Tag Archives: Mason Plumlee

Duke Basketball

Washington Huskies Preview with Guest Question and Answer

Duke (8-1) tips-off against Washington (4-3) Saturday at 12 noon in a nationally televised game being carried by CBS. Blue Devil Nation enlists the help of Dick Fain from Seattle Sports Radio KJRAM 950 and FM 102.9 to preview the game.  Duke is coming off an 87-64 home win over Colorado State, while Washington lost a 79-77 heart breaker to #11 Marquette on Tuesday.

Dick is host of the “Live @ 5” radio program and has been the voice of the WNBA Seattle Storm for the past three seasons. He also serves as the assistant basketball coach at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, a Seattle suburb.

We will start the preview with thoughts from Blue Devil Nation.

Washington is a team, which resembles teams that have given Duke fits in years past. Like St. John’s in 2011 and Georgetown in 2010; Washington, or UDub as they’re referred to in the great Pacific Northwest, has a roster full of 6’5” to 6’9” athletic players. The difference between Washington and those aforementioned Big East teams is the Huskies are a young team. And that is a huge difference.

Washington is a strong shooting perimeter oriented team with an excellent point guard in Abdul Gaddy (6’3”) so Coach Lorenzo Romar likes to play an up tempo game. The Huskies average 81 points per game. Additional perimeter starters, Terrence Ross (6’6”) and C.J. Wilcox (6’5”) are talented players with the ability to get into the lane via dribble penetration.  The size and talent of Washington's perimeter will be a factor in this game.

The Huskies interior offense is limited with Aziz N’Diaye (7’1”) and Darnell Gant (6’8”), but Gant does have the ability to knock down the 3-point shot if left open so Duke must be prepared to follow him out to the perimeter.

Like Duke with Austin Rivers, Washington features a super freshman in Tony Wroten (6’5”). Wroten is the Huskies Sixth Man and when he enters the game Washington has two big point guards on the floor in Gaddy and Wroten, which allows both to switch between handling the ball and playing off the ball.

Needless to say, having multiple primary ball handlers on the floor provides Coach Romar versatility in running his offense.

The possibility of seeing super freshmen Rivers and Wroten matched up on each other is an exciting sub content of this early season non-conference game.

The key individual match-up in this game for Duke will be Terrence Ross who is a tremendously talented player and Washington’s leading scorer. Ross is a solid perimeter shooter who has the ability to drive by his defender and finish at the rim. The Blue Devils must know where Ross is at all times and have a man in his face.

For Duke fans who are not familiar with Ross, think Harrison Barnes. Ross is that good. Checking Ross will be a huge defensive assignment for Andre Dawkins and Austin Rivers. It would not surprise me to see Coach Krzyzewski insert Michael Gbinije into the rotation to steal some minutes by having the freshman guard Ross.  The health of Andre Dawkins is a concern re defending Ross as Dawkins left the Colorado State game in the first half with back spasms and did not return.

While Gbinije lacks experience, his size and athleticism could bother Ross.

For Washington, Coach Romar must figure out how to contain Mason Plumlee and Duke’s interior strength. N’Diaye has a tendency to be foul prone so look for freshman Shawn Kemp, Jr. (6’9”) to see some minutes in the rotation guarding Plumlee as a preventive measure.

Final analysis: Due to Washington’s youth, Duke will look to disrupt the Huskies offense by pressuring the perimeter and forcing Washington to start their offense further away from the basket than they are accustomed to which will lead to blown opportunities, turnovers and bad shots.

On offense, this is a game where Duke will focus on running things inside-out. The Blue Devils have a big advantage with their post players so they must look inside first and then kick the ball out for open jump shots. Look for Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly to receive lots of touches in the game.

In order for Washington to beat Duke, they must prevent the entry pass, limit interior scoring opportunities and force Duke to become a jump shooting team. Based on Duke’s team 3PT FG percentage of 43.2%, it would help the Huskies immensely to catch the Blue Devils on a cold shooting day.

