SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 33,877
- Like
- 65,332
- I posted before the game that “once a year we blow somebody’s doors off”. Well, Duke does too, (but more often) and we were the bug tonight. Their play tonight, especially during the 2-21 run from 9:12 left in the first half to 2:25 left, would have beaten anybody in the country, certainly the ACC. They were all over us like army ants on the defensive end and made every pass and every shot on the other end. I realized, watching this, that it just wasn’t our night. Sorry, folks.
- It had figured to be a close, competitive game. Both teams were 9-6 in the conference. They just beat Notre Dame 68-64. We beat them 62-61 and 78-73. Both teams lost at Miami but we last by 4 and they lost by 22. Both teams swept Boston College. They did it by 17 points. We did it by 22 points. So why did this game crash and burn for us. “ A very big read was that got clobbered on the boards, 25-38. That required everyone to go after rebounds, which we still didn’t get. By committing to getting to rebound, we wee repeatedly beaten downcourt. UNC had the same number of fast break points, 12 but that doesn’t count all the wide open threes the Blue Devils got against an unsettled defense. It happened over and over again in the 2-21 run and several times against our press, which Duke, with two 7 footers who could catch and pass and an excellent point guard in Jeremy Roach.
- Duke hit 13 of 26 threes. Against Notre Dame, they were 5 for 20. Against Miami they were 5 for 19. In the two BC games they were 14 for 37. Some of that is the quality of the defense played was a factor but you still have to make the open shots. The three-pointer is the biggest X-factor in team sports. In the other goal sports, (lacrosse, hockey and soccer), long shots are occasionally attempted but they aren’t big part of the game. In football long passes and field goals are a major part of the game but the targets are a goal line and the uprights, not a basket twice the size of the ball. The closest thing is n baseball, where a lost of guys are trying for home runs. Sometimes they make them and sometimes they don’t. A three point specialist is like Joey Gallo or Dave Kingman – he scores or he doesn’t. Tonight, Duke scored and we couldn’t keep up.
- Duke had two seven footers and they were able to completely neutralize Jesse Edwards, who had just 5 points and 5 rebounds. He lacks strength and has trouble getting around defenders with his embryonic back to the basket game. He’s passing better but his teammates don’t do a good enough job of setting those passes up. They need to be aware of when Jesse’s in trouble and position themselves to give him targets to pass to.
- JB used four small forwards: Chris Bell, Justin Taylor, Benny Williams and Quadir Copeland. They played a total of 50 minutes in this game and scored 4 points on 2 for 15 shooting and pulled down 6 rebounds with 2 assists, 1 steal and no blocks. They never got to the line. NP: 0. Nada. Nerts. Nothing.
- The refs “let ‘em play” in the paint and that was to the advent age of the team that was playing harder and better and that wasn’t. us.
- Due to a Syracuse Crunch game, the local ESPN affiliate had no post game show so I listened to WAER, where they debated such issues as “Will Justin Taylor become a superstar?” and “Should Buddy Boeheim be a teams #1 scoring option?”, (not if he’s already graduated). One host said that Chris Bell should get at least 25 minutes playing time per game, “Because he comes up big in the big games”. Jeesh!
- We had more talent in the stands, (Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Elijah Hughes, Buddy, etc.) than we did on the court.
- It had figured to be a close, competitive game. Both teams were 9-6 in the conference. They just beat Notre Dame 68-64. We beat them 62-61 and 78-73. Both teams lost at Miami but we last by 4 and they lost by 22. Both teams swept Boston College. They did it by 17 points. We did it by 22 points. So why did this game crash and burn for us. “ A very big read was that got clobbered on the boards, 25-38. That required everyone to go after rebounds, which we still didn’t get. By committing to getting to rebound, we wee repeatedly beaten downcourt. UNC had the same number of fast break points, 12 but that doesn’t count all the wide open threes the Blue Devils got against an unsettled defense. It happened over and over again in the 2-21 run and several times against our press, which Duke, with two 7 footers who could catch and pass and an excellent point guard in Jeremy Roach.
- Duke hit 13 of 26 threes. Against Notre Dame, they were 5 for 20. Against Miami they were 5 for 19. In the two BC games they were 14 for 37. Some of that is the quality of the defense played was a factor but you still have to make the open shots. The three-pointer is the biggest X-factor in team sports. In the other goal sports, (lacrosse, hockey and soccer), long shots are occasionally attempted but they aren’t big part of the game. In football long passes and field goals are a major part of the game but the targets are a goal line and the uprights, not a basket twice the size of the ball. The closest thing is n baseball, where a lost of guys are trying for home runs. Sometimes they make them and sometimes they don’t. A three point specialist is like Joey Gallo or Dave Kingman – he scores or he doesn’t. Tonight, Duke scored and we couldn’t keep up.
- Duke had two seven footers and they were able to completely neutralize Jesse Edwards, who had just 5 points and 5 rebounds. He lacks strength and has trouble getting around defenders with his embryonic back to the basket game. He’s passing better but his teammates don’t do a good enough job of setting those passes up. They need to be aware of when Jesse’s in trouble and position themselves to give him targets to pass to.
- JB used four small forwards: Chris Bell, Justin Taylor, Benny Williams and Quadir Copeland. They played a total of 50 minutes in this game and scored 4 points on 2 for 15 shooting and pulled down 6 rebounds with 2 assists, 1 steal and no blocks. They never got to the line. NP: 0. Nada. Nerts. Nothing.
- The refs “let ‘em play” in the paint and that was to the advent age of the team that was playing harder and better and that wasn’t. us.
- Due to a Syracuse Crunch game, the local ESPN affiliate had no post game show so I listened to WAER, where they debated such issues as “Will Justin Taylor become a superstar?” and “Should Buddy Boeheim be a teams #1 scoring option?”, (not if he’s already graduated). One host said that Chris Bell should get at least 25 minutes playing time per game, “Because he comes up big in the big games”. Jeesh!
- We had more talent in the stands, (Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Elijah Hughes, Buddy, etc.) than we did on the court.
Last edited:
