Archive for February, 2010

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Jon Scheyer = Tired Legs?

Friday, February 26th, 2010

After another rough shooting night (5-16 from the floor) against Tulas, everyone is starting to ask…is Jon Scheyer, after playing nearly 37 minutes per game, starting to get tired?

It’s a fair question, especially when you look at his shooting percentage over his last five games.

Overall, he’s just 25-82 from the floor (that’s 30% for those of you without a calculator). That’s unacceptable and the fact is, an un-biased person (that’s not me) would probably have to move Maryland’s Javier Grievis ahead of Scheyer for ACC player of the year honors (although next week’s game between Maryland & Duke will probably decide that).

So is he tiring out? Are those legs starting to give out after 37+ minutes per game? I’m going to go out on a limb and say, NO. Don’t sweat me, I got the stats to prove it.

When the legs go, the jumper is the first to go with it. For Scheyer, jumper means three’s. Yet, that hasn’t really been that much of a problem.

Over the last five games, he’s shooting 17-39 from the three-point range. That’s a solid 44%. The problem Jon’s having is inside the arc…from two-point land, he’s only 8-43. That’s a horrid 19% and let’s just be honest, that sucks.

Scheyer’s problem hasn’t been tired legs, the issue is simple, he’s taking bad shots inside the paint. Too often Scheyer has driven the ball way too deep inside, gotten caught among the trees and thrown up a ton of bad shots/lay ups. That’s it. Instead of shooting smart like a senior, he’s shooting dumb like a sophomore.

Now early in the season, Scheyer was able to get a lot of fouls called his way, but for whatever reason, those calls have dried up.

In fact, he has failed to take more than five free throws in seven of his last 13 games. In the ten games prior to that, he took 6+ free throw attempts in eight of ten games. Against Tulsa, he took only two free throws. For a guy who hits nearly 90% of his free throws, this is also unacceptable.

Now, despite the shooting issues, Scheyer is still playing solid ball. He’s getting his teammates involved, he’s not turning the ball over much (he still leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio) and his D is getting it done.

However, if Scheyer wants to break this mini-slump, he will need to start shooting smarter. Our suggestion, do what Nolan Smith does. Pull up. Scheyer is usually bigger than his defender, so pull up at the free throw line and drain a mid-range shot.

There’s no better way to cure a shooting slump.

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Blue Devils Miss the Tar Heels

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

We may hate them, but we need them…Carolina that is. The Yankees need the Red Sox. Connors wouldn’t be Connors without McEnroe. Hell, who’s Tom without Jerry. You may hate your rivals, but lord knows, its just not the same when they’re not up to par.

Sure it’s fun to see the Tar Heels stuck in last place, yes last place, but we’re going to face them again in two weeks and that game will be meaningless. Sure I like beating UNC, but it just feels better when it’s the two heavyweights fighting for the title.

Of course, we’ve been through this before recently. The decade began with Carolina struggling through the Matt Doherty era. Sure Maryland stepped up to the plate. We won a title, they won a title and the two teams played in some of the most memorable games ever.

But Maryland is not North Carolina, never will be, no matter how hard they want to be. So I can’t help but look ahead now, even before the season begins, to see if North Carolina will claw their way back at the top.

Before we look ahead though, we have to see what’s gone wrong now.

Despite losing four players to the NBA, North Carolina was ranked in the top five in almost all pre-season polls and was picked by most local writers to finish tied with Duke for first in the ACC. Of course after some early wins over Michigan State and Ohio State, the ranking looked about right.

Yet, that was then and this is now. Now is a team barely above .500. They’ve not only lost 10 of 13 ACC games, they’ve barely been competitive in about half those games. So what’s been the problem?

The obvious answer is the guard play. Despite having a solid front court combo of Thompson & Davis, the guards have struggled. They’ve been inconsistent on offense, miserable at long-range shooting and at times their defense has been down-right embarrassing. Are they just that bad? No, not really (those are seven McDonald’s All-Americans we’re talking about). They’re just inexperienced.

It’s easy to just stare at the name on the front of the jerseys and forget this is a team full of underclassmen. Their basic 11-man rotation consist of three sophomores and five freshman.

Over the years we’ve seen such great things from freshman like Oden, Durant, Rose and now Walls, it’s understandable that we forget most incoming freshman make little to no impact their first year.

How many teams would win a ton of games with a eight underclassmen, bad point guard play, mixed in with a pile of injuries to key players? Not many.

SO WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR OUR RIVALS?

