

I think in knight's case it might be more to him not wanting to do it...or wanting enough cash to do it that ESPN doesn't want to pay up (which is reasonable given the massive cutting of high paid people they've done in the past year).

Now whether that's how the other poster meant it, I don't know....but hell, when I'm 76, not sure I'll want to be putting up with corporate big wigs trying to tell me what I can and can't say on the air!

Basketball is during hunting season. Bob has had a full and consuming career. I imagine he just wants to chill, otherwise someone would have him on the air if he wanted to do it.

[MarkD83]

Given the choice, I'll take a season with 37 wins and headed to the championship game...

First things first. I'll take a regular season acc championship run then I will enjoy the post season

[Billy Dat]

That was definitely the Grayson Allen who was preseason player of the year. Aside from his few massive dunks, especially where he took off halfway down the lane, I was most impressed with his aggression. A team is only dangerous on offense if the guys who can score force the defense to guard them. That is an area where Grayson, Amile and Luke are ahead of the younger guys - they catch and are on the attack, if it's not there they move the ball, and when they are off the ball they are working to get into scoring position. Even when Grayson was less physically able, he kept attacking which kept the offense open for others. He was in attack mode all day...3s, drives, offensive rebounding, running the court, etc.

K lauded the team's overall aggressiveness. We have so many weapons that we should get used to playing with abandon (while watching the fouls).

Tatum's strange constant fadeaway can't be good for his long term shooting prospects, can it? I have heard Lebron's jumper critiqued to death and the point is always that he shoots better when he goes straight up and that he starts to slide when he starts fading away. I doubt it's anything that can be addressed in one year at Duke.

It was nice to see Bolden on the court for more minutes. We'll see what K does. The short rotation for the Florida game was telling.

A long break and then, hopefully, Harry.

[Skitzle]

Coach K does not want to show up a fellow coach or his team. I'm not sure how that is a bad thing.

Its a bad thing for the DBR podcast crew who all bet on 3-10 100 pt games this year. We're at what 4 "Should have been 100pt games"?

[uh_no]

It was nice to see Bolden on the court for more minutes. We'll see what K does. The short rotation for the Florida game was telling.

i'm not sure him not getting big minutes after having not practiced at all with the team in a big game is particularly telling. Given he'd been back for all of three days before the florida game, I would have been shocked if bolden HAD gotten any significant minutes. Despite going 3-5, having only 1 board in 13 minutes is not going to cut it, especially against 3 turnovers.

I would expect K to give him opportunity in the next two patsies to get his feet under him....but if he's not ready to contribute come league play, he won't get minutes. I imagine we'll get a lot more tinkering the next couple games, but we'll know darn well after the VT game what the pecking order will be going forward.

[elvis14]

It was really great to see Grayson back. In the post game interview he said he's close to being 100%. Hope he didn't hurt it in any way today as he was killing UNLV. A couple of thoughts. First, the Bryce Harper picture is great and after watching video of Giles this week, he's clearly added some muscle. Can't wait to see him play. Really like our team defense. Tatum really make a difference both in how he plays and in the effectiveness and size of line ups we can use.

Lots of talk on here about Vitale and coach Knight. Yes, DickieV wanders off topic too much, especially when you have a game like this on that's not close. I still love his enthusiasm but he's gotten worse over time. As for coach Knight, what I really enjoyed about him was the smart, insightful remarks he made about the basketball game. But Knight was about as exciting as watching paint dry as an announcer. That's not a great thing for folks that aren't hoops junkies (i.e. not us).

How many people backed up the DVR a bunch of times and re-watched Grayson's first dunk?

[Old Gold 89]

BillyDat, I think Tatum's fadeaway will prove ruthless one day in the NBA. Right now, I'm sure he shoots a higher percentage when he goes straight up or even into the body of the defender like Danny Ferry would.

Tatum doesn't need that fadeway much in college. At 6'8 and with a fairly long wingspan, he will be taller than most of his defenders here. Second, he jumps comfortably high on his jumpshots. Third, with tremendous form, he releases the ball well above his head. His defenders in college are nowhere near to blocking his jumpers, and that gives him a great view of the basket. If you take a look at the video of some of his jumpers, the separation he gets is ridiculous.

Of course, that will change in the NBA with taller, longer, more athletic defenders. There, he will need a fadeaway in his repertoire. With that shot, I think he will be one of the top scorers in the league.

Right now though, I hope our coaches are telling him to go straight up or slightly forward. When he does that consistently, his percentage will be superb, and teams will have to double-team him and that's when Allen or Kennard or Jackson or Jefferson cuts to the basket and . . . oh lawdy.

In short, I agree with you, except that I think his fadeaway is not awkward or weird. It's just not nearly as good as his straight jumper. He'll need his fadeaway in the NBA though (and maybe against the long defenders he will face, for example, at UNC and Kentucky.)

