Hoops: Blue Devils Flatten UVa, 86-70

Dude, I haven’t seen an ass whoopin like that since the JJ Redick era.

Before the game UVa’s players looked like this.

Then the fellas stepped forward with some of this:

A little bit of that:

Which ultimately lead to this:

Did Duke have to do it to those Wahoos like that? I mean, get off the canvas UVa.. Get up! Jeez. Player of the game for Duke had to be my main man (finger snap) Greg Paulus, but it was really a complete team win.

Duke Blue Devils
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
K. Singler, F	32	8-21	0-0	3	8	0	3	18
L. Thomas, F	16	0-1	1-2	0	2	1	1	1
G. Paulus, G	33	5-10	0-0	0	2	3	3	14
G. Henderson, G-F	28	8-13	2-2	3	7	4	1	19
D. Nelson, G	29	6-10	2-5	1	4	4	2	16
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
N. Smith, G	11	2-2	0-0	0	1	0	1	6
D. McClure, F	5	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	1	0
T. King, F	4	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Scheyer, G	29	3-6	3-3	2	2	4	0	10
B. Zoubek, C	13	1-1	0-2	1	4	1	3	2
TOTALS		FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
		33-65	8-14	10	31	17	15	86
		50.8%	57.1%

Still, Greg was just throwing it in the ocean from three. I really think that broke their spirit early and then Duke never looked back thanks to Greg’s play. And there’s nothing worse for an opponent than a confident, shat talking Paulie.

Anyway, bottom line, I like the level of play and overall determination going into this UNC game on Saturday and post season play in general. I also liked how K got minutes in for Big Zoub. It’s an understatement, but the boys in Blue need to sack up and run those hicks from UNC back to Chapel Hill on Saturday.

No mercy.

Go Duke.

– Lake

Super Ugly: Duke drops second straight

I know that it’s tough to win on the road in the ACC, but, Dammit, Duke shouldn’t be losing two straight to unranked teams. So I’m flipping through my tivo “To Do” list, looking for this Duke game against Miami tonight and I notice that it’s just not there. Aww hells no, is the Comcast questioning my Fanhood? So I hop in the whip and head over to Game On outside of Fenway to find a few other Duke fans checking out the game.

Immediately I saw more of the same foolishness that I saw against Wake Forest. First, they were hitting everything. They were banking it, slamming it, J’ing us from three, pulling it up, this cat McClinton was lacing the runner, I mean, you name it, they were doing it.

That was bad enough and we looked slugglish in the first half, but what about that patented Duke effort to start the second half? You know, that same courage and character that won the Carolina game and both Maryland games?

It just never came. Instead, we had the scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion special going on as Miami just thrashed us. I mean, they pushed the lead out to 15 and I was pissed. Then they pushed it out to 20 and I was literally ordering IPA drafts, and I don’t drink beer!!!

It was ridiculous. Sure, if you look at the score, you’ll see that Duke came back and made a game of it and yes, I was encouraged by the heart they showed to do that, but believe me, this was NOT a close game. Miami whupped up on Duke from pillar to post. I mean, literally, in all phases of the game. I just don’t get it.

Even JJ couldn’t believe it. Sure, Miami came out and gave us trouble with their match up zone. But Duke looked like they had never seen a zone before. I mean, we were throwing up off balanced threes like there were 50 seconds left in the game and this was at the 15:00 minute mark in the second half!! Our team defense was deplorable.

Gerald Henderson was INVISIBLE. Yes, he sacked up and hit a big three down the stretch, but this guy just can’t be right physically. I don’t get it, he looks like an NBA first rounded for 2/3 of the season and next thing you know, he’s channeling Mike Chappelle out there.

Hey, G.. If you’re not good to play, then just don’t. I mean, heal up and come back when you’re ready. But I feel like Andre 3000 when he was writing Elevators, “this shit here must stop, like freeze.” My word. I mean, I’m just at a loss. The freshmen suddenly looked like Freshmen. Yes, Scheyer ended up playing well in the second half, but homey’s play for the first 35 minutes was relatively incongruous, off-key and out of sync.

Duke loses, 95-96 and suddenly that supposed locked up No. 1 seed and ACC regular season title looks about as guran-damn-teed as that Central Campus bus picking you up on-time. Lordy… IPA fueled rant over.

