Duke MBB vs. NC State Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Post your post-game comments here.

[dukie8]

whatever k said at halftime....bottle it.

[OldSchool]

Holding State to 26 points in the second half is outstanding!

[loran16]

Consider the Paulus v Nolan debate::::OVER!

(Also, taylor king looked god awful on defense and offense in the first half. No wonder K hasnt been playing him. )

[godukerocks]

A great fun game to watch;

-Paulus had a big night
- Henderson with three straight dunks in the second half
- More Duke toughness
- Jordan Davidson with an And 1

I love this team.

[mgtr]

TGFP = Thank God for Paulus.

[loran16]

A great fun game to watch;

-Paulus had a big night
- Henderson with three straight dunks in the second half
- More Duke toughness
- Patrick Davidson with an And 1

I love this team.

Jordan Davidson. Patrick is his older (graduated) brother.

[godukerocks]

Jordan Davidson. Patrick is his older (graduated) brother.

Ahh yes. Thank you.

They both rule.

[Jumbo]

Holding State to 26 points in the second half is outstanding!

Scoring 55 was nice, too!

[KandG]

As bad as the first half was, the second half was outstanding. And you just knew those green shirts weren't going to last after the debacle of the first 20 minutes.

State just seemed to cave in the last ten minutes...on those final alley-oop and rebound baskets we got, they barely put up a fight. Great job by our guys.

[Indoor66]

The game was a tale of two shirts, er halfs....

[dukelifer]

Well – I am beginning to like the 9 point half time deficit- not really. What a second half! Duke outscores State by almost 30. Amazing. And with almost no contribution from the bench on O. And for all those Paulus doubters- tonight he resuscitated this team when Duke was playing pretty flat. And not just by shooting the ball- which he did very well- but with his D and control of the game. Again, you have to like second-half Singler- just plays so smart and under control. The hooks- the threes- the put backs- the pull up. Such a complete player. Nelson again showed his strength and toughness. It did not look good in the first half- State played a bit out of their heads and it looked like Costner was about to break out of his mental slump and Grant was unconscious – but the second half was a different story. Just amazing.

[OldSchool]

Jordan Davidson. Patrick is his older (graduated) brother.

Patrick would have flushed the ball and then ripped off the net with his teeth on his way down.

[Indoor66]

Patrick would have flushed the ball and then ripped off the net with his teeth on his way down.

While slewing the Philistines dressed in red.

[heath_harshman4]

whatever k said at halftime....bottle it.

he said something about the shirts...i just know it...

[RepoMan]

Lots of good stuff.

We are really stepping it up in the second half of games.

Obviously, Paulus was great.

We just have a lot of weapons, which helps when guys have a cold night. Last week, Nolan Smith was on fire. Tonight,the predicable occasional rough freshman outing. That's why depth is no nice.

Great leadership from Markie.

I do have a couple conerns/observations though (to the extend you can have concerns after a 20 point win).

1. If I am not mistaken, that is Scheyer's third subpar game in a row. I'm not sure what is up, but he really seems out of sync, which is disconcering because he has been so consistent all season.

2. In the first half, when we were struggling on offense, I thought we got away from what could be the bread and butter of this team. Gerald's mid-range high elevation jumper is nearly unstoppable, and he hits that shot so consistently this year. (If I remember correctly, he hit a couple early in the second half.) When we hit a long range scoring drought, we really need to take advantage of Gerald's ability to get that good shot from that spot at almost anytime.


Really though, what can you say. This is a tough team, which really plays as a team. Just a pleasure to watch.

[wolfpackdevil]

This game was definatley a tale of 2 halfs.

We all knew that Duke was gonna come out in the 2nd half and make a run.

But NC State just did'nt look as energized, and pumped as they did in the first half.

And next time, Greg Paulus needs to watch his back, he should not be tryin to get fisty with Brandon Costner.

But State put in a great game, and was in it till the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half.

Good game by all, players of the game ar Greg Paulus and Gavin Grant.

But if Courntey Fells had more than 0 points, state might have made a big 2nd half run

[dukebballcamper90-91]

First, Great Game!
GP3(Paulus) had a heck of a game, I have the white, blue, and black #3 jersey's. At some times he is the olny one that shows heart, I think the others are starting to show more also. No bench production shocked me.

[jipops]

Scoring 55 was nice, too!

on 66% shooting in the 2nd half. That's just ridiculous.

Was it me or did State seem to completely mail it in with about 8 minutes left?

[Surfsideron]

Hey, I'm a Greg Paulus fan but let's just say that he was outstanding tonight. He was just what the doctor ordered.....a leader.....a scorer......a point guard.....and he played great D.

Nolan Smith is an outstanding talent but sometimes with a freshman, they get overwhelmed in a crunch time situation....it happened to him tonight. It has happened to all the great Duke point guards....Hurley, Amaker, Williams, etc.

I'm just glad to have them both and may the "rivalry" between the two will go on for the rest of this season and next........the only winner will be Duke and us fans!!!

[somf4eva]

I really liked the second half face Paulus put on tonight. He really showed what kind of player he is. Each game, this team shows me a different batch of talent.

Those dunks were entertaining as well.....

[Methodistman]

Hendo's mid-range is absolutely sick - unbelievable how sweet some of those shots were tonight. That guy is just waiting to break out with a 30 point game.

[NovaScotian]

Patrick would have flushed the ball and then ripped off the net with his teeth on his way down.

hell freaking yea

[pamtar]

At some times he is the olny one that shows heart,

Good point. ^^ Last year as well. IMO, thats what keeps him in as a starter at times .

Too bad for State. Although I'm glad we won, I really like Lowe and his squad. Hopefully they can turn it around and make something of this season. They sure have the talent to do it, I just don't think Lowe is doing as well as he could. I mentioned this on the chat as well. I think if Sendek was coaching this game their might be a different outcome.

[Exiled_Devil]

Jordan Davidson. Patrick is his older (graduated) brother.

Patrick Davidson doesn't have brothers...he was raised by a pride of lions, and consequently has pride-mates.

