Tag Archives: Austin Rivers

Duke Basketball

BDN Monday Musings, Duke Hoops football recruiting and fans of the week

Monday Musing's - Duke fans of the week

The Duke Men's Basketball team pushed their record to 9-1 this past week with a wins over Colorado State and Washington while the football coaches secured three verbal commitments on the recruiting trail.  That's a pretty solid week and thus we begin this weeks Monday Musing's.

The win over Washington

I personally thought it was a good win and a learning experience for a young team but many found fault in the win.  Of course, we are talking message boards here and everybody, no matter who you are has an occasional melt down.  Yes, the Huskies staged a comeback late in the game but Duke built a sizable lead which didn't allow the comeback to take hold,  I mean come on critics, a three pointer at the buzzer cut it to six for the Huskies and who actually thought in reality that Duke was going to lose that lead?  Now granted, the comeback is a lesson to a young team on how to close a game but I just find no major negatives in this win.  In fact, with Austin Rivers and Seth Curry on the bench it forced young players into action on the big stage of Madison Square Garden and that to me is a positive learning experience.  So, I don't get the criticism unless you want to win by 20 every time out.  And no knock on my man Mason Plumlee, who struggled at the free throw stripe, but had he hit half of those the lead would have been much larger and that is a single intangible.

A work in progress

What fans need to remember is that this Duke team is a work in progress and is 9-1 against the toughest early schedule in the nation!  Coach Krzyzewski is bringing this team along just as he has others and to succeed in March it takes both improvement and luck.  The Blue Devils seem to be just below a tier of four or five teams, but there is not one of those teams that Duke could not beat on a given night, so that is something to hang your hat on.  The Blue Devils lost Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler and to some extent Kyrie Irving, so this team is developing it's leaders and Coach has said from day one, different players will step up.  You know, I use to make fun of the UNC fan base at times for complaining when Dean Smith was there, but the Blue Devil fan base is right there now, demanding perfection when they've only come to expect it from mad success.  So, sit back and enjoy this years team develop and for the record they've pretty darn good.

Austin Rivers named rookie of the week

Austin Rivers averaged a team-high 17.5 points per game in leading seventh-ranked Duke to wins over Colorado State and Washington. The Winter Park, Fla., freshman guard was 11-of-22 from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, and 8-of-10 from the foul line for the week, while also adding 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He scored a team-high 17 points in Duke’s 87-64 win over Colorado State Wednesday. In Saturday’s 86-80 victory over Washington, Rivers tallied a team-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes of action.

So, you think December will  be slow with just two games, huh?

Duke does not play again until  a week from today against UNC-Greensboro at home and then Western Michigan on the day before new years eve.  Yep just two games, but it is December and that means high school basketball tournaments fro Raleigh to Myrtle Beach and we'll certainly bring you some coverage.  We'll discuss this further shortly, but you can bet you will hear from the likes of Rasheed Sulaimon and other targets.

Football Recruiting has a big day

Coach Cutcliffe hit the road the day after the loss to UNC as did his whole staff.  And that's not just speak on our part, they are beating the road hard trying to improve the talent base.  As BDN's football guru reported yesterday, the Blue Devils have three new verbals and one in particularly excites me.  Check out this link - Football gains three verbals

Duke Basketball

Duke defeats Washington to go 9-1 on the season

The Duke Blue Devils held  off a late second half comeback for a 86-80 win over Washington pushing their season record to 9-1 with just two games remaining on their December schedule.  Three starters were on the bench as Duke held off the Huskies -- Curry and Rivers due to fouls and Mason Plumlee from struggling at the free throw line.

The Blue Devils staff had their team come out of the gate with a great game plan and that allowed for the Dukies to gain another key vicory for their NCAA Tournament resume.

Rough start for Kelly, but ...

Ryan Kelly opened the game 0-7 from the field but then went 6 for 8 the rest of the way to score 16 points to go with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.  Lesser players would have kept shooting, good thing for Duke fans Ryan did not.

Miles tough off the bench

Mile Plumlee was very efficient off the bench for Duke grabbing 9 boards and making 3 critical blocks, most during the Huskies comeback.  Miles also went 75% from both the field and free throw stripe.

Duke defended well for most of the game

I thought the Blue Devils had a nice game plan on defense but it was a young team on a learning curve which allowed the Huskies to make the game closer towards the end.  But make no mistake, it was the Duke frontcourt which was the difference in that they altered a lot of shots, having 7 blocks on the game and 6 steals.

Rivers continues his solid play

Austin Rivers is still on a leanring curve but how impressive does that make his team high 18 points.  Rivers is letting the game come to him more and more and he is getting better with each outing and tha bodes well for March.

Dre all day!

IMO, Andre Dawkins played his best floor game of the season. The Blue Devils really needed his mae free throws down the stretch which hepled hold off the Huskies run, especially when the team shot a terrible 27 of 44 from the stripe, including Mason going just 2 of 111.  But Dawkins added 5 rebounds and hit 2 of 5 of the Duke three pointers.

