Tag Archives: Coach K

Coach K talks Southern Illinois, Paulus and Henderson

November 18, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]The four participating coaches in the 2K Coaches for Cancer Classic had their teleconference at noon today. Here are the majority of Coach K's comments -

On Team USA Basketball program -

A goal of ours is to bring USA Basketball throughout the age groups, like the seniors - the elite players. This should filter down sand have the same level for the kids who are developing and those who will be an integral part.

On Coach Lowrey and Southern Illinois -

He is a really good player and we had an outstanding game. Chris Collins played really well in that game and bobby Hurley. We had a very good team. We had Grant and Cherokee ... and they were really good. Coach Lowrey is like an old school coach. You know fundamentals. His kids play really well together and each year they not only grow individually, they grow together. The kid Mullins is really good - he's such a good leader for them. He epitomizes the type of player that their program has had over the last ten or so years. They've had some outstanding coaches and outstanding teams. We have ultimate respect for them. It's going to be a great game for us.

On Greg Paulus -

We were off yesterday for the mandatory day off, but he was in for treatment. He's doing better. You could tell he wasn't close to being 100% on Sunday. If he doesn't get injured more in today's practice or tomorrow, we'll see how he can keep coming. We need him. Greg is an integral part of who we are as a basketball team. In fact, we feel that he will be much better on Thursday.

Do you separate the Olympic and Duke experience?

You can't separate those things. The experience you have as a coach, just accumulative ... the experience I've had coaching the Olympic team the last four years has helped me, immensely. It's furthered me as a coach and the program here at Duke. It's like getting a PHD in your sport. It's helped me and I would never separate it because the lessons you learn just X'S and O's wise - the lessons you learn from other coaches and people you complete with. They're all relevant as you go forward and now with my Duke job.

On Gerald Henderson -

"G" is can be that explosive player for us - the guy that can get his own shot. I think up to now, he's putting a little too much pressure on himself. He's putting too much pressure on every play trying to be that for us and I think once he gets into a good rhythm. He has a chance to be a better player, one of the best in the country. He hasn't played like he wants to or like we wanted him to. Hopefully, Madison Square Garden will bring out the best in him.

Link to Duke vs Southern Illinois Game Facts and Figures[/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

John Wall talks of his Memphis visit and scheduling a trip to Duke

November 17, 2008 Mark Watson

John Wall returned from his visit to Memphis on Sunday afternoon and he may pay a visit to Duke possibly on [private] Tuesday of this week, the day before the team leaves for the Coaches versus Cancer 2K Classic in New York.

"Probably some time next week or this week," said Wall on when that visit might take place. I then

asked if Duke was a serious player at this time and Wall said, "I haven't been offered yet. Coach K wants me to sit down and talk to him in person and we'll take it from there."

He seemed to have liked his visit to Memphis, bit didn't elaborate too much on how it went saying, "It went good. I think it's a great school with a great environment. The fans show support and it was a great visit over all."

When asked who would play the biggest role in his recruitment he stated, "Probably my Mom and my high school and AAU Coach, Brian Clifton."

Wall also has a criteria which has pretty much remained the same saying, "I'm looking at the style of play, how my relationship might go with the coach. I like a style that lets you get up and down the court."

"The thing I most need to work on is my jump shot," said Wall. That's about the only thing which needs polish for Wall is a cat quick point guard who plays good on ball defense and finds his teammates with his unselfish play and terrific passing ability.

"All the teams on my list have been aggressive," said Wall. He continued to name his list and Duke was still in it. "They had showed some interest before and explained to me how they recruit players and once they offer they stick with that player."

He was of course talking about Kenny Boynton, who recently selected Florida. That opened the door for Wall. He also stated that Coach K had handled the majority of the process.

I asked the young prospect to describe his game in his own words. "I'd say clutch and I can lead my team to victory and get other people involved and he can lead his team to victory," said Wall. As a person, he said, "I'm cool, like to have fun and try to be a good person."

For those of you think there might be an early verbal to a school, think again. Wall stated, "I will wait until spring before I make a decision, that hasn't changed. I'm still wide open."

