Coming in Duke was a perfect 8-0 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. However, Duke would be put to the test, with a Wisconsin team that matched up with them perfectly. Duke continued what they do best. Making teams play their way, “The Duke Way”.

A whole team of giants wouldn’t have been able to stop the Blue Devils tonight. They quickly jumped on the Badgers and never looked back. 48-25 at the half, and ending at 82-58. Pretty good for a team that was supposed to have trouble with bigger teams. Someone forgot to tell them.

The three pointer was “King” in this one. 11-24 from long range, with Paulus and King leading the way. King continued what he started last game at busted open the first half making shot after shot. He finished with 15 points and 5 boards. Paulus was the other hot hand and also lead the team in scoring with 18 points. Paulus hasn’t shown any signs of letting last year bother him. He looks confident every time he takes the floor, and is really the true leader of this team. King continues to show what being a team player is all about. He is still coming off the bench, but doesn’t seem to care that much, because every time he comes on the floor he is ready to play. Nelson had a rough night shooting, and scored all his points in the second half. However, he did everything else to perfection. His final stat sheet: 9 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals. And of course a “in your face” dunk that rivaled Henderson’s against Illinois.

Quick Thoughts
-Duke’s %: 42.6 FG, 45.8 3pt, 82.6 FT Wisc’s %: 36.9 FG, 21.4 3pt, 53.8 FT
-Seven Blue Devils with at least 6 points, five in double figures
-Singler is scrappy, and always finishes with at least 3 fouls. I like it!!!

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jon Scheyer
With apologizes to Paulus and King, Scheyer had 9 REBOUNDS. That’s right…..9 rebounds against a team with three quality players over 6’10″. He also added 10 points. Player of the game is really getting hard to pick.

Next up: Big game against Davidson Saturday in Charlotte. Davidson just broke into the top 25, and won’t be the doormat like in years past.

Share on Facebook

Just days after I put out a post talking about 2009 recruiting, Duke goes and makes another offer. This is a big one, as Duke made an offer to one of the best PF in the 2009 class. DeShawn Painter is 6’9″ 195lbs. He is a junior at B. T. Washington HS in Norfolk, VA. Duke, as always, has solid competition for a prime time player. Clemson, Florida, Louisville, UNC, Ohio State, and others.

Duke is making it clear about what type of player they want out of the 2009 class. Along with Painter, they have offers out to Reeves Nelson, Erik Murphy, and John Riek. All of these guys are PF/C. All of a sudden Nelson looks like the backup to Painter, and Murphy the backup to Nelson. Who the hell knows about Riek.

I really think out of all of these players, we have the best shot at Painter, because of the location and him being familiar with the ACC. He also happens to be the highest rated player. 2009 recruiting is starting to really pick up. It could be a great recruiting year for the Blue Devils.

Share on Facebook

Taylor King that is.

In a game where Duke look completely jet lagged, King came off the bench and put together one of the best performances of the year. King scored an unbelievable 27 points in just 21 minutes of playing time. With two benches players like Scheyer and King, who needs a big man. A big reason for King’s explosion was an unconscious 6-11 from three point land. Because of King, Duke was able to get out of offensive ruts that they experienced throughout the game.

Another thing King did well was not turnover the ball. His teammates didn’t experience the same success. 20 turnovers, including Lance Thomas(3) Greg Paulus(3) Gerald Henderson(5) Brian Zoubek(4), made Duke look inefficient when handling the ball. Even though there defense was stellar, Duke must protect the ball better. Obvious, right?

The other two scoring leaders for Duke were Henderson(10) and Nelson(12). Players like Singler, Paulus, Thomas, and Scheyer didn’t put up big numbers because they didn’t shot the ball. These players only shot 11 of the 47 shots by Duke. A reason for this was the sloppy play, and many turnovers that stopped Duke from running a full 40 minute “power offense”.

The defense was impressive. Eastern Kentucky only scored 12 points in the first half, finishing with 43 points when is was all over. Duke was able to force Eastern Kentucky into 31 turnovers, scoring 34 points off those turnovers. Like last year Duke is a great defensive team. Adding the zone has just furthered this. But because of all the weapons they have now, you see the better Blue Devils this year.