– Lake

UNC shows little heart as Duke rolls 89-78

The way I see it the difference in the game was that Duke came out with Kurt Angle’s three I’s: Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence, three adjectives most UNC fans are likely unfamiliar with.

But seriously, this game was a relative snoozer from the middle of the first half. You knew Duke was going to win, it was just a matter of waiting for UNC to die that slow, uninspired death. With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough (and possibly Ty Lawson) does anybody on that squad have any heart?

I mean, where was the pride? Where was the commitment to protect that home court? After these cats lost their Point Guard it just looked like someone came in and stole their lunch money but their big brother happened to be out of town and couldn’t protect them anymore. What a joke.

Believe me, this was NOT a close game. Duke was the superior team, really from start to finish, but most striking was how much tougher Duke was that the Tar Heels. There’s no doubt that things would have been different had Lawson played and it’s unfortunate that UNC lost him to that ankle sprain.

Is that an ankle brace or a gobment electronic monitoring device? My bad. But on the real, if the Refs weren’t under the delusion that Tyler Hansbrough can play a tough, physical brand of basketball and virtually NEVER foul, this would have been a legitimate blow out.

What is this cat doing? Seriously, how many times does Hansbrough just run into his defender where it’s automatically a foul on the defense? How often does he wrestle for a rebound and then suddenly it’s against the other guy? I’ve watched him in other games and it’s the same story, hell, in my broadcast, Packer called him “A Great White Shark.” Well, that’s close to what he is, but I’ll just leave that be (for now).

Anyway, it was a solid Duke win with more than a few gut checks from the fellas and plenty of balanced scoring across the team.

GREG PAULUS WAS NAILS from three and just played an overall great game. He feasted on Thomas, who apparently didn’t get the memo that Greg is water from deep. Not only did he shoot 6-8 behind the arch, but they were clutch shots to boot. The UvT game ball definitely goes to the Syracuse brawler, Gregory P.

He really sacked up. It’s kind of hilarious to say it, but UNC really had no answer for him. The rest of the fellas just played smart and within themselves with six guys scoring in double figures. I can’t lie, it was good to see Scheyer get going too.

He was all over the court tonight, making plays and just letting the play come to him.

That crowd full of hicks, most of whom were more consumed with their placement on Gerald Henderson’s nut sack than on the actual play in the game, got just what they deserved.

No seriously, tell me exactly what these two chicks “wanted” from Gerald?

Exactly. I guess those UNC guys just aint hittin it right.

Definitely not. Those inbreds “wanted” Gerald and that’s exactly what they got.

Happy? Now go vote for Mike Huckabee, strum that ukulele with your underfed hound howling in the background and just remember not to take 2 girls and a dude home with you after you drawn your sorrows in your best batch of Carolina Blue moonshine you undoubtedly prepared for tonight’s game..yall hear? Next... (literally).

Duke Blue Devils
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
K. Singler, F	37	5-11	1-2	2	10	2	3	14
L. Thomas, F	25	5-7	0-2	2	5	0	4	10
G. Henderson, G-F	29	5-10	2-6	3	7	3	3	12
D. Nelson, G	23	3-9	6-7	1	4	5	4	13
G. Paulus, G	31	6-9	0-2	0	3	3	4	18
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
J. Scheyer, G	33	4-11	7-8	2	6	3	1	17
N. Smith, G	13	2-5	0-0	0	0	0	3	5
D. McClure, F	7	0-2	0-0	1	2	0	2	0
T. King, F	2	0-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS		FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
		30-66	16-27	11	37	16	24	89
		45.5%	59.3%

North Carolina Tar Heels
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
D. Thompson, F	18	5-6	2-3	3	5	0	5	12
T. Hansbrough, F	38	12-21	4-9	5	18	0	4	28
M. Ginyard, G-F	33	3-10	8-8	3	5	3	1	16
W. Ellington, G	34	3-14	2-2	2	5	2	4	8
Q. Thomas, G	35	4-8	2-4	0	3	7	4	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
D. Green, G-F	23	1-10	0-0	2	3	4	3	3
A. Stepheson, F	13	0-0	0-2	2	4	0	2	0
W. Graves, G-F	6	0-0	1-2	1	1	1	3	1
TOTALS		FGM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	PF	PTS
		28-69	19-30	18	44	17	26	78
		40.6%	63.3%
TEAM REBS: 5

Stay down!

