Tag Archives: Blue Devil Nation

Recruiting Focus – James McAdoo interview

February 6, 2009 Mark Watson

I have found that it generally takes me at least five views of a prospect to get a good feel and accurately describe their game. I mean there are so many intangibles, like have they been playing or traveling a lot of late or have they been under the weather. The list also consists of, have they had off the court or personal issues, a look at the match up situations, whether they have familiarity or lack of in the environment they are playing in. I watch to see if they play consistently or if they turn it on when certain coaches are in attendance. I could go on for another 1000 words describing intangibles alone. That is but scratching the surface of the many things I look for when scouting a player.

Every so often a players comes along that you get an immediate feel for and James McAdoo is one of those guys. McAdoo has the ability to slash through defenders and always gets his shot off, traffic or not. At his young age, he already understands angles and spacing. He moves well in all aspects of the game including defense where his long body allows him to recover quickly to play help defense. In short, McAdoo is a big time talent.

BDN was able to speak with McAdoo this past weekend and here is that conversation.

How old are you now?

I just turned sixteen on January the 3rd.

What is your actual height?

6-8

What schools are really looking at you at this point?

UCLA, Texas, North Carolina, Clemson, Georgetown and Syracuse. Did I say Florida? Florida is up there. Virginia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest - that's it as far as I can remember.

Any offers?

Florida, Wake Forest, Clemson, UCLA, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Sounds like everybody but ...

UNC, Texas and Duke.

I noticed a Duke coach in the house (Slamfest) ...

Yes sir. They are [private] recruiting me.

Duke is in there? Whens the last time they contacted you?

Um, about a month.

Have they been calling or do they send letters?

I was up there for an exhibition game when they played Virginia Union.

You've been over at UNC a lot lately, right?

Yes. About three times ... Florida once. I am just trying to build a relationship with the coaches.

With a background, a lot of people consider UNC the team to beat. Is that pretty much true?

Um, It's not true. I mean I'm not going to go there just because my Uncle or Dad grew up loving them. It'll basically come down to being my decision.

What is the key factor that'll play in your decision?

I just want to go there and be able to have freedom. (No Braveheart jokes, please) And most importantly be able to start as a freshman and be an impact player.

Which assistant coaches talk to you the most from local schools, like Duke, Wake or UNC?

Local, I'd say Coach Robinson talks to me the most. Coach Kelsey at Wake.

And Florida?

They are one of the first schools that contacted me and I've built a real good relationship with Coach

What size shoes do you currently wear?

Basketball shoes? I wear 15's, but kick around shoes I wear 14.

Back to freedom. What are you looking for?

As far as game style I want to get up and down the floor. I want to have freedom to be able to dribble the ball, play the perimeter. Inside, outside.

When will you get down to making a decision?

As far as eliminating some schools?

Yes ...

I will start to do that after my sophomore year before AAU starts. After AAU.

And you'll play for Boo Williams this year?

Yes sir.

Which head coaches have you seen the most of?

Billy Donovan has come up. Roy Williams has come up. Seth Greeberg, Leitao, Oliver Purnell ...

When you are looking at a school, what are your prerequisites?

As far as a school or a basketball program?

Both.

I just want to be able to get along with the players that are there. I want to make sure I'm going to fit in with the style of play and the coaching staff. And if I'm going to like the school if I get hurt and basketball is taken away from me.

Do you have a preference on the size of a school, public or pri ...

I will probably pick a bigger school

You want to start is that what you are looking for when talking with coaches?

You kind of know if you go out there and play pick up with the guys, what position you are going to be and if you'll play.

So you'll take a look at depth and current players on rosters.

Yeah (nodding)

Congrats on winning the games MVP ...

Thanks

(the vast majority (19 of 25) of these question were asked by BDN, but Rivals and Scout reps came in) - [/private]

Duke Basketball

Virginia at Duke, Sunday 2:00 EST Stats, facts and figures

January 30, 2009 Duke Sports Information

• Game 21 •
[1 AP/1 Coaches] Duke (18-2, 5-1 ACC) vs. Virginia (7-9, 1-4 ACC)
Sunday, February 1, 2009 • 2:08 PM ET • FSN
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.

