MBB: Duke 70, Georgia Tech 56

[Hancock 4 Duke]

Though I am a huge Duke Fan, my Sister went to Georgia Tech which will make it interesting. I am hoping that Jon Scheyer and Brian Zoubek have a good game on Wednesday. Zoubs with 12 points and 7 boards, Scheyer with 18 points and 4-5 assists.

[gw67]

I'll provide my two cents after watching them play the Terps and also play a game earlier this year:

Strengths:

• They have three bigs across the front line. Lawal is having a breakout season and may be the second best big man in the ACC. Aminu is having a terrific senior season and is an effective player close to the basket. Peacock can play either down low or drift outside for jump shots.
• Miller is an excellent playmaker but he is just coming back from an injury.
• Shumpert is a freshman perimeter player who does a little of everything.

Weaknesses:

• Until Miller gets in game shape, they are a turnover waiting to happen. They had 28 TO's yesterday!
• They are a poor outside shooting team and are horrble shooting from the free throw line.
• Their big men are tough defensively near the basket but they seemingly don't have anyone who can guard the opposition perimeter players.

Overall, they are not as good as Florida State and, if the Devils can hit their long range and mid-range shots, this could be a runaway. For Tech to stay close, their big men will need to play well and Miller needs to play a bunch of minutes to help with the ballhandling.

gw67

[BlueintheFace]

IMO, and I know most people disagree with me, but Gani Lawal is a first team All-ACC player in the making. I saw it last year and thought to myself... oh boy. If Ga. Tech were better we would all be singing his praises, but as it is right now--- look out for Lawal. Next year he might be 1st team All-ACC.

Anyways, Georgia tech is not very deep and we should be able to really wear them out with our defense, but I am really interested to see if Zoubek can contribute in a meaningful way in the ACC. We haven't sen it yet, but we NEED him to be that force.

Also, I want to see if G can string two gems together.

finally, I predict a big game from Jon after this Fla. State game in which he played sub-par.

[gw67]

I'm hoping that Smith gets back on track against the Tech backcourt. Since he was nicked up, he has had poor offensive games against Virginia Tech, Davidson and Florida State. For those three games, he has shot 9-26 from the field, 1-8 from three-point land and he has 11 turnovers to 6 assists. He has continued to play tough on defense but his offense needs to improve as the Devils enter the difficult part of their schedule.

gw67

[CLT Devil]

Let's see...GT is in last place, along with our beloved Tar Heels. If we win our game, a win for us. If we happen to lose...it will give the 'Holes that much larger of a stake for last place in ACC...how embarrsing.

Sounds like a win-win to me...

[davekay1971]

Nothing is a given, of course, but Duke should be able to handle Ga Tech. Coach K put his emphasis for his team out there on a loudspeaker - REBOUND. Our defense should cause Ga Tech's ball handlers problems, and I expect them to shoot a low percentage for the game. Defensive rebounding opportunities will be there in abundance for our team, and will be critical. If we can keep them off the offensive boards, we should be able to limit their scoring.

[DukieBoy]

Won't be able to watch it, but like many others said, I hope Zoubek proves he can play big in conference games. Something only I might have noticed is how meaningful a player like Zoubek, who only averages about 9 points and 7 boards, is to a team. I guess I never realized it, but he has really given us another dimension to an already great team.

[DukeDevilDeb]

I'll provide my two cents after watching them play the Terps and also play a game earlier this year:

Strengths:

• They have three bigs across the front line. Lawal is having a breakout season and may be the second best big man in the ACC. Aminu is having a terrific senior season and is an effective player close to the basket. Peacock can play either down low or drift outside for jump shots.
• Miller is an excellent playmaker but he is just coming back from an injury.
• Shumpert is a freshman perimeter player who does a little of everything.

Weaknesses:

• Until Miller gets in game shape, they are a turnover waiting to happen. They had 28 TO's yesterday!
• They are a poor outside shooting team and are horrble shooting from the free throw line.
• Their big men are tough defensively near the basket but they seemingly don't have anyone who can guard the opposition perimeter players.

