DURHAM, N.C. - Two Duke Blue Devils were a part of another championship as rising sophomores Ryan Kelly and Andre Dawkins helped D-One to the title at the N.C. Pro Am.
D-One scored 135 points to defeat Hendrick's who had buy 124 in an All Star Game atmosphere where defense was in short supply. But that doesn't mean guys were not making plays and Kelly and Dawkins showed a lot of drive to be a part of the last team standing on Sunday afternoon.
The two Blue Devils were joined by new New York Knick and UNC alum Raymond Felton and for Pack standout Josh Powell. Felton did a good job running the team and ended the contest with 28 points but it was Josh Powell's [33 points] play which helped D-One control the inside game.
Andre Dawkins had a stretch where he missed five straight shots, but like a shooter he kept putting the ball up and ended the game with 18 points and as usual the vast majority of his points came on the three ball.
Kelly added 16 points but played all facets of the game well and was named the winner of the Rodney Rodger's Spirit Award before the game started. During the presentation it was stated that Kelly was the player most guys wanted to play with, meaning he is a good teammate who actually plays team ball instead of always looking for his shot.
Another former UNC player Jawad Williams added 16 for the losing team.
This years event shed a lot of light on off season improvement of several Blue Devil players and we'll recap each one and hear from Ryan Kelly shortly, so stay tuned to BDN as we wind up our annual coverage on the N.C. Pro Am.
There is always a lot going on if you cover Duke Athletics and as a busy summer around here gives way to September, Duke Football hits the field. In fact, they hold their first practice this evening where Coach David Cutcliffe will continue to work on getting the Blue Devils to a bowl game.
Duke is picked fifth by the ACC media in their division which features in my opinion, the four best teams. In fact all of the teams ahead of Duke are ranked in the season's first Top 25 poll. Before Duke worries about Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami, they will focus on the business at hand which is the opener against Elon.
They will then turn their attention to an early season ACC battle on the road at Wake Forest before coming home to face the nation's number one team in Alabama who returns a ton of talent including last years Heisman Tropy winner Mark Ingram.
BDN will attend practices to bring you our usual coverage, so if you are a football fan be sure to bookmark the Blue Devil Nation.
John Wall and company fall to Wheel Chair All Stars
Where else can one find the NBA's number one draft pick, John Wall playing hoops in a wheel chair? The answer is at the N.C. Pro Am, an event that wrapped up another strong season this past Sunday
Wall was unable to participate in a real game due to contractual obligations with the Washington Wizards but he told BDN that he wanted to see what it was like to play without the use of his legs to give him a better understanding of the plight some must go through.
Area participants filled the wheel chair game earlier and Wall joined C.J. Leslie and others to take on the all stars from the first contest. Several crowd pleasing moments ensued, bringing some light moments. In the end, Wall and company shot all clankers and were handed a 15-0 loss.
Also there promoting his foundation, Rodney Rodgers, the former Wake Forest star and Durham native spoke to the crowd about his hope to walk again against all odds. Rodgers was also able to shed light on his foundation which can be found on line by a simple google search for those interested in supporting his cause.
Blue Devils solid at the Pro Am
We'll touch on the N.C. Pro Am's final day a bit here, but an article will follow. In short, all of the Blue Devils had their moments in the event and we will break down our thoughts on each player in the coming week and talk of off season improvements. BDN has covered this event since it's inception and will continue to for we feel it is a very positive and good experience for Triangle area fans.
Recruiting
We will focus on Duke Football recruiting more and more now that the dust has cleared on a few things we have been working on behind the scenes. Cutcliffe and company have the bulk of their allotment filled but there are some key recruits we'll keep an eye on down the stretch.
Basketball is on somewhat of a hold with Coach Krzyzewski and Chris Collins doing duty for Team USA. Of course, Duke's Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are with them for now in New York but they will return in a week or so, yet the coaches will be gone another month or so.
As for the Austin Rivers watch, I can tell you that he will not do a thing before the Duke coaches return, so the daily watch to see what he eats for breakfast to provide a sign is fruitless. We will have an interview up shortly with Amile Jefferson to update his recruitment and will have more on other targets as well.
Vincent Rey makes his mark with the Bengals
Duke will sorely miss linebacker Vincent "Vinnie" Rey this coming season but the Devils loss could be the Bengals gain. Rey had five tackles in Cincinnati's 16-7 loss to the Cowboys in the NFL's pre season opener. BDN will keep an eye on his play as the pres season progresses.
Video coming to BDN
We wanted to refine things a bit before we moved into video and in the coming months you will get a taste of vids BDN style. We are in negotiations with three different service and will inform you when the dust clears.
In closing ...
I admittedly am not a big fan of sites like Bleacher Report where anybody off the streets can pen something good or bad on their team. Most of the time little research is done on these sites and opinion is often stated as fact, but I think Justin McTeer is the exception and he has a nice piece up on Seth Curry so check it out here.
