MBB: Duke 86, UNC 78 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[davekay1971]

YES! Phenomenal performance. Our stars were stars tonight.

[Ballboy1998]

I actually think a couple thread titles from IC sum it up nicely: "What rivalry..." "They simply just dominate us."

GTHC! GTH!

[Troublemaker]

Great game.

Well-played by Duke except for some 1st-half spottiness with transition D and turnovers. We did an excellent job on the boards.

Proud of all of the guys but especially Jayson for stepping up.

This team is coming together nicely.

12 out of 16, baby!

[duketaylor]

SWEET!!! That's all for now!! Let's enjoy!!!:cool:

[Nosbleuatu]

Did UNC take the ball out on the missed free throw at the end?

[bluenorth]

Great job by Coach K in controlling the tempo of the game. Nice to see the freshmen contributing and finding their roles too. Bottom line - all is right with the world.

[CDu]

I am sure some UNC fans will point to Duke's 3pt shooting as the difference. I disagree. We outrebounded UNC. We eliminated their post play (without doubling or zone). If we had maintained discipline in getting back in transition, we win this thing going away.

UNC couldn't guard Tatum. They couldn't guard Kennard. And they failed miserably at staying with 3pt shooters.

Meeks was exposed defensively in the second half as Duke ran high ball screens on him religiously.

Fun win! This team is growing. The freshmen stepped up. The stars starred.

Looking forward to the rematch as we go for the sweep.

[curtis325]

The players were great; the coaching was masterful (by K of course). Great game plan--well executed.

[dukebluesincebirth]

Go to hell Carolina.

[FerryFor50]

Phew. I was worried going into this game. UNC has a really solid team. Very good offensively.

And UNC started out making the Duke defense look bad. But the defense settled down later, especially in the halfcourt. Transition D was still... meh.

Duke hung tough on the boards with a big UNC team (won battle 31-29!) and really contained Joel Berry. All the freshman acquitted themselves very well; FJ hit some big shots, as did Giles. Bolden had a nice block and played some decent defense. But the story of the game was the three headed monster of Allen-Kennard-Tatum.

What's great about this team - and what's FINALLY happening for Duke - is that when one of those 3 has an off stretch or foul trouble, one of the other 2 can pick up the slack. And when you have all 3 on the floor, pick your poison. Still too many unforced turnovers, though.

UNC missed Hicks, but that's not why they lost; great Duke 3 point shooting (48%!) and poor UNC FT shooting was what decided this one.

[Wander]

We eliminated their post play (without doubling or zone). If we had maintained discipline in getting back in transition, we win this thing going away.


Strongly agree with this take. I probably won't pull the trigger on voting for Jefferson for MOTM over Grayson or Jayson, but I'm sort of tempted. Really held down the fort.

Game winning play was Matt winning that long rebound 50/50 ball.

[downeastdad]

Did UNC take the ball out on the missed free throw at the end?

I had to rewind and watch it again myself. Amile's second free throw dropped - didn't look like it at first.

[arnie]

Where is gluten?

[jv001]

Frank Jackson played an important part in this win. The freshmen are getting better. Grayson is back to being Grayson and we sure needed it in this game. We rebounded very well and we didn't have to double team their bigs. Matt played great D on Jackson in the 2nd half. Well played game on both sides of the ball. Well, except not getting back on defense in the first half. Now let's take care of business and beat Clemson. GoDuke!

[jacone21]

Can the UNC in the thread title be changed to "Filthy Cheaters" please?

[UNCfan]

Good game guys. UNC shot the ball well, but the team didn't go on a run at the right time. Being out rebounded is a sign of shooting it well and the fact that Hicks was out. We replaced his scoring, but it changed our offense. See you in the Dome.

[moonpie23]

so, after all the GAME DAY build up ........the win is like a small item 3 or 4 items down on espn.com


love it...

[CDu]

Strongly agree with this take. I probably won't pull the trigger on voting for Jefferson for MOTM over Grayson or Jayson, but I'm sort of tempted. Really held down the fort.

Game winning play was Matt winning that long rebound 50/50 ball.

Yup. Jefferson, Jones, and Tatum were defensive beasts. For a UNC team known for their post play, our post quartet (led by a virtuoso showing by Jefferson) silenced them. It was awesome.

[TKG]

A complete game. Well done, lads!

[Doria]

Yay! Great game, feels like we're really seeing tangible results of the team gelling, even against good competition. Outrebounding them is huge.

[Tripping William]

Our free-throw defense was spectacular tonight.

[FerryFor50]

Meanwhile, in Chapel Hill...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Franklin_Street_Chapel_Hill_NC.jpg

[Troublemaker]

Is this the best stat? Matt had more offensive rebounds than Meeks, Bradley, and Maye COMBINED

[TKG]

Where is gluten?

So far, we are gluten-free.

[dukelifer]

Great win. Both teams had big runs and there was game pressure throughout. Allen was great. His stroke is back and it is beautiful. Tatum really stepped up after a scoreless first half. Lots of frustrating non-calls but the guys did not let it get to them. Most happy with the last 5 minutes. When Allen fouled out- the other guys stepped up. Best game of the year for Duke.

[FerryFor50]

Is this the best stat? Matt had more offensive rebounds than Meeks, Bradley, and Maye COMBINED

Matt was unbelievable tonight. Steals, strips, great on-ball defense and that HUGE diving rebound with about 30 seconds left. That was the play of the game, IMO. Even bigger than the Tatum dunk (which, ironically, sparked UNC's big run).

[DinoDuke]

So happy right now. Jt posterizing Meeks one of the greatest thing ever. I ammm sooooo happy right now! Go Duke!

[BandAlum83]

I'm Happy!

[CDu]

Is this the best stat? Matt had more offensive rebounds than Meeks, Bradley, and Maye COMBINED

Duke was tougher in this one. UNC hung around by getting hustle buckets in transition. When the game finally settled into a half-court game down the stretch, our edge in the half-court shined through.

[CDu]

So happy right now. Jt posterizing Meeks one of the greatest thing ever. I ammm sooooo happy right now! Go Duke!

I also enjoyed Bolden Eltoning a Maye layup. And Tatum LeBroning a Maye layup.

[Dukehky]

I just want to point out the GREAT minutes that Marques Bolden gave us tonight.

What a job. Harry is SO close. Once he figures out the rotations on defense a little bit more, he'll become more and more integral moving forward.

Frank did a great job running the point when Grayson went out with foul trouble and generally in the rotation. He was a real energy bunny when he came in in the first half. He made some huge shots and did a great job penetrating and staying in front of Berry. If we play against a fast PG, he's the dude. His length, strength, and lateral quickness are extraordinary assets.

Matt Jones did a phenomenal job on Jackson for the most part. Biggest play of the game was that offensive rebound in the last minute. Jackson didn't really do much against Matt. A few of those 3's were just great shots from a 6'8 guy, hard to guard that.

Grayson and Luke shot 2 free throws tonight... That's a freaking joke.

Amile is a freaking warrior.

Jayson took a few too many mid range fadeaways but that defense and driving to the hoop more than made up for it.


So proud of the guys here. I thought we manhandled them for the most part. That little spurt midway through the second half not withstanding. What a game. So great to see us starting to play to our potential.

[FerryFor50]

So happy right now. Jt posterizing Meeks one of the greatest thing ever. I ammm sooooo happy right now! Go Duke!

http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/video/dukes-jayson-tatum-dunks-over-unc-big-man/

[bluenorth]

Great win. Both teams had big runs and there was game pressure throughout. Allen was great. His stroke is back and it is beautiful. Tatum really stepped up after a scoreless first half. Lots of frustrating non-calls but the guys did not let it get to them. Most happy with the last 5 minutes. When Allen fouled out- the other guys stepped up. Best game of the year for Duke.

Was it just me, or did there seem to be a lot of uncalled contact on the Duke offensive end? While at the other end it looked like Duke got called for some minor stuff, especially in the second half.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I sure hope this team can string together a few Ws and make the tournament

[devildeac]

so, after all the GAME DAY build up ....the win is like a small item 3 or 4 items down on espn.com


love it...

But, but, but Grayson tripped someone------himself.

[scottdude8]

Favorite part about a victory over UNC as an alum is checking my Facebook feed, realizing that literally EVERYTHING is celebrating beating UNC, and instantly feeling connected to my 4 years in Durham and to friends I haven't seen in years. No better feeling then this.

GTHCGTH

[Skydog]

Grayson! Jayson! Luke! Great games from all three.

I was one of Jayson's biggest critic when he was playing with his head down, forcing plays, trying to do too much himself at precisely the wrong time.

So I want to be the one who praises him now for turning his game around. Over the last 3 games he's been working withing the team, slowing his play down so he can read the defense and play under control. He has a ways to go but when he plays smart like he did tonight his athletic abilities can carry us when the team is bogging down. He did a great job of that tonight.

Grayson has upped his game as well. Kudos to Jackson as well. And the whole team! GREAT WIN!!!

[CoachJ10]

I am sure some UNC fans will point to Duke's 3pt shooting as the difference. I disagree. We outrebounded UNC. We eliminated their post play (without doubling or zone). If we had maintained discipline in getting back in transition, we win this thing going away.

UNC couldn't guard Tatum. They couldn't guard Kennard. And they failed miserably at staying with 3pt shooters.

Meeks was exposed defensively in the second half as Duke ran high ball screens on him religiously.

Fun win! This team is growing. The freshmen stepped up. The stars starred.

Looking forward to the rematch as we go for the sweep.

I agree...unc hit a high % of low % shots that kept this game closer than it should have been. I felt going into this that they didnt match up against us defensively...and it showed.

[BandAlum83]

Did UNC take the ball out on the missed free throw at the end?

It was a make. It hit the rim really funny and fell in. I gave me the over for the ACC wager contest!

[Dukehky]

Was it just me, or did there seem to be a lot of uncalled contact on the Duke offensive end? While at the other end it looked like Duke got called for some minor stuff, especially in the second half.

Kenny Williams and Pinson did not allow Luke to move at all. They should have both fouled out. I thought that for the most part, on drives, UNC got a lot of the benefit where we did not. That Grayson 4th foul was a joke when you consider what they were allowed to do to Luke the entire game.

[TKG]

Meanwhile, in Chapel Hill...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Franklin_Street_Chapel_Hill_NC.jpg

Everyone must be in the library.

[FerryFor50]

Was it just me, or did there seem to be a lot of uncalled contact on the Duke offensive end? While at the other end it looked like Duke got called for some minor stuff, especially in the second half.

You are not alone. I don't even know what a foul is anymore.

[rsvman]

Fan-freaking-tastic!
What a spectacular game. So happy right now!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

so, after all the GAME DAY build up ...the win is like a small item 3 or 4 items down on espn.com


love it...
Hilarious... the headline is "Pinson returns with 6 points in Tar Heels' loss"

[FerryFor50]

Hilarious... the headline is "Pinson returns with 6 points in Tar Heels' loss"

This is what I see.

7161

[CDu]

I agree...unc hit a high % of low % shots that kept this game closer than it should have been. I felt going into this that they didnt match up against us defensively...and it showed.

Yep. UNC had no answer for our perimeter weapons. And Tatum just abused Maye on that end. And we tortured Meeks in the high ball screens. Hicks may help a bit on Tatum (but will get fouls doing so). But they are going to have to do something about Meeks. Because he was a liability.

Man that was fun!

[Native]

Springboard game. Great win against a very goood Carolina squad. This bodes well for the rest of the season!

[Rich]

Everyone must be in the library.

Doing their independent studies

[FerryFor50]

Yep. UNC had no answer for our perimeter weapons. And Tatum just abused Maye on that end. And we tortured Meeks in the high ball screens. Hicks may help a bit on Tatum (but will get fouls doing so). But they are going to have to do something about Meeks. Because he was a liability.

Man that was fun!

I felt like they under utilized Meeks on offense. They didn't get him enough touches, which I'm fine with, because when they did go to him, he was very efficient.

[bluenorth]

Kenny Williams and Pinson did not allow Luke to move at all. They should have both fouled out. I thought that for the most part, on drives, UNC got a lot of the benefit where we did not. That Grayson 4th foul was a joke when you consider what they were allowed to do to Luke the entire game.

Even on the replay I couldn't see what Grayson did on that foul. It seemed like the refs had trouble making calls where there was traffic, such as under the hoop, but didn't hesitate to call touch fouls outside the key. Still a wonderful win, but I hope the stripes don't hurt us in the tough games coming up.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Congrats on a good win. Losing always sucks, but I thought the Heels played fairly well on the road.

Duke's above average 3point shooting and poor foul shooting by the Heels tells the story for tonight.

Heels still in first place in the conference, so I'll take that and move on.

Some quick thoughts...

Grayson carried Duke tonight and was much better focused.

Nice job by Jefferson taking Meeks out of his post offense.

Without Hicks, Heels could never get it going inside.

Justin Jackson gets better every game, he's turned the corner. Some NBA team is gonna get a good player.

Frank Jackson had a nice game.

Still not much scoring from the 2g spot for the Heels, that really stands out for me as a big weakness on this team.

Luke Maye is a gamer.

Tatum played a much more patient game than he has been playing, and it helped his team.

[WHOneedsSOX]

What a game by Tatum. If I had to choose, I think I'd give him a slight, slight, slight edge over Allen for player of the game. Tatum was all over the place. Led Duke in rebounds and assists. Took a few wild shots but it's not a big deal over the course of a game.

Edit: Jackson is also very quietly have a really good season.

[burnspbesq]

Somehing of a surprise: for a game that felt like it was being played at a frenetic pace, the teams had only 68 possessions each.

Duke's offense put on a clinic: 1.26 points per possession and 64 percent effective FG%. And I think its defense was better than the metrics suggest. Carolin shot 52.5% and had almost 1.17 PPP, but they hit a lot of tough, contested shots fairly late in the shot clock. Eight missed free throws in a game you lose by eight ...

[FerryFor50]

Even on the replay I couldn't see what Grayson did on that foul. It seemed like the refs had trouble making calls where there was traffic, such as under the hoop, but didn't hesitate to call touch fouls outside the key. Still a wonderful win, but I hope the stripes don't hurt us in the tough games coming up.

He brought his arm down and hit Berry. It wasn't much, but it was a foul. Was dumb on GA's part, given he had 4 fouls. Had he kept his arms up, no call.

But given the nature of the contact on Duke drives (like Tatum getting hit in the face on his dunk), who knows why it got called.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

This is what I see.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7161&stc=1
Look at the list of Top Headlines. Good for a chuckle.

[jv001]

He brought his arm down and hit Berry. It wasn't much, but it was a foul. Was dumb on GA's part, given he had 4 fouls. Had he kept his arms up, no call.

But given the nature of the contact on Duke drives (like Tatum getting hit in the face on his dunk), who knows why it got called.

You really know, hint uncheats. :cool: GoDuke!

[Skydog]

Did I mention how much I love Coach K?

He is sooo spot on with his emotional responses and how he uses them to mold a team, imbibe them with spirit. He knows when to be tough, when to focus and when to celebrate and he's teaching this team the same. Yes this team will lose some more games but it is finally becoming a real Duke team - showing the heart and winning mentality we've come to expect - and something I didn't feel earlier in the season.

[bluenorth]

He brought his arm down and hit Berry. It wasn't much, but it was a foul. Was dumb on GA's part, given he had 4 fouls. Had he kept his arms up, no call.

