DBR Podcast #90 - Exhibition recap

[JasonEvans]

https://soundcloud.com/dbrpodcast/dbr-podcast-90-hoops-exhibition-recap

Please note the comments at the end about James Armstrong and Alwyn Featherston... who both are dealing with health issues and could use some positive vibes from all of us.

0:00 Dave Olverson says, “Move to Durham!”
0:30 Jason welcomes Sam and Donald as they sidebar about the shows they are currently binge watching
1:55 Down to business, we recap the Duke-NW Missou State exhibition game. We start by gushing about Grayson Allen.
8:15 Donald talks about the athleticism of our big men and we try to figure out the last time we saw a Dukie dunk the way Wendell Carter dunks.
14:05 Jason gets into the bench and what he thinks Duke’s rotation will be this year. It starts with Javin DeLaurier who “gets all the rebounds.”
16:55 Sam and Jason get in a fight about how many minutes Duke’s big men are going to play together.
20:45 We are still waiting to see Marques Bolden break out.
22:30 Time to talk about Jordan Goldwire, perhaps the biggest surprise on this year’s team.
26:15 Sam breaks down what we saw from Trevon Duval, which is a source of some concern.
30:30 “What do you want to see in Exhibition #2 that we did not see in Exhibition #1?”
38:20 Jason goes back to correct a mistake… he talks about how good Gary Trent was in this game.
39:20 A message from Dave Olverson… with his favorite Durham restaurants.
40:15 We move on to Duke football… and we ask if Duke is going to get 2 more wins to be bowl eligible.
49:50 Parting Shots – Donald on the amazing Duke Women’s Soccer Team
51:15 Parting Shots – Sam on his upcoming road trips to see Duke football and basketball. Anyone have any ideas of something cool Sam could do at the Champions Classic?
53:45 Parting Shots – Jason updates us on the health concerns of a pair of Duke fan legends, James Armstrong and Alwyn Featherston.
57:05 Good bye and don’t forget to rate us on iTunes! Also, reach out to us at DBRPodcast@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

[Dev11]

Sam on his upcoming road trips to see Duke football and basketball. Anyone have any ideas of something cool Sam could do at the Champions Classic?

Amplifying this plea. Throw out some fun ideas for podcast activities at the Champions Classic in a couple weeks, and maybe we can put something together.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

https://soundcloud.com/dbrpodcast/dbr-podcast-90-hoops-exhibition-recap

Please note the comments at the end about James Armstrong and Alwyn Featherston... who both are dealing with health issues and could use some positive vibes from all of us.

0:00 Dave Olverson says, “Move to Durham!”
0:30 Jason welcomes Sam and Donald as they sidebar about the shows they are currently binge watching
1:55 Down to business, we recap the Duke-NW Missou State exhibition game. We start by gushing about Grayson Allen.
8:15 Donald talks about the athleticism of our big men and we try to figure out the last time we saw a Dukie dunk the way Wendell Carter dunks.
14:05 Jason gets into the bench and what he thinks Duke’s rotation will be this year. It starts with Javin DeLaurier who “gets all the rebounds.”
16:55 Sam and Jason get in a fight about how many minutes Duke’s big men are going to play together.
20:45 We are still waiting to see Marques Bolden break out.
22:30 Time to talk about Jordan Goldwire, perhaps the biggest surprise on this year’s team.
26:15 Sam breaks down what we saw from Trevon Duval, which is a source of some concern.
30:30 “What do you want to see in Exhibition #2 that we did not see in Exhibition #1?”
38:20 Jason goes back to correct a mistake… he talks about how good Gary Trent was in this game.
39:20 A message from Dave Olverson… with his favorite Durham restaurants.
40:15 We move on to Duke football… and we ask if Duke is going to get 2 more wins to be bowl eligible.
49:50 Parting Shots – Donald on the amazing Duke Women’s Soccer Team
51:15 Parting Shots – Sam on his upcoming road trips to see Duke football and basketball. Anyone have any ideas of something cool Sam could do at the Champions Classic?
53:45 Parting Shots – Jason updates us on the health concerns of a pair of Duke fan legends, James Armstrong and Alwyn Featherston.
57:05 Good bye and don’t forget to rate us on iTunes! Also, reach out to us at DBRPodcast@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

I don't mean to draw listeners away from your podcast, but for those of us who are not frequent listeners (but hope to be someday!) and are currently at work where we can't download and listen, can you provide a brief summary of the health issues mentioned? And for those who are new, let them know who James and Al are so they understand their importance to DBR and the Duke community (I think the mods could provide a much better explanation than I can, particularly about James). Thanks!

