Tag Archives: Blue Devil Nation

[private]Christ School advanced to the Glaxo Smith Kline Invitational Shavlik Randolph Foundation Championship by defeating Kinston 76-59. They will face Word of God tonight just after 9:00 in what should be an exciting match up. Ravenscroft will also take place in the championship game of the Summit Hospitality bracket against Centennial.

"Our half time adjustments were great and our defense confused them a little bit. It's hard to keep these guys up for five games in a row. Jackson and Plumlee ... I can't say enough about what they do for this team and we just have to get up for tomorrow night," said the Greenies Coach Gaines.

Christ School shot 61.7% from the field over a pesky Kinston team. The Greenies were led by South Carolina commitment Lakeem Jackson who tallied 18 points and 4 rebounds. He spent much of the night guarding UNC commitment Reggie Bullock who scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

"For two years Lakeem has guarded the other guy's stars. We told him you have to guard Reggie Bullock. He (Jackson) takes such pride in his defense. Reggie made some great shots in the first half, but by in large Lakeem did a great job on him," said Gaines.

Duke bound Mason Plumlee was a force in the paint where he scored 15 points to go with 13 rebounds. Plumlee known for his uncanny passing skills for a big man dished out 7 assists.

"If this kid is not an All American, you've got to be kidding me. It's not going to be because he scores 25 points a night. Tonight we had him for 8 assists. He just produces in the big games for us. I would like to see him post up a little more and part of my barking at him was to get him to do that. But again, the kids a superstar," said Gaines when asked of Plumlee.

Plumlee was 7 of 10 from the field, two of those misses were three point shots. Plumlee is a shoo-in for the all tournament team and his field goal percentage has to be among the best at the event.

When asked of his passing ability for a big man, Plumlee told the Blue Devil Nation, "When you have good shooters like we do, you want to get them the ball. I've been watching the game since I was younger and a lot of my favorite players were great passers.

The Greenies pulled away late in the game after throwing a variety of defenses at Kinston. They must now prepare for Word of God, an athletic team which will press and push the ball.

Word of God of course, is led by the nation's top uncommitted prospect in John Wall. While their game wasn't pretty on the eyes due to numerous turnovers, they held St. Raymond to 30% shooting in a decisive 63-43 win.

"I think the biggest thing for us tonight was our defense. We gave up 10 points in the first quarter and 6 in the second. We had a little bit of a let down in the third, but came back strong in the fourth," said Word of God Coach Levi Beckwith.

Wall showed off his ability to get from end to end faster than any player in the high school ranks. He scored 14 points on 40% shooting from the field. He was 6 of 7 from the free throw stripe and dished out 4 assists.

"I'm just trying to be the leader I'm supposed to be and prepare for college," Wall told the Blue Devil Nation in a post game interview.

Another impressive stat line for Wall was his 9 rebounds which is a testament to his active feet. But his top stat was his 5 blocks, where two were on the same possession where he also started the break for an easy basket.

"We've watched them (Christ School) play the last two nights and Coach will give us our game plan. If we follow his game plan we win, if we do something outside his game plan we struggle to win. We will go home and rest tonight and we'll go over the game plan. It's going to be a tough game but we might come out with the win," stated Wall on his next opponent.

Coach Beckwith added, "We are going to need to make sure we did the same thing we did down low tonight which is number one make sure we're down there. Obviously we want to use our speed, but they have speed as well. We are going to do what we do just like they do. Their coach is probably sitting back when we are going to trap them half court - we are doing the same thing."

Ryan Kelly will lead Ravenscroft against Centennial in the first game this evening. Centennial is led by N.C. State commitment Lorenzo Brown. Another Pack commitment of interest is C.J. Leslie who plays for Word of God.

Once again, Broughton High School was filled to capacity and people were turned away in droves outside the venue. Duke Assistant Coach Nate James took in the action for the Blue Devils.

Blue Devil Nation Premium our subscription service has an exclusive one on one interview with John Wall and much more from last evening alone. Why not check out the hardest working premium site around and judge for yourself where you get the best basketball coverage to add to your fan experience. If you are a member of another site, once you check us out, you'll likely see the difference.[/private]

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Kelly and Ravenscroft head to the Glaxo Championship game

December 29, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]Ravenscroft won their third consecutive game by disposing of Panther Creek 77-53. The Ravens put on a shooting clinic for much of the game ending up 73.5% from the field and a whopping 77.8% from the three point stripe.

