Monthly Archives: November 2012

Duke Basketball

Delaware at Duke Game Notes

Duke vs. Delaware

Saturday, December 1, 2012 • 2:07 p.m. • RSN

Durham, N.C. • Cameron Indoor Stadium

TELEVISION

RSN

Play-by-Play: Mike Hogewood

Analyst: Eddie Fogler

RADIO

Blue Devil IMG Sports Network

Play-by-Play: Bob Harris

Analyst: John Roth

Sirius - 139, XM - 194

THE OPENING TIP

• Duke is ranked No. 2 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. Delaware is unranked in both polls.

• The Blue Devils are 7-0 on the year and looking to improve to 8-0 for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

• Duke has defeated three top-five teams, taking down No. 3 Kentucky, No. 2 Louisville and No. 4 Ohio State. That marks the first time in school history that Duke has beaten three top-five opponents before the start of conference play.

• Duke’s starting lineup of Quinn Cook, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Rasheed Sulaimon combine to average 70.9 points per game which is 91.6 percent of the team’s total scoring.

• Duke scored 50 points in the second half against No. 4 Ohio State to erase a 31-23 halftime deficit. The Blue Devils are averaging 42.4 points per game in the second half.

Duke-Delaware Series:

• Duke won its only meeting with Delaware, claiming a 79-73 victory over the Blue Hens on Dec. 19, 1995 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke’s three assistant coaches — Jeff Capel, Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski — all played in that game and scored in double figures. Collins led the trio with 16 points, Capel scored 15 points and dished out six assists, and Wojciechowski scored 10 points with two steals.

DUKE VS. THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

• The Blue Devils own a 40-3 record against teams in the Colonial Athletic Association, including a 23-0 mark under Coach K.

• Duke has won 28 consecutive games against teams from the CAA. Duke’s last loss to a team from the CAA was an 85-82 overtime defeat at the hands of William & Mary in 1953.

NUMBERS GAME

• Duke is ranked No. 2 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. Delaware is unranked in both polls.

• Duke, ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Poll, has been ranked in the top 10 of the poll 97 consecutive weeks. The last time Duke was not ranked in the top 10 was Nov. 19, 2007.

• The Blue Devils are playing their 184th straight game as a top-10 team in the AP poll. Duke is 153-30 in that span.

• Duke defeated No. 2 Ohio State in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, extending a school-record streak of 97 consecutive non-conference home victories. That is the longest active streak in the country. Duke’s last loss on Coach K Court came on Feb. 26, 2000 against St. John’s (83-82).

• The Blue Devils have won 43 of their last 48 non-conference contests. Duke is 75-9 in non-league games since the start of the 2008-09 season.

• Duke is 111-16 all-time when ranked No. 2 in the country. The Blue Devils have won five straight when holding the second spot in the AP poll.

• The last time Duke and Delaware squared off, Duke’s three assistant coaches — Jeff Capel, Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski — were all on Duke’s roster. All three scored in double figures and combined to score 41 points in Duke’s 79-73 victory.

• Duke’s starting lineup has accounted for 91.5 percent of the team’s total scoring this season with 496 of Duke’s 542 points through seven games. The starters have scored 293 of Duke’s 305 points over the last four games.

• Duke is 97-13 (.882) with Ryan Kelly in the lineup. He currently ranks fourth at Duke in career winning percentage.

• Duke ranks 11th nationally in free throw percentage, shooting .783 (137-of-175) from the line. That is an improvement of .082 from last season's free throw percentage of .702 (606-of-864).

• All five of Duke's starters are shooting 70.0 percent or better from the free throw line.

• Mason Plumlee has shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in each of the past 13 games dating back to last season. Plumlee is 74-of-113 (.655) from the field during that span, including 47-of-72 (.653) this season.

• Plumlee is one of only four players in the country averaging at least 18.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. He is the only one of those four shooting over 60.0 percent from the floor (.653).

• Plumlee broke Duke’s all-time dunks record in the Blue Devils’ last outing. With 149 career dunks, Plumlee surpassed former Duke great Robert Brickey, who threw down 147 dunks from 1987-90.

• Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon has scored in double figures in six straight games and is the third-leading freshman scorer in the ACC at 12.7 ppg.

• Sulaimon averages 4.3 rebounds per game, which is the highest average of any ACC player under 6-foot-5.

• Quinn Cook has scored in double figures in three of his past four games while accounting for 27 assists during that span.

