Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Mason Plumlee chats up the Blue Devil Nation

Blue Devil Nation Premium caught up with Mason Plumlee who just helped lead his Christ School team to their third consecutive state championship.  The following is an in depth and exclusive interview where he talks of that game.  He also touches on playing against and with Ryan Kelly, his brothers Miles and Marshall Plumlee, the upcoming all star games and his plans for the future.  Enjoy the interview -

Your Christ School team won another state championship game.  Can you tell me about the game?

Plumlee throws down a dunk in the title game
Plumlee throws down a dunk in the title game

It was great.  It was probably the most fulfilling out of the three (CS has won three consecutive state titles).  It was the expectation all year for us and anything less than winning would have been a disappointment.  There were a lot of mixed emotions but it was a relief.  But it was more happiness than anything.

Have you thought about the fact that your high school career is over and that after some All Star games, you'll next dribble the ball in Durham?

[private] In terms of getting ready for Duke I am, but I want to enjoy the last semester with my teammates and the people I have been here with for three years.  I'm just trying to enjoy the rest of the year here.

Can you look back and reflect on your Christ School experiences?

I've learned a ton of stuff on and off the court, but it's more just the people I've been with and the players I've been able to play with made it more fun and such an enjoyable experience.

When you first moved from Indiana to North Carolina, did you see yourself being as successful as you are today?

I really didn't .  Especially my first year.  I thought we had a really good team that wasn't expected to win the state.  I could have never imagined we'd have won three championships in three years which is pretty awesome.

How often do you talk to Miles?

I talked to him after we won the state tournament.  He was happy for us and congratulated us and everything.

What has Miles had to say about his experience at Duke thus far?

He just said there are ups and downs and that it's not always easy but overall he enjoys it.

You were named to the prestigious McDonald's All American team.  While growing up, did you think you would attain that status?

Yeah, it would be easy to say now that's what I wanted but I didn't ... the first time I decided it was something I wanted to reach was when I went to watch the 2005 game in South Bend, Indiana.  I think Josh McRoberts got the MVP in that game and that was the first time I saw one, so ...

Will it be odd not to go right into AAU ball this summer?

Yeah.  It is kind of weird because I love AAU and I will miss it.  Like you said earlier, I have got the McDonald's, the Jordan game and the Nike Hoop Summit, so I will be a little busy.

Tell me a little more about the Hoop Summit ...

It will be played April 18th and we'll go out there 3 or 4 days.  It's in Portland.  John Wall is on our team who Duke is recruiting.

When the McDonald's committee selects you, the Jordan and so on.  How do they contact you?  Or how do you find out you've been selected to play in those games?

Well, the McDonald's stuff came in the mail and once that happened a couple of people who are voters called me or called my coach.  I think Bob Gibbons called my AAU coach.  Then like the Jordan Classic, the Nike guy called my Dad and said I was invited.  Then I got something in the mail later.  The Hoop Summit?  They called my coach.

Back to the championship game for a minute.  You went up against your future teammate Ryan Kelly and beat those guys twice this year.  Were they a little tougher this time out?

Yeah.  I think they tried to slow it down a lot more and were more ready for us.  I mean, the first ... we kind of knew as a team going in we weren't going to beat them by thirty plus again.  We just played our game and came out on top.

What are the differences you see between Ryan Kelly's game and your game?

Well!  I figure he's a pretty good shooter.  I think we are more similar than different.  I don't know ... on his team he has to do the majority of the scoring.  I've been fortunate to play with people like Lakeem Jackson, Reggie and a little bit more of a balanced team.

Was there any type of rivalry that developed between you guys?  I mean you both signed at Duke and that kind of thing.  Did that add a little something extra when you guys met?

Yeah, I guess.  From the outside looking in, it's kind of like that.  But for us it was just our team against theirs.   The most important thing was a championship.

Do you think you can play alongside Kelly?

Yeah.

