Duke looks Devilish
When I sat down to watch the beginning of the 06/07 campaign, I thought about what could be this year. The Blue Devils have a new look, with many new and young faces. And from what I saw last night, it is going to be an exciting year.
The box score says it all. Coach K, as anticipated, used a balance attack that kept the players fresh. A total of ten players had more than ten minutes of play. All but Zoubek(14 minutes), and Thomas(12 minutes), played more than 15 minutes. A surprise to Blue Devil nation was Greg Paulus getting the start at the point. Apparently playing big time football for four years, helps you heal quickly. This allowed Jon Scheyer, who had been playing the point while Paulus was out, move to his normal wing position. Scheyer let Duke fans know that he will be a future star at Duke. He ended the first half with all of his 12 points, shooting 3-4 from behind the arc.
Scheyer wasn't the only freshmen making noise. As expected, Brian Zoubek was a force down low. When the ball was given to him, he never failed to out hustle anyone guarding him. The result was either two points, or a foul drawn(he was an excellent10-13 from the line). In the short amount of time Zoubek was in(14 minutes) he managed 18 points to go with 6 boards.
The other freshmen star of the night was Lance Thomas, who really came in as a wild card, in which fans didn't know exactly what to expect. He let everyone know that even though he doesn't have a built frame, he can pound the ball down low with anyone. Thomas, who can play the post or run the wing as a true athlete, got 12 hard earned points in only 12 minutes of play.
The other freshmen, Gerald Henderson, didn't have a breakout game. He played for a solid 20 minutes, however looked lost on offense, and didn't seem comfortable at times. He shoot 1-4 from the field, and finished with 4 point.
The "fab four freshmen" totaled 46 points together. A stat that everyone is excited to see.
Another bright spot on this game was DeMarcus Nelson. Who is the senior member of this team, even though he is a junior. Nelson who has been hampered by injuries his previous two years, looked to be back 110%. Nelson screamed down the floor on every play. And early on in the game received a great pass from Paulus, and slammed it hard, bringing the crowd to its feet. Nelson needs to work on his free throw shooting, where he went 3-8. However, the enthusiasm that he displayed in the game is a welcome sign for the fans.
All in all a great opening performance for the Blue Devils. McRoberts didn't force the offense, and let his freshmen counterparts display their talent. McRoberts will break out whenever he wants to. When that happens watch out. The amount of depth on this team is unbelievable.
Duke will have a bigger test tonight, as they square off against a solid Georgia-Southern team, in the second round of the CBE Classic. You can catch this one on ESPN 2 at 7et/6ct.
*Come on over to the best Duke forum on the web. The Dukereport.com forum is a great place to talk about Duke basketball with other intelligent fans. Other forums are filled with crap about everything but Duke basketball. Don't deal with it.....YOU DON'T HAVE TOO.
The box score says it all. Coach K, as anticipated, used a balance attack that kept the players fresh. A total of ten players had more than ten minutes of play. All but Zoubek(14 minutes), and Thomas(12 minutes), played more than 15 minutes. A surprise to Blue Devil nation was Greg Paulus getting the start at the point. Apparently playing big time football for four years, helps you heal quickly. This allowed Jon Scheyer, who had been playing the point while Paulus was out, move to his normal wing position. Scheyer let Duke fans know that he will be a future star at Duke. He ended the first half with all of his 12 points, shooting 3-4 from behind the arc.
Scheyer wasn't the only freshmen making noise. As expected, Brian Zoubek was a force down low. When the ball was given to him, he never failed to out hustle anyone guarding him. The result was either two points, or a foul drawn(he was an excellent10-13 from the line). In the short amount of time Zoubek was in(14 minutes) he managed 18 points to go with 6 boards.
The other freshmen star of the night was Lance Thomas, who really came in as a wild card, in which fans didn't know exactly what to expect. He let everyone know that even though he doesn't have a built frame, he can pound the ball down low with anyone. Thomas, who can play the post or run the wing as a true athlete, got 12 hard earned points in only 12 minutes of play.
The other freshmen, Gerald Henderson, didn't have a breakout game. He played for a solid 20 minutes, however looked lost on offense, and didn't seem comfortable at times. He shoot 1-4 from the field, and finished with 4 point.
The "fab four freshmen" totaled 46 points together. A stat that everyone is excited to see.
Another bright spot on this game was DeMarcus Nelson. Who is the senior member of this team, even though he is a junior. Nelson who has been hampered by injuries his previous two years, looked to be back 110%. Nelson screamed down the floor on every play. And early on in the game received a great pass from Paulus, and slammed it hard, bringing the crowd to its feet. Nelson needs to work on his free throw shooting, where he went 3-8. However, the enthusiasm that he displayed in the game is a welcome sign for the fans.
All in all a great opening performance for the Blue Devils. McRoberts didn't force the offense, and let his freshmen counterparts display their talent. McRoberts will break out whenever he wants to. When that happens watch out. The amount of depth on this team is unbelievable.
Duke will have a bigger test tonight, as they square off against a solid Georgia-Southern team, in the second round of the CBE Classic. You can catch this one on ESPN 2 at 7et/6ct.
*Come on over to the best Duke forum on the web. The Dukereport.com forum is a great place to talk about Duke basketball with other intelligent fans. Other forums are filled with crap about everything but Duke basketball. Don't deal with it.....YOU DON'T HAVE TOO.
posted by Tim at 7:12 AM
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