Maryland Game Thoughts

[dukelifer]

Frustrating game- frustrating loss. This was a winnable game for Duke but credit Maryland who made big plays at key moments- end of the first half and after Duke tied it. Vasquez, Jones and Strawberry were excellent tonight. They broke Duke's momentum in different ways- getting out on the break, driving to the hoop or hitting jumpers from 3. It was a big big game from those three. In many ways- Duke had their chances. I was frustrated by McBob's play tonight. His spin moves to the hoop are just not working in games. He needs to face the basket and make his move- or get it close off an assist. He is missing too many of those shots. I thought Henderson had a very nice night. He was aggressive. He is still deferring at key moments. He has the ability to be the guy- but I am not sure this year. But I like how he is playing. Paulus hit some big shots but his size and inability to explode will limit what he can do in a tight game. But when your big guy cannot make shots in tight games- it puts way too much pressure on a team. Duke missed a TON of two footers and really had trouble defending the flex. That offense is designed to beat Duke and it does more often than not lately. But in the end, Maryland's key guys made plays. That is how you win a close game. Duke did not make those plays and missed some key throws- those misses were key and back breakers. That is is not the way to get it done. To me, this was a loss that an experienced Duke team would not have had. When it got tight and tense, Duke faltered. But credit Maryland. They are playing well- but they are fragile- one bad Jones shooting night from collapse- so it remains to be seen how they will play in March. Right now they are right there as a possible ACC Tourney contenders.

[RockyMtDevil]

Good analysis.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this team's development has been Josh's poor offensive touch. He either dunks it or it is a miss. he has several opportunities from about 4 feet that weren't even close. I realize it is a totally different comparison, but in '05 I knew our season would boil down to Shav finally hitting his potential, which of course he never, ever did and therefore we bowed out against MSU. This year is the same way, Josh must hit shots and must finish around the basket but why would he start now, he hasn't done it all year.

This team just has too many holes to fill to get away with giving up 85 points. How many lay-ups did we give up and how many lay-ups did we miss? Maryland, despite the score, was in command of the game from the very beginning. They are simply better than we are.

[bhd28]

I was a little dissapointed in Duke's Frosh SG tonight (not naming any names) as well. Poor shooting and poor D. I am for more time for GH. Josh... well hopefully he works hard over the summer. There isn't another option than him right now in the post. We have to just hope he plays well.

[dukelifer]

My post was a negative but I remain positive about the team. They played hard- they made a gutty comeback when it looked like Maryland would run away with it and had it tied with a few minutes to go. That is what you want. But Maryland hit some big shots and some well defended. They just seemed to have an answer. It felt like Duke was being schooled by a ... Duke. Experience is huge in college bball and Jones and Strawberry were calm throughout. Also, I think Vasquez playes better when he is booed. That kid is a gamer and that you cannot teach. But it also looks like Henderson likes the big game as well. That is why I am voting for him to be the guy. Right now- I am not sure who is a better choice.

[Bob Green]

I believe in giving credit where credit is due and, right now, Maryland is playing very good basketball. They are a strong rebounding team and execute in transition. We lost to a better team. Maryland will be ready for ACC Tournament play.

However, there are several positive take aways from the game. Henderson played very, very good today with 15 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes. Zoubek contributed with 3 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes. He played defense and only had one turnover on a play where he should of took the ball to the rim instead of passing. Our balanced offense with five players scoring in double figures is another positive. If you told me before the game that we would score 77 points and lose, I would've emphatically disagreed. The big four scored 57 points today and players five through nine kicked in 20 more. That is the type of offensive performance that should result in a win, but it wasn't enough today. I also think we will need to score over 80 to beat Carolina on Sunday.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[Troublemaker]

Good analysis.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this team's development has been Josh's poor offensive touch. He either dunks it or it is a miss. he has several opportunities from about 4 feet that weren't even close. I realize it is a totally different comparison, but in '05 I knew our season would boil down to Shav finally hitting his potential, which of course he never, ever did and therefore we bowed out against MSU. This year is the same way, Josh must hit shots and must finish around the basket but why would he start now, he hasn't done it all year.

People should be getting sick of me repeating this mantra by now but here goes again. The vast majority of the time, shooting touch does not improve during a season. Shooting is an individual skill that requires lots of repetitions in the offseason (when you don't have classes, games, practices, studying, etc taking time away from your individual skillwork). I was one of the very first people on this board to point out Josh's lack of touch early in the season, but I have never blamed him for not improving in-season. Because frankly, hardly anyone ever improves their shooting ability in-season. He needs time during the summer to lift weights so he can have the strength to anchor, and he needs time and reps to work on his touch. You can't build those things overnight.

