BDN caught up with linebacker Damian Thornton earlier today and got his thoughts on the UNC aftermath and the seventh ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Just press play!
BDN Quick Hitter – Damian Thornton talks Georgia Tech
Monthly Archives: November 2009
Former Duke players will return in droves for Coach K’s 1000th game
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Varsity Club will host the biggest men’s basketball reunion in the history of the program February 12-13 when the Blue Devils celebrate head coach Mike Krzyzewski's 1,000th game coaching at Duke and his 30 years heading the program, plus the 70 years of legendary basketball in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Over 300 former players, managers, coaches and trainers, spanning the past 70+ years of Duke Basketball, will be invited back for the celebration.
The weekend will include a reception hosted by Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White, a public recognition of the entire group at the Saturday, Feb. 13 Duke-Maryland game (1:00 p.m. - CBS) and an after-game party with the current Duke coaching staff.
“This will be an exciting weekend and a great way to celebrate the history of Duke Basketball by recognizing and honoring all of the people that have made it so successful – the players, managers, coaches and trainers,” said White.
“The Varsity Club has a great history of hosting fantastic reunions and events to celebrate all of our 26 intercollegiate programs at Duke,” said director Mary Dinkins. “This may just be the biggest we’ve ever had and it comes at a perfect time in having all of our generations together again at their home away from home – Duke University.”
Duke, ranked ninth in the AP preseason poll and eighth in the Coaches' poll, opens the 2009-10 season on Friday, Nov. 13 against UNC Greensboro in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The season opener will tip at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports South.
BDN Premium Subscribers chat set for tonight
We'll have the BDN Chat Room open for premium subscribers from 9:30 to 10:00 eastern time this evening. I wonder what we'll talk about? LOL! Well, it's open for any topic but Harrison Barnes will likely dominate the conversation. It's a great time to join Blue Devil Nation Premium where you'll recieve full site access. **New members, keep in mind that you must register for the message board separately. Also, our message boards are private, meaning you must be a paying subscriber to participate or read any of the posts.
Sunday Media Call In Show with Duke Football Coach David Cutcliffe
Here are Coach David Cutcliffe's comments from Sunday's Media call in show where he talks of the loss to UNC and looks ahead to Georgia Tech -
Just press play -
Watzone’s Monday Musings – Football, Barnes decision, hoops tips off for real
Well, if you have followed this or any other Duke site closely, you know that the nation's top rated prospect Harrison Barnes will make his collegiate choice this Friday. In this week's Monday Musings we take a look at his pending decision, Duke Football and the start of the regular basketball season -
Devils no match for Tar Heels - Make no mistake that Duke Football has been a pleasant surprise this season, but losing to your rival is always painful. Despite paltry offensive production, Duke was in the game in the fourth quarter against UNC and a couple of better thrown passes and a stop or two late in the game and Duke could have stole a win.
It's really tough to see any positives from the 19-6 loss to the team eight miles down the road. On the way to the game, the Duke buses came in just behind me on US 15-501 and got stalled in traffic. The irony is that Duke's offense stalled as well just over two hours later and the hopes of going to 4-1 in the conference were suddenly gone.
It does't get any easier for Duke Football - After getting beat up in the game, Duke must regroup in order to face the nation's seventh ranked team in the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Last season, Duke's offense looked just as bad against the Jacket's front, so all eyes will be looking to see if they can move the ball. Georgia Tech Coach Paul Johnson turned down the Duke job despite being offered more money, but Duke got the right fit in David Cutcliffe. Still, there is no secret that Johnson has little respect for the Duke program and that he will turn his wishbone loose in an effort to squash Duke's hopes of a post season invitation.
The basketball season officially gets under way - The countdown to tip off ends this Friday as the Duke Men's Basketball team will open their season against UNC-Greensboro in Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is without a doubt one of the most curious teams Krzyzewski has had in his thirty years. There is little guard depth, yet lots of front court bodies to work with and yes, take it to the bank, you'll see some zone defense this season.
Duke will be led by senior Jon Scheyer and All American selection, junior Kyle Singler this season. But it's the production they receive elsewhere that will be watched. You can certainly depend on Nolan Smith to have his best season in a Duke uniform, but there are some questions as to who will be fourth, fifth and sixth offensive options.
Harrison Barnes set to make his collegiate choice - BDN has been following the Harrison Barnes recruitment closer than any other Duke site on the Internet. We were there from the start when Barnes first received his offer shortly after the 2008 NBAPA Top 100 Camp. This past season alone our staff has seen Harrison Barnes play in 23 games, so we have more than just a little grip on what he can do.
All this week, we'll recap Barnes past and bring it up to the day of his decision. We'll kick it all off with a detailed scouting report and will of course re-visit our many interviews we've had with Barnes. Our premium boards have been hopping and rumors about his recruitment are a dime a dozen.
So, stay tuned to BDN for the latest on Barnes and the best analysis available.
Duke offense sputters as UNC claims a 19-6 win
Chapel Hill, N.C. -The Duke Blue Devils three game ACC winning streak came to an abrupt halt as North Carolina sent them home with a 19-6 whipping boosting their record to 6-3 overall in the process.
The game remained close for a long time despite the fact that Duke could not run the ball or pass it for that matter on the Tar Heel defense. Duke was held to a season low 125 yards while UNC rolled up 311 yards with 166 of those coming on the legs of running back Ryan Houston.
"Offensively, what can you say about Ryan Houston and what he did tonight, 37 carries and 164 yards? He was an absolute workhorse. He pounded them and pounded them," said UNC Coach Butch Davis.
It was a day when everything the Devils tried pretty much backfired and Thaddeus Lewis had very little time to try and find his receivers. Duke just got their tales whipped on both sides of the ball and in doing so fell to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the ACC.
Coach David Cutcliffe had mentioned earlier in the week that Duke didn't match up well with North Carolina and that became obvious as the game went on.
One big sequence happened when Leon Wright intercepted a pass that seem to give the Blue Devils a huge lift, but Lewis returned the favor shortly thereafter misfiring to Charles Brown who returned the ball 54 yards to the Duke 20 yard line. Duke held North Carolina to a field goal making it 9-6, but they never really recovered and continued to sputter on offense.
In short, North Carolina effectively exposed a Duke weakness in pass protection and run blocking with their defensive front. The Blue Devils managed just 12 yards rushing in the contest.
Duke will next turn their attention to a home game with Georgia Tech next week and Cutcliffe stated that his goal was for Duke to play their best football game of the year when they take the field.
Only time will tell if that is to happen, but you can pretty much bet that Duke will be hard pressed to play this inefficiently on offense two consecutive weeks.
Notes - This was the first time this season that the Duke offense failed to score a touchdown. Conner Vernon broke a freshman record for receiving yards with 583 and counting. Jordan Byas blocked punt was the second for Duke this season. Lewis also climbed the career passing charts.
Quote of the day - "We didn't play very well; North Carolina played extremely well. We were fortunate to have a chance there in the fourth quarter to win the game because the bottom line is we got whipped.
You must be logged in to post a comment.