Obviously, if you’ve been paying attention, you’re well aware that Coach Williams has another solid recruitment class coming in, led by ESPN’S No 1 high school player, Harrison Barnes. They also have PG Kendall Marshall (rated #6 PG) and shooting guard Reggie Bullock (rated #3 SG) also coming in.

While there is little doubt Harrison Barnes won’t make an immediate impact (you don’t get the No 1 rating for nothing), time will tell if either Marshall or Bullock will make an immediate impact. According to Scout.com, Marshall is an excellent passer, but needs to work on his outside shot. Bullock on the other hand is an ace on the outside, but doesn’t have the mid-range shot or strength to scare anyone inside.

Of course the big question mark for next year’s team is Ed Davis. Like we speculated last week, he surprised everyone staying for his sophomore year, but no one foresaw him coming back after this season. Yet, he’s now out for the season and maybe the injury is a blessing. While Davis is still projected to be a lottery pick, he sure hasn’t impressed me that much this season (luckily for him, I’m not the one he needs to impress). One more year as the main man underneath might do him some good. Of course, if you’re a lottery pick already, one more year could just make it worse. Right, Josh McRoberts?

For the remainder of this post, we’re going to assume Ed Davis says goodbye to college and hello to the NBA.

SO WHAT DOES THAT LEAVE OUR RIVALS?

That leaves us with a Carolina team stacked with guards/wing players, but thin in the middle.

Inside, Zeller will get the start along with Jon Henson. The only backups will be the Wear brothers. Zeller is a pretty good athlete for a seven-footer, but the problem has always been his health. He’s missed more games than he’s played.

At power forward, Henson is oozing with talent (remember his block party against Duke this season), but early on he was just plain bad. While he certainly looks a lot better of late, he’s going to need to hit the weigh room if he’s going to start playing 25+ per game in the ACC.

In the back court/small forward spot, Coach Williams has some big decisions to make. He has a ton of players for only three spots. Obviously Harrison Barnes will take over at small forward (although I can’t really use the word “small” since he’s really 6′8). That leaves the guard spots, which if you can believe it or not, will most likely be filled with the same two guards starting this season; Larry Drew & Will Graves.

You might find this shocking, considering the struggles the Tar Heels have had this season. Yet in reality, the same weaknesses Drew has, Marshall has. The same weaknesses Graves has, Bullock has. Fact is, you have to assume both Drew (a junior) and Graves (a senior) will get better.

If I’m right, then look for Marshall to be the main backup at point. If he can surprise us all and show that he can indeed hit an outside shot, then he could find himself the starter later in the season. I don’t want to offend Larry Drew, but Marshall has so much more potential.

Anyhow, while Strickland has been the backup point guard this season, he was a shooting guard in high school. Look for him to become just “a guard” off the bench. Bullock should also get plenty of minutes off the bench as a long range bomber. At 6′6, he could easily backup Barnes at small forward. If anyone gets left out, right now it looks like Leslie McDonald.

For now…
CAROLINA STARTERS:(PG) Drew, (SG) Graves, (SF) Barnes, (PF) Henson, (C) Zeller
CAROLINA BENCH: (PG) Marshall, (SG) Strickland, (G/F) Bullock, (SG) McDonald, (F) T. Wear, (F) D. Wear

So what kind of team are we looking at. First, we’re looking at a better team. Barnes alone will make any team in college better. He’s a one-and-done and he easily could be Carolina’s best player. While I’m hesitant on the impact the other two freshman will make, you have to assume the sophomores will all make good strides in the off-season. Coach Williams loves to run and this team can, as long as they can eliminate the turnovers. The question that will dog them (which is the same question that dogs all Roy Williams’ teams) is, can they play defense?

So would I pick them to win the ACC? No, but they should be in the thick of things. Now if Ed Davis returns, then I would probably consider Carolina one of the favorites to win the ACC and compete for the National Title.

Of course, don’t take my word for it…in fact, you shouldn’t take my word for it. So we went looking for another opinion. Who better to ask than Mr Tar Heel himself…Mr. Tar Heel.

He was kind enough to give us his thoughts on the current Tar Heels and the future Tar Heels. Please check them out.

No 1 - Most “experts” point to the point guard position as reason number one for Carolina’s struggles this season. Do you think that’s accurate and why (nor why not)?
It’s hard to argue with the notion that the point guard play is our biggest issue this year. In college ball it always seems that having great guard play is the key to success. I would agree that  it is the biggest issue but certainly not the only one. Let’s assume that we had Ty Lawson one more year….would we be a top ten team this year? Maybe…but the turnovers by the other guys, the missed free throws, the mental lapses might still be present.
No 2 - Next season, both point guard Larry Drew (junior) and Dexter Strickland (sophomore) will be back, yet Carolina is also bringing in another five-star point guard in Kendall Marshall. Who starts, who’s No 1 off the bench and who’s the odd man out?

