WHAT JUST HAPPENED
The Duke Blue Devils took care of business at home against Alabama-Birmingham, 85-64. The Devils were never really challenged as they earned their 14th win of the season. Duke scored more points, grabbed more rebounds, stole more balls, blocked more shots, smelled better, look better in blue, are nicer to their mothers…you get the point.
THE GAME WAS DECIDED…
when Duke went on a 26-1 run. After allowing the Blazers to hit an opening game three, Duke would score 26 of the next 27 points. UAB went seven minutes without a basket. They would never get closer than 14, as Duke just cruised the rest of the way.
WHO DESERVES MAD PROPS:
I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but it’s Nolan Smith. He scored a career high 33 tonight. He was basically unstoppable. He began the game hitting nine of his first 11 shots. He cooled a bit in the second half, but he also got fouled a couple times and it wasn’t called. He also dished out five assists, grabbing a season high seven rebounds.
Right now, not only is Nolan the ACC player of the year, he should get serious consideration for National Player of the Year. At the very least, he’s first-team All-American.
If I can have a mushy moment for just a second…
This young man has come a long way since that moment two years ago when he laid sprawled out on the floor at Maryland, after colliding with Terp’s big man, Dave Neal.
It had been a difficult year for Smith. He was handed the point guard duties (when he clearly wasn’t ready for it) and he struggled. If my memory is correct, he wasn’t even starting at that point anymore. I’ll be the first to admit, I was doubting whether Smith was ever going to develop into a great Duke player.
22 months later and I’m now calling him the best basketball player in the land. That should teach me to doubt a kids determination and heart.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT…
…Mason Plumlee. Every game someone steps up to be a legit third-option. Often it’s Dawkins, once it was Curry, and Miles has done it recently. Tonight though, Mason was the man. With his older brother in foul trouble, Mason played 29 minutes and scored 14 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Clearly, Mason still feels the most comfortable when he’s out in the open court freelancing. His first half drive was sweet and most of his points came during transition basketball. I have no problem with this.
Obviously I want him to develop his low-post game, but it’s just not there right now. He’s a freak of an athlete and if freelancing is how he’s going to get his points, then go for it. The reality is, whichever big man plays the toughest D and grabs the most boards will get the most minutes.
Right now, Mason is just not a polished big man. He looks timid with his back to the basket. That smoothness we see with him in the open court doesn’t exist underneath. When he’s attempting a back-to-the-basket turnaround, he gets no height, typically fades back and has no arc on his shot.
LOSERS NEED LOVE TO…
Clearly Jamarr Sanders was the only Blazer keeping his team remotely in this. He hit 7-15 shots tonight, doing most of his damage from outside. He hit 5-10 three-point shots, finishing the game with 21. The rest of UAB’s starters were just 7-26 from the floor.
GOD I LOVE STATS: Actually, I’m not going to love this stat…after opening up with a 26-4 lead, Duke technically lost the rest of the way. In the final 33 minutes, the Blazers actually outscored Duke, 60-59.
Now you know and I know, you can’t really judge a basketball game in those terms. The game is a different game when you’re up 20 as opposed to being a back and forth contest. However, if Duke was down one with seven minutes to play, then ended on a 26-4, I’d bet most fans would be talking about how Duke struggled to put UAB away.
My point is, I would love to see Duke find a killer instinct. Duke has done a great job opening up big leads early and then coasting. Against the really weak teams, those leads have eventually opened up to 35-ish point leads. Tonight, I would have liked to see some kind of run in the second half. UAB should never have been able to crawl back to 14 like they did on multiple occasions.
RANDOM RANTS:
- It’s nice to see Nolan driving to the paint like he is. A few weeks ago, I discussed his lack of aggressiveness. Clearly as he gets more comfortable with his role, the more comfortable he gets taking it inside.