[Slackerb]

Great game tonight for both sides. For anyone who watched the game instead of just looking at the box score, State obviously played better than expected. Those that wrote this game off as an easy win were definitely scratching their heads around halftime. I know one thing, I certainly wouldn't want to play this team in the ACC tournament game if they continue to improve like they have been.

For State, it is strikingly similar to last year in terms of their momentum. They were much worse last year early on, but had an easier "problem" to fix. It will be interesting to see how they finish out this year.

For Duke, a very well coached game. K responded at the half obviously and countered States mismatching. Pretty much turned the game around. Big props to Paulus.

[IUGrad03]

Patrick would have flushed the ball and then ripped off the net with his teeth on his way down.

Oh Man, I was waiting for that to come back. Is that original Patrick Davidson thread still around somewhere?

[BD80]

Patrick Davidson doesn't have brothers...he was raised by a pride of lions, and consequently has pride-mates.

Was Greg Paulus from the same pride?

GP has a bit of Patrick in him. He committed one REALLY hard foul and generally got under the skin of the wolfpack. God its good he's a Devil!

[gw67]

First, I have a couple of thoughts regarding the Wolfpack. They stopped competing about midway through the 2nd half and the Devils had only token resistance from then on. Even if you are getting your fannies whipped you should continue to play hard. Lowe’s team didn’t. They have some talent but they are going nowhere, IMO. Costner may be a source of discontent. He had a very good year last year and was pre-season 1st team All ACC. He is coming off the bench and not playing particularly well. Hard fouls can generate some momentary high emotions but you need to show some maturity and let it go. He didn’t.

I loved the game that Paulus played – 22 points, 6 assists, no turnovers and 3 steals. Perhaps this performance will slow down the sniping that he has received from several on this board, at least for one game. Singler, Henderson and Nelson continue to play well. Scheyer and Thomas played OK but both were saddled with fouls trying to guard the State big men. Smith and King would just as soon forget last night’s game. Neither was able to provide positive minutes and, in fact, Smith was twice pulled from the game almost immediately after offensive/defensive mistakes.

gw67

[dukeENG2003]

Funny quote overheard from a State fan on my walk back to my car,

"Well, the only good thing I take home from this game is two Duke plastic cups I can use for urinating in."

"You urintate in cups?" I had to ask. . . (I didn't get an answer).

[somf4eva]

I am surprised more attention has not been given to the physicality of this game. Both sides had a couple hard fouls, and it is something that has beena reocurring theme in the last couple of games. Sure, this is ACC, and all these teams are rivals just due to this fact, but I think Duke has a way of getting into the head of the other team. A few small hits, and maybe a push there, and the games become much more physical. Paulus is a big factor in this, as I see him involved quite a bit.

On a side note, my local cable provider decided to block ESPN 2, so I was stuck watching the game on a crappy local channel, with horrible sound a picture.

[dw0827]

After Greg's over the shoulder pass to Singler for a dunk, did you see the shot of Henderson's reaction?

Laughed my butt off.

[BlueDevilJay]

On a side note, my local cable provider decided to block ESPN 2, so I was stuck watching the game on a crappy local channel, with horrible sound a picture.

Yeah I had the same broadcast, with a HD picture that was choppy the entire game and the sound was WAY off. Sounded like the Crazies were like "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOO" as in it kept sounding like they were lowering the pitch of their normal flat out "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" whenever we are on defense. It was really weird trying to watch it that way, but oh well.

[dukegirlinsc]

Some of the passes Paulus made last night were AMAZING, and very Nash-esque. (I'm glad they became BFF's.)

LOVE this team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And can't say it enough.

[dukegirlinsc]

On a side note, my local cable provider decided to block ESPN 2, so I was stuck watching the game on a crappy local channel, with horrible sound a picture.

I had to watch the Raycom broadcast as well. The thing that pisses me off is that I'll more than likely have to watch the Raycom broadcast next Wednesday as well...unless I go to a bar somewhere around here.

But sometimes it beats the hell out of listening to Len Elmore SWEAR he is a basketball god and make a fool of himself. :D

[whereinthehellami]

Paulus
6-11 FG, 5-8 3s, 22 PTs, 6 Assists, 0 TO, & 3 steals.

Henderson
8-11 FG, 6 RB (4 OFF), 18 PTs, 2 assists, 1 block, & 2 steals.

[DukeDevil]

Patrick Davidson doesn't have brothers...he was raised by a pride of lions, and consequently has pride-mates.

There is no chest behind patrick davidson's jersey, there is only another fist.

This game was awesome. As bad as things were at halftime...was I the only one who wasn't terribly worried? It's weird...last year I would have written this game off...not even sure if I could have watched the second half. What a difference a year makes.

That behind the back pass of paulus' was ridonculous. If anyone has a clip of it...please post.

The really big thing I felt about this game as well was...anytime we needed to hit a shot to just break down State, we did. If state hit something and gained the tiniest bit of momentum, we'd answer it within 10 seconds.

Also, that ridiculous drive that Henderson (I think) made near the end. Granted I think it helped that the state players had shut down...but it was almost like he was so smooth that their brains weren't allowing them to respond. They kind of glanced at him like...oooh...that's nice. Oh crap...I'm supposed to stop him aren't I?!

GP just buried everything he needed to. The thing I love about this team is that, while there is no single major star as in years past...we have so many options that there is always someone who can step up in a game. With this many people in the rotation it's only natural that SOMEONE will be hot on any given night, just in case we need to offset a cold night for other players. Love love this team. I've been having trouble really feeling connected with the teams after I graduated and everyone who was there while I attended also left...but this team has totally re-energized my passion again.

[jjasper0729]

he said something about the shirts...i just know it...

he definitely said something in his radio interview after the game. something to the effect that he thought he was at notre dame and would prefer we get back to just blue.