The Ravens lost their first two games of the season during the Chic-Fil-A Invitational before winning their final contest of the event. Those losses did not settle with Coach Billerman and his

Kelly thunders to the hole against Panther Creek - copyright BDN Premium

team and thus far they've played with a chip on their shoulder in the continuing Glaxo Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"This is the type of basketball I think we can play. We started the game against their trapping defense hitting some wide open shots. We held them to four offensive rebounds and if we can do that every day, we'll be hard to beat," said Billerman shortly after the contest. The Ravenscroft Coach continued, "In my nine years it may have been the best game Ravenscroft has played."

Part of the resurgence can be attributed to their go-to player, Ryan Kelly. The Duke commitment scored a game high 30 points going 11 of 14 from the field to go with his 5 rebounds and two assists.

Kelly was 11 of 11 before missing a three point shot to break the streak.

"We got good shots early on and the whole team was knocking them down," said Kelly. "We were pushing the ball real well today and shooting as good as we did from three is pretty amazing."

Luke Davis also asserted himself with 20 points, while Panther Creek was led by Auburn commitment Earnest Ross with 29 points. "We are a good passing team when Luke has his energy. A lot of people don't know that he has been really sick. At Chic-Fil-A in South Carolina he wasn't himself but I thought you saw a pretty complete player today who was able to penetrate past their guards and allow others to score," said Billerman.

Ravenscroft now has a chance to win their bracket championship on Tuesday evening and carry that momentum into the rest of the season. "It means a lot to Ravenscroft. Playing for a Glaxo Championship is something we'll talk about over the break and we'll give our hardest effort in order to do that."

Kelly later told BDN, "We wanted to come in here and show some people something. It's important because a huge chunk of the City of Raleigh is coming out to watch these games and they want to see a championship game between two good teams and we are happy to be one of them."

The Ravens will play the winner of the Centennial-Knightdale game which will be played at 5:40 today. The championship game will start at 7:20 on Tuesday. In the other bracket, tonight's Christ School-Kinston winner plays in the nightcap versus the winner of Word of God or St. Raymonds.

For an in depth one on one interview with Ryan Kelly, join Blue Devil Nation Premium and get complete inside access. There are already premium articles and interviews up with Plumlee and John Wall. Members also have access to our message board where we will be blogging live from the event. For some of the best recruiting and inside new available, join today and see what you are missing.[/private]

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Plumlee helps Christ School advance, going 9 of 11 from the field

December 28, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]The Glaxo Smith Kline Invitational has afforded Duke fans their first opportunity to see 2009 commitment Mason Plumlee play in the Triangle since last seasons State Championships. Plumlee didn't disappoint, prompting one recruiting guru to exclaim, "Mason is the real deal, Duke has got a good one in him. He can do it all."

Plumlee is the younger brother of current Duke player Miles Plumlee, yet he was the first to cast his lot to wear the royal blue. He plays for Christ School of Arden, the defending state champion and a team that is now a traditional North Carolina power.

Plumlee pretty much had his way in his teams 70-45 win over Apex Middle Creek during their tournament opener. Plumlee tallied 18 points going 9 of 11 from the field. He added 7 rebounds and 2 blocks to his total as well.

"He continues to do what he should. He plays like a high school All American should play," said Christ School Coach David Gaines.

Plumlee showed off his ball handling ability and was a force on the boards while altering shots. He threw down a reverse slam dunk as the first half ended and had two consecutive dunks prior to that.

"We just did what we needed to do. I think it all starts with our rebounding. We have great defenders and when they can put that much pressure on the perimeter and we get some easy baskets offensively, it makes things come together much quicker," said Plumlee when talking of his teams win.

Plumlees numbers may seem a bit low to some, but one must consider that his team features seven Division I prospects or commitments and they can go very deep. How deep? Well, they played ten players in the first half against Middle Creek.

"He is a little too unselfish for me. I would like to see him dominate more, but I think Mason has a feel for the game and wants to get others involved maybe a little bit too much," said Gaines. He then touched on the aforementioned depth. "Mason Lakeems' (Jackson, South Carolina commitment)statistics are misleading. They are averaging about 16 points a game, but both would rather pass it than shoot it."

Plumlees team will face Rocky Mount led by UNC commitment Reggie Bullock on Monday evening as the Glaxo Invitational continues in Raleigh. "Kinston is going to be the most disciplined well coached team that we've played. "Reggie Bullock is a tremendous player and they do things the way we do things. That's (game) is going to be more of a chess match," said Gaines when asked of Rocky Mount.

