MBB: Duke 85, UAB 64 Post Game Thread

Kyle should shoot less (5 for 18), and Andre should shoot more. They need to redesign the offense to get more looks for Andre, and have Kyle pass more. Kyle is shooting again like he did early last year.

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Originally Posted by hq2

Kyle should shoot less (5 for 18), and Andre should shoot more. They need to redesign the offense to get more looks for Andre, and have Kyle pass more. Kyle is shooting again like he did early last year.

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Kyle will finish like he did last year. I agree it would be nice for Andre to get a few more looks and I'm sure Coach K has thought of that as well. What I don't want is for Andre to begin forcing shots. It's one thing for our senioir AA to force shots but not our young sophmore. We need Andre's confidence to remain high. I'm not worried about Kyle. Go Duke!

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Originally Posted by jimsumner

Inasmuch as Duke gets all the calls, the proposal should pass by noon. Look for Singler, Smith, Dawkins and Kelly to play 40 minutes per game. Unless one of them gets in the doghouse. Then we can switch to three-on-three.

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We'd win the 3 on 3 national championship, even with Kyrie injured. Give me Nolan, Dre, and Singler and we'll beat anyone. Yeah, I know, I'm sacrificing size for outside shooting by taking Dre over Kelly, but I've been drinking the K brand Kool-Aid for 25 years now, and we all know that K neglects the interior in favor of over-reliance on the 3, so I'm just a product of my environment.

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Originally Posted by steven52682

Mason was great last night. We saw a couple times just how gifted he is as a big man (like the run out layup). With a little more strength so he can hold his ground on the block, and a little more polish on his back to the basket moves, we will hopefully see more Marquette performances and fewer Miami performances.

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Against Miami, Mason had 10 rebounds and 4 blocks and had a significantly higher plus/minus per 40 than anyone on the team except Ryan. Personally, I wouldn't mind him having lots of performances like that.

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Originally Posted by Kedsy

Against Miami, Mason had 10 rebounds and 4 blocks and had a significantly higher plus/minus per 40 than anyone on the team except Ryan. Personally, I wouldn't mind him having lots of performances like that.

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I should clarify. I think Mason has been playing good D and been providing great rebounding all year. That has been a constant. I was referring to offensive production.

Here are Frank Haith's comments on the Michael Irving show which sounded very simiular in format ot the Dave Glenn show.

http://wqam.com/index.php?page=347

Coach Haith made the point that except for Nolan's 11 point run, Miami played Duke even the other 38 minutes.

Same in UAB game, after the 26-4 start, rest of the game was Duke 59, UAB 60.

With a perimeter of Nolan - Kyle - Dre (or Seth), defense has to pick its poison especially when Kelly is in there to spread the floor.

UAB is a good team that was star struck the first few minutes, quality win for Duke.

Coach Haith made the point that Miami has played Duke tough and has led the prior three games at half.

So return match at Miami should be closer on February 13, and a trap game afer the emotional UNC rivalry game on Feb 9.

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Originally Posted by Billy Dat

It's clear that the game plan is for Nolan to be a score-first PG who we depend on to get his points early, often and in a variety of ways. Clearly, he seems up to the task. Everyone else is going to have to figure how where they fit in that formula.

For Kyle, it's going to be a lot of pick and pop 3s after he sets high screens, and, it seems, more post-ups. Hopefully he'll start converting that little baby hook because the shot is there when he wants it. He'll also be forced to be active on the boards which is usually a good thing for he and the team.

We seemed to run a lot more plays for the bigs tonight, perhaps because we had a size advantage. Mason was a big beneficiary. We set him up both on the wing and on the block and he really finished well. Kelly got a lot of looks and played well. Miles was kind of non-existent. Most nights, I guess we'll be ok as long as 2 of the 3 have decent games.

Extending that thought a little further, after Nolan and Kyle, it seems like we're ok as long as 3 other guys have decent games. You need 2 of the 3 bigs to show up and we need Dre or Seth to be on their game. Obviously, against the best teams we'll need solid efforts from everyone, but no one is really emerging from the pack game after game. You'd think Dre and Mason were the most likely candidates - they've got a lot of games left to increase their consistency.

