Durham, N.C. - Duke just defeated Tulsa by a 70-52 score to push their season record to 24-4. We have some comments from Brian Zoubek below who scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. We are experiencing technical difficulties so it may or may not be morning before we can get other interviews posted.
Just press play
Durham, N.C. - If you follow Duke Football, yo know by now that Johnny Williams will move to the Duke secondary after playing wideout his first two seasons. He's learning on the fly and we got his thoughts coming off the field after Saturday's scrimmage.
How is the spring going so far?
Pretty good, pretty good. I'm catching on real fast and will go up and meet with coach, so it's going well.
How did you respond to switch positions from wideout to defensive back?
I responded by putting 100% into it and make sure that when I go on the field, I know what I'm doing.
When did you and Cut first talk about changing positions?
Before the Christmas break, me and Coach Cut talked. I wasn't sure if I really, really wanted to but thought it might be a good move, so I made a decision to go over there, If it's good for the team, it's good for me.
Do you like it on defense?
Yeah [smiling] It's really intense.
You get to hit people ...
Yeah, it's fun to hit people.
What is the biggest adjustment?
Reading keys from one to two and conditioning.
Now that you are on the other side, who is the toughest receiver to cover?
Everyone of them is tough [smiling]I just try my best to listen to coach and keep what he said in my head.
Do you guys trash talk a bit?
Yeah, a lot, a lot. I trash talk a lot.
Anyone in particular today?
Probably Austin. He brought a little bit today, so I shot it back at him
Your goal the rest of the spring is?
To be the best I can and put everything I have got into this and help my team. Football is my love, you know.
Are the workouts different for you now?
No difference. I still catch balls and everything to keep my hands right. I probably get a little extra running in because on defense you have pursuit angles and stuff like that which need conditioning.
Thanks for your time.
Thanks
Game 19 l ESPN College Gameday
Duke (15-3, 3-2 ACC)
vs. Clemson (15-4, 3-2 ACC)
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 l 9:00 p.m. l ESPN
Littlejohn Coliseum l Clemson, S.C.
The Opening Tip
Duke (15-3, 3-2 ACC), ranked seventh in the AP poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Clemson (15-4, 3-2 ACC) at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 9:00 p.m. The Tigers enter the game ranked 17th in the AP poll and 16th in the Coaches’ Poll. The game will air on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Duke fell to N.C. State, 88-74, on Wednesday for its third straight road loss of the season.
Kyle Singler (22), Jon Scheyer (21) and Nolan Smith (18) combined for 61 of the Blue Devils’ 74 points on the night.
The Wolfpack shot 58.2 percent from the field in the game, including 64.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Duke posted a commanding 40-28 rebounding advantage in losing for the first time this season when outrebounding the opposition. Senior Lance Thomas grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, while Brian Zoubek added nine boards, including five of Duke’s 17 offensive rebounds.
The Last Time vs. Clemson
Duke posted a 74-53 win over Clemson on Jan. 3, 2010 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith each had 22 points in the win as the Blue Devil defense limited the Tigers to 12 first-half points on 5-of-30 (16.7 percent) shooting. Duke held Clemson to 32.7 percent shooting for the game and forced 17 turnovers.
Numbers Game
Big Three Pace Blue Devil Offense
Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith combine to average 53.5 points per game or 63.6 percent of Duke’s scoring.
Scheyer is second in the ACC in scoring at 19.1 ppg., while Smith (18.3 ppg.) and Singler (16.1 ppg.) rank third and eighth, respectively.
Texas Southern, Nevada, UC Davis and North Dakota State are the only other schools with three players ranked among the top 10 scorers in their respective leagues.
The trio of Scheyer, Smith and Singler is the highest scoring group in the NCAA this season and the fourth-highest at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.
Duke Raising Awareness for Haiti Relief
Duke Athletics has joined a national fundraising effort titled “Save Haiti Saturday” to aid in the nation’s earthquake recovery efforts. Beginning with Duke’s men’s basketball contest at Clemson on Saturday night (ESPN, 9:00 PM ET), the 15 Duke teams currently in competition will display “Save Haiti Saturday” patches in the upcoming weeks to maintain high awareness for the relief effort in Haiti.