Quick Thoughts
-17 assists to 20 turnovers. Has to get better before ACC time.
-After this game Duke is shooting a little better than 51% from the field. Pretty solid if you ask me.
-I haven’t heard any news on Pocius. Hopefully it is nothing serious, as he is a key part to this team.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Taylor King
After opening the season with 21 points, Taylor didn’t want anyone to forget who he was. 27 points is a good way to do that. Coming into the season I think a lot of people were more interested in Nolan Smith, then Taylor King. King is really showing that he could turn into a unbelievable scoring threat in the coming year. There is nothing more you can say about these three freshmen. I think they make up the most important freshmen class in the nation, as far as meaning the most to a team. Great stuff from “THE KING”.

*Next up for Duke is the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Another great test in Wisconsin, who the Devils will play Tuesday at 9/8c on ESPN.

Share on Facebook

While we were all busy watching our Blue Devils bring home a championship, the recruiting trail has been put into full force. The Blue Devils now have three scholarship offers out to players.

Their are two players that our true juniors this year, and are in the class of 2009. First, Reeves Nelson, who Duke has had an offer out to for awhile. Nelson is a junior PF from Modesto, CA. He has a long list of potential choices, including Duke , UNC, Arizona, Georgetown, UCLA, Texas, and a few others. As you can see Nelson has a choice between some of the top colleges in the nation. Of course, he is just a junior and his list is a long time from being cut down. But this looks to be one of Duke’s highest priorities, of course because of the need for power down low. This is going to be a very interesting recruiting battle, with some of the best coaches after him. Next up, is Erik Murphy, who is a PF, SF from Massachusetts. Duke offered him a scholarship within the last week. Murphy is a solid player, but looks to be a backup to Nelson who is the more polished player.(Think of Olek Czyz and Greg Monroe) Murphy has recently cut his list to seven, which includes Duke, Boston College, UCONN, Florida, Marquette, Ohio State, and Virginia. As you can see another tough list of some of the best.

The other scholarship that Duke has out is for John Riek. Duke has been after him for awhile, and the reason there isn’t much press is because of the unusually situation. Riek is a graduate from a high school is Africa. However, he is playing high school ball in Winchendon, MA. Riek could of signed with a college team this early signing period. However, he is going to wait till the spring. This is where is gets murky. Riek will be eligible for the NBA draft is June because of his age. Therefore he doesn’t have to sign a letter of intent in the spring, totally bypassing college all together. No one really knows what will happen, but everyone should pay attention as the story unfolds. Riek has a list of four including Duke, UCONN, Florida, and Georgetown.

I feel that the next scholarship offer will be going to one of the top prospects in the 2009 class. Kenny Boynton is a SG from Plantation, FL. Duke has been keeping a close eye on him for awhile, and looks to be the next offer for the Blue Devils. From at comments about his game it seems that he is a little better version of Elliot Williams.

As the season goes on and the Blue Devils keep improving, always be sure to go to Dukereport.com. There you will be able to keep up with all the recruiting, and everyday basketball happens surrounding the Duke basketball team.

Share on Facebook

That was a nice win. Watching the game, it was like watching the Blue-White game. Marquette has a very similar style of play as Duke. They had great quickness, they didn’t have too much size, they played great defense, they could drain the three, and they could drive to the basket. I was prepared for a Duke loss and would have been okay with it, but Duke showed why they are ranked 10th in the country. I have to congratulate Marquette on a great tournament and I wish them a good season.

With that said, there’s no doubt that Kyle Singler was the player of the game and the MVP of the tournament, followed closely by DeMarcus Nelson. Singler and Nelson were the reason we won this game. They both are so multi-dimensional; it makes it hard for other teams to defend them. I was also encouraged by the play of Lance Thomas; he scored 10 points, had 5 rebounds, a block, and he stayed out of foul trouble. Greg Paulus had an efficient game. He had some nice passes, hit some big three’s, and just managed the game well. Brian Zoubek, while playing limited minutes, was very productive. He scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 6 minutes, I wonder if he could be that productive in 20 minutes?

