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Duke Basketball

Monday Musings – Taking a look ahead at the Duke schedule, Plumlee, Rivers and Okafor

Cheerleader of the Week

Good Monday morning to you Blue Devil Nation!  It's time for another Monday Musings column from BDN where we take a peek at the coming schedule, talk of Plumlee, Rivers and Okafor and of course have this weeks Cheerleader of the Week -

So, Duke made it to the title game and lost, sort of ...

I like to look at the Blue Devils 7-1 record to date like an NCAA test run.  Duke won a nail biter against a tough and veteran Belmont team in a game that simulates NCAA Tournament play to start the season.  They then took out Michigan State in New York and returned home to defeat a solid Davidson team.  In Hawaii, they rolled through Tennessee, Michigan and Kansas.  Duke then got handled easily at Ohio State, but to make too much of a big deal out of that game would be a mistake.  Duke has 6 solid NCAA Tournament resume building wins.  From a teaching standpoint, the loss at Ohio State gave the staff a chance to rethink some things and you can bet that Krzyzewski will tinker with his rotation.  For whatever reason, a lot of the Duke players just didn't show up for that game be it fatigue or just not being prepared to play in a hostile environment.   There are no excuses for the loss, no matter the perceived culprit but one can't help but note that the Buckeyes, unlike the Blue Devils had yet to play a game outside of Columbus.  What I am saying is despite this loss, the season has been a good one to date for a young team still learning itself.

Enter the next stretch, the Holiday games

It all starts with a 5-3 Colorado State team coming in this Wednesday and it ends with Penn on New Years Eve.  Coach Krzyzewski likes to break down his schedule into mini seasons or tournaments.  I'm sure his take on which games are included could vary greatly from mine, but the Holiday games generally come against the lightest competition on the remainder of the schedule.   Duke does take on a good Washington team in New York, but Cameron is home with UNC-G, Western Michigan and Penn.  While the team must muster up emotion with most of the students and band gone, there should be little trouble in handling all of the home games.  Yes, I know you take them one at a time, but even Washington, the best of the bunch in this stretch is no match for the Blue Devil in New York, a home away from home for Duke.  And then comes ....

Temple, the next tough road test

We'll see what the Blue Devils learned in the Ohio State loss, for the Owls will be lying in wait with their best effort.  See, that's another thing to keep in mind, is that Duke gets every teams best shot for the four letters on the jersey make players, coaches and teams give their best effort.  Anyhow, we'll stop looking ahead now, but Duke should be 12-1 going into Philadelphia.

Mason Plumlee

The junior center is coming into his own this season, having established himself as not only one of the ACC's top big men, but the nation as well.  Plumlee has been consistent and was one player who certainly showed he belonged on the court at Ohio State.  He showed well against Jared Sullinger on a night when his teammates seemed lost.  Plumlee will need to bring that effort every night for the Blue Devils to make a run come March.

Austin Rivers

Young Rivers is just starting to get the college game and he is showing flashes of really breaking out.  The game seems to be slowing down for him now and that is a good sign for he's had to make a big adjustment at the college level where all the players on the court are good.  His decision making is getting better and his assists should go up when he realize defenses will key on him or collapse on drives.  Rivers got questions about him being overrated in some media columns.  I snicker when I think that and those who wrote that will soon be eating crow.  Austin Rivers is just too good to not have the light go off at this level.

Redshirt chatter

Arm chair coaches amaze me when they get upset that Duke might redshirt certain players.  Nevermind a coach that has the most wins in all of history, for some will always know what is better and throw out their lack of trust in message board forums.  It's one of the reasons I rarely read message boards anymore, for the discussions are so often ridiculous in nature.  I for one trust in Coach K and his staffs judgement.  For those waiting for redshirts to be officially announced, I hope you packed your lunch for it will not happen.  However, expect Marshall Plumlee to be one provided there aren't a rash of injuries forcing him into action.  Now, Alex Murphy seems to be in the same boat and while he'd be more likely to play than Plum 3, the plan is to sit him the rst of the year, unless again, there are injuries.  Second guessing the decision of the staff is fair game for sure but silly in nature for this has been something they have sat down and given meticulous thought to before coming to the decision.

Jahlil Okafor visit

Okafor is in the class of 2014, but his size of 6-8 and 260 makes him a hot commodity.  Okafor visited the Duke campus this past weekend for an unofficial visit.  He is one of the top ranked players in his class and is highly regarded, holding offers from Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State, Illinois, Georgetown and Ohio State.  The Blue Devils are in early on Okafor who hails from Chicago, Coach K's stomping grounds where he plays for Whitney Young High School.  He is in every rating services top five.

