3-15-02: DUKE DESTOYS WINTHROP
3-16-02: DUKE SLIPS BY IRISH
Wow, that was one scary game. Duke pulled it out over Notre Dame today 94-77. Anyone who saw the game knows that it wasn't easy, but it sure was great to see how Duke responded to the pressure applied to them. Mike Brey had his team read, and as DBR predicted, it was a really close game. It could have been an upset had Duke not had immense help from Daniel Ewing, who had 16 points and several key free throws, and Casey Sanders played really big, especially when Boozer was in foul trouble. Duke also hit their free throws down the stretch, along with plenty of big defensive stops. I will have much more later.
3-15-02: DUKE DESTOYS WINTHROP
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There isn' too much to say, so I won't even say much. Duke destroyed Winthrop tonight. It was a complete clinic in every sense of the word. There isn't too much you could nitpick. It was the perfect start to the tourney, and with teams like Kansas struggling to win with key players getting injured, it was good to see Duke play so well. They didn't leave any doubt that they are one of the, if not the strongest team in the tournament.
In other news, it has been a wacky tourney so far this year. I can't believe all the upsets, but amazingly I have picked most of them right. I am in the 98.7 percentile on the ESPN.com fantasy game. It has the makings of a classic tournament, and one in which teams like Kentucky and UCLA are trying to redeem theirselves.. If you didn't see, USC (the strongest Duke opponent in the South) lost in overtime to UNC-W. Indiana smashed Utah, Notre Dame overtook Charlotte, and Alabama squeaked by Florida Atlantic. Kansas reallllly struggled, and it looked for a while like they were gonna lose it. It would have been bad, but I, and pretty much everyone else firgured they would win. Mizzou had a good game, winning as the #12 seed. Arizona won, but the Zags weren't very lucky, and slipped in the first year that they were expected to. Oh yeah, Wake Forest responded to last seasons dissapointment in a big way. Until tomorrow, when I will havemore links for you!
Goodnight.. I am exhausted after a good day of basketball!
3-10-02: DUKE WINS ACC TOURNAMENT
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Duke won its fourth straight ACC Tournament Championship title today in Charlotte. NC State fought hard, and it was tough for their storybook ACC season to end in such defeat, but the better team won on Sunday. Duke showed intensity from the start, and never wavered as tournament MVP Carlos Boozer only missed one shot from the field (his first) and Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy played very solid games to push the Devils to a blowout win today by thirty points. I will have so much more later....
3-9-02: DUKE ADVANCES
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It took a while, but Duke was able to pull it out today in Charlotte. Granted we jumped out to a quick start and it looked to be blowout city (to use a Vitale term) but give Wake credit, they didn't give up, and fought hard to almost pull another upset in the ACC semi-finals. So what exactly happened, you may ask? hee are my thoughts.
First and foremost, this game was huge for Duke. Not only the fact that it was the ACC tourney, and Duke needs something to prove, but also because it showed Duke's ability to stop a comeback and fight to pull out a game in pretty convincing fashion. Also they displayed the ability to play without Jason Williams with his A game. J-Will did have a subpar night from the field, he didn't play that well and turned the ball over too much. He wasn't spectacular, but to his credit, he didn't try to take the game over and definately didn't try to force too many shots. He knew he was off, so he delegated to his team mates, especially Dunleavy, Duhon, and certainly Boozer. His team mates also helped him out. Duhon had many assists, and MikeD and Boozer shot at an incredible rate from the field. Boozer was especially impressive, pulling down rebound after rebound to finishe with over 15 points and over 15 rebounds. Near the end of the game he was able to go as far as to pull down a rebound and wait for the Wake players to foul him because he knew he wanted to take the free throws. It is a good sign to see your big man take responsibility like that.
As for Duke's quick start, it was great to see. It almost looked like the players felt refreshed to be able to run around and get fast break points. They were really focused and played great defense to get turnovers and jump out to a 15-2 lead just a couple of minutes into the game. They held the lead for a while, but it was apparent that Wake wasn't about to delegate the game to Duke, and they fough back behind great shooting from Songiala. They weren't necessarily playing too poor at the beginning, the real problem was the fact that Duke was flawless. Starting 9-9 from the floor certainly helped, but you knew it wouldn't last the whole game. As Duke settled down, the crowd began to take its toll and as Wake gained momentum they cut the lead (that was 20 points) to 5 by halftime. It was back and forth throughout the second half, but Duke generally held on to a 1-4 point lead. They played especially tough down the stretch and it was a really good sign. I was quite concerned about the fact that Duke hadn't played many tough games with a strong opponent late in the season in a pressure situation. The only game that Duke had played like that was Virginia, and we all know what happened there. But in this situation the Devils responded well and played tough, never relenting or just settling for the three pointer. Duke his some shots down the stretch an hopefully that will give Duke plenty of momentum going into the title game against a stellar NCSU team.
On a nervous note, I was concerned to see Jason limping for the final minutes of the game today.. He looked hurt which was concerning, but since there wasn't too much talk over it I figure that he will be ok. Here is a Fayetteville article that says Jason is saying he is fine. Let the title match begin!
3-9-02: NCSU BEATS TERPS!!