Okay, to learn more about the Washington Huskies let’s move on to the Question and Answer session with subject matter expert Dick Fain:

BDN: Can you give Duke fans an overview of Washington's strengths and weaknesses?

Dick Fain: Washington has very clear strengths and equally as clear weaknesses. The strengths are all in the backcourt. The Huskies are as athletic as any team in the conference and arguably boast the best shooters as well.

Abdul Gaddy is an improvement over Isaiah Thomas at point guard because he sees the floor much better and is a pass-first guard who makes very good decisions. His 6-3 size also gives him a decided edge over the 5-8 Thomas.

Lorenzo Romar told me two years ago that CJ Wilcox would have been the Pac 10's best three point shooter had he played instead of redshirted that year. Romar's words have proven prophetic as Wilcox hit a respectable 40% from three last year and is a blazing hot 16/29 55% this season.

Terrence Ross is a lottery pick with tremendous penetration and shooting abilities and will undoubtedly get Duke's best perimeter defender. He is still raw and would benefit from staying in school for his sophomore and junior seasons but the Lottery may be too much for him to pass up after this season.

Scott Suggs is a solid shooter and leader that the Dawgs have missed this year due to a training camp injury but should have him back in some capacity by the Duke game.

The Dawgs weaknesses lie in their bigs. Darnell Gant and Desmond Simmons are skilled, athletic, undersized 4 men but have little to no back to the basket ability and are sketchy rebounders at best. Aziz N'diaye is an interesting 7-1 center that is very good a blocking shots and filling the paint but has very little offensive skill. If he stays four years he should be a 1st rounder as he is improving and some NBA team will take a shot on a 7-1 shotblocker.

BDN: We know Washington is a young team with seven freshmen on the squad, which of these freshmen are ready to contribute right away?

Dick Fain: The only freshman that is ready to compete against top 25 competition is Tony Wroten who has been on recruiters radars since he was a 5th grader. Seattle is a city that has produced the likes of Brandon Roy, Jason Terry, Aaron Brooks, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and many other NBA guards but none had the hype out of high school of Wroten. Before blowing out his knee before his junior year, he was ranked the #1 overall player in America, because of the knee injury he fell into the teens.

BDN: Terrence Ross is an outstanding talent, perhaps Washington's best player, what are his top skill sets and where does he still need improvement?

Dick Fain: Terrence Ross is an interesting story. He was the "other" Terrence that the Huskies got from the Portland area. The Terrence they really wanted (and had) was Terrence Jones who is now at Kentucky. Jones held a televised press conference, put on a Washington hat and then came on my show 10 minutes later to tell me how happy he was that the recruiting process was over and how excited he was to be a Dawg. 10 minutes after that he had a phone conversation with John Calipari and I'm sure you Duke fans are savvy enough to figure out what happened next.

Back to Ross, he has been a very pleasant surprise since he wasn't nearly as highly regarded as the All-American Jones. He is a tremendous scorer both on the perimeter and on the drive. He has shown the ability to hit the big shot as his three pointer from the corner in the waning seconds of regulation sent last year’s Pac 10 championship game to overtime allowing for Isaiah Thomas' buzzer beating heroics in a win over Arizona. He has the potential and athleticism to be a defensive stopper but is not there yet. As I mentioned before, the Lottery is waiting for Ross, the only question is whether it will be the 2012 or 2013 Lottery.

BDN: Speaking of freshmen, how special is Tony Wroten?

Dick Fain: I talked about Wroten's pedigree, now I'll talk about his game. Wroten has the best vision of any point guard I've ever seen at Washington. He will throw no look passes through 4 defenders and it will find its mark. The rest of his game is good but not great at this point. He is an adequate shooter and can attack the rim. His biggest area to work on is maturity as at times he will wear his frustration on his sleeve. The sky is the limit for him and the Lottery should be in his future especially if he buys in to LoRo's system and stays at least 3 years.

BDN: Can you expound on Coach Lorenzo Romar and his philosophy for playing the game of basketball?

