Tag Archives: NC Pro Am

NC Pro Am Report – Zoubek and Czyz make their debut

August 7, 2009 Mark Watson

Zoubek and Plumlee went head to head - Rick Crank Photography

Two Duke players made their NC Pro Am debut on the last night of regularly scheduled games. Brian Zoubek and Olek Czyz took to the court for Dreamworks to face Mason Plumlee and Team Duhon, a team atop the standings with just one loss.

Olek Czyz has returned back to Durham from his native country Poland, where he played for their national team while still mending from off season surgery. Czyz, referred to as O.C. last year brought the house down with his dunking ability, but his first night back wasn't as fruitful as years past.

Czyz played about ten minutes scoring 2 points grabbing a single rebound and making one steal. Not the stat line he'd hope for, especially when you add the five fouls. It seemed like the PA announcer was calling Olek's number every minute or so.

Czyz played in the game which followed as well, but we do not have a full report on that game, nor the late evening nightcap where Miles Plumlee competed.

Brian Zoubek put up some solid numbers despite have three walks called on him. Zoubs didn't play in the second half, making his numbers stand out even more. The seven footer didn't miss a shot from the field on his way to 10 points, but he did miss from the charity stripe going 0-2 including an air ball. Zoubs added 5 rebounds.

Team Duhon was without a coach and ten players deep, so they seemingly decided on equal playing time. This meant that Mason Plumlee played sparingly compared to games before. Plumlee scored 6 points on 2 of 4 shooting and was 2 of 4 from the line. He had just 2 rebounds and a steal in about 19 minutes of play.

It is worth noting that Plumlee was accompanied by former Christ School teammate Lakeem Jackson [South Carolina] who wound up with 8 points. Reggie Bullock [UNC 2010] was a non factor not scratching from the field for the losing team. UNC's Justin Watts led his team in scoring with 14 points.

The Dukies went at each other hard early in the game but played sparingly as opposed to other evenings.

The play offs start this evening and teams must win to continue into Saturday.

Today's schedule -

6:00pm – PJTucker vs Hendricks

7:00pm – Team Navy vs Starkey

8:00pm – Lucky 7 2 vs E-net

9:00pm – Duhon vs Dreamworks

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

N.C. Pro Am Report – Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee

August 5, 2009 Mark Watson

Ryan Kelly dunks - Special to BDN - C/R Rick Crank Photo

Two Duke freshman took to the court at NC Central University to participate in the N.C. Pro Am on Tuesday evening. Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee were very efficient on the offensive end going for a combined 10 of 13 from the floor.

Mason Plumlee's Team Duhon came into the game undefeated, but were without the service of Jon Scheyer, a key contributor. After getting out to a 12 point lead, they wilted down the stretch losing their first game 68-64 to Team Navy. In the end it was guard play which brought about their first loss.

A timely Plumlee steal and assist brought his team within one point, but a free throw and an uncontested lay in on the other end sealed their fate. But the skill set which stood out tonight for Plumlee was his passing ability.

Plumlee had 3 assists in the first quarter alone on his way to 5 total for the game. He continued to show off his versatility and made some strong finishes down low. When the dust cleared, Plumlee shot an effective 5 of 7 from the field for 13 points. He was 0-2 from the free throw line but had a game high 8 rebounds to go with 4 blocked shots and 4 turnovers.

His teammate, Ryan Kelly helped his team to a blowout win. Kelly, who came into the game off a 26 point performance last Thursday missed a single shot going 5 of 6 from the field. Kelly also drained all three of his free throws to end the evening with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Plumee finishes - special to BDN - Rick Crank Photo

Kelly deferred to C.J. Leslie (20 points) on the scoring end, but probably had his best performances while Roy Williams came to see Leslie the preceding week. He showed good spacing and unlike many others in the event, set picks for his teammates. Kellys team will now go into Friday's playoffs which begin on Friday and end on Sunday of this week. Team Duhon has a Thursday evening game before the end of their regular play.

Duke walk on Casey Peters played in the following game and had 4 points, all from the line in the first quarter of his game. A conflicting schedule did not allow us to see any more action beyond that time.

Duke Basketball

NC Pro AM Report – Duke Basketball Players Take to the Court

July 23, 2009 Mark Watson

Plumlee drives on his way to 17 points, 4 dunks and 4 blocked shots - Photo, Rick Crank

The North Carolina Pro Am is rolling along and once again a bevy of Dukies took the court to play some hoops in the dog days of summer. Team Duhon bounced back tonight crushing their opponent 97-47 behind Mason Plumlee's 17 points. Plumlee, who struggled from the field the night before, threw down three early slams on his way to 11 first half points.

The incoming freshman seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder and that led to 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists, 2 steals despite sitting out eight and a half minutes of the lopsided game. The PA announcer was pretty creative when Mason scored saying, "on the flipper," "Mason Plumlee with authority," or "Get out of the way, Mason Plumlee with the slam."

