Monday Musings continues it's tradition of presenting the Cheerleader of the Week - BDN Photo, Rick Crank
The Duke Blue Devils football team closed out the season with a 24-19 loss to North Carolina while the men's basketball team headed to Singler-ville bringing home a win over Oregon this past week. This week the football staff starts concentrating on recruiting while the men's team prepares for Michigan State in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and we discuss all of this and more in our latest Monday Musings offering.
Good homecoming for Kyle Singler
Duke took care of business in Portland after spending time with Team Singler, aka, his family. Singler dropped 30 points, his career high in the win over Oregon but the feeling here is that he will break that tally again. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock you know that Singlers family is very athletic and competitive and Kyle who grew up watching film on Celtic great Larry Bird could be at the top of the list.
Another test awaits the Blue Devils
Okay, it's no secret that this years edition of the Duke Men's Basketball team is loaded with talent and each game is a lesson for the long season to come. On Wednesday evening Michigan State the consensus pre season #2 rated team comes into Cameron in a game that will have the place rocking. The fact that the Spartan's dropped an early season game will only make them tougher and they're getting healthy after some nagging injuries. Duke will face a team deep enough to challenge their depth and present some pressure on the defensive end. The bottom line is that Michigan State is the best team Duke will have played to date andwill be one of the best teams they play all season long. Many feel the two will eventually run into each other for a second time come March Madness.
As I said, it's a long season ahead
The media will continue to build Duke up after every win eventually claiming them to be unbeatable should they continue their winning ways. I feel Duke is the nations best team in November but the season has four solid months to go and lots of things can happen along the way. We are also hearing chirping of the team going undefeated and all I can say to that is temper your expectations for it will not happen. Still, Duke should develop along the way and it is frightening to think of what they'll look like come seasons end should their chemistry be intact.
Meanwhile Coach K keeps knocking down wins
Count from one to eight hundred and one and tell me how ridiculous that is when you think each number that rolls off your tongue is a victory for Mike Krzyzewski. We'll drop you a hint that the UNC-Greensboro game could be one for the record books for if all goes as planned that will be the one where a huge milestone is set. Can you figure out what that milestone will be? And for what it's worth Coach K is so far ahead of other active coaches in weeks he's spent as the nations top ranked team that it's not even worth mentioning how far Roy Williams is behind him and the Heels coach is in 2nd.
Football season comes to an end
Duke finishes the season at 3-9 but they lost four ACC games by a touchdown or less. I don't think Cutcliffe and company will worry with that more than getting the team physically stronger. The goal is to realy hit the weight room hard at certain positions, reevaluate team personnel and acclimate newcomers into a solid group of returning players. Next season will be the first year Cutcliffe has all of his players on the roster for the first time.
Sean Renfree
After a season of learning, look for Duke quarterback Sean Renfree to come back with a vengeance. Renfree is the kind of kid that'll work his butt off in the off season and don't look now, but he will be one of the most experienced signal callers in the league as other schools break in new players at his position.
Let's take a peek at next seasons schedule
It's never to early to look towards next season, so here is the 2011 football schedule - Duke will play Richmond, Tulane, Stanford, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest at home and will visit Florida International, Boston College, Miami, Virginia and North Carolina on the road. Duke will liklely be favored to win five of those games in the pre season, so a six win season of bowl eligibility could come to fruition.
Talk about rebuilding
My girls, the Duke Cheerleaders, will lose seven senior members after this season! That has to be a record. Anyhow, congrats to them and thanks for cheering your last football game at Duke on Saturday.
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My pal Lance King was on the scene and took this photo of the Champions
It was billed as a battle between two heavyweights and before tip off there was an NCAA Tournament atmosphere just two days shy of Thanksgiving. Duke came in with the target on their back and Kansas State thought they had set a trap but these Blue Devils had other ideas and when the dust cleared, it was evident that the nation's top rated team was not over-hyped.
Let's start with Coach K's 800th victory
Kansas City proved a good setting for Coach K's 800th career win in that it is rich in college basketball lore. A couple of days before Krzyzewski participated in the induction of one of his best players in Christian Laettner and the HOF atmosphere was appropriate in many ways. Face it, Coach K is a living legend and he now joins the rare few coaches who've been supremely successful in the game per their wins. The great thing is that Coach is fresher than ever and seems to be enjoying the success with no plans of ending the ride any time soon. Milestones are nothing new for Krzyzewski for they seem to keep on coming be it at Duke or coaching Team USA.