[MChambers]

i'm not sure him not getting big minutes after having not practiced at all with the team in a big game is particularly telling. Given he'd been back for all of three days before the florida game, I would have been shocked if bolden HAD gotten any significant minutes. Despite going 3-5, having only 1 board in 13 minutes is not going to cut it, especially against 3 turnovers.

I would expect K to give him opportunity in the next two patsies to get his feet under him...but if he's not ready to contribute come league play, he won't get minutes. I imagine we'll get a lot more tinkering the next couple games, but we'll know darn well after the VT game what the pecking order will be going forward.

I'm sure the lack of practice had a lot to do with it. Also, UF wasn't a great matchup for Bolden.

[MChambers]

BillyDat, I think Tatum's fadeaway will prove ruthless one day in the NBA. Right now, I'm sure he shoots a higher percentage when he goes straight up or even into the body of the defender like Danny Ferry would.

Tatum doesn't need that fadeway much in college. At 6'8 and with a fairly long wingspan, he will be taller than most of his defenders here. Second, he jumps comfortably high on his jumpshots. Third, with tremendous form, he releases the ball well above his head. His defenders in college are nowhere near to blocking his jumpers, and that gives him a great view of the basket. If you take a look at the video of some of his jumpers, the separation he gets is ridiculous.

Of course, that will change in the NBA with taller, longer, more athletic defenders. There, he will need a fadeaway in his repertoire. With that shot, I think he will be one of the top scorers in the league.

Right now though, I hope our coaches are telling him to go straight up or slightly forward. When he does that consistently, his percentage will be superb, and teams will have to double-team him and that's when Allen or Kennard or Jackson or Jefferson cuts to the basket and . . . oh lawdy.

In short, I agree with you, except that I think his fadeaway is not awkward or weird. It's just not nearly as good as his straight jumper. He'll need his fadeaway in the NBA though (and maybe against the long defenders he will face, for example, at UNC and Kentucky.)

I agree with all of this, but I'd add he isn't going to draw fouls with the fadeaway. With a straight jumper, he may, and certainly will going to the hoop. Plus, he's already shown that he can finish through contact.

[MartyClark]

I agree with those who suggested Duke make a regular stop in Las Vegas. It's hard for us westerners to get to games in the east. I was planning on going to the UNLV game from Denver but ended up embroiled in a lengthy jury trial (long story, closing arguments tomorrow and here I am spending time on DRR).

I like the idea of scheduling UCLA in Las Vegas. Arizona, USC, Gonzaga, Utah and others are good matches. II

I'm curious about the economic and academic costs of this long plane ride for Duke. What did Duke make for this game? Are the travel costs offset by the revenue of this game, as opposed to a home game at Cameron? Is it difficult for the players to travel as they are preparing for finals? Someone on this board probably has some insight.

I'm very excited about this team. Go Duke.

[FadedTackyShirt]

I agree with those who suggested Duke make a regular stop in Las Vegas. It's hard for us westerners to get to games in the east. I was planning on going to the UNLV game from Denver but ended up embroiled in a lengthy jury trial (long story, closing arguments tomorrow and here I am spending time on DRR).

I like the idea of scheduling UCLA in Las Vegas. Arizona, USC, Gonzaga, Utah and others are good matches.

Las Vegas is the home of the PAC-12 Tournament, so every PAC school is interested in a shakedown game in Vegas. K regularly schedules OOC games in GSO to prep for ACC and NCAA tourney games.

NYC, Chicago, Philly, and Vegas are all great options for OOC games.

[OldPhiKap]

I agree with those who suggested Duke make a regular stop in Las Vegas. It's hard for us westerners to get to games in the east. I was planning on going to the UNLV game from Denver but ended up embroiled in a lengthy jury trial (long story, closing arguments tomorrow and here I am spending time on DRR).

I like the idea of scheduling UCLA in Las Vegas. Arizona, USC, Gonzaga, Utah and others are good matches. II

I'm curious about the economic and academic costs of this long plane ride for Duke. What did Duke make for this game? Are the travel costs offset by the revenue of this game, as opposed to a home game at Cameron? Is it difficult for the players to travel as they are preparing for finals? Someone on this board probably has some insight.

I'm very excited about this team. Go Duke.

1. Playing out West has to help with recruiting and spreading the Duke brand. Can't beat a live game.

2. Good luck with the trial.

[Isaac Sours]

I wanted to see the last unit score some, and i don't think they weren't trying. Matt launched a clean look at an open 3 and missed, badly. That last unit just didn't have the right mix to score effectively. Matt was the PG, Jack was the 2G and then we had 3 F/C dudes. They had no flow and didn't have a way to get good looks, aside from Matt. I'm not gonna disparage our subs, it's not like we put in walk-ons. From what i could tell, they were playing hard, Jack even got a steal.
On a lighter note, from the Podcast conversation, they were joking about how many 100+ pt games Duke would have this year, and nobody said "0". Like it was a given that we were going to, just a question of how many times. Apparently nobody considered that K might not really have any desire for the score to get to 100, unless the opponent is scoring easily against our D.
K is competitive as hell, but he is also truly concerned about the players. He knows that UNLV has a 1st year coach, whom he respects, and that the entire team is new (either Fr. or otherwise new to UNLV). I think K didn't place very much value on letting Duke get to 100, and as neat as it would have been for Jack or Javin etc to score that 100th point, i'm not upset that Duke didn't.