Blue Devil Nation Premium subscribers can get a more detailed scouting analysis and a one on one question and answer session with Mason Plumlee Members also have access to the premium only message boards, where we blog live from the event. Next up is a Ryan Kelly game story in our free section and a Ryan Kelly interview for members.[/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Glaxo Premium Report – Wall talks recruiting and Kelly his teams victory

December 27, 2008 Mark Watson

The Blue Devil Nation was on the scene for the 37th Annual Tournament where we caught all of the action in a sold out venue. We talked with John Wall about the recruiting process and where he stands. BDNP talked to Duke commitment Ryan Kelly as well. The following is an in depth report laced with plenty of details and full of scouting reports, interviews, pictures and behind the scenes chatter. We will continue our live blog of the event on the Premium Message Board this afternoon. It's a great time to join Blue Devil Nation Premium. Details for membership are in the menu just under our name. [private]

Word of God - When Word of God players arrived in the media room, John Wall, CJ Leslie and Bishop Daniels joked about with each other about missed finger rolls or dunks. While the three got along well together off the court, there were time when some of the Word of God players seemed to take their shots when they got them for fear of not getting enough shots.

John Wall - Word of God is very athletic and the crowd really got into their game. But all of their players seemed to want to make the showboat play. Wall would show off his ball skills in an almost taunting manner when guarded one on one. There was one short, stocky kid which got a five second call on Wall after his showboating. That's a call he'll talk about to his family about one day when Wall is in the NBA.

In reality, his team is giving the crowd what they want and they run the court non stop, but did play a zone this evening which is uncharacteristic of their team. Quite simply, WOG plays on emotion and their talent allows them to try and do things other teams wish they could.

Wall showed the ability to make amazing dunks from any and every angle. His leaping ability is something to behold, especially considering he gets up so quickly. He can make up ground like no other guard in the country and came floating through the air effortlessly for two blocks and a third which was called a foul.

Wall is a streaky outside shooter. He would nail a couple and then miss one badly. His strength is going to the hole and he actually needed the ball in his hands more in order to create on the break. His half court PG skills need work, but he is a motor guy who will be a star on any level.

ESPN is doing a documentary on Wall and a piece for an upcoming ESPNU show. The camera seems to follow Wall everywhere in an almost comical fashion, be it in the

Not even the Fire Marshall could get in to see Wall on Friday night

stands before the game or close enough to see sweat glands at work in the team huddle.

Much has been made of past attitudes and problems with Wall. His coach had this to say, "One of the things that people don't see is the strides that these guys has made as young men. If you were to interview people that knew these guys years ago, they would tell you what they have developed most is not their game, but their character.

My Q & A with John Wall - (Keep in mind there is limited time during this event and I fired off as many questions as I could which was pretty much half the questions asked total)

Somebody is going to bring up recruiting and where you are in the process, can you speak of that? There was a TV camera on you quite a bit. Is this the continuation of the documentary they were filming since the last time I talked to you in person at the Peach Jam.

"I'm not sure, really. I think that's ESPN," said Wall who then turned to his coach asking, "Is that ESPN 360 ... I think?"

When will you trim your list?

"I think I will do it when I take two or three more visits. When I take my last couple of visits that's when I will try to trim my list down and make a decision in April."

Are any of those visits set or in the near future?

"I've got to take one to Miami and Baylor and then I've got to take one more after that."

... and your list consists of?

"Kansas, Memphis, Baylor, Miami, N.C. State, Duke and Oregon."

Rising Star Bishop Daniels- Daniels was a sharp witted youngster witha big smile and seemed mature beyond his years. When asked about playing with Leslie and Wall. "Man they treat me like a little kid. They treat me like the baby. (room laughing) It's fun playing with them. I go at them hard because they go at me hard. They try to hurt me in practice (Jokingly), but it's different with two superstars on the court. I'm trying to show what I can do on the courts too." I then asked him to tell me something nobody knows about John Wall and CJ Leslie as both players put their faces in their hands. "CJ is a clown and Johns a clown too. They like to have fun, more fun than anybody I know." Once in the hallway, I asked Bishop where he thought Wall might be leaning. "It depends on which day it is. He changes back and forth all the time."

Ryan Kelly -Kelly continued his perimeter play often handling the ball out front in his teams opening night win. Kelly scored 21 points grabbed 4 boards and had 3 blocks. Ravenscroft defeated Apex 71-56 and the opponent had nothing to combat the size of the Ravens.

Kelly flushed three dunks and handled the ball well. When he did take the ball in low, it allowed him to kick back out to teammates for open shots. Kelly still needs a little work on his three point stroke, but his movement is smooth. Again, I am impressed by his length when challenged defensively. He easily mad up ground against shorter players. He will be in action again this evening.

Ravenscroft teammate Matt Wilson who is heading to UNC-Wilmington had a solid game where he tallied 18 points. FWIW, the official stats seem to need an extra stat person for they indeed differ from what many of us are keeping.