But given the nature of the contact on Duke drives (like Tatum getting hit in the face on his dunk), who knows why it got called.

Thanks, that explains it. You're right, he has to recognize the game situation and adjust accordingly. No need for a foul at that spot on the floor.

[CDu]

I felt like they under utilized Meeks on offense. They didn't get him enough touches, which I'm fine with, because when they did go to him, he was very efficient.

That was due to Duke's defense denying the post entry and Meeks not doing enough work to get it. He only got one basket on a post play. His other buckets were on open dumpoffs or offensive boards.

[CarmenWallaceWade]

Frank was awesome in the 1st. Clutch fts late. Jayson a monster in the 2nd. Luke and Grayson balled the whole game.

Trending up, baby. Learn from it and get even better.

GO DUKE!

[devildeac]

Huge, huge win as Oly Fan posted in the pregame thread. If we hold serve Saturday and don't have a "hangover," we'll be 1 game behind the cheaters if my math is correct.

[WHOneedsSOX]

Thanks, that explains it. You're right, he has to recognize the game situation and adjust accordingly. No need for a foul at that spot on the floor.

Especially since Berry is a 87% FT shooter. I know he missed two tonight but he's still pretty automatic.

[CDu]

He brought his arm down and hit Berry. It wasn't much, but it was a foul. Was dumb on GA's part, given he had 4 fouls. Had he kept his arms up, no call.

But given the nature of the contact on Duke drives (like Tatum getting hit in the face on his dunk), who knows why it got called.

I think he was talking about Allen's fourth foul, not the fifth. They called him for a hip check, but it seemed bogus.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Love seeing the fellas enjoying themselves and coming together as a team. So much fun to see them beginning to prosper on this wild journey of a year. More please!

[FerryFor50]

I think he was talking about Allen's fourth foul, not the fifth. They called him for a hip check, but it seemed bogus.

I think he meant the 5th, but the 4th was bogus for multiple reasons, including the fact that Meeks hip checked Allen into Berry.

[CDu]

Huge, huge win as Oly Fan posted in the pregame thread. If we hold serve Saturday and don't have a "hangover," we'll be 1 game behind the cheaters if my math is correct.

Your math is correct. We are now just one game back in the loss column with games against all 3 of the teams with 3 losses.

[BandAlum83]

This is what I see.

7161

That's more like it! I wonder if they throw different headlines up based on cookies in your browser. It's easy enough to do to select ads.

[CoachJ10]

Kenny Williams and Pinson did not allow Luke to move at all. They should have both fouled out. I thought that for the most part, on drives, UNC got a lot of the benefit where we did not. That Grayson 4th foul was a joke when you consider what they were allowed to do to Luke the entire game.

The grabbing as Luke and Grayson run the baseline should be one of the easiest calls for the refs to make. It is maddening when refs willfully ignore it.

[BandAlum83]

Yep. UNC had no answer for our perimeter weapons. And Tatum just abused Maye on that end. And we tortured Meeks in the high ball screens. Hicks may help a bit on Tatum (but will get fouls doing so). But they are going to have to do something about Meeks. Because he was a liability.

Man that was fun!

Joke of the day!

[Saratoga2]

I see this as a major team win with all players having good to excellent games and playing tough and with heart. Make no mistake about it, UNC is a very good team and that makes our win tonight so much more meaningful. Coach K used his players effectively and everyone came through. This team continues to improve and will no doubt go up in ranking come Monday.

[CoachJ10]

I think he meant the 5th, but the 4th was bogus for multiple reasons, including the fact that Meeks hip checked Allen into Berry.

You are both correct. Both of those calls were bad.

[CDu]

I think he meant the 5th, but the 4th was bogus for multiple reasons, including the fact that Meeks hip checked Allen into Berry.

Pretty sure it was the 4th (he/she was quoting Dukehky who said 4th). But I agree. The 4th foul was bogus. The 5th was not.

[WHOneedsSOX]

Kenny Williams and Pinson did not allow Luke to move at all. They should have both fouled out. I thought that for the most part, on drives, UNC got a lot of the benefit where we did not. That Grayson 4th foul was a joke when you consider what they were allowed to do to Luke the entire game.

Not to mention the weak hold on Jones near the end of the game with under 20 seconds left. Always makes me laugh when refs call something so weak as that. They should be calling a foul every single time down the floor in that case. It's like the Warriors. Curry and Thompson get held and bumped so much it's ridiculous but the refs call it maybe once a game.

[jv001]

The grabbing as Luke and Grayson run the baseline should be one of the easiest calls for the refs to make. It is maddening when refs willfully ignore it.

I'm with you on those non-calls, but we dodged a bullet tonight when Amile grabbed Meeks jersey and it wasn't called. Meeks did miss the dunk. But that didn't make up for all the no calls on uncheat. GoDuke!

[Pghdukie]

Great game. Very intense the entire game.I thought the game was decided by the players and that the refs did a great job.

[bluenorth]

I think he meant the 5th, but the 4th was bogus for multiple reasons, including the fact that Meeks hip checked Allen into Berry.

Yes, I was wondering about Allen's fourth foul, when he was fighting over a screen. No worries, think I have it straight now.

[FerryFor50]

Not to mention the weak hold on Jones near the end of the game with under 20 seconds left. Always makes me laugh when refs call something so weak as that. They should be calling a foul every single time down the floor in that case. It's like the Warriors. Curry and Thompson get held and bumped so much it's ridiculous but the refs call it maybe once a game.

Yea that call was... weird. It was so minor and it didn't have any impact on the possession - unless the ref calls a foul and gives 2 FTs. Which they did.

[Billy Dat]

Such a great win, and still plenty of upside. When Berry missed those FTs, I figured it was our night. Grayson's end of half 3s, Tatum's dunk and 3, Matt's loose ball corral...lots of memories to file away. An absolutely huge win for this group at this time, we need to keep this going!!!

[FerryFor50]

I'm with you on those non-calls, but we dodged a bullet tonight when Amile grabbed Meeks jersey and it wasn't called. Meeks did miss the dunk. But that didn't make up for all the no calls on uncheat. GoDuke!

That made up for the uncalled handcheck on Meeks when Tatum made him look silly on a drive, as well as the uncalled over the back on Meeks that resulted in Amile's 3rd.

[BandAlum83]

Did I mention how much I love Coach K?

He is sooo spot on with his emotional responses and how he uses them to mold a team, imbibe them with spirit. He knows when to be tough, when to focus and when to celebrate and he's teaching this team the same. Yes this team will lose some more games but it is finally becoming a real Duke team - showing the heart and winning mentality we've come to expect - and something I didn't feel earlier in the season.

Don't be so sure about that....

[DukeFanSince1990]

Matt Jones with the little things that add up to big things. We are headed in the right direction.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I thought the refs were pretty much a non factor tonight, which is unusual for them as bad as they've been this year.

Sure, there were plenty of calls that they could have been made better, but I thought they evened out for both teams this time.

[CDu]

I thought the refs were pretty much a non factor tonight, which is unusual for them as bad as they've been this year.

Sure there were plenty of calls that they could have been made better, but I thought they evened out for both teams this time.

Scary to agree with you twice in one night. The refs were not great (lots of missed calls both ways). But I don't think they were much of a story in this one.

[NYBri]

Cheat games are always gut wrenching, but it's why we are Duke fans.

Jackson, Jones, and Amile had glue games. Grayson, Luke and Jayson did their star turns. Strong minutes from Harry and Marquis. K did his K thang.

All adds up to TEAM. And that is how Duke wins championships.

Sweet win, but the direction we are headed is even more exciting.

[FerryFor50]

I thought the refs were pretty much a non factor tonight, which is unusual for them as bad as they've been this year.

Sure there were plenty of calls that they could have been made better, but I thought they evened out for both teams this time.

Eh, I think losing your best player for stretches of the 2nd half (and then having him foul out) on some dubious calls without getting calls in return isn't "non factor."

But at least they weren't blowing a whistle every second like against WFU.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Allen has officially turned the corner. I've been riding that line sine Saturday, but this win and the way in which the team won makes it official. In the past four games, he is averaging...

21.5 pts, 5.0 reb, 3.8 ast on 48.1 FG%/48.8 3P%/100.0 FT%

Those are All American numbers, my friends.

[WHOneedsSOX]

Allen has officially turned the corner. I've been riding that line sine Saturday, but this win and the way in which the team won makes it official. In the past four games, he is averaging...

21.5 pts, 5.0 reb, 3.8 ast on 48.1 FG%/48.8 3P%/100.0 FT%

Those are All American numbers, my friends.

Saw in the @ Wake game he looked like he was starting to have fun and enjoy playing basketball again. A lot of smiles when the crowd booed him and saw some of that "swagger" come back.

[Aladuke]

I thought the refs were pretty much a non factor tonight, which is unusual for them as bad as they've been this year.

Sure, there were plenty of calls that they could have been made better, but I thought they evened out for both teams this time.

To further your point, the game played out in an hour and forty-five minutes. Haven't seen any other game played this year close to this. many are unwatchable foul-fests. Also, no game stopping reviews at the scorers table.
Lots of no-calls both ways, but nothing egregious that I saw. Well played basketball by two very good teams. Good guys win. Cheers!

[Saratoga2]

It's on to play Clemson on Saturday. Hope they can build on this great win and keep it going.

[CDu]

Allen has officially turned the corner. I've been riding that line sine Saturday, but this win and the way in which the team won makes it official. In the past four games, he is averaging...

21.5 pts, 5.0 reb, 3.8 ast on 48.1 FG%/48.8 3P%/100.0 FT%

Those are All American numbers, my friends.

The crazy thing? Kennard's numbers are right there too. 20 ppg, over 50% on 3s, over 50% overall. What a 1-2 punch.

And we can get monster games from Tatum too.

[devildeac]

Did ol roy have any TO left at the end of the game? :rolleyes:

[BandAlum83]

Did ol roy have any TO left at the end of the game? :rolleyes:

He will be rewarded with 2 Free Hamburgers tomorrow!

[dukelifer]

Such a great win, and still plenty of upside. When Berry missed those FTs, I figured it was our night. Grayson's end of half 3s, Tatum's dunk and 3, Matt's loose ball corral...lots of memories to file away. An absolutely huge win for this group at this time, we need to keep this going!!!

Lots of good mojo in the house- Rivers- Redick - Laettner- Dennard - Williams- all with great memories and moments against the Heels.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Two best moments tonight :

Matt's scrappy loose ball off the miss late in the game.

The TEAM looking happy for the first time all season after the win. Maybe our chemistry is coming together.


Look out, NCAA! Here comes Duke!

[Native]

This is a springboard game in so many ways. Everyone — the players, the coaches, the students — has their head screwed on straight after tonight.

Let's go out and win this thing.

LGD LGD LGD.

[CoachJ10]

I thought the refs were pretty much a non factor tonight, which is unusual for them as bad as they've been this year.

Sure, there were plenty of calls that they could have been made better, but I thought they evened out for both teams this time.

UNC had been called for 7 fouls the entire game with like 8 mins or so left in the game. If I were a Tarheel fan, I'd say nice things about the refs too.

[Skydog]

Two best moments tonight :

Matt's scrappy loose ball off the miss late in the game.

The TEAM looking happy for the first time all season after the win. Maybe our chemistry is coming together.


Look out, NCAA! Here comes Duke!

At the end of the game with maybe 15 seconds left K started really smiling and you could see the players feed off his joy. Loved that moment.

[OZ]

Saw in the @ Wake game he looked like he was starting to have fun and enjoy playing basketball again. A lot of smiles when the crowd booed him and saw some of that "swagger" come back.

"Priceless" ... at 2.3 seconds and Amile on the line... Coach K clapping for the fans... Coach K trying to high five Allen and missing him - then hugging him - and Allen breaks out in this SMILE I haven't seen in a while. What a difference a couple of weeks can make.

[Danke Shane]

Joel Berry choking on the front end of that critical 1-and-1 at the end was poetic justice for his obnoxious woofing.

[dcdevil2009]

Meanwhile, in Chapel Hill...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Franklin_Street_Chapel_Hill_NC.jpg

Swahili for attendance

[CDu]

At the end of the game with maybe 15 seconds left K started really smiling and you could see the players feed off his joy. Loved that moment.

If you can't smile after a hard-fought win over your biggest rival, you're doing something wrong. This was fun. I am glad the team and coaches had fun too.

January was just brutal for so many reasons. The last two weeks - culminating with tonight - have been like a pressure release. Hopefully this team is just starting to find its mojo.

[MrPoon]

This may have already been mentioned earlier but I've been giggling so much that reading posts has been hard.

But hidden behind Allen's fantastic game was Tatum putting it all together. 19 - 9- 5 against a top ten team with only 2TO. 9 boards against the best rebounding team in the country. All year he seems to put his Superman cape on at half time (maybe it's Popeye's spinach) but with 0 points at the half. That is nuts.

After every game I say something hopeful about Giles, so I'll do it again. I, maybe still hopeful, thought Giles played well enough that, along with Amile's excellence, the Heals had to down shift and Duke dictated the game style, not UNc's size. I've been waiting all season to see it happen.

[BandAlum83]

we will get sick of winning...NOT!!

Just want to make sure Wheat sees this:

7163

[devildeac]

we will get sick of winning...NOT!!

Just want to make sure Wheat sees this:

7163


Does espn get it wrong yet again? I'm not going back and checking but I thought some folks here had posted we had 11/15, making tonight 12/16. :confused:

[CDu]

Does espn get it wrong yet again? I'm not going back and checking but I thought some folks here had posted we had 11/15, making tonight 12/16. :confused:

If the 16th game ago was a Duke loss, then it would be BOTH 12 of 15 and 12 of 16.

[Newton_14]

Grayson freaking Allen! What a great win! Beating them brings a satisfaction level well above beating anyone else in non-tourney games! Tonight was especially sweet. We overcame a season long and continuing adversity, and beat a team that played like a Top 5 team even though they were on the road!.

Grayson. Welcome back buddy. We have missed you. Tonight you were your old self and played like a 1st Team All American in leading His team to victory. I loved how he played on both ends all night. If the refs don't foul him out on ticky tack calls, he likely goes for 30. The kid had a helluva game.

However, as good as G was, like others, I think that every kid we put on the floor tonight played well. Luke was Luke despite getting grabbed and mugged all game. The fact that he, Grayson, and Tatum shot so few foul shots is borderline criminal on the refs part. Luke hit a lot of tough 2 pointers, and played good D for the most part. Like others, I thought Tatum, after being invisible the first half, introduced himself in the second half. My friend BillDat started a great thread today imploring Grayson to drive and attack the rim more, we could start an identical thread for Tatum. When Tatum attacks the basket under control he is simply a beast! That posterizing of Meeks is going to be remembered for a very very long time. That was sick! Should have been a And-One, but I guess there is a rule that hitting Tatum in the face on shot attempts is not a foul. If Tatum can eliminate the turnaround/fadeaway 2 point jumpshot, and learn to only put up a 3 when he catches a pass with his shoulders square to the basket and feet set, his 3Point% will rise significantly. One heck of a 2nd Half tonight though including a big 3.