Walls list of schools - Duke, NCSU, Baylor, Memphis, Kansas, Oregon, Clemson

His team's first game - November 28th [/private]

Duke Basketball

Duke wins a thriller over Rhode Island, 82-79

November 17, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]The Duke Blue Devils survived Rhode Island's best shot on Sunday, and came away with a 82-79 win. Of course it took quite the effort from the Dukies as well, namely Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler. Singler twice hit two critical free throws to put Duke ahead at 78-77 and 80-79 on his way to 21 points, 5 boards and 5 assists.

“I tried clearing my head. You can’t let anything get to you. I knew we were down on all four them. I needed to sink them for the team to win. I stepped up with confidence and knocked them down,” Said Singler.

Scheyer drained 13 of 13 free throws including 6 of 6 with 3:18 remaining in a game that was on the line. His biggest two came with three seconds left giving Duke the lead for good at 82-79. Scheyer was also the Blue Devils leading scorer with 23 total points.

In a game that had a tournament atmosphere, Duke had to claw their way back time and time again. While the lead changed hand just 9 mes, the game was intense from the opening tip. In fact, Duke found itself trailing most of the contest.

“As good as the players were for both teams, the crowd was right there. This was a big time crowd today. Our crowd helped us so much today. They were fantastic. It was one of those February games in November. It’s a big-time game today. I don’t know how you get prepared for a game like this until you get in it. I thought in those last five minutes we did everything right, which you can’t practice, you’ve just got to be there," said Kryzewski just minutes after the game.

Krzyzewski continued, “We’re lucky to have Dave [McClure] and Lance [Thomas]. They just played so hard. Greg was in a tough position today because two days ago he really hurt his arm. He took a charge, and his arm swelled so much he couldn’t move his hand. This was Friday, and he kept ice on it all night and some of the swelling came down and yesterday he was able to somewhat close his hand and then he spent all night and today icing to where in our shoot-around he shot it a little bit. That kid played with a lot of guts today."

For a while it seemed as if the Rams would pull the shocker as they took a punch and countered time and time again. Jimmy Baron, the coaches son, put on a dazzling display of ways to get off three point shots, going over the Duke defense for 24 points. "He’s a great player. We wanted to win so bad and we’d get it down to a two-point game and then he’d hit a three and it’d go to five. We would come back down and score and then they would score. It was a game where it was hard to stop people," said Scheyer.

Barons teammate, Delroy James added 21 on 9 of 12 shooting, many on pull ups which barely moved the net.

In the end, it was Duke's patented man to man defense that finally made Barron moveoff the dribble. As he drove the lane, he was forced to alter his shot, missing badly with 10 seconds left in the game. Kyle Singler, then made the games biggest block and Duke grabbed a team rebound and held on after Scheyers aforementioned clutch free throws. "

Ultimately, we knew we were getting good shots and opportunities. We just needed to get stops," stated Scheyer.

The game had a tournament atmosphere and the Cameron Crazies were on top of their game, giving the team a huge lift. In short, the game is an early season instant classic in that an inspired Rhode Island squad had the crowd sitting on pins and needles until the final buzzer.

Duke went with just eight players for the most part in that Coach K obviously felt comfortable with his veterans against a team filled with junior and seniors at the key positions. Duke had just two points on the fast break because the Rams game plan was to get back on defense and run when they could.

Duke made a living at the free throw stripe going 28 of 32, a sizzling 87.5%. The Blue Devils were out rebounded by 2 boards, but out scored the Rams in the paint 38 to 26. The Devils struggled from the three

Scheyer hits the second FT which puts Duke up for good at 82-79

point stripe going just 4 of 17 for 23%. On the other hand, the red hot visitors were 10 of 14 for 71.4%, a stat any coach would love.

Duke valued the ball down the stretch and ended the game with just 10 turnovers as Coach K's mentor, Bobby Knight looked on from the sidelines. Knight and his wife are visiting with Krzyzewski before he works the Kentucky at UNC game on Tuesday evening.

While some fans on the various message boards are complaining a bit, thinking it is Duke's birthright to win blowout after blowout, they are failing to see is how much a game like this can help a team grow. Duke took an inspired teams best shot, yet dug deep to win with a ton of adversity.

This game taught the team many lessons and Coach K will use this contest to his advantage in preparing his team for Southern Illinois, another tough team, in New York on Thursday. More importantly, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer stepped up and showed they are true leaders on this team.[/private]

Duke Basketball

#5 Duke crushes Georgia Southern 97-54

November 12, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]The Duke Men's Basketball team (2-0) trounced Georgia Southern (1-1) 97-54 to advance to the semifinals of the Coaches versus Cancer 2K Classic. The Blue Devils used a suffocating defense which held the Eagles to 28.1% shooting from the field. Duke held the visitors to just two field goals in nine plus minutes of the first half which enabled them to go on a tear.