Overall, they are not as good as Florida State and, if the Devils can hit their long range and mid-range shots, this could be a runaway. For Tech to stay close, their big men will need to play well and Miller needs to play a bunch of minutes to help with the ballhandling.

gw67

Who is the Best Big Man?!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Should be a huge test for Zoubs, I'm sure he's pumped up for tonight. I love the schedule we have this week, by the way. Always tested with any ACC game, plus Georgetown. I don't see how anyone can ever claim Duke has a cupcake schedule.

[Troublemaker]

Duke's gotta rebound the ball and take charges on penetration tonight. GT is a poor shooting team, just 59% from the free throw line, and 29% from three. If the Jackets beat Duke, it'll be because their guards penetrate and throw junk off the backboard that gets rebounded and put back by their big men. Rebound and take charges and we'll win comfortably. Would also be nice to see Z have a good game against 6'10 Alade Aminu and Duke's offense handle a pretty good GT defense better than we did FSU's defense.

[SupaDave]

finally, I predict a big game from Jon after this Fla. State game in which he played sub-par.

Hunh?

[SupaDave]

I'll provide my two cents after watching them play the Terps and also play a game earlier this year:

Strengths:

• They have three bigs across the front line. Lawal is having a breakout season and may be the second best big man in the ACC. Aminu is having a terrific senior season and is an effective player close to the basket. Peacock can play either down low or drift outside for jump shots.
• Miller is an excellent playmaker but he is just coming back from an injury.
• Shumpert is a freshman perimeter player who does a little of everything.

I can understand why you might forget Clinch b/c you haven't seen much of him. BUT we WILL have to account for him. He just regained eligibility.

I play ball at Tech everyday and when he comes and plays with us - there's no checking him. Even when Aminu, Zack, and "G" (yes - we have a G too. Gani) are playing. I have been unfortunate enough to have to check "Lew" and in a game to 15 he scored 12 of the other teams points - without driving on me one time. (For the record I did hit one three pointer in the game).

Get too close to Clinch and he will drive the lane - stand back and his 3pt shot drops like his first name is "Trajan". And he shoots them too - in two ACC games he has 19 attempts. He's only shooting 25% right now but I think that's more an indication of the meltdown they had against Maryland.

He's much stronger than Paulus, Scheyer, or Nolan so he will be a challenge.

[SMO]

I can understand why you might forget Clinch b/c you haven't seen much of him. BUT we WILL have to account for him. He just regained eligibility.

I play ball at Tech everyday and when he comes and plays with us - there's no checking him. Even when Aminu, Zack, and "G" (yes - we have a G too. Gani) are playing. I have been unfortunate enough to have to check "Lew" and in a game to 15 he scored 12 of the other teams points - without driving on me one time. (For the record I did hit one three pointer in the game).

Get too close to Clinch and he will drive the lane - stand back and his 3pt shot drops like his first name is "Trajan". And he shoots them too - in two ACC games he has 19 attempts. He's only shooting 25% right now but I think that's more an indication of the meltdown they had against Maryland.

He's much stronger than Paulus, Scheyer, or Nolan so he will be a challenge.

Sounds unstoppable! Why hasn't Tech won more when he hasn't been ineligible?

[SupaDave]

Sounds unstoppable! Why hasn't Tech won more when he hasn't been ineligible?

Good question but there's all kinds of answers - consistency, injuries, poor and inconsistent point guard play - three in four years if you haven't been paying attention, and a tough schedule.

The potential...

2007-2008:

Averaged 13.3 points at the Paradise Jam, hitting 9-of-15 three-point attempts in three games.

Had 15 double-digit games on the season, 10 in a row between Nov. 11 and Dec. 27 ... Scored a season-high 22 points each against Georgia State and Kansas.