First, I have a couple of thoughts regarding the Wolfpack. They stopped competing about midway through the 2nd half and the Devils had only token resistance from then on. Even if you are getting your fannies whipped you should continue to play hard. Lowe’s team didn’t. They have some talent but they are going nowhere, IMO.

definitely agree. and I think sidney lowe will agree too. at one point in one of the media time outs, a couple of the players not in the game (but playing, not the bench warmers) were just grinning at each other as if it was no big deal. it really seemed they gave up and had no interest. take for example that dunk gerald got near the end with the drive through the lane and nobody even attempting to come over to challenge at all.

[somf4eva]

I had to watch the Raycom broadcast as well. The thing that pisses me off is that I'll more than likely have to watch the Raycom broadcast next Wednesday as well...unless I go to a bar somewhere around here.

But sometimes it beats the hell out of listening to Len Elmore SWEAR he is a basketball god and make a fool of himself. :D

along with the shirts, in the first half I was telling my brother that if we were watching ESPN, they would have been winning. I guess the deciding factor was the shirts though.....

[Acymetric]

After Greg's over the shoulder pass to Singler for a dunk, did you see the shot of Henderson's reaction?

Laughed my butt off.

I didn't see it, what'd he do?

[greybeard]

Has anyone seen a team across the board attack the basket under control but relentlessly the way Duke is, I mean it goes 8 deep? And, everybody is under control. Take Singler. When he is deep and beats his man, he does not reflexively storm to the rim, which would often as not bring him a possible charge. He sees how the defense reacts; if the lane looks like it will close, he brings it back out. On one play, he goes baseline, has his guy beat, clean dead, only doesn't like what he sees, keeps his dribble, turning to the baseline and retreating to the corner, and then beats his guy with a huge first step to the middle and in one dribble or two finishes with an old-time hook shot. You kiddin me!


And, an announcer last night alluded to it but would not commit; I will: K has opened a whole new clear-out concept for Nelson and H from the corners. Clears out the weak side and low post, N or H beats his guy baseline slows a tad once the guy is beaten (first step), pins the guy on his back and makes sure that no help can get there and only then attacks for real. The basket is undefended and the help arrives late, either reaching to foul or shake N or H's hand on their terrific finishes.

Keep your TIVOs running boys. However this season turns out, you are seeing a level of coaching with players to match that I doubt you will ever see again, certainly not in college.

Everything has its flip side. Ask yourselves this: how many of the star players that K has lost to others in the recruiting wars would have permitted him to do this had they come? Some things are priceless!

[Saratoga2]

First, I have a couple of thoughts regarding the Wolfpack. They stopped competing about midway through the 2nd half and the Devils had only token resistance from then on. Even if you are getting your fannies whipped you should continue to play hard. Lowe’s team didn’t. They have some talent but they are going nowhere, IMO. Costner may be a source of discontent. He had a very good year last year and was pre-season 1st team All ACC. He is coming off the bench and not playing particularly well. Hard fouls can generate some momentary high emotions but you need to show some maturity and let it go. He didn’t.

I loved the game that Paulus played – 22 points, 6 assists, no turnovers and 3 steals. Perhaps this performance will slow down the sniping that he has received from several on this board, at least for one game. Singler, Henderson and Nelson continue to play well. Scheyer and Thomas played OK but both were saddled with fouls trying to guard the State big men. Smith and King would just as soon forget last night’s game. Neither was able to provide positive minutes and, in fact, Smith was twice pulled from the game almost immediately after offensive/defensive mistakes.

gw67

This team has the conditioning and the will to turn it up a notch in the second half. Two games in a row with a flat start and then a tremendous second half performance while the opposition wilts. Paulus has been criticized on the boards at times but last night he may have had his best game at Duke. All phases of his game were solid and his playmaking and shooting were on another level. Someone new comes along each game although really Henderson, Singler (yes Jumbo I saw your comment) and Nelson all have played very consistent and solid basketball.

Singler is so versitile, he can take the ball outside, he can his the mid range and he can dribble past his defender and then finish when inside. Something McRoberts couldn't do. His defense was very solid and his conditioning is excellent, he goes hard the entire game. Henderson has strength and athleticism. That makes him very hard to guard and he continues to score well game after game. He can also guard bigger people and can rebound effectively. Nelson is just a mature player with lots of athleticism and he is a fine captain.

You mentioned Scheyer and the fact that he has had to guard bigger stronger players a lot due to foul problems from our bigger players. As a result, he has picked up a lot of fouls lately and it is really uncharacteristic for his type of play. Notice that McClure also picked up a lot last night for the same reason. Scheyer is still an excellent player and could explode offensively in the next game. I see him as a borderline pro prospect, in the style of Havlichek if you remember John. Nolan didn't play as much last night, but when in he played defense very aggressively. He is a great talent and will have better games. It was good to see Thomas be more aggressive offensively, even though he didn't rack up a lot of points. They will come if he believes in himself. King seemed lost out there and didn't get many minutes.

We have 4 players who are excellent handling the ball. Singler, Paulus, Smith and Scheyer. That makes the team flexible and it helps that each of those guys can hit his foul shots. I prefer that they provide the majority of the ball handling and set up guys like Nelson and Henderson with one on one oppoortunities. It seems like the most efficient way to avoid turnovers.

With all the good, there were some bad moments as well. Our big guys picked up a lot of silly fouls early on limiting their play. Thomas tries so hard out there but I prefer him to save his fouls for contesting close in shots. Singler sometimes is guilty of committing silly fouls as well and we really need him on the floor for more than 30 minutes. When you look back at the first half, it seemed like NCState was at the line constantly and that is where their lead developed.

Coach K must have lit a fire under the team at the half. It looked like the team was so much sharper coming out for the second half.

[Surfsideron]

I had to watch the Raycom broadcast as well. The thing that pisses me off is that I'll more than likely have to watch the Raycom broadcast next Wednesday as well...unless I go to a bar somewhere around here.

But sometimes it beats the hell out of listening to Len Elmore SWEAR he is a basketball god and make a fool of himself. :D

Dick Vitale makes his return next week for "THE GAME!" Unfortunately we in the Carolinas will not get to see the game on ESPN at home as RayCom will get the rights in the ACC areas.:(

[bdh21]

I got a FEEvah! and the only perSCRIPtion... is more PAULUS

[detule]

I am not sure if this had anything to do with how we performed tonight, but the women's team was represented behind the Duke bench tonight....