Dick Fain: Lorenzo Romar is maybe the most underrated coach in the nation. While he is a household name on the west coast, I doubt he is well known in ACC country but he should be. Romar took program that had one trip to the NCAA tournament over the prior 15 years and takes them to the dance nearly every season including three sweet 16's and a #1 seed in 2005. The Huskies have won the Pac 10 tournament title the last two years and won the outright regular season title the year prior. The only thing eluding his resume is a final four appearance and while this isn't the year that will happen, next year could be. Duke fans would love Romar because he is a quality human being who does things the right way just like Coach K. In this era of rampant cheating in college basketball, Duke and Washington both steer clear of such shenanigans.

BDN: I've heard Abdul Gaddy, in interviews on Seattle Sports Radio KJRAM950, discuss how much he grew last year, observing the game from the bench, after his season ending injury. How important is Gaddy's leadership to this year's team?

Dick Fain: I absolutely love Abdul Gaddy's game. He is a local product from Tacoma who torn his knee up in December of last year (his sophomore year). His freshman year was a learning process with quite a few bumps in the road, but by last year he had earned the starting point guard spot and was running the show until the injury forced Isaiah Thomas out of position to the one spot. During his recovery, he has gotten stronger and has become an adept shooter from behind the arc. His lack of great athleticism will likely keep him out of the lottery but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was a first rounder in 2013.

BDN: Okay, it is time to put you on the spot. What is your prediction for the outcome of the game?

Dick Fain: Prediction time! Duke is one of the few teams that have a better backcourt that UW but the margin isn't great. Where this game is a mismatch is in the interior. The Plumlees and Ryan Kelly should have there way with the Husky bigs and beat Washington on the boards. The Dawgs are one year away from being an elite top 10 team, Duke is there right now. UW makes it a game for 35 minutes but Duke wins 81-72.

Blue Devil Nation offers a big thank you to Dick for agreeing to assist us with the game preview and we encourage all Duke fans to give Dick Fain’s "Live @ 5" show a listen on the iheartradio app or on SportsradioKJR.com from 8a-9a ET Monday thru Friday and you can follow him on twitter @dickfain.

I listen to Dick every morning during my morning commute to work and can ensure everyone, while his radio show is Seattle sports centric, he is also on the cutting edge for covering national sports events and breaking news.

Duke Basketball

Duke vs Washington in Carquest Auto Parts Classic Game Notes

Game 10 • CARQUEST Auto Parts Classic

[7 AP / 5 Coaches] Duke (8-1) vs. Washington (4-3)

Saturday, December 10, 2011 • 12:00 p.m. (ET) • CBS

The Opening Tip

• Duke (8-1) faces Washington (4-3) on Saturday, Dec. 10 in the CARQUEST Auto Parts Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tipoff is set for 12:00 p.m. (ET). The second game of the event features a matchup between Pittsburgh and Oklahoma State

• The game will be televised by CBS with Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) calling the contest.

• Duke is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Washington is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 73-20 all-time when ranked seventh in the AP Poll.

• Duke is playing at Madison Square Garden for the second time this season. The Blue Devils topped Michigan State, 74-69, on Nov. 15 in the State Farm Champions Classic.

• The Blue Devils have won 13 of their last 15 games at Madison Square Garden.

Duke-Washington Series

• Duke leads the all-time series, 4-1, including a 3-1 mark under Mike Krzyzewski.

• Duke has won the last three games in the series. The Blue Devils have an average margin of victory 12.7 points per game in that span.

• The first two games in the series were both decided by two points, while Duke has won each of the last three contests by 10 or more points.

• Saturday’s game is the second neutral site meeting in the all-time series. Washington topped Duke, 80-78, in the 1984 NCAA Tournament.

Duke vs. the Pac 12

• Duke is 29-19 all-time against teams currently in the Pacific 12 conference.

• The Blue Devils are 20-11 against Pac 12 teams under Coach K.

• Duke has won seven of the last eight meetings against Pac 12 teams.

