Tag Archives: Blue Devil Nation

John Wall talks of his visit to Duke, the recruiting process and more

The Duke Blue Devils are recruiting one more player in the class of 2009 and he just so happens to be the best high school point guard in the country.  John Wall dazzles all with his ability to go from baseline to baseline in just under three seconds. 

Wall has until May 21st to decide where he wants to play his college basketball and Duke has made

Wall drives to the rim during the Glaxo Invitational
Wall drives to the rim during the Glaxo Invitational

the final cut.  Coach K has been able to watch John Wall play this season, most recently during the Glaxo Invitational where he was accompanied by two assistants and key players on this seasons roster.

During yesterdays ACC opener, John Wall was sitting behind the bench to see the Blue Devils play lock down defense on Virginia Tech.  Blue Devil Nation Premium was able to get Walls thoughts and details of the visit.

"I came over the there house and watched a pretty exciting game [private] and watched the crowd go crazy when they made some big plays," said Wall when asked about his trip to Durham.

After the contest he was able to hang out before heading back to school,  "I went to the back (locker room) and talked to Coach K for a little bit and had a good time," said an upbeat Wall.

When asked if he had a chance to sit down with Coach Kryzyzewski, Wall stated, "No, that's all I had a chance to do right then."

Wall has been planning a visit to Duke for a while now, but scheduling conflicts kept him from making a trip until Sunday.  "I've been busy of late with Glaxo and all but I am going to set up a visit them hopefully soon, so I can go over there and talk to them.  They just wanted me to come over and watch a game and I said alright."

Wall had some company during his visit, "I went with my AAU Coach Clifton and my sister."  Wall has six sisters all of whom from Raleigh.  I couldn't help but ask the sleek star if there was pressure from siblings to stay at home and he stated, "No, not really.  I think my family - they realize that this is a decision I've got to make even thought they probably wouldn't go far.  I know they'll come to all my games they can whether I am far away or close to home."

When asked if he could see himself playing for Duke, Wall stated, "Right now I am just trying to go to the games and see the atmosphere, crowd and how the coaches coach in situations.  Since you are right there behind the bench you can hear what the coaches are saying and how they're telling the players to play, which is something you need to do before making a decision."

I asked of his contact with Coach Krzyzewski - "He really didn't get a chance to say too much.  I had to get back to school.  He just said it was great having me there and he would love to have me as a point guard and that he saw me at Glaxo and we lost a tough game."

When asked if Duke offered him, Wall said no, but that he expected one to come when he sits down to talk with Coach Krzyzewski.

Wall makes no secret of his desire to play in the NBA as soon as possible. "More than likely right now I am hopefully looking at just being one and done.  It'll be tough because you have to live up to the hype.  It's not just about scoring, but helping your team win which  and play like the kind of player the NBA wants to see."

Another thing that stands out is his confidence in his ability.  "Which ever school I end up choosing, I feel like I will be the go to  or set up man.  But I will have other great players with me, so if I draw a double team or get trapped, I hope to have teammates that can make big plays."

Wall also recognizes the challenge.  "I know it'll be pretty tough on me because I'm just a freshman but I want the ball under pressure.   So I really want to go to a school where I am going to be around great players."

While there are many out there that will tell you Wall is leaning one way or the other, you wouldn't know it when talking to him.  In my opinion, Wall is truly undecided and trying to figure out what eh most important factors are in his pending commitment.  "If you are not going to feel comfortable and feel like you're home, then I figure you shouldn't go to the school.  If you get down and you are far away from home and your coaches are not there for you, who will be there?"

Wall has made no secret of his desire to have a close relationship with the head coach and staff and it always seems to come up in conversations.  "You've just got to pick the situation that'll be best for you.  I will go to the school that wil let me be me and prepare me best for the next level, said Wall.

The young phenom will lead his team against Ravenscroft this Wednesday night at 7:00.  "It was originally supposed to be on ESPN.  It's a big game with me playing and Ryan playing.  It'll be a pretty excited crowd," said Wall.