We'd also like to encourage Duke fans to visit Duke Update and Duke Report, two solid link sites for all things Duke. Duke Update is one of the original Duke Sites on the net where Jason D'Amico works it as a labor of love not taking one dime from advertising. Duke Report is the new kid on the block, but they do a great job as well and BDN enjoys working with these two sites.
Noman Smith shined in the spotlight of this years N.C. Pro Am - Photo Blue Devil Nation
DURHAM, N.C. -Despite having to miss the playoffs due to duties with the U.S. Select Team, Nolan Smith was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2010 North Carolina Pro Am. Smith dazzled the crowds with dizzying moves, one which appeared on ESPN which serves notice that he will be one of the best guards in the nation this coming season.
Smith's buckets came on a variety of offensive moves, be it snaking through defenders for an easy basket or nailing a three pointer. The rising Duke senior was quite the showman as well, where he would subtly play to the crowd in the games.
Blue Devil fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming season where they will go for another National Championship with a deep and talented team. With Nolan Smith returning and Kyle Singler deciding to stay as well, Duke has the best one-two senior punch in the country.
Smith is currently in New York where he is training against the national team, as is Singler and the two are expected to return to the area in a week. With Smith's continued improvement, he is sure to make many of the pre season All American teams and is a lock for All ACC.
Stay tuned to the Blue Devil Nation as we close out our 2010 N.C. Pro Am coverage.
Ryan Kelly scored 22 points to help his team advance in the N.C. Pro Am playoffs on Firday evening - Phto Rick Crank/BDN
The North Carolina Pro Am is closing out it's 2010 campaign this weekend as the teams participate in the play offs. On Friday evening, three Duke players helped their teams advance to the Saturday rounds. Seth Curry scored 14 points to go with 4 assists and 3 steals which helped Team Jamison defeat Team Navy 61-46.
The game also featured a up and coming star in Durham Hillside's Torian Graham who has mentioned that he wants Duke and UNC to take a look at him. He is already a key early target for N.C. State. Southern Durham alum and current Miami Hurricane Julian Gamble led Team Jamison with 22 points.
In the evenings best game D-One held off Lucky 7 behind the play of Ryan Kelly [22 points] and Andre Dawkins with 20. Kelly continued to show his off season improvement and he went up against Josh Powell for the evening. Powell finished the game with 15 points and Courtney Fells added a team high 19 for the losers.
Andre Dawkins had just 3 points at the half, but a second half surge helped him end the game with 20. The Pro Am action continues today with the championship game being played Sunday afternoon on the campus of N.C. Central.
Marshall Plumlee looked solid on the offensive end during Tuesday evenings N.C. Pro Am action. Plumlee ended the game with 14 points. Photo copyright Rick Crank and BDN.
It didn't take long for Nolan Smith to pick up where he left off during Tuesday evenings N.C. Pro Am at N.C. Central University. Smith was averaging 38.5 ppg coming in and the rising senior wasted little time in asserting himself slashing through hapless defenders on a variety of dribble drive, stop and juke moves.
Smith closed out his 2010 Pro Am career with 28 points to go with 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Smith will join the U.S. Select team for more training and he will be flanked by fellow team captain Kyle Singler in New York.
While Smith was once again the star of the game he had help from another teammate and his brother who will be a high school senior this coming season. Mason Plumlee sat out the entire fourth quarter when he tweaked his ankle but still tallied 14 points and 7 rebounds.
The most impressive stat for Plumlee [Mason] were his 3 steals which all led to baskets. In one sequence, he stripped an opposing guard and then threw down a tomahawk slam.
Team Dreamworks also featured future Dukie Marshall Plumlee [14 points] who had his most impressive game of the event. A relaxed Plumlee [Marshall], showed good up and under moves around the basket to go with a good turnaround jump shot. He plays hard at all times and as he gets stronger, he'll certainly one day be a factor for Duke.
Dreamworks ended up walloping Body of Christ 87-76. Justin Thomas scored 22 points for the losing team and he matched up with Mason much of the contest.
In the next contest D-One defeated Lucky 7 75-61 where Duke prospect Quincy Miller led the way with 19 points, while Ryan Kelly added 13, Deuce Bello 8 and Andre Dawkins 6 for the winners.
Kelly dished out several assists to his teammates including three to Miller. Kelly also showed a nice one hander push shot in the paint.
The Blue Devils weren't finished. Kyrie Irving led all Duke scorers with 31 points leading Hendrick's to a 89-79 win over Team Jamison. Irving blew by defenders when he wanted to and dished unofficially 12 assists.
"It's my job to see the court well," said Irving after his contest. The New Jersey native was obviously having fun. His teamate Josh Hairston was most effective on the evening as well.
Hairston added 16 points in his best overall performance of the event. The highlight came when he threw down a strong slam in the open court where he was challenged by Miles Plumlee.
The play lit Hairston up like a Christmas tree as the crowd showed their approval. Hairston was all smiles but if you play the game enough, everybody gets posterized on occasion.
That play seemed to light a fire under Plumlee [Miles] who had just 3 points at half time. The next player who challenged Miles got his shot swatted back past half court as he erupted for 18 second half points which translates to 21 for the contest.