This is Kyrie Irving
Irving showed flashes of brilliance last evening, something I had seen before while covering him on the AAU circuit. The young man is a difference maker and he'll drive ACC coaches bonkers as the year goes on. He shared defensive assignments with his team on Kansas star guard Jacob Pollen who couldn't find any rhythm. Irving has some jets and he can score in droves but he's accepted a role on this team which is loaded with talent. In short, you ain't seen nothing yet.
The Blue Devils stole KSU's heart
Duke jumped on Kansas State early and weathered their best shot before demoralizing on of the nations top ranked teams. The Blue Devils took what looked to be a raucous crowd right out of the game and gave them no opportunity to get their team going by staying ahead double digits throughout most of the game. You could see the confidence on the faces of the players for Duke, in that they were loose and happy. Meanwhile, the Wildcat's players looked shell shocked and even when they cut it to 7 points in the second half, they looked frazzled. The body language of the KSU players spoke volumes.
Mason Plumlee
Plumlee had a nice couple of games and folks are seeing now what I had while covering him in high school. Plumlee is now the anchor of the Blue Devils front court and his play early in the game set the tone for other teammates to succeed. And make no mistake, the Wildcats game plan was to keep him off the boards, but they couldn't shut him completely down.
A little bit of leadership
When Duke needed a basket, Nolan Smith was there scoring 17 points and sharing top honors with Irving who had the same output. Smith was a steadying influence when KSU started any kind of run and his defense was a key factor.
And Mr. Offense became Mr. Defense
When Seth Curry comes off the Duke bench one expects a flurry and that's what fans got last night from the transfer. The thing is that we are not talking a bunch of threes but his abilities to play passing lanes and pick the ball out of the opponents hands. Curry had 5 steals and each one of them demoralized the Wildcats who saw the Duke backcourt coming at them in waves.
Mr. offensive efficiency
Talk about a spark off the bench! Andre Dawkins comes in and hits all of his field goal and free throw attempts and the basket looked like a giant barrel. Did any of his shots hit rim against KSU?
10-0 run was a knockout punch
Duke used a 10-0 second half run to thwart any hope Kansas State had at a comeback. The spurt game Duke a 62-47 lead with 12:13 left and they stretched that lead even more before settling on an 82-68 victory.
Kyle Singler
The pre season All American is playing for Duke and not individual accolades to date and that means Duke is even better. How scary is it knowing he's yet to hit his stride in an effort to get more teammates involved and keep Duke in the win column? I imagine he'll have a decent game against Oregon on Saturday for his homecoming and word is the his teammates will get some of his mom's home cooking.
We'll have more on the two games in Kansas City coming, so stay tuned to BDN for top notch coverage of all things Duke Basketball.
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES -
Team Notes:
- Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski earned his 800th career win while at Duke, becoming the fifth coach in NCAA history to win 800 games at one school. The win was the 873rd overall for Krzyzewski.
- The Blue Devils played in a game featuring two top-five teams for the first time since 2008 when the then second-ranked Blue Devils knocked off No. 3 North Carolina on the road, 89-78. Duke has won the last three matchups between top five teams and are 19-11 all-time under Krzyzewski in such games. The Blue Devils have also now won four straight games against ranked teams.
- Duke claimed the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Championship to give them four straight in-season tournament titles. They also won the Maui Invitational (2007), 2K Sports Classic (2008) and NIT Season Tip-Off (2009) in the last three years. They have won 15 straight in-season tournament games.
- Duke freshman Kyrie Irving was named the CBE Classic Tournament MVP after recording 17 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in the championship game. The last Duke freshman to receive MVP honors in an in-season tournament was Kyle Singler in the 2007 Maui Invitational. Irving was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Mason Plumlee, who had 10 points and five rebounds on Tuesday and 25 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in the semifinal win over Marquette.
- In the month of November, Duke has won 27 consecutive games since a loss to Marquette in the 2006 CBE Classic.
- Dating back to last season, the Blue Devils have now won 15 straight games.
- Duke improved to 5-0 for the fourth straight season and 19th time under Krzyzewski.
- The Blue Devils only trailed for 1:19 total minutes in the game. On the season Duke has only trailed for 2:15 of 200 total minutes. Duke has not trailed by more than two points at any point on the year.
- The Duke guards combined to hold Jacob Pullen, the AP preseason All-America and Big 12 preseason player of the year, to just four points on 1-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Pullen also had just one assist and four turnovers.
- Five Blue Devils scored in double figures, the third this season Duke has had at least five players score 10 points in a game. Entering the contest, six players were averaging over 10 points a game. Duke has had five different players lead the team in scoring in games this season with Irving becoming the fifth against Kansas State.