Wow, huge upset in Charlotte!! I was so amazed and thrilled to see NC State win against Marlyand today. It could be good in severaly ways fo NC State, Maryland, and the ACC in general. First off, NC State now has some MAJOR momentum going into the NCAA tournament. I am talking huge. It is really obvious that they know they can play with anyone, and that is a dangerous thing when you have a bunch of freshman believing it. Duke had better look out cause NCSU knows what they are capable of, and as they showed today, they can beat anyone on-- should I say-- any given sunday? Regardless of what happens in the title game I feel that the Wolfpack are going to go deep into the tournament this year. They know what they had to do, and behind an amazing performance from Anthony Grundy (except for the whole 1-4 from the line at the end). He is certainly turning heads. I'll bet the Wolfpack hope they can play in the Charlotte Collesium the entire tournament from the way they have shot from behind the arc in there... It is great to see NCSU playing so well after so much dissapointment for so many years. It is a storybook ending for their seniors and they will really remember this for the rest of their lives...
Also, even though Wake lost today, it could be a good loss. They hung with one of the elite teams in the nation for most of the game and they have to feel good about their chances of going to, well, hopefully the sweet sixteen (don't expect anything like last years disaster). For Maryland it was abit of a wakeup call and hopefully they will get their heads on straight for the NCAA tournament. I imagine they will for three reasons. First, they are a veteran team, 2) they have a strong coach, and 3) they didn't play too bad today, they just didn't beat a strong and determined NC State team.
3-8-02: DUKE BEATS HEELS
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Well, a win is a win, and against UNC in a tournament game, I will take it. However it wasn't pretty to watch, and for the Duke players, I am sure that it wasn't fun to play. I mean who, on a team with 90 ppg average, wants to slow it down and play 'hold the ball' until the end of the game? For those of you who missed it, UNC decided to take a radical departure from anything that anyone has pulled on Duke to try to win a game in a whole. UNC took the air out of the ball, and that was no suprise, but what was shocking was the Heels stout decision to continue with their type of play until the end of the game. On almost every posession they held the ball until there was under 5 seconds on the shot clock, and the pace of the game was dramatically altered. Duke at times was impatient and obviously frustrated with the style of play. They started by playing tough against the Heels, trying to get them to cough the ball up, but after that didn't work to some extent (beside a couple of steals and a 5-second call), they tried to almost taunt the Heels. Duhon played off the ball and the team slapped the floor, begging Carolina to come after them. But the Heels were relentless, and still held the ball. Finally Duke came after them with an intense defense that eventually prevailed and pushed the Devils into the semi-finals.
I thought that Duke showed incredible patience throughout the game and was able to resist the temptation to run at the heels. They were able to slow it down as well, and adjust to the pace of the game. That takes a ton of maturity, and it is a good sgn. My friends and I commented, as was noted after the game by others, that Duke will hopefully be more rested tomorrow for GT/Wake, and will be ready to get back to the cut throat pace of other games.
Really, there isn't much to say beyond a strong game. Yes, there were few points, but they held Carolina to fewer. It was a smart coaching strategy, and almost honorable for Doh to go after the only game plan that could have possibly worked for his overmatched team. He knew it, and knew he would take heat for it if it didn't work. But it did. It worked almost perfectly, and you had to think that if J-Will didn't get the steal and dunk to move the lead to seven points, that it oculd have been a lot more nerve -racking. It was still concerning, and made me worry for quite a while. But it was good to see Duke pull it out, and in convincing form. They may not have beat the Heels by 30 points, but they still held a proportion of the points that was that of a blowout. In a game like this, winning by 12 was like winning by 20 or 30. Duke found out what they needed to do, and did it. This is, as Jason said, a step on the ladder to another national title. It was also nice to hear him talk of having something to prove. It must have been nice for K to have something to get the team to try to prove. Now they have to try to win a title after losing to Maryland.
On a side note... It was nice to see Duke hold the ball at the end of the game and not take the shot to run up the score. That is a trademark of Duke teams: class. That along with Coach Krzyzewski getting up to congratulate Jason Capel on a fine career. You don't really notice those things until you watch a Maryland game where, with 35 seconds left (and then again with 18 seconds left) and up by over 20 points having your players shoot the ball and make fast break layups to run up the score and rub it into a team like FSU's face. They already finished the Seminoles season, don't run up the score, that is bush league and shouldn't ever be done.
In other news, it was a good day of basketball. The Wake-GT game got very interesting in the second half, but Wake managed to pull it out, and the other games have been close. FSU made it a decent game until the second half, and was within 1 point with 15 minutes left before running out of gas. Then the highly anticipated game of NCSU-UVA turned out ok. It wasn't a nail biter, but wasn't a blowout, and was worth watching. The Duke-UNC game was boring to a reasonable extent to watch, but filled with strategy and intensity by a team fighting to continue its season... Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good. Until Saturday....
2-25-02: DUKE DEMOLISHES THE RED STORM
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There really isn't too much to say about the game other than that Duke completely thrashed St. John's on Sunday. It is becoming an all too familiar sotry with this team. If Duke is on their game, then they can totally take apart a team in a few short minutes, putting the game completely behind them. It is really awe inspiring and a special characteristic that few teams have. Not only does Duke show up every night, but they show up in a big way, and don't take long to get to their run and put the opposition away. Almost every great team has a game or two during the season that they slip up, and obviously Duke has had their's, but they have also responded wonderfully aqnd shown that they probably are still the team to beat when it comes tournament time.
