Tag Archives: Jon Scheyer

Duke Basketball

ACC Tournament Preview

March Madness has arrived and first up is the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro. I'll display my bias as a native North Carolinian up front by commenting the ACC Tournament always seems to be were it belongs when being hosted by a city in the Old North State. Not to slight Georgia, but “Atlanta” and “ACC Tournament” are not words which naturally flow together in a sentence describing this venerable event. The same can be said for St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C.

The tournament is about the haves and the have nots. The haves this year are: Duke (1), Maryland (2), Florida State (3), and Virginia Tech (4). The four teams who receive a 1st Round bye on Thursday have the best odds to win it all as they only have to win three straight games. Since the tournament expanded to include 11 teams in 2005 and then 12 teams in 2006, the #1 seed has won three times and the #3 seed has won twice. All five years the tournament was won by either Duke or North Carolina.

The have nots are: Miami (12), NC State (11), North Carolina (10), and Virginia (9). On the surface, these four teams have not a prayer of winning four straight games and earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to represent the ACC as conference champions. However, this is the ACCT and strange events have transpired in the past.

For instance, back in 1983, number four seed NC State defeated number five seed Wake Forest, 71-70; then beat number one seed North Carolina, with Michael Jordan, 91-84, followed by an 81-78 defeat of number two seed Virginia with Ralph Sampson. The ACC Tournament run fueled the “Cardiac Pack” to their run to the National Championship.

In 1976, sixth seed Virginia defeated number three seed NC State, 75-63; then beat number two seed Maryland, 73-65, followed by a 67-62 defeat of number one seed North Carolina. This tournament was in the years between the departure of South Carolina and the addition of Georgia Tech so there were only seven teams participating in the tournament.

In between the haves and have nots is the muddy middle, including: Wake Forest (5), Clemson (6), Georgia Tech (7), and Boston College (8). These teams have a better chance to achieve success than the have nots, due to their somewhat superior track record during the regular season, however, winning four consecutive games is a tall order especially considering the inconsistency associated with these muddy middle ball clubs.

Taking a look at the haves:

Duke (26-5, 13-3): the Blue Devils are playing some very good basketball headed into the post season having won nine of their last 10 games including going a perfect 8-0 in the month of February. Duke is paced by first team All-ACC performers Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, and second team All-ACC performer Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils fourth starter is Lance Thomas a member of the All-Defensive Team. Brian Zoubek completes the starting line-up. Zoubek has been a dominant inside player since being inserted into the starting line-up the past seven games averaging 11.3 rebounds and 7.3 points per game.

With three seniors and two juniors in the starting line-up, Duke is the most experienced team in the tournament. With four of the five named to one of the All-ACC teams, the Blue Devils have proven to be as skilled as they are experienced. Duke was 3-1 in games against the other bye teams.

Duke will face the winner of the Boston College (8)/Virginia (9) game. The Blue Devils were a combined 3-0 against these two teams during the regular season.

Maryland (24-7, 13-3): the Terrapins earned a share of the ACC regular season title with an exciting 79-72 victory over Duke on March 3rd. Greivis Vasquez is the heart and soul of this team. The ACC Player of the Year plays the game with a solid combination of fiery leadership and icy skill. Maryland will go as far as Mr. Fire and Ice Vasquez takes them and all the way to the championship is a distinct possibility for the Terrapins. ACC Coach of the Year Gary Williams has Maryland running like a fine oiled machine as the Terrapins have won seven games in a row since losing to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 13th.

Seniors Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne are solid players who bring experience and skill onto the court. Hayes, an outstanding shooter, averages 11 points per game, while shooting .456 on 3-point field goals. Hayes also has an A/TO ratio of 2.4, which is second in the ACC behind Scheyer. Milbourne averages 12.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Sean Mosley averages 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. ACC All-Rookie Team performer Jordan Williams rounds out the starting five by averaging 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Williams provides the Terrapins with a strong inside presence. Maryland was 4-1 in games against the other bye teams.

Maryland will face the winner of the Georgia Tech (7)/North Carolina (10) game. The Terrapins were a combined 2-0 against these two teams during the regular season.

Florida State (22-8, 10-6): Defense is the Seminoles calling card. They lead the ACC in scoring defense giving up only 60.2 points per game. Sophomores Solomon Alabi and Chris Singleton were named Third Team All-ACC performers and to the ACC All-Defensive Team. Michael Snaer was named to the ACC All-Rookie Team.

The Seminoles have won seven of their last ten games including four conference wins on the road at Boston College, Virginia, North Carolina, and Miami. Florida State was 1-3 against the other bye teams. They defeated Virginia Tech and lost to Duke once and Maryland twice.

