Tag Archives: Andre Dawkins

Duke Basketball

Duke defeats Chinese National Team 77-64

The Duke Blue Devils shook off the jetlag and a sluggish first quarter that ended in an 11 all tie to defeat the Chinese Olympic National Team 77-64 in Kunshan.  The Blue Devils were led by true freshman Austin Rivers who scored a team high 18 points and 5 assists.  A 21-12 second quarter run gave Duke a working lead, one which would stand up for the rest of the game.

Rivers backcourt teammate Seth Curry started the game slow offensively but warmed up in the second half ending the game with 13 points.  Ryan Kelly showed off his improvement gaining a double-double in the process.  Kelly ended the game with 14 points and 13 rebounds while teammate Andre Dawkins was the other Blue Devil in double figures with 15 points.  Duke played solid defense, a program staple, holding China to 20 of 61 from the field.

Duke turned the ball over 21 times and were whistled for quite a few fouls at 32 total.    Another interesting statistic was the fact that just three Blue Devils took 3 point shots, with Dawkins leading the way going 4 of 9.

Duke will play the same Chinese team twice more, once Thursday night in Shanghai and on August 22 in Beijing.  All of the remaining games will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3.  Tomorrow's game tips at 8:00 a.m.

Duke Basketball

Duke drops Maryland 87-71 behind Singlers 29 points

Singler knocked down 9 of 9 free throws helping Duke to a 87-71 win over a pesky Maryland team - BDN Photo, Rick Crank

GREENSBORO - The name of the game in March is to survive and advance and Duke did just that on Saturday night.  The Blue Devils took out a game Maryland team with a 87-71 victory.  Had someone told you before the game that Nolan Smith would score just 7 points and commit 5 turnovers to 2 assists you would have thought Duke lost.  If somebody told you Duke would knock down 3 of 15 threes you may have thought the same thing.

Duke won because players stepped up in a big way, in short, it was a team effort. When Smith went down with a stubbed second toe, Seth Curry rose to the occasion and ran the point as if he'd been doing so all season.  Curry struggled early, but his game came togehtr at just the right time.

Then there was the play of Kyle Singler who went 10 of 15 from the field and 9 of 9 from the free throw stripe for 29 points to go with his 9 rebounds.   Singler played with confidence and really put the Blue Devils on his back scoring 6 of the Blue Devils first eight points.

"Kyle had a magnificent game and out bigs really rebounded well, Kelly especially in the first half," stated Krzyzewski. Ryan Kelly finished the game going 5-5 from the field for 11 points and 2 rebounds in 13 minutes of play.

The brothers Plumlee were very effective as well.  Mason had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds while Miles had 10 points and 9 rebounds.  The duo helped hold Jordan Williams to just 16 points, but he did manage a whopping 16 rebounds.  Miles also had success with his perimeter jump shot, something he leaned on in high school.

Duke also got a boost from Andre Dawkins who tallied 9 points while playing 18 meaningful minutes.  Duke outscored the Terps 34-32 in the paint, 13-9 off turnovers and got 20 points from their bench as they pushed their season record to 28-4.

"It was a a hard fought win for us.  Maryland is always an unbelievably tough game for us," said Krzyzewski.  Duke will face the winner of the Virginia Tech- Florida State game tomorrow.