On a day when I had glimmers of hope that the Blue Devils would again be the #1 nationally ranked team come Monday's polls, I saw a clinic put on at Cameron. Some of the ingredients that are always seen with a Duke blowout, as many know, are defense, great perimeter shooting, solid free throw shooting, intensity, and a strong inside game to work with the excellent outside shooting of the guards. This game exemplified those aspects of a great Duke performance. Duke was able to work the ball to Carlos Boozer and he was capable, as always, of putting the ball away on a very high percentage. It is unique to have such a strong center with the fundamentals and touch he has. Few realize that he is now the leading percentage shooter for a career at Duke. That tops shooting percentages of players like Christian Laettner and Elton Brand. Of course you can expect a center to have good shooting numbers with the guard penetration that Duhon and Williams provide, but Carlos excells. Not only that but he has a great touch on jumpers from around the paint, along wiht a decent hook, and he can go with either hand at short range. He has a variety of moves and adds excellent free throw shooting. He is capable of pulling down big rebounds and an awesome ability to switch the ball for three point shooters. That is the perfect fit for this team, and its importance to the teams' success is grosely underrated.
Though coverage didn't pick up until the end of the Wake-Maryland game, it appeared that Duke took a little time to get going out of the gate. That is alright, and it normally takes teams a few minutes to hit their groove. Well let me rephrase that. It is okay as long as you keep defensive intenstiy for the time when your offense is starting to click. That is what happened for the first 8 minutes, and then Duke started the show. They were able to hold the Red Storm to no field goals for the last half (practically) of the first half. The 35-1 run put St. John's in its place, and let them know who's court it was. Duke was able to rip St. John's on the boards 47-31 and just, well, utterly tore them apart. Duke ran, and put the ball in the hole. During the run St. John's wasn't even able to get shots up uncontested. They looked confused and totally out of their game. That is what good defense will do to any team- no matter how good- and it is the Blue Devils trademark. By turning up the defense a notch they were able to score more often, and put the game away by half time. Jason Williams didn't need to take over, though he had plenty of buckets, for Duke to win. He just played his regular game, and there was a balanced scoring attack that led to St. John's attack. If Duke gets caught up in a half court game, then often (though not always) they shoot too many three's and aren't able to get the ball inside consistently. This isn't always the case, but it happens sometimes- exemplified by the Maryland game. But if they play tough D then they can get on the break and don't have to rely on Jason to have a 30 point night. It is nice to see, and I hope the Devils feed off this game and the Wake game to propel them through the final two conference game and the tournaments.
It has to be nice for the teams to step out of the conference late in the season, to get out of, well, a rut, that they might be forming against faliliar conference teams. Duke responded well, and put the game away early. St. John's played physical, and didn't allow Duke to breathe early. They pushed and hacked at MikeD, especially under the basket, but Duke worked around it. If you are able to get a team so far out of their game that they can't even make free throws during streaches of the first half (during the 35-1 run). They used superb spacing to pass around St. John's thoughout the offensive side of the game, but their biggest weapon was the fast break. Behind the fast break was defense. Behind everything on a good team should be defense. This is a good thing for this years Blue Devils as the three keys to the team appear to be: unselfishness, defense, and passing. Until next time....
2-22-02: DUKE DESTROYS WAKE 90-61
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Duke doesn't like to lose, and even more they don't like to lose twice in a row. The Blue Devils made sure that didn't happen tonight with a 90-61 thrashing and total dismantling of Wake Forest. As much as everything went wrong Sunday afternoon against Maryland things went right last night against Wake. Duke was Duke, they did everything right, and with the added focus on intensity and communication they were able to rip the heart out of Wake Forest in convincing fashion. Duke didn't, although I thought they would, demolish Wake from the opening tip. You could see the intensity in Duke but the Deacs kept up with them for the first few minutes of the ball game. It looked like Wake was in for a nail biter, and they weren't going to back down to the least extent.
Personally, I don't think Wake backed down at all, but I think Duke outran, outhustled, and just flat outplayed them. Songaila hit hard, especially the pick on Jason Williams, but Duke hit back, just as hard. Duke wasn't going to back down to the physical nature of Wake Forest- least of all Carlos Boozer or Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy took what he felt was a cheap shot at midcourt and answered by tripping the Wake player by locking up his legs. Booze got his shots in too, on rebounds and power moves to the hole. I am not saying that I necessarily like rough play, or that I agree that teh Dunleavy trip should have been a no-call, but I am saying that i like that Duke isn't backing down, and they will fight no matter who they are playing. Sometimes a game must go beyond finesse, and we are showing that we can play with the muscle of anyone that matches up against us... That is what I like.
Anyway, back to the game. After the first 7 minutes Duke thoroughly took control of the game. They outrebounded and outshot Wake Forest. Did anyone else notice to follow through on all of Duke's shots, especially Dunleavy and Williams shots? They kept their hand up and followed through completely. The team missed few, if any, open jumpers and were completely together on passing. I don't quite understand how they could be so good against NCSU, and Wake, but so bad against Maryland inbetween. If one hadn't looked, it would have seemed that the NCSU and Wake games were back to back, and Maryland never happened. It was good to see that Duke put their loss behind them. The seemed a bit timid at first, but their confidence rose as the minutes went by. That is the sign of a veteran team, one that can move on after a loss of the magnitude of Maryland.