Do you see Miles as a more inside oriented guy next season?

I've played with Miles my whole life and he can do a lot more than just play inside.  I think with me coming in next year and Ryan and having more depth inside, he'll be able to go inside-out more.  Right now, he is just down on the block.

Let's talk just a second about your younger brother Marshall.  Do you think that Duke may recruit him?

Well, I don't know, it'll be interesting.  Of course, as his brother I hope they do.  I hope he improves his game enough to where they will recruit him.   He's got a long way to go, just like I do before I get to Duke next year.  I hope that we can all stay together like we did here at Christ School and hope Marshall keeps improving.  He's working really hard.  If he just grows into his body I think he'll be pretty good.

Do you know where Marshall will play his AAU ball for this summer?

Yeah, he's going to play for Indiana Elite.  He'll go to the Carolina Challenge.  I know AAU will be different this year because they have an open period in the Spring.  I think the tournaments are more regional up until July.

How long do you have left in high school?

We have until May which will not be that long.

You guys take a pretty good academic load and study a lot ...

We have study hall every week night from Sunday to Thursday which lasts from 7:30 to 9:15.

Good deal, that'll help prepare you for college.  When you finish school will you go to Indiana to be with your parents ... Durham ... where will you be hanging out?

I will go home for the first month or so to be home with my family and work out there.  I will go to Duke for the second session of summer school which I think starts July 1st.

Thanks for your time and good luck with the All Star games.  Enjoy yourself, stay healthy and be a kid.

I will.  Thanks Mr. Watson.

Thank You. [/private]

Duke Coach Joanne P. McCallie addresses the media

ncw_ap_mccallie_195Here is the transcript from the ACC Teleconference with Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie.  Duke is preparing for this weeks ACC Tournament and their first game on Friday evening.

Opening remarks as Duke heads into the tournament as the third seed with an impressive win on Sunday over UNC -

“We’re just working hard coming off of the last game on Sunday night, and looked at that film and had to break some things down to get better at so we looked at that and had some practice. We’re really excited for the tournament it’s such a great tournament. Greensboro and all the folks in Greensboro did such an amazing job with the tournament so we’re excited about that. We’re just back at practice tomorrow and ready to get started.”

Could you talk about how the ACC has come up with a stat of 27 players throughout the league from North Carolina and why you think that is so?

“That’s tremendous. I’m new to the area and new to the ACC in a lot of ways, compared to the great longevity of some of the coaches. But it’s just not really a big surprise to me relative to what I’ve seen in terms of the talent across the state and trying to be out more and more; we’ve been recruiting hard in the state. It just makes perfect sense when you think about the triangle and you think about the rivalry and the great basketball traditions. It’s an exciting thing, if we can recruit locally and have great North Carolina players at Duke that’s exactly what we want to do. It’s great that Duke is global and that we can go worldwide; we’ve got a girl coming in from France next year, and that’s very exciting for us. But at the same time if you can go half an hour, 45 minutes or a couple hours down the road and find the best players in the country that’s very exciting for us as well. So I’m not surprised, I’m learning the state, obviously we’ve got a lot more to learn about meeting being, being out and that type of thing but I think it’s a great thing.”

Florida is known for a football school, Texas for a football school, can you say the same about North Carolina for basketball, women’s basketball especially?

“I think that Duke and North Carolina and N.C. State, this area is absolutely basketball country, and I don’t think that any school has the monopoly. Certainly I think that’s what makes the beauty of it. Some of the schools you mentioned might have more of a monopoly, or seem to at times, but the reality of it is there are just some really, really great programs in this area and I think they just feed off of each other. I think about our fans, 9,200 people jam-packed into Cameron [Indoor Stadium]. When we played some teams even last year, there were a lot of empty seats. It was a sellout but it wasn’t a true sellout. The neat thing for us on Sunday night was it was a true sellout. It was hard to find a seat in the house. So I think it’s very exciting, those types of things occurring, getting our attendance up. I know we’re very prideful about our attendance and leading the triangle in attendance and also trying to build that nationwide. So it all revolves around the same thing, which is that this is a basketball place, and it’s one of the key reasons why I came to Duke and came to this area, after really enjoying my time at Michigan State.”

