Man of the Match vs. Davidson

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match vs. Davidson?

[Bob Green]

GP was Mr. Clutch at crunch time. He gets my vote. Singler had a double-double, Henderson was leading scorer. Scheyer was consistent. There are plenty of choices today so this should be interesting.

[dukestheheat]

give Johnny Gun (eg, Scheyer) some love Dukies!

dth.

[wisteria]

In the end, Paulus saved the day.

[Duvall]

I voted for Henderson - 21 and 8 - but Singler's 12 rebounds are a big part of the reason Duke was shooting to preserve a lead late instead of trying to come back.

[devildeac]

A clutch GP-5 points in the last 2 minutes or so plus a steal, all of which gave us the final 6 point W(or close to the final margin). GH a good choice for leading scorer and 4/5 FT and 6 boards(but Jumbo would not like it voting for the leading scorer-just kidding Jumbo). JS another very good, solid quiet game with 15/5 and 5/5 FT. DM with 11/5 and good D. KS an 'iron" clad 14/12 . Have not seen the A/TO stats but could be convinced to re-vote if my 2nd/3rd/4th/5th choices had a few more assists than t'overs or a few more steals. Whoever played the best D on Curry would also move to the top of the list but that looks like it was by committee and he hurt himself with a fair amount of pine time with his PF. Nice to escape with that W.

[Troublemaker]

Great point about Singler's rebounding. The game developed in a way where Davidson got into a groove offensively and was able to get good looks on most trips down the floor, so it was frustrating when they did miss and we couldn't grab the board. Singler was the only big to rebound well for Duke today and it was key. Tough choice today for MOTM, though.

[mgtr]

Tough choice today. But Paulus has gotten so much on this board that I had to go with him. But certainly Henderson and Scheyer could have been chosen -- Hendo for some outstanding plays, and Scheyer for doing all the little things. Singler was, again, quietly competent overall. A team effort.

[_Gary]

For me it actually came down to two players. Kyle and Greg. And Greg got the nod simply for the big shots at the end. John and Gerald had very solid games too, but for whatever reason I only seriously considered Singler and Paulus today.

[CDu]

Paulus had a very nice finish, hitting some big shots late. But it's a 40-minute game. Henderson gets my vote, for his play over the entire game on both ends of the floor. He had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks. Honestly, I'd have rated Paulus 4th, behind Henderson, Singler, and Scheyer (with Scheyer and Singler potentially switched). And Coach K seems to agree that Henderson was the difference, based on his comments in the post-game reports:

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=273350150

The nice thing though is that this team is so deep. Henderson, Singler, and Scheyer were fantastic. Paulus and Nelson were solid as well. We had 5 guys in double-figures, which is nice.

[wisteria]

Henderson indeed was great today. However when I was watching the game, I had the impression that he tended to be a bit "hogging". (don't take me wrong, I love Gerald for his fricken athletism.) He did seem to force shots when he could have tried to pass.

[CDu]

Henderson indeed was great today. However when I was watching the game, I had the impression that he tended to be a bit "hogging". (don't take me wrong, I love Gerald for his fricken athletism.) He did seem to force shots when he could have tried to pass.

Sure, he forced some shots. But that's his role on this team. He's the "go-to" scorer. He's consistently the superior athlete regardless of his matchup. And while he was hogging, he was doing so effectively. When he is effective, he is going to frequently be a player of the game. When he's not effective, he's a limitation. I'll buy the "hogging" argument when he's struggling. But when he's scoring 20+ points, getting 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 big blocks (and some charges drawn), it's clear that the hogging isn't to the detriment of the team.

I base my opinion of player of the game on results, not style points. And Henderson had the best overall game for the team this time. Did he take some ill-advised shots? Sure, but plenty of them went in. If they hadn't gone in, I'd have not called him player of the game.

[Kilby]

Henderson is the man. He has the most points with the the sixth most minutes. Had as many assists as Paulus with just one more TO. But, more important than the points is his pressence on the floor. That Athleticism that most observers say was missing last year (but really the last two years) is do in large part to Henderson. What a difference his play makes just as it did in the block against Wisconsin last week. And if for no other reason, K said he was the man. "I thought [Henderson] was the difference, both offensively and defensively," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He had 21, but he had three really big blocks, two in the second half. You just don't teach that."

[Matches]

Henderson was just incredible on both offense and defense. He made at least 4-5 superb athletic plays. Paulus was huge, but Henderson was the man today.

[wisteria]

fair enough. points taken.


Sure, he forced some shots. But that's his role on this team. He's the "go-to" scorer. He's consistently the superior athlete regardless of his matchup. And while he was hogging, he was doing so effectively. When he is effective, he is going to frequently be a player of the game. When he's not effective, he's a limitation. I'll buy the "hogging" argument when he's struggling. But when he's scoring 20+ points, getting 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 big blocks (and some charges drawn), it's clear that the hogging isn't to the detriment of the team.