I by no means intended to disparage the subs for their effort, you're right that they were trying. Also good insight to point out the state of the opposing team.


Coach K does not want to show up a fellow coach or his team. I'm not sure how that is a bad thing.

I agree that showing people up is bad. I'm not arguing against it. I'm arguing against the idea that winning 100-45 is somehow markedly worse than winning 94-45. I'm all for sportsmanship, but I get the sense that some people think we should actively avoid scoring 100 points in a blowout, as if it will embarrass the opposition so much more than scoring 90+. I'm not trying to chant for blood here, I just disagree that getting to 100 is showing someone up much more than getting to 90.

[OldPhiKap]

I by no means intended to disparage the subs for their effort, you're right that they were trying. Also good insight to point out the state of the opposing team.



I agree that showing people up is bad. I'm not arguing against it. I'm arguing against the idea that winning 100-45 is somehow markedly worse than winning 94-45. I'm all for sportsmanship, but I get the sense that some people think we should actively avoid scoring 100 points in a blowout, as if it will embarrass the opposition so much more than scoring 90+. I'm not trying to chant for blood here, I just disagree that getting to 100 is showing someone up much more than getting to 90.

Ok, gotcha. LGD.

[duke2x]

I agree with those who suggested Duke make a regular stop in Las Vegas. It's hard for us westerners to get to games in the east. I was planning on going to the UNLV game from Denver but ended up embroiled in a lengthy jury trial (long story, closing arguments tomorrow and here I am spending time on DRR).

I like the idea of scheduling UCLA in Las Vegas. Arizona, USC, Gonzaga, Utah and others are good matches. II

I'm curious about the economic and academic costs of this long plane ride for Duke. What did Duke make for this game? Are the travel costs offset by the revenue of this game, as opposed to a home game at Cameron? Is it difficult for the players to travel as they are preparing for finals? Someone on this board probably has some insight.

I'll agree on adding a game in Vegas. It's also good for Atlantic Coast residents who want to get out of town for a weekend. A lot of Duke fans were hitting up NY-NY and MGM-Grand after the game. It was a very good crowd with UNLV's campus about 1 mile down the street.

My hunch is this is the latest in the series of "neutral" games like USC in Los Angeles, Stanford in San Francisco, Oregon in Portland, etc. that won't be replayed. I could see Duke taking part in the doubleheader that UNC/UK at T-Mobile will next weekend.

Regarding academics, Duke has often played road games the weekend before finals--the Michigan series comes to mind.

[billy]

great stuff - only negative is Grayson's foot is wrapped in that photo. I hope they really take it easy with him and his toe these next few weeks..

I wouldn't worry too much about the "wrap" in that picture - it looks like a standard tape job for an ankle sprain

[Nrrrrvous]

Living in Southern Utah (long story), this is the only game I've gotten to see live in the past couple years.
My $.02 -
The atmosphere around Vegas all morning yesterday was fun. Duke fans in all the usual hangouts. A group of UNLV students were in the new "Garden" behind NY/NY shouting "Rebels" and a few of us got "Let's Go Duke" going as we went past. I'm not sure but it looked to me that the Blue in the arena outnumbered the Red. Crowd was loud for a while but once we were up by double digits, it died out some.
Grayson is going to give me a heart attack flying through the air like that. I could barely watch the replays, and that was after I knew he survived!

Amile has awesome hands! I've noticed this in the past couple games. He very seldom fumbles passes and when he gets a rebound, no one is slapping it away.

Lot's have talked about how "shifty" Luke is and I agree. Sorry, but my own personal nickname is "Cool Hand Luke" but I don't claim any rights to it.;)

Tatum does not look like a freshman. Period.

Bolden actually did look like a freshman, curious to see if he continues to play this way or whether the injury has just slowed his progress a bit.

UNLV was overmatched but I still noticed a few times where we were playing really good one-on-one D. We'll see if it looks as good when the competition gets better.

Ran into Todd Zaforovski (sp?) outside the game. Took me a minute to realize who it was and he was gone before I could get a pic. He was having some fun with some fans. Great atmosphere all around!

[devildeac]

Living in Southern Utah (long story), this is the only game I've gotten to see live in the past couple years.
My $.02 -
The atmosphere around Vegas all morning yesterday was fun. Duke fans in all the usual hangouts. A group of UNLV students were in the new "Garden" behind NY/NY shouting "Rebels" and a few of us got "Let's Go Duke" going as we went past. I'm not sure but it looked to me that the Blue in the arena outnumbered the Red. Crowd was loud for a while but once we were up by double digits, it died out some.
Grayson is going to give me a heart attack flying through the air like that. I could barely watch the replays, and that was after I knew he survived!