I agree about UAB hitting some seriously long 3s, I was more concerned with how easily they seemed to be getting backdoor looks. They missed a ton of shots from 5 feet and in that they should have made, especially early. We also seem a little susceptible to the drive, but we held them 7 points below their season average.

We made a really decent team look bad. Solid win...now let's put the ACC square in our sights and deliver a strong effort against the Terps on Sunday.

And...oh yeah...congrats to Kyle on 2,000...ho hum.

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I agree with most of your points here, especially the team looking a bit more inside for our bigs and Kyle. One tiny point is that I think (or maybe hope) that many teams will be missing a lot of shots from inside 5 feet against this team (much like last year) due to the presence of Miles, Mason, Ryan and Kyle.

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Originally Posted by mr. synellinden

I noticed this as well, and I would bet this is the kind of thing the coaching staff will pick up when they watch film (if they didn't during the game itself) and work on with Kyle. I'm expecting to see better shot selection and better passing out of him the next few games.

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I have seen some people post negatively in the past few weeks about Kyle's shot selection. I disagree. I know I am biased as I pretty much believe that Kyle is a superhero (which is pretty much the criteria for jersey retirement at Duke due to the number of great players that have played for the program.) But when Kyle posts as strong as he did and makes strong moves to get the 5 foot baby hooks he had vs. UAB, I just think it would be great if our bigs could post up and make moves like that. Yes, he missed them, but to me those are excellent shots. When Kyle is on the move and takes pull-up shots inside 15 feet, even with someone in his face, I feel that is a good shot for him that he has consistently shown he can make. When he is on the perimeter and he gets his defender off balance and pulls up for a three or 18-20 footer, even if his defender is right there, and he gets a clean look, I think that is a good shot for him that he has shown he can make consistently. There was one instance where Kyle drove vs. UAB and looked like he may have been fouled but drove into a help defender and that may not have been a great shot. I also recall an instance where he was short on a 13 footer or so that he may not have had a clean look, but I believe he has earned the benefit of the doubt for his shot selection.

Kyle was first team all-ACC last year, even though his shooting % started off below his standards early last year as it increased during the year. He had surgery in the off-season and may not be shooting as well as we know he can. I am very confident in the shots All-American and POY candidate Kyle has been taking and expect he will make more of them as the season progresses.

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Originally Posted by -bdbd

I thought that we looked disappointingly ragged tonight against a fairly clearly outmanned UAB squad. And the shooting was just dreadful for long stretches. Can't play like that against MD, FSU, NCSU, VPI, NC@CH, etc. and still expect to win. Hope we step it up a bit for the Terps Sun.

I've never been a Len Elmore hater, but boy did he sound like he was pulling for UAB tonight! Others have complained in the past, but I felt it really came through in several comments tonight. At least he's smart enought that he'll catch himself saying something a little too anti-Duke or anti-refs (who are supposedly giving the Devils too many bennies), he'll then come back quickly with a qualifier or lukewarm compliment of Duke/K/the Duke player.

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Ken Pom rankings for:
MD (15) FSU (43), NCSU (77), VPI (33), NC@CH (18), UAB(66)
I think if Duke plays like they did tonight, they likely beat all of the teams that you mentioned. You could argue that if the team relaxes before they get up 20 and don't include the stretch where the team built the lead, sure Duke would have to play better than that.
I agree with you that Elmore can be annoying as an announcer, but I actually didn't find him too bad last night and thought he complimented the team appropriately, specifically when mentioning that Duke had 2 of the top 5 seniors in the country and that wasn't really fair.