2006-07:

Made the Maui All-Tournament team, also scoring 14 against Purdue and 17 against No. 11 Memphis ... Averaged 17.3 points in that event, making 45.2 percent of his field goals and 41.2 percent of his threes ... Scored 21 (6-11 FG, 3-7 on threes, 6-7 FT) against No. 5 UCLA in the championship game.

2005-2006:

Honorable mention ACC All-Freshman ... Ranked third maong ACC freshmen in scoring average at 8.9 points a game overall ... In ACC games, he averaged 9.7 points and shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from three-point range ... Made a three-ball in his last 11 regular-season games.

[pfrduke]

I can understand why you might forget Clinch b/c you haven't seen much of him. BUT we WILL have to account for him. He just regained eligibility.

I play ball at Tech everyday and when he comes and plays with us - there's no checking him. Even when Aminu, Zack, and "G" (yes - we have a G too. Gani) are playing. I have been unfortunate enough to have to check "Lew" and in a game to 15 he scored 12 of the other teams points - without driving on me one time. (For the record I did hit one three pointer in the game).

Get too close to Clinch and he will drive the lane - stand back and his 3pt shot drops like his first name is "Trajan". And he shoots them too - in two ACC games he has 19 attempts. He's only shooting 25% right now but I think that's more an indication of the meltdown they had against Maryland.

He's much stronger than Paulus, Scheyer, or Nolan so he will be a challenge.

Clinch has been cover your eyes bad since coming back. He doesn't play within their offense at all. He's a selfish shooter and a bit of a black hole when he gets the ball - it's not going back out to his teammates.

And his 25% shooting is not Maryland related. Take out his 2-9 from 3 against Maryland, and you're left with 13-49 in the other 7 games, "good" for 26.5%. His shooting from 2 is also poor - 22-52 on the season, for just 42%. His poor shooting also isn't really aberrant - last season, in 132 attempts, he hit just 33% of his 3s.

Is Clinch capable of having a good game? Yes. But all things considered, based on what's happened so far this season, if he has more shot attempts than Gani Lawal, that bodes well for Duke.

Oh, and I mean no offense by this, but I'm glad that Duke will have Scheyer, Smith, and Henderson checking Clinch tonight, rather than SupaDave

[BlueintheFace]

Hunh?

It is a pretty self-explanatory statement

[pfrduke]

It is a pretty self-explanatory statement

And accurate, at least as far as the sub-par performance against FSU is concerned. He had possibly the worst offensive game of any of our starters (which, given that Nolan had 7 turnovers, is saying something), and certainly was well below the level to which we have become accustomed. Which suggests that he will bounce back - games like FSU will be the exception, and not the rule, as far as his season is concerned (at least IMO).

[SupaDave]

Oh, and I mean no offense by this, but I'm glad that Duke will have Scheyer, Smith, and Henderson checking Clinch tonight, rather than SupaDave

You are most definitely correct. It would be ugly! LOL!

[gw67]

I can understand why you might forget Clinch b/c you haven't seen much of him. BUT we WILL have to account for him. He just regained eligibility.

As I recall, Clinch was well regarded coming out of high school and Duke may have shown some interest. In the Maryland game he turned the ball over a bunch and was not consistent shooting the ball. I suspect that he is a better player when he has a good PG to get him the ball at a place on the court where he can score. Lawal and Aminu were easily the most impressive players against the Terps. The key to the game may be the availability of Miller. He is strong with the ball and he offers the only chance to get past the Duke perimeter defense and drive/dish.

gw67

[jv001]

As I recall, Clinch was well regarded coming out of high school and Duke may have shown some interest. In the Maryland game he turned the ball over a bunch and was not consistent shooting the ball. I suspect that he is a better player when he has a good PG to get him the ball at a place on the court where he can score. Lawal and Aminu were easily the most impressive players against the Terps. The key to the game may be the availability of Miller. He is strong with the ball and he offers the only chance to get past the Duke perimeter defense and drive/dish.

gw67

Yeh, but we bring out the best in our opponents. Clinch will probably have a career game. But we still win(8-10pts). Go Duke!