[JasonEvans]

I don't mean to draw listeners away from your podcast, but for those of us who are not frequent listeners (but hope to be someday!) and are currently at work where we can't download and listen, can you provide a brief summary of the health issues mentioned? And for those who are new, let them know who James and Al are so they understand their importance to DBR and the Duke community (I think the mods could provide a much better explanation than I can, particularly about James). Thanks!

Of course...

James Armstrong is one of the early founders of the DBR. Well, that may not be entirely accurate. Julian King and Mike Hemmrick founded the DBR but James joined them pretty early on (late 90s, I think) to design the website and make software to handle the boards. I think he came on board when some Kentucky fans were messing with our boards and just filling them with junk so James designed a system where all posts required a form of verification before going live. It was a great way of dealing with flamers. He is, to a large extent, the software genius behind much of the DBR's early success.

James is currently suffering from serious kidney problems and is undergoing dialysis treatments. He must get a kidney transplant to have a truly normal life. His insurance company is being really difficult about that as there was a facility that was willing to get James a kidney but the insurer said that hospital was out of their network so it could not be approved. If you are someone who knows about fighting nasty insurance companies or you know someone who might be willing to donate a kidney, please email DBRPodcast at gmail-dot-com and I will get your info to James.

Al Featherston has written about Duke for centuries... well, maybe not centuries but for a long, long time. He has been a frequent contributor to the DBR, GoDuke.com, a numerous other outlets. He has also written several books about Coach K (https://www.amazon.com/True-Blue-Tribute-Krzyzewskis-Career/dp/1613212348/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509397362&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AAl+Featherston&dpID=51UpKAIAceL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch), Duke Basketball (https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Memorable-Stories-Devil-Basketball/dp/159670179X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509397415&sr=1-2&dpID=51FuJwVK%252BQL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch), and other sports topics (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1478742224/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1478742224&linkCode=as2&tag=dukebaskrepo-20&linkId=XWMB4DUOPY4NTAG2). He goes alongside Bill Brill, Jim Sumner, and a few others as the leading journalistic voices of all time when it comes to Duke sports.

Al recently had heart bypass surgery but is doing quite well in his recovery. He expects to be back in Durham and attending games in a few weeks. He is missed and having him back will be good for the entire Duke community.

-Jason "I mentioned these two folks on the podcast so we could all send positive thoughts their way... they have done so much for the Duke community" Evans

[flyingdutchdevil]

Thanks again guys! Really good stuff. I think your analysis on the players is spot on and I particularly enjoyed the analysis on Grayson, Carter, and Goldwire.

I do have some constructive criticism. Normally, you'all don't criticize players enough. I mean that in a good and constructive way. This is your passion and you don't want to "throw anyone under the bus". Sometimes, when a player really deserves criticism, it flies a little under the radar.

I think you did the opposite with Duval. During the exhibition, I didn't see anything I didn't like other than that 3pt shot (yes, it's really bad). Duval ran the show well, made great entry passes, had a wonderful A:T ratio, and played his butt off on D. You may be reading way too much into what Coach K and the media are saying moreso than watching the game. This may be the first time that I completely disagreed with the criticism you had for a player.

Put it this way: Duval is the #1 PG in his class, a freshman, and learning the most difficult position at Duke. Marques was the #1 ranked C in his class (RSCI), a sophomore, and looked more lost than Duval on the court. While you did discuss Marques somewhat, it's fair to say that you can easily critique Marques's performance moreso than Duval's.

[JStuart]

Of course...

James Armstrong is one of the early founders of the DBR. Well, that may not be entirely accurate. Julian King and Mike Hemmrick founded the DBR but James joined them pretty early on (late 90s, I think) to design the website and make software to handle the boards. I think he came on board when some Kentucky fans were messing with our boards and just filling them with junk so James designed a system where all posts required a form of verification before going live. It was a great way of dealing with flamers. He is, to a large extent, the software genius behind much of the DBR's early success.

James is currently suffering from serious kidney problems and is undergoing dialysis treatments. He must get a kidney transplant to have a truly normal life. His insurance company is being really difficult about that as there was a facility that was willing to get James a kidney but the insurer said that hospital was out of their network so it could not be approved. If you are someone who knows about fighting nasty insurance companies or you know someone who might be willing to donate a kidney, please email DBRPodcast at gmail-dot-com and I will get your info to James.