I think my take is that judging freshmen is very difficult. In most cases I think the experienced junior point guard will win out over the inexperienced freshman unless the freshman is really a superior talent( ie, a John Wall type of guy ). Are there any freshman point guards out there playing more this year than upperclassmen? I haven’t checked but would doubt there are many.  As long as Drew improves over the summer I think he plays next year…followed by Strickland and then Marshall. Unless Marshall is a real stud…if so, then Marshall moves up a spot and Strickland plays SG.
No 3 – Although we’re not sold on Ed Davis going pro, let’s pretend he does head to the NBA for now? Without him, what kind of realistic expectations does a die-hard Carolina fan have?
I think that expectations will be high. I don’t like the mix we have this year of maybe too many big guys and then some inexperienced guards.  I like our chances much better next year with an array of guards who can shoot and handle the ball along with a few big guys who can run. I have been pleasantly surprised with the Wear twins and think they will continue to improve over the summer to help out the inside game next year. Next year’s team will be able to run much better and finish  fast breaks. Plus, after facing some adversity this year I think they will come out with something to prove next year.

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Around the ACC

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

With the regular season nearly done, I’ve done a lot of thinking and I figured, why not share those thoughts with you…the public. Let’s just be honest, everyone cares about what some random dude is thinking.

I’M RETHINKING MY ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
All season long, I’ve had Jon Scheyer penciled in, but when the season ends, I’m not guaranteeing he’ll still be at the top. Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t really done anything to “lose” the award, it’s just I’ve been so impressed lately with both Grievis Vasquez and Malcolm Delaney.

Delaney is the league’s leading scorer and is a monster at getting to the line. Take him off Virginia Tech and the Hokies win 10 games total this year.

While most of you will point out that Scheyer just abused Vasquez in their head-to-head face off, I’ll hold off judgment for the re-match in Maryland.

If I had to pick a ACC player of the year now, it’d still give it to Jon Scheyer, but it would be a tough call.

IS ED DAVIS’ INJURY A GOOD THING FOR CARLINA?
Last year, many expected Davis to head to the NBA. He returned but I figured (along with most people) that he would stay for only one more season. Yet this season has actually exposed some of his flaws (limited offensive moves) and now he’s out for the year. Does this mean he has one more year of growing in Chapel Hill in him?

Obviously if he comes back, it’s a huge break for the Tar Heels. You see the Heels are going to be overloaded with guards and wing players next year. They’ll have (PG) Drew, (PG) Strickland, (SG) McDonald and (G/F) Graves, along with freshman (G/F) Barnes, (SG) Bullock and (PG) Marshall.

Now if Davis did turn pro (and with Thompson graduating), Carolina’s front line consists of Zeller (who has yet to play a full season) and Jon Henson, who at least is starting to show some promise. The only backups would be the Wear brothers. That’s a thin front line, because you’re asking those four to all make major improvements this off-season.

If Davis comes back and Coach Williams can figure out a rotation for his seven guards/wing players, then Carolina will be returning back to the top of the ACC next season. (more…)

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Duke Blue Devils’ Recent Play Answering Questions

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Despite being a mainstay in the Top 10 this season, the Duke Blue Devils are a team many are reluctant to mention in Final Four conversations.

It’s easy to understand why.

Over the last few years, the Blue Devils have been the team who exceeds expectations in the regular season only to disappoint in March.

Despite being either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five years, Duke has failed to advance past the Sweet 16—not exactly the kind of statistic that encourages faith in the Blue Devils during the postseason.

So far this season, coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad has continued their usual trend of performing well in the regular season.  At 21-4, the Blue Devils are currently the No. 6 team in America, which means they are currently projected, again, as a No. 2 seed in the tournament.

However, Duke has been surrounded with a bevy of questions and doubts all season as to their likelihood of success after the regular season (losses at N.C. State and Georgetown haven’t helped their case, either).

In recent weeks, though, the Blue Devils have started to answer some of those questions

Can Duke Win on the Road?

The Blue Devils were 1-4 on the road after their loss to Georgetown a few weeks ago.

Considering that the NCAA Tournament isn’t played in Cameron Indoor Stadium, that’s a problem.

Since that time, however, Duke has won two straight road games, improving their overall road record to 3-4.

Now 3-4 isn’t anything to get excited about, but one of those wins came against a must-win North Carolina team at Chapel Hill, easily the most hostile environment the Blue Devils will play in this season.