Plumlee's teammate Jon Scheyer started the game slow, mainly due to him not seeing the ball from fellow guards. Nevermind he is the starting PG at Duke. Anyhow, Scheyer adjusted and drained 3 three pointers, had 16 points and dished around 5 assists. It was clear to me that Scheyer will have no trouble picking up where he left off running the show for Duke this coming season.

In the evening's first game, freshman to be Ryan Kelly scored 15 points but his team fell short 74-59 after their win over the aforementioned Team Duhon the night before. Kelly finished well around the bucket and like the Plumlees has a good handle. The big problem for Ryan was getting the ball in his hand. I joked to one guy that getting a pass was like finding a polar bear in the tropics for some of the Duke players.

The nightcap feature the return of Kyle Singler and he didn't disappoint with his play. Singler scored 20 points on his usual variety of moves and showed that he is ready to go this season. Singler has lost some weight in an effort to play a different role for Duke this season, but he is still effective on the glass.

Casey Peters will join the Devils as a walk on this season - exclusive to BDN from Rick Crank Photography

His teammate, rising soph Miles Plumlee ended the game with 8 points, but the PA announcer raved about his ball handling skills and a sweet reverse dunk. Unfortunately, their team came up short losing 72-64 down the stretch in a game that was nip and tuck throughout. Some questionable calls and balls falling off the rim late sealed their fate and they look to bounce back in the next go round.

There was another Blue Devil on the floor, but he played for the victors. Walk on Casey Peters played some significant minutes and hustled throughout the game on his way to 6 points. Peters was responsible to leading the Duke managers in a win over the UNC crew last season and was added to the team for the coming year.

Blue Devils were in the stands as well on Wednesday. Nolan Smith was there to cheer on his teammates and socialize in the environment and Plumlee's mom, Leslie was their supporting her boys. There was another future Devil going unnoticed as well, in Seth Curry. The youthful looking Curry will sit out this coming season after transferring from Liberty University.

The action continues this evening and admission is free. Check the NC Pro Am site for schedules and rosters. Keep in mind that as the event goes on, there will be some no shows by the players. For past reports, scan the archives or go to the Duke Basketball drop down menu on the top left of the main page.

Duke Basketball

It’s Blue Devils versus Blue Devils at the NC Pro Am

July 22, 2009 Mark Watson

Ryan Kelly had 16 points - Rick Crank Photography

Four Duke Blue Devils took to the floor in McDougald Gym on the campus of NC Central during the continuing NC Pro Am event. Interestingly, the Dukies went head to head, two each playing for WR Starkey and Team Duhon. Coming into the game Team Duhon was a the top of the standings led by Mason Plumlee and the sharp shooting Jon Scheyer.

On this night Team Starkey would claw their way to a 69-60 victory behind Lance Thomas and Ryan Kelly. Kelly paced his squad with team high 10 first half points showing a soft touch from the outside. Oddly, Ryan did not play for a good nine minutes in the second half despite his effectiveness. Kelly would end the game with 16 points and had a couple of dunks at the start of the game.

His teammate Lance Thomas tallied 8 points and as usual was active on the floor. Thomas even drained 1 of 2 three point shots, the first, a misss looking as if he was uncomfortable with the shot. Still, Thomas was putting more arch on the ball than I had seen during his career at Duke.

Mason Plumlee has had some good showings, but his shots were dropping off the rim early where he started 0-6 from the field. He came out in the second half and nailed a three point shot, finishing with 7 points. It is worth noting that he had some early foul problems as well.

Jon Scheyer hit four three point shots and missed maybe two shots the entire game. He scored a team high 18 points and had several open looks where teammates took the ball one on one. But that is the nature of the game in this event where all of the players want to shine.

Plumlee and Thomas go head to head in last nights action

The action continues this evening and admission is free, so stop in if you are in the area. All photos from this event are provided by Rick Crank Photography. Crank will continue to be a part of Blue Devil Nation and other ventures.

Wednesday, July 22

6 pm KG vs Lucky 7
7 pm WR Starkey vs Navy
8 pm God Bless My Success vs Team Duhon
9 pm Hendricks vs E-Net

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

NC Pro Am Report – Mason Plumlee tallies 17, Scheyer 16 to earn a victory

July 10, 2009 Mark Watson

Miles ready to dunk - copyright Rick Crank

Five Duke Blue Devils were in action this past Thursday evening during the North Carolina Pro Am event on the campus of North Carolina Central. Mason Plumlee and Jon Scheyer took the court first and the two Dukies teamed very well together. In fact, that teamwork is a big part of Team Duhon's 3-0 record.

Mason would finish the game with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists. Mason is impressive in that he has a good handle for a big man and can make the good pass. While the majority of his points came in the paint or dunks, Mason drained his only three point attempt.