No names...

Just sayin'...

[Carlos]

You mentioned Scheyer and the fact that he has had to guard bigger stronger players a lot due to foul problems from our bigger players. As a result, he has picked up a lot of fouls lately and it is really uncharacteristic for his type of play. Notice that McClure also picked up a lot last night for the same reason. Scheyer is still an excellent player and could explode offensively in the next game. I see him as a borderline pro prospect, in the style of Havlichek if you remember John. Nolan didn't play as much last night, but when in he played defense very aggressively. He is a great talent and will have better games. It was good to see Thomas be more aggressive offensively, even though he didn't rack up a lot of points. They will come if he believes in himself. King seemed lost out there and didn't get many minutes.

I think I recall someone saying something about talking with a pro scout and that scout felt Scheyer was a sure-fire pro one day. I can't remember where I heard this and it was only mentioned once, in passing, and the guy didn't make much of a big deal about it.

[jjasper0729]

i'd be a little happier though if we could string together 2 halves like the second half in the same game. preferably, next wednesday night.

[Indoor66]

This game was definatley a tale of 2 halfs.

We all knew that Duke was gonna come out in the 2nd half and make a run.

But NC State just did'nt look as energized, and pumped as they did in the first half.

And next time, Greg Paulus needs to watch his back, he should not be tryin to get fisty with Brandon Costner.

But State put in a great game, and was in it till the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half.

Good game by all, players of the game ar Greg Paulus and Gavin Grant.

But if Courntey Fells had more than 0 points, state might have made a big 2nd half run

If, If If. If is as If does and If didn't.

[mus074]

Paulus
6-11 FG, 5-8 3s, 22 PTs, 6 Assists, 0 TO, & 3 steals.

Henderson
8-11 FG, 6 RB (4 OFF), 18 PTs, 2 assists, 1 block, & 2 steals.

You're absolutely right, whereinthehellami

Henderson's last three games have been a complete turnaround. I posted a while ago that Henderson was taking up too many possessions for his efficiency and Scheyer wasn't doing enough. It seems they took the other side of the coin and didn't adjust usage but efficiency to better reflect their relative contributions. Henderson has shown all-conference efficiency in the last three games, last night shooting an eFG of 72.7% with two steals, two assists and 4 ORebs to offset the 2 TOs. With that type production, he absolutely warranted his taking 27% of the shots while on the floor.

Paulus shot an even better 77.2% eFG, taking 23.8% of the shots while on the floor, with 3 steals and 6 assists. And zero turnovers. Unreal. He was an absolute man.

[77devil]

They stopped competing about midway through the 2nd half and the Devils had only token resistance from then on. Even if you are getting your fannies whipped you should continue to play hard.

Indeed. The timeout that Lowe called with a minute to play and the game way out of reach was probably to address this behavior.

[ACCBBallFan]

Have not had time to peruse any threads yet, but here are my thoughts.

If State plays like it did in the first half, and conversely does not revert to playing like they did in second half, still have a very good chance to finish third in ACC.

The Wolfpack and UVA are low in ACC Standings because of the early season timing of the hated unbalanced schedule.

They have gotten their three toughest games, @ UNC, @ Duke and @ Clemson behind them, and should do better during the remaining part of the ACC season.

The other teams battling for third still have some games to be played @ UNC, @ Duke and @ Clemson.

GT(2), BC(2) everybody but UVA and NC State (who have none remaining) have (1) @ UNC, @ DU or @ CL.

However, both UVA and NC St each still have to host all three of UNC, Duke and Clemson. So nothing is easy in the ACC.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/index.php?title=noting_n_c_state_duke&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

[gadzooks]

We missed the first half due to the whole ESPN/local station nonsense (this has happened a couple times now; for some reason, the game will be listed on both, and the TiVo only records ESPN, which is not actually showing the game), but I reckon that's just as well. We saw the good part of the game. Paulus was a MONSTER, and it was so nice to see him having a good time out there.

[mus074]

which isn't necessarily a good thing. Our defensive efforts have made three of our last four opponents look much better than their season's averages would suggest. However, our offense is just running away from opponents. Those same three games have produced offensive efficiencies at the absolute top of our season's performance. NCSU's defensive eFG ranks about in the toughest quartile of our schedule so far, but our team eFG of 65.2 is stellar. We exceeded NCSU's average by over 20 points, our second best performance of the year, using that metric. The Duke offense is just tearing it up right now. And King and Scheyer are in their funk. Thank goodness for depth, and we have no reason to expect this high level of performance to go away, as those two may come into their own hot streaks for Feb and/or March, allowing the recent hot hands to come back down closer to earth.

I should also point this out: I said in the pre-game thread that our best offensive outings were against teams whose season averages in creating defensive turnovers were among the worst on our schedule, and that NCSU fit that same mold. Bingo! Only games against NCCU and Albany produced a better combo of Off Eff and eFG.

So what does that portend for our future? Future games against Miami (19.5%, 267th), BC (18.0%, 324th), and UVa (19.3%,274th) look like fertile offensive ground.

I don't think the evidence shows the converse to be true - better TO defenses don't necessarily mean a proportionally worse offense, but the five best TO defenses have produced four games in the bottom half of our season's offensive outings, and only two games against the tougher half of that filter of the schedule have produced offensive games in the top half of efficiency (NCCU and Clemson). So there is some definite correlation.

It is worth noting the other defensive TO %ages on our schedule: UNC (22.1%, 131st), Maryland (20.6%, 216th), Wake (26.2%, 13th), St. John's (21.9%, 146th) and Ga. Tech (22.4%, 114th). We may well have our hands full trying to play our game at Wake. Moreover, the other four listed teams would all qualify in the tougher half of our defensive TO schedule. Those nights, we will need our defense to look more like its previous incarnations, as our offense may not be able to steamroll like the last several games.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Have not had time to peruse any threads yet, but here are my thoughts.

If State plays like it did in the first half, and conversely does not revert to playing like they did in second half, still have a very good chance to finish third in ACC.