[dukelifer]

You are absolutely right. Josh and a few others need to rebuild their shot in the off season. Josh lost the summer due to his back. My frustration with Josh is shot selection. He needs to know his strengths in games Right now- spinning or working with his back to the basket is not working for him. He is better when he can face or catch and dunk.

[gw67]

I watched about 1/2 the game and listened to the other 1/2 in my car (Wife insisted that I be limo driver for neighbor so she wouldn't need to ride Metro and bus at night.). My thoughts/observations are as follows:

* I was surprised that Coach K decided to run with the Terps since that style fits their comfort zone
* The Devils' perimeter players continually tried to beat the Terps off the dribble rather than use the pass, hence, the low number of assists (9). I suspect that the staff felt that this might open up their outside game and they also hoped that this might get the Terps big men in foul trouble.
* McRoberts did a nice defensive job on Gist but the Terps ran their flex offense well and shared the ball leading to numerous assists (25).
* Coming into this game, the Terps point guards were averaging 13.5 assists for the previous 4 games. Last night, they got 15 assists. The combination of the agressive play by their point guards and the solid play by their three seniors made them a very difficult team to defend, whether on fast breaks or in their sets.
* Paulus and Henderson played very well on the offensive end in the second half.

In summary, Maryland appears to be the better team this year and should get a better seed in the NCAA's but who knows what the Selection Committee will do.

gw67

[dukeENG2003]

You are absolutely right. Josh and a few others need to rebuild their shot in the off season. Josh lost the summer due to his back. My frustration with Josh is shot selection. He needs to know his strengths in games Right now- spinning or working with his back to the basket is not working for him. He is better when he can face or catch and dunk.

I agree with this comment wholeheartedly, it amazes me that people still think he's coming out after this year, NBAdraft.net still has him listed as the #18 pick. Is draft position really based THAT much on potential? Once he develops his jump shot a bit more, it will allow him to use the beautiful game he has off the dribble, but right now, people are defending on the perimeter like they defended Dahntay Jones his first year with Duke, by just backing off about 4 feet. Its awfully hard to drive by someone when they are sagging that far off.

[CMS2478]

We will conitinue to struggle with athletic teams and Maryland is the perfect example of that.......WAY TOO QUICK FOR US!!! And Vasquez is a great player but I think he should have went Boston College bc he would fit in good with Dudley and Marshall. They could all run their mouths and talk trash together.

[willywoody]

md looked so much quicker than duke that i was wondering if some of our team weren't sick or something. nelson came out of one time out looking like he was coughing up a lung which made me think that. maybe the water he was drinkin' went down the wrong way or something, though.

[Give a Blue Devil His Due]

...for beating Duke this year has been the quick 3 guard set. Teams with fast guards (Marquette, Maryland and others) are beating this team down court for easy scoring. Meanwhile, I maintain that many of these games we're losing can be brought right back to the rebounding (ie second chance scoring) and foul shooting. When you don't have a range shooter like J.J., you have to adjust playing styles...and K stubbornly continues to give Z more minutes to add dimension to this squad. This is DEFINITELY a 'rebuilding' season.

We'll be lucky if we get to the Sweet 16 this year boys...


P.S. Long time Duke BB fan and FINALLY found a site for my NCAA fix! Love it!!!

[mapei]

(Warning: compulsive editor about to rant: man, the grammar on this board is getting appalling . . . are we sure this is DUKE?)

(Fair retort: c'mon, it's a sports board for god's sake. Get a life.)

OK, first, congratulations to gw and to just_wondering, if he's still around. MD has swept Duke again, at least in the regular season, and I sure wouldn't bet $$ on our ability to change the outcome in a third game, if we get one.

I have to admit that I couldn't bear to watch the game. It's not because I'm "down on the team," or any of that. Quite the contrary: it's because I lose perspective and care too much. It's just become unbearable, and especially so against Maryland, the team I most hate to lose to.

I know that is probably blasphemy to those of you who hate UNC more than Satan, and I might feel differently if I had gone to Duke undergrad, and certainly if I lived in North Carolina, where the Tar Heel fandom must be insufferable. But, unfortunately, I live in Maryland's media market, and am subjected to constant woofing from the media and local fans. Duke grads may not consider MD to be a rival, but MD's fans do consider Duke to be a rival, and they despise Duke as much as Duke fans traditionally despise Carolina. And, trust me, they let people like me know all about it. They have owned us as much or more than anyone lately; you have to go back to a previous millennium to find the era where Duke really dominated this non-rivalry. The local media just eat it up.

(It's also annoying that Maryland gets about 3X the local coverage that Georgetown does, even though the Hoyas are the better team this year.)