On a personal note, I want to thank ESPN. They do things right in most areas of game coverage. First, they choose anouncers that haven't just played the game, but know the game. Sure, you can get people like Bill Walton that have played basketball and try to make them announce, but it doesn't work if you get just anyone. People like CBS and NBC tend to get announcers that may have played the game (like Walton) but can't announce the game... ESPN has put an emphasis on people that have played, coached, and understood the game, as well as having a passion and are capable announcers. I like most of the guys- like Bilas, Brad Doreghty, and Vitale. They all have their differences, but they all KNOW the game, and they can translate it well to the audience. Bilas is exceptionally smart and is one of the best out there, the others are just great, ESPN has a refreshing way of doing things, as opposed to the other stations, and it is so nice...
ON the other hand it would be nice for the announcers to stop talking like Duke has lost the edge. Yes, they lost to Maryland, but people are starting to talk like we never beat them. Does anyone remember a second half blitz in Cameron that resulted in a 20 point win for Duke a month ago? I sure do, but everyone else doesn't it seems. Duke is still just as capable as winning the title as anyone else. People need to stop saying "Duke still has to go through Maryland to win the title" because while Duke might have to beat them, it isn't like we haven't before. Every team loses, hell, Kansas lost to Ball State, and Maryland lost to Arizona... It happens, now get over it.
Other than that there isn't too much to say. Dunleavy had a hell of a second half (and a halftime shot), J-Will was in control, scored when needed and had some beautiful assists. We still had too many turnovers but shot almost lights out and communicated well. We were able to shut down their offense for almost the entire first half and just played heads up, beautiful basketball. It was nice to watch. And it was good to get the loss behind the team... Next up, St. Johns on Sunday...
2-19-02: MARYLAND WHIPS DUKE
OK, ok... I am really sorry it took me so long to get my analysis up. I have been under the gun from a couple of tests here at school and I didn't have too much free time on my hands to write up a whole article. I appreciate all of the traffic yall have given me- it means a lot, and to those of you who are new, well thank you fo coming, I hope you find what you like and that you will visit often for updates.
Anyway, I have avoided the subject long enough. It really was a crappy night for all the Dukies wasn't it? That game will probably burn in me for a long time, and no doubt it will stick in all of our heads for at least the rest of the season. I just don't know where to start. I guess I should go ahead and congratulate the Terps on a hell of a performance. It has all been said already that they really needed and wanted this game, probably more than Duke did, and it definately showed. The atmosphere was electic, and there was so much for Maryland to play for that night. For Gary Williams, it was the passing of a close relative, for the team it was bragging rights, for the stadium it was the last big game, for Seniors and Francis there was the jersey retirement, and for Byron Mouton there was the memories of his lost brother. Now that list is quite comprehensive, and I have seen it mentioned everywhere, in one form or another. But, what I have seen very little of is the mention of an ACC championship at stake, along with first seed in the ACC tourney. It goes without saying that the two teams are battling it out for the first seed in the East Region also. It appears that Kansas, a team that should be taken very seriously and ALMOST feared by all Duke fans, has locked up the first seed in the midwest. Now I hate doing this, but what would be so bad about Duke playing in the South. Sure they would be more than a short busride from their stadium but there would be quite a bonus for the team in the Suth region- being that they would only have to play Kansas OR Maryland in the Championship game (assuming they get that far)... they wouldn't have to face the possibility of playing Kansas in the semifinal, and then face a great foe in the Terps in the Championship. But that would mean Duke wouldn't win ACC tourney, which I would hate to see happen.
Well, thats all good and well, but its all speculation, and what I am about to give you is the facts. It is a story of a great whooping in Cole Field house the other night. It wasn't just a win for Maryland, it was a romp. They beat Duke thoroughly in every aspect of the game. It wasn't just that Duke shot poorly (which they did) but UM was able to beat us without going after what most teams try for. Most teams try to go up against Boozer and get him in foul trouble. This game Boozer was fully capable of playing the entire game without being saddled with fouls. The Blue Devils seemed quite sluggish and slow the entire game. It really reminded me of the movie Varsity Blues. Remember when the team goes out and gets drunk before a big game and the next day are really slow and can't seem to do anything right? well that was Duke in a nutshell the other night. They dropped easy passes, and were outsmarted. I have never seen Dahntay Jones miss so many close looks at the hoop, and has the rim ever appeared to have alid on it like that? Open threes were missed and the team just didn't click.
One of the key reasons, to me, for the failure to succeed was Jason Williams' inability to successfully drive. Whenever he tried to go to the hoop he was cut off or blocked. Duke lacked the entire concept of 'drive and kick out for the three' and this hurt. Duke had to settle for trying to shoot over people, and just weren't in sync with each other. They also missed free throws again. At one time they were something like 1-9 from the line. Duke didn't take care of the ball and was poor at getting it into Boozer, granted when they did get it to him he either dropped the ball or turned it over.