The Team- I just thought this was a great team performance. We turned a Roy Williams team into a jumpshooting team which is rarely done. I was so worried about them killing us all night by tipping/reboundingmisses over and over at the rim until one finally went in. I only remember one instance and that was with Meeks pushing Amile under the basket allowing himself to get the rebound putback, and then the phantom foul on AMile (his 4th) to make it an And-One. Overall though, we did a great job forcing them into tough shots and then getting the stop by grabbing the first shot rebound. That was big. We gave them a few second chances but nothing like I feared. Matt was all over the place and a defensive star tonight, and outside of a few mental lapses his teammates supported him on defense including all of our bigs.

I have to mention Frank by name too. THE GAME was not to big for him. The moment was not too big for him. He was solid from the first time he got on the floor until the final buzzer sounded. Harry and Bolden gave us good minutes off the bench as well. So ALL of our freshman that play, handled the moment wonderfully.

For the second time in a week we can truthfully state "That was the best game we have played all year". The pieces are coming together and it is wonderful to see. We still have plenty of ceiling left to rise up to, but tonight we looked and played like a Top 10 team. Could not have come at a better moment. Beating those cheating scoundrels an sending them back to Hell was a beautiful thing to watch! Love love love it!

Celebrate folks! This was a big win and one of I hope many, defining moments for this group of Duke kids.

GTHC GTH 9F Everyday All Day

Go Duke!

Newtdawg14 is out! Mic dropped!

[60's Devil]

Everyone must be in the library.

Working on their mail in African Studies term paper

[DukieTiger]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but Frank Jackson has one of the most amazing defensive plays on a fast break I've ever seen.

Somewhere around the 5:30 minute mark, JB3 gets out on the break, and Frank is back peddling to keep the ball in front. As they approach the basket, JB3 breaks down his stride and rises up for a layup.

Most guys would either stop and try to take the charge, or jump into the offensive player and foul, or their momentum would carry them too far away to bother the shot attempt.

Frank jumped so high the he blocked the daggum shot.

It was perhaps a small defensive play, but I thought it was an amazing feat nonetheless. Just wanted to share my appreciation for what was perhaps an overlooked play in a phenomenal game.

[kAzE]

Grayson is all the way back. That's the type of confidence we're used to seeing. And if Jayson keeps playing like that, we're going to be really freaking good.

I'll take full credit for Grayson's recent success. I changed my avatar from Grayson to Luke after Luke's 34 point game, and G hasn't scored less than 20 since the change.

[BandAlum83]

Grayson freaking Allen! What a great win! Beating them brings a satisfaction level well above beating anyone else in non-tourney games! Tonight was especially sweet. We overcame a season long and continuing adversity, and beat a team that played like a Top 5 team even though they were on the road!.

Newtdawg14 is out! Mic dropped!

Is this objectively true? I'd like to think so, because by transitive property, we played like a Final Four team.

I'm not sure we are there yet, but we are definitely on the correct trajectory.

I wouldn't be surprised if we win out. But unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised with a 2 steps forward, one step back finish to the season either.

GO DUKE!

[gofurman]

Congrats on a good win. Losing always sucks, but I thought the Heels played fairly well on the road.

Duke's above average 3point shooting and poor foul shooting by the Heels tells the story for tonight.

Heels still in first place in the conference, so I'll take that and move on.

Some quick thoughts...

Grayson carried Duke tonight and was much better focused.

Nice job by Jefferson taking Meeks out of his post offense.

Without Hicks, Heels could never get it going inside.

Justin Jackson gets better every game, he's turned the corner. Some NBA team is gonna get a good player.

Frank Jackson had a nice game.

Still not much scoring from the 2g spot for the Heels, that really stands out for me as a big weakness on this team.

Luke Maye is a gamer.

Tatum played a much more patient game than he has been playing, and it helped his team.

Not a bad summary Wheat. I agree I'll be glad to see Justin Jackson gone. He is a baller. Awesome jump shot. Tough cover. You were right. Luke Maye did some decent things for sure.
For Duke obviously the three offensive weapons of Grayson Luke and Tatum... But you do a nice job noting the D of Jefferson on Meeks etc. Matt Jones also did a superb job w several thefts and winning that last 50/50 ball

Free throws ain't free

[Newton_14]

At the end of the game with maybe 15 seconds left K started really smiling and you could see the players feed off his joy. Loved that moment.

I saw that too and it was just wonderful to see. He was very demonstrative in encouraging the crowd to join him in relishing the win. K was like a kid at Christmas, and more importantly, all of our players looked stoked as Mountain Devil 5 Time noted earlier.

I just watched WRAL coverage. Mandy Mitchell covered the Duke lockerroom post game, and she told Jeff Gravely as they spoke over looking WW, that the Duke players went on and on in the lockerroom about how excited they were that they had just beaten a great team. She emphasized "Not so much about beating our rival, we beat a really good team tonight".

Our Devils are trending up!

[Newton_14]

Is this objectively true? I'd like to think so, because by transitive property, we played like a Final Four team.

I'm not sure we are there yet, but we are definitely on the correct trajectory.

I wouldn't be surprised if we win out. But unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised with a 2 steps forward, one step back finish to the season either.

GO DUKE!

I may have written it wrong. I was meaning to state that I thought unc played like a Top 5 team tonight even though they were on the road (an they haven't been a great conference road team to this point).... So to me, it does feel like we beat a Top 5 Caliber team tonight.

After the State loss I felt we were not even a Top 25 team. After the 4 games since that loss, I now feel like we are a Top 10ish team currently.

Does that make sense?

[weezie]

As I sit here penning poetry at that all time dive, The Joyce, I have to once again, point out, carolina, it was hell, wasn't it?:cool:

[SlapTheFloor]

I feel like we've developed an identity: Grayson, Luke, and Jayson on offense. Amile and Matt on D. We can still get a lot better, but that's a combination you could ride to a Final Four.

[devilnfla]

Really proud of the team tonight. Thought they did a really nice job answering every carolina run and solid job closing out the game with some defensive rebounds and made FTs.

Here's to not allowing Clemson to be a trap game. Keep this streak rolling!

[PackMan97]

From the bottom of my heart, Thank you Duke. Thank you Coach K. Thank you Grayson. Thank you everyone else. It was a bit closer than I would have liked, but any day the Cheaters lose is a good day indeed!

Cheaters Born and Cheaters Bred and when they play Duke they lose.

[weezie]

PackMan, I'm seriously considering a crush on you!

[BandAlum83]

I may have written it wrong. I was meaning to state that I thought unc played like a Top 5 team tonight even though they were on the road (an they haven't been a great conference road team to this point)... So to me, it does feel like we beat a Top 5 Caliber team tonight.

After the State loss I felt we were not even a Top 25 team. After the 4 games since that loss, I now feel like we are a Top 10ish team currently.

Does that make sense?

It certainly does make sense.

I'd like to agree with you, but don't know if I can...yet. There seem to be a lot of really good teams out there. Although, after seeing Oregon's collapse against UCLA tonight coupled with UCLA's debacle against Arizona and Kentucky's yucky streak, I really don't know what's going on. Maybe it's parity. Maybe home court is worth more than 3 points.

I do know that some experts (I heard on a podcast) project that as many as 50 players from the HS class of 2016 may end up in the NBA. If that's true, I posit that the up and down nature of freshmen play may be making quite a few teams look really good one night and not so much the next. That could have an impact on how the experienced teams look from night to night as well.

Makes it really impossible to project how the lot of them will look on a neutral court in NCAA tourney conditions. Although you know the (BS) cliche they throw around Tourney time: "They aren't freshmen anymore." Ha! Yes they are. And the pressure of the tourney will also affect each young man differently.

[weezie]

I may have written it wrong. I was meaning to state that I thought unc played like a Top 5 team tonight even though they were on the road (an they haven't been a great conference road team to this point)... So to me, it does feel like we beat a Top 5 Caliber team tonight...

Does that make sense?

I see what you mean Newt but no, if they are a top five team, well there's plenty of room for us to make a move. Yeah, it means some hard work. holes sure didn't look top five tonight but maybe that just might mean the top is soft and squishy this year.

[OZ]

Congrats on a good win. Losing always sucks, but I thought the Heels played fairly well on the road.

Duke's above average 3point shooting and poor foul shooting by the Heels tells the story for tonight.

Heels still in first place in the conference, so I'll take that and move on.

Some quick thoughts...

Grayson carried Duke tonight and was much better focused.

Nice job by Jefferson taking Meeks out of his post offense.

Without Hicks, Heels could never get it going inside.

Justin Jackson gets better every game, he's turned the corner. Some NBA team is gonna get a good player.

Frank Jackson had a nice game.

Still not much scoring from the 2g spot for the Heels, that really stands out for me as a big weakness on this team.

Luke Maye is a gamer.

Tatum played a much more patient game than he has been playing, and it helped his team.



You really going to bring up injuries? If Amile's foot had been totally healed, so he could have pushed off and moved offensively; if Jones' ankle had been completely well so he could have moved a bit better with the ball offensively; had Giles, Bolden and Jeter not had to deal with recovering from injuries all year; and had Coach K not missed a month when the TEAM desperately needed him, I suspect we may have won by twenty.

[WHOneedsSOX]

Allen: "I’m having fun," he said.

Asked if the entire season has been fun, he laughed.

"I’m not interested in a tell-all right now but, uh, no," he said.

"It’s not about whether the shot is falling or not," he said. "It was about playing for this team and nothing else. It’s as simple as that. I just want to play the game I love, and I’m loving the way it’s going right now. That’s how I grew up feeling, just loving to compete and it feels good just to do that."

http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/117615/grayson-allen-is-happy-and-thats-good-news-for-duke

[DukeDevil]

My takeaway:

The positives:
- The biggest thing to me is how positive and happy the team seemed. It's obviously easy to be happy with a win but even during the game there wasn't any of the arguing, blaming, etc. that I've seen throughout a lot of other games. I see Amile getting on people in a Laettner like way to get them to pick up their assignments, but it's more of the senior leader and less of the childish bickering. Everyone seems to be buying in.

- Tatum...holy cow...talk about growing up before our eyes. His ability to read mismatches and take advantage was really on full display. His first step, and the distance he covers in 1-2 dribbles is crazy.

- Matt - Holy cow...talk about doing all the little things that add up big. I look at his box score and it's such a reflection that the play behind every one of his stats sticks out in my mind. The assist on the 3. The clutch rebounds, all offensive, especially the game winning 50-50 near the end. The momentum building 3 pointer. He really demonstrates how you can add so much to the game beyond the stat line, as his stat line was a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything. I think to really see what he does you have to see the stat lines of his defensive assignments compared to what they normally pull.

- Grayson...he's been building towards it the last few games...but he finally fully looks like the old GA. I can't imagine how hard this season had been on him with the scrutiny. You can tell he was finally turning a corner when he shushed the crowd at Wake (?).

- Luke being Luke. He's getting the Reddick grabbing/pulling treatment...frustrating how much they let go on that against him, but he's not letting it slow down his game.

- Someone said Bolden was lost, I felt like most of his time was actually quite positive, and he really has the ability to move people off the block. I'm really thinking his game is going to keep building and improving

- Harry continues to look better and better each game. It's slow progress but so long as he's always going a good trajectory I'm happy for him. I'm impressed with his positive attitude and team mentality despite what has to be a frustrating return to basketball for him with his not being able to dominate how he did in high school. I think he'll get there again, maybe not this year, but I want this kid to have a great career ahead of him.

All in all, the team executed what was clearly the coaching plan and put together everything that was necessary to win

The negatives:
1) Amile needs to stop his frustration at missing/not getting a call on offense and just run back. He's our most senior leader, it drives me nuts when he stop to argue with the ref or smacks the floor in frustration as he did today before heading back.

2) Tatum...buddy...I know you're gonna have the fadeaway jump shot in your NBA career and it'll be sick...but just put it aside for now.

3) Speaking of Tatum...his face gets a Singlerian amount of contact that isn't called...is it just that the refs are so stunned by the move/dunk that they forget to call the foul? It's mind boggling.

Not gonna list anything else negative as I don't want to rain on this parade. Go Duke!

[heyman25]

Did anyone at the game get photos of Laettner, Ferry, Redick and Rivers. Please post if you did. GoDuke photographer should have pix of our illustrious alums. Failed.Feel sorry for Kenny Dennard who did not get a shout out from Jay Bilas when the ESPN camera was looking directly at him, Laettner & Ferry.

Wonderful game. Great win for our team.UNC is very good. Justin Jackson impressed me.Grayson played like a star.Tatum was amazing in the second half.Giles and Bolden gave us good minutes.Luke was outstanding again. Our captains did the gritty defense.I think Giles and Bolden are ready for more minutes.Amile's qb role is necessary, but Bolden and Giles are getting there.They may need to play with Amile,but can help us on the boards and rim protection.Jackson was great off the bench. Happy evening Duke fans!

[heyman25]

I forgot Knox, Duval Carter and Trent Jr . Our 2 unsigned and 2 signed recruits were supposed to be there. I also thought I saw Jack Marin. Post their photos.Go Duke.com needs to step up their still photo game. Duke fans like to see photos of the former Duke stars in attendance.

[BluDvlsN1]

Weezie,
I believe this quote belongs to you!

("It's just the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!

Full-throated laughing!

Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'")

In a word,
Scoreboard ;)

7167

[Olympic Fan]

I forgot Knox, Duval Carter and Trent Jr . Our 2 unsigned and 2 signed recruits were supposed to be there. I also thought I saw Jack Marin. Post their photos.Go Duke.com needs to step up their still photo game. Duke fans like to see photos of the former Duke stars in attendance.

Knox was not in attendance.

Duval was seated beside Wendell Carter.

[heyman25]

I saw that photo on a twitter feed. There were 20 or 30 former Duke greats in the crowd.GoDuke photographer did not post any.

[duketaylor]

Beer finally wore off after 5 hours of "rest." Waiting for highlights to show. Watched with my twins (17-year-old HS seniors) and we were awestruck. Still trying to analyze the game, need to see it again. I was amazed K could totally take uncheats out of their game-plan-at least it looked that way. A revitalized GA is incredible and a complete difference-maker. Looking at the stats, we actually out-rebounded the Heels, didn't think that was possible. We took away their strengths and imposed ours. K!! Belichick-ish. I was worried we couldn't do that against what I consider the best team from the dump in several years.

Now just 1 game back in the loss column we can still win/tie for the regular season title, something many posters considered impossible 5 games ago. NCAA seeding also improves a fair amount if we can hold court at home and win another road game or two. FSU has 4 road games left (and we still play all 3 teams in front us going forward), so Duke controls it's destiny now.
Fun stuff.

Team coming together in a big way.

Revised prediction of 12-6 conference record, maybe 13-5. Was in 10-8 mode. Different feel now. Next week at UVA is huge, will have to work on going up there.
Anybody else want to go? Bob Green, Tom B., etc? Won two beers last night:)

We've gotta keep the faith and continue to move forward. Marathon, not sprint. Fist, not five fingers. Etc. K!!! 9F9F9F9F!!!! April-awaits???!!

[Wheat/"/"/"]

You really going to bring up injuries? If Amile's foot had been totally healed, so he could have pushed off and moved offensively; if Jones' ankle had been completely well so he could have moved a bit better with the ball offensively; had Giles, Bolden and Jeter not had to deal with recovering from injuries all year; and had Coach K not missed a month when the TEAM desperately needed him, I suspect we may have won by twenty.