While he’s not the quickest cat in the alley, he’s just so smart and recognizes opportunities. He is so good at spotting defensive breakdowns. When I’m watching on TV, I’m almost shocked by how open the lane is for him. He looks like a quarterback in practice wearing one of those red covers on their jersey indicating they can’t be touched.
One thing I’ve noticed is how Nolan always keeps his head up. You’d think this would be driving 101, but you’d be surprised how many players dip those shoulders. That’s how you get out of control. That’s how you take bad shots.
Also, unlike Jon Scheyer last year, who craved contact inside, Nolan doesn’t. He looks for openings and angles for his shot. He gets fouled, don’t get me wrong, but last year Scheyer went for contact, then hoped the shot went in. Nolan is trying to score. If he gets fouled in the process, so be it.
- Where is Kyle Singler’s stroke? After starting the game hitting four of his first five shots, he actually missed 12 of his final 13. He just looked off, especially in the second half when everything, and I mean everything, was short (including one air ball). Every miss seem to hit the front of the rim. On the season he’s made six less shots than Nolan Smith, but he’s taken 13 more attempts.
Now I’m not about to start a “Kyle is tired” bandwagon. It’s way too early in the season to start that chatter. However, Singler tends to have his worst shooting nights in the games where he is asked to play more power forward. Tonight, he had little choice with Miles in foul trouble. This is why it is so important that the brother Plumlees and Ryan Kelly are productive down low.
- Maybe it’s just me, but I want to see Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry shoot the ball more. I don’t care which one starts. I sort of see them as one player. Combined they should be scoring over 20 per game. I still feel like they’re just being opportunistic shooters. Duke needs more.
Remember how successful J.J. Redick was coming off those double screens on the baseline? We need more of that. We need the team as a whole helping these two find some open looks. They are both so lethal. They can’t just stand on the three-point line.
Tonight when they moved, they scored. The pair combined for 13 on five of seven shooting. There is no reason why this Duke team doesn’t run 8-10 plays per game to get these guys some shots. They’re too good to only be taking a combine seven shots in a game.
I love Ty Thornton’s pass first, pass second, pass last mentality. The kid just doesn’t care about scoring. In only six minutes of action, he got three assists. Over the last four games, he’s played just 42 total minutes, but he has 11 assists to only one turnover.
The fact with Thornton is this, he may never be a full-time starter for Duke. He’s not going to start this year. Next year, he has Quinn Cook and Seth Curry to think about (assuming Irving goes pro). Both of those guys should be back in 2012. Duke’s already recruiting some of the top point guards in the 2012 class, so who knows what kind of competition will be there.
- Going back to Kyle Singler and his missed shots, last week I mentioned that as a team, Duke struggles to get offensive boards when Singler misses. Against Miami, he missed 10 shots and none were rebounded. In fact, no Singler miss had been rebounded the previous two games. Tonight though, five of his misses were rebounded by Duke. A lot better.
- Random Number: Singler and Smith took 60-percent of Duke’s shots and made 52-percent of their made baskets.
- Props to Aaron Johnson of UAB. That was a nice fake out on the bench. The Blazers point guard fouled out pretty early. The Cameron Crazier began to do their thing as Johnson stood through a timeout. When the TO ended, he begin to sit down, but faked it, before finally sitting down. Johnson had a huge smile on his face. Yeah, losing sucks, but it’s good to see a young man enjoy what’s happening around him.
FINAL DEEP THOUGHTS:
Now the fun begins. Seventeen of Duke’s last 19 games will be against ACC foes. No longer will announcers talk about teams being intimated in Cameron. No more long home stands. To end January, Duke will play four of five on the road. Hell, even their two remaining non-conference foes will be tough match ups (on the road at St. John’s and at home against Temple, a team that is looking like a Sweet 16 type of team).
Also, we should learn any day now the fate of Kyrie Irving and that big pain in the ass tow of his. Will he play again (at the end of the season) or will he need surgery (which will shut him down for the year)? Durham waits.