Just to clarify Coach, when I was saying state I meant Florida the state and Texas the state in terms of prep athletes – those states are football states. Do your comments still stand if I were to ask you about North Carolina as a state?

“Sorry, but yes, I think that North Carolina just coming on so strongly, a lot of great coaches, talking about the high school and AAU level, there are a lot of great coaches and a lot of great students. But I think it’s all interwoven; if it’s football down there, it’s basketball here. And it’s interwoven by the high school student-athletes and the coaches, as well as what’s going on in college, with the Duke’s in the world, North Carolina, N.C. State and that type of thing.”

I was wondering how you think Chante Black’s defense has improved over the years and how big of an effort she’s made on that as a forward this season?

“I think Chante has improved in all areas, I don’t think I would even pick one area specifically because I think she’s just grown. She competes everyday in practice, she’ll never take a play off, and she’ll go harder than most ever would. I agree with you I think she’s improved dramatically because she’s getting quicker, stronger, a little bit more savvy. I was very saddened that she only got to play 18 minutes in Sunday’s game; I really did not feel that she was going to be up for disqualification in any way. I think she’s a great player; she’s got to be on the floor, she’s a player who is aggressive but she’s smart, and without question has improved in all areas. Her shot blocking, her timing, aggressiveness there has improved. I think her best basketball is ahead of her. It’ll be after Duke, it’ll be someplace else.”

How has Jasmine Thomas developed in your system, she had such a good game on Sunday, how have you seen her progress?

“I think Jasmine’s really done incredible things. Being a sophomore I think people don’t give her her due. She’s a sophomore point guard, she’s got so much to learn, and she’s been getting better every game. She’s had many, many great games this year, whether it was at Virginia, at Tennessee, Stanford, against Carolina on Sunday. She has risen to the occasion so much this year, in many interesting games, in Maryland at home, and I just think it’s part of her competitive spirit. Jasmine is a kid who works really, really hard. The thing about it is she’s not a true point guard, but she plays point guard in an excellent way. She’s really a 1-2-2-1, because she thinks like a two, she wants to score – definitely a scoring point guard. So I think its been very exciting to see her command the point guard position, without being as true as a point guard can be in that area. It’s really great to work with her, she’s just such a great person, and I know she’ll continue to get better and I know she’s excited for what’s coming up for us.”

How have you been able to live with your assist to turnover ratio this year, I’m sure it’s not what you’d like, but how have you been able to deal with the fact that you guys do have that negative assist to turnover ratio, and there have been times when it’s hurt you?

“I look at that kind of scientifically. We have 12 people on our team, and we have one true point guard. And that true point guard is a freshman, Chelsea Hopkins. She’s played point guard her entire life and grown up a ‘point guard coach’s daughter.’ The rest of our team is made up of combination players; two-ones, two-threes, three-twos, four-threes, and things of that nature. So I have a little bit of patience because I understand that the assist to turnover ratio when it’s at its best comes from a point guard, and sometimes having two or three of them on the floor at the same time. We don’t have that luxury; we’ve got a lot of attacking guards. So we’ve got to be patient about it, but in the same sense be impatient, because I think our guards are getting more experience and that’s a good thing in order to try to make that a better number.”

Is that sort of the classic case of “okay” turnovers, turnovers you can live with, and then some that you do need to think about; is that something you have been teaching them this year?