Al Featherston has written about Duke for centuries... well, maybe not centuries but for a long, long time. He has been a frequent contributor to the DBR, GoDuke.com, a numerous other outlets. He has also written several books about Coach K (https://www.amazon.com/True-Blue-Tribute-Krzyzewskis-Career/dp/1613212348/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509397362&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AAl+Featherston&dpID=51UpKAIAceL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch), Duke Basketball (https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Memorable-Stories-Devil-Basketball/dp/159670179X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509397415&sr=1-2&dpID=51FuJwVK%252BQL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch), and other sports topics (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1478742224/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1478742224&linkCode=as2&tag=dukebaskrepo-20&linkId=XWMB4DUOPY4NTAG2). He goes alongside Bill Brill, Jim Sumner, and a few others as the leading journalistic voices of all time when it comes to Duke sports.

Al recently had heart bypass surgery but is doing quite well in his recovery. He expects to be back in Durham and attending games in a few weeks. He is missed and having him back will be good for the entire Duke community.

-Jason "I mentioned these two folks on the podcast so we could all send positive thoughts their way... they have done so much for the Duke community" Evans
Count me as one who hopes that Big Al (Durham Jordan Class of '67, I believe) not only weighs in soon on the NCAA unc decision, but also combines with Dane Kane, JD King, and a cast of thousands to write the definitive coffee table book on the Academic - Athletic Scandal of the Century!
I'd sure contribute to a GoFundMe startup for that. The whole story needs to be put out there in its entirety.
Keeping both James and Al in my "thoughts and prayers",
JStuart (JHS '68)

[Highlander]

One idea I had for the podcast (and no idea whether it would work or not) would be to bring some long time DBR posters on during the off season to share stories/experiences from their Duke fandom. Another idea would be to have Boswell/Julio on to talk about the early days of DBR and why they started it. Both are probably better offseason topics, but could be fun.

Started listening last season and have enjoyed the podcast on my way to/from work. Got a little behind and listened to the predictions of the NCAA/UNC academic scandal after the fact which was kind of entertaining.

Keep up the good work Jason, Sam, and Donald!

[English]

One thought for the Champs Classic pod would be to, informally, talk with a smattering of the MSU, KU, & UK fans around the arena before (and possibly after) the games and pick their brains on their own teams and the other teams involved in the event. This would be similar to how we've recently had folks like Wahoo and JMoss give their thoughts on UVA and on Duke, PackMan give his breakdown of NCSU and Duke, etc.

It'd be interesting to hear what our fellow contenders' fanbases think of their own teams and of ours--even better if you (somehow) track down some reasonable fans who don't simply lash out at Duke because they're given an opportunity. Again, this could just be a quick straw poll type breakdown, but I'd bet there are plenty/some of educated fans around that night(s) that would be happy to give reasoned opinions, based on whatever, for how they view the participants' teams in the event itself and for the season.

[JasonEvans]

One thought for the Champs Classic pod would be to, informally, talk with a smattering of the MSU, KU, & UK fans around the arena before (and possibly after) the games and pick their brains on their own teams and the other teams involved in the event. This would be similar to how we've recently had folks like Wahoo and JMoss give their thoughts on UVA and on Duke, PackMan give his breakdown of NCSU and Duke, etc.

It'd be interesting to hear what our fellow contenders' fanbases think of their own teams and of ours--even better if you (somehow) track down some reasonable fans who don't simply lash out at Duke because they're given an opportunity. Again, this could just be a quick straw poll type breakdown, but I'd bet there are plenty/some of educated fans around that night(s) that would be happy to give reasoned opinions, based on whatever, for how they view the participants' teams in the event itself and for the season.

Props! This is a great idea. Sam could capture it on his phone and we could edit the best answers into the podcast.

[English]

One thought for the Champs Classic pod would be to, informally, talk with a smattering of the MSU, KU, & UK fans around the arena before (and possibly after) the games and pick their brains on their own teams and the other teams involved in the event. This would be similar to how we've recently had folks like Wahoo and JMoss give their thoughts on UVA and on Duke, PackMan give his breakdown of NCSU and Duke, etc.

It'd be interesting to hear what our fellow contenders' fanbases think of their own teams and of ours--even better if you (somehow) track down some reasonable fans who don't simply lash out at Duke because they're given an opportunity. Again, this could just be a quick straw poll type breakdown, but I'd bet there are plenty/some of educated fans around that night(s) that would be happy to give reasoned opinions, based on whatever, for how they view the participants' teams in the event itself and for the season.

I feel a bit dirty and self-important quoting my own post, but I wanted to point out that I neglected to mention TexHawk, whose KU breakdowns have been very thorough and informative around here in the past, as has his "outsider" breakdown of our own team. I didn't want that to go unacknowledged*.