Amile has awesome hands! I've noticed this in the past couple games. He very seldom fumbles passes and when he gets a rebound, no one is slapping it away.

Lot's have talked about how "shifty" Luke is and I agree. Sorry, but my own personal nickname is "Cool Hand Luke" but I don't claim any rights to it.;)

Tatum does not look like a freshman. Period.

Bolden actually did look like a freshman, curious to see if he continues to play this way or whether the injury has just slowed his progress a bit.

UNLV was overmatched but I still noticed a few times where we were playing really good one-on-one D. We'll see if it looks as good when the competition gets better.

Ran into Todd Zaforovski (sp?) outside the game. Took me a minute to realize who it was and he was gone before I could get a pic. He was having some fun with some fans. Great atmosphere all around!

Mine is "Hot Hand Luke." ;)

Nice review.

[Dukehky]

BillyDat, I think Tatum's fadeaway will prove ruthless one day in the NBA. Right now, I'm sure he shoots a higher percentage when he goes straight up or even into the body of the defender like Danny Ferry would.

Tatum doesn't need that fadeway much in college. At 6'8 and with a fairly long wingspan, he will be taller than most of his defenders here. Second, he jumps comfortably high on his jumpshots. Third, with tremendous form, he releases the ball well above his head. His defenders in college are nowhere near to blocking his jumpers, and that gives him a great view of the basket. If you take a look at the video of some of his jumpers, the separation he gets is ridiculous.

Of course, that will change in the NBA with taller, longer, more athletic defenders. There, he will need a fadeaway in his repertoire. With that shot, I think he will be one of the top scorers in the league.

Right now though, I hope our coaches are telling him to go straight up or slightly forward. When he does that consistently, his percentage will be superb, and teams will have to double-team him and that's when Allen or Kennard or Jackson or Jefferson cuts to the basket and . . . oh lawdy.

In short, I agree with you, except that I think his fadeaway is not awkward or weird. It's just not nearly as good as his straight jumper. He'll need his fadeaway in the NBA though (and maybe against the long defenders he will face, for example, at UNC and Kentucky.)


This would be accurate for everyone else in the world maybe except Jayson Tatum. I've been watching him since he was a sophomore in high school. He shoots almost every shot like it's a fadeaway. This is just how he shoots. I would say any inconsistencies would be due to lack of playing more than anything else right now.

[Neals384]

Interesting indeed. If memory serves, Cincinnati beat us on a final shot right before the buzzer too, a hook and ladder play leading to a dunk by Kenyon Martin.

Someone can do the math, but it felt to me like we played the "small" lineup with Amile at the 5 and/or Tatum at the 4 for about half the game, while playing a "big" lineup with two of Amile/Bolden/Jeter for about half as well. That seems to be the biggest question now that Tatum and Bolden are back - how much will we go big - and while this game was not a definitive answer it does seem like we'll mix in some of both.

Fantastic game all around by all.

Tatum at the 4 with three guards and Jefferson or Bolden: 18:12
Tatum at the three with two guards and Bolden & DeLaurier or Jefferson & Jeter: 6:13

So, about 75% of Tatum's time at the 4. The first of Tatum at the 3 wasn't until 12:50 of the 2nd half with a 31 pt lead.

[OldPhiKap]

Tatum at the 4 with three guards and Jefferson or Bolden: 18:12
Tatum at the three with two guards and Bolden & DeLaurier or Jefferson & Jeter: 6:13

So, about 75% of Tatum's time at the 4. The first of Tatum at the 3 wasn't until 12:50 of the 2nd half with a 31 pt lead.

I think Tatum's "position" such as it is will depend on the opponent and what causes the mismatch. Grayson, Luke, Matt and Amile will continue to get massive minutes. But you can rotate rest for the guards and slide Tatum up to get Giles and Bolden in the game, or keep him lower and work Frank into more minutes.

An embarrassment of riches, with Tatum probably being one of the more versatile parts of the puzzle.

[BandAlum83]

So.... a funny story. I had a holiday party to go to last night and the missus and I had to leave the house at halftime. She wasn't watching this game. I got ready early and sat down to watch the first half while she got ready.

The first half was great, of course, and I whooped it up in the basement when Grayson had that incredible right handed throw down. What was so great also was how he went to the far side of the basket with the ball held out far to protect against any block. It was one for the ages!

Here's the funny part, we get home and I settle into the big screen in the basement after midnight to watch the second half. Mrs. Bandalum went to sleep.

Now the Frank put back got me going, but when Grayson slammed home the Matt Jones miss, I whooped it up so much, it woke her up on the top floor. And I had even lost my voice last night from a cold I've had. I must have sounded pretty bad because she came flying down 2 flights of stairs yelling my name thinking I was dying or something, LOL.