**I hope to have videos up, but it is not looking good at the moment due to unforseen issues.

Team Notes:
  • Duke has now won seven straight ACC Tournament games in Greensboro and have also won seven straight overall with championships in 2009 and 2010. The Blue Devils have won a record 88 ACC Tournament games all-time and are 34-15 when playing in Greensboro.
  • Head coach Mike Krzyzewski earned his 50th career ACC Tournament win and is now 50-17 all-time. He is just the second coach in conference history with 50 tournament victories, joining North Carolina’s Dean Smith (58). Since 1998, Duke is 33-4 in the ACC Tournament.
  • When playing in the Greensboro Coliseum, Duke is now 40-9 under Coach K with victories in 13 straight contests dating back to the 2004 ACC Championship game.
  • The Blue Devils have won 18 straight neutral site games dating back to a loss to Villanova in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.  
  • Duke improved to 4-0 this season in games following a loss and have not lost back-to-back games since the 2008-09 season. They are 17-2 when following a loss over the last four years.
  • Over the last three seasons the Blue Devils have collected 93 overall victories to tie for the fifth most over a three-year span in school history.
  • The 87 points were the most by Duke since Jan. 19 when they scored 92 in a win over N.C. State. The Blue Devils are 18-0 this season when scoring 80 or more. 
  • The 31 made field goals gives Duke 13 games with 30 or more made shots. It is the first since the last time the Blue Devils faced Maryland that they have made at least 30 shots.
  • The Blue Devils continued their struggles from beyond the arc, making just 3-of-15 (.200). They have shot under 25 percent from deep in three of the last four games.
  • Five Duke players scored in double figures. The last time the Blue Devils had five players score at least 10 points was the last time they were in the Greensboro Coliseum on Dec. 29 against UNC Greensboro.
  • Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee and Kyle Singler combined for 29 of Duke’s 41 rebounds. Miles Plumlee and Singler each were one rebound shy of a double-double. It was the 22nd time Duke has outrebounded its opponent with a 21-1 record in those games.
  • Duke’s Ryan Kelly and Kyle Singler combined to go 10-for-10 in the first half. The two players bounced back from a poor shooting performance at North Carolina where they combined to go 4-for-21. Kelly was 1-of-7 and Singler was 3-of-14. 

Player Notes:

Seth Curry

  • Sophomore Seth Curry played in his first career ACC Tournament game as he sat out last season’s championship run due to NCAA transfer rules.
  • Curry finished with 11 points to give him 14 games this season with 10 or more. 
  • He had three steals to extend his team-high total to 46 on the year. He has six games this season with three or more steals.

Andre Dawkins

  • Sophomore Andre Dawkins came off the bench to make two three-point field goals. He has made two or more treys in 16 games this season. His nine points were the most he has scored since he had 11 at Maryland in the two school’s last meeting.

Ryan Kelly

  • Sophomore Ryan Kelly scored 11 points for his eighth double-figure scoring game of the year.
  • Kelly made all five of his field goal attempts. It is the second time this season he has had five or more field goal attempts without a miss. The other was a 6-for-6 performance at Wake Forest on Jan. 22.

Mason Plumlee

  • Sophomore Mason Plumlee recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was the second straight season Duke had a player post a double-double in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals as Kyle Singler had 18 points and 11 rebounds against Virginia last year.
  • It was his ninth game this season with at least 10 points and 12th career game.
  • He has posted 10 or more rebounds in 14 games this season. 
  • Plumlee also set a career high with five assists. His previous high was four assists earlier this season against Princeton.
  • He played a career-high 38 minutes in the win. His previous best was 36 minutes at Maryland.

Miles Plumlee

  • Junior Miles Plumlee earned his 10th start of the season and 36th career start. It was his first start since the first time Duke played Maryland on Jan. 9.
  • Plumlee reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time this season and 11th time in his career. 
  • He finished with eight offensive rebounds, one shy of the ACC Tournament single game record. It was the most by a Duke player since Kyle Singler had nine against Princeton on Nov. 19, 2007.

Kyle Singler

  • Senior Kyle Singler made his 100th consecutive start and extended his school record to 142 career starts. His 143 career games played ranks tied for sixth most at Duke with Danny Ferry.
  • He tallied his 12th game this season with 20 or more points and 44th career game. It was his fourth 20-point game in nine career ACC Tournament games. 
  • With his 29 points he climbs three spots on the ACC career scoring list and now ranks eighth all-time. He passed N.C. State’s David Thompson, Virginia’s Jeff Lamp and Duke’s Mike Gminski. He now ranks fourth on the Duke career list.
  • Singler made his first six field goal attempts of the game, including 5-of-5 in the first half. It was the fifth game this season he has made 10 field goal attempts.  
  • He was 9-of-9 from the free throw line and has made 40-of-44 (.909) from the foul stripe in the last six games. 
  • The victory gives him 121 for his career, moving him into a tie for fifth most in ACC history with North Carolina’s Deon Thompson.