• Cook has improved his scoring average 6.5 points per game and his assist average 4.0 per game from the 2011-12 season.

• Duke has 18 former players on NBA rosters this season, which is the second most of any NCAA team behind only Kentucky (20).

Duke Basketball

Quinn Cook Plays Iron Man Minutes vs Ohio State

Quinn Cook is growing into his role as the teams leader at point guard in his second season. He played Iron Man minutes in the win over Ohio State helping Duke remain undefeated this season. Photo - Lance King

DURHAM, N.C. -  Duke has a new leader at point guard and his name is Quinn Cook.  The sophomore played every minute of last evening's game, going up against one of the most ballyhooed guards in the nation in Buckeye Aaron Craft.  And the numbers speak for themselves.  Craft struggled from the field all night long while Cook took over in the second half, nailing six consecutive free throws down the stretch and tallying 12 points while dishing out eight dimes on the evening.  The emergence of Cook this season has allowed Seth Curry and Rasheed Sulaimon to play off the ball while Tyler Thornton serves in the sixth man role.  Cook is the type of player that gets better as the game goes on.  Perhaps this is still part of the learning curve, for he is far from a finished product, but make no mistake: he is here to stay.  And the best is yet to come.

Duke Basketball

Mason Plumlee talks OSU, All Time Dunk Leader at Duke

Lance King for BDN

The stellar play continues for Duke senior Mason Plumlee this season, as he scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in the Blue Devils 73-68 victory over Ohio State in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Plumlee had four dunks in the game, which makes him the all-time dunks leader in the history of Duke Basketball.  BDN caught up to Mason after the game and you can hear his thoughts for yourself - (for more player videos, join BDN Premium for full site access)

Duke Basketball

BDN Rapid Report – Duke 73 Ohio State 68

Coach K was happy with his teams win and their play to date in the post game.

It took a half for Duke to adapt to the physicality of the game, but adjust they did, and that resulted in a 73-68 victory over Ohio State in a rollicking Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Duke guards came alive in the second half and that, combined with another herculean effort from Mason Plumlee, led Duke to its seventh win on the young season, helping the #2 rated team remain undefeated.

Mason Plumlee now All-Time Dunk Leader at Duke

With four dunks, Mason Plumlee has more flushes than anybody in the history of Duke Basketball, surpassing Robert Brickey for that honor. His play prompted Jeff Goodman to tweet that Mason is now the front-runner for National Player of the Year. Plumlee scored a game-high 21 points to go with 17 rebounds in yet another outstanding performance, one which may finally earn him overdue ACC Player of the Week honors. Plumlee has started in 58 of his last 61 games at Duke and has an ACC-leading four double-doubles this season. He became the 17th player in Duke history to reach 700 rebounds tonight as well. When asked about the Blue Devils' early season success, Plumlee stated, "We love it. The schedule at Duke is part of the reason you come here and I think this team has embraced the schedule and the challenges we've had."

Rasheed Sulaimon erupts in the 2nd half

Duke freshman Rasheed Sulaimon earned high praise from Coach Krzyzeswki in the post-game press conference. On a night when Seth Curry struggled with his shot, Sulaimon's 17 second half points were vital in the Duke win.  Sulaimon is quite cool under pressure and never seems to let anything get to him, including a first half where he did not score.  He's hit at least one three-pointer in each of the Blue Devils' seven wins. "Coach told me to step it up (at the half). My teammates just trust in me. I wanted to step up for my teammates, and when he called my number I was just very aggressive and delivered," said Sulaimon.

Quinn Cook has another solid effort

At the half Quinn Cook had 2 points and 2 assists. He ended the game with 12 points, including 6 of 7 free throws down the stretch with the game on the line, as well as totalling 8 assists. But his biggest stat was his six defensive rebounds. Cook also hit players like Mason Plumlee for huge momentum-changing buckets, including the ESPN Play of the Day, a thuderous one-handed dunk on the break. "Quinn played a great game. He was up against one of the  best point guards in America (Craft). An amazing stat for Quinn was his six defensive rebounds," said Krzyzewski when asked about Cook.  Quinn has turned a corner with his play of late, and he's stepped up to the plate for good this go round.  The Blue Devils have turned over the keys to Cook this season, and he seems to be relishing the role of being the starting point guard at Duke.