- For the second straight game, Duke held its opponent to 20 percent or less from three-point range. The Wildcats shot just .176 (3-of-17) from long range in the game, including 0-for-6 in the second half.
- On the other end, the Blue Devils made 6-of-12 (.500) from deep, the second time this year they have shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc.
- Duke forced 21 turnovers, taking advantage with a 25-18 edge in points off turnovers. It is the third game that the Blue Devils have caused 20 or more turnovers this season. Of those 21 turnovers, 11 came on steals, giving them 10 or more in four of the five games.
Player Notes:
Seth Curry
- Sophomore Seth Curry registered a career-high five steals to more than double his season total of four from the previous four games. The last Duke player with five steals in a game was Jon Scheyer against Virginia last February.
Andre Dawkins
- Sophomore Andre Dawkins was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the three point line for 11 points. He has reached double figures in scoring in three games this season and in nine career contests.
- Dawkins has made at least three treys three times this year and in seven career games.
Kyrie Irving
- Freshman Kyrie Irving averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in the four games of the CBE Classic to earn MVP honors.
- He has now scored in double figures in each of his first five collegiate games, matching a season high with 17 points against Kansas State.
- Irving was a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line and is now shooting .913 (21-of-23) from the charity stripe this season.
- He tied for the team lead with five rebounds, which ties his top total this year.
- The freshman guard continued to find his teammates with six assists and now has five or more in four of the five games this season.
- Irving also posted two steals and has two swipes in three contests.
Mason Plumlee
- Sophomore Mason Plumlee recorded his third game this season with 10 or more points.
- Plumlee matched a career high with four made free throws.
- He has a blocked shot in all five games this season, leading the team with 10 blocks.
Kyle Singler
- Senior Kyle Singler drew his team-leading 73rd consecutive start and has now started in 115 of his 116 career games.
- Singler scored in double figures for the 99th time in his career and fourth game this season.
- He was 2-of-2 from the free throw line and is now 13-of-14 (.929) through five games.
Nolan Smith
- Senior Nolan Smith extending his ACC-leading streak of double figure scoring games to 16 with his 17 points. He has scored 10 or more points in 29 of the last 30 games for the Blue Devils.
- Smith pulled down five rebounds to give him three games with five or more. He is averaging 5.0 per game this season after entering the year with a 2.2 career average
Laettner had more confidence than any player I've seen in my years of following Duke Basketball. He's pictured here with Coach K - pic Lance Images for BDN
I am one of those folks who think Christian Laettner was Duke's All Time Greatest Players and the legendary figure was honored and inducted into the NABC Basketball Hall of Fame.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Former Duke men's basketball standout Christian Laettner was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday evening at a ceremony at the Midland by AMC in Kansas City, Mo.
Laettner is one of 13 Duke players to have their jersey number retired in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium. He helped lead the Blue Devils to four straight NCAA Final Fours, including national championships in 1991 and 1992. The 1992 National Player of the Year and three-time All-America, Laettner averaged 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds for his career. His 2,460 points and 1,149 rebounds in his career rank third all-time at Duke while he holds the school record with 713 career made free throws.
As a junior, Laettner was named second team All-America, MVP of the Final Four, ACC Athlete of the Year, first team All-ACC and to the All-Midwest Regional team. He averaged 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, had 75 steals, 44 blocked shots and a .575 field goal percentage. He followed his terrific junior season with an even better senior campaign, averaging 21.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, had 74 steals, 32 blocked shots and a .575 field goal percentage. He was named National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP and MVP of the East Regional.
Laettner was the third player taken in the 1992 NBA Draft and played 13 seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat.
He was also a member of the Dream Team that went on to win the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Laettner becomes the fourth person with Duke ties to enter the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, joining Vic Bubas, Lefty Driesell and Dick Groat. He is joined in the 2010 class by David Thompson (N.C. State), Sidney Wicks (UCLA), Jerry West (West Virginia), Davey Whitney (Alcorn State Coach), Tex Winter (Marquette, Kansas State, Northwestern, Washington and Long Beach State Coach) and contributors Wayne Duke and Tom Jernstedt.
Duke's men's basketball team is currently in Kansas City for the final two rounds of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic and will face Marquette Monday night at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in the Sprint Center.
Here's another Monday Musings Cheeleader of the Week pic!
Welcome to another edition of Monday Musings Blue Devil Nation! Duke Athletics had another full weekend slate and we'll take a look back and ahead on the latest edition of Watzone's Monday Musings.
Enter Goliath!