Relax, just making a point. No excuses. All teams have to play through injuries, part of the game.

[OldPhiKap]

Gracious post, Wheat, and pretty spot-on IMO.

[Indoor66]

As I sit here penning poetry at that all time dive, The Joyce, I have to once again, point out, carolina, it was hell, wasn't it?:cool:

But Kevin played at South Carolina...:confused::cool:

[BD80]

Everyone must be in the library.

Even Google Maps can't find the unc library. The place is a rumor, a wisp of ephemera in the minds of tar heels that pre-date ol' roy.



It is just amazing that Amile and Matt controlled the paint and the boards against the supposedly dominant unc bigs. The bigs that - per Duke alum Jay Bilas - are so well coached in post moves they are unstoppable - a combination of a terminator and Baryshnikov.

We have an arsenal of bigs available - Giles, Bolden, Tatum and Vrankovic - and yet Jefferson and Jones pretty much did it alone.

Is Chase still injured? I would think he would have helped. It seemed early in the year that he was understanding the defensive rotations that are still eluding Giles and Bolden.

[left_hook_lacey]

The grabbing as Luke and Grayson run the baseline should be one of the easiest calls for the refs to make. It is maddening when refs willfully ignore it.

Arguing about calls in a win(or loss for that matter) is petty. Did the refs ignore Jefferson on his horse collar tackle of Meeks on a drive? Was that just as maddening to you?

Calls have a way of evening out. I thought the game was called pretty well. Much better than some games I have seen this year. We won. Let's enjoy it.

[billyt]

Kenny Williams and Pinson did not allow Luke to move at all. They should have both fouled out. I thought that for the most part, on drives, UNC got a lot of the benefit where we did not. That Grayson 4th foul was a joke when you consider what they were allowed to do to Luke the entire game.


Actually, I would argue that on drives, DUKE inadvertently got a benefit from the refs. UNC was shooting over 50% from the floor, but they were shooting nearly the same percentage from the free throw line! I texted my basketball buddies early in the second half that so long as it wasn't Grayson or Amile, we should foul when UNC was driving. I would rather UNC make 56% on a one point FT than 53% on a 2 point drive.

So even though (it appeared through my Duke-blue lenses) Duke was getting whistled more inside than UNC, I think it actually HELPED Duke because UNC missed at the FT line. The 6th man played their part, too!

[moonpie23]

Laettner, Ferry, Redick and Rivers.

i don't think this was coincidence that they were all there......K is a MASTER motivator.....can you imagine what it was like in the locker room last night following the win? this is team building.....

[left_hook_lacey]

i don't think this was coincidence that they were all there...K is a MASTER motivator....can you imagine what it was like in the locker room last night following the win? this is team building....

Did anyone else think Redick and Rivers were arguing in the stands on the close up of them coming out of the time out? I put it on rewind several times and even in slow motion. It really looked like they were arguing about something to me.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Can someone recap any good signs and/or cheers from the Crazies last night? Thx

[CDu]

Even Google Maps can't find the unc library. The place is a rumor, a wisp of ephemera in the minds of tar heels that pre-date ol' roy.



It is just amazing that Amile and Matt controlled the paint and the boards against the supposedly dominant unc bigs. The bigs that - per Duke alum Jay Bilas - are so well coached in post moves they are unstoppable - a combination of a terminator and Baryshnikov.

We have an arsenal of bigs available - Giles, Bolden, Tatum and Vrankovic - and yet Jefferson and Jones pretty much did it alone.

Is Chase still injured? I would think he would have helped. It seemed early in the year that he was understanding the defensive rotations that are still eluding Giles and Bolden.

I don't think the bolded is quite accurate. Tatum was also fantastic. He led the team in rebounds with 9, including 8 defensive rebounds (also the team high).

Jones was terrific defensively, but he had 0 defensive rebounds and he didn't spend much time against UNC's bigs (he was guarding Jackson or Berry most of the night). I would say that Tatum and Jefferson were the ones doing the heavy lifting inside.

As for Jeter, he was in uniform and active on the bench. So if he is still injured, it's apparently not TOO debilitating. Maybe he is just not quite back in shape yet. Or maybe he is too far down the rotation.

[Spanarkel]

Arguing about calls in a win(or loss for that matter) is petty. Did the refs ignore Jefferson on his horse collar tackle of Meeks on a drive? Was that just as maddening to you?

Calls have a way of evening out. I thought the game was called pretty well. Much better than some games I have seen this year. We won. Let's enjoy it.

Yea, Jefferson yanked Meeks' jersey, but the foul in no way approached a "horse collar tackle" IMO. Meeks still should have been able to complete the dunk...


Lots of great moments from the game! My favorite in-game comment was from Wheat at halftime when he stated that he felt good about where UNC was. IIRC neither Tatum nor Jefferson had scratched yet. Let's go, Duke!

[91_92_01_10_15]

Did anyone at the game get photos of Laettner, Ferry, Redick and Rivers. Please post if you did.
No, but we saw this guy. Did he make it into the TV broadcast?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UKhtq0syGfBi51nVuUJqa36oQ6OV6-CnHtycIyQPS3RlSI2lwg0_b50u2gurteKtjeKqOu-KUNXwnibzUx_VD1ENmI6JYdpGabX28LQiaMH8PDVdFFxW_wZYx R4s31t1IXU8-Uz3z3KCIK7o8MW1TCbMPXQOi01I4ZXuEVFSqhSkOdX8NydxOv0 UVBMFysTUSSzIn98Nz6uX4kS9egE9e51pVRv2SbGxn-T7b7PwT2VdgL575yfZ3EmJQ9fFZlok48kJa0NAm10Fvbm_o_w2 9ix_0mTNwo2Vmx8ULCs-0EQERsBcJTH2lbrIG97VUhluETU4f6I_v7xD9rwj_x63w7-EyXVVJT5LbHQL5FqSV_ox3y9EYuZQUCpfo_IFDE7cCz9n0lw2Y fNQTmyPt_pcZedQzoiwG5WD1EM9EFTORRC6Sb-elO-7HukCay8wg9AWtaglPJxJEDkXzwp61TCfPaau2ud6dv7Qw0D4I HB1rRP8nrdxrV2VGQjGT2stdx-B7HcLtKGzUmbnHkX5XL5jppm54deNZTnHl5th-IOlsF9BVMB57UQe_Z4DnZJobSTvRuQ9xuqmDCOjOYPuCWJHTq-BKCTAPI-x6gGfYpMkWdjC5J82OLpv=w622-h829-no

[Troublemaker]

I always like looking at GoDuke's postgame Quotes (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211465538) page. You can get some nuggets sometimes.

Grayson:


On the play of Jayson Tatum:
“He was huge. He did a great job tonight of responding in the second half. Matt [Jones], Amile [Jefferson], and I were all on him at halftime and Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was on him at halftime, and he responded really well. That’s a sign of maturity for him, and he’s so talented. He makes really big plays like he did, and he had a handful of assists tonight too, which was huge for us. And those clutch free throws down the stretch were big.”

When asked what he and his teammates said to Jayson Tatum at halftime:
“Just that we need him – It’s plain and simple that we need him and he knows that. He did a good job of responding. We thought that he was going to have a good matchup out there on the perimeter, especially with his height and his quickness and his skill level. He really has a good matchup every game, and we just wanted to keep kicking it to him and keep feeding him and have him make a play.”

Other:
“I’m feeling very comfortable and having a lot of fun playing. I just feel better, getting back into the swing of things, and just playing with a lot of confidence. And when Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] tells you to shoot the ball, you shoot the ball.”

Luke:

And it’s really, really cool to see some of the young guys step up tonight. It was huge. We all grew up tonight. We were all together, we were all tough, and very unselfish tonight, and it was really fun to play.”

Jayson:

When asked what was different for him in the first half versus his solid performance in the second half:
“I probably was nervous. I’m not going to lie. UNC-Duke game, lot of expectations and hype, so I was nervous in the first half, but in the second half I got that all out of the way.”

[MCFinARL]

I always like looking at GoDuke's postgame Quotes (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211465538) page. You can get some nuggets sometimes.



The quotes from Grayson and Luke are especially interesting because they talk about how much fun it was. Before the game started, the UNC squad looked really loose and relaxed, like they were the ones ready to have fun, while the Duke team looked tight as a drum. But maybe they were just focused.

[grad_devil]

Allen: "I’m having fun," he said.

Asked if the entire season has been fun, he laughed.

"I’m not interested in a tell-all right now but, uh, no," he said.

"It’s not about whether the shot is falling or not," he said. "It was about playing for this team and nothing else. It’s as simple as that. I just want to play the game I love, and I’m loving the way it’s going right now. That’s how I grew up feeling, just loving to compete and it feels good just to do that."

http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/117615/grayson-allen-is-happy-and-thats-good-news-for-duke

Not a bad article - thanks for posting, WHOneedsSOX.

I'm no Dana O'Neil fan - wasn't she the one who wrote the hatchet job on Allen being the next hated white Duke player?

Regardless, there's a line in the story that I think hits the head on the nail when it comes to Grayson:


"He played with emotion. He did not play emotionally."

Over the past several games, it seems that he has mastered this. And I couldn't be happier to have him back.

[grad_devil]

3) Speaking of Tatum...his face gets a Singlerian amount of contact that isn't called...is it just that the refs are so stunned by the move/dunk that they forget to call the foul? It's mind boggling.

This is awesome. It took some linguistic gymnastics to make that happen, but I approve 100%.

[jipops]

If the 16th game ago was a Duke loss, then it would be BOTH 12 of 15 and 12 of 16.

Well they are 4-12 since the skype call. They also have losses to Iowa, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State.

[Channing]

Luke - "And it’s really, really cool to see some of the young guys step up tonight. It was huge. We all grew up tonight. We were all together, we were all tough, and very unselfish tonight, and it was really fun to play.”

I love that quote. Wasn't it Luke earlier in the year who questioned whether everyone was on the same page? Looks like the team has grown.

I think (hope) we are seeing the talent starting to gel. The interesting dynamic that seems to be emerging (at least it looks this way to me) is that the stars can be stars, but they don't need to be stars for the entire game. It feels like our guys have been able to go out have 1 guy blow up in 1 half, and another guy blow up in the second half. Jayson was dominant in the second half, and this isn't the first time he had put up 15-20 in a half. Grayson and Luke have similarly had games where they play 1 other-worldly half and one really solid half. To use a golf phrase - they are brother-in-lawing it really well. That only works if everyone is willing to let the hot hand shine, and that looks to be the case with this crew.

[CDu]

Wow, what a game! There were four primary keys to the game coming in: 1) limit UNC's offensive rebounds; 2) get back in transition; 3) don't turn the ball over; 4) limit UNC's easy half-court buckets from their off-ball screens. We did well in 2 of the 4. But it was (thankfully enough).

I thought our defense in the half-court setting was outstanding. Matt Jones did a wonderful job on Jackson. It may seem odd to say this given that Jackson scored 21 on 8-13 and hit several very tough shots, but Jones did contain him for what otherwise could have been a really monstrous performance (instead of just the really really good performance he had). It was a typical Jones night: 2 steals, a block, 3 offensive rebounds, just being pesky in general. He is not a great offensive player, but he's a key part of this team. The team just seems to play better when he is on the floor - especially defensively.

But it wasn't just Jones. Jefferson and Tatum absolutely dominated inside defensively. Jefferson virtually eliminated Meeks. He is one of the best post defenders in the ACC, and it showed. Meeks made a few buckets off putbacks and dumpoffs from teammates, but he had very minimal success in the post. Tatum wasn't as involved in the post defense, but he was crucial on the boards. He led the team in both defensive and total rebounds, both by a comfy margin. Controlling the defensive glass was critical in this one. UNC's half-court offense is heavily reliant on playing volleyball with their missed shots. So to outrebound them was a huge part of this win. And Tatum was right at the center of it, corralling tons of in-traffic rebounds. Slight head nods to Giles (two defensive boards) and Bolden (Elton Branding a Luke Maye shot with a two-hand stuff/catch) in their brief stints. I'll say it again: we outrebounded UNC. And we had a slightly better offensive rebound % than UNC. UNC, who leads the nation in offensive rebound %. That's beating them at their game.


I won't say that the transition defense was good though. We suffered mightily in transition. And that almost bit us. UNC did most of its damage in transition, either on outright fast breaks or through pushing the ball up to create a quick shot on the "secondary break" before the defense got set. If we had played better in transition, we might have won the game by 15-20, because of how stout our half-court defense was. But, we didn't. So there is still that to improve upon.

On offense, we were at times sloppy with the ball. Most times it didn't lead to transition opportunities, but there were a few instances in which it did create easy buckets for UNC. But we made up for it on the possessions in which we didn't turn it over. Coach K had a masterful gameplan in the second half. He went to two sets repeatedly: isolation for Tatum on Maye, and running high ball screens using Meeks' man to isolate Meeks on Allen. It was a classic case of "we know we have you in a mismatch, and we're going to exploit it over and over again until you prove you can stop it." And UNC couldn't stop it. Getting Meeks on an island against Allen left Allen with a TON of open looks from 3, and also allowed Allen a few easy blow-bys for layups/dunks. Meeks just doesn't have the footwork to defend away from the basket. He's a tree inside and can alter shots and eat up rebounds in the paint. But if you pull him away from the basket, he is a huge liability. And we took full advantage. And poor Maye. He's a hard-working kid who has developed into a very good - though awkward - shooter. But he is sorely lacking in run/jump athleticism. And he was simply no match for Tatum. I think Tatum showed nerves early, but once he settled down he just abused the overmatched Maye.

Kennard was fantastic as well. UNC identified him as the guy they wanted to stop, and put their best perimeter defenders on him (Williams, Britt). And those guys did make Kennard work. But he was still too good, making a bunch of those crafty mid-range shots over contested defenders. He's a stud too. And a shout out to Frank Jackson, who was perfect from the field off the bench. He essentially played on par with Berry, who was UNC's second-best player. When that happens, we darn sure should win.

Ultimately, I thought Duke had 3 of the 4 best players on the floor last night. Jackson was terrific for UNC, but we had Allen, Tatum, and Kennard. And after that, I thought Jefferson, Jones, and Frank Jackson played Meeks, Pinson, Britt/Williams, and Berry to a draw. Bradley and Giles/Bolden were a wash. But when your stars outplay their stars, you are likely to win. And our stars played better than their stars.

Fun win. Hopefully we build off this.

[DukieInBrasil]

Well they are 4-12 since the skype call. They also have losses to Iowa, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State.

the boys put on an amazing show. One thing that i would like to point out is that this team seems to be figuring out how to manage, and even win, the end game situation. After collapsing vs NCSU down the stretch, Duke has now totally controlled the end game at Wake, Notre Dame, Pitt, and UNC. Really impressive and a great sign of the maturity on this team rising to the occasion.
Grayson has really stepped up his game lately. He had a stinker vs. NCSU, but has been solid or exceptional in the 4 games since then.
Kennard had some marvelous shots from 2pt land.
I have been harsh on Tatum previously, but i have to say that i really admire the way he has changed his game. He fits within the team much better now, and it's really making him look like a better player. If his game continues to grow at this rate, we have the chance to be really special, considering Grayson, Luke, Amile, Matt and Frank all add excellent components for a strong team.