Numbers Game

l Duke is 26-15 all-time, including a 21-7 mark under Mike Krzyzewski, at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils are making their second appearance of the season at MSG and have now played at the venue in 10 straight seasons.

l Duke is 34-2 in neutral site contests since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Blue Devils have won one NCAA Championship, three ACC titles and four in-season tournaments in that span.

l The Blue Devils have won 15 consecutive non-postseason (ACC & NCAA Tournaments excluded) neutral site contests.

l Duke has won 12 straight games in December with 10 of those wins coming by double digits.

l The Blue Devils are 51-3 in December games since the 2001-02 season and are 168-26 all-time in the month under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Mason Plumlee became the fourth player in Duke history with 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and four or more blocks and steals in a game on Wednesday against Colorado State. He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in the contest.

l Austin Rivers has led the team in scoring in five of the last six contests. He is averaging a team-high 17.3 points per game in that span, while shooting 46.8 percent (37-of-79) from the field and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point range.

l Mason Plumlee is averaging 12.2 points per game, while attempting just 7.6 shots per contest. He is shooting 64.7 percent (44-of-68) from the field with 16 dunks on the year.

l Seth Curry has made a three-point field goal in all nine games this season with two or more threes in six contests. Curry ranks fifth in the ACC in three-point percentage (.462) and tied for eighth in threes per game (2.0).

l Mason and Miles Plumlee combined for 25 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots in Wednesday’s win over Colorado State. The brother tandem finished the game 11-of-13 (.846) from the field with four dunks.

l Andre Dawkins knocked down three three-point field goals against Colorado State and now ranks fourth in the ACC in threes per game (2.2). Dawkins is averaging 1.8 treys per game over the last two seasons with 24 games with two or more made threes.

l Duke is averaging 26.8 free throw attempts per game. Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers share the team lead at 5.8 free throw attempts per contest.

l The Blue Devils had 10 players log at least 10 minutes of action against Colorado State on Wednesday. Duke has seven players averaging over 15 minutes per game on the year.

l Duke is shooting 50.0 percent (236-of-472) from the field with the Plumlees leading the way with a combined .641 field goal percentage (66-of-103).

Duke Basketball

Duke will rebound against Colorado State

The Duke Basketball team takes to the court for the first time tonight after their loss to Ohio State in Columbus where they'll face Colorado State in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  The Rams come in 5-3, having recently lost to Northern Iowa, a likely NCAA Tournament team by a score of 83-77.  The Blue Devils (7-1) are coming off some nice road wins before dropping a 20 plus point drubbing to #2 ranked Ohio State.

Wes Eikmeir leads the Rams averaging 17.5 ppg from the guard spot.  The junior is a player that the Blue Devils will certainly focus on and that will shift the load to fellow junior guard Dorian Green, who knocked down 21 points in a road loss to a tough Northern Iowa team.  Statistically, the teams are fairly even but Duke will look to improve on their rebounding totals which took a hit against the Buckeyes.

In the last outing, only Austin Rivers and Mason Plumlee played consistently and you can bet that players have been challenged to step up.  Look for some changes in the line up but nothing too earth shattering for some of the Blue Devils regulars which rode the bench in the last outing late in the game, are still the best bets for success.

It is thought by many that Quinn Cook will get a shot at the point guard spot, shifting Seth Curry off ball with Austin Rivers.  But Tyler Thornton will be in the mix as well.  For Cook to succeed, he will need to show better court awareness and make good quick decisions.  The problem in some respects have been turnovers from the distributors and getting the ball to shooters in good position, so all eyes will be glued to progress in this area.

I still feel Austin Rivers is on the verge of big things and of all the players on the team, he has the most potential to raise his assists by hitting the open men on the wings off drives.  And Mason Plumlee is playing like an All ACC player and showing off his game as he is coming into his own as a junior.