The schools were unable to accommodate a time change to 9:00 due to a vote from higher ups concerned that it was on a school night.   Thus the battle will not be televised and unfortunately for Duke fans, the time is exactly when the Blue Devils tip off against Davidson and Stephan Curry. [/private]

Duke plays clamp down defense to defeat Virginia Tech 69-44

[private]The Blue Devils defense stymied the Hokies holding them to 7 points in the last fifteen minutes.   Four of five Duke starters scored in double figures led by  Kyle Singler who dropped 19 points to go with 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.

The physical nature of the game promted Kyle Singler to state, "It's definitely a man's game and if we can play like men, it's going to be a very good year for us."

The Blue Devils benefited from 19 points off turnovers, but more so from a Krzyzewski timeout at the 17:23 mark where he challenged his team.  Whatever was said, it worked as Duke went on to outscore the Hokies 25-7 in the last fifteen minutes.  The Hokies scored a mere 9 points after the timeout.

"I think they got kind of tired and that allowed us to push the ball at both ends and do what we needed to," said Singler.

Of course it didn't hurt that Duke was nearly perfect from the free throw stripe as well, where they hit 19 of 20.

Gerald Henderson continued his outstanding play of late with a stat line of 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.  There were time when he guarded Tech's big men inside and he will his way to make several plays.

Also scoring in double figures for Duke were Nolan Smith who tallied 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals and Jon Scheyer with 11.  Scheyer was held in check offensively in the second half, but played a good floor game.

Zoubek added another points and only two Blue Devils scored off the bench.

Duke had several players slow down one of the leagues top scorers in A.O. Vassallo who managed just 7 points.

"This is the start of a three game five and a half day loop, so this tests you.  Any ACC win is a good one." said Krzyzewski.  He continued, "In our league anybody can beat anybody.  It's a whole different ball game once the ACC starts."

The Blue Devils are now 1-0 in the ACC, 12-1 on the season and poised to move up a little in the rankings where they were fifth coming into this evenings game.  The win was number 273 for Duke since the year 2000 which is tops in the nation.[/private]

Zoubek talks injuries and Virginia Tech

[private]On his injury, rehab and play-

I just  wanted to get healthy first and make sure it was 100% healed before I started doing anything serious.  Then I started running and lifting a lot.  That has been able to help me through out the season.   I continue to progress with my conditioning.  It's been a process.  I started out struggling because I just started playing again in early September but I keep getting better each game.  And I keep adding more things that I do.  I'm getting back to where I can do a little more.  I've been hindered a lot with what I've had to go through.  In the past I've struggled with turnovers.  When you get the ball so few time you want to make something happen.  Now that I'm getting the ball more I'm able to dish it off and I'm pretty comfortable with that.  I love passing and want to keep getting better at it.

On Virginia Tech -

They're a great team.  They're losses have come right at the end of the game.  They could be undefeated.  It's ACC and they will be strong and physical and we just have to prepare for them.My freshman year we had a close loss against them.  I can't forget that and there has been a couple of close ones the last couple of years.  They're a good team and they will come after us.ink unbelievably better. 

On the Duke front court -

We've got a lot stronger guys up there now and a lot of guys that can come in and give us solid minutes.  I think it will help us a lot as the season goes on.[/private]

Nolan Smith ready to go in the Blue Devils ACC opener versus Virginia Tech

[private]Starting point guard Nolan Smith will be ready go in the Blue Devils ACC opener against Virginia Tech this Sunday night.  Smith has practiced the last two days.  "Nolan practiced the whole time today.   He practiced the

Smith ready to go after injury scare
Smith ready to go after injury scare

whole time and he looks good.  He wouldn't even tell you he was injured if it wasn't for the knee pads," said Duke player Kyle Singler during today's press conference.  "He's meant a lot to our team and is ready to go," said Gerald Henderson.  Smith was held out of the last half versus Loyola, Maryland after tweaking his knee.

Smith is averaging 10.9 PPG to go with 2.3 APG.  The injury was a left knee bruise.[/private]

Ryan Kelly Interview – Kelly wins Glaxo Most Outstanding Player Award

Ryan Kelly helped Ravenscroft go 2-1 during the Glaxo Smith Kline Invitational and his play earned him not only a spot on the All Tournament team, but his bracket's Most Outstanding Player Award. [private]

Kelly was visibly disappointed after his teams loss to Centennial where the wheels came off and the

Kelly named the Glaxo Invitational Most Outstanding Player Award - copyright BDNP
Kelly named the Glaxo Invitational Most Outstanding Player Award - copyright BDNP

lack of depth in the Ravens' back court was exposed by constant pressure.