Florida State will face the winner of the Clemson (6)/NC State (11) game. The Seminoles were a combined 0-3 against these two teams during the regular season. It could be a short tournament for Florida State.

Virginia Tech (23-7, 10-6): the Hokies definitely benefited from an easy conference schedule as they played each of the other bye teams only once each and lost all three games. Virginia Tech’s 10 conference wins include two wins over number 11 seed NC State, two wins over number nine seed Virginia, one win over number 12 seed Miami, and one win over number 10 seed North Carolina.

The Hokies have the league’s leading scorer in unanimous First Team All-ACC performer Malcolm Delaney. Dorenzo Hudson was named Third Team All-ACC.

Virginia Tech will face the winner of the Wake Forest (5)/Miami (12) game. The Hokies were a combined 2-1 against these two teams during the regular season.

Moving on to the muddy middle:

Wake Forest (5) and Clemson (6) are both teams with the potential to make some noise in the tournament. If they can win on Thursday, against Miami (12) and NC State (11) respectively, they will face teams in the Quarterfinals on Friday with which they match-up nicely.

Wake Forest versus Virginia Tech is an intriguing game. The Hokies defeated the Demon Deacons in Blacksburg, 87-83. The loss to Virginia Tech started a four game slide for Wake Forest. With the slide ended via a 70-65 win over Clemson, it isn’t hard to envision the Demon Deacons advancing to the Semi-Finals.

Clemson versus Florida State is a game where the lower seeded Tigers will be favored to win. Clemson defeated Florida State twice in the regular season. Beating a team three times in one season is often difficult to achieve but it is much better going into the so called “rubber match” as the 2-0 team rather than being the 0-2 team.

Georgia Tech (7) is desperately in need of a couple of wins to secure an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. If they lose to North Carolina (10) on Thursday, the only dancing the Yellow Jackets will be doing is in the NIT. With the Tar Heels reeling from their total beat-down at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils, the relevant question is whether or not North Carolina shows up ready to play. If the Tar Heels show up, it would not be surprising to see them knock off the Yellow Jackets and send Paul Hewitt job hunting.

Boston College (8) should handle Virginia (9) who is without leading scorer Sylvan Landesberg who was kicked off the team due to failing to meet academic responsibilities. However, the Cavaliers gave Maryland a battle in the last game of their regular season so nothing is guaranteed for the Eagles.

Discussing the muddy middle covered the have nots as well so let’s move on and discuss tournament expectations. First off, I expect there will be some upsets. The higher seeded teams will not win every game; however, a Duke (1) versus Maryland (2) Championship Game is a strong likelihood. In fact, I will go on record and state I expect Duke versus Maryland in the Championship Game.

Which higher seeded teams will lose? I expect Georgia Tech will lose to North Carolina; Florida State will lose to Clemson, and Virginia Tech will lose to Wake Forest.

Which team is going to win it all? Well, let’s not get carried away…I’ll make that prediction when the Semi-Finals are in the books.

Enough talk, let’s tip the ball and get on with the games….

Duke Basketball

Duke Senior Day Speeches- Davidson, Scheyer, Thomas and Zoubek

LAnce Thomas addresses the crazies one last time - Lance King Images

Durham, N.C. - Four Duke Seniors said their goodbyes to Cameron Indoor Stadium after a 83-50 whipping of North Carolina on Saturday.  Here are the farewell speeches from Jordan Davidson, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek and Jon Scheyer.  As you will hear, the Crazies get loud a few times but you get an idea of the atmosphere.  It plays best with ear buds and keep in mind that the crowd drown them out a couple of times.  More to come before we close out the UNC vistory.

Just press play -

Duke Basketball

Jon Scheyer talks of his final game and defeating UNC

Scheyer and Erin Andrews
Erin Andrews interviews Jon Scheyer after his final game at Duke - copyright BDN Photo

Durham, N.C. - We'll have a lot more to say about Jon Scheyer in the next day or so but until then, here are his post game comments courtesy of BDN audio.

Scheyer scored 20 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had a game high 7 assists as Duke toyed with North Carolina in a 82-50 victory.

Just press play -

Duke Basketball

It’s Game Day! Duke vs Carolina from Cameron (pictures)

Zoubs plays his last game in CIS this evening - BDN Photo
Students are ready for tonight's big game - BDN Photo

When ESPN's Game Day crew comes to town, it is a big event for the host school and this weekend the nation's focus is on Cameron Indoor Stadium where Duke takes on Carolina this evening in a game which will decide the ACC Champion and send off some beloved seniors in Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek,

A solid turnout of students and fans attended ESPN's Game Day morning session which was of course televised live and nationally.  Jay Bilas drew some cheers as did Bobby Knight while Digger Phelps got a little love simply because he picked Duke as a number one seed recently.