The Wolfpack and UVA are low in ACC Standings because of the early season timing of the hated unbalanced schedule.

They have gotten their three toughest games, @ UNC, @ Duke and @ Clemson behind them, and should do better during the remaining part of the ACC season.

The other teams battling for third still have some games to be played @ UNC, @ Duke and @ Clemson.

GT(2), BC(2) everybody but UVA and NC State (who have none remaining) have (1) @ UNC, @ DU or @ CL.

However, both UVA and NC St each still have to host all three of UNC, Duke and Clemson. So nothing is easy in the ACC.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/index.php?title=noting_n_c_state_duke&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
I was at the game last night. State was very intense the first half, but seemed to have lost their crispness and edge the second half. In addition to the possibilities already raised, I wonder about the physical conditioning of the State players..... a factor that's in the news in a variety of contexts more and more these days. Physical conditioning will be a particularly important key for the Blue Devils as we head deeper into the season. Near the end of the first half it looked as if we were going to commemorate the 47th. anniversary of "The Fight" a few days early.

The physical environment was more pleasant last night thanks to some AC being circulated. There was a new entertainment feature as well..... a little girl was dressed exactly like the Blue Devil, right down to the tape on the big cartoon like head. She joined him out on the court from time to time and added an unexpected spark to an already outstanding evening.

[bjornolf]

was the rebounding. Just like in previous games where we were getting destroyed on the boards in the first half, we ended up outrebounding them significantly in the second half. When the team rebounds are included, they outrebounded us by 1, while we outrebounded them by 2 in the normal totals, plus Lance Thomas lost one out of bounds that would have evened it up. Considering that NCSU had a double digit rebounding edge for most of the first half, I thought that was a great measure of how much grit the team showed in the second half against another bigger team.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

I think I recall someone saying something about talking with a pro scout and that scout felt Scheyer was a sure-fire pro one day. I can't remember where I heard this and it was only mentioned once, in passing, and the guy didn't make much of a big deal about it.

You're kind of my hero Carlos. :D

[vango]

DBR's home page stated:

"We didn’t see the play, but we understand that Javi Gonzalez decked Paulus..."

I didn't see this either - was it during the time I was watching Notre Dame on ESPN and waiting for the switch over? What happened?

(Apologies if this was mentioned - didn't see a reference to it).

[mehmattski]

DBR's home page stated:

"We didn’t see the play, but we understand that Javi Gonzalez decked Paulus..."

I didn't see this either - was it during the time I was watching Notre Dame on ESPN and waiting for the switch over? What happened?

(Apologies if this was mentioned - didn't see a reference to it).

I admit that I looked away at the precise moment of this play... but from my view in the grad section there was

1) High screen set by Gonzalez
2) Sound of player hitting the floor
3) Indignant crowd suddenly fired up.

According to the people around me, Gonzalez raised his arms while setting the screen, which put them right in Greg's face. Greg went down hard, and to the refs it probably looked like a regular blindside screen. "Decked" may be a little much, but Paulus was definitely angered.

[vango]

I admit that I looked away at the precise moment of this play... but from my view in the grad section there was

1) High screen set by Gonzalez
2) Sound of player hitting the floor
3) Indignant crowd suddenly fired up.

According to the people around me, Gonzalez raised his arms while setting the screen, which put them right in Greg's face. Greg went down hard, and to the refs it probably looked like a regular blindside screen. "Decked" may be a little much, but Paulus was definitely angered.

Thank you - I don't recall that so maybe I was looking in my popcorn bowl or it happened during the overtime of the ND game.

I did sorta chuckle at the State player who tried to do a flop in the second half when Hendo barely bumped him during a dead ball. Deron-esque....

[socaldukie]

Markie's drive and dunk at the 10:30 mark (2nd half) made a huge statement and State really gave up after that.

I love to see the bad ^$%^$%^$% attitude GP shows on the court. I think this is something we haven't had in a long time. We need to display a high level of confidence. With that should be somewhat of an arrogance. (Think back when Laettner and Hurley played)

Markie's ability to change speeds on his drives is what allows him to get to the rim. He seems to understand better this year to not always rely on sheer strength or quickness. You see the same from Henderson. Those are NBA type moves.

Scheyer's pass to Davidson near the end was a great display of how well he sees the court.

How many mistakes can Mike Patrick make when calling a game? He needs a spotter.

Where can I get a live green Duke shirt?

[jjasper0729]

How many mistakes can Mike Patrick make when calling a game? He needs a spotter.

here's where it takes the cake. when I got home from work yesterday while waiting to go to the game, I was watching epsn classic's run of the 1991 Duke/NCState game from reynolds. Calling the game were Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale. I lost count of how many times Patrick called Bryant Feggins (of NCSU Fame) "Howard" Feggins at which point Vitale would correct him. This was 17 YEARS AGO!

[1Devil]

Where can I get a live green Duke shirt?

Probably anywhere. They are not in high demand.

[DukeFanInTerpLand]

Gonzales didn't raise his arm at all, but he did lower his shoulder. It was a hard foul, and not a necessary one (Gonzales wasn't even setting a screen really, he just decked him).

Gonzales really let Paulus get into his head. In the 2nd half, he kept trying to draw intentional fouls, notably against Henderson one time. But his efforts were pathetic and downright humorous. Needless to say, he has some growing up to do.

[devildeac]

If we have one more opening half like vs. md and ncsu, one of the mods(cough, cough, Carlos) may be looking for some practice players to warm up the whole team (and not just Greg) for 20 minutes before game time on Wednesday:D . Seriously, what great hoops the last two 2nd halves!

[CDu]

I admit that I looked away at the precise moment of this play... but from my view in the grad section there was

1) High screen set by Gonzalez
2) Sound of player hitting the floor
3) Indignant crowd suddenly fired up.

According to the people around me, Gonzalez raised his arms while setting the screen, which put them right in Greg's face. Greg went down hard, and to the refs it probably looked like a regular blindside screen. "Decked" may be a little much, but Paulus was definitely angered.