She was still upset with me this morning.

I replayed that dunk 4 or 5 times in slow mo. It was a thing of absolute beauty. Grayson took off from the 3 pt line as Matt released and curled around defenders to go right down the lane and elevate with perfect timing to throw it down. Amaze-balls!!! (as the kids say these days.)

I actually think it was better than the drive and dunk in the first half. This was like he was on another level. Like he knew Matts's shot was going short and he knew just where he needed to be and when. It was almost other-wordly.

[Kedsy]

I think Tatum's "position" such as it is will depend on the opponent and what causes the mismatch. Grayson, Luke, Matt and Amile will continue to get massive minutes. But you can rotate rest for the guards and slide Tatum up to get Giles and Bolden in the game, or keep him lower and work Frank into more minutes.

An embarrassment of riches, with Tatum probably being one of the more versatile parts of the puzzle.

Other issues associated with where Jayson plays has to do with rotation size, and whether Marques is really a one-and-done (or even a two-and-through) player who demands more than 15 mpg. If Jayson plays primarily at PF, that means that once Harry is healthy, then both Marques and Chase will be playing mostly garbage time minutes and we'll end up with a 7-man rotation (the only time I remember us playing a four-big rotation was 2010, when (a) we had very few guards; and (b) our four bigs played 25, 19, 16, and 14 mpg). Assuming Amile plays >30 mpg and Harry plays >20, then if Jayson plays >20 at PF, there will be fewer than 10 remaining "big" minutes available; meaning only three bigs will get 10+ mpg, and if you don't count Jayson we only have four perimeter players. If Jayson plays most of his minutes at SF, then either Marques or Chase (presumably Marques, but I suppose you never know) would be the third big and we would end up with an 8-man rotation.

As of now, Marques hasn't made such a strong case for rotation minutes, but he's fresh off an injury. If he ends up playing 15+ mpg, then Jayson should end up playing more than half his minutes at SF. I really don't see an option that includes Harry being healthy AND Marques playing more than nominal minutes AND Jayson playing mostly PF.

We'll have to simply wait and see which way it goes. Obviously, if we suffer more injuries then all bets are off.

[MrPoon]

I don't post very often but one thing I didn't see mentioned yet but really stood out to me:
For three consecutive games we have three different players hit career highs in scoring, Luke, Jefferson, Grayson. (Tatum too but...)

More than the score differential against some overly matched teams, this is a team building offensive depth unlike one I can recall. Opposing coaches building defensive game plans from the tape of the last three games can't be sleeping well.

This with our interior still building out its identity.

[OldPhiKap]

Other issues associated with where Jayson plays has to do with rotation size, and whether Marques is really a one-and-done (or even a two-and-through) player who demands more than 15 mpg. If Jayson plays primarily at PF, that means that once Harry is healthy, then both Marques and Chase will be playing mostly garbage time minutes and we'll end up with a 7-man rotation (the only time I remember us playing a four-big rotation was 2010, when (a) we had very few guards; and (b) our four bigs played 25, 19, 16, and 14 mpg). Assuming Amile plays >30 mpg and Harry plays >20, then if Jayson plays >20 at PF, there will be fewer than 10 remaining "big" minutes available; meaning only three bigs will get 10+ mpg, and if you don't count Jayson we only have four perimeter players. If Jayson plays most of his minutes at SF, then either Marques or Chase (presumably Marques, but I suppose you never know) would be the third big and we would end up with an 8-man rotation.

As of now, Marques hasn't made such a strong case for rotation minutes, but he's fresh off an injury. If he ends up playing 15+ mpg, then Jayson should end up playing more than half his minutes at SF. I really don't see an option that includes Harry being healthy AND Marques playing more than nominal minutes AND Jayson playing mostly PF.

We'll have to simply wait and see which way it goes. Obviously, if we suffer more injuries then all bets are off.

Agree 100%. Right now, Amile is playing as well as anyone in the country. As is Luke. And Grayson is a pre-season AA who showed why Saturday. And if Matt's not leading the team in minutes, he's darn close and I don't see that changing. Tatum seems to be the most flexible player we have. If Giles and Bolden are good enough to break past that group, well -- that is sick.


I don't post very often but one thing I didn't see mentioned yet but really stood out to me:
For three consecutive games we have three different players hit career highs in scoring, Luke, Jefferson, Grayson. (Tatum too but...)

More than the score differential against some overly matched teams, this is a team building offensive depth unlike one I can recall. Opposing coaches building defensive game plans from the tape of the last three games can't be sleeping well.

This with our interior still building out its identity.

Great observations, hope you post more often!

[Chillduck]

Speaking of the announcers, I loved when they questioned why we still had our starters in with Kennard, Tatum, Jackson, Bolden, and DeLaurier in. When the freshman came out, they remarked that we were finally putting the bench in. The replacements: Allen, Jefferson, Jones, and Jeter (the starters)!

