MOTM: Duke v Gonzaga (Nov 26 2021)

[killerleft]

First, I'm amazed Paolo doesn't have a vote after 38 votes.

But Mark gave us a chance to win against a team that thrives on the bigs being dominant. Wendell and Paolo were very close, but Mark was magnificent!

[FerryFor50]

Should have been 8. Had one called a foul that was all ball.

Yea that call was trash.

[TheOldBattleship]

Yea that call was trash.

His sister was none too pleased about that one...

[FerryFor50]

His sister was none too pleased about that one...

No one outside of Duke haters liked that one.

[BandAlum83]

Should have been 8. Had one called a foul that was all ball.

And another that was incorrectly called goal tending.

[Steven43]

Banchero and Williams dominated the first half, Moore the second. Banchero missed a fair amount of time in the second half, and even when he was on the floor he didn’t look right. Williams missed some time because of a couple of bogus foul calls.

All in all I have to give a slight edge to the man who played 38 huge minutes of consistent leadership with a steadying hand throughout — Wendell Moore.

[jipops]

I really want to go with Mark because he was just a monster on defense and gave us huge buckets in the paint. But Wendell put us on his back with Paolo out and made his case for 1st team All-America and NPOY candidate tonight. He was just awesome and frankly I thought he looked like the best player on the floor when Paolo was out. My vote has to go with Wendell.

[DevilHorse]

Paolo was the man of the first half, Wendell of the second, but MARK was the difference in this game throughout.

What he said!

Paolo let it be known that Duke was in this game (best +/- to minutes ratio by far of any player on Duke).
Mark did a humongous amount defense and intimidation in the paint, not to mention offensive efficiency. (Start hitting those FTs please).
But it was Mr. Moore that gave us more when things looked bleak in the second half. The stat stuffer kept us in the game while the team got its second wind. The captain steadied the ship as Duke clawed back from a 4 point deficit, to wipe the smiles off of the Zags' faces (just as they started to get giddy and sloppy), and let them know Duke was not going to vanish into the Vegas strip night.

YO! In Las Vegas, never say 'die' has a different meaning if you have the other team saying 'craps'.

Larry
DevilHorse

[snewman92]

. . .at least for right now. While Mark's contributions were integral to the win, I had to give Wendell MOTM by an eyelash. In a high-stakes game like this, especially with such a young squad, Wendell's value clearly extended beyond his impressive stat line.

[OldPhiKap]

. . .at least for right now. While Mark's contributions were integral to the win, I had to give Wendell MOTM by an eyelash. In a high-stakes game like this, especially with such a young squad, Wendell's value clearly extended beyond his impressive stat line.

Hard to pick between the two.

[MChambers]

Mark Williams and his 7 (yes, 7) blocks for sure

Should have been 9 (the bad goaltend and the block on Timme that was called a foul. Williams was amazing, but I voted for Wendell. What a leap he has made.

[JNort]

Thought I voted Mark but apparently I vote for Paolo

[flyingdutchdevil]

Andrei Kirilenko gets my vote. That balance of points, rebounds, assists, steals…wow.

Is there anything Moore cannot do?……

His PER is above 30. That’s for a guard/wing who shoots mid rangers and threes. Incredible.

[camion]

I voted for Mark Williams this time for variety because I always vote for Moore. Mark had a monster game.

Wendell deserved a game ball too. In the second half at winning time he was there. I thought everyone played great and they had to because Gonzaga played great.

One other thing, cramps??

[Native]

I voted for Mark. I thought he was our most valuable player, in the sense that things came easier to our team both offensively and defensively when was in the game.

I thought Wendell was our most outstanding player, who took over the game late and played the best game.

[CameronBlue]

Not going to vote but just want to say how pleasantly surprised I was when Theo John hit TWO half-hooks on back-to-the-basket plays, a vital contribution which helped Duke sustain momentum on offense at a critical time. Contributions from unexpected sources are often the stuff of which national championships are made.

[Duke71]

Tough choice. I don’t think we win the game without the timely contributions of both of these talented players. Mark’s awesome shotblocks were not only game-changers, I suspect his presence got into the heads of the Gonzaga shooters the same way that Holmgren influenced the normal trajectories of our shooters even when the shots weren’t blocked.

But the contributions of our “Mr. Everything”, Wendell Moore, went well beyond the usual high expectations. Most of all, I think Wendell’s legitimate leadership had a calming effect on the team when The Zags made their runs and took over the lead for a while. As usual, Wendell had a solid all around game which had to be as inspiring to his teammates as it was to those of us watching the game.

I’ll vote for Wendell, but a vote for Mark would be just as deserved.

[Steven43]

Not going to vote but just want to say how pleasantly surprised I was when Theo John hit TWO half-hooks on back-to-the-basket plays, a vital contribution which helped Duke sustain momentum on offense at a critical time. Contributions from unexpected sources are often the stuff of which national championships are made.

Yes! I was waiting for some mention of John’s contributions. Those two shots were hugely important; and he looked highly-skilled doing it.

I hope to see more and more of Theo John as the season progresses.

[OldPhiKap]

Yes! I was waiting for some mention of John’s contributions. Those two shots were hugely important; and he looked highly-skilled doing it.

I hope to see more and more of Theo John as the season progresses.

In the post-game press conference, K also mentioned that John’s off-the-court mentoring of Mark is a big part of Mark’s improvement.

[gep]

I re-watched some of the second half... from about 8 minutes to go. I went with Wendell. Wow.. he really kept the team focused and steady. And even Coach K praised Wendell's voice and leadership in the timeout when Duke was down towards the end of the game.