Then there was Hubert Davis, a former Tar Heel who likes to take some light shots at Duke from time to time.  Needless to say, he was greeted with a lot of boos.  Duke radio host Bob Harris also participated in the event as did several other local types.

Lance Thomas on Senior Day
The King of Jersey Lance Thomas - BDNP

Fans cheered on cue and were indeed loud as they held up car board cut outs of the player's heads and other signs which pretty much said "Go to Hell Carolina."  The students were treated to Game Day sweatshirts after the event and a walk around campus shows tents in every crook and cranny.  Everywhere you look there was Duke Blue as music filled the air on a bright and sunny day.

The ESPN Game Day crew moves outside of Cameron for the rest of the day and festivities pretty much continue as I type.  BDN will be on the scene to bring you all of the action and we will update from twitter throughout the evening.  So, stay tuned and tell your friends about Blue Devil Nation.

Win one free year of Blue Devil Nation Premium access by predicting the Duke-UNC final score on out Twitter page.  If you are the closest to the score, your name will be in lights and you will be on the inside with recruiting and more on BDN Premium, a subscription service for extended Duke coverage.

Game Day Crew
Game Day Crew
Nolan's Rolling
Nolan's Rollin - classic - BDNP
Duke Cheerleaders
Duke Cheerleaders
Duke Basketball

Monday Musings – Thoughts on the week ahead for Duke Basketball

Cheerleader of the WeekDurham, N.C. -   With it being the first day of March and the first day of the week,  it's time for another addition of Monday Musings.

Duke caught a break last evening when Virginia star Sylvan Landesberg sat out the game  due to a deep thigh bruise. But hey, let's be real here, Landesberg would have made the Cav's more competitive but there was no way Duke was going to blow this game and that was evident early in the game when Kyle Singler dived four rows into the stands for a loose ball.  The lop sided score afforded the Blue Devils an opportunity to steal a lot of minutes for the Plumlee's, Dawkins and Kelly and that means experience and saving the starters legs  for the week that lies ahead.

And what of the week that lies ahead?  Well, let's start with the fact that Duke takes on both it's ACC assigned rivals in Maryland and North Carolina.  That means that Duke and Krzyzewski will be in the limelight in a big way and what more could a Duke fan ask for than to carry a 12-2 ACC mark and a 25-4 overall record into the most exciting week of the regular season?

Okay, who would have thought that the Maryland game would be bigger than the North Carolina game before the season started?  It's really simple in that if Maryland wins, they are tied with Duke for first.  If Duke wins, they clinch the ACC regular season title.  So, while the Maryland game is bigger, should Duke lose, the UNC game still looms large as ever in that a Duke win combined with a Terp loss would still give the Blue Devils regular season bragging rights going into the ACC Tournament.  So beating Maryland would clear up a lot of the drama for the Dukies.

So, it's Greivis Vasquez vs Jon Scheyer for the ACC Player of the Year Award.  Well, it is hard to argue that Wednesday's showdown will play a role in voters minds.  Scheyer appeared to be the front runner early on, but Vasquez has closed the gap and perhaps moved ahead with his 41 point effort vs Virginia Tech.  Expect a media barrage playing up the match up as the week progresses.

It's still Carolina!  All of a sudden UNC looks as if they are finally adjusting to one another in an effort to make a late season tournament run.  Of course, they can still make the NCAA's by winning  the ACC Tournament which is just ten days away.  One thing is certain, that being Duke cannot and will not look ahead to the game.

ESPN Game Day will of course be on campus for the finale and Duke needs to take advantage of the opportunity to show the world Duke Basketball is alive and well.  After losing Harrison Barnes in a heated race, there seemed to be a concession among some fans.  UNC after all had last years top recruiting class and scored again for the year ahead, but looks can be deceiving and to count any Coach K team out is to show ignorance.

Did I mention Kyrie Irving yet?  His team finds out today if they are eligible for the play offs and if they are not his seson is done save the McDonald's All American Game.  Irving once gain out on a show yesterday and anyone who was able to see his interview on NESN realizes just how special this kid is.  Recruiting news is about to pick up for BDN Premium members as the AAU season is fast approaching.