“I don’t know. I think that 14 or 12 turnovers for a game is something that we’re always going for – even though I know it doesn’t look like that – but we are. And that’s 14 to 12 every single game, or less. And I think that our assists have been climbing recently to 15, 16, 17 a game – ideally it’s 20, 22, 24. So that number needs to go higher. But I just think it’s a matter of growing as a team. Out of our three guard spots that start, one’s a sophomore, and one’s a young lady who has now started a game at Duke, I told her this year she really got going, and that’s Bridgette [Mitchell], but she’s not a point guard in any way. Then you’ve got Abby [Waner] who has got great experience, but she still is the truest two there is, with her beautiful ability to shoot and score and all of that stuff. So we’ve just got to roll with it, we can’t worry about what we’re not, we’ve got to be what we are, and I’m just really proud of our attack mentality. So hopefully that will make up for those negative turnovers.”

Duke Basketball Injury Update

Scheyer sprined his ankle against FSU - BDN Photo
Scheyer sprined his ankle against FSU - BDN Photo

Many of you are wondering about the injury situation at Duke.  Here is the latest as of this afternoon. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek. Thomas suffered a left ankle sprain in the first half of the game and is listed as day-to-day. Zoubek suffered a broken nose and is day-to-day.  Jon Scheyer also suffered an ankle sprain in the second half on Tuesday and Nolan Smith’s status remains unchanged after sustaining a mild concussion on Feb. 25.

Duke drops the Seminoles 81-78 on Senior Night

Greg Paulus said farewell to Cameron - BDN-Photo
Greg Paulus said farewell to Cameron - BDN-Photo

Duke remained in the hunt for the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship by defeating a pesky Florida State team 84-81 in their last home game of the 2008-09 season.

Once again, Gerald Henderson stepped up big during a key stretch to help his team win.  With Florida State up 76-74 after a Toney Douglas three point shot, "G" drained a three point shot from the corner with 1:41 left in the game to give Duke a one point lead.

After a Toney Douglass miss, Henderson drove into the lane, drew the foul and hit two free throws with 57 ticks left on the clock.

Down three, Douglas missed a three on the other end.  Henderson grabbed a long rebound, drove the length of the court ahead of the Noles defense and hit a layup while fouled.

Henderson hit the free throw giving Duke a five point lead with 29 seconds left.  Duke rode out the final seconds for a 84-81 win, pushing their conference record to 11-4 setting up the regular season championship game against rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill this coming Sunday.

Florida State was scorching hot from the field, hitting 47.1% of their three point attempts and 50% from the field.  Toney Douglas lead all scorers with 27 points to go with his 7 assists.  The Noles also got double-doubles from Uche Echefu and Soloman Alabi.

Singler and Williams battle for a rebound - BDN Photo
Singler and Williams battle for a rebound - BDN Photo

After going into half time trailing 40-34, the Blue Devils erupted for 50 second half points, lead by Henderson with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a team high 5 assists.  Kyle Singler had a good game as well scoring 20 points to go with 7 rebounds.

The Blue Devils had to go to their bench early in this game, with Lance Thomas going to the sidelines with a high ankle sprain in less than a minute of play.  The Dukies were already playing without Nolan Smith who suffered a concussion and missed his second consecutive game.

The Duke bench responded by outscoring the visitors bench 33-9.  Of course, Duke started seniors Marty Pocius, Dave McClure and Greg Paulus.  Still, the continued solid play of Elliot Williams provided Duke with some spark.  Williams ended the game with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The most telling stat is one which has become a mainstay of late.  Duke committed just 7 turnovers, half that of their opponent.  Duke was able to hang on the boards with a tall Florida State team as well as grabbing 36 rebounds to Noles 39.

In a game that had the Cameron Crazies nervous for a good while, Duke protected their turf to go 16-0 in Cameron for the season, tying the 90-91 team for the most wins without a loss in a season.

Duke begins to celebrate as FSU tried in vain to draw a foul - BDN Photo
Duke begins to celebrate as FSU tried in vain to draw a foul - BDN Photo

Duke has now won 256 games in the decade, which is more than any other college program in America.  And to think, many media types want to tell you Duke is down.