Nolan Smith

  • Senior Nolan Smith had his streak of 22 straight games with at least 10 points snapped. He had scored in double figures in 30 of the 31 games this season.
  • The victory gives him 117 for his career, moving him into a tie for eighth most in ACC history and tied for fifth in school history with Danny Ferry and Nate James.
Duke Basketball

What do we know heading into 2011?

What do we know about this year's team as 2011 quickly approaches? Well, for starters, we know Duke is deep with the ability to place a lot of top talent onto the court. Plus, we know Duke has all the different pieces required to be a champion commencing with senior leadership. Additionally, we know Kyrie Irving is the real deal. He has proven all the hype was warranted. Unfortunately, what we do not know is when Kyrie will be available and on the court for Duke due to his right big toe injury. We know the freshman to sophomore jump is alive and well in Durham. All one has to do is look at the improvements in the play of Mason Plumlee, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly. Finally, we know the team still needs to develop and improve if they are to equal the accomplishments of last season's team.

There’s no real point in discussing Kyrie’s injury because there is too much we do not know so let's take a look at each of the "things we know" and break them down:

Duke has senior leadership.

The presence of senior leadership is not widespread in today’s college basketball landscape; however that does not make it any less valuable. In fact, it makes it more valuable as Duke has what few other teams have – two proven senior leaders in All American candidates Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.

Coach Krzyzewski discussed Singler after the victory over Oregon in Portland: "I'm very proud of Kyle. Today was a special day for him. He is truly one of the special kids I've had the opportunity to coach at any level. He has a warrior's spirit. He's all about winning and playing hard and I love the way he performs. He's never nervous. He's the same all the time. He never has a play in a game or in practice when he's not working hard. He's what I call a no-maintenance guy."

Nolan Smith is currently number eight on statistics guru Ken Pomeroy’s list of contenders for the 2011 Player-of-the-Year Award.

During the St. Louis post game press conference, Associate Head Coach Chris Collins stated, “For Nolan to get back, I mean he didn’t have a field goal against Bradley the other night, but he played a good floor game. For him to come back today and have the six rebounds, five assists but also get 22 points at the point guard position, I thought was really good.”

Last season’s run to the national championship demonstrated the utility of senior leadership as Scheyer, Thomas and Zoubek combined to be a steadying influence upon the Blue Devils during the stretch run. In 2009, North Carolina won the championship with senior Tyler Hansbrough as their key player. Kansas started two seniors and two juniors in 2008 when they won the national championship, and when the Florida Gators repeated as national champions in 2007, they started a senior and four juniors.

There seems to be a pattern here and the pattern is experience is King come March and April. The experienced leadership on Duke’s roster in 2011 will provide the Blue Devils a decided advantage once the post season arrives. Singler and Smith are two of the best players in the nation.

Duke is deep and talented.

The roster contains five McDonald’s All Americans: Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Kyrie Irving. However, other players on the roster earned accolades prior to arriving in Durham.

Freshman Tyler Thornton was the Washington D.C. Gatorade Player-of-the-Year while fellow freshman Josh Hairston was the Maryland Gatorade Player-of-the-Year. After the St. Louis game, Associate Head Coach Chris Collins commented on the play of Thornton and Hairston, “I mean we felt great when the guys came off the bench. I mean Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton did a great job, especially in the second half. They hit us with a little run to start the half. We weren’t as happy with our energy coming out of halftime. We went to our bench and those guys played great.”

Prior to transferring to Duke, Seth Curry was the Big South Conference Freshman of the Year.

Andre Dawkins skipped his senior year of high school and enrolled at Duke early so he missed out on the opportunity to be named as a member of the various All American teams. However, he was a two-time first team NCSAA All-American.

Duke has all the requisite pieces required to be a champion.

It takes more than talented players to win a championship. It takes the right mix of players who complement each others game. A championship team needs perimeter players and inside players, jump shooters as well as players who can attack the rim, rebounding specialists and defensive specialists. Chemistry is vital to building a championship team.