Steady Kelly

Ryan Kelly knocked down 3 of 5 three-pointers and those came at big moments in the game for Duke, and he finished with 15 points. Krzyzewski praised Kelly in the post-game as well, saying it was his best game of the season. Kelly's back-to-back three-point shots in a 40 second span brought the Crazies to their feet and helped swing the momentum in the Blue Devils' favor after they had trailed for almost the entire game.

Recap

Mental toughness and resolve helped Duke win this game. The Blue Devils weathered a first half performance where they struggled to get shots off and in the second half locked down much more on the defensive end. Mason Plumlee was the best player on the court and he imposed his will at times, and that was needed on a night when Curry was a bit off or possibly hurting from his shin issues. Duke is Final Four material on November 29th and they can get even better. They have games coming up where they can develop their bench, which scored just four points against Ohio State, and will soon get Marshall Plumlee back from his foot injury as well. Duke has gone up against the nation's best and has passed all tests with flying colors, having defeated three of the four teams from last year's Final Four already.  Add to that wins over Minnesota and Virginia Commonwealth and this team is more than a little battle-tested.  And the most recent four wins have come in just seven days. More importantly, the team chemistry is as good as it's ever been, and for that to happen this early in the season is a testament to the staff's off-season adjustments.

Game Notes

  • Duke has now won 97 consecutive non-conference home games.
  • The Blue Devils have now defeated three top five teams this season.
  • Duke improved to 12-2 all-time in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
  • The Blue Devils have started 7-0 for the third straight season, and have won 56 of their last 57 games played in November.
  • Duke improved to 111-16 when ranked in the #2 position in the national polls.
  • Against Ohio State, Duke trailed at the half for the first time this season.  Four Blue Devils score in double figures and the game marked the fifth straight in which Duke has used the same starting lineup.
BDN Premium Articles

Future Blue Devil Matt Jones Talks Hoops

One of the two players who signed with Duke for next season is a shooting guard out of Texas by the name of Matt Jones. Jones is a solid player getting better as he works on his game per his future teams orders. Jones said he was just trying to be a normal kid on and off the court and play with more confidence this season during our chat and that he was looking forward to putting on a Duke uniform and that he wanted to each time he watched the Blue Devils. Check out what he had to say for yourself as a BDN Premium member -

On his season to date ...

My season has been going pretty good so far as a team and individually. We're eight games into our season and I am trying to lead my team, we're pretty young this season but we are ranked like #20 in the nation, so we're pretty good.

On playing a different role with his high school team this season ... [private]

Yeah actually I am. I'm playing more point guard this season. I have been working on my handle and being more vocal on the court this year, so my role has changed. I talked to Coach K yesterday and text the assistants when I can.

On what Coach Krzyzewski has asked him to work on in conversations ...

He told me about the guys on the team and winning the tournament. He wants me to be more vocal and be more aggressive on the court this season and work on my handle and overall floor game and things like that. The goal is to become a more confident and versatile player before entering Duke.

On whether he'd like to already be at Duke when he watched them play this season ...

Oh yeah. Every time I watch Rasheed (Sulaimon) and them play I wish I was there already and makes me anxious.

On signing day festivities at his DeSoto High School in Texas and getting his LOI to Duke ...

It was cool, it was good. I had my family there and a couple of good friends from my school and some girls from the basketball team. It was pretty fun. It's just an honor to know I will be playing for Coach K at Duke and I was excited to make it official.

On playing in the Triangle later in December ...

Yes sir. I will be coming to Raleigh, North Carolina in December and I am looking forward to getting back to the area.

On the possibility of playing with Jabari Parker if he chooses Duke ...

Jabari is a great player and one we need, it would be great to play with him. [/private]

Duke Basketball

Mason Plumlee talks Duke-Ohio State

I created a fictitious Dunk-O-Meter on the BDN Twitter feed for Duke senior Mason Plumlee, who's two shy of the all-time Duke record set by Robert Brickey. Of course, few know that this stat only came about in the 1980's. Plumlee is 2nd in the ACC in scoring this season at 19.7 ppg, and has scored at least 16 points in every game this year. Plumlee is also 2nd in the conference in rebounding, grabbing 10.0 rpg boards per contest, and is the ACC's active leader in double-double production with 21. Plumlee has been incredibly efficient from the field all season as well, ranking fourth in the entire nation in that category. "We're just a different team this year," said Plumlee during this afternoons open media session with players. "We are so balanced, there are times when you grab the box score after the game and we have five guys in double figures. Offensively, I think we can be dangerous with our balance this season."  Check out for yourself what Plumlee had to say: