Man of the Match vs. St. John's

[Jumbo]

Who was the Man of the Match against St. John's?

[weezie]

Jon is critical to the team's mental stability. What a treasure he is; I'm ashamed of myself for wondering if he was shaky at the beginning of the season.

[pamtar]

Double double for Big Z! How can you not vote for him?

[Jumbo]

I figure Zoubek will win this, but I voted for Scheyer. His defense set the tone early in the game, and even though he didn't touch the ball much in the second half, he gave the team the push it needed when the game was still close.

[Madrasdukie]

Jon.

[dukelifer]

While he clearly was not the best player on the floor- I will remember this game only for the fact that Zoubek played well and this game could give him confidence going forward.

[Ben63]

Nolan. He came in earlier than planned, got extended minutes and played extremely well.

[mr. synellinden]

CBS picked Singler and I agree. I thought Scheyer and Zoubek were outstanding and deserved consideration but the after the buzzer one handed putback and Singler's reaction were priceless.

He showed in this game one of the reasons why he's so good, moving without the basketball and uncanny court awareness. The fast break down the lane finish off a feed from GP to start the second half ... the drive in the first half, stop so the defender could blow by and lay in ... Watch in future games how he drives to the basket, particularly from the strong/right handed side and how he uses his body and hands to deceive the defender that he is going to use one shot angle, and then shft and use another angle to avoid the block shot. You can't teach that.

It is such a pleasure to watch him play the game.

[BobbyFan]

Singler is my choice, but I can't argue much against Smith, Scheyer, or Zoubek.

[devildeac]

ZZZZ!!!!

Hopefuly a huge confidence builder for him coming back from his re-injury

[dyedwab]

...but Z's double double gets my vote....best game of his career.

[gofurman]

...but Z's double double gets my vote....best game of his career.

ZOU !, but glad to see Hendo get more aggressive offensively...a good game for Duke... now let's get it going again !

[dukestheheat]

I'm going with Nolan not because I'm his best fan but because I felt that when we needed some spark, he came in and delivered. GREAT to see the guys get the points flowing again.

dth.

[DukePA]

Zoooouuuuuu!!!!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Zou vote from me. He took advantage of getting a bunch of minutes and made it worthwhile being on the floor. I doubt he will ever be the best on the floor, but he sure can be a big help. Nice double-double action!

[DukeDevilDeb]

A double-double from Brian Z, and he is my MOTM.... did you see him run the floor today? Wow! Is this really the same guy who never touched the ball last year without traveling?

I love Jon; I love Kyle; I love Nolan. But tonight was Zoubek's game.

ZOUBEK!!!!!!!!!:p :) :o

[mapei]

I agree on Zoubek. He looked like a completely different person than the one I have seen in every other game he's played in.

(Of course, as a Gtown fan, I must remember that St. John's did the same thing for Hoya backup center Vernon Macklin earlier in the year, and since then Vern has been his more familiar self.)

[CDu]

I voted for Zoubek, largely because in a blowout like this no one really carried the team (many people had strong games, and the game was largely not in doubt).

However, I could completely understand arguments for Smith (ran the team brilliantly in place of Paulus who had a rough game), Singler (leading scorer and a solid line overall), or Scheyer (led the team in scoring in the first half and led in steals).

Ultimately, I'd rank them in that order (Zoubek, Smith, Singler, Scheyer). If I had to rank in order of importance to the victory, I'd go Smith, Scheyer, Singler. But since it was such I rout, I went with Zoubs.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

First I thought Singler or Scheyer, then Zoubek. But the man who turned the game around was Nolan Smith. With Paulus playing with his head stuck up his butt again, and picking up 3 quick fouls, Nolan righted the ship both with his PG directing and to a lessor extent his scoring. Nolan got my vote, but Zoubek clearly is the winner in the poll.

[Classof06]

Gotta go with Zoubek.

Though I left Miami's arena disappointed on Wednesday night, the lone bright spot was the progress I saw in Brian. Today, he played very well. Though I realize he's not our best player off the bench, I personally didn't think Krzyzewski was giving Brian enough minutes. I didn't predict this big a game but I knew if Brian got extended minutes he'd be able to do some things.

I really hope this gives him confidence going forward. I know I sound like a broken record, but this team will need Brian in March if they are to win it all. No way around it.

[SilkyJ]

posted this elsewhere, but why did Jon kinda dissapear in the 2nd half. didn't get to see the game (the mirage in vegas wasn't carrying it. go figure) but i read that he scored all his points in this 8-10 minute stretch where we went on a typical duke run of like 20-5 or something ridiculous. Were we trying to get others (zoubek?) the ball more to get them touches? did the defense key on him? was he tired???