The Blue Devils will now try to extend their 89-game home non-conference winning streak and should come away with their 90th consecutive.  One thing is certain, that being you will see the Blue Devils play with a wreckless abandon wanting to get the past of their first loss out of their mouth.  While I certainly don'te expect the Rams to lay down, I do expect them to get worn down as the game goes on.  Again, this team is better than some fans might think who are demanding a blowout for redemption, still when the dust clears, I too see a good effort and an 85-64 win.

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.

 

 

Duke Basketball

Despite lopsided loss, Duke will come back as a better team

The #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes took it to the Duke Blue Devils last evening and in the process they exposed some areas of weakness, but to make a big fuss out of the loss would be silly.  Yes, Duke got punked against one of the most veteran teams in the nation on their home court, one where the Buckeyes have yet to leave this season.

While the margin of the loss could be alarming to some, it still counts as a single loss.  It is also important to realize that the Blue Devils have been just the opposite of the home comforted Buckeyes in that they've been road warriors and played a lot of games in a short time.  Still, there are no excuses in that Duke lost to a better team but they'll take away a valuable lesson in many ways which will in turn make them better come March.

I mean, let's face it, Ohio State would have beat anybody badly the way they played, all comers, if you will.  It was also clear to see that this game was huge for their program as Thad Motta, at times, acted as if he'd never been there before, basking in the camera's bright glare ranting up and down the sidelines from beginning to end with a look in his eyes that it was personal.

This is Motta's best team in Columbus, anchored by a player most thought would be in the league in Jared Sullinger, so they're suppose to win and be as good as they looked.  Duke took their best shot and had no counter punch and that got to Krzyzewski enough that he benched unproductive regulars for true freshman Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije.

What was happening is that he was sending a clear message to his team, that practice would be tough this week and each player will have to earn their burn.  In the process, Hairston and the aforementioned freshman got some valuable time for down the road.  There was not a great deal of production from them in significant minutes but that was different in little way from the regulars numbers, where Thornton and Dawkins combined for 0 points.

Ryan Kelly got caught up in the dog house as well, with a zip in the box score as well after turning in an MVP performance in Maui.  Kelly had better numbers past that though but a message was being sent by Coach K and a lot of it had to do with their defense.  Still, on this night it wouldn't have mattered who was in there for Duke in that this was one of the biggest games in Buckeye's history and they showed up in a big way.

Meanwhile, Austin Rivers showed positive signs of improvement with his play and his 22 points led the Blue Devils.  He was helped by Mason Plumlee and his 16 points but past that, some Blue Devils seemed to have not packed all of their game before leaving Durham.  These two kids never gave up nor played on their heels but Rivers, despite his stellar game was still figuring it all out.

It was simply a bad game for Duke, but it was just one game.  Until this loss, Duke had played as good as one could have imagined with victories over Belmont, Davidson, Michigan State, Michigan, Kansas, all solid ball clubs.  And unlike Ohio State, Duke beat three of these teams away from the friendly and comfortable Cameron Indoor Stadium.

While this loss might sting when realizing Duke was never in the game, save early on -- it'll be a learning experience and one where the staff will have a young teams undivided attention.  The Blue Devils are a work in progress and in a sense, they are right on schedule and a loss in late November will seem a long ways off soon enough.

As a team, Duke now knows what kind of effort it will take to win in a hostile environment against as good a team that they'll face all year and this lesson might help against the likes of North Carolina in ACC play.  Personally, I will not overreact to this loss despite the fact that Duke was as much of the media is saying, got dismantled.

All that is left to do is for Krzyzewski and the team to pick up the pieces after being humbled and history shows that this will indeed happen.  In the long run, Duke will be better from taking this on on the chin and tough lessons are what makes one tougher in life and in this case on the court as well.

When Duke faces Colorado State in Cameron a week from today, fans may see a shake up or two, but even if not, Duke will be a better team and a hungry one from their experience.  Personally, I think they'll run off five straight victories, including the game with Washington in New York before heading to another hostile environment at Temple just after the New Year is over.  And at that time, we'll know for sure if the lesson learned in Columbus played a role in preparing them for the coming schedule.