[weezie]

... the Duke team looked tight as a drum. But maybe they were just focused.

All the better to boom boom boom. Boy-O was it loud last night!

Tickets were scalped left and right. Heard that 1K was the asking price. Most were closer to $850-900. Way too many holes in the crowd. The ID office is lamely, if at all, enforcing resale warnings. We had an insufferable buck-toothed donkey in light blue two rows in front of us who seemed to delight in standing and braying throughout the game. It was fun to yell at him though.

[summerwind03]

All the better to boom boom boom. Boy-O was it loud last night!

Tickets were scalped left and right. Heard that 1K was the asking price. Most were closer to $850-900. Way too many holes in the crowd. The ID office is lamely, if at all, enforcing resale warnings. We had an insufferable buck-toothed donkey in light blue two rows in front of us who seemed to delight in standing and braying throughout the game. It was fun to yell at him though.

I thought there were fewer Carolina fans than in many years. And of course they were all quiet on their way out!

[DukieInBrasil]

I thought there were fewer Carolina fans than in many years. And of course they were all quiet on their way out!

that is the important part isn't it?

[CDu]

Yea, Jefferson yanked Meeks' jersey, but the foul in no way approached a "horse collar tackle" IMO. Meeks still should have been able to complete the dunk...


Lots of great moments from the game! My favorite in-game comment was from Wheat at halftime when he stated that he felt good about where UNC was. IIRC neither Tatum nor Jefferson had scratched yet. Let's go, Duke!

Worth noting that Jefferson's foul was actually before Meeks even had the ball. So even if they call the foul, it wasn't a shooting foul situation. Meeks missed the dunk on his own.

[flyingdutchdevil]

It's Duke-Kerlina, so I figured I'd give out three cents worth of comments instead of two cents.

1) Take a bow, Crazies, take a bow. You were spectacular.

2) As predicted by many in the beginning of the year, the Duke show featuring Luke, Jayson, and Allen is lethal. Damn. They are fun to watch when everything is clicking. In the second half, with Allen raining 3s, Luke scoring in the paint with crazy crafty moves, and Tatum being a beast, it was the most beautiful offensive showing I've seen since our 2010 team with the three S's. I'm not saying that LAJ is the most efficient but rather the most enjoyable to watch because of the variety of ways that they can score.

3) Allen is back. It's been covered, especially by ESPN. But I still hate Dana O'Neill. I thought her piece had tons of mean-spirited references to Allen's tripping.

4) Matt Jones had a Matt Jones-y defensive game but no Matt Jones-y offensive game. This kid can play. He had the toughest match-up with Jackson (who, in fairness to Jackson, got the best of everyone). But his really good D and, more importantly, hustle plays really helped Duke out. It was awesome. But his offense? Only 3 shots? And 1-3 from the field? That isn't Matt Jones. Matt Jones often shoots 5+ shoots with all of them falling or all of them missing.

5) Frank Jackson may be the next break-out player. Luke has had it all year long. Allen got it back a few games ago. Tatum had his best game yet and it's starting to click. Who will be next? My money is on Jackson. He looked comfortable yesterday, and I love his defense. He's got the best combination between speed and strength on the team, and if he can leverage that, watch out.

6) Luke Maye scored just as many points (8) as our post players put together. Which begs the question: what the hell is wrong with Amile's offense??? No one on this board questions Amile's defense, but his offense has completely fallen off. Yes, injuries have something to do with it. But I don't think that's the whole story. Teams are playing Amile smarter, and Amile only has 1-2 post moves (both of which involve a spin move). Without any form of jumper, Amile is an incredibly predictable and easy-to-guard offensive player.

7) Giles isn't ready for prime time, and I don't think he'll ever be this year. Giles's offense is coming together quite nicely, between pick-and-rolls, short jumpers, offensive rebounds, and hand-offs under the basket, but his defense? It's bad. It's obviously holding him back from getting more playing time. While Tatum has really started to grasp Duke defense, Giles is nowhere near Tatum's understanding on that side of the ball.

8) Justin Jackson is really good. Now please go to the NBA!

9) Nate Britt was the best player on the court yesterday. Preseason-ACC-Player-of-the-Year!!!!

[Edouble]

Meeks getting dunked on in all kinds of ways last night in Cameron.

7169

7170

[DavidBenAkiva]

The crazy thing? Kennard's numbers are right there too. 20 ppg, over 50% on 3s, over 50% overall. What a 1-2 punch.

And we can get monster games from Tatum too.

This is a great point. The Allen, Kennard, and Tatum trio is a little like the Scheyer, Smith, Singler lineup. All three can score and create. Allen is the titular point guard, but it's really a three-headed dragon. One of the big differences is that this trio is a little younger, alarmingly athletic, and is playing with a more talented supporting cast. The team defense isn't quite at the level of the 2010 team yet, but it's getting noticeably better.

I'm waiting for Giles to breakout. It's clear that Coach K is going with Giles, plus Frank Jackson and a little bit of Marques Bolden, for his 8 man rotation. It seems like it's only a matter of time before Giles starts getting more and more dump offs during the pick and roll. He rolls to the basket off the screen and there were several instances in which Allen or Kennard missed open lanes off the pick. He is more than athletic enough to finish at the rim in a variety of ways and he can step back and nail the outside jumper. He's been consistently contributing. With improved positioning on defense, I think he can be that X factor for the team. The next step is for him to start exploding for 16-20 points. It's almost like he or Bolden will surprise people in the way that Allen did his freshman year. Let's not forget that Allen scored 27 points in the second to last regular season game of the year. There is still a lot of time for Giles and Bolden, for that matter, to step up and solidify their place in the rotation.

[uh_no]

This is a great point. The Allen, Kennard, and Tatum trio is a little like the Scheyer, Smith, Singler lineup. All three can score and create. Allen is the titular point guard, but it's really a three-headed dragon. One of the big differences is that this trio is a little younger, alarmingly athletic, and is playing with a more talented supporting cast. The team defense isn't quite at the level of the 2010 team yet, but it's getting noticeably better.


Tatum's game is nothing like kyle's. Kyle shot 40% from 3 in the title year, was crazily efficient on offense, and had one of the lowest turnover rates in the country. Tatum? Not so much...but he's certainly better around the rim than kyle ever was.

"similar" in that they are 3 good players that happen to play the same positions? sure. But similar in that their games resemble eachother? I'm not seeing it.

[Billy Dat]

Kennard was fantastic as well. UNC identified him as the guy they wanted to stop, and put their best perimeter defenders on him (Williams, Britt). And those guys did make Kennard work. But he was still too good, making a bunch of those crafty mid-range shots over contested defenders.

Good write up...one thing I noticed is that Grayson seems to have some Kennard to his game. He showcased one or two drives with hard stops, pivots, feints and then shots...looks like Luke has been working with him after practice.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Tatum's game is nothing like kyle's. Kyle shot 40% from 3 in the title year, was crazily efficient on offense, and had one of the lowest turnover rates in the country. Tatum? Not so much...but he's certainly better around the rim than kyle ever was.

"similar" in that they are 3 good players that happen to play the same positions? sure. But similar in that their games resemble eachother? I'm not seeing it.

Similar in the sense that they all force a ton of pressure on the defense. Obviously, their games are all different. But a team usually has to game plan for 1 or 2 good players on the perimeter. You put your best defender on the lead guard - Lonzo Ball at UCLA, Malik Monk at UK, etc. Who do you guard with Duke? And if you help off of Matt Jones or Amile Jefferson, they will eat you up. You can't double off of any of Allen, Kennard, or Tatum. It's not that they have a similar style of play to Scheyer, Smith, or Singler. It's that they force a team to play defense straight up.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Yea, Jefferson yanked Meeks' jersey, but the foul in no way approached a "horse collar tackle" IMO. Meeks still should have been able to complete the dunk...


Lots of great moments from the game! My favorite in-game comment was from Wheat at halftime when he stated that he felt good about where UNC was. IIRC neither Tatum nor Jefferson had scratched yet. Let's go, Duke!

Why wouldn't I have felt good at halftime? Down only 1 with a starter out, on the road, and getting good bench production.

I said in the pre game thread that Duke would have to have a great shooting night to win, make 10+ 3's when their conference average was 8.5...and they did that, making 13. It was an excellent shooting performance.

Overall, I think Duke has to become less dependent on so many 3's to go deep in the tourney. Sure, they can beat anybody shooting like that on a given night, but it's just not going to happen every game and the time will come when you're going to need more scoring at the rim. I don't think a team can win it all without better balance.

It was a great win, you guys should enjoy it...but the season is not over. UNC is still leading the conference, and getting better.

As for the sly Nate Britt remarks...i'd think you guys would learn by now to appreciate a solid bench player, I know I do. I thought he played very well in his limited minutes, as did Luke Maye, who also gets little respect around here. They were certainly not the team issue in the loss.

Make the free throws and Duke shooting closer to the mean and UNC gets a road win...but if frogs had wings, yada..yada..yada......I give Duke credit, their backs were against the wall and they got it done when a loss could have sent them spinning.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

The quotes from Grayson and Luke are especially interesting because they talk about how much fun it was. Before the game started, the UNC squad looked really loose and relaxed, like they were the ones ready to have fun, while the Duke team looked tight as a drum. But maybe they were just focused.

That's the thought I had too. Duke did seem tight, but once those shots from Frank Jackson started falling from deep, their confidence grew as a team.

There's a lot of pressure on the home team in this rivalry game, less on the visitor. In a close game, usually you can count on the rim getting smaller for shooters in the second half. Grayson, especially, was having none of that last night.

[moonpie23]

Overall, I think Duke has to become less dependent on so many 3's to go deep in the tourney.

Kris Jenkins sez "hi"

[alteran]

I thought there were fewer Carolina fans than in many years. And of course they were all quiet on their way out!

My impression as well.

I walked in and chatted with a guy who got swindled on a ticket. It was a pretty impressive fake. It had everything, including embedded foil in the right places. It was slightly too large. Be careful out there, folks.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Kris Jenkins sez "hi"

That was one shot. Take a look at both title game teams shot selection....http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400873651.

There was balance from both finalist on the court...less so from those watching at home :)

[jv001]

Grayson freaking Allen! What a great win! Beating them brings a satisfaction level well above beating anyone else in non-tourney games! Tonight was especially sweet. We overcame a season long and continuing adversity, and beat a team that played like a Top 5 team even though they were on the road!.

Grayson. Welcome back buddy. We have missed you. Tonight you were your old self and played like a 1st Team All American in leading His team to victory. I loved how he played on both ends all night. If the refs don't foul him out on ticky tack calls, he likely goes for 30. The kid had a helluva game.

However, as good as G was, like others, I think that every kid we put on the floor tonight played well. Luke was Luke despite getting grabbed and mugged all game. The fact that he, Grayson, and Tatum shot so few foul shots is borderline criminal on the refs part. Luke hit a lot of tough 2 pointers, and played good D for the most part. Like others, I thought Tatum, after being invisible the first half, introduced himself in the second half. My friend BillDat started a great thread today imploring Grayson to drive and attack the rim more, we could start an identical thread for Tatum. When Tatum attacks the basket under control he is simply a beast! That posterizing of Meeks is going to be remembered for a very very long time. That was sick! Should have been a And-One, but I guess there is a rule that hitting Tatum in the face on shot attempts is not a foul. If Tatum can eliminate the turnaround/fadeaway 2 point jumpshot, and learn to only put up a 3 when he catches a pass with his shoulders square to the basket and feet set, his 3Point% will rise significantly. One heck of a 2nd Half tonight though including a big 3.

The Team- I just thought this was a great team performance. We turned a Roy Williams team into a jumpshooting team which is rarely done. I was so worried about them killing us all night by tipping/reboundingmisses over and over at the rim until one finally went in. I only remember one instance and that was with Meeks pushing Amile under the basket allowing himself to get the rebound putback, and then the phantom foul on AMile (his 4th) to make it an And-One. Overall though, we did a great job forcing them into tough shots and then getting the stop by grabbing the first shot rebound. That was big. We gave them a few second chances but nothing like I feared. Matt was all over the place and a defensive star tonight, and outside of a few mental lapses his teammates supported him on defense including all of our bigs.

I have to mention Frank by name too. THE GAME was not to big for him. The moment was not too big for him. He was solid from the first time he got on the floor until the final buzzer sounded. Harry and Bolden gave us good minutes off the bench as well. So ALL of our freshman that play, handled the moment wonderfully.

For the second time in a week we can truthfully state "That was the best game we have played all year". The pieces are coming together and it is wonderful to see. We still have plenty of ceiling left to rise up to, but tonight we looked and played like a Top 10 team. Could not have come at a better moment. Beating those cheating scoundrels an sending them back to Hell was a beautiful thing to watch! Love love love it!

Celebrate folks! This was a big win and one of I hope many, defining moments for this group of Duke kids.

GTHC GTH 9F Everyday All Day

Go Duke!

Newtdawg14 is out! Mic dropped!

I hate that "you must spread some sporks around" thing that pops up way too often. I agree with everything you posted from the refs refused to call the mugging on any Duke player that drove the ball to the basket to the last GTHC GTHC 9F Everyday All Day.

I will add; Matt played the best defense I've seen him play. He did an outstanding job on Jackson in the 2nd half and came up with the best offensive rebound of the game. We needed that one badly.
Frank looked to be really focused and played with confidence. He's coming along nicely.
Jayson 2nd half was a beast. I'm glad that Matt, Amile, Grayson and Coach K had a talk with him at halftime. We really needed for him to play well in the 2nd half. Not only his offense, his defense and rebounding was outstanding. He came to play in the 2nd half.
Grayson's comment; When Coach K tells you to shoot, you shoot. The young man is very close to being the Grayson we saw last season.
The Crazies were on their game last night. The old house was rocking. Let's keep it going. No let down against Clemson. That goes for the players and the Crazies as well.

GoDuke!

[CDu]

Overall, I think Duke has to become less dependent on so many 3's to go deep in the tourney. Sure, they can beat anybody shooting like that on a given night, but it's just not going to happen every game and the time will come when you're going to need more scoring at the rim. I don't think a team can win it all without better balance.

Duke won it all without better (or any) offensive balance in 2010. Villanova won it without better offensive balance in 2016. Is it nice to have better balance on offense? Sure. But it isn't necessary. There is no one way to build a title contender. Duke wouldn't win it all trying to play the way UNC plays. And vice versa. But either could win it all playing the way they play.


As for the sly Nate Britt remarks...i'd think you guys would learn by now to appreciate a solid bench player, I know I do. I thought he played very well in his limited minutes, as did Luke Maye, who also gets little respect around here. They were certainly not the team issue in the loss.

I agree with you that Britt had a solid night. He played better than he usually does offensively, that's for sure. He most certainly wasn't the problem for UNC last night. Maye had a nice shooting game (which isn't unusual for him). But I would definitely say he was part of the problem. His inability to defend Tatum was a big part of why Duke was able to weather UNC's great shooting through the second half. That's not meant to be a bashing of Maye. He is physically limited and gets the most out of what he has. And his shooting touch did help UNC keep it close. But he was just overmatched from a physical standpoint in that matchup, and it really showed in the second half. It forced UNC to try to adapt, which meant they had less help on Allen and Kennard. So it meant more open shots for those guys. And those guys made those open shots.