All of this amounted to a really ugly game for Duke fans to watch. More concerning, however, was Duke's reaction to the hostile crowd and intimidating opponent. I haven't seen Duke play scared in a long long time, but at times the verteran lineup looked timid and willing to shoot up the three instead of drive the hoop. Maybe it was a false sense of complatency that loomed in Duke's mind because of the results of last year. Thoughts may have arisen that they came back from 10 in 54 seconds or from a 22 point first half deficit to win in the final four last year. On an interesting note, I am glad we lost. not only will we learn that if we don't show up to play against a REAL team that they will give us a whooping. A team like Maryland isn't scared of the Duke jersey, and I am certain a rough and tough Kansas team is licking its chops to get a chance at the Blue Devils in the tourney. Duke may have been able to learn that they can't always bail themselves out of a tough deficit. There was a reason the Duke-Maryland games were instant classics last year- it is because they were miracle comebacks and they don't happen a lot. Duke will probably, as has been mentioned elsewhere, learn from this loss and turn it into a positive. Coach K knows what to do, he is a veteran coach and knows how to combat the situation, plus the team he has knows what a loss is, and will probably not fall into a tail spin following the loss (a la Maryland last year). Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy, and-probably to a lesser extent- Chris Duhon will be looked to to put this game behind them and lead the team to the future of assured brighter places.
This loss can be good, or bad, but my honest belief is that every team needs a loss every once and a while. Hey check this out:
1999: 37-2 (16-0) -- NCAA Runner Up
1991: 32-7 (11-3) -- NCAA Champs
1992: 34-2 (14-2) -- NCAA Champs
2001: 3?-4 (13-3) --NCAA Champs
See my Point? The more you learn to lose (to an extent-- no UNC syndrome) the more you know who to win at the right time- when it counts in the NCAA tourney. Thats all for now.. lets move on, its a sore subject, and I don't feel like pouring any more salt into the wound of fellow Duke fans...
2-15-02: LOVELY- DUKE CRUSHES NC STATE
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Well, I didn't quite know what to write a while ago when the game initially ended. My thoughts at first were, well, that Duke absolutely destroyed the Wolfpack. This would be a true statement for someone that didn't watch the first half of the game (actually just the first 15 minutes). For that portion of the game the Blue Devils were outhustled, outshot and just flat outplayed by NC State. They showed, as Dickie V mentioned, little intensity on the defensive end, and were not doing an excellent job on the offensive end. As the old saying goes, offense comes and goes, but defense must remain a constant. This is a principle that Duke has been founded on, and they seemed to realize this only after the first 10-15 minutes. Anyway, Duke needed a spark and they found it in they found it in Daniel Ewing. He played a wonderful game, shot 4-5 and was perfect (3-3) from behind the arc. He showed poise and was able to cooly knock down a couple of shots and make the right moves when called upon. After Ewing entered and Carlos and J-Will had time to think some things over on the bench, the game changed dramatically.
As DBR predicted, Duke went on a run.. It wasn't just any run, it was a run that lasted until the end of the game. A run that lasted until the buzzer sounded- not just when the starters left the game. It was filled with beautiful shooting, beautiful passing, unselfishness, intensity, and great defense. No more NCSU players were able to slip by the Duke defender for an easy lay-up like they did early in the game. Duke sealed off the glass and dumped the ball down to Boozer for the easy basket. It was truly beautiful basketball and I couldn't stand for it to end. It did, however, and in the meantime put NC State in its place, sending a message that 'if you want to be ranked with the big boys, you need to play like the big boys.' The Wolfpack came in fighting, and even their young lineup was not intimidated by the crowd. But if you looked closely in the background during the second half, you could see fear, awe, and intimidation. Duke put on a clinic. There is no way of stepping around the fact. Just look at the numbers: 62% from the floor (led by Boozer at 13-14), 79% from the line, and only 9 turnovers to NCSU's 17. Although NC State shot 50% from the floor, they were really reeling at some points in the second half, and found it lucky to even get a shot off. I hope that if you missed the game that you can somehow get a tape to look at some of the aspects of Dukes play.
The most key aspect to look at was Duke's passing. Unbelievable. Everyone got into the action but it was Jason who lead the pack (no pun intended). He was juking and jiving and giving Carlos no excuse to miss any shots. No look passes and quick touch passes (like the one from Duhon-Williams-Boozer) led all the awe inspiring plays. Duke was able to finish strong too. The didn't settle for threes (well, some of the time they did) but drove the lane and got the high percentage shot off. Dahntay had several flashy dunks, and one that resulted in a technical. Let me digress for a minute. I find it hard to understand how you can give a technical for the dunk he made and his reactions afterward. If you didn't see it he had a huge followup dunk and when he was going back to play defense he kept facing the NCSU baseline and screamed. He then clapped his hands and yelled "Lets Go!!" The refs gave him a T for taunting. Yes, I could see how this is a form of taunting, and maybe it wasn't appropriate, but I think this is really a call which was brewing from the aftermath of the Clemson game, when Dahntay showed his emotions in a way deserving of a technical foul. I think the refs had this in the back of their mind and gave him a T more for his reputation and past experience than what actually happened.. and I don't think that is appropriate.