Blue Devil Bits
Duke is 18-2 on the year, including a 5-1 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, following a 70-68 loss at No. 6 Wake Forest on Wednesday.

Duke is 12-0 at home this season with a 3-0 home record in league play. The Blue

Duke returns to Cameron to host Virginia at 2:00 this Sunday

Devils have won 10 or more home games in each of the last 14 seasons, posting a 193-18 (.915) record during that span, including four undefeated seasons.

The Blue Devils are ranked first in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke has now been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 111 times, the second-most in NCAA history.

Duke is also rated first in the latest RPI according to CollegeRPI.com. The site ranks Duke’s strength of schedule sixth in the NCAA.

Sophomore Kyle Singler finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds against Wake Forest. Singler now has six double-doubles this season and 10 for his career.

Gerald Henderson scored 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting on Wednesday. He also had eight rebounds and three steals in the loss. Henderson has scored 20 or more points in four of the last six games.

Senior David McClure matched a career high with 12 rebounds in 25 minutes against the Demon Deacons. The Ridgefield, Conn., native grabbed nine rebounds in the second half and now has three career games with 10 or more rebounds.

Numbers Game -

Duke will play its first February game of 2009 on Sunday against Virginia. Under Coach K, the Blue Devils are 165-63 in the month of February, including a 14-7 record against the Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils have won the last 12 meetings with Virginia in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke lost at home to the Cavaliers was on Jan. 14, 1995, under Pete Gaudet, 91-88, in double overtime. The last loss at home to Virginia under Coach K was a 77-69 setback on Jan. 17, 1993.

Duke has a 14-0 record all-time against Virginia when ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Blue Devils have been ranked in each of the last 27 games against the Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC holding opponents to under 60 points per game in conference play. Duke is allowing 54.7 points per game in league action and has held five of its six opponents under 60 points, including two opponent to under 50 points.

Duke leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense in conference-only games. The Blue Devils are holding teams to .365 shooting from the field and .243 from beyond the arc.

Sophomore Kyle Singler is tied for sixth in the ACC with six double-figure rebound games this season. Singler is third in the league with six double-doubles, including two games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Gerald Henderson has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, which is tied for the fifth-longest streak in the ACC. He has scored 20 or more points in four of the last six games, averaging 20.8 points per game in that span.

Junior Brian Zoubek is two blocked shots shy of 50 for his career. Duke has 29 players all-time with 50 or more blocks, including two other current Blue Devils Gerald Henderson (60) and David McClure (50).

Duke is ranked No. 1 for the first time since the final AP poll of the 2005-06 season. Under Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 93 times. Since 1990, Duke has held the top spot in the country for 80 weeks, more than any other school in the nation.

Junior Jon Scheyer ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.854, 88-of-103). He has made 16 consecutive free throws and now ranks fifth all-time in the league history in free throw percentage (.864, 323-of-374).

Junior Gerald Henderson is leading the ACC with a .595 (47-of-79) field goal percentage in conference play. He also ranks seventh in scoring at 19.7 ppg., 11th in rebounds at 7.2 rpg. and second in steals at 2.7 spg. in ACC contests.

Duke is 471-54 under Coach K when outrebounding the opposition. The Blue Devils have outrebounded their opponents 15 times this season, posting a 14-1 record in those games.

Duke Basketball

Gerald Henderson talks of Wake, being ranked #1

January 27, 2009 Mark Watson

Gerald Henderson took time to answer a few questions during yesterday's media availability -

On how Duke matches up with Wake -

By the numbers, we don't match up. But we've played big teams, Florida State and Georgia Tech. We

Henderson and Duke will face a hostile environment tomorrow evening

have to go to our strengths. We'll continue to game plan and stick to the same things we've been doing.

On the tremendous size of the Wake frontcourt -

Aminu, Johnson, McFarland - they're all really good players. But it's not one player we need to stop because they have a lot of good players.

On how to come out with a win -

It'll be a team effort and we hope to have a really good gameplan going for us. If we play good defense and rebound the basketball, we have a chance to win. No matter how our offense is going, we'll have a chance to win if we do those things.