[DukeDevil]

Speaking of the announcers, I loved when they questioned why we still had our starters in with Kennard, Tatum, Jackson, Bolden, and DeLaurier in. When the freshman came out, they remarked that we were finally putting the bench in. The replacements: Allen, Jefferson, Jones, and Jeter (the starters)!

you know, I thought Vitale made a point of saying that K had to keep the starters in for the sake of getting minutes of playing time together, emphasized it several times with a few different lineups.

[UrinalCake]

Got some insider footage of Roy Williams after watching Duke and UNC play this weekend:



https://media1.giphy.com/media/CWN0uW6ELn3pK/giphy.gif

[whereinthehellami]

Check out Luke's stat line, 16 pts (2nd on team), 5 boards (2nd on team), 4 assists (2nd on team), 3 steals (1st on team), 0 personal fouls, 0 turnovers. That is playing some high level basketball. And its not like he isn't playing aggressive. The no-look, behind the back pass to Tatum was incredible and the charge he took near the bench was just exceptional basketball IQ. A pure joy to watch.

[flyingdutchdevil]

1) So...Grayson. I stand corrected. Whatever the issue was (physical, mental, etc) is clearly fixed. IMO, Grayson has three attributes that make him great: aggressiveness and power to the hoop, 3pt shot, and passing ability. Before UNLV, we only saw the passing ability. Against UNLV, we saw the other two. And if Grayson looks like this moving forward, I'm sorry college basketball world.

2) Consider we further impressed by Luke Kennard. No, Luke didn't have a great scoring night ("only" 16 points. My lord, are we spoiled). But he had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 3pt shots, and a partridge in a pear tree. And zero turnovers! Holy monkey. Also, his court awareness is amazing, and coupled with confidence leads to great plays. That behind-the-back pass to Tatum was so risky but perfectly executed as there was a UNLV player trailing Kennard. But Kennard crushed that pass.

3) Matt Jones is in a scoring funk. In the last 4 games, he is 1-14 from 3. Ouch. He really needs to sink one for confidence sake. Every 3 that he is launching, he is wide open. And he's a proven 3pt shooter! This is just a bad slump, but at least Matt isn't forcing many shots.

4) Amile had an Amile game: nice scoring, great rebounding. What a luxury to have him.

5) Duke is reaaaaaallly Duke, but UNLV is also really bad.

6) I've seen some good dunks at Duke since 2003 (Jabari's UNC put back and Henderson's payback dunk come to mind), but I've never seen power like Grayson's. The ferociousness, the volacity, the sheer power. My lord. Also, as others have stated, I've never seen that many highlight dunks in a game before.

[budwom]

Other issues associated with where Jayson plays has to do with rotation size, and whether Marques is really a one-and-done (or even a two-and-through) player who demands more than 15 mpg. If Jayson plays primarily at PF, that means that once Harry is healthy, then both Marques and Chase will be playing mostly garbage time minutes and we'll end up with a 7-man rotation (the only time I remember us playing a four-big rotation was 2010, when (a) we had very few guards; and (b) our four bigs played 25, 19, 16, and 14 mpg). Assuming Amile plays >30 mpg and Harry plays >20, then if Jayson plays >20 at PF, there will be fewer than 10 remaining "big" minutes available; meaning only three bigs will get 10+ mpg, and if you don't count Jayson we only have four perimeter players. If Jayson plays most of his minutes at SF, then either Marques or Chase (presumably Marques, but I suppose you never know) would be the third big and we would end up with an 8-man rotation.

As of now, Marques hasn't made such a strong case for rotation minutes, but he's fresh off an injury. If he ends up playing 15+ mpg, then Jayson should end up playing more than half his minutes at SF. I really don't see an option that includes Harry being healthy AND Marques playing more than nominal minutes AND Jayson playing mostly PF.

We'll have to simply wait and see which way it goes. Obviously, if we suffer more injuries then all bets are off.

Yeah, I think where Tatum plays has a lot to do with who else is healthy, and who our best players are. Right now putting him at the four makes perfect sense; if Harry gets
going (as I think he will), he should definitely be one of our top five guys, and Tatum could be expected to play more at the three...though he'll spend time at the four.

If Bolden gets going, and I trust he will, I expect him to be part of an eight man rotation in big games;

Which is to say I very much agree with Kedsy's second paragraph...

[Neals384]

2) Consider we further impressed by Luke Kennard. No, Luke didn't have a great scoring night ("only" 16 points. My lord, are we spoiled). But he had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 3pt shots, and a partridge in a pear tree. And zero turnovers! Holy monkey. Also, his court awareness is amazing, and coupled with confidence leads to great plays. That behind-the-back pass to Tatum was so risky but perfectly executed as there was a UNLV player trailing Kennard. But Kennard crushed that pass.