Make the free throws and Duke shooting closer to the mean and UNC gets a road win...but if frogs had wings, yada..yada..yada...I give Duke credit, their backs were against the wall and they got it done when a loss could have sent them spinning.

The same point can be made the other way though. If Duke gets back on transition defense, we win in a blowout.

[Steven43]

What a game by Tatum. If I had to choose, I think I'd give him a slight, slight, slight edge over Allen for player of the game. Tatum was all over the place. Led Duke in rebounds and assists..
I don't know if I would choose Tatum as Allen played very well in BOTH halves. His first half scoring was crucial in keeping the game close. Plus, he was the key emotional leader throughout. Boy, did he rise to the occasion. Thank you so much, Grayson!

As for Tatum......WOW!!! Jayson Tatum playing within the team concept is a lethal force to be reckoned with. His toughness and rebounding was crucial last night. Yet when he moves with the ball he is as light on his feet as a ballet dancer. Some of his drives to the basket have been so poetic and beautiful it has nearly brought me to tears. How often do you see a 6'8" basketball player move with the athleticism and grace of a panther? He has a rare gift, folks. Cherish every moment while he wears the Duke uniform. He's magical.

[CDu]

Good write up...one thing I noticed is that Grayson seems to have some Kennard to his game. He showcased one or two drives with hard stops, pivots, feints and then shots...looks like Luke has been working with him after practice.

Yeah, that is a good point. I don't expect Allen to ever be as crafty as Kennard, who is just a savant with the ball in his hand. But he doesn't need to be that crafty. Even just a little guile to his game would make him almost unguardable. Starting to show that little a bit now, which would be devastating down the stretch.

Coming into the season, I think everyone was expecting this to be an inside/outside balance with Giles providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Tatum providing scoring in between. Well, that hasn't worked out (yet), and probably won't. But Kennard has been way better than expected. And if Allen gets back to where he was last year (and he's been doing so the last 4 games), Allen and Kennard plus Tatum is a really vicious trio offensively. And it isn't like Jackson and Jefferson are slouches as tertiary options either.

[FerryFor50]

Yeah, that is a good point. I don't expect Allen to ever be as crafty as Kennard, who is just a savant with the ball in his hand. But he doesn't need to be that crafty. Even just a little guile to his game would make him almost unguardable. Starting to show that little a bit now, which would be devastating down the stretch.

Coming into the season, I think everyone was expecting this to be an inside/outside balance with Giles providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Tatum providing scoring in between. Well, that hasn't worked out (yet), and probably won't. But Kennard has been way better than expected. And if Allen gets back to where he was last year (and he's been doing so the last 4 games), Allen and Kennard plus Tatum is a really vicious trio offensively. And it isn't like Jackson and Jefferson are slouches as tertiary options either.

Yea, Allen has definitely learned that ball fake move from Kennard. It's awesome to see defenders practically fall over themselves biting on it.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Yeah, that is a good point. I don't expect Allen to ever be as crafty as Kennard, who is just a savant with the ball in his hand. But he doesn't need to be that crafty. Even just a little guile to his game would make him almost unguardable. Starting to show that little a bit now, which would be devastating down the stretch.

Coming into the season, I think everyone was expecting this to be an inside/outside balance with Giles providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Tatum providing scoring in between. Well, that hasn't worked out (yet), and probably won't. But Kennard has been way better than expected. And if Allen gets back to where he was last year (and he's been doing so the last 4 games), Allen and Kennard plus Tatum is a really vicious trio offensively. And it isn't like Jackson and Jefferson are slouches as tertiary options either.

It's kinda true. Just different players and terminology: Tatum providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Kennard providing scoring EVERYWHERE. You can argue that Tatum provides scoring everywhere too, only not as efficiently. What we don't have (or no longer have) is a post-player scoring inside. And my gut tells me we won't either. And that's okay.

[alteran]

It's kinda true. Just different players and terminology: Tatum providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Kennard providing scoring EVERYWHERE. You can argue that Tatum provides scoring everywhere too, only not as efficiently. What we don't have (or no longer have) is a post-player scoring inside. And my gut tells me we won't either. And that's okay.

I'm not willing to give up on Giles getting it this year (not saying that you are, FWIW). At some point THIS SEASON I think he's going to get it, and when he does, look out.

[nathanbryan]

Nice to see JJ in Cameron getting a split second of screen time. Obviously enjoying the win.

[Reilly]

Even Google Maps can't find the unc library. The place is a rumor, a wisp of ephemera in the minds of tar heels that pre-date ol' roy ...

So those who came before perhaps learned, and their learned discourse has left emanations of intelligence in the Chapel Hill environs, creating a penumbra of wisdom that the modern students absorb by registering for no-show classes and accumulating parking tickets?

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Duke won it all without better (or any) offensive balance in 2010. Villanova won it without better offensive balance in 2016. Is it nice to have better balance on offense? Sure. But it isn't necessary. There is no one way to build a title contender. Duke wouldn't win it all trying to play the way UNC plays. And vice versa. But either could win it all playing the way they play.


I thought Zoubek's inside play was the difference maker in that 2pt win in the '10 championship. And he had some inside help from Lance too.

As for Vilanova, their inside play beat the Heels, not their 3pt shooting...buzzer beater notwithstanding. UNC actually shot better from 3 than 'Nova did...it was their higher fg% inside that really was the difference that game.

[UrinalCake]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

[CDu]

I thought Zoubek's inside play was the difference maker in that 2pt win in the '10 championship. And he had some inside help from Lance too.

Not offensively. Those two combined for a whopping 14 points in the title game. And that was against a smaller opponent in Butler. And that was above their season averages. That Duke team was WAY more reliant on perimeter shooting than this Duke team. Hell, Jefferson averages almost more points by himself than Thomas and Zoubek did combined.


As for Vilanova, their inside play beat the Heels, not their 3pt shooting...buzzer beater notwithstanding. UNC actually shot better from 3 than 'Nova did...it was their higher fg% inside that really was the difference that game.

It wasn't Nova's inside play on offense that beat the Heels. Their guards did get to the rim and score, but almost all of their offense was generated from the perimeter and not the post. Arcidiacono, Hart, and Booth. And even Jenkins was an outside-in PF, not a post guy.

Now, Villanova's interior defense were certainly keys to their titles. Ditto for Duke 2010. But those two teams were just as (if not more) reliant on perimeter players to score for them than this Duke team is. And our interior defense is actually quite stout (just ask Kennedy Meeks about it last night). It's our perimeter defense that is the only shaky part.

[jv001]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

Great point on Jayson's play in those 2 games. Sometimes it's when you make plays and not what your shooting % is for the game. Jayson stepped up when we really needed it last night. He had a very good all around game, timely shooting(FTs), defense, rebounding and passing. He seems to be "getting it". GoDuke!

[Rich]

I'm not willing to give up on Giles getting it this year (not saying that you are, FWIW). At some point THIS SEASON I think he's going to get it, and when he does, look out.

While Giles may get "it" (whatever "it" is) this season, I don't think we would start running our offense through him at this point. IMO, his upside at this point is in rebounding at both ends, offensive put packs, and drop offs by the guards. I'm not sure if it was even ever his game, but I really don't think we would see our team run sets for Giles to operate like Okafor did.

[BandAlum83]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

But we know the first half was an 0fer (with 4 assists and one block, I believe). Does anyone have his shooting stats by half? (other than 0/19 points)

[Indoor66]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

Tatum's offensive efficiency would greatly increase if he forgot about taking fall away jumpers. Duane Wade he is not!

[jv001]

Tatum's offensive efficiency would greatly increase if he forgot about taking fall away jumpers. Duane Wade he is not!

I would like for Jayson to put off shooting that type of shot until he begins his NBA career and yes he's not Duane Wade.:cool: GoDuke!

[uh_no]

still some minor concerns about the defense. still too many easy buckets....the 108 adj D is not particularly good, but we also did push them late in the shot clock a good deal.

It seems at least we've gotten over the ability for opposing offenses to single mindedly run the same play for easy buckets all game.

[BLPOG]

Even Google Maps can't find the unc library. The place is a rumor, a wisp of ephemera in the minds of tar heels that pre-date ol' roy.

Well, there is the bar on Franklin Street called The Library.

[MChambers]

I'm not willing to give up on Giles getting it this year (not saying that you are, FWIW). At some point THIS SEASON I think he's going to get it, and when he does, look out.

I'm also not willing to give up on Amile's post offense this year. I don't know what the prognosis is for the healing of his foot, but I've got to think he'll be better in a month.

[jv001]

still some minor concerns about the defense. still too many easy buckets...the 108 adj D is not particularly good, but we also did push them late in the shot clock a good deal.

It seems at least we've gotten over the ability for opposing offenses to single mindedly run the same play for easy buckets all game.

I don't think we'll be the defensive team that many of us thought we would be, unless Giles and/or Bolden return to their near peak performance. We don't have the perimeter defenders that can stop or hinder dribble penetration. Nor do we have the quick footed defenders that can handle the PnR. What we could have is the eraser at the rim. Amile, Harry and Marques have the ability to be that kind of defender, but to perform against really good teams those players must be able to communicate and be in the right spot. Missing important practice time has set them back considerably and I don't know if there's enough time for them to reach their potential by ACCT and NCAAT time. I'm still being positive that they can reach that potential. If they do, look out. Here comes Duke!

One thing that our players can get better at is getting back on defense. That just takes hustle and our guys are quick enough that this shouldn't be a problem. GoDuke!

[BluDvlsN1]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

1.Regarding Tatum, really enjoy this young man..
Last night with all the contributions being made by various Dukies,
I thought Tatums' Battier type hustle back block in the 1st half helped set a tone.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18655418

2. While I was pre game posturing for a dagger 3 ending as one result.
What we got was more like a death of a thousand cuts by the 3, which
has it's own sadistic satisfaction.

3. The posts and write-ups on this thread by so many gifted DBR'ers,
are publish worthy, great analysis, very concise and extremely well articulated.

Great job all..

Quoting Grayson,

"I'm having fun."

[NSDukeFan]

Did anyone else think Redick and Rivers were arguing in the stands on the close up of them coming out of the time out? I put it on rewind several times and even in slow motion. It really looked like they were arguing about something to me.

I assume they were arguing over who Felton owed dinner to.

Very enjoyable win. I was very happy with coach K's rotation. It was nice to see all of Jackson, Giles and Bolden make contributions. I have not given up on Giles and Bolden being bigger contributors this year and perhaps even starting at some point. I also think that if Jeter was healthy, he would have played as I don't think he has had any healthy scratches this year. I am also hoping to see more of Jefferson inside as the year goes on, but I don't care that much how much balance there is between big guy and perimeter player scoring as long as they are scoring efficiently. Even if Kennard, Grayson and Tatum do most of the scoring, they are scoring inside and out themselves.
I love Grayson's quick trigger release on his threes. He can get that shot off in a hurry off the pass or dribble. It seems whenever ADNC* started to make a run, Grayson would trip them up by making a big three. Too soon?

*Athletic Department of North Carolina? University doesn't sound fair to real universities teaching real students.

[InSpades]

But we know the first half was an 0fer (with 4 assists and one block, I believe). Does anyone have his shooting stats by half? (other than 0/19 points)

goduke site says Tatum was 0-3 (0-2) in the 1st half. So 5-11 (2-4) in the 2nd half.

It definitely didn't seem like Jayson was inefficient overall. I still don't like his 3-point shots but they sure came in handy yesterday. I think he was as surprised as anyone on the ball that Kennard kicked out to him.

http://www.goduke.com/fls/4200/stats/2016-17/basketball-m/du0209.htm

[MChambers]

1.Regarding Tatum, really enjoy this young man..
Last night with all the contributions being made by various Dukies,
I thought Tatums' Battier type hustle back block in the 1st half helped set a tone.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18655418

Tatum was like a cheetah hunting down a wildebeest!

[jv001]

goduke site says Tatum was 0-3 (0-2) in the 1st half. So 5-11 (2-4) in the 2nd half.

It definitely didn't seem like Jayson was inefficient overall. I still don't like his 3-point shots but they sure came in handy yesterday. I think he was as surprised as anyone on the ball that Kennard kicked out to him.

http://www.goduke.com/fls/4200/stats/2016-17/basketball-m/du0209.htm

Thanks for the stats on Jayson's first half. I'm ok with his 3-point shots if he squares himself up and doesn't force the shot. Plus he needs to get back down court, which he did in the 2nd half. GoDuke!

[COYS]

Overall, I think Duke has to become less dependent on so many 3's to go deep in the tourney. Sure, they can beat anybody shooting like that on a given night, but it's just not going to happen every game and the time will come when you're going to need more scoring at the rim. I don't think a team can win it all without better balance.

I

Wheat, the live by the three die by the three narrative just doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. Yes, Duke shot well from range yesterday. But this year's Duke team ranks only 180th in the nation in the percentage of points it gets from the three point line. And in fact, Coach K teams are incredibly flexible from year to year on how "reliant" the team is on its three point shooting. Part of Luke Kennard's revolution from last season is that he has been absolutely lethal from two point range (especially inside ten feet) and is actually less reliant on three point shooting than last season. Tatum has also cut down on his off the dribble threes and only shoots them now with his feet set on kickouts. Otherwise, he's attacking the hoop, which has helped him improve his efficiency.

But also, the three point shot is, contrary to popular opinion, a very efficient and reliable shot. Someone on the board did an in depth of analysis of this awhile back (apologies to the poster who did all the hard work as I can't seem to find that thread), but not only are three pointers more valuable in terms of total points, they also tend to be more reliable from game to game. The standard deviation of a team's two point percentage tends to be greater than that of a team's three point percentage.

While UNC didn't shoot well at the line, they also took and made a high percentage of long range two point jumpers. On the one hand, this helped the offense on a night that they didn't pull down offensive boards like usual. On the other hand, consistently making long two point jumpers is tougher than making threes (it's easier to close out on jumpers inside the arc) and provides less value than threes. If those long(ish) twos had been three point shots, UNC might well have come out on top. Considering how much better UNC is this season at shooting the three ball, it actually might be worth it for UNC to take MORE threes.

[hallcity]

The game got great ratings (http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2017/02/north-carolina-duke-college-basketballs-highest-weekday-overnight-season-espns-streamed-college-basketball-game-ever/) -- and helped get people to view the PAC game that followed:

North Carolina at Duke (February 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN) delivered a 1.9 overnight and had an average streaming audience of 103,000 viewers with a total of 319,000 people watching 12,675,000 minutes. The overnight is college basketball’s highest weekday overnight of the season across all networks and the Blue Devils victory is ESPN’s most-streamed college basketball game ever in all three metrics. Additionally, the ACC matchup is ESPN’s first college basketball game to surpass 100,000 average viewers and 300,000 total viewers in the process.

Please note: North Carolina at Duke was also available over-the-air in ACC markets in addition to ESPN; the over-the-air ratings are not reflected here

Additional UNC-Duke Highlights:

ESPN’s Second Best Overnight of Season: The 1.9 overnight is ESPN’s second best overnight of the 2016-17 season, trailing only Kansas at Kentucky on Saturday, January 28 (2.0 overnight).
Streaming Audience Increases: The average minute audience for ESPN’s stream was up 37% from last year’s first meeting between the ACC rivals (February 17, 2016), while the total viewers was up 31% and minutes watched up 42%. The television overnight is equal to last year’s first matchup.
Final Minutes Peak Audience: The telecast peaked at a 2.6 overnight during the final minutes of the second half (9:45 p.m. – 10 p.m.).
Local Markets: Raleigh-Durham earned an 8.9 local rating, the No. 1 local market. Greensboro was second (8.8), Norfolk third (6.6), Louisville fourth (6.3) and Greenville fifth (5.8).