On his getting the ball in position to score in the Duke offense -

Coaches are really inventive when it comes to sets and plays, so we run off of that. It gives us a lot of options with Kyle and Jon ... we just try to get it to players where they are at their best. It helps me drive and always attack the basket and if I am covered, there is always a guy in the corner.

On how to protect Kyle -

One of our biggest things is to try to play without fouling. With Kyle, whoever the big is he's guarding at the time, we'll just have to play our defense. Obviously we have help side defense that's pretty strong and that's one of the biggest things in our defense in how aggressive we play.

On how Wake plays -

They like to get out on the break. Everyone knows that from watching them play. We'll have to fan out and protect our basket.

On being ranked number one in both polls -

It really doesn't mean as much as people talk about it. At this point we feel like we're one of the best teams in the country, but I guess people with our ranking think we are the best team. With our season ... that won't help us until we get to the NCAA tournament. We just try to win all of the games and all the rankings will take care of itself.

On last season's defeat in Winston Salem -

They jumped on us early. For a point we were leading but just fell apart.

Duke Basketball

Scheyer talks of Duke being atop the polls and preparing for Wake Forest

January 26, 2009 Mark Watson

Jon Scheyer took the time to answer a few questions on Monday. Scheyer addressed being ranked number one and the upcoming game at Wake Forest.

What is it like to be ranked number one in the nation?

Obviously it's an honor to be number one at any time in the season. It's a lot of great teams out there besides us and any one of them want to be ranked number one at the end of the year. It's exciting, but we have a big win coming up. We enjoyed it for a little bit and now we'll move on.

As a team you could probably see this ranking coming. Did Coach K tell you anything?

We talked about it even before we were number one. We talked about it way back when Pittsburgh lost that we could have possibly been number one then. The one thing we talked about is if we were one or two our focus has to be on the next game. That's something we've done a good job with it. We've seen the number one team get knocked off the last two weeks, so we see that you can't enjoy it. Wake was just number one and now we're going to play there. The rankings will take care of themselves at the end of the year, so we just have to get ready for the game with Wake.

How familiar are you with the Wake and how they play?

They're really long and athletic so you have to be strong with the ball, every pass you make. With Wake - you're not going to overpower them because they have a lot of athletes. They get out on transition. They want to make people take forced or quick shots and get out and run. We just have to make smart plays.

Wake plays a lot of big guys, so there will be situations where you may be guarding Aminu or Johnson on a switch. Can you talk about that a little bit?

Well obviously, they start a really big line up and come off the bench with big guys. For Gerald and myself getting switched off we have to be smart the way we play them.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Kelly scores a career high 47 points, but Ravenscroft comes up short

January 20, 2009 Mark Watson

Ryan Kelly did everything he could to put his Ravenscroft team on his back and will them to victory, but the Ravens came up short falling to Northern Guilford 82-73.

Kelly put on quite a show in route to a career high 47 points which was by far the

Kelly scores two of his career high 47 points

best individual performance of the day in the 7th Annual Martin Luther King Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The future Blue Devil became his schools all time leading scorer as well. Kelly now has 1763 points for his career eclipsing Corin Davis 1750 by 13. He tied the school single game scoring record.

Kelly’s 47 points, 30 of which came in the second half, tied the school record originally set by Lou Pucillo versus Laurinburg during the 1983-84 season.

BDN asked Kelly what his thoughts were after scoring a career high. He responded, "You know my teammates fed me the ball well. It's worthless if you can't get a win. It was a tough one."

Ravenscroft fell behind early in the first half, but a Kelly alley-oop dunk gave his

team a 24-23 lead. Kelly followed that with another dunk and a drive to the lane for two, stretching the lead to 28-23, scoring six straight points.

Northern Guilford gathered themselves and took a 34-31 lead into the half, mainly due to the play of Jacob Lawson, Johnathan Frye and Michael Neal.

A 7-0 run put the game away for Northern Guilford, but Kelly kept the game close and led a comeback with 30 second half points.

Ravenscroft Coach Kevin Billerman was hit with a technical for questioning why a call was made late in the game and the same ref hit him again about 50 seconds later which automatically boots him from the game. A seething but not animated Billerman then walked the court glaring at the ref.

