Tag Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball

Gerald Henderson talks of his improvement, Zoubek and more

[private]Statistically, you've really picked it up of late.  What do you attribute that to?  Are you getting in a comfort zone or something like that?

I guess you could say that, but I'm just realizing that I need to play like a really good player every game - not just every now and then.  Part of becoming the player I want to become is being that person on a consistent basis.

My teammates are finding me and I'm being more aggressive on the offensve end.  Being more hungry to score with the ball and also getting points off of my defense, getting out and running the floor has helped.

After the Michigan loss, I felt like I had't contributed like I need to do.  Even though we lost, we were in the game for most of it and that kind of pushed me to contribute more.

Now that the team is getting into ACC play, do you feel fresher as a team than say last year?

Definitely my body feels good.  The guys fell good.  We've have some hard practices, but we've rested ourselves well and are prepared for whats coming.

Is there more intensity going into ACC play during practices?

Coach is always intense.  We are always intense, but there is an added level of intensity as we go into the season - a little bit more urgency.  Every ACC team - you're going to get their best fight every game - we get that from anybody.  You can't get knocked back.  Really at the beginning of the game we try to set the tone early.

Can you comment on the play of center Brian Zoubek -

He's a heck of a player.  He's really developed his game and is becoming one of the better post players in the country.  There are some simple things he does which make him a better player.  Since Brian has come here, we've always had confidence in him.  I think a big thing is that his injuries have definitely set him back.  He played well as a freshman, but injuries were a set back.  Brian is going to do fine.  We have confidence in him and he is confident himself now.  He's going to be a huge part of what we do this year.

Are you guys at the place you want to be so far this season?

Absolutely.  We feel like we are in a good spot.  We feel like we are in a good spot, but we can definitely continue to get better.[/private]

Duke Basketball

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]

Duke Basketball

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]

Duke Basketball

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]

Duke Basketball

Duke runs past UNC-Asheville 99-56

[private]Duke rode double figure scoring from six different players and a season high 22

Kyle Singler had another productive night for the Blue Devils
Kyle Singler had another productive night for the Blue Devils

assists in route to a 99-56 drubbing of UNC-Asheville.  The win was the 65th straight versus non conference foes in Cameron.

The win pushed Duke to 9-1 for the season and allowed them to get a taste of victory after an eleven day lay off, coming off a road loss to Michigan.   Duke started slowly, but as the exam break blues wore off the Devils got better.

Duke started the game with their starters on the bench, partly being a message to said starters, but just as likely to extend the experience of their depth.

Kyle Singler led the way with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block as eleven players played  significant minutes.  Henderson tied him for the scoring lead with 14 and Jon Scheyer after a slow start, tallied 13 points.

The other three players scoring in double figures were Greg Paulus, Brian Zoubek and Nolan Smith with 12 points apiece.

Paulus showed significant improvement in his overall floor game and his numbers were almost exactly the same as Smith, save one block he made in the second half.  Paulus also scored all of his points with four.

Duke was also solid from the three point hitting 11 of 27 for 40.5% another season high.  They also connected on the majority of their free throw opportunities going 16 of 19 for 84.2%.

The 99 points Duke put up was also a season high.  Of those 99, 50 points were in the paint and 36 came off turnovers.  Krzyzewski stated that he thought his team not only improved as the game went on but in general.  Duke will next travel to New Jersey where they will take on seventh ranked Xavier on Saturday.

Official Box Score Link[/private]

Duke Basketball

Q & A with Duke PG Nolan Smith

[private]The Blue Devil Nation brings you an afternoon question and answer session with Duke point guard Nolan Smith -

Hey Nolan, how are you!  So, you're ready to get back on the court?

Yeah, yeah.  Since the loss at Michigan we've been practicing hard and competing.  Now it's time to get back out there and take care of the opponent.

I see you guys were practicing in Cameron instead of the practice facility today.  Was that to get acclimated to the environment again?

Yes, it's better to practice where you are going to play to get acclimated to the rims again.

You've had a long time to think about the Michigan loss ...

As a mature team we are ready to bounce back and play the way we did against Purdue.  Having the days off

Smith addresses the media
Smith addresses the media

we got back to the fundamentals.  It's going to help a lot - we've worked hard.  We had some regular team practices for an hour and a half or two hours.  We've had some individual workouts.  The last two days have been team practices after we've been done with exams.

Can you talk of the progress you've made after being a backup last season and now starting?

It took a long summer with effort and hard work.  I'm proud of myself, I've really stuck to my game and hopefully we can make a run towards the national championship.  My team is proud of me and I plan on getting better as the year goes along.  This summer I went to Philadelphia and worked out with Michael Beasley and De Andre Jordan.  We spent days lifting and playing in the morning sna evenings.  I left my family for the summer to be with them, but that's the kind of sacrifice you have to make sometimes.  I'm very confident.  I'm confident with the ball, my defense and everything I do.

Do you get along with Greg Paulus or is it a rivalry between you two?

I get along great with Greg.  We push each other in practice.  This last week has really been a battle for both of us.  We both want to get better going into this ACC and last couple of non conference games.  We are pushing each other to get better and Greg has been playing great in practice.  I think you will see a lot of him come the UNC-Asheville game.

Has the team gotten together after the Michigan loss and said, okay we've got to get it together or get past this?

Yes, we had about a two hour meeting as a team to take a look at ourselves and talk about certain things from that game and standards we have to live up to.  We can;'t take days off - we've learned a lot even without playing this past week.

Looking back on the game, what was it that went wrong?

Our number one standard, defense and rebounding.  They did whatever they wanted - they drove us, they wanted it more that day.

Are the exam periods mentally draining?

A little bit.  We have like two exams right after practice and then you might stay up until three in the morning.  That's something all of us have to do as a student athlete.  You can't play if you don't get the good grades, so ...

Do you have a PG you model yourself after?

Chris Paul.  He's incredible the way he goes through traffic.  He has the confidence that he can blow by anybody anytime.

You had mentioned Micheal Beasley earlier.  Do you stay in touch with him?

Yeah, we talk all the time.  He's in Miami.  He's actually going to be at the New Jersey game, he plays after us that night so I will probably get to see him and he'll get to see me play for the first time.  It's probably going to be exciting.  He's my little brother, but now he's like my big brother since he's at the higher level.  So I'm the little brother now.  He stays in my ear.

How far do you feel like you want to be as a college player?

I feel like I'm very far away.  I made a big jump from last year, but I know there is a lot of things I can do better - a lot of plays I can make that I'm not making right now.  As the year goes along I watching film. Going into my junior season and my senior season I expect to be a better player.

Coming to BDN Premium, interviews with Scheyer, Singler and Henderson.
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