Duke didn’t shoot the ball well against the Tar Heels, going only 31.9 percent from the field, but they toughed out a solid win while weathering several North Carolina momentum swings.

Road wins like that may only account for one “W” in the wins and losses column, but they go a long way toward showing a team what they can do away from home.

Can Duke Get Production From of the Post?

Backcourt players Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler make up the highest scoring trio in college basketball, combining for 53.2 points per game.

Few question the reliability of Duke’s backcourt—it’s the frontcourt that generates doubt.

There hasn’t been any question about Duke’s size this year.  The Blue Devils have one of the biggest front lines in college basketball, but whether or not that front line can produce has been a bit of an enigma.

Against Wake Forest, who also boasts of the biggest frontcourts in the ACC, Mason and Miles Plumlee combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds.  In the two games that followed, the brothers totaled only four points and 14 rebounds.

While Duke’s big three are certainly dependable, they will need more consistent production from the post to do well in March.

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, their post play is steadily developing.

Against Maryland, Brian Zoubek had the game of his career, totaling 16 points and 17 rebounds.

Against UNC, it was Mason Plumlee who stepped up.

With four post players averaging more than 15 minutes per game, the Blue Devils can afford to play the frontcourt-by-committee game.

Because of that depth, the Blue Devils are getting 22 points and 20.7 rebounds per game from their frontcourt.  Last season, their post players only produced 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

If Duke’s frontcourt continues to produce, regardless of whether it’s from one player or by committee, the Blue Devils will have their best chances of making a March run in years.

Is Duke Tough Enough?

Over the last few seasons, the Blue Devils have earned the reputation of being…how should we say it…soft.

They won games because of skill and execution, but when they faced a legitimately tough team (like West Virginia in the 2008 NCAA Tournament), they were manhandled.

With the exception of the game against Georgetown this season, the Blue Devils have consistently been the toughest team on the court.

That’s a big part of the reason that Duke is currently tied for first in the ACC in average rebounding margin.  They currently out-rebound opponents by 6.6 rebounds per game.  Last season, they out-rebounded opponents by only 2.7 rebounds per game, and keep in mind that the ACC wasn’t the frontcourt-heavy league it is this season.

But Duke’s toughness goes beyond statistical categories.

Against North Carolina, the Blue Devils came up with practically every loose ball when it mattered.  There were several possessions where players like Mason Plumlee and Singler simply ripped the ball from the hands of Tar Heel players who had possession.

Simply put, this Duke team is not likely to be pushed around the way some of the Duke teams from recent years have been.

For the first time in years, the Blue Devils have the toughness needed to hold their own in March.

Are the Blue Devils a lock for the Final Four?

Absolutely not.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding Duke that need to be answered before anyone is going to pick them as a Final Four favorite.

Nevertheless, if Duke can continue to answer those questions on the court the way they have in recent weeks, there is no reason why this Duke team can’t be the highest achieving Duke team in recent memory.

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Coach K Goes Juco?

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Notice, the question mark in the title, because fact is, none of the big web sites have confirmed this. Having said that, according to a blog on the Desert News, Carrick Felix has accepted a scholarship offer from Duke University.

This is huge news because this would be the first time ever Coach K has offered a scholarship to a juco player.

So who the heck is Carrick Felix? We did our homework and we came up with a lot. Hell, we checked out his Facebook page and it appears he even has a hot girlfriend. Something we think is important here at Big Duke Balls.

He’s a athletic 6′6 wing player originally from the state of Arizona. He currently plays for the College of Southern Idaho. He actually got a medical redshirt his first year, so he’s only played one season of basketball, thus he has three years of eligibility left.

Word on the street is that he has NBA-worthy Athleticism. He has long arms (a taller DeMarcus Nelson?) and brings a lot of energy to the table.

In high school he averaged 19.7ppg and 13 boards per game his senior year of high school, yet Scout only had him listed as a one-star player. In turn, he only got offers from mid-majors like Tulsa, San Francisco and Pepperdine to name a few. In the end, he decided to pass on the mid-majors and head to junior college to both improve his basketball skills and his academic standing. According to reports, he has achieved both. (more…)

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Coach K’s 1000th career game at Duke and the start of Spring Football

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski will celebrate his birthday and his 1000th career game at Duke when his Blue Devils take on Maryland this Saturday.  I remember the day he signed with Duke and have followed him every step of the way as he’s accomplished more than anyone could have imagined.  Duke is bringing in a ton of ex basketball players for the event making this game one hot ticket.  Krzyzewski is slated to address the crowd after the game after he is honored.