While Hairston showed a soft touch on his perimeter shot, Miles showed off his ability to throw down dunks like it was a two inch putt. But another Devil, Seth Curry also had a big night.
Curry showed off a great stutter step and stop and go moves to free up for shots on his way to 28 points. Curry has a variety of smooth moves and plays in a word silky on the offensive end.
Quincy Miller and Deuce Bello also participated in this game where they played with Miles and Curry. Miller scored 13 points while Bello added 6. Both players showed off their immense potential making plays during their two games.
Miller and Bello still list Duke on their lists. Miller lists Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in that order. Bello lists Baylor, Louisville, Miami, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson.
Bello said their could be a package deal but that each of them would do what is best for them. Brian Clifton was in attendance as well and it seems as if there decisions ill come quite late in the process.
The games will continue this Thursday through Sunday when two teams left standing faceoff for the title. According to sources, the UNC players will return during the playoffs while many of the Duke kids are done for the season.
Mason and Miles Plumlee will serve as councelors at Adidas Nations in Chicago while their brother Marshall will participate in the event. The trio leaves Thursday for the event.
Nolan Smith will join teammate Kyle Singler on the U.S. Select Team in New York this weekend as well. The dynamic duo will be gone for the better part of a week while Coach Collins and Krzyzewski begin a 40 day jaunt with the U.S. National Team.
Singler did not appear in any of the Pro Am games this season and Tyler Thornton while not there last evening is expected to return. As the games draw closer, we'll let you know which players are expected to show, so stay tuned to BDN for our annual N.C. Pro Am coverage.
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Ever the comedian Nolan Smith poses with incoming Duke freshman Tyler Thornton - copyright BDN Photo
DURHAM, N.C.- One of the top players in the N.C. Pro Am is Duke senior Nolan Smith who has used the event to show off his skills which are improving daily. Smith has been working hard in the off season, attending the Chris Paul and LeBron James Camp and he is playing for the U.S. Select Team. Smith has dazzled the crowds at N.C. Central with his play has brought the crowds to it's feet on several occasions. It's no secret that Duke will likely be the pre season number one team in the nation and a big part of that is Smith's senior leadership. I caught up to Nolan for a one on one chat and hope Blue Devil Nation fans will enjoy the Q & A session with the player everybody wants to hear from.
You just dropped 43 points in a most impressive fashion here at the N.C. Pro Am. I understand that you out a 1000 shots up in a workout earlier today as well.
Andre Dawkins and myself got about 1000 shots in today and I just carried that over to tonight. It's been non stop work and a long hard summer and when I come out here I've got to show what I've worked on. I just wanted to come out here, play hard and make plays.
You just got back from Vegas where you were you joined teammate Kyle Singler. Can you talk about that experience?
Playing with the U.S. Select game was a great experience. I got a chance to see where my game is as I get ready for the next level. It will pay off this coming season where I will show how hard I've worked. Testing myself against those guys [U.S. Team] was amazing. The guard that were out there were great and I got a good feel where I am at.
As good as you were at years end with the win over Butler, you seem much improved in my eyes. Do you feel like you're playing at another level now?
Yes. Getting a lot of shots up this summer and going through the reps has helped and I've gotten stronger. I just wanted the Duke fans and people in this area that I didn't come back this season to mess around and not go for another ring.
What do you feel you need to work on most before going to the next level?
Shooting. At the next level you get a lot of open shots. People tell me that in the NBA you have to hit those open shots. So if my shot becomes real consistent and I go to the basket being strong enough to take contact then my game will be ready.
There is a pretty good freshman named Kyrie Irving joining you in this years backcourt. That's a pretty lethal combination. Can anybody stop you?
I would like to think nobody can stop us. I've seen him play out here and the talent he has, he can score, but he is unselfish and will pass the ball. We've got a great relationship and chemistry is going to show for us. I can't wait for the season to start.
Will the two of you be like dual point guards at times this season?
Oh yeah, definitely. Both of us can score and both of us just want to make plays. When we go out there we're just going to think about winning and everything else will take care of itself.
You were voted class president as a senior in high school, you love to smile and bring smiles, you tweet with the best of them and brought the house down with your antics during last seasons Countdown to Craziness. Where does that sense of fun come from?
My sense of humor comes from who I am, my family and who my Dad was. I love this game and I love the fans who love these games so I always feel like I owe them. They're appreciative of my game and Duke. I love letting them know about me and who I am and I try to share some of that.
Your play resemble that of an All American. Do you feel like you should be first or second team going into the season?
My mom told me good things come to those who wait. If you try to go get it too soon it'll never happen so I have been patient and I am thankful
What can you do for an encore after averaging 39 ppg at the N.C. Pro Am?
That's it for me and I'd like to be here but I have to go to New York to be with the Select Team.
You've tasted a national championship. How hungry is Nolan Smith?
Very hungry. Probably hungrier than last year. Last year we didn't know we could do it and this year you know you can do it. I had a chance to talk to Lamar Odom and he just said, it doesn't get much better than winning championships. He said to go out there and relax and things will come your way.
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