Former Duke player and Ravenscroft coach Kevin Billermans comments -

Opening statement - "Our guards made some threes early which opened the game up for us and our defensive pressure allowed us to open it up to twenty points."

He wanted folks to know his team has not been healthy- "One of the things that people don't understand is that Madison is coming off a sprained ankle and has not been able to practice for an extended period of time. Luke Davis our PG had streped throat down in South Carolina and did not have the energy he normally had. When those two guys are healthy they created plays where Matt and Ryan can finish."

I asked about how he was using Ryan and that it seemed different from last year -We wanted to feature Matt (Wilson) more in the post this year. Most teams don't have two big men. With Ryan, he's so skilled and can create shots for himself Matt and our perimeter players.

Q and A with Kelly-

Did this game help your team get back on track after dropping one of three games in the Chic-Fil-A tournament?

"Yeah, definitely! We began to get into a little bit of rhythm once now that this tournament has begun. Obviously we didn't do as well as we would have like down at the Chic-Fil-A tournament. But we finished with a win there and started off with one here and hopefully that can translate as we continue into the tournament."

I asked Kelly if having Chris Collins and his Father Doug in the stands got him more pumped up -

"I go out in every game prepared to play as hard as I can. It's great to see that the coaches are supporting me, but I play the same with every game - the same emotion.

Chris Collins and Doug Collins - It's always great to see these two basketball

Kelly, Collins and Collins/copyright BDN Premium

purists together. They were going over X's and O's during the game and ESPN was sure to get a shot of them. Kelly stopped over to talk with them after I talked with him. Once a player is committed coaches are allowed to talk with their kids.

I will be covering the event today and will have a live blog going on the message board for members. Mason Plumlee plays this evening followed by Ryan Kelly. [/private]

Duke Basketball

Holiday Thank You’s and Wishes to Duke Athletics, members, fans and more

December 24, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]First of all, the BDN Team of Bob, Susan and myself would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! While I know many of you are traveling and or are enjoying time with your family, Istill want to bring you a few Holiday thanks and well wishes. I hope you take the time to read our Christmas and Holiday well wishes to everyone from the Duke Band to Coach K!

I would like to thank our premium members and daily readers who make up the Blue Devil Nation. We, at BDN, feel that all of us make up the Nation and we continue to expand that community. Our members allow us to keep the BDN going and in return we try to give them the best inside coverage available. Without subscribers, we couldn't bring our coverage to the rest of the Duke Community and make no mistake, we need that support.

Let's put a special emphasis on Coach K, who continues his success with his juggernaut program. He helped give the whole country a Gold Medal and continues to be a steward for the game itself. You have given us so many wonderful memories and thanks for letting us share the ride. We are very fortunate to have Mike Krzyzewski at the helm. We wish his entire clan, dogs and all the best!

I would like to also think the fine staff under him. Our best to Chris Collins,Steve Wojciechowski, Nate James, Chris Carawell and their families!. Collins and Wojo are some of the hardest working and most dedicated coaches in the game and we need to enjoy them while they're here for programs will soon come knocking. It's comforting to see you guys on the sidelines.

Nobody was happier than me when Nate and Chris joined the program. Nate is an articulate young man who will suceed at this level and Chris has a desire to succeed that will serve him as well. The BDN will soon have an article up on their Basketball Clinic where our members and supporters allowed us to send kids to their camp from lesser fortunate backgrounds. Welcome to the program guys!

Then there are the Duke Men's Basketball players. Thanks a lot for building new memories for us fans and representing the program with the utmost dignity and spirit. As fans, we look forward to the rest of the season and we back you all thick and thin. Thanks to Paulus for his amazing leadership and Singler for is amazing knowledge of the game, Henderson for his athleticism and help defense, Scheyer for his hard work in the off season, Zoubs for his resilient play, McClure for his fighting through injuries to become a key contributor, Smith for him taking on the role of a leader, Thomas for his tenacity, Pocius, Johnson, Davidson, Williams, Plumlee and Czyz for being on the best team in America.

Let's not forget Coach P and her group of fine young women. The Duke Women's Basketball team has had a run of recent victories and the best is yet to come! The BDN enjoys covering their games and looks forward to the senior season ahead for Abby, Chante and Careem. Go out there and make some memories girls! We'd also like to thank SID Lindy Brown for making our coverage possible. He's one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.

That brings us to Duke Football Coach David Cutcliffe! We at the BDN hope you take a much needed break from your hard work on and off the field to enjoy time with your family. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and your staff this season and as a football fan, I would like to thank you for letting Duke fans and myself know you'll get the job done. You have assembled a great staff and I want to give them all a Holiday shout out, from OC Kurt Roper to Ethan Johnson, you all make up a heck of a family. Oh, and those in the office too, led by my pal Peggy.

