Tag Archives: Austin Rivers

Duke Basketball

Austin Rivers named ACC Rookie of the Week

Lance King Photo

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Duke freshman Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday after leading the Blue Devils to wins over Belmont and Presbyterian. Rivers, the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, averaged 15.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals for the week.

In the season opening 77-76 win over Belmont, Rivers matched a team-high with 16 points, while adding two assists and two steals in a team-high 38 minutes. He knocked down a pair of three-point field goals and also went 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the contest.

The following afternoon, Rivers netted 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with six assists, no turnovers and three steals in a 96-55 win over Presbyterian.

Rivers and the rest of the Blue Devils return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 15 against Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Challenge. The game will tip at 7 pm and will be aired on ESPN.

Duke Basketball

BDN’s Duke Basketball Notebook – the season is upon us

It's time for this season fourth edition of BDN's Duke Basketball notebook as the Blue Devils are set for tip off.  On to the yapping -

Duke has a tough opener vs Belmont, Maui Invitational bits

It's been a long time since Duke opened with an opponent as dangerous as Belmont, who they play Friday at 9:00 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  You have to go back to the 2001-02 season when Duke came away with a 1 point victory over Seton Hall.  Normally, teams schedule a walk through game in their opener but not Coach Kryzewski, at least not this season.  Belmont returns everybody of significance from a 30 win team a season ago and they have veterans at key positions.  Meanwhile Duke is young, really young and they will have their hands full in that Belmont is much better than the opponents they faced in their two exhibition wins.  This game is actually a part of the Maui Invitational, an event the Blue Devils have never lost a game in, but Duke will advance win or lose, while Belmont then plays at Memphis, a team the Duke could meet if they defeat Tennessee which is  expected in the opening round.  Former Wake Forest Coach David Odom set up these games and Duke could have probably backed out but Krzyzewski knew this game would offer a chance to prepare his team for the likes of Kansas, Memphis, Michigan or UCLA, all top rated teams in the Maui Invitational.  Duke will see a well drilled team in fundamentals in Belmont and while I think the Blue Devils will win, the game could be a lot closer than people think.

Duke turns around to play in mere hours against Presbyterian on Saturday

Duke will turn around after some time for sleep and face Presbyterian at home.  This game will be a walk through and a test for the young Blue Devils legs.  They will need to bounce back quickly in Maui so this game too is somewhat by design.  The reason I say somewhat is that Duke thought this would be a 7:00 game but instead it is a 9:05 tip off.  Interestingly, the 4:30 tip off on Saturday will be about the time the first half is ending for the football team who travels to Virginia for a 3:00 start.

The word is Defense

In talking to the players on media day, the word all of them mentioned is a Duke staple, that being "defense." Be it Seth Curry or Austin Rivers, all the Blue Devils said that what they were working on after the two exhibition games was getting it together on the defensive end of the court.  Duke and defense ... so what's new?  Speaking of Seth Curry, we'll have a video interview with him up in shor

Krzyzewski approaches all time wins mark and there is lots of media attention

If you are not behind the scenes covering Duke, you may not realize how much media pull Krzyzewski has been handling.  Everybody, every outlet from here to Asia wants a piece of Coach who is approaching the all time wins mark.  If Duke wins their two home openers, he can break the record at Madison Square Garden in New York versus Michigan State.  If the Blue Devils slip, that home ticket against Davidson will likely triple in value.  Regardless, Krzyzewski will be honored upon his return.  There are a bevy of specials on, starting tomorrow on ESPNU and speaking of ESPNU, both of the Blue Devils home opener will be televised by that network.  Mike Breen and Doris Burke will be doing the opener, no word on the following evening but likely the same team.  Anyhow, back to the demand on Coach K's time ... there will be several newspaper specials and shows in the works and we'll keep you posted on them either here or through one of our social network outlets.

BDN Social Networks, join now!

Speaking of our social networks, we have a new Facebook group, called Blue Devil Nation and it is an open group, meaning all can participate.  Just follow the link to your right and I will approve you in short time.  There you will find some great photo galleries from the games as well as off beat fun pics.  And you definitely want to follow us on our popular and informative twitter site.