Oregon at UCLA: ESPN’s Best Pac-12 Conference Overnight on Record; Most-Streamed Pac-12 Conference Game Ever
Oregon at UCLA (February 9 at 10 p.m. on ESPN) delivered a 1.2 overnight rating and an average streaming audience of 55,000 viewers, ESPN’s highest overnight for a Pac 12 conference game on record and the network’s most-streamed Pac-12 conference game ever.
If you could add in the local market broadcasts, I'm sure the total viewership would be well in excess of the UK-KU game.

[flyingdutchdevil]

goduke site says Tatum was 0-3 (0-2) in the 1st half. So 5-11 (2-4) in the 2nd half.

It definitely didn't seem like Jayson was inefficient overall. I still don't like his 3-point shots but they sure came in handy yesterday. I think he was as surprised as anyone on the ball that Kennard kicked out to him.

http://www.goduke.com/fls/4200/stats/2016-17/basketball-m/du0209.htm

The beautiful thing about this Duke team is that no opponent knows how to collectively guard Allen, Kennard, and Tatum.

Tatum cannot be guarded. His misses are due to poor shot selection or open 3pt shots, not the defense playing him well (TOs are a product of the defense, though). And it sounds like everyone - Coach K, Allen, commentators, fans - know this. Tatum may be the person who understands this the least. When he knows from the first second after tip-off that he has an advantage over his man, watch out.

In the words of Allen, "Tatum always has a mismatch".

[OldPhiKap]

I'm also not willing to give up on Amile's post offense this year. I don't know what the prognosis is for the healing of his foot, but I've got to think he'll be better in a month.

Coach said after the game that Amile and Matt could not practice (or had limited practice) due to injuries.

[WHOneedsSOX]

still some minor concerns about the defense. still too many easy buckets...the 108 adj D is not particularly good, but we also did push them late in the shot clock a good deal.

It seems at least we've gotten over the ability for opposing offenses to single mindedly run the same play for easy buckets all game.

I think the defense is still a major concern. North Carolina didn't really try to attack the basket too much with their guards. Any team that has a guard or two that can get to the rim with ease is going to cause Duke some serious problems. Allen, Kennard, and Tatum are all below average perimeter defenders. Tatum's footwork is terrible. He basically gives his opponent a free lane to the rim hoping his length and athleticism will save him. Jones is a very good defender but an average perimeter one and will struggle with quick guards. Jackson might be the one above average perimeter defender. And inside, Duke has virtually no rim protection.

[MrPoon]

I'd love anyone having some type of analytics on our D last night (probably not on this board:p). There where certainly some missed assignments and we can get better but last night felt better. It seemed to my eye that while UNC shot a high %, the shots where generally reasonably difficulty (especially Justin Jackson 8-13 for 21pts but many contested). I'd love a shot chart that color coded the defensive effort against the shot. Green, yellow and red. Green being good D... just a better shot. Red being poor execution open shot. Felt like more green and yellow shots than a month ago (liked how BerryII seemed out of sorts late). Plus it would be great to see areas still needing improvement, I'd guess the most red shot were still around the rim but that increasingly seems like that is a virtue of the system we are playing with high guard pressure against the 3pt shot.

Don't get me wrong on the next comment, I am still basking in the glow of last night's win, I'll probably watch it again while on the treadmill this evening.

But this team's inconsistency of execution/energy/defense is ther perfect recipe for a tight game Saturday.
I would love to see this team show some growth and assert our home advantage following the high of last night's emotional, tight win. I'd love a game where we keep dictating pace and style. I'd love to see a game where Tatum plays two strong halves and where Jackson, Giles and Bolden expand further their minutes. Perhaps even a game where GA, Luke and Jefferson aren't playing 30+ minutes.

Clemson is down by record only, they are a tough ACC team looking to take advantage of a young Duke team finally getting some positive press (even from ESPN). Build a lead, hold it and press the advantage even when we go to the bench!

[uh_no]

I think the defense is still a major concern. North Carolina didn't really try to attack the basket too much with their guards. Any team that has a guard or two that can get to the rim with ease is going to cause Duke some serious problems. Allen, Kennard, and Tatum are all below average perimeter defenders. Tatum's footwork is terrible. He basically gives his opponent a free lane to the rim hoping his length and athleticism will save him. Jones is a very good defender but an average perimeter one and will struggle with quick guards. Jackson might be the one above average perimeter defender. And inside, Duke has virtually no rim protection.

Bolden begs to differ :)

I agree somewhat. I think UNC's reluctance to go to the rim was to some degree dictate by what the defense gave them. Roy isn't a poor enough coach that he didn't know if you beat your man, you can get to the rim. So I think whatever we've done HAS improved the state of things to a large degree, but not necessarily enough that we can win if we don't put up an absurd 136 adj O.

[BandAlum83]

1.Regarding Tatum, really enjoy this young man..
Last night with all the contributions being made by various Dukies,
I thought Tatums' Battier type hustle back block in the 1st half helped set a tone.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18655418

2. While I was pre game posturing for a dagger 3 ending as one result.
What we got was more like a death of a thousand cuts by the 3, which
has it's own sadistic satisfaction.

3. The posts and write-ups on this thread by so many gifted DBR'ers,
are publish worthy, great analysis, very concise and extremely well articulated.

Great job all..

Quoting Grayson,

"I'm having fun."

I posted this in the MOTM thread, but look how far behind Maye that Jayson was when Maye caught the ball. That was some serious catching up to make a terrific block!

7171

[Troublemaker]

goduke site says Tatum was 0-3 (0-2) in the 1st half. So 5-11 (2-4) in the 2nd half.

It definitely didn't seem like Jayson was inefficient overall. I still don't like his 3-point shots but they sure came in handy yesterday. I think he was as surprised as anyone on the ball that Kennard kicked out to him.

http://www.goduke.com/fls/4200/stats/2016-17/basketball-m/du0209.htm

Jayson was efficient. Thanks to his ability to draw fouls and get to the line where he made 7 of 8 FTs, and also due to having 5 assists to only 2 turnovers, Jayson overall had an offensive rating of 116, which is good, despite only hitting 5 of 14 from the field.

[Billy Dat]

Coming into the season, I think everyone was expecting this to be an inside/outside balance with Giles providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Tatum providing scoring in between. Well, that hasn't worked out (yet), and probably won't. But Kennard has been way better than expected. And if Allen gets back to where he was last year (and he's been doing so the last 4 games), Allen and Kennard plus Tatum is a really vicious trio offensively. And it isn't like Jackson and Jefferson are slouches as tertiary options either.


It's kinda true. Just different players and terminology: Tatum providing scoring inside, Allen providing scoring outside, and Kennard providing scoring EVERYWHERE. You can argue that Tatum provides scoring everywhere too, only not as efficiently. What we don't have (or no longer have) is a post-player scoring inside. And my gut tells me we won't either. And that's okay.


I think the defense is still a major concern. North Carolina didn't really try to attack the basket too much with their guards. Any team that has a guard or two that can get to the rim with ease is going to cause Duke some serious problems. Allen, Kennard, and Tatum are all below average perimeter defenders. Tatum's footwork is terrible. He basically gives his opponent a free lane to the rim hoping his length and athleticism will save him. Jones is a very good defender but an average perimeter one and will struggle with quick guards. Jackson might be the one above average perimeter defender. And inside, Duke has virtually no rim protection.

While I think we still have upside on offense (KenPom 11) and defense (KenPom 35), I think our offense has short term potential to get back into the top 5. We still struggle to get into actions, how often are we just pounding the ball on the perimeter waiting for someone to set a screen or to come and get a dribble hand-off? Especially in the first half, we were almost predictable and UNC stole, or nearly stole, a bunch of passes. But, as long as we stay healthy, we'll get sharper and be pretty lethal. We've got to get Tatum going in these first halves, and I'd like to see us get him into some mismatches in the post to get that part of his game cooking. I think having K back is huge on this end.

As for the D, who knows...I'd rather not slip any lower, it would be encouraging to creep into the top 30. We face a bunch of top 30 offenses the rest of the way, starting with #28 Clemson and then Virginia (14), Wake (12), Syracuse (30), Miami (66), FSU (18), UNC (6)...damn, the ACC is tough.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I think the defense is still a major concern. North Carolina didn't really try to attack the basket too much with their guards. Any team that has a guard or two that can get to the rim with ease is going to cause Duke some serious problems. Allen, Kennard, and Tatum are all below average perimeter defenders. Tatum's footwork is terrible. He basically gives his opponent a free lane to the rim hoping his length and athleticism will save him. Jones is a very good defender but an average perimeter one and will struggle with quick guards. Jackson might be the one above average perimeter defender. And inside, Duke has virtually no rim protection.

Just spittballing here, but maybe our guards were good at preventing dribble penetration? I've been impressed by Allen's ability to guard perimeter players this year. He has has a rare combination of quickness and size to make it difficult on opposing players. Joel Berry is among the best 5-10 point guards in the country and Allen kept him pretty quiet most of the night. Berry ended up with 15 points on 5-13 shooting, including 2-7 form 3 (he shoots 41.4% on the season) with 2 assists and a turnover. When you compare that to the way that Allen, Jackson, and Kennard performed, by comparison, you could make the case that Berry looked like the 4th best guard on the court on night.

EDIT: Another stat to support the case that Duke did a darn good job against their guards. On the season, UNC averages 58.4% of their field goals made on an assist, which is 49th in the country. Last night, UNC had 13 assists on 32 field goals made, which is 40.6%, far below their season average. That speaks to the way the Blue Devils have prevented the other team from generating their normal offense. Duke, by comparison, is assisting on 49.2% of its field goals made, good for 257th in the country. We had 15 assists on 30 field goals made, and have been improving in this stat for several games in a row. It's like the point guard by committee thing is starting to work.

[duketaylor]

It's kind of interesting to me that Tatum was 5 of 14 in this game yet the eye test tells us he had an amazing game and played well within the team concept, yet against NC State he was 7 of 14 and everyone was killing him for being a selfish player and a ball hog.

His rebounding was really key in this game, and the shots he made came at really key times. But I think he still has a lot of room for improvement too, which has to be a scary thought for our opponents.

To this, I think K's told Tatum to play as aggressively as you feel, as much within the offense as possible, but don't be afraid to "improvise" and create. Or Tatum's still outta control at times. Take your pick. Several times last night I noted ill-timed selfish (IMO) play. Could just still be freshman-itis.

Otherwise we had a solid effort to be sure and I want to see more Giles and a healthier pre-injury Amile. Amile scores two FTs, that's it? Never thought we'd win with that stat. We outrebounded them; didn't see that coming. Very sweet Friday it is!!

[WHOneedsSOX]

Bolden begs to differ :)

I agree somewhat. I think UNC's reluctance to go to the rim was to some degree dictate by what the defense gave them. Roy isn't a poor enough coach that he didn't know if you beat your man, you can get to the rim. So I think whatever we've done HAS improved the state of things to a large degree, but not necessarily enough that we can win if we don't put up an absurd 136 adj O.

Is Bolden a good rim protector? Haven't seen him enough to tell. Usually just plays a few minutes at a time and looks mostly lost. I guess when he's actually standing there, he's solid but most of the time he's involved in a pick and roll on the perimeter. Haven't watched much of UNC this year but do they typically drive the ball to the hoop? My belief was that they posted up more and shot a lot of 3's with Jackson and Berry. Seemed like Britt got to the rim whenever he wanted.


I posted this in the MOTM thread, but look how far behind Maye that Jayson was when Maye caught the ball. That was some serious catching up to make a terrific block!

7171


It's a good thing Tatum got that block (which was fantastic) because that was his man that easily beat him down the floor. They were nearly even at around halfcourt and then Tatum decided to start coasting while Maye ran full speed. I'd be willing to bet a good amount of money that Tatum isn't slower than Maybe. He never should've been that wide open to begin with.

[House P]

Wow, what a game! There were four primary keys to the game coming in: 1) limit UNC's offensive rebounds; 2) get back in transition; 3) don't turn the ball over; 4) limit UNC's easy half-court buckets from their off-ball screens. We did well in 2 of the 4. But it was (thankfully enough).

UNC's half-court offense is heavily reliant on playing volleyball with their missed shots. So to outrebound them was a huge part of this win. And Tatum was right at the center of it, corralling tons of in-traffic rebounds. Slight head nods to Giles (two defensive boards) and Bolden (Elton Branding a Luke Maye shot with a two-hand stuff/catch) in their brief stints. I'll say it again: we outrebounded UNC. And we had a slightly better offensive rebound % than UNC. UNC, who leads the nation in offensive rebound %.


Here is some additional perspective to the points you made regarding rebounding.

- For the year, UNC leads the nation by rebounding 42.1% of their missed shots. Last night they grabbed just 7 offensive rebounds in 31 opportunities. That is a percentage of 22.6%, which is about as well as Seattle University has rebounded this season. Seattle is ranked #329 in the country in Offensive Rebound%.

- For the year, Kennedy Meeks has rebounded 17% of shots missed by UNC while he was on the court. That's good enough for 4th in the country among players who have played at least 40% of their team's available minutes. For last night's game, he grabbed only 1 of approximately 21 shots UNC missed while he was on the court.

- Tony Bradley (20.2% Offensive Rebound%) and Luke Maye (12.1% Offensive Rebound%) are also very good offensive rebounders. Yesterday, they grabbed 2 offensive rebounds in a total of 34 minutes.

- No one knows for sure how the absence of Isiah Hicks affected the game, but his offensive rebound percentage (9.0%) is actually the lower than Meeks, Bradley, and Maye.

[uh_no]

To this, I think K's told Tatum to play as aggressively as you feel, as much within the offense as possible, but don't be afraid to "improvise" and create. Or Tatum's still outta control at times. Take your pick. Several times last night I noted ill-timed selfish (IMO) play. Could just still be freshman-itis.

Otherwise we had a solid effort to be sure and I want to see more Giles and a healthier pre-injury Amile. Amile scores two FTs, that's it? Never thought we'd win with that stat. We outrebounded them; didn't see that coming. Very sweet Friday it is!!

If a consequence of getting to the line 8 times is he goes 3-8 from 2, I'll take it. if he can make >30% from 3, I'm okay with that too, since he needs some outside game to make defenders think twice about committing to an allen/luke double on the drive, and needs his own defender to not sag off to limit penetration.

Effectively, so long as the top line efficiency is alright, then i'm okay with a wart here or there. 5 assists. That right there shows you how valuable he was on the floor. If he was a "bad" player then teams wouldn't leave so many people open when he gets into the lane.

He's gone from being a detriment to luke and grayson's game to being a massive complement. THe last couple weeks have shown the offense executes extremely well when luke and grayson get their shots, and that opens up T.

If only harry could be just slightly more effective on the other end so that he could stay out there.

[Indoor66]

Well, there is the bar on Franklin Street called The Library.

Used to be one called "He's not here." That is where UnCheat's free throw shooting watched the game....