Kyle Singler once again led the Dukies with 19 points and 8 rebounds in just 22 minutes. No Blue Devil played more minutes as Coach Krzyzewski went deep into his bench. Nolan Smith, Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson all scored in double digits.

Jon Scheyer led the team in assists with 7 and freshman Elliot Williams got an amazing 11 rebounds in as many minutes. In short, Duke bounced back with a much better effort than the previous evening, save their free throw shooting which was less than 50% - 24 of 49.

The Duke defense also turned 17 turnovers into 24 points. Like I said in yesterday's game recap, I expected this game to make many forget the opener which was ugly on the eyes.

Coach Krzyzewski used several combinations and Brian Zoubek started for the first time this season. Duke got contributions from several players, including David McClure who scored 4 points and grabbed 5 boards.

Duke will play the winner of the UMass - Southern Illinois game on November 20th with the time to be determined. Duke stretched its non conference winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium to 61 straight games. Coach K now has 805 career wins. Duke will take on Rhode Island in Cameron on Sunday at 4:30 pm. This will be the third straight game televised by ESPNU in the young season. Duke is now 2-0 all time versus the Eagles.

Official Box Score Link

BDN Player of the Game - Kyle Singler[/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Basketball Recruiting Update

November 11, 2008 Mark Watson

Blue Devil Nation Premium has the latest hoops recruiting update up for members. Give the gift of information this Christmas to a Blue Devil fan dear to you. [private] Not too much to report on John Wall until after he meets with Coach K in person which will take place at the earliest convenience. My sources are saying that Duke feels that they will become seriously

involved with Wall and an offer is a mere formality at this point. The Wall camp has been receptive to Duke getting in late and will not hold that against them.

So far, scheduling has been the culprit. Also, there is a dead period in recruiting at this time. Many feel Wall wants to stay near home, but there are a few things which need to play out before I'd be willing to guarantee that possibility. In short, Duke is very serious about getting John Wall to wear the royal blue. I will talk to Josh Smith sometime this week. He is still on the radar and Coach Nate James has been in touch with the prospect recently.

Harrison Barnes has become a serious priority and Duke will stay on the hot prospect as much as the NCAA allows. There is a good feeling that Duke is right there with Kansas as the leaders early on. Barnes has become a bit tight lipped of late and will not talk of his meeting with K other than the basics.

Duke has been and still is going after Brandon Knight, possibly the best player in his class. I have heard from his parents that he will likely take a different path than Kenny Boynton. You know what they say though, anything can happen in recruiting. Anything can change too. For instance, Duke has explained to Wall that once they offer a kid they are faithful to him. When Boynton selected Florida, Wall got the attenation and he will soon know if he doesn't already that Duke is committed to him and him alone for the final spot in the class of 2009.

Finally, Boynton was pushed to stay in state by almost everyone close to him. I can't go into specifics, but things got a little greasy if you will. In the long run, teams can point to Nick Calathes he would be a Gator midnight before his "We shocked the world," signing party. Sometimes, kids will waste a colleges recruiting budget for their own game.

I went into the archives for this July interview with John Wall -

Monday, July 21

Wall is still wide open

by Mark Watson on Mon 21 Jul 2008 11:56 PM EDT

Before I get into this interview, let me make this clear. Kenny Boynton is the man for Duke. If something goes south they might look at John Wall and he is still open to Duke coming in. He is a very talented true speedy PG who slashes about the court and makes his teammates better with his abilty to get them the ball. During this interview, I had two cameras on me for they were filming for a documentary on the process surrounding Wall. You never know what might happen in recruiting.

The last time I talked to you was in Durham during the TOC, has anything changed since then?

Not really. I am still wide open and trying to get schools to come in. The schools that are coming at me the hardest are Memphis and Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and NC State so far. Those are the ones coming the hardest but I think other schools are going to come around.

The last time I talked with your coach he said you were not near a point where you would shut down the process. Does that still hold true?

Yes, that's still true, but after Vegas I'm going to narrow my list down going into my senior year. You've got to get your five ... get your business set up.