Duke’s roster contains all of those individual pieces.

The freshman to sophomore jump is alive and well in Durham.

Andre Dawkins was inserted into the starting line-up for the Bradley game in response to Irving’s toe injury. Dawkins responded by scoring 28 points on 8-14 shooting on 3-pointers. After the game, Coach Krzyzewski stated, “It’s great; I hope it’s not a passing fancy. Andre has been, and I said it last week, Andre has been as consistent as anybody we’ve had this season including Kyle and Nolan and Kyrie. Andre has been solid, just really solid and was hitting with a limited amount of shots.”

Dawkins currently leads the ACC in 3-PT FG percentage at .536 and is averaging 12 points per game.

Mason Plumlee is averaging 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Against Michigan State, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Mason played 35 minutes, having five steals, to go along with a 10 points, 10 rebounds double-double. Coach Krzyzewski praised his performance, “Mason had to play 35 minutes with the foul trouble we had and they kept alternating bigs and Mason got a double-double and five steals. As obviously sensational as Kyrie was, quietly Mason was outstanding, he was outstanding.”

Mason’s high scoring game so far this season was against Marquette when the 6’10 big man exploded for 25 points on 12-16 shooting from the field. Additionally, he recorded 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Mason leads the team in blocked shots.

Ryan Kelly scored a career high 13 points in the most recent game against Elon. Kelly is a versatile player with advanced passing skills and solid shooting ability. He has demonstrated rebounding and shot blocking skills as well. As his playing time increases, his game will continue to develop. Kelly is much better now than he was as a freshman, and he will most likely be much better in March compared to December.

Seth Curry is the fourth sophomore but he is two years removed from his freshman season due to sitting out last season after his transfer to Duke from Liberty. Curry has been a little inconsistent at times this season but he has demonstrated a solid shooting stroke and excellent wing defense skills. Curry has second most steals on the team behind Singler.

This team still needs to develop in several areas.

Duke is 11-0 and the unanimous number one ranked team in the country. The ACC schedule kicks off next week when the Miami Hurricanes visit Cameron Indoor Stadium, and with the conference schedule comes games against teams, and perhaps more importantly coaches, who are intimately familiar with the Blue Devils. Things are going to get tougher in January and February before the real test of March and hopefully April arrives. This Duke team is deep and talented with the senior leadership that provides an unlimited upside, so 2011 has the potential to be another great year, but everyone knows there is a lot of work to be accomplished over the next three and a half months.

Every team has to develop their unique identity but this year’s team has been thrown a curve ball with the injury to Irving. Therefore, a need exists for the team to rediscover who they are specifically in regard to playing style. Will the team continue to apply maximum pressure on the perimeter with an emphasis on creating turnovers? Or will they revert to last season’s style, which focused upon rebounding? On offense, will they push the ball at every opportunity? Or will they look to become a dominant half court offensive team?

There are a lot of questions and the answers will be forthcoming over the next month, all one has to do is watch. Coach Krzyzewski is a master at transforming a team.

Free throw shooting is another area where the team could improve. Duke is shooting .743 as a team; however, Mason Plumlee (.417), Miles Plumlee (.611) and Josh Hairston (.538) all have room to improve. In a close game, the ability of these players to convert from the free throw line could the decisive factor.

With 2011 literally just around the corner, it is time for Duke fans to sit back and enjoy the ride as Coach Krzyzewski and the Staff lead the Blue Devils in their pursuit of excellence. No one knows how the season will end, but it is apparent the 2011 Duke Blue Devils have all the pieces in place to make a serious run toward Houston and another national championship.

Duke Basketball

BDN checks in with Duke’s Andre Dawkins

Photo - Mark Watson, Blue Devil Nation

DURHAM - One of the players who is expected to pick up their game in the absence of Kyrie Irving is Andre Dawkins.  The sophomore got some major minutes against Elon and had a nice overall game.  BDN caught up to Dawkins for a one on one interview where he shared his thoughts on the coming ACC battles and more ...