The Blue Devils need to sidestep the trap and focus on Maryland.  Firstly, Duke has to put an emotional win over UNC behind them.  Second, they must remain focused with all the distractions surrounding the game.  Did I mention the pressure on the players to win one for Coach K?

Have you heard that Coach K is the New Jersey Nets first choice?  Well, that’s making the rounds as of last evening.  Yeah.  The Nets are a much more attractive offer than the Celtics and Lakers were for Krzyzewski.  Is there anyone out there who really thinks Krzyzewski will consider this?

In just a few short hours, I will be attending a press conference where Duke kicks off Spring Football practice.  While Coach David Cutcliffe returns 18 starters [two of them kickers], there are still holes to fill like the one left by Thaddeus Lewis.

Duke football lost defensive coordinator Mike McIntyre to San Jose State in the off season so Duke will break in a new coordinator. But today, the word came that wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery accepted an offer coaching Pittsburgh Steelers wideouts.  Montgomery played a big role in developing Donovan Varner and Conner Vernon this past season and he will be missed.  I got to know both of these men covering the Duke beat and they were both class acts and very popular with, well, everyone.

In hindsight, Duke’s win over North Carolina was a beautiful thing for Blue Devil fans in that Duke held UNC to their lowest point total under Roy Williams. While the game was at times ugly, the Blue Devils gutted it out in the end thanks to experience.  Duke has won 19 out of the last 28 games in the series, yet many would have you believe Duke was on the other side of that ledger based on their commentary.  Did I mention Duke has now won 8 of the last 12 in the Dean Dome?

For more on spring football and Kryzewski, please visit the Blue Devil Nation.

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Duke Wins Eight Minutes of Basketball

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Duke is better than North Carolina.

Can it really be that simple? I’m about the give a lot of little details about why Duke prevailed. I’ll say something smart, maybe something clever, but it’s not really that important. The simple fact is, Duke is better than North Carolina.

With the game on the line, Duke’s leaders (particularly Jon Scheyer) took over, while North Carolina just looked lost at the end. There was one particular moment, with about 2:24 left on the clock and Duke pulling away. The Tar Heels needed a basket NOW. They took a shot, missed, but got a rebound. They took a quick shot, an open three and missed it, but got another rebound.

Then for whatever reason, the entire team got gun shy. Each player kept passing the ball. No one wanted to take a shot. About 17 seconds went by before Graves finally threw up an ugly three. He missed.

All wins are good and a win in Chapel Hill, no matter how bad the Carolina team is, is sweeeeet. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, this was still just a win over the 10th place team in the ACC. Let’s celebrate and get ready for a battle for first against Maryland.

Actually, wait. Let’s talk about this one for a bit.

SO WHAT DID I SEE?

Interesting stat that probably I only care about. You know Duke and Carolina rotate the home games, one year, the first game is at Duke, the next year the first home game is at North Carolina? Did you know that Duke has won six in a row (dating back to 1998-1999) at North Carolina when it was the first game? Sure, it’s not the same as winning four in a row at Durham, but still.

Duke again owned the final eight. This is something I’ve hit on all season long (let me show you because you know how much I like to brag about myself, I’m wicked smart).

From two weeks ago:

Duke always seems to win the final eight minutes. This is so key and you can chalk it up to experience. No matter how bad they’ve played earlier, no matter what kind of run the opponent makes, Duke just seems to play great basketball at the end.

Tonight at the eight-minute mark, Duke and North Carolina were tied up at 45-45. In the final eight minutes, Duke beat North Carolina, 19-9.

You can chalk it up to experience and leadership. Those two things are what can make a bad first 28 minutes simply disappear. If the game is close or if Duke has a slight lead, you can count on them to make the plays that need to happen.

Lots of blocked shots means lots of offensive rebound opportunities. It always amazes me that announcers never talk about this. Tonight, Carolina was having a block party. In fact, they swatted away a dozen tonight. Blocks are sexy, they’re like a dunk, yet what often gets forgotten is two facts (only one resonates in tonight’s game).

1) Block shots often don’t mean possession change. How many times have you see a big man block a shot as hard as he can sending the ball into the stands, thus allowing the opponent keep the ball? Now having said that, Carolina did an excellent job of keeping their blocks in bounds tonight, so this doesn’t apply to them. However, number two was their issue.

2) It’s one thing if you have one stunning shot blocker (just look at every big man Connecticut has had the past 10 years), it’s another when it has to be a group effort. Tonight, Carolina went after Duke’s shots as a team, meaning when a Duke player went into the lane, two, sometimes three Tar Heels went up for the block. Like we said, they got a dozen of them, that’s a lot. However, they also missed a bunch and what happens when three guys go up for a block and don’t get it? It leaves another Duke player open for an easy offensive rebound.