I base my opinion of player of the game on results, not style points. And Henderson had the best overall game for the team this time. Did he take some ill-advised shots? Sure, but plenty of them went in. If they hadn't gone in, I'd have not called him player of the game.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Gerald got my vote today.

[Dukiedevil]

Voted for Henderson despite some reservations about his shot selection. I think a couple of his blocks were BIG momentum changers and he seemed to get a few very tough rebounds. If he could learn to pass up a few of those shots where he is quadruple-teamed (even though it seems he hits about a third of those...), he would shoot closer to 55-60% from the floor instead of 50%.

Agree that those shots at the end were very clutch by Paulus, but think Henderson's overall game was key to our win. Great games by Singler and Scheyer as well.

[Zeb]

The last two shots by Paulus were so huge. I would have been really disappointed in the quality of that last shot by Greg... if he hadn't made it.

Henderson hitting the front of the rim on a late free throw, then doing the exact same thing on the next one (how can you not adjust?) tipped my vote to Greg. But they both had nice games, as did Scheyer and Singler.

[wisteria]

The last two shots by Paulus were so huge. I would have been really disappointed in the quality of that last shot by Greg... if he hadn't made it.

Henderson hitting the front of the rim on a late free throw, then doing the exact same thing on the next one (how can you not adjust?) tipped my vote to Greg. But they both had nice games, as did Scheyer and Singler.


You must have been talking about Nelson. Because Henderson's FT was 4/5 today.

[devildeac]

The last two shots by Paulus were so huge. I would have been really disappointed in the quality of that last shot by Greg... if he hadn't made it.

Henderson hitting the front of the rim on a late free throw, then doing the exact same thing on the next one (how can you not adjust?) tipped my vote to Greg. But they both had nice games, as did Scheyer and Singler.

But the early stats say he only missed 1 FT(4/5):) .

[mehmattski]

Greg Paulus: The straw that stirs the drink.

I'm so glad I was wrong about you, Greg. I hope he continues to lead us to victory!

[CDu]

The last two shots by Paulus were so huge. I would have been really disappointed in the quality of that last shot by Greg... if he hadn't made it.

Henderson hitting the front of the rim on a late free throw, then doing the exact same thing on the next one (how can you not adjust?) tipped my vote to Greg. But they both had nice games, as did Scheyer and Singler.

Well, if the supposed missed free throws by Henderson tipped your vote to Paulus, then I suggest you change your vote to Henderson. The back-to-back free throws that were woefully short were taken by Nelson, not Henderson. :)

[elvis14]

Henderson got my vote. Outside of the plays Paulus made late, he didn't have a good game at all. In fact before he made those plays I must have blurted out "Paulus is awful today" about 4 times. He was very lost on defense a number of times. I think there's alot of selective memory here where people are remembering the end of the game and not the other 37 minutes!

[CDu]

Henderson got my vote. Outside of the plays Paulus made late, he didn't have a good game at all. In fact before he made those plays I must have blurted out "Paulus is awful today" about 4 times. He was very lost on defense a number of times. I think there's alot of selective memory here where people are remembering the end of the game and not the other 37 minutes!

I honestly can't believe Paulus is leading the vote (as of right now it's 41-40 Paulus over Henderson). Aside from the last minute of the game, he had a pretty pedestrian performance. Sure, those shots were big, but (1) we may very well have won the game WITHOUT those shots, and (2) those shots don't eliminate the other 39 minutes of the game. If he misses those shots and we win by 1 or 2, he almost certainly gets no votes. His line would have been pretty mediocre: 2-7, 6 pts, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers. It definitely appears that people are definitely being swayed by a couple of nice shots to keep the Davidson at arm's length (keeping it a two-possession game).

I'd have rated Paulus 4th in my player of the game voting. I'd be perfectly okay with any of Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler as player of the game. I gave it to Henderson, but I think Singler and Scheyer both had comparably good games. There's no question in my mind that those three were more important to the win than was Paulus. If it weren't for those guys carrying the team for the first 39 minutes, we wouldn't have had the 2-3 point lead that Paulus's shots extended late in the game.

I hate to say it like this because it sounds as though I'm disparaging Paulus. Those shots DID allow the team to breathe easier down the stretch, and because he hit them his game ended up being very decent. But this was not meant to disparage Paulus so much as suggest how well the other three played. Because of how well those guys played, we were able to survive a mediocre performance from Paulus for the first 39 minutes.

[Zeb]

Well, if the supposed missed free throws by Henderson tipped your vote to Paulus, then I suggest you change your vote to Henderson. The back-to-back free throws that were woefully short were taken by Nelson, not Henderson. :)

That's what I get for watching the game in a sports bar with a lousy view of the screen. My apologies Gerald!

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

How sweet it is to be having such a tough time deciding among them ALL !!!!

Love, Ima

[CDu]

How sweet it is to be having such a tough time deciding among them ALL !!!!

Love, Ima

Agreed, although I would have expected the tough decision to come down to Henderson, Singler, and Scheyer, not Henderson and Paulus. I guess everyone has their own set of criteria for player of the game.