Tag Archives: Duke vs Bellarmine

Duke Basketball

Watzone’s Duke Basketball Notebook – Duke-UNC Alumni Game & Tantilizing Nuggets

Let's get it started in here! Cameron Indoor Stadium is the place to be Saturday as the Duke Basketball team opens the season against defending Division II National Champion Bellarmine.

Duke-UNC Alumni Game in the works

I have no details other than it is scheduled to take place on November 17th.  With the NBA lockout, this could be a loaded and fun even and we'll have more details in the near future, so stay tuned.

Who is Bellarmine?

Duke takes on Bellarmine in it's exhibition opener this Saturday at 7:00 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  For those of you unfamiliar with the school located in Kentucky, they are the defending Division II National Champions.  In fact, they are the pre season favorite to repeat and are ranked number one by Sporting News.  They have two first team Division II All Americans in Jeremy Kendle and Jermey Hobbs and a couple of new players have been added to an already talented cast.  Coach K is going to schedule the best teams possible to prepare his team.

Have you noticed yet?

Duke opens the season with a very talented Belmont team who won 30 games a season ago and they return everybody who counts.  This will be a tough test for the younger Blue Devils in that they are a well disciplined team.  The game is schedule to tip off at 9:05 EST on Friday November 11th.  But have you noticed that Duke has another game on Saturday versus Presbyterian at 4:30?  That's one heck of a quick turnaround!  Both games will be televised by ESPNU and every Duke game this season is televised on some network as always.

Rotation

I had a lot of questions on my Monday Musing article where I said the two Plumlee brothers, Kelly, Curry and Rivers would start.  What I meant to say were these are the five best players on this seasons team.  Andre Dawkins is right there and he may be in the lineup this week.  The key will be seeing which freshman can step up and provide depth for Duke will play a lot of them this season.

Speaking of freshman

Will there ever be a freshman that breaks Chis Duhons' record of 2.85-1 assist-turnover ratio? How about 51 dunks in their first season, a record held by Josh McRoberts?  Heck, how about Mike Gminki's 3.3 per blocks game when he was still 17 years old to start off his first year?  Johnny Dawkins is atop the list averaging 18.1 ppg as a frosh.  Bobby Hurley had 9, 10 assists games in his first year as well.  Now, we'll see where Austin Rivers makes his impact.

Michael or mom ... what's up?

There have been few players as troubled as Michael Beasley.  Now he is suing Curtis Malone, a man that reached out to him, took him off the streets if you will and allowed him to live in his home for five years.  Five years.  So, we are to think that Curtis Malone would allow him to stay in his home and mentor him for five years just to get hooks in place?  Please.  What a farce but it will be a newspapers dream to drag this one all over the place.  There is a long piece in the Washington Post and then there is this From Yahoo Sports.

Tony Parker

The big man from Georgia will be on the Duke campus with his family this weekend.  Duke and Coach K have stayed the course with Tony and it could well pay off.  Parker is a key prospect for the Blue Devils and one they stayed true to turning other big name prospect away to court him.  Maybe, their faith will pay off with an eventual verbal.

Mitch McGary

In case you have been out of the country and missed it, Mitch McGary will choose between Duke, Florida and Michgan next week.

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

BDN Monday Musings – Tony Parker visit, Duke opens with Bellarmine, rotations and more

Monday Musing's Duke Cheerleader of the Week

It's been some kind of busy around here of late and we'd have it no other way.  Of course, there will come a time when dual basketball and football coverage will take a toll  in that at BDN we try and cover it all.  This week is yet another exciting one for Duke fans and we discuss that further in this weeks Monday Musings -

This time they play somebody else

Trust me when I say that the Duke Men's Basketball team is ready to take on somebody besides themselves and on Saturday it all begins. The Blue Devils will tip it off against Bellarmine at 7 p.m. this Saturday and all eyes will be on how Coach Mike Krzzyzewski uses his rotation.  Our guess is that the brothers Plumlee will start alongside Ryan Kelly with Austin Rivers and Seth Curry in the backcourt.  But we also think you will see as many as four more players crack the starting rotation at some point this season.  Duke has to take full advantage and advance in the two exhibition game in that their opener against Belmont is no walk in the park.  Belmont returns everybody off a 30 plus win NCAA Tournament team, so this is in no way a gimme game even in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Anyhow, expect varying analogies after the game on Saturday but if you've been following BDN, you already know what to expect.

Who will step up?

Duke is looking for players to step up and the question is who is really in the mix?  Alex Murphy has drawn the praise of Coach in practices with his on court smarts, but will he stand up physically against the likes of UCLA , Memphis or Kansas in Maui?  Michael Gbinije can do a lot of things well on both side of the ball but can he take a leap forward and be aggressive? Andre Dawkins is surely in the lineup, probably the sixth man, but can he be consistent when not jacking the threes?  Quinn Cook?  He looked great in the Blue-White game, but some say he has struggle in practice at times.  Can Cook find a way to claim the keys to the ship at some point in the season?  Tyler Thornton is not as exciting an offensive player but he is a solid on ball defender and hard worker, so will this be enough to gain him valuable minutes?  Josh Hairston is openly called the fourth big by coaches but will he too take advantage of his time on the court and take another leap forward?  Duke needs no less that two or three of these guys to contribute so it'll be interesting thing to watch and see who takes the bull by the horns and makes themselves a contributor.

Tony Parker is in town

Duke has been recruiting Tony Parker for a long time now and Coach K has made it clear to him that he is their choice.  His recruitment has taken a lot of turns with comments and such, but it now appears that Parker is realizing the opportunity that is at hand and that he is in rare air being coveted by the nations top coaching staff.  Coach K loves Parkers hands and sees him as a perfect fit in the Blue Devils system.  Coach Capel would help Wojo work with him to make him a great big before he leaves Duke.  There is no reason to feel anything but positive about the Blue Devils chances with big Tony who wants to make a choice before his high school season starts.  And for those with a scorecard the open signing period is from November the 9th to the 16th.  Rasheed Sulaimon will send his LOI in, the question is who else will?

All quiet on McGary front

Nobody really knows where Mitch McGary stands at this time but Duke fans are hoping he waits to cast his lot until he plays in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the N.C. Pro Am Clash in Cameron.  That's right!  My friends at the NC Pro Am are now a sponsor and I look forward to working with them to promote the event that features Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor.  And yes, we really will get to the update on the event soon.  I did say things had bee crazy around here, didn't I?

Some of our cheeleaders pics can be found on the Blue Devil Nation Open Group Facebook page- BDN Photo by Rick Crank

Valiant second half effort by football team

Almost.  I know we all want wins but Duke has at least put itself in a position where a couple of plays could have meant a 5-2 mark instead of 3-4.  Fans need to think back when they had that opportunity before and support the program.  The guys need the support and you know what?  Almost all of them return and they will learn by the adversity faced as will the staff.  We in no way have jumped off the bandwagon and neither should you.  Duke takes on Virginia Tech this weekend in Wallace Wade and it is a great time for fans to take in the Saturday double header with basketball.

Facebook Page

Blue Devil Nation has an open group Facebook page that we are just starting to refine.  We have put a ton of pictures up from Countdown to Craziness, so join us today.  The open group means you can download Duke Photo's, converse and even place links.  So help us out Blue Devil fans and le't see your pride. Here is the link to Facebook page.

Glitches

After a few glitches last week, BDN is getting back to normal with our coverage.  We appreciate the support of fans who follow us and we strive to give you the most Duke-centric experience out there.  The best way to say thanks for our efforts is to join BDN Premium, our extended coverage that takes you inside the happenings.  Let's go Duke!