In the pre season Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski joked about during the annual ACC Media Day about how Duke became known as Goliath in media circles once they entered the championship game against Butler, a team that rolled their way to the final. Everywhere you turn Duke is getting cover boy status with magazines to go along with the outstanding ESPNU Special. And then Duke has been named the favorite to win another national title, yet we all know that the teams generally picked for that spot rarely are there in the end. Anyway you look at it, Duke is Goliath this season or the 800 pound gorilla in the room for they will be painted as such so there is little any of us can do about it.
A pretty good start to the season for the Duke Men
Duke was hardly clicking on all cylinders against Princeton, yet they still won convincingly via the three point shot and their staple defense. Duke had a long time to prepare for Princeton, more time than anyone else might receive the rest of the way. It'll be interesting to see how Duke plays Miami of Ohio after having less prep time. But back to last evening, Duke looked every bit the part of the aforementioned label Goliath. It's got to be scary for opponents to realize they might shut one or even two players down on this seasons team, but Duke has too many offensive weapons and somebody will almost certainly pick up the slack.
The Duke Women are rocking too
Duke has an interesting mix of youth and experience on the basketball court this season and they should be a top ten main stay all year long. I was really impressed by the play of young freshman guard Chloe Wells the other night and she'll take to the court against Southern Cal this evening. Duke handled BYU in the opener by dominating the paint and tonight is another good early season test, so turn out in Cameron if you are in the area. The Duke Women, like the Duke Men have been rocking the recruiting front as well, but we'll talk of that later in the week.
Devils oh-so close on the football field
Duke lost a heart breaker to Boston College as a pass was batted down as Duke was knocking on the door in what would have been a rousing win. Despite the loss, Duke continues to show improvement in many areas and the team will show up in Atlanta and in my opinion give Georgia Tech all they want. A look up and down the roster shows how many players Duke will return for next year and they are playing to get better in closing out a season where they fell just short in three ACC games. For the record had they won those tight contest, Duke would have been 6-4.
Two Devils will push for All ACC honors
When it comes time to vote for All ACC teams, the media will realistically consider Duke placekicker Will Snyderwine and wideout Conner Vernon for first team. Snyderwine is as accurate a kicker as Duke has had in a good while and he made second team last season. Vernon leads the ACC in most receiving categories. And go ahead and pencil Kelby Brown on some freshman All American teams. And note that all of these player return next season. The Blue Devils lose six starters but have replacements with experience coming back and some pretty decent redshirts to add to the mix.
Sean Renfree
Renfree didn't put the ball in the end zone but he had another solid game going 35 of 49 for 285 yards. His experiences this season will shape and mold his character even more and he will never give up as seen by this quote, "Nobody's going to put his head down. We have two games left against two very good teams. We're going to prepare as we have all season long."
And the Viking ship was set to sea
Students wore Viking Helmets in tribute to Drew Everson who had a fall to his death on campus recently. Drew was a popular fellow amongst his peers and the head line monitor and he was given a Viking salute last evening. He would have been proud of the Cameron Crazies efforts which were praised by Krzyzewski in his post game press conference.
Irving drives during Duke's exhibition win - Photo courtesy of Duke Photo and GoDuke.com
DURHAM - Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski was quick to praise a pesky Cal Poly Pomona team that played competitively against his number one ranked team but ultimately lost 81-60. Krzyzewski will use the exhibition win over the defending NCAA Division II Champ as a learning tool in the young season and he's quick to point out that these Devils are not and will not play perfect baszketball. In short, the nations top ranked team is a work in progress and Coach does not want them to peak early but instead learn one another.
Duke went on a 19-2 second half run which helped them pull away only to let the Bronco's back in the contest. Duke who depends on the three point shot hit but 2 of 15 from behind the arc. Duke faced a very tough and unusual match up defense and it's likely true that Krzyzewski did not allow his team to prepare for it but instead let them learn on the run.
After a 26-26 count in the paint in the first half, Duke dominated that area in the seconf half and ended up winning the battle 52-32. In fact, the Duke defense was much better in the seond half until late in the contest.
Duke was led in scoring by Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee with 14 points each. Singler, the All American, scored all of his points after the break. Kryrie Irving was in double figures with 13, while Nolan Smith added 12 and Mason Plumlee had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Blue Devils outscored the visitors by a 30-13 margin on points off turnovers. Duke struggled a bit from the free throw stripe going 17 out of 28.
Coach K instructs during the recent Coachs Clinic - BDN Photo
Today we present part III of our round table interview with Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski who shares his thoughts on all things Duke Basketball.
Just press play -
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