Despite Duke's success this season, some fans seem jaded.  It's time to wake up and realize Duke is where every other ACC team would like to be, fighting for titles.  Amazingly, this carries over to the local media as well where all they seem to talk about is Duke's short comings will catch up to them.  Of course, turning local talk radio off is a start unless you want to be ram fed the Gospel by folks that are area transplants.  It's like me moving to New York and passing myself off as a Yankee's expert just because I have followed them from afar.  Yep, some of the talk show hosts have no clue or understanding of the history of the ACC or the inner workings.   If you need a fix just tune in to hear Adam Gold claim Purdue, a team which Duke pummeled in their own gym the year before is in another league than Duke.  "Have you seen them play?," roars Adam unwillingly jinxing the loss of a key Boilermaker starter;) No, Duke cannot beat anyone away from the ACC.  The ACC is down and Duke is just not that good.  Well guys, they keep winning, don't they?  And it's not like the nation is full of great teams.  But if Gold says it, you can count on it being forgotten in 24 hours of late.  But there is always two days discussion on whether or not N.C. State should use a real wolf as their mascot.  Now, that's entertainment!   You see, that is the problem.  It's like all the hostsare losing their foresight and simply base their opinions on what just happened.  Wake was coined the ACC's second best team one week ago  and the next they are so in the middle of the pack, well, never mind, it's time to move on to the next spill.  The one exception to the rule is David Glenn of ACC Sports Journal.  He is less shock journalism and more down to earth than his counterparts.

Yeah, that was a mini rant and nothing personal towards Adam, just wishing he would get a new shtick.  Besides, I listen to like 5 minutes a day of talk radio and may have missed the good stuff.  Okay, okay ...  That brings me to Senior Day.  Before Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek and Jon Scheyer can enjoy theirs, they must try to fend off the emotion it brings when they travel to Maryland for that is Vasquez's farewell.  Another reason this Wednesday's game will be as intense an atmosphere as there is.

Saying farewell in Cameron to Scheyer, Thomas and Zoubs will indeed be emotional and to close against your arch rival North Carolina just adds to it.  There is no doubt that the play of the seniors has keyed Duke's eight game winning streak and these guys are proving to be special.  It'll be especially hard to see Scheyer go for he has had an incredibly consistent career and has done everything Coach K asked of him in that time.  I mean, the guy learned the point guard position and he is pretty good at it, huh?

Had Duke been losing like UNC this season, would you be hearing more about it?  Just food for thought.  With UNC having a down year this does indeed effect the ACC Tournament even in Greensboro, clearly the best venue you can ask for.  The second UNC loses, tickets will be available outside the arena in droves.  If Duke and UNC should lose early on, the attendance will rival that of the ACC Football Championship, but that's a gripe for another day.

Finally in the prediction department ... look for Kyle Singler to play his way onto first team All ACC in the coming week.  After being pre season player of the year, Singler has seen some of his numbers drop while learning a new position.  But he has played well of late and a couple of wins and decent performances should land him in a spot where there is a bit of a log jam for the final spots.

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Duke Basketball

Duke defeats Virginia 67-49 to set up showdown with Maryland

Duke came away with a 67-49 win over the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday night and in the process set up the biggest match up in the ACC this season.  With the win the Blue Devils go to 25-4 overall and 12-2 in the ACC and now turn their attention to second place Maryland in a game that could decide the regular season champion.

On a night when Sylvan Landesburg sat with a deep thigh bruise, the Cavaliers were no match for the seasoned Blue Devils.  Once again, defense led the way for the Blue Devils.  Duke held Virginia to just 31% from the field for the game and the Cav's 49  points marked the 4th time this season Duke has held an opponent under 50 points.

Kyle Singler scored 12 points during a 20-4 Duke run to start the game and the Blue Devils never looked back.  Singler ended the game as Duke's high scorer with 21 points.  Senior Jon Scheyer picked up where Singler left off in the first half ending the game with 20 points and 5 steals.

Mason Plumlee added six points, while Andre Dawkins and Nolan Smith had 5 points apiece.  Lance Thomas tallied 4 points, Miles Plumlee 3, Steve Johnson 2 and Jordan Davidson 1 to round out the scoring for Duke.  The game marked only the second time this season Smith was held to under 10 points.

Duke Coach Mike Kryzewski moved past Dean Smith of North Carolina for the most ACC road victories this season.  And the Blue Devils pushed their season road mark to 5-2 after many questioned whether they could play away from home just a month ago.  The victory also meant that Krzyzewski know has three consecutive 25 plus win seasons.

Duke will next face their toughest road test of the season when they visit Maryland in College Park.

Notes - During the post game, Kryzewski said he was pleased with his teams performance and that they just want to return to Durham safely and get some rest for the big week ahead.  Duke has now won eight straight games.  Duke's largest lead in the game was 27 points.

Duke-Virginia Box Score

More to come ...