Three Duke graduates, including former Duke men’s basketball manager and current Miami Heat Vice President of Basketball Operations Nick Arison (Duke ‘03), along with Jenna Green (Duke ‘08) and Doug Rosenberg (Duke ‘07) spearheaded the “Save Haiti Saturday” initiative.
“Save Haiti Saturday” is primarily an awareness campaign that benefits Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc. That organization collaborates with Partners in Health (PIH), one of the organizations through which Duke is coordinating its Haitian fundraising relief efforts. Duke alumnus, Dr. Paul Farmer, founded PIH and currently serves as the United Nations Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti.
For more information about or donate to “Save Haiti Saturday,” access the website at: www.savehaitisaturday.com.
Raleigh, N.C. - Duke [15-3, 3-2] proved it as not above the rest of the ACC as they struggled on the road against a fired up North Carolina State team and in the process got thumped 88-74.
In a game that feature 59 free throws due to tight calls, the Wolfpack drained 58.2% from the field to Duke's 38.6% and that pretty much proved to be the difference.
The Packs Tracy Smith led the way for the victors with 23 points and Dennis Horner added 20. Unlike Duke, the Pack's leaders got help from the rest of the team on offense.
How inefficient was Duke past the big three of Scheyer, Singler and Smith? Well, of the Blue Devils 74 points, only 13 came from the rest of the team.
The aforementioned three will need some help if Duke is to get past their road woes and Kryzyzewski was not happy with his teams energy.
"They brought more energy than we did. They looked like a team that played a game at noon on Saturday and we looked like a team that went through a war on Sunday night.
It was quite simply the Blue Devils worst defensive effort of the season and Kryzyzeski was quick to point that out as well.
With the Wolfpack shooting lights out for most of the way, Duke never really got it's three point shooting untracked.
The Blue Devils looked as if their feet were in sand on some plays and that is the sign of a tired team.
Coming into the game after the way Duke's front line played in the last to games, who would have thought they would be outscored in the paint by a 36-28 margin, yet oddly Duke led the battle of the boards 40-28.
But of the Wolfpacks 28 boards, 22 of them ere on the defensive end where they limited Duke to one shot for most of the second half.
That also means the Wolfpack was shooting the ball well as evidenced by another statistical anomaly where Duke outscored them 19-2 on second chance points.
Duke managed just 8 assists on the evening and had 14 turnovers.
The Blue Devils will now regroup and travel to Death Valley to face Clemson who ran them out of the gym last year.
We'll have more on the game in the BDN Locker Room Report in the A.M.
[8 AP/7 Coaches] Duke (13-2, 1-1 ACC) vs. Boston College (10-6, 1-1 ACC)
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010 • 7:00 p.m. • ESPN
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
The Opening Tip
Duke (13-2, 1-1 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Boston College (10-6, 1-1 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN with Rece Davis, Bob Knight and Holly Rowe calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Duke dropped a 71-67 decision at Georgia Tech on Saturday in its last outing. The Blue Devils, playing their third game in six days, shot just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from three-point range in the contest.
Senior Jon Scheyer continued his All-America caliber season with 25 points and six assists in 39 minutes of action. Freshman Mason Plumlee was the only other player in double-figures with 10 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Sophomore Miles Plumlee added eight points, five rebounds and two steals in the loss.
Juniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler combined for just 18 points on 6-of-23 shooting after entering the game averaging 34.4 points per game combined. Smith’s nine-point effort snapped a string of 12 straight double-figure scoring games this season, while Singler failed to reach double-figures for just the 15th time in 86 career games.
Duke controlled the glass (20-12 rebounding edge) en route to taking a 35-29 halftime lead. Georgia Tech turned the tables in the final 20 minutes, outrebounding the Blue Devils 26-12 and outscoring them 42-32.