Overall, it was a great game and great tournament. The highlight of the whole tournament for me was seeing the smiles on the faces of Coach K, Johnny Dawkins, and the rest of the team. While we showed some vulnerability, we also showed we can be a great team. Everyone should enjoy this win and get ready for Eastern Kentucky on Sunday.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Share on Facebook

It was the first true test for Duke this season. A quality Big Ten opponent, that could really give Duke match up problems in the paint. At times Illinois dominated Duke in the paint, getting every possible offensive rebound they could. Oh wells…..Duke still managed to come away with a nice victory.

In the early going it looked like Duke was going to have to fight its way to a victory. Illinois looked bigger and ready to play. Then Henderson and Nelson took over. With these two leading Duke stormed back and at times were up as much as eighteen points in the first half. Duke made it look easy on the offensive side. Every pass was smooth, every shot was perfect. And on the defensive side, Duke used the Zone to really disrupt Illinois’ offense.

It was much the same in the second half, as Duke started to close the game at about six minutes left. Illinois made a few runs, but I never felt like Duke was going to give it up. Last year this team had trouble closing game, usually having to fight to keep a ten point lead. This year’s team has enough fresh bodies at the end of the game, they can pretty much do whatever they want.

Henderson and Nelson were spectacular the entire game. Henderson showed off some of that amazing athletic ability and threw down a career high 23 points. This game didn’t see as much as a rotation as previous game, but still there was plenty of time distributed to the players, and I think they won’t be tired for tonight’s game. The Blue Devils got crushed on the boards, but never game up crashing for them. This smaller team played physical with a bigger team, and that was what you want to see.

Quick thoughts
-Zoubek is definitely improving, but still not there
-Thomas had a terrible night. It seemed like every time he touched the ball, he traveled with it
-Shooting percentage’s were better: FG% 56 3PT% 46 FT% 72

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Gerald Henderson
It was nice to see him come out of his shell. He was unbelievable to watch tonight, you didn’t know what he was going to do next. He created his shot, and usually made it. If he can play like this in a consistent level all year, he could be looking a ACC honors.

Next up: The rematch we have all been waiting for. Marquette was the team that gave Duke its first lose last year, and showed what Duke’s weak spots were. This time the setting is Maui, and Duke is a different team. 10:00 EST on ESPN.

Share on Facebook

It took three games for Singler to show why he is Duke’s most complete player. In one half, Singler did everything but score for the other team. Looking at him, you would think Singler wouldn’t be strong under the rim. However, most of his scoring came from the paint. A large amount of his points came off offense rebounds that were put back in. Singler had his best night in his young career scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds leading the Blue Devils to victory.

Duke started off like they have their last two games, firing on all cylinders. They jumped all over Princeton, and no matter how many 3-pointers the Ivy leaguers put up, Duke had too much talent in every aspect of the game.

After a high powered first half, Duke struggled in the second half to get that ball in the hoop. No one could really seem to find a rhythm, and it showed as Duke shot a terrible 5-19 from behind the arc. A percentage like this will simply not cut it against better teams. Duke has to work on not forcing their shot as much as they did in the second half. Even with the bad shooting night, Duke was able to keep the lead in the twenties the entire game.

Last year Duke got killed against teams who played the Princeton style of offense. Tonight really showed how much improved Duke is because of all the fresh bodies they can throw at you. Princeton, despite being down all game, kept a fast pace. This was great for a team that will see much quicker and athletic players in the games to come. Duke has to play hard defense the entire game if they want to run the fast pace offense that they have employed this year.

Quick thoughts
-Zoubek is slowly improving, but has to learn how to throw it down. A few times he could have dunked it, but went for a lay-up.
-McClure played his first action this season. Only eight minutes, but nice to see him out there.
-Ten players scored for Duke tonight.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Kyle Singler
It took him three games, but he came out with a mission tonight. Singler showed why he is one of the best freshmen in the nation. Look for more of this from Kyle this year.

Next up for the Blue Devils is the winner of Illinois/Arizona State, tomorrow @ 8:30 on ESPN. At the half its Illinois by 14.

Share on Facebook

One of the great things about early college basketball is the early season tournaments. Giving you some of the best match ups, and that March atmosphere. One of the biggest tournaments every year is the Maui Invitational. This year Duke has the honor of being one of the favorites, in a very solid bracket.