Nah, that's not quite what happened. The Devils were on offense. Paulus was beginning to make a cut through the lane after passing the ball to the wing. Gonzalez was at the free throw line. As Paulus ran through, Gonzalez stepped into Paulus with his side, catching Paulus squarely in the chest. Paulus fell backward - partly from the contact, and I suspect partly selling the contact with a bit of a flop (Paulus has a tendency to exaggerate contact).

I wouldn't say that Gonzalez decked Paulus. Gonzalez is a little guy, and Paulus wasn't running very hard. That said, it was certainly a hard foul, and the contact was certainly intentional on the part of Gonzalez. It seemed clearly a result of frustration over the officiating and Duke's aggressiveness on defense. It was correctly called a foul, and play was stopped as tempers flared for a minute. The officials appeared to talk to Gonzalez.

As for it leading to the foul on Costner by Paulus, I don't see it. I think that was merely Paulus committing a hard foul to prevent an easy bucket for the much bigger Costner. The problem was that Paulus got a large portion of Costner's head on the play. If I were officiating, I might have called the intentional foul for excessive contact there. But, I'm not distraught that they didn't, either.

[Mal]

To me, the season may have been defined by this sequence (details may be fuzzy):

Duke has clawed right back into things, but State appears to be responding. Game intensity is at its highest of the evening. Thomas goes up for a gimme layup, misses, get the rebound, goes back up and the ball is essentially swallowed by Falls. I mean, that was some serious stuffage. State runs the break, gets an easy, high-flying dunk from Grant.

Duke comes right back down the court and Paulus drills a three. Then Paulus gets (kicks) a steal and McClure finishes on a 3-on-1 break. Then another steal/turnover forced by heavy pressure 35 feet from the basket and Singler throws down on the break.

Game over.

So impressive. When faced with a potentially intimidating, humiliating block in a tight game, followed by a highlight reel dunk, we roll off 7 points in 45 seconds to immediately shut down the momentum, take it back, and foot stomp the opponent. Nicely done. That would never have happened last year, or probably in the previous couple.

[dukestheheat]

If we have one more opening half like vs. md and ncsu, one of the mods(cough, cough, Carlos) may be looking for some practice players to warm up the whole team (and not just Greg) for 20 minutes before game time on Wednesday:D . Seriously, what great hoops the last two 2nd halves!

I couldn't agree more that we are going to need to arrive at the gym ready to destroy our opponent. This game was GREAT to watch right after the half, but I just could see that for some reason, Duke didn't seem emotionally 'into' playing NC State last night in that first half.

We were all very pleased to watch the team come back and play great in the Maryland and State games, after the half-time defibrillation talk by K and staff probably, but versus much stiffer competition (ie, UNC and anyone in the NCAA's) Duke is just going to need to be mentally ready from the opening tip.

my $.02

dth.

[robed deity]

To me, the season may have been defined by this sequence (details may be fuzzy):

Duke has clawed right back into things, but State appears to be responding. Game intensity is at its highest of the evening. Thomas goes up for a gimme layup, misses, get the rebound, goes back up and the ball is essentially swallowed by Falls. I mean, that was some serious stuffage. State runs the break, gets an easy, high-flying dunk from Grant.

Duke comes right back down the court and Paulus drills a three. Then Paulus gets (kicks) a steal and McClure finishes on a 3-on-1 break. Then another steal/turnover forced by heavy pressure 35 feet from the basket and Singler throws down on the break.

Game over.

So impressive. When faced with a potentially intimidating, humiliating block in a tight game, followed by a highlight reel dunk, we roll off 7 points in 45 seconds to immediately shut down the momentum, take it back, and foot stomp the opponent. Nicely done. That would never have happened last year, or probably in the previous couple.

Couldn't agree more. I remember thinking right after that block (or whatever that was...Lance has to be stronger with the ball) that our momentum was gone, and that they would go on a run of their own to take the lead back. It struck me as a turning point play. Before I could even finish the thought though, our lead had climbed to about 10. The funny part was the loud reaction after the block from the State fans, subsequently followed by the Duke run that shut them up and sent Cameron into a frenzy, all in a 45 second span.

[CDu]

To me, the season may have been defined by this sequence (details may be fuzzy):

Duke has clawed right back into things, but State appears to be responding. Game intensity is at its highest of the evening. Thomas goes up for a gimme layup, misses, get the rebound, goes back up and the ball is essentially swallowed by Falls. I mean, that was some serious stuffage. State runs the break, gets an easy, high-flying dunk from Grant.

Duke comes right back down the court and Paulus drills a three. Then Paulus gets (kicks) a steal and McClure finishes on a 3-on-1 break. Then another steal/turnover forced by heavy pressure 35 feet from the basket and Singler throws down on the break.

Game over.

So impressive. When faced with a potentially intimidating, humiliating block in a tight game, followed by a highlight reel dunk, we roll off 7 points in 45 seconds to immediately shut down the momentum, take it back, and foot stomp the opponent. Nicely done. That would never have happened last year, or probably in the previous couple.

You are dead-on here. It was even confirmed by a friend of my who's a State fan. That sequence following the block and dunk completely deflated the Pack. They had withstood our initial second half charge to regain a 3-point lead, and temporarily quieted the crowd with a monster dunk, and momentum was theirs. Then, Paulus drained a three to tie. Then, Paulus got away with what should have been an easy kicked ball call and converted it into a bucket. Then, we had the over the head pass to Singler for another dunk. And suddenly, we're up 4 and have all the momentum.

After that, State seemed to give up. We followed that quick burst with a 13-3 stretch over the next 4 minutes, extending the lead to 14 with about 9 minutes left. And the game was essentially over.

[kdevilsk212]

That behind the back pass of paulus' was ridonculous. If anyone has a clip of it...please post.

I don't have the clip, but that pass was nearly identical to a Bobby Hurley highlight that they used to show adnauseum on CBS. It was eerie actually. Does anyone have THAT clip?

[devil84]

Thank you - I don't recall that so maybe I was looking in my popcorn bowl or it happened during the overtime of the ND game.