Ravenscroft hopes to bounce back against Word of God this coming Wednesday.  John Wall, C,J. Leslie and company will travel over to participate in a big game on both teams schedule.   Unfortunately for Duke fans, Duke hosts Davidson and Curry that same evening.

Kelly was able to talk with Coach Krzyzewski after his teams loss as we passed to do an interview.

Kelly attended yesterday's Duke-Loyola game as did the Plumlees.  They were also able to meet with Andre Dawkins, a class of 2010 commitment.

Part I -

What does a guy like Ryan Kelly do with his time off?

Go to church, get some shots up, go to movies and hang out with my girlfriend.

A girlfriend?  How long have you two been together?

About a year now (smiling).  Her name is Lindsey Cowher.  She plays for the Girls team at Ravenscroft.

And she is the daughter of Bill Cowher the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach?  Whats it like to be around him?

I am very fortunate.  I've had a lot of good opportunities and met a lot of good people in my life.  My parents are great.  I've been blessed.  I'm having a fun time and just finishing my senior year of high school.

Is it hard to go through all of these tournaments and then get it back together for school?

We'll find out. (laughing)  No, I think I handle it pretty well being responsible.  We have our study halls after school and we all do a good job

Your Coach, Kevin Billerman said you were able to talk to the Duke coaches a lot ...

Yeah, I talk to them pretty consistently after their games.  I let them know about my season and they let me know how theirs is going.  Obviously they are doing pretty well.

Were you able to talk with Wojo or Collins the other night?

No, the timing ... they probably left just before the game ended.

Do the Duke coaches give you a heads up when they are coming?

Yeah, they let me know when they are coming most of the time.

Part II (after his teams loss to Cetennial)

That was a tough loss, but Ryan Kelly will bounce back.  What will you do in order for that to happen?

We just have to play better as a team and get our confidence back.  At Chic-Fil-A we lost a couple because we jumped to some really good teams.  I felt like we had gotten it back a little bit (to straight coming in) ... actually I felt we had it (confidence) back to where it should be, but today it disappeared.

You played a good game, so it must have been frustrating that your team played well early only to come apart in the second half.

We never let it slip to the point where we weren't in it.  We just couldn't get over to hump to get it under ten again.  We kept it close for awhile but thats where the confidence comes in tying to get over the hump. [/private]

Duke wallops Loyola (Md) 92-51

[private]The Blue Devils close out 2008 in style by defeating Loyola, Maryland 92-51 to raise their record to 11-1.  There was little sign of lay off blues, save the fact that Duke hit just one three point field goal in route to 92 points.

Despite being cold from beyond the stripe, Duke was on target in all other phases of the game.  Kyle Singler led the Dukies with 20 points.

Brian Zoubek had one of his best games of the season scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Gerald Henderson continued his stellar play of late, tallying 19 points.  "G" as he is known by his teammates and staff was pretty much all over the court making several outstanding plays.

Hendersons play prompted Krzyzewski to say, “I think G now has put three really good games together.  We need him, we need him badly – he and Jon and Kyle, really are the three guys that have to be there every day for us at a really high level.”

There will be no more breaks the rest of the season as ACC play begins in earnest.  Duke will host Virginia Tech this Sunday and getting off to a good start against what has proved to be a tough match up will be vital.

“We’re excited to get going. Hopefully some of the students are back Sunday night to create a really good atmosphere in here. Virginia Tech has played a very difficult schedule. In Vassallo, they have one of the top scorers in the league. They’re a veteran team – I think they’re a really good basketball team. Once you start ACC play, everything is kind of even. That’s why you start 0-0 again,” said Krzyzewski.

Today's win was the Blue Devils 66th straight home victory ove an out of conference opponent.  Check back in with the Blue Devil Nation this Friday for player quotes going into ACC play.

Box Score Link[/private]