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Originally Posted by roywhite

Post-game quotes

I really liked what Coach K had to say about Mason:

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So maybe we shouldn't give up on Mason just yet? ;)

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Originally Posted by striker219

I just wanted to point out an interesting factoid from the game; Aaron Johnson, the point guard for UAB, is currently leading the country in assists at 8.3 per game. I don't know if it was pointed out during the broadcast that he is the current assists leader, but he is averaging more assists per game (8.3) than any other player in the country. Honestly, this (the fact that he is leading the country in assists per game) seems like the kind of thing that the announcers should point out to their viewing audience; I'm speaking, of course, of the fact that Aaron Johnson is leading the country in assists. Maybe it was mentioned by either Mike Patrick or Len Elmore during the game that he is the assists leader in the country, but I watched the game and never heard either of them comment on the fact that Aaron Johnson is leading the country in assists at 8.3 per game.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting.

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So, who are you saying leads the country in assists?

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Originally Posted by steven52682

A couple observations -
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(5) Kyle looked a little lost and/or confused trying to play with his back to the basket. He left a number of shots short, almost like he didn't know where on the court he was. Fortunately, I dont think he will be playing on the post many times this year. He was and is much more effective as a face up player.

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I agreed with your other four points, but completely disagree here (see above.) I thought Kyle posted really hard, made great moves to get nice little baby hooks and happened to miss the shots. I hope he continues to get post touches as I feel he gets the best shots inside out of anyone on the team.

Great win and fantastic opening stretch against a quality opponent that looks like they would be as strong as an average ACC opponent this year.

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Originally Posted by ACCBBallFan

Coach Haith made the point that except for Nolan's 11 point run, Miami played Duke even the other 38 minutes.

Same in UAB game, after the 26-4 start, rest of the game was Duke 59, UAB 60.


...Coach Haith made the point that Miami has played Duke tough and has led the prior three games at half.

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Yeah, except for that one stretch from late 2007 to early 2009, the stock market has been terrific the last 7 or 8 years.

I understand the point, I guess, but Duke's ability to hit a spurt has been a feature of the team in 2009-10 and so far this year. If teams can't stop that, they'll have a hard time winning the game, no matter how even other segments may seem.

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Originally Posted by ACCBBallFan

Here are Frank Haith's comments on the Michael Irving show...

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Michael Irving has his own show?!? What is this world coming to?

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Originally Posted by steven52682

I should clarify. I think Mason has been playing good D and been providing great rebounding all year. That has been a constant. I was referring to offensive production.

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If Mason (as well as Ryan and Miles) can provide consistently good D and rebounding this year, any offense will be a bonus.

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Originally Posted by jimsumner

I just received a confidential communication on a breaking story. Duke is going to petition the NCAA to switch to four-on-four-basketball. The reason is simple. With Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry in the doghouse and Krzyzewski's typical refusal to play his 8th and 9th men, Duke only has four available players.

Inasmuch as Duke gets all the calls, the proposal should pass by noon. Look for Singler, Smith, Dawkins and Kelly to play 40 minutes per game. Unless one of them gets in the doghouse. Then we can switch to three-on-three.

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Thanks for the chuckle.

I wasn't sure what I was going to witness when I got home early this morning, but I was very pleased with what I saw. I had some concerns going into this game, as UAB isn't a cupcake, they were sporting a very strong 10-2 record coming into the game.

I feel sorry for UAB, because not only did they miss some chip shots, but we hit everything we threw up. That combination resulted in them getting blitzed. I'll give them credit they regrouped and hung tough and avoided being totally embarassed, although I'm not sure they feel the same way.

If Nolan isn't mentioned as NPOY,then I don't know what a kid has to do to get there. He did it all last night and he really didn't seem to be hogging the ball or taking bad shots to get his numbers.

Kyle's shot just isn't falling right now, but I can't say he was forcing the issue or taking bad shots. He'll find his groove like he did last year and he does so many other things to make up for an off night of scoring.

Andre played very well last night. He was hitting the boards hard and played within the flow of the game. On Sunday we needed him to score and he did, last night his offensive wasn't needed. This kid is the perfect player, whatever Coach K asks him to do he does it.

We had another solid effort from Ryan last night. His added bulk is letting him mix it up around the basket, resulting in more rebounds and easy baskets. He definitely appears to have the more polished offensive moves of our bigs.

Miles had an off game last night. He just never got into a groove due to the fouls. I hope he can put this game aside and bounce back strongly against Jordan Williams this weekend, as we'll definitely need his size.