Duke-UNC Alumni Game Update

The promoters had little time to assemble the Duke-UNC Alumni game and as we mentioned on twitter, the game has been postponed.  They are still trying to bring it together but if the NBA and players reach an agreement, it will be a pipe dream.  None of these events which you are hearing of around the nation are sanctioned by the NBA, so players take the risk of injury.  That fact has kept the event from being held at Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Dean Dome in that they want no part of possible injuries.  Of course, players want to play and earn a little coin during the lockout, so it may very well happen yet and it will be at N.C. Central University and it does, don't be shocked if there are two games, you heard that here first.

A salute to the military on Veterans Day

In recognition of Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 11, Duke Athletics will show its support of our servicemen and servicewomen by inviting over 250 armed forces personnel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to attend the Duke Men’s Basketball season opener against Belmont at 9 p.m.  The soldiers from the Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point, Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point Single Marine Outing, Camp Johnson and Camp Lejeune will attend the game free of charge and standing amongst the Cameron Crazies in the student section on Friday night.  If you know somebody that fought for oyur country, thank them on this day. Prior to the game, there will also be a moment of silence as we remember all those who have been lost while defending our freedom.

Clash In Cameron, there will be both boo birds and cheers

Now that Mitch McGary has singed with Michigan, the boo birds will likely be out in Cameron on December 17th during the Clash in Cameron which features the nations top high school players.  McGary and his Brewster Academy will play the 7:00 game, while the nations top rated player and major Duke prospect, Jabari Parker will take to the court at 9:00.  Stay tuned foe more details.

Rasheed Sulaimon is a Duke Blue Devil

Rasheed Sulaimon put pen to paper on signing date and he is now an official Duke Blue Devil.  Welcome to Duke, Rasheed!  In case you are wondering the early signing period began on November the 9th and runs until the 16th.  The next signing period will be from April 11th to May 16th.

BDN will be on the scene all season long

BDN coverage will be top notch again this season.  We are scheduled to be at every game with the exception of #2 ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge,at Georgia Tech,  at Clemson.  That's all but three games that we'll be at live and in person via our wonderful staff.  Terry Rains will be in Maui reporting for us and we look forward to that and Andrew Slater will be in New York when Coach K hopefully sets the all time wins mark.  And as always, the original press row tweets from Cameron will continue all season long.  It all started in the national championship season when we were right their in the middle of it all be it on the court for the celebration or in the locker rooms.  BDN gets out there to bring you the best possible coverage we can and that's why this is the most Duke-centric no official site out there!  We can't wait for the season to start!

Duke Basketball

Watzone’s Duke Basketball Notebook Week 2

Mason slams one in vs Bellarmine - copyright BDN Photo

It's time for the second edition of my Duke Basketball Notebook which will recap the latest happenings around the program. And as always, we'll sprinkle a bit of inside information in as well to add a little spice.  Okay, we are seeking a new name for our weekly column, so send in your suggestions via one of the social networks.  We feel fans make up the Blue Devil Nation!  Now, on to the tantalizing tidbits -

Rotation revisited

During last week's Monday Musings article I was not clear when I mentioned that  Mason and Miles Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and Austin Rivers were the Blue Devils five best players.  Instead, my wording made some think I said they would start.  Well, Coach K himself quickly said that this would not happen moments into his post game press conference after the Blue Devils defeated Bellarmine in their exhibition opener.  "I'm not that good of a coach to figure out how to start them all at the same time," said Krzyzewski.  And if you think there was a clear picture established coming  away from the opener with concern to the rotation, think again.  Duke started true freshman Alex Murphy alongside the Plumlee brothers, Curry and Rivers.  But Murphy struggled in the role and would not come off the bench in the second half.  Kryzewski inserted Tyler Thornton into the lineup and the Blue Devils outscored last seasons Division II National champions by a twenty point margin.  Raise your hand if you didn't think Ryan Kelly, named a co captain on this seasons team would start after his play in China?  Well, not to worry for anybody trying to figure out what Krzzyewski will do this season may be fooled.  The bottom line is you will see a bevy of players in the fifth spot this year and it will all depend on the opposition according to the HOF coach.

Seth Curry and talk

After the game I made my way to Seth Curry in the locker room and everybody else followed.  Curry has become the silent leader of this seasons team being named caption just last week.  In the post game conference, Krzzyeswki jokes with the media about getting good answers from Curry, but I told him he was better.  Curry is not a natural talker on the court but in the Duke system this is a must and he's getting better.  One has to think he will be one of two players who have the ball in their hands if the Blue Devils are down a deuce in the close game with a few ticks left.