A great early test of this Blue Devils team, which has looked great in their first two games. Each game they play will provide a different style opponent. First up is Princeton from the Ivy League. Princeton has a young team, which struggled last year, but are much improved. The will hope to slow the Blue Devils down, who are looking to run and gun their way to a championship. Coach K is 9-0 in this tournament, so history is on the Blue Devils side.

The bottom line is that the young Blue Devils will have to play hard every single minute of every game if they want to leave Maui with a stronger rep and a championship trophy.

Share on Facebook

It wasn’t 100-plus points, but I’ll take it.

Duke, on a tougher offensive night, still managed to put up points. Most important, they never let NMSU even get close. The first half was a three ring circus, as Duke took off and went on a impressive offensive run. They closed the half up 47-26. Duke had a tougher time finding the basket in the second half, as easy shots were missed, and the ball was thrown away to many times. No matter what kind of funk the Devils seem to be in, their defense of the guards for NMSU was very solid. They were able to force NMSU into 26 turnovers, also never allowing them to get a sense of flow. Duke made NMSU earn every single one of their points.

When your team scores 86 points and you feel like they had a somewhat off night, it really makes you realize how different this team is from last year. Defense seems to be better, because of the depth of this team. No matter how bad you might be playing on any given night, that defense can keep you in games.

Scheyer had his best game since the North Carolina game last year. He finished “on fire” with 22 points on 8-11 FG%, 4-6 3pt%. A really solid night from Scheyer, who came off the bench. Even though he was pushed off the starting rotation for quicker players, he still plays at a high level. That is the second game in a row where a bench player had lead the team in scoring. That is depth!!!

What can you say about Paulus. I, along with every other Blue Devil fan took shots at him last year. Tonight’s game he had 8 assists with 4 turnovers. It really shows how well he can play with talented players around him. Also his defense was what stood out to me. He had to guard a very quick player all game, and really kept up with anyone he was matched up against. He had 9 points, and 4 steals to add to his solid night.

Kyle Singler had a rough shooting night, but still managed 10 points. He really showed some excellent post moves against bigger players. And the little things he does are so fun to watch. King, after 20 points against NC Central, cooled off a little bit only scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Greg Paulus

Scheyer was the easy choice. However, Paulus showed why he will be a great leader. Not only the 8 assists, but playing hard every single minute he was out there. He is off the hook….for now.

Duke will get ready to fly out to Hawaii, where they will play in the Maui Invitational. Should be a great test for this team. The opening round game will be Monday Nov. 19th. The Blue Devils will face off against Princeton.

After the game the schools will compare SAT scores to see which school reigns in the academic world.

Share on Facebook

This team was supposed to put up a lot of points. Is 121 points enough?

The up-tempo offense that Coach K installed this year proved to work beyond anyone’s hope. The only thing that stopped the Blue Devils from running was NC Central fouling (27 PF). 11 Blue Devils scored at least two points, and 7 of those players were in double-figures. The freshmen showed why they are one of the best freshmen classes in the nation. Singler (15 points, 8 rebounds), Smith (16 points, 4 assists), and King (20 points, 6 rebounds) played at a high level all game.

The bench had an amazing 67 points. A real bright spot was the percentage’s. Duke was 56% from the field, 57% from 3pt, and 84% at the free throw line. If you shoot like this on a consistent basis, this team will be tough to beat.

The post play of Zoubek and Thomas was solid. Zoubek did foul out, but didn’t seem to be the “out of place” player that he was last year. I really see him improving the more playing time he gets. Thomas only had two rebounds, but got nine points and four steals. The more playing time these two get the better they will be. I feel our post problems won’t be that bad once ACC play starts.

There were so many great things to talk about in this game. Every single player had a bright spot in this game. Paulus only had five points, however he didn’t take many shots and had 4 assists and only 1 turnover.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

DUKE

This might be making it easy on myself, but the entire team played at a high level. After last year, this was exactly what Duke needed to get back to its winning ways. 121 points = Great team performance.

Next up: Duke will be hosting New Mexico State on Monday. And thankfully this game will be televised on ESPN2. This will be the first opportunity for most to see Duke play in live action.

Share on Facebook