[Uncle Drew]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was bloody impressed by BZ's play yesterday. The DBR write up on the game is sooo on the money saying he looks twice as good as he did before the injury. Sumner has often stated that it takes longer for the really tall ones to adapt to college. And I've known plenty of guys who had height but looked like a robot or like they had braces on their legs. One play Brian realized he was out of position and hauled glutimus maximus down court to catch up with his man. Okay he didn't look like Gayle Sayers, and anyone that tall is going to look awkward to an extent. But Z was moving!!!!!!!! I have no doubt I could beat him in a 50 yard dash, but it would take 3 of my steps to equal one of his. Brian if you happen to be reading this, that was probably the best game of your Duke career so far. We the fans are noticing the improvement and we REALLY appreciate the hard work you've put in to not only get better but get back from your injury so fast.


And Lance, a ton of us have noticed your new aggressive moves around the basket on offense and defense. NOW we are seeing why you were ranked so highly and why so many of us were doing the happy, happy; joy, joy dance when you inked with Duke. The work you guys are putting in can only help the rest of the season and in the seasons to come!

[Jumbo]

posted this elsewhere, but why did Jon kinda dissapear in the 2nd half. didn't get to see the game (the mirage in vegas wasn't carrying it. go figure) but i read that he scored all his points in this 8-10 minute stretch where we went on a typical duke run of like 20-5 or something ridiculous. Were we trying to get others (zoubek?) the ball more to get them touches? did the defense key on him? was he tired???

Didn't look tired. I think it was a combination of things:
-Paulus got in foul trouble in the first half, and although Smith came in, Scheyer took a lot of the playmaking upon himself. Paulus was back in with Scheyer during the second half and didn't get him the ball as much.
-Duke changed its offense (especially later in the second half) to feed Zoubek and work on some other things.
-Duke had a big lead.

[CDu]

Didn't look tired. I think it was a combination of things:
-Paulus got in foul trouble in the first half, and although Smith came in, Scheyer took a lot of the playmaking upon himself. Paulus was back in with Scheyer during the second half and didn't get him the ball as much.
-Duke changed its offense (especially later in the second half) to feed Zoubek and work on some other things.
-Duke had a big lead.

I agree that he didn't look tired, but I don't think Scheyer took on much (if any) more of the playmaking after Paulus got in foul trouble. Smith ran the offense when he came in in the first half for the struggling Paulus. Scheyer's points in the first half came off of a technical foul, a foul on a transition play, two threes from the corner, and a jump shot of a drive from the wing. That's pretty much your standard fare from a wing player - he just happened to be hitting all of his shots.

I think Scheyer's second-half "absence" was more of a case of your second point (changing the offense and featuring Zoubek), as well as random variation in the half-court offense (Singler wound up getting more of the shots when the ball swung around the perimeter rather than finding Scheyer). He definitely wasn't playing poorly, it's just that the offense didn't get to him.

When we have this many weapons, some players can have quiet halves just by nature of the way the action flows. The second half was a case of that for Scheyer, I think.

[Jumbo]

I agree that he didn't look tired, but I don't think Scheyer took on much (if any) more of the playmaking after Paulus got in foul trouble. Smith ran the offense when he came in in the first half for the struggling Paulus. Scheyer's points in the first half came off of a technical foul, a foul on a transition play, two threes from the corner, and a jump shot of a drive from the wing. That's pretty much your standard fare from a wing player - he just happened to be hitting all of his shots.

I think Scheyer's second-half "absence" was more of a case of your second point (changing the offense and featuring Zoubek), as well as random variation in the half-court offense (Singler wound up getting more of the shots when the ball swung around the perimeter rather than finding Scheyer). He definitely wasn't playing poorly, it's just that the offense didn't get to him.

When we have this many weapons, some players can have quiet halves just by nature of the way the action flows. The second half was a case of that for Scheyer, I think.

Except he also had three assists and a number of other passes to open shooters who missed. A lot of times when Smith and Scheyer are in together, Nolan gives it up and to Jon quickly on the wing, who then looks to make a play up top. That happens less often with Paulus in the game. It's also worth noting that Scheyer ran the point for a brief stint when Nolan came out of the game and Paulus was still in foul trouble.

[CDu]

Except he also had three assists and a number of other passes to open shooters who missed. A lot of times when Smith and Scheyer are in together, Nolan gives it up and to Jon quickly on the wing, who then looks to make a play up top. That happens less often with Paulus in the game. It's also worth noting that Scheyer ran the point for a brief stint when Nolan came out of the game and Paulus was still in foul trouble.

One of those assists came with Paulus in the game, so that's not really an argument that he was running more of the offense with Smith in the game. Another came off a Singler offensive rebound in which Scheyer swung the ball to Smith for an open three. The third came off of one of his own offensive rebounds in which he fed Nelson for a layup. None of those are evidence of running the offense more with Paulus out. Those are all in the flow of play as a wing player.

And regardless, the original question was in reference to why he disappeared in the second half. He MAY have handled the ball a bit more in the first half, but that isn't why he got his points or his assists. He didn't get his points as a playmaker - he got them on the wing as a spot shooter, in transition, and on a technical foul. And he got at his assists from a wing role as well, swinging the ball to players for threes or off a rebound for a layup. Therefore, the reason it looks like he disappears has less (if anything at all) to do with taking less of a playmaker role as it does the offense just not swinging to him in the second half as it did in the first half.

[Delaware]

Bill Raftery was singing his praises all game. He really played a great first half and set the tone.