The crowd came to their feet when Mason tried a windmill dunk where he extended his long arm, but a foul stopped the show. Still, Mason a good free throw shooter, drained both shots.

Meanwhile, Scheyer knocked down two threes early and wound up with 16 points on the evening helping his team win 68-58. Scheyer had three assists and several blown ones on my watch, but I could have missed a few.

Lance Thomas made his first appearance where he joined teammate Ryan Kelly and rival Ed Davis (UNC) to form a pretty good front line. Davis scored 21 points after hitting just 6 earlier in the week. He was aided by some Kelly passes. Speaking of Ryan, he would go on to score 12 points himself. Thomas added 12 points as their team won easily.

Jon Scheyer - c/r Rick Crank Photography - special to BDN

In the nightcap, Miles Plumlee had the unenviable task of holding down UNC's John Henson, Leslie McDonald and Justin Watts. His team was without Kyle Singler who attended the LeBron James Skills Academy.

Henson threw down three effortless dunks and has really quick hops. He rejected Miles one time, but there was payback. Henson is the real deal and ended up with 14 points making some showboat plays, but Plumlee got his licks in, once getting beat but recovering to make a nice block. To round out the play, he recovered the blocked ball, dribbled the length of the court and dished out an assist. One block was called goal tending as well and there was one of the worst charge calls I had ever seen on Miles.

Justin Watts lit up the nets for 21 points and McDonald added 12, but their team blew a 12 point lead and wound up losing 54-53. Plumlee hit two big free throws to put his team up a single digit with 1:33 left and they held on for an impressive win.

The action continues next Tuesday and admission to the event is free.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Kelly, Scheyer and Plumlee help their teams to a win at the N.C. Pro Am

July 8, 2009 Mark Watson

Special to Blue Devil Nation from Rick Crank Photography

Day two is in the books for the 2009 N.C. Pro AM and once again it was another entertaining night of basketball at N.C. Central University. Three Blue Devils played this evening, the incoming freshman Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly and Jon Scheyer.

Kelly wound up with 15 points and 7 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. His team was down double digits throughout the contest but staged a late comeback to win the game. During that stretch, Kelly hit two free throws with 1:38 left to give his team a one point lead.

On of Kelly's teammates was UNC's Ed Davis. The two teamed well on the front line and Kelly looked for Davis when he had the ball, but the normally solid Davis struggled with just 6 points on the evening, looking frustrated at times.

Kelly also went up against David Best (10 points), a strong and aggressive player during the majority of the game. Best blocked Kelly's first shot of the game and dunked on the other end the next time down, but Kelly settled in nicely to lead his team in scoring after that. In fact, Ryan had 7 of his teams first 8 points as they struggled offensively to open the game.

Like Kelly, Scheyer and Plumlee helped lead their team to a comeback victory after being down 13 points in the first half. Scheyer started the game 0-3 where the ball just seemed to rim out for him. One of those plays still brought oohs and ahs as Plumlee missed a dunk and Jon jumped up and almost flushed it home on the tip, but it caromed out as the basket gave way.

Scheyer played a good floor game, showing he can run the point as he did last season, despite playing in a three guard offense. After missing his first free throw, he connected on the second and went 4 of 5 from the stripe in the game. One the next possession he connected on a three pointer and missed just one shot the rest of the way in route to 12 points. Scheyer also dished 4 assists and at least 4 blown assists.

Scheyers best offensive move was on the baseline where he weaved through and faked out three defenders to hit a shot at the first half buzzer capping off a comeback and giving Team Duhon momentum the rest of the way.

Mason Plumlee was saddled with early foul trouble but had two dunks early in the game and was 4 of 4 from the free throw stripe. He altered a few shots and grabbed around 6 boards. His Team Duhon won the game going away in the end 76-69. Plumlee was credited with 8 points, but their was one tip which seemed as if it were credited to another player.

On a couple of side notes, BDN ran into Robert Brickey who has accepted an assistant coaching position at North Carolina Central. Kyle Singler was not in the house for he's attending the LeBron James Skills Academy, a huge Nike event that BDN's Andrew Slater is covering for our subscribers. Slater has an interview coming with Singler where our

members sent in the questions which will run in our free section. He has secured interviews and scouted some of Duke's main prospects as well. Among the players mentioned are Roscoe Smith, Harrison Barnes, Andre Dawkins. Coach K, Wojo and Nate James are watching the Nike event as I type. For more the latest breaking information, join Blue Devil Nation Premium.

Thursday NC Prom Am Schedule at NCCU, admission is free -

6 pm Navy vs KG
7 pm Lucky 7 vs Team Duhon (M. Plumlee, Jon Scheyer, C. Du)
8 pm WR Starkey (L. Thomas, Kelly, Curry) vs Team PJ Tucker
9 pm Dreamworks vs E-Net (Singler, Miles Plumlee)

Not all players participate each evening