Go Duke.

– Lake

Tough win for Duke over FSU

Boy, what a good win for the guys in Blue. See these are the games where you learn to appreciate the depth we have at the guard/swing man slot. Not only that, but it gives me a much needed appreciation for that man Jon Scheyer who was NAILS tonight with a plethora of threes, dimes, spin moves, lays and yes, facial expressions:

Shoot, I’ll take it. All of it. Not only was he red hot in the first half, but when Duke’s perimeter playmakers were spazzing out in the second half, Jon S. was relatively calm and cool (Quietly, Singler was too). You forget that he’s a solid ball handler until G. Hendo, Pauly and Markie suddenly get collective stone hands on consecutive possessions and start turning the thing over. Anyway, I’ve never seen Jon play that well, especially on the road in a tight game. Jon definitely gets our game ball for his efforts.

Anyway, overall, it was a tough and gritty win for the good guys. Let’s face it, Greg P. had an awful game. But once again, he showed that he’s more heart and toughness than he is player. He had that gutsy 3, tough lay, scrappy rebound and best of all, that timely steal that Duke needed to seal the win. It was a poor 3/4 of a game, but you got to respect how he fought back and got Duke the tough win.

And this win was crucial too because now we’ve got a solid Clemson squad coming into Cameron on Saturday, followed by games at Virginia Tech and at Thug U aka Maryland. Overall, it was a gritty team win with input from about 8 guys. I like it.

Kick the stats intern:

VISITORS: Duke 14-1, 2-0 ACC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
12 Kyle Singler........ f  3-8    2-6    2-2    2  4  6   3  10  1  2  0  1  26
14 David McClure....... f  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  2  1  1  12
03 Greg Paulus......... g  3-8    1-6    2-2    0  2  2   4   9  1  2  1  2  20
15 Gerald Henderson.... g  4-9    0-1    3-4    1  7  8   2  11  0  2  1  0  31
21 DeMarcus Nelson..... g  2-6    0-2    3-5    1  5  6   2   7  1  4  0  0  36
02 Nolan Smith.........    1-6    0-3    2-2    1  6  7   2   4  4  2  0  0  20
20 Taylor King.........    3-6    2-4    0-0    1  3  4   2   8  1  1  2  1  15
30 Jon Scheyer.........    9-13   2-5    1-3    2  1  3   1  21  2  2  0  2  32
42 Lance Thomas........    0-1    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   3   0  0  3  0  1   8
   TEAM................                         3  1  4
   Totals..............   25-57   7-27  13-18  13 31 44  19  70 10 20  5  8 200

– Lake

Pitt downs Duke 65 to 64 in Overtime

Daaamn homies, in the first half yall were the mans, homies, now seriously, what the fuck happened to us?

Man, that was a tough loss in the garden. It’s hard to knock the effort of the good guys in blue, after all, a bounce here or there and I’d be talking about a gritty win in OT. With that said, make no mistake, Duke gave Pitt an opportunity to come from behind with that 3 ball to win it and win it they did.

Big credit to Pitt, Jaime Dixon and most of all, Levance Fields who showed ridiculous stones to step up and hit that shot right after a tough offensive foul on the previous possession. Duke didn’t help themselves with a number of missed free throws, a few late bone headed turnovers and that switching defense that Pitt seemed to figure out at the end of the game as they dribbled around the key, waiting for the mismatch they wanted (Fields on McClure anyone?). With that said, I have to again give credit to Coach K for his innovative gameplay and personnel decisions.

Let’s face it, years ago K would NEVER do wholesale offense for defense switches possession to possession. No, he’d rather live and die with “his guys” (Wayne Turner on Wojo anyone?). I can’t fault him, he put the players in a position to win, the guys showed heart, but just came one play short. Again, much respek to Pitt for a nice win and my boys in blue will have no complaints from me. They showed heart, made some really nice plays when we needed them and for the most part, showed a lot of poise for a December game.

They also had two point blank shots to win it in regulation. Hopefully this small setback will make them better. Good game.

Oh and fellas, in case you’re still shopping for me, I want free throw practice for Christmas.