So I just couldn't bear to watch. I did follow along on gametracker and in the Duke chat room, which is about as much as I could handle. And then I watched the fabulous ending to Texas/A&M to get my mind somewhat off it. Helped a little.

Some things jumped out at me from the box score, mainly the turnovers, the incredible disparity in assists, and the near-triple-double that Vasquez put up on Duke. He is going to be not just a good but a great player IMO.

My sense is that Duke has decent individual talent (witness all the McD AAs) but doesn't play very well as a team sometimes. Why? A couple of months ago, right after the VT loss as I recall, there was a thread on the board that asked people to predict Duke's finish in the regular season, ACC tourney, and NCAAs. My guess at the time was 8-8, out in the ACC semis, out in the second round of the NCAAs. Realistically, I can't see changing any of that now.

One more thing: there is a really infuriating quote in today's Washington Post from Gary Williams about the Crazies and K-ville. [Monderator Edit: Last sentence deleted.]

[bhd28]

Welcome Give... I am glad to have you at the site. This is definitely the site for you if you are a Duke fan. I have really enjoyed the majority of the posters here. Check out the off topic board if you have time as well for movie/TV/other entertainment advice (also some good food reviews from time to time). I have gotten some great suggestions from there.

[JasonEvans]

I was a little dissapointed in Duke's Frosh SG tonight (not naming any names) as well. Poor shooting and poor D. I am for more time for GH. Josh... well hopefully he works hard over the summer. There isn't another option than him right now in the post. We have to just hope he plays well.

I know his conditioning is affected by sports-related asthma or something like that but there must, must, must, must be a way to get Henderson on the floor more.

But, IMO, the guy who needs to get less time is not the frosh SG but the junior SF. A LOT LESS TIME!!

-Jason "the defensive effort really stunk last night" Evans

[devildownunder]

I believe in giving credit where credit is due and, right now, Maryland is playing very good basketball. They are a strong rebounding team and execute in transition. We lost to a better team. Maryland will be ready for ACC Tournament play.

However, there are several positive take aways from the game. Henderson played very, very good today with 15 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes. Zoubek contributed with 3 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes. He played defense and only had one turnover on a play where he should of took the ball to the rim instead of passing. Our balanced offense with five players scoring in double figures is another positive. If you told me before the game that we would score 77 points and lose, I would've emphatically disagreed. The big four scored 57 points today and players five through nine kicked in 20 more. That is the type of offensive performance that should result in a win, but it wasn't enough today. I also think we will need to score over 80 to beat Carolina on Sunday.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

Your thoughts on the type of offensive production this team needs have pretty much mirrored mine. I too would have loved our chances ahead of time scoring 77.

What about the defense this time? I had to follow this one very loosely on gamecenter, as I was at work, but it seemed like every time I checked on the game maryland was hitting a layup. Now in the stats I see they shot almost 54 percent! from behind the line, too. That sounds like a case where we couldn't stay in front of their guards so we had to back off them and then they hit threes on us. Is that about right?

[Indoor66]

I know his conditioning is affected by sports-related asthma or something like that but there must, must, must, must be a way to get Henderson on the floor more.

But, IMO, the guy who needs to get less time is not the frosh SG but the junior SF. A LOT LESS TIME!!

-Jason "the defensive effort really stunk last night" Evans

Couldn't agree more. He is too small to be successful at the game he continually attempts to play.

[devildownunder]

One more thing: there is a really infuriating quote in today's Washington Post from Gary Williams about the Crazies and K-ville. [Monderator Edit: Last sentence deleted.]

Hey, c'mon mapei, don't go there. Not for Gary's sake or ours, but your own. Believe me, I feel ya on everything you posted but don't let it eat at you that much.

(And if you knew me and had any idea of some of the knots I've twisted myself into over a game in my lifetime, you'd see the irony in this post -- but you'd also know it's out of genuine empathy)

peace

[devildownunder]

He needs time during the summer to lift weights so he can have the strength to anchor, and he needs time and reps to work on his touch. You can't build those things overnight.

you're spot on.

[_Gary]

Couldn't agree more. He is too small to be successful at the game he continually attempts to play.

As much as I love him and want to see him succeed as an individual player and, more importantly, as a team player at Duke it's really tough right now. I'm seeing things that are killing me, especially on the offensive end.

I made a prediction to my daughter about a week ago that when this team eventually loses in the Tournament (wish I could say I see them going all the way, but let's be realistic) it will come down to him either forcing something up near the basket and getting stuffed or, more probably, a turnover based on his poor handle in traffic and really poor passing decisions.

And I'm definitely with the group that would like to see Gerald get more time. He's absolutely got the type of game this team needs right now [i.e. the ability to create his own shot, drive effectively, and finish at the rim].

Gary