The bottom line

Duke got a good win and despite having to hang on at the end, the game was never really in doubt from the opening tip.  Had Duke connected on their free throws, that gaem would never have gotten closer that double figures, so make no mistake, this was as solid win.

Team Notes:

• The Blue Devils improved to 27-15 all-time in Madison Square Garden and 22-7 under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. The win came in Duke’s second appearance of the season in Madison Square Garden. Duke also beat Michigan State 74-69 on November 15 in MSG for Coach K’s record-breaking 903rd career victory.
• The game was Duke’s fifth neutral site game of the year. The Blue Devils are 5-0 this season at neutral sites with two wins in Madison Square Garden and three at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui. Duke is 35-2 in neutral site contests since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• Duke started 9-1 for the 18th time in school history and the 10th time under Krzyzewski.
• In December, Duke is now 52-3 under Coach K. Duke has won 13 straight December games with 10 of those wins coming by double digits.
• Seven Blue Devils played at least 10 minutes in the game. Duke has had at least seven players with 10 or more minutes in nine of 10 games this year. Seven Blue Devils average 10 or more minutes per game.
• Duke held Washington scoreless during stretches of 5:40 and 2:55 in the first half. The Blue Devils held the Huskies without a field goal for 5:25 in the first half as Washington netted only two free throws from the 9:24 mark to the 3:59 mark in the first half.
• Duke held Washington to just two points over the first 5:40 of the game. The Huskies missed their first eight field goal attempts of the game.
• Duke staked a 10-point lead at the 10:07 mark in the first half and led by no less than 10 points until the 2:49 mark in the second half.
• Austin Rivers (18 points), Andre Dawkins (17), Ryan Kelly (16) and Mason Plumlee (12) all scored in double figures. Duke has 39 double-figure scoring games this season and five players averaging 10 or more points per game. Eight different players have scored 10 or more points in a game this season.
• Duke pulled in 27 rebounds in the first half, which was a season high. Ryan Kelly (6 rebounds), Mason Plumlee (6) and Miles Plumlee (5) all had at least five rebounds in the first half. Duke’s 13 offensive rebounds in the game tied a season high.
• Both Seth Curry and Austin Rivers fouled out, marking the first time since Jan. 19, 2011, that two Blue Devils fouled out in the same game.
• Mason Plumlee went just 2-for-11 from the free throw line, but the rest of Duke’s team went 75.8 percent from the line.
• Duke allowed two 20-point scorers for the first time this season as Tony Wroten (23 points) and C.J. Wilcox (22 points) both reached that mark. Only four players have scored 20 points against Duke this season.

Player Notes:

Quinn Cook
• Played four minutes, including the final 2:19 of the game after both Austin Rivers and Seth Curry fouled out.
• During his final 2:19, sank 4-of-6 free throws and did not commit a turnover to help Duke hold off a late Washington rally.
• Has committed just four turnovers in his 87 minutes this year, averaging a team-high 22 minutes between turnovers. Only Andre Dawkins (five turnovers in 263 minutes) averages more time between turnovers for Duke this season.

Seth Curry
• Made his 23rd consecutive start.
• Hit all four free throw attempts, extending his made free throw streak to 19.
• Dished out three assists, giving him at least three assists in eight of Duke’s 10 games.
• Fouled out of a game for the first time since Feb. 26, 2011.

Andre Dawkins
• Scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half for his second straight double-figure scoring game.
• Hit a pair of three-pointers, giving him multiple treys in six games.

Ryan Kelly
• Recorded his seventh double-figure scoring game of the season with 16 points.
• Pulled down a season-high eight rebounds, finishing one board shy of tying his career high.
• Added two blocks and two steals.

Mason Plumlee
• Made his 31st consecutive start.
• Scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and for the fifth straight game. Missed a double-double by one rebound.
• Continued his strong defensive play with two blocks and three steals. Plumlee had five blocks and four steals in his last outing, an 87-64 win over Colorado State.
• Hit his first three field goal attempts, including a pair of dunks. He now has 88 dunks in his three-year career which ranks ninth on Duke’s all-time list.
• Plumlee is now shooting a team-leading 66.2 percent from the floor.

Miles Plumlee
• Shot 75.0 percent or better for the fifth straight game. Plumlee is 13-for-14 (.929) from the floor during that span.
• Pulled in seven rebounds, giving him at least five boards in five games this year.

Austin Rivers
• Scored in double figures for the ninth time this season. Rivers led Duke in scoring for the sixth straight game.
• Hit multiple treys for the sixth consecutive game. Rivers is 13-for-28 (.464) from three-point range during that span.
• Matched a career high with four rebounds.
• Fouled out for the first time in his career.

 

 

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 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.