Anyhow... onto player performances. First and formost Captain Boozer!!! Wow... he was 13-14 from the field and finished with a career high 32 points. He did everything right and finished with 6 rebounds. It owuld have been nice for him to have a double-double, but i guess thats kind of nit-picking. Also consider that the teams didn't miss enough shots for too many rebounds to occur :) ... Dahntay finished with 14 points on 7-8 shooting and had 6 boards too, a well rounded game with many jaw dropping dunks. I told my friends that he always seems to get at least one flashy play every game but this one he had about 6... A solid performance form him, and an important one. Jason had a 'quiet' 20 points but it showed why he is the best player in the nation. He was able to do other things- specifically pass with the best of them, and play off the ball. Dunleavy was off on the shooting end but finished with 9 boards- almost claiming a double-double. He contributed well, and although he didn't shoot the lights out, he wasn't a problem, and seemed to fit into the flow of the game well. Ewing, as mentioned had a stellar game and provided a spark for the team to get going on. The bench came in for hte last few minutes of the game and held their own against NCSU's best. It was fun to watch, and people like nick horvath and reggie love were able to contribute quite a bit for just a few minutes of action. Speaking of action- i have a MIA for ya: Casey Sanders. I don't know what is happening anymore. It seems that one game he will get 10-15 minutes and the next he will get the last 30 seconds. He had a beautiful play during the final minutes of this game. I am getting the sinking feeling that he may just be a filler for when Booze is in foul trouble and doesn't get to play otherwise... sad but it seems to be the case.
All in all, a great game and it proved that Duke, along with an elite class of other teams, is head and shoulders above the rest of the ACC and National Level of competition... Final Score: 108-71. Until Sunday...
2-9-02: DUKE CRUSHES JACKETS
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Duke played its game today, and in the second half was able to pull away with a fairly easy win over the Yellow Jackets. The first half was, well, close for a time, but one never truly got the feeling that Duke was in trouble, or that GT could pull out a shocker. The Devils were in too much control throughout- even when the game was close. The Jackets kept it close for the first 10-15 minutes of the game by handling Duke's patented runs matching them on the scoreboard. But when Dukes defensive intensity picked up, GT was unable to keep up with the offensive pace of Duke, and fell way, way behind.
Jason Williams erased the bad taste in his mouth from Thursdays disaster against FSU to compile a great game and a game-high 28 points. He dazzled from around the court and, with MikeD, tore the nets apart from 3-point land. The two combined for 10-15 behind the arc and more than fifty points. Jason had 8 assists, some of which were absolutely beautiful. Duke again ran into trouble handling the ball. This is the second (maybe third) game in a row that Duke was sloppy with the ball and ended up with 19 turnovers. Jason had six to lead everyone, which could cause problems against a tougher foe. Five of Duke's players were in double figures, and the team shot 76% from the foul line. It is good to see, and if Booze had his regular free throw line performance instead of 1-4, Duke could have been in the mid to upper 80%'s. Check this stat out from the foul line: Jones- 4-4; Dunleavy- 2-2; Duhon- 4-4; Williams- 7-7. That is excellent and games like that from the line will help Duke immensly during tight NCAA tourney games. Hopefully Duke has started to get over its foul shooting woes and will use this to put them behind them. As a team, Duke shot 56% from the floor (54% from beyond the arc) and, as mentioned, J-Will and MikeD lead the way. Five players registered double figures and it resulted in an outstanding win for Duke.
GT is a winner in the making. They have fallen on hard times this year and have struglled- especially early- but have picked it up in recent months. Their loss to IUPUI-- is that even right?!?! -- was an embarassment the the ACC, but they had won their previous three games up until this one. Their team's core is young, and Tony Akins is the only valuable senior. Most other players are either freshmen or sophomores and for the most part they look good. Granted, when a 7'1" player is guarding Reggie Love (6'4") it makes them look better. But he only had to guard Reggie for about the last 4 minutes fo the ball game. They also have some good freshmen coming in next year so by that time they will be somewhat of a force to be reconed with. I would almost put money on the fact that they will be in the NCAA's next year and will advance a couple of rounds the year after that. GT has a bright future and they are improving by leaps and bounds as a team. Do not look at this game and rely on its final score to give an indication of how good the Jackets are.
Anyway, Duke pulled it out convincingly today. They were able to play determined basketball despite coming off a game only 48 hours earlier. Duke has had their 'easy' games for the second half (despite maybe an upset minded Clemson) and it is time to get down to business against bigger foes like UM, NCSU, and UVA. It should be a fun second half, but wouldn't be as fun if Duke had lost to a team like this and took themselves out of contention for the conference title.
-John
2-7-02: DUKE AVENGES LOSS
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Duke was able to avenge its lone loss of the season on Thursday night. But, as I was in Cameron to see the game, it wasn't pretty. Anyone who looks only at the final score of this game- or even the box score- will get just a tiny bit of the true story. It was an agonizingly long first half that was filled with "offensive" fouls, turnovers, miscommunication, and poor shooting. Heck, the Blue Devils only scored 2 points in the first 7 minutes and 27 for the entire first half!!! Florida State didn't do any better, only scoring 4 in the first 8 minutes and 23 for the first half. It was really sad, and was capped off by a FSU fan waving around a broom hoping for a sweep of the season series. Jason Williams was totally off and only had 2 for the first half and 7 for the game. He had 4 turnovers and plenty of mishandles. His shooting was off, which he realized, and began to give the ball up to people that were shooting well like Dahntay, Booz, and Dunleavy. He was off, but hey, it happens over the course of a season. He may have just been feeling pressure because of what happened in Talahassee or just may have been a notch off. Who knows?