Go Duke

– Lake

Wisconsin travels to Duke for a slaughter

So I waited for that meaningless game between Tech and IU to end. Clearly that joint was all over except for the crying with 5 minutes to go. Predictably, ESPN still didn’t switch to the Duke game. So they tune in and immediately I feel that old school Duke energy coming through the television. It’s kind of indescribable. It’s a carnal, want to destroy the enemy kind of mentality. I guess that’s what 4 years of Wojo starting at PG will do to a man. Anyway, the crowd had it, the players had it and well, I had it. After Paulus’ second three in that little mini run we had early, I was literally standing in front of my 62 inch screen looking like this.

Wow, it’s just great to see Duke really dig into Wisconsin’s collective cheese loving arses. The first half was a ho-asis of scoring and did I or did I not tell you people about my boy from Cali Taylor “I’m the” Kang?

King was unconscious from three. I mean homey went out onto the floor with a set of brass balls, shooting when he pleased and literally making it rain on them hoes. It was JJ Redick-esque son and I loved it.

He J’d the Badgers with the set shot 3. He J’d them with the fall away. He picked two balls up off the ground and immediately deposited them in the mouth of the damn thing. I mean, have you ever seen a ball leave a player’s hand and reach the basket so quickly? His joint takes like .5 seconds to get up there. You just can’t keep that kind of scoring production on the bench. Coach K obviously read this blog and now King is getting more minutes. That’s cool, let’s just keep it up, but hey, don’t take away Henderson’s minutes either.

We need that cat for his assortment of blocks, dunks, timely 3 balls, mean mugs and rebounds.. Ha.. Now I see why he made Hansbrough red all over. By the way, is Balco T off the canvas yet? Carolina fans acted like Hendo shot the man or something. Stop being a bunch of crying bitches, it’s college basketball, it’s the ACC, it aint intramurals. If yall don’t like it, go play intramurals brother….go play intramurals. Stop all your crying, pull you skirt up and just play ball. Bunch of hicks.. LOL. At any rate, at times during the game G had me on the edge of my seat silently yelling “FINISH HIM” like the Cobra Kai sensai.

End of the day, Duke whooped up on the Badgers.  Per usual, the Big 10 sucks and this ACC – Big 10 Challenge, at 10-0, is getting comical.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Wisconsin 5-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Marcus Landry        f  3-9    1-1    0-1    3  3  6   0   7  2  3  0  1  25
32 Brian Butch          f  5-12   0-4    1-2    1  4  5   4  11  0  2  0  0  20
34 Greg Stiemsma        c  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   2   0  0  1  0  0   8
03 Trevon Hughes        g  4-13   1-4    3-6    1  3  4   2  12  3  3  0  2  26
45 Joe Krabbenhoft      g  2-7    0-2    0-0    1  4  5   2   4  0  1  1  2  36
12 Jason Bohannon          2-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   4  1  1  0  0  19
14 Tanner Bronson          0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   1
15 Brett Valentyn          0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
22 Michael Flowers         3-9    0-2    2-2    3  2  5   4   8  3  2  0  0  32
24 Tim Jarmusz             0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
30 Jon Leuer               5-11   1-1    1-2    2  4  6   0  12  1  1  0  1  19
43 Kevin Gullikson         0-0    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   2   0  1  2  0  0  11
52 Keaton Nankivil         0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   1
   TEAM                                         4  1  5
   Totals                 24-65   3-14   7-13  17 25 42  17  58 11 18  1  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-33 30.3%   2nd Half: 14-32 43.8%   Game: 36.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-9  22.2%   2nd Half:  1-5  20.0%   Game: 21.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 53.8%    1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Duke 7-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
12 Kyle Singler         f  4-7    2-4    3-4    3  3  6   4  13  1  3  0  1  31
42 Lance Thomas         f  0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   4   0  0  2  0  1  13
03 Greg Paulus          g  6-13   4-7    2-2    1  1  2   3  18  1  1  0  2  28
15 Gerald Henderson     g  3-8    0-0    5-6    2  4  6   0  11  1  1  1  0  22
21 DeMarcus Nelson      g  3-11   0-2    3-4    1  6  7   1   9  7  2  2  3  34
02 Nolan Smith             3-4    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   6  1  3  0  1  15
14 David McClure           0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
20 Taylor King             5-10   5-9    0-1    0  5  5   2  15  0  0  1  2  20
30 Jon Scheyer             2-7    0-2    6-6    3  6  9   0  10  2  1  0  0  28
41 Jordan Davidson         0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
55 Brian Zoubek            0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  1  1  0   7
   TEAM                                         1  3  4
   Totals                 26-61  11-24  19-23  12 28 40  18  82 14 14  5 10 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-33 42.4%   2nd Half: 12-28 42.9%   Game: 42.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  9-16 56.3%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 45.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-13 84.6%   2nd Half:  8-10 80.0%   Game: 82.6%   2,1

