we're looking GOOD and I love the daggers on intensity and defense in that second half.
also, demarcus was stellar and my boy nolan smith played well also.
dth.
10 characters
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
we're looking GOOD and I love the daggers on intensity and defense in that second half.
also, demarcus was stellar and my boy nolan smith played well also.
dth.
So much to like tonight. For me, this game was highlighted by excellent passing by Paulus and others and the growing confidence of Nolan Smith. Duke also pressured the ball very well and forced some turnovers into easy baskets. The rebounding was excellent- very few second chance points by Virginia. The midrange and inside game looked much better tonight. Virginia is not very big so that helped- but still there were a lot better looks from the short range than in the last few games- and many more in the flow of the offense. Singler down low can be automatic with some good ball movement and passing. Duke only had that little stretch in the first half when they went cold. Nolan Smith had some really nice moments – passing, shooting, defending and driving and his spelling Paulus helps to keep Gregg fresh, limiting his mistakes late. When Smith starts playing like this on the road- Duke will be much better. Henderson was much more himself tonight- played very much under control throughout. King struggled with his shots in one stretch but he is more than just a shooter and makes contribution- he is a natural rebounder and sees the floor very well. Scheyer is still struggling with the wide open threes but he was very active and never really lets his misses get to him. All in all- a very nice way to start the ACC season- got to love those easy wins.
dukelifer,
i agree with your comments on nolan smith needing to play well on the road; when he's in the game, we seem to move well. hopefully, the coaches are still on him to assert and attack, because it's totally clear that he can attack that basket and we are much better when he is attacking versus just tossing the ball around the key.
dth.
Singler spent as much time horizontal as he did vertical. Great hustle! Smith was in on this act as well. May god help this team stay healthy.
The best things are still happening when Henderson is on the floor. His leaping abilities are more than making up for a lack of team height.
Singletary couldn't have had a lot to woof about tonight.
i loved nolan in the second half. there was just no way he was ever going to walk the ball up the court, whether off a turnover, defensive rebound, or uva basket (until we went into stallball). i hope paulus can play that way too.
BTW, all ACC Sunday Night Hoops games are also available on Fox College Sports (usually Atlantic) for those of you that suffer local blackouts. Just need to to order your digital cable's sports pak.
___________________
Mike Stein
Trinity '97, Tent #1 '97
Tampa
I thought overall we looked good, but we did have our fair share of sloppy stretches. It seems like on a number of possessions we'd have 3 or 4 good passes and then settle for an average shot. The fact that we went 11-31 from 3 and still won by 22 is a pretty good sign.
Didn't get to see the game - I'm curious who defended Singletary - was it Nelson or Smith or someone else? Seems like he had good but not great night.
I thought we played great, especially 1st half defensive intensity. The lapses were few and far between. Everybody contributed.
There was a lot of switching, so it usually started with Nelson on Singletary but didn't necessarily stay that way. We were very disruptive, but he's good enough that he got his points.
We stayed aggressive and didn't give up our lead. Won the first half by 12, the second half by 10. That was a nice win by the devils.
Am I the only person who thinks King is more accurate when he's taking a bad shot? I'm rooting for him, but his game is weird. (I also thought the traveling call against him off the offensive board was bogus--replayed it at home and it looked like a single step.)
Great game, coming off 2.5 games that didn't look quite so great. Nice way to start the ACC season.
I think we played an all around good game, I would still like to see us rebound way better than we did tonight, plus we need a scorer in the post and who can defend in the post
zeb-
on king being more accurate when he's taking a bad shot?....I don't think i've seen him take too many bad shots this year. By that I mean he's got terrific range and I just wait for him to shoot it; IF they're going in, Duke is going to win the game. He's 6'6" so he can get off the shot without having to have a pick. guaranteed when he comes into the carolina game 'ol roy puts his best defender on him and then they hold their breath.
that one player can bring Duke back from the brink of death.
dth.
The rust is gone. The concerns can disappear for a while. This was a vintage Duke performance in an ACC opener. We jumped all over an inferior opponent and the game was never in doubt. The teamwork was great, the subs came fast and frequently and the defensive pressure was fantastic. Last year's visions of quick point guards routinely getting to the rim should be gone by now -- yes, Singletary had 18, but they were tough shots and not easy layups. All of Duke's perimeter defenders were excellent, with the lone exception of Paulus, who got beat a few times. But there were so many things to like that I hope people can enjoy this win for a couple days.