[jv001]

If a consequence of getting to the line 8 times is he goes 3-8 from 2, I'll take it. if he can make >30% from 3, I'm okay with that too, since he needs some outside game to make defenders think twice about committing to an allen/luke double on the drive, and needs his own defender to not sag off to limit penetration.

Effectively, so long as the top line efficiency is alright, then i'm okay with a wart here or there. 5 assists. That right there shows you how valuable he was on the floor. If he was a "bad" player then teams wouldn't leave so many people open when he gets into the lane.

He's gone from being a detriment to luke and grayson's game to being a massive complement. THe last couple weeks have shown the offense executes extremely well when luke and grayson get their shots, and that opens up T.

If only harry could be just slightly more effective on the other end so that he could stay out there.

I think Harry is working hard on this ^. He's showing gradual improvement and I wouldn't be surprised to see him log a double-double pretty soon. I don't think he'll be back to his high school days before reaching the NBA. But, come to think of it, he's not playing against high school players now. He's playing against some of the best athletes in college basketball(ACC). GoDuke!

[devildeac]

still some minor concerns about the defense. still too many easy buckets...the 108 adj D is not particularly good, but we also did push them late in the shot clock a good deal.

It seems at least we've gotten over the ability for opposing offenses to single mindedly run the same play for easy buckets all game.

But, is that 108 adj for pace, opponent or both? If the unc offense is that good, I think I'd be pretty happy with a 108. (Serious question from me-not a challenge or argument.)

[Sir Stealth]

Question from the Dana O'Neil article:

"If statisticians had computed a plus-minus for Thursday's game, he would have finished on the high side of plus. When he was in the game, the team played more cohesively, as if they could collectively exhale because their best player was on the floor."

Do they not?

[devildeac]

Tatum was like a cheetah hunting down a wildebeest!

Almost Battierian. ;)

[dukebluesincebirth]

13 out of the last 16! I'm enjoying this run very much. We are spoiled.

[uh_no]

But, is that 108 adj for pace, opponent or both? If the unc offense is that good, I think I'd be pretty happy with a 108. (Serious question from me-not a challenge or argument.)

both.

114 unadjusted D
108 Adjusted for UNC

It's actually about a point higher because UNC's posessions were 67.55, not 68.

[devildeac]

both.

114 unadjusted D
108 Adjusted for UNC

It's actually about a point higher because UNC's posessions were 67.55, not 68.

Whoa! How does a team have .55 of a possession? :confused:

Otherwise, thanks.

[uh_no]

Whoa! How does a team have .55 of a possession? :confused:

Otherwise, thanks.

FTA are worth .475 possessions. In theory, to come up with actual possessions, you'd have to look at every trip to the line and see if it was the result of an and-1 (or some other way that it shouldn't count as a possession, such as a dead ball tech). Instead, we can just see that teams average 2.1 FT per trips-to-the-line-which-are-not-and-ones, and thus get .475 possessions we need extra for each FTA (1/2.1). This proves to be "close enough" for any reasonable purpose, and the exact number would vary slightly game to game and team to team.

[CDu]

Whoa! How does a team have .55 of a possession? :confused:

Otherwise, thanks.

They calculate it as FG attempts plus turnovers minus offensive rebounds plus a function of FT attempts. The 0.55 is due to the last piece of the equation.

[El_Diablo]

Question from the Dana O'Neil article:

"If statisticians had computed a plus-minus for Thursday's game, he would have finished on the high side of plus. When he was in the game, the team played more cohesively, as if they could collectively exhale because their best player was on the floor."

Do they not?

I am not sure why a sports journalist like Dana O'Neil is not aware of this, but statisticians definitely do this...Allen's +/- was +10 for the game, per SCACCHoops.

[jimsumner]

But we know the first half was an 0fer (with 4 assists and one block, I believe). Does anyone have his shooting stats by half? (other than 0/19 points)

Tatum was 0-3 from the field in the first half, with two of the misses on 3-pointers.

[Ggallagher]

To this, I think K's told Tatum to play as aggressively as you feel, as much within the offense as possible, but don't be afraid to "improvise" and create. Or Tatum's still outta control at times. Take your pick. Several times last night I noted ill-timed selfish (IMO) play. Could just still be freshman-itis.

Otherwise we had a solid effort to be sure and I want to see more Giles and a healthier pre-injury Amile. Amile scores two FTs, that's it? Never thought we'd win with that stat. We outrebounded them; didn't see that coming. Very sweet Friday it is!!

If you think K told Tatum to play aggressively..... you're right. In the interview Grayson and Jayson did after the game, Grayson mentioned that Coach "got after" Jayson for not taking more shots. My guess is that the team might be especially sensitive to responding to Coach K's instructions right now - unless they liked getting exiled over to Card Gym or wherever they went. Jayson's managed to kind of break free of the bench recently, so I figure he's going to be pretty focused on following Coach K's "suggestions".

[blUDAYvil]

13 out of the last 16! I'm enjoying this run very much. We are spoiled.

Unless Wikipedia is mistaken (and we should correct it) it's 12 out of the last 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina%E2%80%93Duke_rivalry#Scores_of_games_.281 920.E2.80.932017.29

[Indoor66]

Whoa! How does a team have .55 of a possession? :confused:

Otherwise, thanks.

That must be when they walk? :cool:

[BandAlum83]

Unless Wikipedia is mistaken (and we should correct it) it's 12 out of the last 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina%E2%80%93Duke_rivalry#Scores_of_games_.281 920.E2.80.932017.29

And espn may be mistaken as well:

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[azzefkram]

A really great win. I thought we had positive contributions from everyone. I won't go blow by blow since there are so many similar comments up thread. I will give a shout out to Matt Jones. I am not a huge Matt Jones fan but I thought he had an outstanding game last night. It seemed like every play he made came at a critical juncture. I thought his D on Jackson was really good regardless of the outcome (not much you can do when a guy is making tough shots).

[flyingdutchdevil]

Anyone know what is up with that contraption on his knee? Precautionary?

We haven't seen it before. So just really curious.

[CDu]

Anyone know what is up with that contraption on his knee? Precautionary?

We haven't seen it before. So just really curious.

The black brace? It is a relatively common knee brace for athletes post ACL repair. I have one not terribly different than that. In theory, you don't need it. But it does provide piece of mind and prevent your knee from doing the bad stuff..

[flyingdutchdevil]

The black brace? It is a relatively common knee brace for athletes post ACL repair. I have one not terribly different than that. In theory, you don't need it. But it does provide piece of mind and prevent your knee from doing the bad stuff..

Thanks. Good to know. Didn't know if Giles tweaked the knee (I'm sure we would have heard, but you never know) or if it just adds additional support.

My knowledge of the knee isn't very strong. Well, except that the knee is not supposed to bend backwards...

[CDu]

Thanks. Good to know. Didn't know if Giles tweaked the knee (I'm sure we would have heard, but you never know) or if it just adds additional support.

My knowledge of the knee isn't very strong. Well, except that the knee is not supposed to bend backwards...

Or sideways.

Giles has been wearing the brace for a while now. I think he will be wearing it the rest of the year.

[DukieInKansas]

Yep. UNC had no answer for our perimeter weapons. And Tatum just abused Maye on that end. And we tortured Meeks in the high ball screens. Hicks may help a bit on Tatum (but will get fouls doing so). But they are going to have to do something about Meeks. Because he was a liability.

Man that was fun!

Isn't Meeks an asset? It all depends on your perspective. :D

Still smiling!

[DukeDevil]

I think the defense is still a major concern. North Carolina didn't really try to attack the basket too much with their guards. Any team that has a guard or two that can get to the rim with ease is going to cause Duke some serious problems.

You know most of the season I would have agreed with you, but this game I really noticed on a lot of UNC possessions that our guards came back enough to just slow the UNC guards from driving end to end, and that was enough to force them to pull back into a half court set. I don't think our transition defense was great, but it was much improved over even a few games ago.

[tbyers11]

Or sideways.

Giles has been wearing the brace for a while now. I think he will be wearing it the rest of the year.

I'm pretty sure Giles has been wearing the brace on his left knee all year. He wore it against Tennessee State.

7173

[CDu]

I'm pretty sure Giles has been wearing the brace on his left knee all year. He wore it against Tennessee State.

7173

Yeah, I thought that was the case. I knew I had seen it for weeks and weeks. Couldn't remember if he had it on from his first game. But that appears to be the case.

[subzero02]

Anyone know what is up with that contraption on his knee? Precautionary?

We haven't seen it before. So just really curious.

I noticed Kennard playing with his hair last tonight... hadn't seen that before either.

[WHOneedsSOX]

I noticed Kennard playing with his hair last tonight... hadn't seen that before either.

He does that a lot. Pretty much every time they show him on camera he's parting his hair to one side.

[MrPoon]

He does that a lot. Pretty much every time they show him on camera he's parting his hair to one side.

I've noticed it too. As someone who knows all too well, it looks to me that Luke has... high corners:) So I hope he enjoys fussing with it... for now.

If its like Sampson and it helps his shooting, awesome!

[devildeac]

FTA are worth .475 possessions. In theory, to come up with actual possessions, you'd have to look at every trip to the line and see if it was the result of an and-1 (or some other way that it shouldn't count as a possession, such as a dead ball tech). Instead, we can just see that teams average 2.1 FT per trips-to-the-line-which-are-not-and-ones, and thus get .475 possessions we need extra for each FTA (1/2.1). This proves to be "close enough" for any reasonable purpose, and the exact number would vary slightly game to game and team to team.

Thanks again! I'll try to give you a full spork now (instead of a fraction thereof) or sometime soon for 'splaining things clearly. ;)

[CDu]

He does that a lot. Pretty much every time they show him on camera he's parting his hair to one side.

I think subzero might have been being facetious.

[dukejim1]

I think subzero might have been being facetious.

He got two bites though.

[moonpie23]

I noticed Kennard playing with his hair last tonight... hadn't seen that before either.

there is already a metric for it in chat...

[superdave]

Springboard game. Great win against a very goood Carolina squad. This bodes well for the rest of the season!

The Tatum dunk was a springboard dunk. It gave him and the team a lot of confidence. It reminded me of Mason's dunk in 2010.

[alteran]

You know most of the season I would have agreed with you, but this game I really noticed on a lot of UNC possessions that our guards came back enough to just slow the UNC guards from driving end to end, and that was enough to force them to pull back into a half court set. I don't think our transition defense was great, but it was much improved over even a few games ago.

My eye test (note: notoriously unreliable) agrees that we did a decent job of slowing UNC's transition. Not always, not perfectly, but significantly, and better than most teams.

Granted, we sometimes either celebrated a little too much, or expressed officiating angst, when we should have been bee-lining it up court (and not just the freshman!)-- but that's a readily fixable problem, particularly since the team seems to be reading more from the same book than they have been.

[Wander]

Isn't Meeks an asset?

Should we ask Stephen Curry?

[TruBlu]

Not offensively. Those two combined for a whopping 14 points in the title game. And that was against a smaller opponent in Butler. And that was above their season averages. That Duke team was WAY more reliant on perimeter shooting than this Duke team. Hell, Jefferson averages almost more points by himself than Thomas and Zoubek did combined.



It wasn't Nova's inside play on offense that beat the Heels. Their guards did get to the rim and score, but almost all of their offense was generated from the perimeter and not the post. Arcidiacono, Hart, and Booth. And even Jenkins was an outside-in PF, not a post guy.

Now, Villanova's interior defense were certainly keys to their titles. Ditto for Duke 2010. But those two teams were just as (if not more) reliant on perimeter players to score for them than this Duke team is. And our interior defense is actually quite stout (just ask Kennedy Meeks about it last night). It's our perimeter defense that is the only shaky part.

I cannot make any comment on the Villanova/cheaters game last year, as I boycotted it out of fear that the cheaters might win it , and have not watched a replay. However, I have several times gleefully watched the replay of the final shot and the broken-hearted cheater fans reactions

Priceless! GTHC

[alteran]

I cannot make any comment on the Villanova/cheaters game last year, as I boycotted it out of fear that the cheaters might win it , and have not watched a replay. However, I have several times gleefully watched the replay of the final shot and the broken-hearted cheater fans reactions

Priceless! GTHCMy ten year old made me watch. I wasn't going to because I really thought the cheatweasels were going to stallcheat their way into a championship.

So glad he won me over.

[BandAlum83]

Thanks. Good to know. Didn't know if Giles tweaked the knee (I'm sure we would have heard, but you never know) or if it just adds additional support.

My knowledge of the knee isn't very strong. Well, except that the knee is not supposed to bend backwards...

He's had it on every game. You apparently just haven't noticed.

[subzero02]

I cannot make any comment on the Villanova/cheaters game last year, as I boycotted it out of fear that the cheaters might win it , and have not watched a replay. However, I have several times gleefully watched the replay of the final shot and the broken-hearted cheater fans reactions

Priceless! GTHC

It's definitely worth watching in its entirety. Marcus Paige put on a show down the stretch...

[weezie]

I thought there were fewer Carolina fans than in many years...

I guess it was the lack of quality and not quantity. The wankers in front of us lowered the bar of fan behavior. An elderly lady Duke fan tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to yell even louder at them.

I'm not a boy scout but I appreciate the wisdom of my elders so I helped her out. :cool:

[dukelifer]

Or sideways.

Giles has been wearing the brace for a while now. I think he will be wearing it the rest of the year.

Giles cannot move as fast as he needs to because of his knee issues. I don't think that it will get much better this year. I suspect it will take several years assuming no other damage which is uncertain. Some guys don't have the knees.

[Steven43]

Lots of good mojo in the house- Rivers- Redick - Laettner- Dennard - Williams- all with great memories and moments against the Heels.

Don't forget about the great Danny Ferry

[Steven43]

This may have already been mentioned earlier but I've been giggling so much that reading posts has been hard.

But hidden behind Allen's fantastic game was Tatum putting it all together. 19 - 9- 5 against a top ten team with only 2TO. 9 boards against the best rebounding team in the country. All year he seems to put his Superman cape on at half time (maybe it's Popeye's spinach) but with 0 points at the half. That is nuts.

Tatum is starting to remind me of Brandon Ingram 2.0. Remember last year how Brandon just got better and better as the year progressed? By season's end he was one of the five best players in the nation. I think Jayson is on his way to a similar level. Brandon was a better jump shooter, though not demonstrably; Jayson is better at driving to the basket, though Brandon could certainly hold his own. Their passing ability seems similar and they both can rebound like crazy for such skinny guys. While Brandon was an extremely high draft pick (1st round pick #2) I wouldn't be surprised if Jayson is drafted in a similarly lofty spot (probably the #3 pick or so). Can we make it a three-peat with Mr. Kevin Knox coming to Durham in the summer of 2017? Fingers crossed.

[91_92_01_10_15]

My eye test (note: notoriously unreliable) agrees that we did a decent job of slowing UNC's transition. Not always, not perfectly, but significantly, and better than most teams.

Granted, we sometimes either celebrated a little too much, or expressed officiating angst, when we should have been bee-lining it up court (and not just the freshman!)-- but that's a readily fixable problem, particularly since the team seems to be reading more from the same book than they have been.

Your eye test was similar to Coach K's, because this is almost exactly how he assessed it when he spoke to Bob after the game on Blue Devil IMG (radio).