When we got home from the game, my husband tried to look for this on the DVR. We got the regional telecast, not ESPN. It wasn't shown on the broadcast -- they cut to a highlight just as it happened, and came back to the live feed just as the jostling in the huddles was ending.

Thanks, CDu, for posting your complete view. Your view seems quite accurate from my vantage point in Section 11 (same end of court, press row side).

[CDu]

That behind the back pass of paulus' was ridonculous. If anyone has a clip of it...please post.

I don't have the clip, but that pass was nearly identical to a Bobby Hurley highlight that they used to show adnauseum on CBS. It was eerie actually. Does anyone have THAT clip?

Paulus has actually thrown that pass a few times on the break in his college career. I definitely recall seeing it last year some.

[mehmattski]

Nah, that's not quite what happened. The Devils were on offense. Paulus was beginning to make a cut through the lane after passing the ball to the wing. Gonzalez was at the free throw line. As Paulus ran through, Gonzalez stepped into Paulus with his side, catching Paulus squarely in the chest. Paulus fell backward - partly from the contact, and I suspect partly selling the contact with a bit of a flop (Paulus has a tendency to exaggerate contact).

I wouldn't say that Gonzalez decked Paulus. Gonzalez is a little guy, and Paulus wasn't running very hard. That said, it was certainly a hard foul, and the contact was certainly intentional on the part of Gonzalez. It seemed clearly a result of frustration over the officiating and Duke's aggressiveness on defense. It was correctly called a foul, and play was stopped as tempers flared for a minute. The officials appeared to talk to Gonzalez.

As for it leading to the foul on Costner by Paulus, I don't see it. I think that was merely Paulus committing a hard foul to prevent an easy bucket for the much bigger Costner. The problem was that Paulus got a large portion of Costner's head on the play. If I were officiating, I might have called the intentional foul for excessive contact there. But, I'm not distraught that they didn't, either.

Wow, yeah, I completely messed up. It happened in the first half, so Duke was on offense when it happened, and it couldn't have been a screen. I also did not remember the foul being called. Thanks for your correction!

By the way, one of my favorite moments of the game was Henderson's rebound basket in the second half. He was WAY up, grabbed the ball with one hand and then tomahawked it down... not a dunk but he threw the ball downward. Just an amazing display of athleticism.

[CDu]

Wow, yeah, I completely messed up. It happened in the first half, so Duke was on offense when it happened, and it couldn't have been a screen. I also did not remember the foul being called. Thanks for your correction!

By the way, one of my favorite moments of the game was Henderson's rebound basket in the second half. He was WAY up, grabbed the ball with one hand and then tomahawked it down... not a dunk but he threw the ball downward. Just an amazing display of athleticism.

No sweat. It's really tough to keep track of specific details during the game when you're watching in Cameron, so it's completely understandable. Just thought I'd clarify.

And yeah, the Henderson putback was great. He seemed to pause in the air for a moment after catching it (as if he was deciding whether to try to dunk or not) and then put it in off the glass. Very impressive athleticism.

[dyedwab]

I don't have the clip, but that pass was nearly identical to a Bobby Hurley highlight that they used to show adnauseum on CBS. It was eerie actually. Does anyone have THAT clip?

Hurley to Grant Hill in the 1991 semi finals against UNLV

[SMO]

No sweat. It's really tough to keep track of specific details during the game when you're watching in Cameron, so it's completely understandable. Just thought I'd clarify.

And yeah, the Henderson putback was great. He seemed to pause in the air for a moment after catching it (as if he was deciding whether to try to dunk or not) and then put it in off the glass. Very impressive athleticism.

Great description of the Henderson put-back! To have the athleticism and hang-time to go up, seemingly pause in mid-air, then kiss the ball off the glass is simply amazing.

[Matches]

Wow State is a train wreck. I don't recall ever seeing a team (even the 1994 Heels) where it was so obvious the players do not get along. The body language is terrible, between players and between players and coach.

If I were Lowe, I'd start McCauley at point. Yeah, unorthodox - but he's not going to be any worse at that position than the guys currently playing it. Then start Costner and Hickson *together* in the front court. Grant helps McCauley out with ballhandling duties. The team packs back in a zone - which helps with the speed deficit on the perimeter. McCauley, Costner, and Hickson ALL get their minutes. Seems to me that would work at least as well as what they're doing now.

GREAT game by Paulus in particular - those threes were just daggers.

[Stray Gator]

Hurley to Grant Hill in the 1991 semi finals against UNLV

Actually, I think the play most similar was early in the second half against Michigan in the '92 Championship Game. In the first half, Laettner had (as I recall) 5 or 6 turnovers and appeared to be in a complete fatigue funk, while the smack-talking "Fab Five" was bouncing along and had taken the halftime lead. Very early in the second half, Bobby got CL going with that over the shoulder pass on the break for a jam, and then a nice feed at the top of the key for a three-pointer, which launched the energetic comeback that ultimately buried Michigan and sent Chris Webber into the tunnel with a towel over his head pouting "I'm a MAN!" Good times. :) (My son and I were sitting right behind the Duke basket for the second half, just a couple of rows above the Duke pep band, which, back then in the tourney, sat in the lower level bleachers behind the basket closest to the team's bench.)

[vango]

I don't have the clip, but that pass was nearly identical to a Bobby Hurley highlight that they used to show adnauseum on CBS. It was eerie actually. Does anyone have THAT clip?

I assume you mean this one (about the 1:50 mark of this video) vs. UNLV...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YrYQLw3NdQ

A little different angle but roughly the same. Paulus did that pass in a game last year - can't recall the game though...

THE dunk! comes a couple seconds after that....

[greybeard]

One thing to keep in mind about the tale of two halves: these other teams can play and come in over amped, play lights out and then crash, emotionally as well as physically.

Their aggression during first half play is amped up even further by two factors: 1. they know that Duke is that good; and 2. they come in knowing that Duke is small and swearing to themselves that that means that they can be dominated. So far, that has not proven to be true; Duke hangs in, finds combinations from the wealth of strong littles that are getting it done that evening, and then really gets in gear.