*I did, however, intentionally want someone else's contributions on DBR to go unacknowledged.

[UrinalCake]

^ Would love for this to happen! I remember in 2015 before we played Wisconsin in the title game, a poster from Wisconsin came onto this board and gave a great breakdown of his team. Of course, the only thing he got wrong was his prediction of who would win the game :) It's always great to hear other fans' perspectives.

[JasonEvans]

^ Would love for this to happen! I remember in 2015 before we played Wisconsin in the title game, a poster from Wisconsin came onto this board and gave a great breakdown of his team. Of course, the only thing he got wrong was his prediction of who would win the game :) It's always great to hear other fans' perspectives.

Back in 2015 we interviewed a Utah blogger prior to our game against them in the tourney. I think it is a good idea and I plan to make use of it several times this coming season.

And it is quite timely that you bring this up because just this morning, I interviewed a rival ACC head coach. We will be doing a special podcast with that interview in the next several days. He had some really interesting things to say!

-Jason "love the feedback and ideas... ya'll are the best fans anywhere!" Evans

[House P]

And it is quite timely that you bring this up because just this morning, I interviewed a rival ACC head coach. We will be doing a special podcast with that interview in the next several days. He had some really interesting things to say!



Great teaser for the upcoming podcast. Are you gonna make us guess who you interviewed?

If so, here are my guesses from most likely (#1) to least likely (#14). Keep in mind that I know nothing about the media accessibility of these guys, so I am just having fun making some wild guesses.

1. Josh Pastner - Josh sort of seems like the kind of guy who would talk to a podcaster. Plus, Jason is at Atlanta guy so Jason may have some local connections to help him get access to Josh.

2. Buzz Williams - Buzz definitely seems like the kind of guy who would talk to a podcaster. I suspect he would have lots of interesting stories to tell.

3. Kevin Keatts - He is new to the ACC, so he may be interested in getting as much "media" attention as he can, especially in the Triangle area.

4. Mike Brey - He has the Duke connection and seems like a pretty good guy.

5. Tony Bennett - No Duke connection, but he definitely seems like a good guy (and would likely have interesting things to say).

6. Danny Manning - As a former star player, Danny may be used to carefully screening/limiting his media opportunities.

7. Brad Brownell - He may be willing to talk to Jason, but I am not sure why Jason would want to talk to him.

8. Jim Christian - He may be willing to talk to Jason, but I am not sure why Jason would want to talk to him.

9. Kevin Stallings - Seems kinda surly. Probably not willing to answer the only question I can think for Jason to ask him: "Why does it seem like all your players hate you?"

10. Leonard Hamilton - Seems too "old school" to talk to a podcaster.

11. Jim Larranaga - If there wasn't a scandal brewing in Miami, I would probably rank his willingness to talk to Jason higher.

12. Jim Boheim - He doesn't seem to hate talking to traditional basketball media. I can only guess what he thinks about podcasters (assuming he even knows what a podcast is).

13. David Padgett - I suspect he has other things on his mind right now.

14. Roy Williams - No way Roy wants to talk to any Duke fans.

[Dev11]

One thought for the Champs Classic pod would be to, informally, talk with a smattering of the MSU, KU, & UK fans around the arena before (and possibly after) the games and pick their brains on their own teams and the other teams involved in the event. This would be similar to how we've recently had folks like Wahoo and JMoss give their thoughts on UVA and on Duke, PackMan give his breakdown of NCSU and Duke, etc.

It'd be interesting to hear what our fellow contenders' fanbases think of their own teams and of ours--even better if you (somehow) track down some reasonable fans who don't simply lash out at Duke because they're given an opportunity. Again, this could just be a quick straw poll type breakdown, but I'd bet there are plenty/some of educated fans around that night(s) that would be happy to give reasoned opinions, based on whatever, for how they view the participants' teams in the event itself and for the season.

I like this idea and will do my best to execute it. Anybody want to call WBEZ for me and get them to lend me a microphone for the evening?

[Dev11]

14. Roy Williams - No way Roy wants to talk to any Duke fans.

Jason and I actually discussed briefly what would happen if Roy agreed to come on the show with us. We both swear we could be unbiased and civil towards him, but you never know what can happen in the heat of the moment. For my part, I ran into Tyler Hansbrough at a bar in Denver a few years ago and managed not to do anything that would get me arrested, so I think I'd be fine on the phone.

[JasonEvans]

Great teaser for the upcoming podcast. Are you gonna make us guess who you interviewed?