Anyway, Duke and Wisconsin had never met before and now the cheese heads know what Duke Basketball is all about. And don’t think I didn’t take note the presence of former Duke recruit Brian Butch. You diss Duke for Wisconsin? I don’t get it player.. Oh well.

Go Duke.

– Lake

Greg Monroe chooses “Not Duke” to play his college hoops

Sun-uv-a-bitch!!!! Right now would be a good time to go ahead and hit this:

Oh no, my bad, I meant, it’s time to hit this:

What in the hell is going on in Durham?!!!!! Why can’t we land a quality big man? I mean, seriously. Wasn’t it last spring when everyone said it was no big deal that we lost out on Patrick Patterson because the guy we “really wanted” was Greg Monroe? Well, guess what, Greg Monroe wanted no parts of Duke U and I think it’s about time we really sit back and ask why.

Patrick Patterson told us why he didn’t want to come to Duke when he said he couldn’t see himself getting along with the players and staff. Memo to Duke Basketball, stop recruiting the same cat every year. For every JJ Redick, who is a KING by the way, you’ve got 100’s of Marty Pociuses, Chris Collins and Steve Wojos. Don’t get me wrong, those guys are good complimentary players, but it seems like that’s all we get at Duke these days, ie., guys who would be hot IF they didn’t have to be the man every night.

(Remember these days? Now this was a recruiting class!!!! Note, we had one guy playing the role of Mike Dunleavy, not 4 like we do now)

Scheyer would be a killer next to Jason Williams or, ahem, a player like Tywon Lawson. Greg Paulus would be hot if he had Elton Brand, Shane Battier and Will Avery and before you react like that’s a crazy group to have around one player, remember this, THEY WERE ALL A PART OF THE SAME RECRUITING CLASS.

Remember these days? How does this fare against this?!

(who said Duke babes aren’t fine. Believe me, they got some hot ones)

errrr I meant, THIS:

(Hey, I like Greg P, just with the right tools around him, plus he should be a 2 guard with hot handles and a killer J, not a PG who has a hard time penetrating without using the hook and defending standard issue ACC ones)

See the difference? There is a MAJOR problem with Duke’s recruiting. 5 set shooters from the burbs don’t win National Championships. Two uninspiring assistant coaches who weren’t that hot as players and NEVER sniffed the NBA and a Coach K look-a-like don’t land top recruits from diverse backgrounds anymore. There’s a reason why we keep getting commitments from the same player, look at our staff! Simply put, our recruits are a reflection of our staff and that’s no longer a good thing. And what’s with only offering 4 schollys per class? Offering a measly 4 scholarships as if players should somehow just melt as soon as Duke comes a knockin’ and automatically tune out UNC, Kentucky and Georgetown, three schools that swiped away HUGE blue chip recruits from us, is arrogant, wrongheaded and worst of all, ineffective. Can’t these guys see that?

Get it together gentlemen. I feel like Don Corleone when he told Sunny to stop “that comedy with that young girl”, I mean I’m beginning to think that this USA Basketball has you guys worrying about the wrong kind of Championship! Sure, Team USA is important but what happened to the credo:

Duke Basketball Team/Unit

Duke Basketball Program/Corp

Lake Arlington/Omniscient just like a god

Team USA/Country

Parity at the guard slot was apparent when ole boy from VCU shredded us for an entire game and then ripped our hearts out in the ahem FIRST ROUND of the NCAA Tournament. Quality bigs, however, will always be in relative short supply.