Kennard also made a nifty play on defense that didn't show up in the stats. At 10:37 of the first half, Clyburn drove down the right side. Luke was a half step behind, but timed his jump perfectly and got a piece of the shot as it left Clyburn's hand. Then, as the ball headed out of bounds, Luke jumped after it and passed it back to Amile. How often do you see a player block a shot and then go out of bounds to save it? But the box score only shows a turnover by Clyburn; instead it should show a missed shot, a block for Luke and a rebound for Amile. At least they could have credited Luke with a steal!

[MChambers]

Kennard also made a nifty play on defense that didn't show up in the stats. At 10:37 of the first half, Clyburn drove down the right side. Luke was a half step behind, but timed his jump perfectly and got a piece of the shot as it left Clyburn's hand. Then, as the ball headed out of bounds, Luke jumped after it and passed it back to Amile. How often do you see a player block a shot and then go out of bounds to save it? But the box score only shows a turnover by Clyburn; instead it should show a missed shot, a block for Luke and a rebound for Amile. At least they could have credited Luke with a steal!

Amile did the same thing against UF.

[kAzE]

1) So...Grayson. I stand corrected. Whatever the issue was (physical, mental, etc) is clearly fixed. IMO, Grayson has three attributes that make him great: aggressiveness and power to the hoop, 3pt shot, and passing ability. Before UNLV, we only saw the passing ability. Against UNLV, we saw the other two. And if Grayson looks like this moving forward, I'm sorry college basketball world.

2) Consider we further impressed by Luke Kennard. No, Luke didn't have a great scoring night ("only" 16 points. My lord, are we spoiled). But he had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 3pt shots, and a partridge in a pear tree. And zero turnovers! Holy monkey. Also, his court awareness is amazing, and coupled with confidence leads to great plays. That behind-the-back pass to Tatum was so risky but perfectly executed as there was a UNLV player trailing Kennard. But Kennard crushed that pass.

3) Matt Jones is in a scoring funk. In the last 4 games, he is 1-14 from 3. Ouch. He really needs to sink one for confidence sake. Every 3 that he is launching, he is wide open. And he's a proven 3pt shooter! This is just a bad slump, but at least Matt isn't forcing many shots.

4) Amile had an Amile game: nice scoring, great rebounding. What a luxury to have him.

5) Duke is reaaaaaallly Duke, but UNLV is also really bad.

6) I've seen some good dunks at Duke since 2003 (Jabari's UNC put back and Henderson's payback dunk come to mind), but I've never seen power like Grayson's. The ferociousness, the volacity, the sheer power. My lord. Also, as others have stated, I've never seen that many highlight dunks in a game before.

1 & 2: This was Grayson's return to 2015-16 form. If he and Kennard are both healthy, we have the best back court in the country easily, especially considering we also have Frank Jackson coming off the bench . . .

As for KU's heralded duo, Frank Mason is playing out of his mind right now, but Graham isn't really putting up all-american type performances. Right now, we have 2 AAs. Kennard is arguably the front runner for POY right now. Nobody I've seen, aside from Frank Mason, is playing as lights out as he is every game.

3. Matt has these shooting slumps. His entire freshman year was like this. He usually gets it going around February/March. I'm not worried at all.

6. Definitely the most exciting dunk display we've seen in a Duke game since the 90s. What a show. Grayson's 1 handed tomahawk was the best (and scariest . . . ), but I thought Frank's two handed putback was incredible and underappreciated. It was overshadowed by Grayson, but man, he got up there and threw it down with authority. I liked the one angle of Frank's dunk that showed the crowd along the baseline, where you could see some UNLV fans with their jaws on the floor.

[Bluedevil114]

Kennard also made a nifty play on defense that didn't show up in the stats. At 10:37 of the first half, Clyburn drove down the right side. Luke was a half step behind, but timed his jump perfectly and got a piece of the shot as it left Clyburn's hand. Then, as the ball headed out of bounds, Luke jumped after it and passed it back to Amile. How often do you see a player block a shot and then go out of bounds to save it? But the box score only shows a turnover by Clyburn; instead it should show a missed shot, a block for Luke and a rebound for Amile. At least they could have credited Luke with a steal!

Shane Battier was the master of blocking a shot then saving it to a teammate.

[COYS]

1 & 2: This was Grayson's return to 2015-16 form. If he and Kennard are both healthy, we have the best back court in the country easily, especially considering we also have Frank Jackson coming off the bench . . .

As for KU's heralded duo, Frank Mason is playing out of his mind right now, but Graham isn't really putting up all-american type performances. Right now, we have 2 AAs. Kennard is arguably the front runner for POY right now. Nobody I've seen is playing as lights out as he is every game.

3. Matt has these shooting slumps. His entire freshman year was like this. He usually gets it going around February/March. I'm not worried at all.