I counted at least eight times where a Duke player was able to grab a rebound because his defender was off trying to block the shot.In fact, Duke had 22 offensive rebounds overall.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against blocks. It can be a game changer especially if the opponent starts to get gun shy. There’s just a difference between a team with a single great shot blocker and the teams that have multiple defenders leave their player to block a shot.

Oh and for the record, about four of those “blocks” should have been called goal tending.

Duke adjusted well after the first-half block party. Like I already said, Carolina blocked 12 of Duke’s shots, but ten of those came in the first half. In the second half, Duke adjusted and it paid off. Again, I’m going to take complete credit.

Here was my tweet late in the first half.

Hey Devils, I have a simple suggestion…pull up for mid-range jumpers.

Obviously, Nolan Smith read my twitter feed at halftime because after an 0-8 first half, Nolan’s first two shots in the second half were both pull up mid-range jumpers (Note: Nolan Smith has no clue what Big Duke Balls is and he doesn’t read my tweets).

Secondly, because of Thomas’ injury and Zoubeks’ foul trouble, Duke went small, moving Singler to the four-spot. At that point, against a bigger man, Singler was able to use his quickness and get to the basket using better angles. The Carolina big men were reaching, but they couldn’t get to it.

Duke becoming the ugly duckling of college basketball. Let’s just call it what it is. This isn’t pretty basketball. Duke won despite shooting only 32% from the floor. Inside the paint, they only hit 13-51 (25%). It certainly helps when you only turn the ball over eight times. Scheyer in fact turned it over zero times.

Andre Dawkins gets 10 minutes on the floor. Even though he didn’t really do much, it’s nice to see him out there. The more confidence Coach feels in him, the better he’ll get. Tonight, he pretty much just stood at the three-point line. He took one bad shot and turned it over, although he did get one nice defensive rebound.

I’m not the coach, so I don’t know what he’s being told to do, but would he be more productive running around, particularly on the back side. Sure he’s not going to take a lot of shots, but at the very least, force his defender to defend and maybe during all the motion, he helps open someone else up. Just saying.

Speaking of minutes, guess which big man played the most minutes. If you said Mason Plumlee, give yourself a cookie. Because of Lance Thomas’ injury, Mason got 27 minutes on the floor today. He had a solid outing, hitting 3-4, grabbing nine rebounds. He looked particularly comfortable when Duke went smaller. With Dawkins on the floor and Singler moved to the 4-spot, Plumlee was able to take care of the middle.

So how hurt is Lance Thomas? It was bound to happen at some point, since Duke has been pretty lucky with injuries so far. The problem is, Thomas is a glue guy and we can’t afford to have him out for too long.

Word is, the injury is bad. However, we will not know how bad until tomorrow at the earliest. A huge blow if Lance is going to miss a lot of time (if not the whole season). You never want to hurt a knee. Well, you wanted to see more Mason and this injury is going to make that happen.

As for the Tar Heels, sorry Carolina fans, but this season is almost over. The fact is, Carolina simply doesn’t have ACC-quality guards. Graves was decent tonight, but this was suppose to be a team with a strong interior. Davis and Thompson took a total of seven shots in the first half (hitting only two). For the game, the pair only took 11 shots.Duke’s two best shooters (Singler and Scheyer)? They took 38 shots.

Great players need to be taking the shots. Not Larry Drew who led the team with 15 shots (hitting four).

Secondly, the Tar Heels are just sloppy. How many times did a Carolina player fumble away a ball in their hands? Too many to count. They only turned the ball over 12 times, but I would say 8 or 9 of those were them just fumbling the ball away.

Enjoy the NIT, Tar Heels.

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All-ACC Everything, Halfway Home

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Here at Raycom Sports, Charlie from The Great Blog of Virginia was kind enough to put together a first half awards for our beloved ACC conference (who says nothing good comes out of Virginia?). Of course I participated and got to name the All-ACC First & Second Teams, as well as All-Freshman, Player of the Year, Defensive POY, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Below are the results, as well as who I picked.

All-ACC FIRST TEAM:

  • G Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)
  • G Jon Scheyer (Duke)
  • G Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech)
  • F Trevor Booker (Clemson)
  • F Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)

BIG DUKE BALLS: I nailed it. Picking the three guards was pretty easy. It came down to a five-man race between the three guards above and Sylven Landesberg/Nolan Smith. Obviously I had to take Scheyer. Jon is top-five in six offensive categories, including a still solid 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Delaney may not be the best player in the ACC, but he’s certainly the most important to his team. Right now, he leads the league in scoring at 20.3ppg. After a slow start to the season, Vasquez has probably been the best player in ACC play. He’s currently fifth in scoring and first in steals.