A very nice game from Mason yesterday. Take your pick between Nolan's slam or Mason's steal and drive for a hoop for play of the game. If Mason needs to be force fed early to get him going then Coach K had better do it.

Seth's play was alright, but I keep waiting for that offensive outburst that we heard so much about last year and during the summer.

Nice to see some playing time for both Josh and Tyler. I honestly believe both will have a big moment for Duke some time later this year.

All in all a very nice effort from the team, against a talented opponent.

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Originally Posted by jimsumner

I just received a confidential communication on a breaking story. Duke is going to petition the NCAA to switch to four-on-four-basketball. The reason is simple. With Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry in the doghouse and Krzyzewski's typical refusal to play his 8th and 9th men, Duke only has four available players.

Inasmuch as Duke gets all the calls, the proposal should pass by noon. Look for Singler, Smith, Dawkins and Kelly to play 40 minutes per game. Unless one of them gets in the doghouse. Then we can switch to three-on-three.

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I was growing tired of defending Mason and was planning a "smartaleck" post to see if we still thought he was in the doghouse after last night! Glad you beat me to it.

Let me address the issue of playing time more directly.

Krzyzewski said last night that he considers each of his top seven players to be starters and he wants them to feel the same way.

Coaching BS?

Well, let's look at the numbers.

Below are the minutes played for Duke's 6th and 7th men in all the post-Kyrie games.

Bradley-Curry 26, Kelly 16, total 42
Saint Louis-Curry 26, Kelly 20-total 46
Elon-Dawkins 32, Kelly 21, total 53
UNCG-Dawkins 23, Mason 18, total 41
Miami-Dawkins 29, Mason 25, total 54
UAB-Mason 28, Seth 24, total 52

So, in the six games since Irving injured his toe, the 6th and 7th have averaged 48 mpg, 24 per player.

Those are starter's minutes. So, the idea that coming off the bench equates to being in the hypothetical doghouse isn't supported by the evidence, at least as I interprete the term "doghouse."

Krzyzewski has always been somewhat intuitive in his substitition patterns. Foul trouble, matchups and game situations always factor in here. But as a general rule, play better, get more minutes; play poorer, get fewer minutes. Seems like a rational allocation of resources to me.

If being yelled at constitutes being in the doghouse, then every player who has ever played at Duke has been in a doghouse. Johnny Dawkins was yelled at, Bobby Hurley was yelled at, Shane Battier was yelled at. Sometimes, in the heat of a game, yelling cuts through the fog and helps a player focus on the task at hand. I suspect that applies to other schools, other coaches, other sports, other jobs.

Different human beings respond to different motivational and/or teaching techniques and the coaches adjust accordingly. As the old saying goes, some people need a pat on the back, some need a kick in the butt and Duke does a pretty good job of figuring out which.

But pretty early in their tenures at Duke, players are told to pay attention to the message being delivered not the delivery system. Responding positively to the message results in one outcome, responding negatively results in another.

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Originally Posted by ncexnyc

Take your pick between Nolan's slam or Mason's steal and drive for a hoop for play of the game.

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Actually, my favorite play of the game was Kyle's shot-fake-bounce-pass to Ryan for the pseudo-dunk-and-one.

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Originally Posted by jimsumner

So, in the six games since Irving injured his toe, the 6th and 7th have averaged 48 mpg, 24 per player.

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Yeah, viewing this as "5 starters, 4 non-starters" is the wrong path to take. I think a better way to look at the divisions is "2 stars, 5 good players who get meaningful minutes, and 2 backups."

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Originally Posted by MChambers

Actually, our numbers went up very slightly, so we are now #1 by the smallest of margins, ahead of Ohio State. I suspect that this is due to the results of some of our past opponents, rather than due to our performance last night because, as you suggest, our efficiency was a little lower than predicted last night. Perhaps Elon hanging tough with State raised our schedule difficulty somewhat?

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Our defensive efficiency was lower than expected, yes, but our offensive efficiency was also higher so it's more a matter of degrees.