I would like to also wish happy holidays to all the players who worked so hard with a special emphasis to three outstanding seniors who led both side of the ball in Michael Tauiliili and Cameron Goldberg and Eron Riley.

Warm "Holiday Wishes," to new Athletic Director and Vice President Kevin White as well. You have been a wonderful addition for Duke University and your leadership skills and vision will serve us all well. Seeing how you are so hands on during our coverage is more than just a little encouraging.

I wish Mike Cragg a continued and speedy recovery from his recent surgery. Cragg is a good guy and he serves Duke well which includes a lot more than his work with the Legacy Fund.

Another shout out for a safe holiday to our spirited and lovely Duke Cheerleaders. While you may seem under appreciated, I'd like you to know that you gals have been BDN's most popular photo gallery. And we'll have that gallery back up soon. You will always be recognized by the Blue Devil Nation as will the ...

Duke Band! Thanks for all of your hard work and spirit! Having met some of you, I can tell the Nation that you are some fine young men and women. The teams and fans need you! GTHC!

And lest we forget the best mascot in America - the Blue Devil!

The Cameron Crazies and Wade Wacko's! Thanks for you current past and continued support. Your importance cannot be understated. That said, go home, rest up and celebrate with friends and family. Then come back and cheer hard.

The best of the Holidays to my friends and Knights of the Round Table during media events, Jim Sumner, Bill Brill, Bob Harris and Al Featherston. It's always nice to rub elbows with you guys. A special thanks to John Roth as well for his hard work for Duke and the opportunities he's allowed me.

And warm wishes to my network of sources who if I mentioned you all, everybody would use you;) Thanks for the information and working together.

Hope the Duke Sports Information Department Team has a nice break themselves. And let's not forget Frank Dascenzo who keeps me entertained with his memories. There are many others, [/private]

Duke Basketball

Coach K on his PG’s, Zoubek and the Meadowlands (Izod Center)

December 19, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]Wanted to see if you could you talk a little bit about the role situation you have developing in point guard. You got a guy, a veteran who’s done a lot of great things for you, Paulus, has been kind of banged up and you’ve also got a really talented younger guy, who looks like he’s kind of moved into the starting lineup. Can you kind of talk about the dynamic in what you have going on there?

Well the main thing for us is we hope that it’s a position that of strength for us. We think it can be, especially when both guys are healthy. Greg has been banged up since the end of last season and is getting close to being 100 percent now. He’s had a really rough go at it.

Nolan started the season really well and then he got banged up a little bit, continued to play, hurt his back, and I thought yesterday played much better. It should be a position of strength, Nolan would start, he’s really done a good job defensively, and he’s very good offensive player and is also a good outside shooter, but Greg’s experience when he comes in, gives us something that a lot of teams don’t have, and then both of them obviously can play together also, because of Greg’s ability to play off the ball and shoot.

I was wondering if you could comment on the progress of Brian Zoubek?

Yeah, we’re really pleased with Brian. Brian’s been our starting center and it’s been well over a year since he’s been injury free. Last year was the year from hell so to speak, as far as injury goes. He broke his foot twice, and never had an opportunity to develop, play and there was just no continuity. That really lasted until the end of September, when he got the go ahead…not the end of September the end of August, and in September he got the go ahead to play 5 on 5, but for the next about 7 weeks, he had to play with what they call a shank in his shoe, which is kind of playing like with a boot on, and did well, but since he’s gotten that out of his shoe, he’s really shown a lot of progress. I’m really pleased with him, and hopefully he has the opportunity to stay injury free the rest of the season.

On Xavier -

First of all, they have a winning attitude. They’re all together in the pursuit of one goal and that is to play well and win. They play hard, they’re very good defensively, have excellent depth and there’s really not one guy you can stop, because if Anderson doesn’t hurt you, then Raymond will or Brown and Jackson had a great first half scoring against Cincinnati. They’re a top 10 team, they’re a legitimate team, top team, and the attitude that they have is a great one. I think Sean has done a great job of instilling that and he’s taken over a great tradition there. Xavier, when I grew up in Chicago, in a Catholic League, I mean everyone knew about Xavier, they continue to produce really good basketball teams and looks like they have a lot of fun playing.

We are looking forward to it. I’m not saying this just to say it, it’s always an honor to play there, and to play against Xavier. It’s going to be a heck of a basketball game and give ultimate respect for them and their kids. They play the right way.[/private]