Picking the big men was also pretty damn easy. Aminu is the only player in the ACC who averages a double-double (16/11). He’s also surprisingly 10th in steals. Booker remains a man among boys (when the Clemson guards decide to dump it inside). He’s 9th in points, hitting 52% of his shots (4th best) and he’s fifth in rebounds. And just for fun, he’s sixth in steals and 7th in blocks. (more…)

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A few thoughts on Duke and UNC and Coach K audio

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

I just got finished listening to Roy Williams give his thoughts on the Duke-UNC match up tomorrow evening and compared to yesterday’s session with Coach K, it was quite a different tune.  Williams is seeking answers in how to motivate his troops, but make no mistake, he’ll have his Tar Heels ready for the game.

Everywhere you turn in the Triangle area, the game is still the talk of the town despite UNC having a down season by their lofty standards.  Oddly, even local media is trying to motivate the Heels as well.  In today’s Raleigh News an Observer veteran writer Caulton Tudor breaks down every single player and discusses them in an effort to explain what has gone wrong with UNC.

Pictured beside the article is Roy Williams, glasses off, head in hand.  Look!  I’m not pointing any fingers here for I run what is considered a homer site but I do try to remain objective and I would never ask opponent’s baiting questions but I cannot say without being dishonest that I too wouldn’t try to light a fire under my teams rear if they were struggling.

The fact is this — every single media member bleeds one color or another and it is no secret that a vast majority of the locals in the Triangle [Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill] have ties somewhere and or a track record of leaning for lack of a better word towards UNC.

So, I’m sitting there during Kryzewski’s press conference which also includes players and here comes one of those questions designed to entice if an answer is given.  “Do you guys smell blood in the water going into the game?” asked one writer.

Now, only a fool would answer that question in a way it would appear on the other teams bulletin board, so why ask it at all?  To make matters worse, three Duke players got the same question and each one handled it gracefully.

Seriously, what was the the guy expecting?  Something like, “Yeah, UNC stinks right now and we do smell blood and we’re going to kick them when they are down.”  Please.

The point I am making is anyone who secretly bleeds Tar Heel blue is doing whatever they can to motivate their team.  Losing to the rest of the league is one thing, but losing to your bitter rival is another thing entirely.

I mean, imagine having to cover the Duke beat while being a Tar Heel fan.  There is a reason some of the media members exit early and I am not talking deadlines, for if I were a fan of the lighter shade of blue I would probably go nuts with the Cameron Crazies behind me.

While I grew up a Duke fan, I respect the UNC program immensely.  It is no secret that the two programs just eight miles apart make one another better.  Still, I like to joke around that my ex wife is my ex because she graduated from Chapel Hill even though that’s hardly the case.

I realize that it is not black and white or good and evil when you compare Duke and UNC, but you know what, I too live in the Triangle and whether it be at the grocery store or local cafe, some fans are downright irritating and plum ignorant.

That said, we’ll give the aforementioned writers a break for no matter how objective I may claim to be, there is a fire that builds if the team I root for gets trashed and nobody and I mean nobody can take but so much for the talk in the middle of the rivalry is downright intense.

Regardless, I would never bait the opposition for locker room quotes and feel it is a writer duty to remain as professional as possible no matter the situation.

Now that I have got you wondering where I am going with this, I will tell you, I’m not quite sure.  That said here is Coach K’s press conference in it’s entirety.  And if you enjoy the interview, you will find several more at my site http://bluedevilnation.net/ And the game itself?  It’ll be a close one.

Just press play –

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Much at Stake for Wednesday’s Duke-North Carolina Game

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Prior to the season beginning, the media voted for both Duke and North Carolina to win the ACC.

It was the first time in the conference’s history that two teams tied for first place in the preseason poll, a testament to the quality of both programs and the magic of their rivalry.

That means that Wednesday night’s Duke-UNC game at Chapel Hill was supposed to be a potentially conference-deciding type of game, with two of the top ACC teams building their case  for the ACC regular season title—that will not be the game that actually takes place, however.

While Duke is currently living up to expectations (they hold a half-game lead over the Maryland Terrapins for first place in the ACC standings), the Tar Heels have struggled.

Okay, “struggle” is an understatement.

The Tar Heels have been awful.

Losing seven of their last nine games, Roy Williams’ team has only managed to beat Virgina Tech at home and N.C. State on the road in conference play thus far.  They are currently 2-6 in ACC play, ahead of only Miami and N.C. State, who are tied for last place in the conference.