[CDu]

Bill Raftery was singing his praises all game. He really played a great first half and set the tone.

Agreed. Scheyer had a great game. I wasn't in any way intending to disparage Scheyer with my previous posts. I was just trying to clarify his performance. He did a great job on the wing in the first half (on both ends of the floor). In the second half, the game just didn't come to him as much on the offensive end (due to no fault of his own).

My point was simply that Scheyer's 12 points and 3 assists in the first half came from his play in the flow of the game, not as a result of added playmaking responsibility with Paulus out. In fact, I think that that's an even more impressive statement about Scheyer's performance - despite not running the offense and/or dominating possession, he was still able to fill the stat sheet.

[Jumbo]

One of those assists came with Paulus in the game, so that's not really an argument that he was running more of the offense with Smith in the game. Another came off a Singler offensive rebound in which Scheyer swung the ball to Smith for an open three. The third came off of one of his own offensive rebounds in which he fed Nelson for a layup. None of those are evidence of running the offense more with Paulus out. Those are all in the flow of play as a wing player.

And regardless, the original question was in reference to why he disappeared in the second half. He MAY have handled the ball a bit more in the first half, but that isn't why he got his points or his assists. He didn't get his points as a playmaker - he got them on the wing as a spot shooter, in transition, and on a technical foul. And he got at his assists from a wing role as well, swinging the ball to players for threes or off a rebound for a layup. Therefore, the reason it looks like he disappears has less (if anything at all) to do with taking less of a playmaker role as it does the offense just not swinging to him in the second half as it did in the first half.

Apparently we were watching different games. I saw Scheyer pushing the ball in transition repeatedly. I saw him getting dribble-handoffs from Smith and looking to create up top. Compare that to the second half, where he barely touched the ball, and stood clapping for the ball on the wing while Paulus ignored him and dribbled in the other direction.

[Dbluedevils1530]

I thought Zoubek played a hell of a game

[DukeBlood]

Apparently we were watching different games. I saw Scheyer pushing the ball in transition repeatedly. I saw him getting dribble-handoffs from Smith and looking to create up top. Compare that to the second half, where he barely touched the ball, and stood clapping for the ball on the wing while Paulus ignored him and dribbled in the other direction.

Just curious, who do you like better as a PG? Paulus or Smith? The way you talk right there, It would appear as if you prefer Smith some of the time.

[dukegirlinsc]

Nolan. He came in earlier than planned, got extended minutes and played extremely well.

I voted for Gerald Henderson. But very valid point about Nolan, I didn't even think about that. Although, it's hard for me to decide when what, 5 players scored in the double digits. Niiiice. :cool:

[CDu]

Apparently we were watching different games. I saw Scheyer pushing the ball in transition repeatedly. I saw him getting dribble-handoffs from Smith and looking to create up top. Compare that to the second half, where he barely touched the ball, and stood clapping for the ball on the wing while Paulus ignored him and dribbled in the other direction.

He may have gotten those opportunities (can't remember because they didn't result in anything), but those are not the situations in which he scored or got his assists. Also, those aren't examples of Scheyer assuming the playmaker's role. Those are examples of him getting touches as a wing player or having the ball in transition.

I agree that he barely touched the ball in the second half. That's why he didn't get any stats. But again, that's not a case of him being more of a playmaker in the first half and less of a playmaker in the second half. That's a case of the offense just going in a different direction in the second half (more to Singler and Paulus and Zoubek).

[Jumbo]

He may have gotten those opportunities (can't remember because they didn't result in anything), but those are not the situations in which he scored or got his assists. Also, those aren't examples of Scheyer assuming the playmaker's role. Those are examples of him getting touches as a wing player or having the ball in transition.

I agree that he barely touched the ball in the second half. That's why he didn't get any stats. But again, that's not a case of him being more of a playmaker in the first half and less of a playmaker in the second half. That's a case of the offense just going in a different direction in the second half (more to Singler and Paulus and Zoubek).

You're really starting to irritate me. When you get the ball on a dribble-handoff and take the ball to the top of the key, looking to create, you thus "making a play." I didn't say he was running the point. I said he assumed more of a playmaking role which any idiot could have seen, given the way he was creating for himself and others. Sheesh.

[CDu]

You're really starting to irritate me. When you get the ball on a dribble-handoff and take the ball to the top of the key, looking to create, you thus "making a play." I didn't say he was running the point. I said he assumed more of a playmaking role which any idiot could have seen, given the way he was creating for himself and others. Sheesh.

I'm sorry to be irritating you - I just disagree with your original premise. If that bothers you so much, I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to state my opinion. Only one of the plays in which he scored or got an assist would fall under the "playmaking" category (his last jumper). Everything else was in transition, as a recipient of a kickout, or off an offensive rebound.

It's a semantics argument, I realize. But while he was more aggressive in the first half, his points and assists came largely on what I wouldn't call playmaking situations. But it's not really worth this much discussion. We both think he had a great game. I'm sorry you're so irritated by our disagreement. I'll move on now - it's not worth you being irritated.