Numbers Game
l Duke is the only team in the country to rank in the top 10 in both the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll as well as the College Basketball News Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils, eighth in the AP Poll and seventh in the Coaches Poll, rank second in the RPI with the 10th-best SOS.
l Wednesday’s game is the 299th consecutive sellout at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 16, 1990, against Boston College.
l The Blue Devils have won 11 straight and 41 of the last 43 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
l Duke has won 22 of its last 24 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 201-56 under Mike Krzyzewski in January games. Duke has lost back-to-back games in January just two times in the last 12 seasons.
l The Blue Devils have won 36 consecutive home games against unranked opponents.
l Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.65:1) while playing 35.5 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all 15 games with six turnover-free games. Scheyer also ranks ninth in the NCAA at 6.2 assists per game.
l Nolan Smith has 26 three-point field goals and is shooting an ACC-best 51.0 percent from three-point range. He is one three-point field goal shy of matching his single season high. Smith entered the year shooting 36.2 percent (49-of-135) from three-point range.
l Duke has had 18 individual 20-point scoring games this season, including seven by Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game six times on the year.
l Jon Scheyer has scored 20 or more points in six of the last seven contests, including a pair of 30-point efforts. He has scored 15 or more points in 13 of 15 games this season.
l Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 19.5 points per game, while shooting 58.1 percent (43-of-74) from the field and 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from three-point range, in the last six games.
l Miles and Mason Plumlee are averaging 16.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game combined over the last four contests. The duo is shooting 60.9 percent (25-of-41) from the field during that span.
[7 AP/7 Coaches] Duke (8-1) vs. [15 AP/15 Coaches] Gonzaga (8-2)
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 • 4:00 p.m. • CBS
Madison Square Garden (19,763) • New York, N.Y.
The Opening Tip
Duke (8-1), ranked seventh in the AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Gonzaga (8-2) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4:00 p.m. Gonzaga enters the contests ranked 15th in both polls. Saturday’s game will air on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Senior Jon Scheyer posted a career-high 36 points on 11-of-13 shooting to lead Duke to a 113-68 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. Scheyer also knocked down a career-best seven three-pointers and added eight rebounds and nine assists.
Andre Dawkins added 16 points, while Brian Zoubek and Miles Plumlee each scored 13 points in the contest. Juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith netted 11 points apiece to give the Blue Devils six double-figure scorers.
The Blue Devils shot 65.2 percent (43-of-66) from the floor, including 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range, in the game. Duke shot nearly 70 percent from the field after halftime, unloading for 64 second half points to match the 10th-best scoring half in school history.
Blue Devils At Madison Square Garden
Duke is 25-14 all-time, including a 20-6 mark under Mike Krzyzewski, at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils have won five straight and 12 of their last 13 games at MSG. Duke posted wins over Arizona State and Connecticut at MSG in November en route to the 2009 NIT Season Tip-Off championship.
Numbers Game
l The Blue Devils are 158-26 in the month of December under Coach K. Duke is 50-4 in December since the 1999-2000 season.
l Duke is 8-1 all-time against teams currently in the West Coast Conference, including a 6-0 mark under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have won six straight against the WCC.
l The Blue Devils are 2-0 at Madison Square Garden this season with wins over Arizona State and Connecticut in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Duke has won its last five games at MSG.
l Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (6.4:1), while playing over 35 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all nine games with five turnover-free games on the year.
l Senior Brian Zoubek leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game. He is the only non-starter in the ACC to rank in the top 20 in rebounding. Zoubek is tied for for 12th in the league in rebounding, while also ranking third in offensive rebounds at 4.0 orpg.
l Jon Scheyer is averaging 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in Duke’s last two contests. He is shooting 55.6 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent from three-point range, in that span.
l Freshman Andre Dawkins and senior Jon Scheyer are tied for second in the ACC with 2.6 three-point field goals per game. Both players also rank in the top 10 in three-point percentage, shooting a combined 46.5 percent (46-of-99) from deep.
l Duke’s post tandem of Miles Plumlee and Brian Zoubek is combining to average 15.2 points and 14.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.3 percent (57-of-93) from the field.
l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in a career-best seven straight games. He is averaging 16.3 points per game, a 7.9 ppg. increase from a year ago for the third-highest scoring jump in the ACC.
l Duke is the only team in the ACC with more than one player ranked in the top 10 in scoring. Jon Scheyer is tied for second at 18.0 ppg., while Kyle Singler (16.4 ppg.) and Nolan Smith (16.3 ppg.) rank seventh and eighth respectively.
l The Blue Devils are 2-0 this season against teams ranked in the top 10 of the RPI.
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