But the good news for Duke is that they came alive in the second half. Things started to click some when they were able to make the defensive stop. Casey gave some good minutes, and I thought he was going to light a spark to a run in the first half when he battled and got the ball back and was able to get a layup. Other than him, Dahntay had a superb game. He shot well and had some terrific dunks. He finished with 18 points and really helped a struggling offense at times- especially by scoring the opening 7 points for Duke in the second half. Dunleavy played well and hit several key three pointers. His performance was also capped by a sensational dunk over the entire FSU defense. Boozer had only 12 points but it seemed like he scored more and he had several big rebounds. Horvath had a tough game, only hitting 1-5 from the floor and it would have been nice to see him do better, but a tough outing happens when you haven't played significant minutes in a few years. Ewing shot well and had an overall game that was much cleaner, and much much less sloppy than his teammates played most of the came. He was consistent and sound- and fun to watch.
One of the most exciting parts of the game was near the end, when the reserves were put in. Buckner, Love, Ewing, and Sanders played with such heart (no pun intended) over the past three minutes. They may not have scored much, but I enjoyed it more than watching the rest of the somewhat drab game. They deserved the minutes and proved it was worth putting them in... cheers to those four for doing what did for me- making me leave on a positive note....
that all for now. more later :)
night
2-2-02 DUKE BEATS CLEMSON
Though I only saw about the last ten minutes of the game, it appeared to be a well fought battle between the two teams. As DBR explained, this is why they are concerned about the "small games" like Clemson. If you don't take teams seriously then they will come up and bite you- and I got that funny feeling after watching the game that that might just happen. From the last 10 minutes I saw 1) much intensity from the Clemson side (especially from Shyatt) and 2) good free throw shooting by Duke.
I don't know exactly what happened with the Dahntay Jones- Larry Shyatt incident, but I will be interested to find out. I imagine Dahntay was just giving Clemson some lip, and maybe J-Will was involved too, but it continues on the Duke arrogance issue that has been bubbling up since the loss to Florida State. It is good to have some swagger and arrogance as a team but I just get the feeling that they are pretending to be hard and tough just because they are #1. It doesn't seem to be their true mentality. With the 1992 team the case was that Duke had a special man by the name of Christian Laettner. HE was arrogant, and he brought that to the floor and helped make the team intimidating. He would step on people's chests and stuff like that to say 'Duke is #1, don't screw around with us.' This years team doesn't have that same personality (or killer instinct). Yes, they have Boozer, who will elbow you back if you elbow Duke (IE Maryland last year) punch for punch. We also hav Dahntay Jones who provides intimidating blocks and high flying dunks. But the team just doesn't seem to want to step on people, or be on a mission to crush everyone by 40 points. That may not be a bad thing, but I am just observing... just a fan that knows little more than anyone else off the court. This team kills you with shooting, it kills you with kindness, and it kills you with flashyness- but it doesn't kill you with arrogance.
Other than that, by the looks of the boxscore things didn't jump out at me.. Ok, Casey got into foul trouble, that equals bad news for his PT. But they could have been good fouls, I don't know. Booz didn't get enough shots. The only time we are in trouble seem to be when Booz is 1) in foul trouble or 2) doesn't get the ball enough. Jason shooting almost 20 threes and Carlos getting fewer than 10 shots (8 to be exact) is not good, adn it spells trouble for the Blue Devils. 27-33 on free throws is wonderful, and hopefully it will help to get us over the what seems to be a mental block on the line. Duhon can't give up 5 TO's a game if we want to win... by the way 14 is too much. But it happens, and I would hate to be overcritical on just one game. So as long as it doesn't become a trend, hopefully things will be ok. If it is repeated against FSU on Thursday then thats a problem... more later.
There will be a guest column up soon about the game from a Duke Grad, my brother, Rich, who is very knowledgable about the team, and whos outlook will be immensly helpful along the road... so please come back soon!!
1-31-02: NO FUN AT ALL
Duke Blitzed the Tar Heels tonight to send them to 2-6 in the conference. It wasn't too much fun for UNC fans, and not too exciting for anyone outside of the Duke fanatics. Really, Duke dominated from the beginning. Even though we started out shooting the ball worse than normal, our defense kept us in it. That is, and should always be a constant if you want to win ball games. By forcing Carolina into so many turnovers in the first half, and a season high 25 turnovers for the game, Duke was able to make up for its lack of sharpshooting early on and keep a lead (which was normally double of UNC). Overplaying the passing lanes has always helped Duke on the defensive end but against the Tar Heels we were able to come up with several easy steals. Jason's steal about halfway through the first half where the ball just seemed to come to him was the most clear example of this. UNC seemed mixed up all night by the defensive pressure, and when you put their poor shooting (especially close range) into the equation a blowout seemed in order.
However, Duke only had about a 13 point halftime lead, and even though we hit a nice shot right before the half, UNC answered right back and Morrison was able to have a dunk to end the half. Doh seemed very pleased with himself but it didn't look like he was able to comprehend that his team needed to be able to execute plays throughout the game, not just before the buzzer at halftime. Oh, one more thing about the first half- what about Dahntay's throw down?? I have a picture of it below, and it was really beautiful. A one handed sensational dunk that, to say the least, quieted the Dean Dome, especially when he paused for a second after he finished the play as if to say "Yes, we are Duke."