"We didn't compete very well early. It was probably our worst defensive effort of the year. Offensively we did too much standing," said Billerman.

When asked of the ref calling two technicals, Billerman stated, "I don't know what the technicals were for. I did not say a word to the official. The first one our guy ran in the lane and it was like bowling pins falling - I waved my arms at it and ten seconds later he called a technical from the other end of the court. I asked one of the other officials, what was the technical, would you please find out. He said you need to sit down and before I could the fat guy came up and called another one.

Kelly was named his teams most valuable player after the game.

Ravenscroft (17-5) goes on to play at Wake Christian on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m.

"That would have one to win in front of so many people. but we get back into the conference and sweep through that and get into the state tournament, because for us the loss didn't hurt with the state tournament. We have to put it behind us," said a disappointed Kelly after the loss.

Kelly’s final stat line was 47 points, six rebounds, five blocks, two assists, and two steals. He was 16-of-25 from the field, including 3-of-3 on three-pointers. He also shot 12-of-14 from the free throw line.

The only other Ravenscroft player in double figures in scoring was junior Mike Ehilegbu with 10 points. .

BDN Premium subscribers have access to the entire interview with Ryan Kelly as well as Mason Plumlee. It's a great time to join for there is much more to come for members. We will be breaking down the teams recruitng strategy and will tell you about some exciting prospects. Our yearly subscription breaks down to 27 cents a day or 1.89 a week. You'll find much better information than the newspapers offer and will have access to our members only message board to discuss the latest happenings. So, why not join today!

Duke Basketball

Duke is off to a 3-0 start in the ACC thanks to it’s defense

January 15, 2009 Mark Watson

Duke managed to put away Georgia Tech last evening 70-56 to go to 3-0 in the young ACC season despite struggling from the field offensively. With a loaded schedule that includes Clemson, North

Duke got off to a 3-0 start in the ACC for the 14th time in the Krzyzewski era

Carolina and Wake Forest twice, each win is important and you can bet that Coach K has his team trying to avoid a letdown.

While Krzyzewski will not allow his team to look too far ahead, with a big national showdown against Georgetown looming this Saturday, perhaps it couldn't help but be in the back of the players minds. That thought likely went away after tip off against Tech in that Duke found themselves down eight early in a night where it seemed they couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the first fifteen minutes of play.

On a night where the Blue Devils got little production from the center or anchor position, Duke depended on it's big three stars in Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson. Coach K let it be known to voice of the Blue Devils Bob Harris in the post game radio show that he was not too happy with the fact that Zoubek and Thomas managed 4 points, 6 rebounds and 8 fouls.

It's vital that Thomas and Zoubek reassert themselves with a Georgetown team coming in that handled #8 Syracuse easily at home on Wednesday. That team features former Duke prospect Greg Monroe, a freshman sensation that can pass or dish assists with the best of them, not to mention control the paint.

Kyle Singler found himself having to play much of last evenings game down low and he certainly produced against the Jackets, going for 19 points and 14 rebounds. The thing is that he was forced to play almost the entire game and should that continue there is a possibility he'll wear down as the season progresses.

Jon Scheyer has had two miserable shooting games from the field, but he always finds ways to help with his court savvy. He struggled with his shot early but always plays a great floor game on a consistent basis. Last evening was no different, where he tallied 14 points and led his team in assists with 5 and grabbed 5 boards for good measure.

While Greg Paulus gave Duke a much needed lift in scoring eight points off the bench, he failed to hand out one assist. That is not necessarily his role this season, but with Nolan Smith having an off night offensively and dishing just one assist, distribution has to be an area of concern at the moment for the Devils.

Quite simply, Duke needs two positions to be more productive on a consistent basis to continue to flourish as they have early, earning the #2 ranking in college hoops.

Despite the aforementioned concerns, Duke finds ways to win and more often than not it is with their defense. Krzyzewski has his team playing at a very high level defensively and so far this season, they have held three conference opponents to around 53 ppg.