6. Definitely the most exciting dunk display we've seen in a Duke game since the 90s. What a show. Grayson's 1 handed tomahawk was the best (and scariest . . . ), but I thought Frank's two handed putback was incredible and underappreciated. It was overshadowed by Grayson, but man, he got up there and threw it down with authority. I liked the one angle of Frank's dunk that showed the crowd along the baseline, where you could see some UNLV fans with their jaws on the floor.

The thing about Grayson is that he has actually been really good all season despite some bad shooting days and the injury robbing him of some of his explosiveness. The game against UNLV vaulted him into the top ten in KenPom's POY rankings . . . so even accounting for his relative struggles, he has still arguably been one of the 10 best players in college basketball thus far this season (along with Amile and Luke, who are also in the top ten). I know we've joked about the POY the race coming down to multiple Duke players battling it out for the top spot, but if Grayson picks it up from here on out, that joke might actually come true.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Really a fun game to attend. Duke probably had more in the crowd than UNLV. Obviously Duke looked great. Would love to see Duke do a home and home with UCLA or USC so would be easier to get to more games.

Harry Giles in the pre-game warm up looked ready.

SoCal

[Indoor66]

Really a fun game to attend. Duke probably had more in the crowd than UNLV. Obviously Duke looked great. Would love to see Duke do a home and home with UCLA or USC so would be easier to get to more games.

Harry Giles in the pre-game warm up looked ready.

SoCal

The real question: How were the Tables?

[subzero02]

Really a fun game to attend. Duke probably had more in the crowd than UNLV. Obviously Duke looked great. Would love to see Duke do a home and home with UCLA or USC so would be easier to get to more games.

Harry Giles in the pre-game warm up looked ready.

SoCal


we had a series with UCLA for a while, they got tired of us beating them like a rented mule.

[UrinalCake]

we had a series with UCLA for a while, they got tired of us beating them like a rented mule.

I think the official reason they gave for canceling the series was that they were tired of us stealing recruits out of their home state. This was around the time that Chris Burgess committed to us. Demarcus Nelson is the only other guy from CA I can think of off the top of my head.

[gofurman]

I think the official reason they gave for canceling the series was that they were tired of us stealing recruits out of their home state. This was around the time that Chris Burgess committed to us. Demarcus Nelson is the only other guy from CA I can think of off the top of my head.

Ricky Price was from California.

[Olympic Fan]

Ricky Price was from California.

And Cherokee Parks and Eric Meek (in the same year). Plus Jay Bilas and to go back a little farther, Chip Engelland.

[Waynne]

And Cherokee Parks and Eric Meek (in the same year). Plus Jay Bilas and to go back a little farther, Chip Engelland.

And Jamal Boykin.

[sagegrouse]

Knight is 76 years old.


A lesson I learned years ago was that a man's age should be judged in proportion to whether he could open a can of whup ___ over an opponent.

I don't really want to fight Coach Knight.

Edit: Apparently I am foul-mouthed. I completely forgot the language filter was that restrictive.


Is Knight's age the reason Knight said he left ESPN? I tried to find a reason from Knight himself, but couldn't find a quote. If you have a link to his comments, it would be much appreciated.

There are lots of guys still doing that line of work at Knight's age: Lee Corso is 81, Marv Albert is 75, Dick Vitale and Brent Musburger are 77. Vin Scully just retired at 89.

Heck, I'm never going to limit a guy like Bobby Knight based on his age.
Sorry, should have communicated better. I am suggesting that, in one's eighth decade, there are lots of reason one doesn't or can't work on live TV, and we don't need to demand or expect answers. Of course, that's my age range. Reasons: hearing (Hearing aids don't work that well with headsets, and those consonants are really hard to pick up); specific memory recall (Boy, those names used to roll off the tongue!); physical infirmities; mental or behavioral state (Knight, hmmm....); etc.

I know Verne Lundquist (also 76) pretty darned well, and he is amazing and amazingly well-prepared, but he has slowed down enough to mostly pack it in. (CBS and the Masters will make him show up at #16 after this year's three holes-in-one on Sunday, including a carom!)

Lee Corso and Vin Scully are freaks of nature. Musburger and Vitale have lasted forever, but it's probably time.

I also remember Walter Cronkite's very rough night with candidate names while broadcasting the 1976 election returns, when he was a mere 60, and he retired a few years later from nightly broadcasts.

[AtlDuke72]

And Jamal Boykin.

Scott Goetsch was from California

[Newton_14]

Folks, please get back on topic and either discuss the game, or we will be forced to close the thread.

Thanks

[Im4howdy]

I was at the Duke-UNLV game last weekend. Before the game I noted the 24 point spread and thought that would be pretty close. Before the UNLV players were introduced there was (along with pyro-technics, etc.) a clip from the Duke-UNLV National Championship game. I realized then that I should have given the points, LOL. Amazingly, they showed the clip at least two more times during the game (?). Happy Anniversary UNLV.