Austin Rivers and his adjustment to the college game

The other player who will eventually become a go to guy will be the potential laden Austin Rivers.  You heard it here at BDN first folks --- Austin Rivers is the best interview on the team.  Rivers played but 19 minutes and Kryzewski hinted at mixed reviews for his opening game, but rest assured his game is being broken down and rebuilt for the better.  Rivers had the ball in his hands pretty much the whole game in high school and on the AAU circuit and now he is learning to play off ball and it will be an adjustment.  Rivers is the best penetrating guard on the team from my vantage and he will learn to pass off on his drives which will help the bigs finish inside.  Rivers knows he's learning as well and he acknowledged that by showing Blue Devil Nation Video/ his battle scar on the game.  Rivers took  a hard fall and after having his head buried for a few seconds he jumped right back up and moved on.  In the past Rivers may have complained to the refs or showed animation but it is clear that this has been addressed by the staff and he is already a better player from learning that lesson.

Marshall Plumlee and redshirt rules

If you are expecting to see some burn from Duke freshman Marshall Plumlee, think again.  As you know we tweet live from press row in Cameron and several followers wanted to argue that he could play in an exhibition and still red shirt.  Well, they isn't true from what I have gleaned and the only way Duke will waste a year of him coming in deep off the bench will be if there are injuries up front.  Krzyzewski made it clear that the brothers Plumlee, Mason and Miles, Ryan Kelly and Josh Hairston would rotate in the two big spots, leaving three perimeter spots open in the process. And back to BDN tweets for a moment, ESPN Gamecast is now running our take in their roll and we appreciate that.  We're pretty good at what we do and take in all things Duke so if you are not a follower, you should consider it for breaking news and unique coverage.

3 Point Shooting struggles versus Bellarmine

Duke defeated a well coached Bellarmine team by 25 points on the strength of a 49-29 second half.  But the Blue Devils struggled mightily from the three point stripe, going 2 for 14.  Had they hit a few more of those shots, the score gap would have widened earlier.  It was midway through the second half before Tyler Thornton dropped on from the top of the key.  Andre Dawkins who struggled from the field in the Blue-White game had another poor shooting night going 0-3 from the stripe and 1 of 5 overall.  Dawkins is considered the Blue Devils best three point artist.

 

Blue Devil Nation Facebook Open Group and BDN Photos

Let me plug our Facebook site as well, in that Blue Devil Nation has a open group.  We have just started to grow that end of our coverage and you will find our outstanding photo's there as well.  Join the group and see our Countdown to Craziness galleries as well as fifty great shots from the win over Bellarmine.  Our photographers have features Lance, now touring ESPN Game Day on a weekly basis and currently my friend Rick Crank and they are both really good at what they do.  We've always been big on illustration at BDN and that will continue.  While you are at it, check out our videos on You Tube under Watzone and Blue Devil Nation Video where you will see timely post game interviews and exclusive coverage.

Key Duke prospect Tony Parker waves at the Cameron Crazies as he walks off the court after this weekends exhibition game. BDN Premium has the latest from Parker hot off the press! Photo copyright Rick Crank/BDN

Tony Parker Interview

Well!  I posted a Tony Parker Interview for Blue Devil Nation Premium last evening but accidentally made it available for public access.  Needless to say, many got a chance to read it and there were some very positive vibes.  BDN Premium is our extended subscription service which takes you on the inside of the latest happenings surrounding Duke Athletics and our information is always ahead of the curve.  Hey, it's what we do and we do it well!  If you got a chance to read the article before we carried it back to premium, perhaps you realize how timely our coverage is.  If so, join!  In fact the first ten new members to sign up for a years coverage which is our best rate, will get ten bucks through paypal, making it a steal at $90.00 for the year.

Duke vs Carolina

As we hinted to you last week, there is a Duke vs UNC alumni game in the works and the powers that be are still working on a facilities.  When the details are ironed out, we'll let you know more.   We also broke the information on Clash in Cameron last week where Mitch McGary and Jabari Parker will show off their skills in Durham.  We'll have more on that as well.

As for Monday Musings, well, it will return next week with he usual tidbits.  Up next for Duke hoops is an exhibition game against the Shaw Bears on Wednesday evening and as always, BDN will be front and center to bring you the best coverage we possibly can.