MOTM: Duke v. Kansas (Nov 5, 2019)

[JBDuke]

Who was Duke's Man of the Match in their win over Kansas tonight?

[TheOldBattleship]

With shouts to Carey, who looked tough and kept his cool banging with the what's gotta be the biggest (or close to it) front line in college basketball, Stanley, who did a good job of picking his spots offensively, and Jack White, who absolutely changed the game defensively in the second half, it's gotta be Jones. The shooting wasn't where we hope it will be by the end of the year, but the offensive burden he carried today was huge, and he really came through there at the end. Very much a team effort, though. Lots of balance.

(Edit: and I accidentally voted for the wrong guy. Classic. I take this all back! Jack is awesome!)

[kAzE]

Jack White gets my vote. Seemed like he got his hand on every rebound, every loose ball, and came up with a couple of huge steals that essentially were both 4 point swings. Jack had a massive, massive impact on this game.

[weezie]

While it's Jones who willed the win it was AOC who gave us legs.

[ChillinDuke]

I thought Stanley gave us the boost we needed when we needed it. He gave us energy.

Props to Jack White giving energy on his big 3pter too.

- Chillin

[dukelifer]

Jack did all the little things. His play was critical to the win. Tre was great down the stretch and Cassius showed he has an all around game.

[OldPhiKap]

Jack. Though a sloppy game with many folks giving good effort and having early season fumpahs.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I don't quite get the MOTM love for Tre. 5-14 shooting, 0-4 from the arc. The ball was in his hands lots in crunch time, he ran at the basket, and missed and/or turned it over.

Not taking away his value during the win, the assists were nice, but still...

Jack White was a machine and he got my vote. (Irony of picking a guy with far less points than Tre)

[jv001]

I voted for Stanley but could have voted for Stanley, Hurt or Jack. I bet we have many games where there will be several deserving candidates. GoDuke!

[fisheyes]

I don't quite get the MOTM love for Tre. 5-14 shooting, 0-4 from the arc. The ball was in his hands lots in crunch time, he ran at the basket, and missed and/or turned it over.

Not taking away his value during the win, the assists were nice, but still...

Jack White was a machine and he got my vote. (Irony of picking a guy with far less points than Tre)

For me it was hitting those clutch foul shots and his D.
Overall it was a great team win through defense.

[Troublemaker]

I don't quite get the MOTM love for Tre. 5-14 shooting, 0-4 from the arc. The ball was in his hands lots in crunch time, he ran at the basket, and missed and/or turned it over.

Not taking away his value during the win, the assists were nice, but still...

Jack White was a machine and he got my vote. (Irony of picking a guy with far less points than Tre)

Tre was easily our best player. His ball pressure led the defensive charge, he was our best offensive creator, and he was clutch on the free throws to seal the win.

[elvis14]

I voted for Tre. Defense matters.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Tre was easily our best player. His ball pressure led the defensive charge, he was our best offensive creator, and he was clutch on the free throws to seal the win.
Essentially the reasons I voted for Tre. But he’s got to shoot better from outside. The entire team does. And Javin needs to play like a senior, not a freshman. But a big win is a big win to start the season! LGD GTHc!

[kako]

An ugly game. I don't think there was one guy who absolutely stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Carey down low, Hurt's 3s, Stanley's 2nd half... But having to pick only one, I pick Jones as he led the team in points and assists, and tied for the lead in boards. His defense was as good as anyone else's out there on the floor.

9F

[Acymetric]

I don't quite get the MOTM love for Tre. 5-14 shooting, 0-4 from the arc. The ball was in his hands lots in crunch time, he ran at the basket, and missed and/or turned it over.

Not taking away his value during the win, the assists were nice, but still...

Jack White was a machine and he got my vote. (Irony of picking a guy with far less points than Tre)

Leading (or tying for the lead) the team in every stat except blocks helps me look past his 0-4 3 point shooting.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Jack White gets my vote. Seemed like he got his hand on every rebound, every loose ball, and came up with a couple of huge steals that essentially were both 4 point swings. Jack had a massive, massive impact on this game.

He did, with a very small stat line....but everything he did was in the big moment. He got my vote too.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

And Javin needs to play like a senior, not a freshman.!

I'm over waiting for this. He's done very little with the considerable advantages he was born with.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Tre played great on defense, but was forcing too much on offense. Several questionable shots, a few situations where he drove too deep and looked around for a bailout.

Jack gets my vote, but Stanley, we will be watching your career with great interest. You will win a few MOTM votes this season.

[duke96]

While many of our players have significant individual flaws, I like the fact that this team has a lot of guys who can do elite things in various ways at various times to really impact the game. I suspect many of the MOTM decisions will be challenging during the year. It will be a lot of fun to see who shines at various times and who can step up their game to consistently deliver for us.

I saw encouraging things from AOC, Stanley, big Vern, and Hurt at various times last night. Very excited to see AOC playing good defense, making athletic plays, and generally keeping his head in the game. Jack was an absolute workhorse, there’s no way we win without his hustle plays last night. Stanley is clearly capable of flashes of brilliance, maybe consistent brilliance by the end of the year? Hurt made some poor decisions and had some real ups and downs during the game but clearly has interesting potential with his inside and outside game (though his outside shooting form looks just atrocious in person). Big Vern will get plenty of his against smaller teams, and he wasn’t afraid to muscle and seal guys in the paint and demand the ball at times. Obviously his ability to shoot the 3 is also pretty interesting. Not sure he is as much of an energetic hustler as he could be.

Should be a fun year. As much fun as last year was, seeing a scrappy and balanced team with a commitment to defense and a reliance on the whole team rather than a couple key guys is what I grew up loving about Duke. Hope we’ll see that this year.

[Edouble]

Coach said Tre, so I'm going with Tre.

I'm speculating, but I'd be surprised if Tre's veteran leadership and confidence didn't help calm our young team and get them ready to compete on the biggest stage.

[Devilwin]

Jack White..His play down the stretch was huge.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Stats were good. That 3 was huge. Defensive was excellent.

But that energy on offense and defense? OMG. This kid will not stop moving.

Stanley is my adopted favorite player on this team.

[azzefkram]

Went with Jones but really a team win. So many positive contributions from several players.

[SavDukeGrad]

Agree that this was a tough choice because it was a team win.

But I went with Jack. Not only for his excellent play on defense and rebounding during crunch time late in the game. But also something I noticed during the game that Coach K mentioned in his post game presser - every time Vernon went out, Jack had to guard Azubuike. That is a LARGE challenge, and I thought Jack handled it really well.

[killerleft]

I voted for Tre. Defense won the game. That's his thing. Plus, the free throws at the end.