 

 

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Basketball Team and Recruiting Update

Matt Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon go at it in Cameron before Countdown to Craziness - BDN Photo

It's time for another Duke Basketball Team and Recruiting update and with that said, onto the latest happenings around the program.  Many of you have asked what's the deal with [private] Alex Murphy.  Well, Duke plans to redshirt him along with Marshall Plumlee but both could  play if there were significant injuries.  This will push Josh Hairston into a larger role and it definitely shortens the bench but the Blue Devils feel Michael Gbinije is starting to come along and they can afford to do this.  The Blue Devils do not want to wast a year on Plumlee and Murphy and this of course gives them a three man class with the aforementioned joining Rasheed Sulaimon.  The staff loves that Murphy and Plumlee are getting accustomed to the Duke system and both have made strides in practice.  The decision on Murphy had little to do with the concussion and more to do with how much burn the guys would actually get this year.

Everybody wants to know what's up with Tony Parker and only he knows.  The feeling is that he will not choose a school in December as he said he would.  The feeling is it will go on for a while despite the parents wanting him in Durham.  There is no way of telling what Parker thought of the loss to Ohio State, a school high on his list but surely he can see that there is a major spot available at Duke.

The Blue Devils coaches will be out and about in the next few days and we'll add more to this update when the visits are finalized.  You can bet that Julius Randle and Jabari Parker are high on the list as is Jahill Okafor.  I still feel the Blue Devils lead for the top player in the class in Parker and they are turning up the heat with Parker in limbo with Randle and other post players I will mention later.

The Blue Devil made the call to Matt Jones who recently signed and sort of prodded him along.  Jones has known Duke was his team of choice and it was time to pull the trigger.  The Blue Devils got a shooter like Dawkins, but Jones has a more rounded game.  Jones, like Sulaimon, will start to recruit for Duke as well and the Blue Devils think both players can and will play together.  Sulaimon is a much better on ball defender and has the potential to be one of the best in a while at Duke.  The Blue Devils love the energy he brings when on the court.

With the exception of Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers, all spots are open and the hungriest players will earn burn against Colorado State.  Yes, Kelly, Dawkins, Curry and Thornton were all in the dog house on Tuesday and a message was sent to those guys to step it up.  All of them looked tentative and at times played on their heels against Ohio State.  The loss gives Coach K a great teaching opportunity and he will take advantage of it by fine tuning his team, so look for some serious effort in the next few games.

Despite the loss, the staff likes what this team has done and one bad loss will not take away from that.  Mind you, nobody is happy with the blowout but the season is long.  I expect Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije to get more burn but neither really impressed in extended minutes during the loss in Columbus.  Duke also wants to find a way to get senior Miles Plumlee going and he has had a mildly disappointing season to date.  The Blue Devils will really need him when his brother Mason gets in foul trouble as the season goes on.  The word is Miles plays good in practice but spaces a bit when in a real game, seemingly not being ready for the ball or to react when it is needed.

Coach K will be honored by Sports Illustrated as the Sportsman of the Year, a great honor.  We'll add an addendum to this update shortly on who the Blue Devils will visit. [/private]

Duke Football

BDN College Football Picks – The Final Week!

Well, we took one on the collective chin last week as it was upset city in the top 25. With rivalry week upon us, anything can happen and the coveted BDN inaugural pick'em championship is still up for grabs.

1. Andrew
2. Bob -1
3. Patrick -3
T-4. Mark -6
T-4. Guest -6

With the Victory Bell at stake this week, we welcome in former Duke lineman Brandon Harper, who knows what it's like to face the Tar Heel pass rush. Thanks for joining us, Brandon!

Mark - A handful of seniors will play their last game for Duke as they travel to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels. If Duke were healthy, I think they could pull off a win but the team is battered at this time. Still, I expect Duke to play with a lot of heart and give the home team all they want only to come up just short in the end. UNC 28, Duke 24

Bob - Duke can salvage a disappointing season by knocking off Carolina and returning to Durham with the Victory Bell. This game like all games will be decided by which team controls the line of scrimmage, wins the turnover battle and executes without making mistakes. Duke must achieve balance on offense by successfully running the ball and I'm still waiting for the special teams to make a huge play such as a blocked punt or return for a touchdown. Tomorrow would be a great time for something special to happen.
Duke 28, UNC 26

Patrick - The Blue Devils are desperate for a win to build momentum for the program into 2012. Duke's seniors led a strong effort a week ago against Georgia Tech, and they'll have one last chance to ring the Victory Bell on Saturday. It's Duke vs. North Carolina and anything can happen, but I think Matt Daniels and Donovan Varner will find a way to win this game against their rivals. Duke 28, UNC 27