The second half was all Duke, there isn't much more to say. The early emphasis it seemed was to throw the ball down to Carlos. There weren't any Carolina players that could guard him and he made them pay by scoring our first 6 points of the halfwith a variety of moves (he finished with 14 points on 1-10 shooting). He seems unstoppable when he wants to be, and his outside shooting is remarkable. He pretty much just turns to face the defender and takes a shot- and he rarely misses. Last night he had two shots like that, one was from only about a foot or so inside the 3-point arc. That kind of shooting will help him in the NBA as he will be a power forward, not a center, and he will need the outside shooting ability. I was happy to see that Casey got some good minutes- almost 10. He didn't play too bad either. He had a nice dunk and 4 rebounds, and only one turnover. It was a nice step for him to improve on, and he didn't give cheap fouls. Yes he may have fouled some, but they were aggressive ones, like trying to block shots instead of trying to get a steal after the opposing team has rebounded the ball and cleared out. Of course he was playing because of Carlos' foul troubles, but he filled the gap well, and Duke didn't seem to drop off when he came in. A side note: Duke had 16 fouls compared to UNC's 15; thats for all of you people who think that Duke gets all the calls.
My player of the game would probably go to Duhon. I hate to always give it to the player with the most points, and I try to avoid doing so, by looking elsewhere at what some of the quieter players achieved. Duhon shot 50% from the floor and had 7 assists to go along with 15 points and 3 rebounds. His all around game was wonderful and his one handed bounce pass to MikeD was just so pretty. Speaking of Dunleavy he played terrific as well. Another solid all around performance with 23 points on 10-15 shooting. Both played well but Chris just had the best overall game.
Outside of that, there isn't too much to say. Duke utterly and totally demolished the Heels. I have never seen a game like this in the rivalry (I have ony been watching for about 10 years though). The Heels were on their heels for most of the game, and Doh didn't have any options that Duke couldn't stop at will. My friends and I had almost as much fun flipping to ESPN during the TV timeouts to watch the Classic Sports Duke-UK highlights from 1992.
Oh on a side note... please check out the GoHeels.com article and, if you don't have time to read the whole thing, read the last line: it is pathetic. I think a lot of Duke fans remember what it was like in 1995 when we were 13-18. We know what the jokes were like- the relentless taunting from Chapel Hill fans. Like 'how does Duke count to ten? 0-1, 0-2, 0-3....' I remember that true and clear, and it makes me not give nearly as much sympathy as I might otherwise give if they hadn't done that. So don't try to make me feel sorry that Duke is having a great run, and is in prime shape, just because Carolina is losing. That isn't Duke's fault, and Duke fans should never feel like it is....
Thanks for reading, I will have more links up later today..
Here is the AP reading if you haven't had it already and the Box Score. Here is the Fayetteville Observer Article, and ESPN.com.... DBR ...DukeUpdate.... CNNSI....ACCToday.... GoHeels.com .... Chronicle .... Another Chronicle commentary (good read, at least to those outside the 'Kris Lang world').
1-19-02: DUKE-WAKE
Duke was able to handle the pressure that Wake Forest put on them today. The final score, for the second straight game, is probably somewhat misleading, as Wake was in the game much more than what the final score indicated. Throughout the game the Deacons were reasonably able to handle what Duke threw at them, and if it wasn't for the foul trouble of Darius Songila, the Deacs may have been able to make a run at the end.
2-17-02: DUKE CRACKS TERPS' SHELL:
I hope everyone got a chance to see the Duke-Maryland game tonight. It was truly sensational. Both teams played exceptional basketball for about the first 32 minutes of the game. There was a frenetic pace, but one that was just right for the two teams that played. Duke prevailed, 99-78, but the final score can be misleading. The game had thirty lead changes, and at times both Duke and Maryland were unstoppable. Who knows how many more classic rematches these teams can put together, but lets hope it is a bunch. As big a Duke fan as I might be, I found myself saying that, 'I don't care who wins, just let them play all night.'
Jason Williams was absolutely sensational- he was utterly determined to win this ball game and the way he drove the lane said it all: 'You can't deny me.' He played controlled basketball that and wasn't careless with the ball. He was what Duke needed, a fealess leader who would push them over the edge. Mike Dunleavy had a quiet first half, for him at least, but was productive. His second half performance was awe inspiring- as Ireflect back to his three pointer from about half court that was amazing. However, I believe that his best play of the night (beside the 4 steals in a row) was the turnaround baseline jumper. It was so beautiful. Check out espn.com if you want to see it again (I have already watched it about 5 times). Duhon was what he needed to be- solid. A sound defensive performance with controled, though somewhat limited, offensive play. Major props to Matt Christensen and Casey Sanders. Wow. Duke probaly couldn't have won this game without them, and their contributions. They played 9 and 8 minutes, respectively- but Matt had some huge minutes when Booz was in foul trouble. Carlos played well too. He had a great night offensivly, though I would have liked to see more rebounds for him, and you could see his effort to stay out of too much foul trouble- especially in the first half. No stupid fouls Carlos, good! Oh yeah, great free throw shooting too.
Dahntay!!!!! He deserves his own paragraph. My brother wrote this line to me which just about summed it all up: Juan Dixon, 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2-9 from the field. Dahnetay was all around Dixon all night, harassing him, and helping Duke put the game away. I was dissapointed that press row didn't give him more accolades for his performance tonight because it was stellar. Dixon put up around 30 points during the past few games against us, but not this time, thanks Dahntay.... you were great.
All in all, this proved to the world that Duke is #1. There may have been some question to that after they lost to FSU and beat a weak Georgia Tech team, but NCSU and Maryland did it for me and most others. They played, well, together tonight. They looked in sync and motivated beyond belief. Goodnight everyone... definately a good night :)