Next Play.
Next Play.
Wheat, you scalawag. Let's make a bet on this game. And can the bet please not be a fishing trip?
Let's do dinner in Durham. Deal?
Hope we practice playing against a zone, unlike last week.
We need to be prepared to play against multiple defensive schemes. Coach Williams did an excellent job in the 2nd half of the first game switching between M2M, 1-2-2 zone and a 1-3-1 half court trap. It worked the first time so I'm sure he will attempt to drink from the same well on Saturday evening.
Bob Green
As if this game didn't need any more meaning, last night's loss for us just upped the ante. Not only does a win avoid us getting swept by UNC for the first time since 2009, but it has the following implications as well:
- #3 seed vs #4 seed in the ACC tourney
- opportunity to get a #2 seed in the NCAA tourney
If we lose this game, we fall to 4th in the ACC, are swept by UNC, face the very real possibility of falling all the way to the 4 line in the NCAA tourney, and lose our edge over UNC for the Raleigh site.
There's never a situation where beating UNC isn't important, but the importance of doing so has just been magnified.
Great points all -- trying to put last night's 2nd half debacle behind & get psyched for another Senior Night UNC showdown...2 years until the next one!
For Sat night -- DEFENSE, the #1 priority, and in particular, shut down and frustrate Mr. Paige for the entire 40 minutes.
#2, I'll be frustrated in the 1st half if we fire up 3s on too many initial possessions. Get the ball in Jabari's hands.
Seems like we've had lots of these threads already this season. Hrmm...
I want to see Duke defend their home court and set a wildly different tone for the post-season. I want smart defense and aggressive offense. I want sharp ball movement, few turnovers, and tenacity on loose balls.
I want a drubbing. I want Andre to score 35 points, I want Josh to play for 35 minutes, and I want TT to get 35 steals.
I want Jabari and Hood to come onto the floor after the game and state that they will be Duke players through their senior year, so that they can have the experience of a lifetime on their last home game.
I want K to feel so good that he does cartwheels on the sidelines.
I want all the prospects and signees that are attending the game to make friends and decide who is going to room with whom.
I want Todd to get a standing ovation for his first game in double digits.
I want MP3 to do something nasty to JMM that gets him his own poster.
Most of all, I want to send UNC whimpering back down 15-501 to lick their wounds after we destroy their winning streak and demoralize them for the post-season.
Do I want too much?
I would not be surprised, both because of senior night and to try to set a leadership tone, to see Tyler, Josh, and Andre in the starting lineup on Saturday (likely alongside Jabari and Rodney, but possibly alongside one of them and Sheed). I know K doesn't always start seniors on senior night, but given how the Wake game shook out and his view (I think) that at least the first two seniors are the guys to turn to when defense and discipline is needed, my guess is that this trio will start.
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
We looked into this not too long ago. Other than walk-ons, I think the only senior in the last 17 years that hasn't started senior night for Duke was Andre Buckner. (I didn't go back any further than 1996-97, so the streak could be a lot further than that.)
So I'm fairly certain that all three seniors will start. Not sure how long they'll stay in the game, though.
I am actually somewhat optimistic about this game. This forum has endlessly debated the deficiencies of this team, but I believe several of our salient weaknesses(emotion and leadership) will be negated.
Since January, we have been in a position to win all the games we played. In each of the losses, we have a competitive game till some point after the middle of the 2nd half. When the other team gets hot, we panic and rush and look discombobulated. Thus far (knock on wood) this has been a road phenomenon. Going 4-5 in conference is painful, but each of the losses exposed the lack of composure, which is a function of the leadership and emotions of the team.
In some ways, we are a team of nice guys. I sense that we try to manufacture emotion, but have trouble matching the desperation some of our opponents display. Knocking off Duke for a ND, a Clemson, a Wake, etc. is THE focal point of the season, as court storming affirms. There is a difference between wanting to win and desperation to win.
The good news is that Cameron provides the emotional lift and sustains this team. We now have legitimate motivation. We should feel our back is against the wall. We have revenge, K, and senior night, etc.
While no guarantee of producing a win, these circumstances help us overcome our weaknesses.
Win the game whatever it takes. Play the game like your life depends on it. Don't let the Duke Nation down.This team lacks a lot of intangibles. The guards need to penetrate and dish. There has been way too much dribbling. Hood and Parker need picks and screens to score . The whole team needs to give their all for forty minutes.
With Senior Night approaching, might be a good time to reminisce a bit about our seniors. Found this Al Featherston article on GoDuke from 2010 written after Josh committed. It touches a bit upon his friendship with Andre and Tyler, e.g. Andre was a huge Duke fan who recruited Josh to Duke. These three seniors were part of the same high school class until Andre came to Duke a year early to help us win the 2010 title. Dre taking a sabbatical last year put him back in the same basketball class as Josh and Tyler. Note: reading the article is somewhat bittersweet, since some of the expectations for Josh were out of whack. I still enjoyed reading it, though.
Here's a Chronicle profile of Todd from December 2012 as well.