Andrew - Although Coach Cutcliffe has brought a level of respectability and stability to the Blue Devils, Duke is looking to end the extensive losing streak to arch rival, North Carolina. The last two weeks have brought promise in frustratingly close games to quality opponents. If they can accomplish the and defeat the ethically challenged Tar heels, it would generate momentum for next year's squad and show a clear sign of progress for in-state recruiting. Unfortunately, a chance to ring the victory bell is likely at least a year away. UNC 31, Duke 21(unfortunately)

Brandon - Rivalry Week, lots of emotions will be left on the field this week. For the Blue Devils to achieve their desired outcome they must come together and play their most consistent game of this half of the season. History tells us this is always a close game; this year will be no different. With both teams ability to rally in the second half, it will be interesting to see how this one turns out. I think the Defense will continue to feed off senior safety Matt Daniels and give the Carolina offense some trouble. If QB Sean Renfree and the Duke offense can start where they left off last weekend against Georgia Tech, the high powered offense could potentially lead them to a win. I see Duke coming out playing with their backs to the wall, feeding off adrenaline from rivalry of this game and the seniors especially Senior Offensive lineman Kyle Hill who's season ended early, Duke takes this one and rings the bell Duke 31, UNC 28

Thanks to all who followed along with us this season, and a big thanks to all who participated. Please send your feedback for our inaugural college football pick'em to patrick@bluedevilnation.net. Happy Thanksgiving!

Duke Football

Cincinnati Bengals’ LB Vincent Rey picks against the BDN Staff in Week 12

Andrew Slater added to his lead last week and finds himself with a two game cushion heading into the final two weeks of the college football season. With ten tough games each week, it's still anybody's ball game, but time is running out.

1. Andrew Slater
2. Bob Green -2
T-3. Patrick Cacchio -5
T-3. Guest -5
5. Mark Watson -7

The Guest picker has slowly surged back into a tie for 3rd place on the season, a testament to the quality of guests we've had join us this season. The tradition continues this week as we welcome back former Duke LB Vincent Rey. Rey has seen action in all nine games this season for the 6-3 Cincinnati Bengals. He finished his Duke career 9th all-time in tackles (330) and is the Duke all-time record holder with 3 fumbles returned for TDs. Thanks for joining us this week, Vinny!

Mark - The Blue Devils have been hit hard by inuries and they'll face the option for the first time this season. The secondary has been missing assignments of late, but it'll be the very young front that will have to be disciplined for Duke to win. Tech is beatable, just not on this day. Georgia Tech 35 Duke 21

Patrick - A year ago, the Blue Devils faced three option offenses, but this season, just one. The option offense is difficult to prepare for and with a plethora of injuries on both sides of the ball, Georgia Tech will represent a significant challenge for Duke. Duke should have success moving the ball against Georgia Tech if they stick to an aggressive gameplan; expect another big day for Duke’s “Killer V’s.” An emotional pair of seniors in Matt Daniels and Charlie Hatcher will try to will the Blue Devils’ defense to an upset victory, but the explosive Yellow Jacket offense will still find its way into the end zone. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 24

Bob - Duke has lost five games in a row and if the Blue Devils are to prevent the streak from reaching six the first step is to slow down Georgia Tech's running game. Moreover, the Duke offense must open up and score points against the ACC's top rated passing defense. It is time for Coach Cutcliffe to pull out all the stops and throw the whole playbook at Coach Johnson. With Duke's injury report listing multiple key contributors as Doubtful or Questionable, I believe the Yellow Jackets will be too tough to handle. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 21

Andrew - This should be a dangerous match-up for a reeling Duke team. Georgia Tech enjoys both one of the best passing defenses in the country and one of the most disciplined offenses in college football. Although there were definitely some positives out of last week's road game against UVA, I think the mounting Duke injuries and talent differential will prove to be too much for the Blue Devils. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 21

Vinny - Georgia tech runs the option really well, and Paul Johnson has been developing it as well. However, the Duke defense has seen the option a lot, and will play it well. Led by Matt Daniels, the defense well make crucial plays. The high-powered Duke offense will put up the points needed against the Tech team. Most importantly, Duke will win the drive-starting average, thanks to their special teams players playing fast and physical. Duke 27, Georgia Tech 21.

Duke Basketball

Blue Devils earn 82-69 win over Davidson – Coach K Video

It was a heavenly like royal blue night in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Duke Family.  As you walked up to Cameron you could see a banner hanging on the front which is of course a tribute to Mike Krzyzewski who is now the all time wins leader in NCAA Basketball history.

As the students filed in they were given Nike T-Shirts commemorating the win and they were packed in and ready to welcome their coach home.  Duke came alive in the second half and  rolled to 4-0 on the young season with an 82-69 win over Davidson and after the game Coach K, fresh of his 904th win and his family, flanked by the Duke President Richard Brodhead, Athletic Director Kevin White and former Athletic Director Tom Butters.