So, is there anyone that would make the top five for sure ... right now ... anyone guaranteed a visit?

No, not yet. There's a couple of schools getting close to it.

You just scored thirty points in your last game, but your team came up short. Did you miss Ryan Kelly?

Yeah, Kelly's a big part. He gives us a presence in the paint and as you could see we lacked that. We weren't playing defense and getting back. We just didn't make our shots but we played hard.

Is the AAU season taking a toll on you?

Yeah, it gets kind of tough, but you go back home. In between you just ice your knees and relax. We'll go to Vegas (Reebok) next and then I can rest for a little while before preparing for my senior year.

(I then turned my attention to his coach Dwon Clifton who is always by his side) He said -

"I think he has an idea of what he wants. I want him to be comfortable with what he does. He has a lot of talent and I encourage him to get better and stronger. I mean, now that people knows who he is some of the flaws he could once get away with he will now have to develop. Now, everyone is going to start to push him and pull him and try to get him to go against his people and get him to feel like no one can tell him anything. This world can eat him up. I've seen it happen to too many players, myself included. (played at Clemson). I don't want that to be the case with him."

So, will your coach be a big part of the process?

He's like a bigger brother to me. I don't have one like that so he fills in. With DC ... we can go out and stuff and just have a good time. He's trying to develop me through this process because he went through it at Clemson. So, when I make my decision, I am going to ask him or talk to him about it.

Who are some of the toughest guys you've gone against on the circuit?

Tommy Mason here. He's really tough.

What does John Wall need to work on for his game to get better?

I've got to get stronger, work on my jump shot, defense, lateral movement ... there's a lot of stuff I can work on. You just can't stop when you get on top. I have some God given ability but I need to keep working because everybody else will.

What keeps you motivated?

Playing for my Dad. He died when I was ten years old. My Mom, my sister .. just want to get them to a better place.

How long have you known your Coach?

I knew him from the AAU circuit when I was about 14, but he really started coming in in the last two years talking to me. Now he's my AAU coach and gives me advice.

Of the ACC schools, you mentioned NC State. With you playing highs school ball down the road, do they push hard?

They come and visit every game they can. Duke came to a couple of my games this year. Carolina came to a couple.

You've been to some of there games too, right?

Yes, I have been to a couple of Duke games and a Carolina game.

How did you like the atmosphere at those schools?

It's a good atmosphere.. crazy, people are going crazy everywhere at Duke and UNC ... all those fans.

Did Duke contact you at one time or are they in touch?

Coach Dawkins and Coach K came to a couple of my games. They said they wanted to start recruiting me and stuff like that. I took their advice and came to the TOC and was able to play a game in Cameron.

Have they been in touch since that time?

Uhhh .. I haven't talked to them since Coach Dawkins got the job at Stanford.

UNC?

No, haven't heard from them.

Thanks for your time and I wish you luck in choosing the right school. [/private]

Duke Basketball

Duke vs Georgia Southern Preview and Predictions

November 11, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]The Blue Devils take on Georgia Southern at 9:00 in Cameron Indoor Stadium to see who advances to New York in the 2K Sports Classic semi finals. Duke looked a bit sluggish in last evenings 80-49 victory over Presbyterian and they face a Georgia Southern squad that defeated Houston 65-63.

One of the key players for the Eagles will be Sandy Perry (6-7), a junior front court player who scored 12

points to go with 4 rebounds. But the main man is Trumaine Pearson (6-8) who is an experienced senior. Pearson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 boards, anchoring the post for Georgia Southern.

Willie Powers (6-0 sophomore) runs the show with Antoine Johnson (6-0 Junior). Powers had 14 points and four rebounds in the opener, while Johnson struggled from the field, but led his team in assists. Julian Allen is a (6-4 Senior) swing-man which plays a key role as well.

Georgia Southern connected on 80% of their free throws and 37% from beyond the three point stripe in their opener. Georgia Southern is 0-1 against Duke, losing 87-75 in Cameron in 19-86.

What to expect - Duke should play a bit better in tonight's contest, but the Eagles have enough talent to contend throughout the game. This is clearly the best team the Devils have played to date. Duke will need to hit the boards and keep Pearson from going off inside.

My pick is Duke 92 Georgia Southern 64

Bob Green's Pick - Duke 84 Georgia Southern 56[/private]