Another vital part of the team pushing their record to 15-1 is the play of Gerald Henderson. "G" has adjusted as the season has gone along and has been very consistent of late. Henderson can do things other players can't with his athleticism and versatility. A well rounded performance against the Jackets was what the doctor ordered. His final stat line was 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

One has to be impressed with the results so far this season. On a night when Duke struggled with their shooting from the field and the free throw stripe they managed a win. If this teams offense becomes more consistent, they'll be a load for whomever they face the rest of the way.

Coach K post game comments, courtesy of Duke Sports Information -

Opening Comment:

"We won a hard-fought game tonight. We knew coming in that Georgia Tech, for the first time this season, was close to being 100 percent. They didn't start the year with Clinch, then Miller was sick, and then Peacock was sick the last game, but they had everyone tonight. Obviously those guys will still get in better shape. As a result they can hit you with different lineups now. They can start that big lineup and they can bring Miller in, and you have Shumpert, Clinch and Miller with Peacock and Lawal - they are a good team, tough to score against. I thought our defense helped win the game for us. We played very well, defensively, in the second half. I thought we played the last 10 minutes of the first half well defensively but they kind of knocked us back and we didn't do what we wanted to do on the top ball screen. And they executed well. They are a very big team. Kyle [Singler] came up with some huge plays for us, especially on the defensive boards. And then G had a really good second half offensively. Both teams had trouble scoring because we are both pretty good defensive teams. We got a big boost in the first half from Paulus and Marty [Pocius]. Greg and Marty gave us a big boost, and then Dave [McClure] was terrific in the second half, defensively. He had two big blocks and was a heck of a defensive player. And we needed that. It was hard fought, and a good win for us. Hooray for me, I'm happy. When you win a game like this, it's not an easy game. They are good."

Comment on rebounding:

"Yeah, we had a couple more. But that fact that we weren't hit hard, a lot of it had to do with Kyle. Kyle had 14 rebounds. All of a sudden on some of those misses, you saw Kyle with two hands coming up and that gives you a possession. Neither team scored quickly, so when you got a possession it meant a little bit more in this game. Dave came up - his blocks were the main thing. And then trying to stay in front of Lawal was huge. Our post defense was a lot better in the second half."

Comment on Gerald Henderson coming up big in the second half:

"He's a good player, first of all. Their defense was taking away the drive. They were really playing like zoning up, and we ended up just kind of pounding the ball in the floor. I told him to either shoot it or pass it - don't just keep dribbling it. He wants to beat you, he's a good player. In the second half our offense had a little bit more movement and we put him in a couple different places so he could do it. He lost it a couple of times, but we went to both him and Kyle. We tried to run a bunch of things through those two kids."

Comment on big men going over top of the screens:

"I thought Kyle, in particular, defended that well. We're a very good defensive team. In the first half, we did not do that well. We started switching, and then our little guy went down, instead of the big guy staying and the little guy staying up on top, which is what we practiced. I felt like the father that tells their kid, and they say that they never heard you. Well I said it, I said it a bunch - I even called a timeout. In fact, you're even IN timeout right now. But that's what happens, and to our kids' credit, they got it straight after a while."

Comment on the league:

"I think our league is the best it's been for a long time. We've got four teams in the top-10. We just played Tech and Florida State, and they can play anybody that we've played. Our league is the best league. The fact that we have 12 teams shouldn't be discriminated against. Believe me, we don't want more - I don't want more. But we have a hell of a league. It's an older league and a bigger league. We have some big teams in our league - Tech and Florida State are two of the biggest teams in the country when you put those lineups out. We've been No. 1 in the RPI, We have had the best non-conference. I've always been a cheerleader for the ACC, but this year, even more because we have a lot of good teams. And always in the league, there are always two things that bring around the differential: an injury and close losses."

Comment on strategy on defending Lawal:

"We wanted to pressure the passer. I think we were the first team this year that pressured the high post instead of dropping off. We tried to stay where we were between him and the ball. Ball pressure is key - we wanted to pressure the passer (because) the passer can see more. But he's good. He's gotten really strong, and you can tell that kid's really worked. I don't think anybody that I've seen yet, and I know I haven't seen everybody, but I don't think anyone runs the floor quicker than Lawal. He goes from the defensive end to the offensive end real fast. He's a big time player and competitor.