Another interesting note is that Duke is 11-1 when scoring 80 points or more, with the only loss being to, you guessed it, the team eight miles down the road who they'll play on Sunday.

Krzyzewski's emotion - Coach K continued his emotion of late, encouraging the crowd to chant and firing up his team.  The entire Duke staff looked as if they would run to the scorers table at any minute to go in.  The upper deck stood on several occasions where emotions were running high.  Some were flipping their hats around in rally cap mode, others were screaming in a way that is only appropriate for the team they love.  It was nice to see how so many fans ride right along with the team, grimacing or becoming elated on every little thing.    Anyhow, make no mistake that the staff's emotion has been critical during the stretch run.

Seniors say their farewells - Duke honored Greg Paulus, Dave McClure and Marty Pocius before and after the game.  For the first time in four years, the seniors came back on the court after a win to give their emotional farewells.  It was a night when one could see Cameron Crazies linger after the game, taking pictures to preserve memories of their four years.  A look around showed one cheerleader sitting on the baseline by herself reflecting on all that she had seen.  Another cheerleader was visibly emotional, fighting back tears as if to say, this has been great and I don't want to leave.  In the end, all worked out well and the team sent the seniors off in style.  It is worth noting that Nolan Smith, always the clown, had a box of tissues in his hand.  There were plenty of hugs and lots of smiles for all.  It's hard to believe that the next home game is about eight months away.  BDN will have more on the game later, including a photo gallery if all works out.  So, please check back in.

A quibble- It seems that many season ticket holders have sold their tickets to brokers and some of the locals are not too happy about it.  There have been several sections where opponents have sat near the faithful all season long.  Many season ticket holders have voiced their displeasure.  Not sure what can be done, but I am thankful I don't have to sit beside the more hostile fans as some do.  I understand fans from other schools want to come in, but generally they are confined to being behind the visitors bench.  The fact that some season ticket holders don't make sure a homer is in their seats will continue to be a problem if nothing is done.

BDN Interview with senior Marty Pocius

Marty Pocius - BDN Photo
Marty Pocius - BDN Photo

Marty Pocius has decided to forgo his senior season, but he will take with him a Duke degree.  He wants to play professional basketball in Europe and will return home to Lithuania.  Pocius took time to reflect upon his Duke career this afternoon -

It caught a few by surprise that you would graduate early ...

I just decided to get my degree.  Right now, the most important thing for me is basketball and I really want to play.  So I will try to figure out where that is and find an opportunity.  I got the degree.  I accomplished what I wanted.

Have you thought about where you might play ball in the future?

Honestly, not at all.  Because we still have a month of the season left and I really haven't given it much thought because I really want to focus on out team and give 100%.  I will start to think of that when the season is over.  Whatever comes after, comes after.

Was it tough not to play a lot this season?

Every basketball player wants to play as much as he can and have as good a career as possible.  For me, things went one way.  Maybe if  I weren't injured for a couple of seasons it would have been different.  It is how it is and I'm just choosing to go back home.  There aren't any hard feelings.  I love Duke and I will always love Duke.  It's a great place with great memories

Do you feel like you are a better basketball player after your Duke experience?

Absolutely.  I know I have learned a lot from the experience.  Having four years to learn from coaches has helped me to improve as a basketball player.  I'm just ready to do it somewhere else.  I will try to play basketball for as long as I can and I have a chance to do that.

So, do you think you'll start tomorrow night?

I don't know if I can say anything about that, so ...

What did you major in?

International Computer Studies.  It's a flexible major, which I can do anything I want with it.

Was it a tough decision to leave Duke?

Um, you know it's ... of course it's hard to leave.  It's been a great four years, but I feel it's the time to move on.

What is the one thing that sticks out in you mind you learned while at Duke?

The work experience.  I learned to really work hard no matter what and I think that will definitely help in the future.

Best of luck to you in all of your endeavors ..

Thanks a lot.