If so, here are my guesses from most likely (#1) to least likely (#14). Keep in mind that I know nothing about the media accessibility of these guys, so I am just having fun making some wild guesses.

1. Josh Pastner - Josh sort of seems like the kind of guy who would talk to a podcaster. Plus, Jason is at Atlanta guy so Jason may have some local connections to help him get access to Josh.

2. Buzz Williams - Buzz definitely seems like the kind of guy who would talk to a podcaster. I suspect he would have lots of interesting stories to tell.

3. Kevin Keatts - He is new to the ACC, so he may be interested in getting as much "media" attention as he can, especially in the Triangle area.

4. Mike Brey - He has the Duke connection and seems like a pretty good guy.

5. Tony Bennett - No Duke connection, but he definitely seems like a good guy (and would likely have interesting things to say).

6. Danny Manning - As a former star player, Danny may be used to carefully screening/limiting his media opportunities.

7. Brad Brownell - He may be willing to talk to Jason, but I am not sure why Jason would want to talk to him.

8. Jim Christian - He may be willing to talk to Jason, but I am not sure why Jason would want to talk to him.

9. Kevin Stallings - Seems kinda surly. Probably not willing to answer the only question I can think for Jason to ask him: "Why does it seem like all your players hate you?"

10. Leonard Hamilton - Seems too "old school" to talk to a podcaster.

11. Jim Larranaga - If there wasn't a scandal brewing in Miami, I would probably rank his willingness to talk to Jason higher.

12. Jim Boheim - He doesn't seem to hate talking to traditional basketball media. I can only guess what he thinks about podcasters (assuming he even knows what a podcast is).

13. David Padgett - I suspect he has other things on his mind right now.

14. Roy Williams - No way Roy wants to talk to any Duke fans.

Dayum... impressive. Yup, it was Pastner. He was great and, as I said, we will be posting the interview in the next few days.

But, your post has inspired me to reach out to a few other programs. And, yes, I will be trying to interview Roy Williams!

-Jason "as an aside, I have asked Duke for a coach or player or trainer or manager or anyone in the athletic department associated with basketball a dozen times... crickets from them. They don't like podcasters, I guess" Evans

[JasonEvans]

By the way, we are doing predictions this weekend. If there is some stat or other thing you want us to predict, post something post haste!!!

[jv001]

One thought for the Champs Classic pod would be to, informally, talk with a smattering of the MSU, KU, & UK fans around the arena before (and possibly after) the games and pick their brains on their own teams and the other teams involved in the event. This would be similar to how we've recently had folks like Wahoo and JMoss give their thoughts on UVA and on Duke, PackMan give his breakdown of NCSU and Duke, etc. It'd be interesting to hear what our fellow contenders' fanbases think of their own teams and of ours--even better if you (somehow) track down some reasonable fans who don't simply lash out at Duke because they're given an opportunity. Again, this could just be a quick straw poll type breakdown, but I'd bet there are plenty/some of educated fans around that night(s) that would be happy to give reasoned opinions, based on whatever, for how they view the participants' teams in the event itself and for the season.

Don't forget Wheat. He knows his team very well. I don't have anything against Wheat, it's his team that I don't care for. I'm sure there are some on DBR that wouldn't mind hearing him. GoDuke!

[UrinalCake]

Back in 2015 we interviewed a Utah blogger prior to our game against them in the tourney.

Ahhh, yes that is what I was thinking of. Wow, my memory sure is fading fast... I cannot even remember significant events that happened just 2.5 years ago :confused:




By the way, we are doing predictions this weekend. If there is some stat or other thing you want us to predict, post something post haste!!!

In addition to the usual stats that you've done in the past, here are a few ideas:

- which player will have the most dunks
- which player will have the most assists leading to alley-oops
- total number of plays for the entire team worthy of "viral YouTube" status (criteria: a replay clip of the play reaches 10k likes on YouTube)
- most number of points scored in a single game (while I enjoyed last year's prediction of number of games scoring more than 100 points, and the optimistic prediction by I think it was Donald of 10 games, this stat is inherently difficult to predict)
- over/under on minutes per game for O'Connell, Tucker and White combined. I will set the line at 9.5.

[MarkD83]

Jason and I actually discussed briefly what would happen if Roy agreed to come on the show with us. We both swear we could be unbiased and civil towards him, but you never know what can happen in the heat of the moment. For my part, I ran into Tyler Hansbrough at a bar in Denver a few years ago and managed not to do anything that would get me arrested, so I think I'd be fine on the phone.

Only because he would probably walk all over you.