Please, bring in another assistant. Someone with proven recruiting acumen and something in common with our recruiting targets other than a love for basketball so that maybe we can right this ship. Believe me, the ship needs to be set straight. Shit is NOT ok at Duke right now. Let’s not kid ourselves here. Missing on this many hot blue chip big man prospects in consecutive years IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, I don’t care what anybody says.  Coach preaches accountability, let’s channel MJ and start with the man in the mirror…ask him to make a change.

Pissed…

-Lake

DeMarcus is your leader, Paulus gets demoted?

The Duke Basketball team named guard DeMarcus Nelson as its team captain for the upcoming season Friday.

(it’s funny, DeMarcus looks exactly like that generic “player” we used to use in all those video games before they had the names and likeness of the players. Just a brown skinned, bald headed brother with that extra skrong frame, sorry, just an observation)

Nelson, who was one of three captains last season, is the only senior on the Blue Devils’ roster and is coming off a season in which he averaged a team-leading 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds.

“DeMarcus has grown into quite a leader,” Coach K said. “This has been recognized by his teammates and coaches, so instead of having multiple leaders we are looking for Markie to do that on his own this year. We are all really excited for him.”

Now, upon hearing this news, any astute Duke Basketball fan will quickly realize that if Nelson is the sole captain on the squad, that means that Greg Paulus suddenly is NOT the Blue Devil’s captain for the 2007-2008 campaign. Hmm, sounds like a snub to me. It just makes you wonder, while Nelson is being recognized for his ascension within the program is Gregory P getting that “not DeMarcus” treatment? What’s the “not DeMarcus” treatment you ask? I’m not sure, but this is likely what it feels like:

 

Well, I’m not sure, but when Greg heard the news he wasn’t going to be captain after being one last year, given his shaky play, it probably felt something like an inverse backhanded ghost slap about the face, neck, nuts and solar plexus from both staff and team, leaving him with an expression that probably looked something like dis:

Whispers around the Duke program would have you believe that the team was getting pretty tired of Josh McRoberts’ act last year, so his departure wasn’t all that big of a disappointment. Don’t forget, these two guys, McBoberts and Paulus, were the final pieces that supposedly were going to give Duke a legitimate shot at a National Title in 2006. Well, that didn’t happen.

(I know JJ, I expected more from those dudes too)

To me, Coach K managed them all wrong both that year and last year. Who knew Paulus was more of a shooting guard with good handle and above average passing skills than he was a great playmaking PG? Who knew Josh McBob was more of a distributor who liked wide open alley ops and dunks than he did being a go to guy in crunch time? Well, in my view, Coach K should have known, but what can you say?

 

(Look at the silky smooth hairdo of the cat on the left, perfect)

 

 

I actually like both Greg P and Josh McRoberts. All I can ask for from our guys is that they play with the heart of a lion, will of a champion. Greg Paulus does that. Not only that, but he’s got a killer J, he can score in traffic and can dish the rock a little. A top flight pure PG he is not. That’s just a fact. Call it what you like, a recruiting mistake or whatever, but I think it’s more about who K played alongside Paulus than Greg himself. Greg Paulus should be our 2 guard or part of a tandem guard system, but he’s NOT an elite playmaker and he cannot guard, one-on-one, most ACC caliber starting PGs.

K needed to either get him some help (read Nolan Smith) or put Greg in a system that catered to what he could do best. Let’s start with some Zone D every now and again, perhaps? Let’s continue by paring him with a hot defensive stopper (read DeMarcus) rather than a taller version of himself (Scheyer). Duke’s guards haven’t been good enough (particularly on the defensive side of the ball) over the past few years to do the typical Coach K 4 guard set he enjoys so much (read DeMarcus at the 4!!!). That’s not Greg’s fault, never was. Let’s just see how Greg responds to the “not captain role”… I know it’s gotta hurt. Word on the street out of Duke is that Nolan Smith is looking even better than people had once thought. I mean, just think about it, you’ve got Paulus, Henderson, DeMarcus, Scheyer, Nolan Smith, Taylor King, AND Pocious as potential/legitimate guard options?

(either homeboy is an evil genius or we’re not recruiting right)

Greg’s minutes just have to be reduced. There is no way they won’t be. Is that why K and staff took the captain designation off him? Not sure. Either way, it’s time for Greg to man up though. Show that heart, accept (and know) his role so Duke can get back to competing and winning. I have no doubt that he will.

– Lake