The celebration was great and Krzyzewski enjoyed it immensely as those truly close to him payed homage to the record setting coach.  We'll have more on that later, but for now I want to concentrate on this young Blue Devil team that is improving with each game.

A killer run was sparked by defense

Ask any experienced basketball coach and they will tell you that defense leads to offense.  After trailing at the half by a 35-34 margin, Duke went on a tear.  At the 16:42 mark of the second half the score was tied at 41 all and it looked like a very pesky Davidson team would take Duke to the wire.  In less than three minutes the Blue Devils defense locked down on the Wildcats (2-1) and that translated into a 10 point lead and Duke never looked back.  The lead would grow to 17 eventually and Duke ended up winning by a 82-69 over a very good mid major team.

Defense also helped Duke score in transition

Going into this game Duke had few breakaway plays but tonight they scored 12 points off the fast break and 18 off turnovers.  And that led to some remarkable showboat plays and dunks that got Cameron Indoor Stadium rocking.  And a lot of those transition buckets came when freshman Quinn Cook was in the game and he ended the game with 9 points and had a renewed confidence in the Duke locker room.  The bottom line is good defense leads to a lot of positive things.

Mason Plumlee is becoming one of the nations best big men

Duke will take 16 points and 13 rebounds from Mason Plumlee in any game and be happy with it.  Plumlee played with emotion and made things happen on the court tonight and he helped to get his brother, senior Miles Plumlee untracked in the second half with a pass to him for a resounding, crowd pleasing dunk.  Mason is developing has stepped up to become one of the best big men in the ACC and his consistent play has to be pleasing to the staff.

Duke was able to use their depth effectively

The Blue Devils went deep in their bench and got good production as they continue to develop the freshman.  The aforementioned Quinn Cook was very impressive as he got comfortable and now he needs to find his teammates more form the PF spot.  Krzyzewski praised him for allowing him to rest Curry.  Duke got a solid 8 minutes from Josh Hairston as well and 17 from Thornton.  But it was Ryan Kelly that stepped up big too with 3 blocked shots to go with 8 points and 5 boards.  Krzyzewski said that Kelly was playing like he did in China after getting off to a slow start in practice this season.  Duke has played 4 games in 7 days to date and by the end of the Maui trip they will have played 7 games in 12 days so that developing depth will come in handy.

More notes

Duke dominated in the paint holding a 42-24 point edge, but the rebounds were even.  The lead changed 11 times, mostly in the first half and Duke warmed up in the second half from the three point line going 4 of their 5 made attempts coming in the second half.  Coach K said what he has since the pre season in that different players would step up in different games until stars are developed. Austin Rivers tallied 17 points and showed flashes of his offensive brilliance that made him one of the nations most coveted prospects coming out of high school.  Ryan Kelly got his first start of the season. Austin Rivers played all 20 minutes in the second half

By the numbers

Duke extended it's home court victory streak to 39 , Duke has not lost in CIS since Feb. 11th of 2009.  It was the Blue Devils 89th consecutive victory over a non conference opponent at home.  Duke has had four players in double figures three times in four games.  Cook had his first two career steals and sank 4 of 5 free throws.  Curry started his 17th consecutive game and has scoreed in double figures in all of the Blue Devils games.

 

 

Duke Basketball

BDN Coverage begins today – Davidson game, Georgia Tech football game, National Prep Showcase and Maui Invitational

BDN is about to begin it's coverage of many events and I will be heading to Cameron Indoor Stadium shortly as Coach Mike Krzyzewski makes his first appearance since winning #903.  As always, we'll be tweeting from press row to bring you colorful tidbits.  After the game, we'll have some interviews up as well, so be sure to check that out.

Our premium members will get treated to Andrew Slater, our in house recruiting analyst and his unique coverage of some #Duke prospects this weekend.  He will keep us abreast of the happenings at the National Prep Showcase and as we all know, Duke Basketball recruiting never ends.

I will be on hand for the seniors final game against Georgia Tech  in football tomorrow as well and here is to hoping you come out and support their efforts to upset Georgia Tech.

Duke will take on Tennessee in Maui on Monday and BDN will be in the house, as staff member Terry Rains will bring you timely interviews after the games.  Not many folks will make this journey, so our coverage should be quite popular.

Blue Devil Nation  is out there beating the pavement and we are always on the scene to bring you the best coverage available.  If you want to support Blue Devil Nation and gain full site access to our lively and private message board and get the inside scoop, join today!   Lastly, join our new Blue Devil Nation open facebook group and talk with fellow Duke fans while gaining access to some cool pictures.  That's free, so what are you waiting for.

Go Duke!