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DukieInBrasil
02-01-2008, 08:15 PM
What character and determination this team has!!! A 6-0 start in ACC play is indeed great and reason for high spirits, but let's look at those 4 wins a bit closer to appreciate them even more. 3 road wins, by 17, 13 and 9 pts and 3 home wins, by 20, 18 and 13 points, so apparently there's been no letdown in our play home vs. away. In 4 of the wins we came back from being down in the 2nd half to win. In other words, good balance in performance. I haven't looked at statistical differences, but the margin of victory is as important as (or more) shooting %, rebounding etc.

We've had 4 different leading scorers in 6 games (DeMarcus thrice) and in only one of them (FSU) was there a leading scorer (Scheyer) who scored significantly more than the #2-scorer. Even then there was still good balance in scoring amongst the rest of the players, so we've gotten very good balance from our scorers in concert with our balanced performances home vs. away.

We've also had excellent distribution in rebounding. Even though we are not deep in the frontcourt, and some critics say we are not a "strong" rebounding team, everyone in the lineup chips in on the boards to compensate. Let's hope that LT's recent awakening after a prolonged slumber continues, because 5+ boards from him goes a long way towards making Duke more dynamic. He scored 6 very efficient pts vs. VT on 2-2 FG and 2-2 FT. MD, who has 2 very good frontcourt players, only out-rebounded us by 1, although Clemson's frontcourt destroyed us on the boards.

Another essential ingredient so far is that our Fr. have grown up fast and can now play as well (if not better) on the road. Singler was a monster at VT (16pts 9rebs) and led the team in both pts and rebs. TK had a sublime if not audacious performance at VT (3-5 3pt shooting, 3rebs) and Nolan turned in his best game yet at MD with 14 pts and 6 rebs. We will be hard to contend with on any given night if our Fr. continue to perform at that level, especially on the road.

The nice thing about the balance we've displayed so far is that we are a really tough team to totally disrupt. Even though Pitt was able to do that, the game was always winnable. Most teams don't have the talent and depth in the backcourt to take that away from us and several of our guys can put serious pressure on their frontcourt from the wings. Hopefully, the efficiency that Lance has shown lately will be repeated regularly. This would only help to make Duke even more difficult to deal with, because it would complement Singler in the post.

Madrasdukie
02-01-2008, 08:32 PM
Yes, the balance has been great. I would also consider the assists as being somewhat balanced between Greg, Nolan, Scheyer, DeMarcus and Henderson and maybe will be more balanced with time (Gerald and DeMarcus I think have shown/developed this aspect of their game this year). Kyle is getting into the picture as well in this regard and will probably to a greater extent as Lance continues to emerge &/ Zoubek starts playing.

Here are the numbers from Goduke.com for the 19 games played so far:

Paulus 67
Smith 38
Nelson 57
Scheyer 40
Henderson 32
Singler 24

4decadedukie
02-02-2008, 07:46 AM
I agree, but would respectfully add that there appears to be another type of "balance" (beyond the statistically documented you have highlighted) that is equally (or, perhaps, even more) critical. This is a TEAM, where self is subordinated to the group and collective, winning performance dominates. Nelson has led us to victory on many occasions against determined and zealous opponents, but Paulus did so on Thursday, and Singler, King and Scheyer (among others) have also done so. Further, these guys truly appear to enjoy -- actually, to revel -- in their shared successes and sacrifices. In an era of superstars and of concomitant egos, I simply cannot overemphasize the respect I feel for Duke's 2007-2008 squad; not only is it one of my favorites throughout several decades, but it is beginning to epitomize exactly what I believe intercollegiate sports should be all about.

Chard
02-02-2008, 10:41 AM
It is very clear that this team likes playing together. They also don't hesitate to get after each other and communicate what needs to be communicated. The first half of NCSU I saw a lot of annimated talking in the Duke hudles. I liked seeing that.

DukieInBrasil
02-02-2008, 05:23 PM
to 4decades, i agree that DeMarcus seems to have subordinated his scoring early in the year to help develop the chemsitry of this team, leading by example and doing all the dirty work. It seems to really have rubbed off and now this team is tough as nails. Paulus also, as a leader, sacrificed a lot of his scoring potential to serve as a leader. Both have turned it on lately and are scoring at a much elevated clip, and the team has elevated its play along with them. ITīs a beautiful thing to see.