Each game, K has to look for the best combination, particularly of his littles, and decide whether to try to use Singler inside or out, based upon how everybody shows up on each particular evening. That takes time to work out. They keep it close until K sees what will work the best, tweaks and installs it during half time, and then look out.

They do play great for 40 minutes, only it shows up differently.

In short, with regard to the NCSt's of the world, think trench warfare WWI. On the other hand, with Duke, think the type of flexible and devasting smaller modern army that Rummy only thought he was creating. Extraordinary deployment adjustments made on the field of battle while the fighting is going on using troups trained and equiped to fight in this new style of war. amazing stuff, I tell you, amazing!

[dcarp23]

I assume you mean this one (about the 1:50 mark of this video) vs. UNLV...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YrYQLw3NdQ



I've got another question about that clip. Who were the parties involved in the head slam at the 1:10 mark? I don't remember that play at all.

[CDu]

I've got another question about that clip. Who were the parties involved in the head slam at the 1:10 mark? I don't remember that play at all.

UConn's Rod Sellers slammed Laettner's head against the floor.

[DukeUsul]

Gonzales didn't raise his arm at all, but he did lower his shoulder. It was a hard foul, and not a necessary one (Gonzales wasn't even setting a screen really, he just decked him).

Gonzales really let Paulus get into his head. In the 2nd half, he kept trying to draw intentional fouls, notably against Henderson one time. But his efforts were pathetic and downright humorous. Needless to say, he has some growing up to do.

Just went back and watched this on the DVR (I had the Raycom feed, so I didn't actually see it occur) but it was right after Gonzales had two 5-sec calls caused by GP. Clearly he let GP get in his head and it was a frustration foul.

Edit: Actually, a few mins later Raycom showed the replay. In the immortal words of Billy Packer "that easily could have been called a foul on Paulus" Gotta love him.

Edit #2: w00t! 200 posts. Jason better watch out.

[CDu]

Just went back and watched this on the DVR (I had the Raycom feed, so I didn't actually see it occur) but it was right after Gonzales had two 5-sec calls caused by GP. Clearly he let GP get in his head and it was a frustration foul.

Edit: Actually, a few mins later Raycom showed the replay. In the immortal words of Billy Packer "that easily could have been called a foul on Paulus" Gotta love him.

Edit #2: w00t! 200 posts. Jason better watch out.

Yeah, Packer is just ridiculous. There was no way that was a foul on Paulus. That said, the second 5-second call was BS. Gonzalez had gone from midcourt to the free throw line and was attacking the basket. There was no reason for a 5-second call there. But yeah, the foul was definitely a foul on Gonzalez.

On a side note. I'm not a big fan of the 5-second call or the 10-second backcourt violation. It just doesn't make any sense to me. You have 35 seconds with which to take a shot that hits the rim. If you want to risk a turnover by letting a defender guard you closely for 15 of those seconds, you should have that right. Seems like a silly rule to me. Sort of like the illegal defense rule in the NBA. There should be no such thing.

[Section 8]

...that would be the moment i began my intense hatred of all things uconn.


UConn's Rod Sellers slammed Laettner's head against the floor.

[Acymetric]

...that would be the moment i began my intense hatred of all things uconn.

Not the minute they hired Calhoun? Or was he more tolerable earlier in his career? (Slightly before my time...)

[CDu]

Not the minute they hired Calhoun? Or was he more tolerable earlier in his career? (Slightly before my time...)

He was an unknown earlier in his career. You have to be exposed to be intolerable.

[Acymetric]

He was an unknown earlier in his career. You have to be exposed to be intolerable.

Thats what I figured. Wasn't sure when he got to that point.

[CDu]

Thats what I figured. Wasn't sure when he got to that point.

If I had to guess, he didn't really become intolerable (at least from the Duke perspective) until after the 1999 upset. After that, under the magnifying glass, he started to show some less than complimentary traits.

[DukieInBrasil]

this team! After a nervous 1st half we got treated to an exhibition in determination and we saw yet again that this team has what it takes to just rip the other team's heart out. We've got so many guys on this team with guts and the will to dominate the other team.
We've played consecutive games against teams that have struggled this year at times and came out rather blasé against both, only to turn it on in the 2nd half. Tho it's nice to see that we can turn it on when need be, the apparently lackadaisical effort to start the game could get us in big trouble come next week.

The Good
• The PG - Paulus did a remarkable job in this game, holding the team afloat in the first half and then driving in a dagger with triple 3s in like a minute. I like the 22pts but I love the 6/0 a/to ratio. Paulus deserves big-time kudos from all you bashers out there as GP rose to the occasion playing like a leader. Unfortunately, Nolan never got anything going. As a team we controlled the ball well and had a comfortable + a/to margin.
• 3pt Shooting - 45% from Bonus Land will get us to the victory circle on a regular basis. GP was awesome from 3 (5-8) while we had a boatload of other Devils chipping in. King got nothing going but it was nice to see that Scheyer drained his only 3ball.
• Balance - It was a weird balance in that we had 4 guys scoring 18-22pts and then 4 other guys put in a total of 15. So 4 guys scored explosively but were all close to each other in output. Putting 8 guys in the scoring column is nice, too.
• FT shooting - We shot well as a team overall, 70+% should be this team's goal every night and they went just beyond the threshold. DeMarcus started the game with a nervous 3-6 but then sank 4 strait for a 7-10 night; it's something that won't get lots of ink but it was a good recovery and demonstrated some real resolve. Scheyer had a somewhat quiet night with 7 very efficient pts, 1-1 3pt and 4-4FT.
• Rebounding - After getting waxed in the 1st half on the boards we came out and destroyed NCSU in the 2nd half, especially on the O-boards, to claim a very slim rebounding margin against a team with more height and depth in the paint.


The Bad
• The 1st Half - You've read plenty about the 1st Half already so I won't detail much of it but to say that it's understandable that we won't score like world-beaters every time out, but we shouldn't be giving up 40+pts in a half to this year's State team. Our D in the 1st Half was lame, most likely a reflection of how we perceived State rather than genuinely wanting to make them feel how good we are.