To put things in perspective, it’s gotten so bad that as Maryland beat the Tar Heels by 21 points on Sunday, the Terrapin fans chanted “NIT” to remind the defeated Heels of their likely postseason tournament destination.

If UNC continues its losing ways, even the NIT isn’t guaranteed.

Despite North Carolina’s unexpected turn for the worse, the upcoming Duke-North Carolina game is still a Duke-North Carolina game, and this rivalry is anything but predictable.

In 2006, a young Tar Heel squad led by Tyler Hansbrough beat J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams, and the conference-leading Blue Devils on their senior night in Cameron.

In 1995, an unranked Blue Devil team with a terrible conference record (worse than the current Tar Heels) took No. 2 North Carolina into double overtime at Cameron before losing by only two points.

When it comes to Duke-North Carolina games, anything can happen.

So, what should we expect to see on Wednesday night as the two biggest names in college basketball square off?

What’s at stake for both teams heading into this prime-time college basketball event?

Duke Blue Devils: Fighting to Regain Their Place at the Top of the ACC

Let’s just get this out of the way—the Blue Devils should win this game.

Most of the major statistics point to them coming away with a victory.

Duke is tied with Maryland as the best three-point shooting team in the conference.  North Carolina is the second to last team in the ACC at defending the three.

Duke is currently the third best team in the conference when it comes to taking care of the ball.  North Carolina is the worst team in the ACC in that category.

We could go on, but you get the point.

For the Blue Devils, this is a very favorable matchup.  They have plenty of size to defend the length of the Tar Heels, and their perimeter players are far superior to North Carolina’s.

But don’t expect Duke to come out complacent, like a team looking ahead to a more important game against Maryland when it comes to conference standings.

No game is more important to the Blue Devils than this one.

Duke has lost six of the last seven games against the Tar Heels—this is their chance to send a message that they are back as the top team in the ACC once again.

With some fantastic recruits coming in next year, including stud point guard Kyrie Irving and sharp-shooting two-guard Seth Curry, to go along with the likely return of Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, the Blue Devils have a real chance to regain the edge in the rivalry.

Wednesday’s game at Chapel Hill is a chance for them to do just that.

Don’t expect this game to be a walk in the park for the Blue Devils, however.  They have struggled in true road games this season, with only a win against Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum as a signature road victory.

They won’t play in a more hostile environment all season (except for maybe Maryland), and this game could do a lot to prove how thick-skinned they can be away from the love and adoration of the Cameron Crazies.

For Duke, winning this game is more about sending a message than building an NCAA tournament resume.

Look for the Blue Devils to come out swinging (or in their case, shooting) on Wednesday.

North Carolina Tar Heels:  Keeping Postseason Hopes Alive

I may have joked earlier about the Tar Heels not even making the NIT, but it was only a half joke.

If North Carolina loses to Duke, they will be at 13-11 on the season with games against Georgia Tech (at Tech), Florida State, Wake Forest (at Wake), and Duke (at Duke) remaining.

The way they have played so far this season, none of their remaining conference games are sure things, and several look to be likely losses if they don’t turn things around.

Last season, the lowest seeded NIT teams were Weber State, Tennessee Martin, Jacksonville, and Bowling Green.  The worst record of that bunch was Jacksonville at 18-13.

Even Kentucky needed a 22-13 record to earn a No. 4 seed in the NIT last year.

At 13-10, the Tar Heels have a long way to go if they hope to play past the ACC tournament.

Beating Duke would give the Tar Heels a few things they haven’t had in a long while, namely confidence and a signature win.

North Carolina beat Michigan State at home on December 1st—that was the last time they came away with a resume-worthy win.

Since then, the Tar Heels have not only lost consistently, they have lost confidence.

You can see it in their eyes as they play, and you can certainly hear it Williams’ voice during post-game press conferences where phrases such as “I don’t know if I can live through this” are becoming common.

A home victory against the Blue Devils could be exactly what the Tar Heels need to regain their edge and start playing like a team loaded with McDonald’s All-Americans.

Wednesday’s game will be upon us shortly, and in a rivalry as intense as this one, anything can happen.

On paper, North Carolina has more to gain and more to lose in this one, but these games aren’t won on paper and I can guarantee you that every Duke player has had this date memorized since the conference schedule first came out.

No matter the outcome, expect this to be one of the hardest-fought and most entertaining games of the ACC season.

For Duke, a return to the top of the rivalry (and the conference) is at stake.

For North Carolina, a chance for a postseason birth hangs in the balance.

For both teams, more is at stake than a simple win or loss.

This is Duke-North Carolina, after all.

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