ESPNU To Air Duke Basketball Mini-Series
Pete Gillen must be freaking out. The former Xavier and Virginia coach once famously quipped, “Certainly, Duke is Duke, they’re on TV more than ‘Leave it to Beaver’ reruns.” The Duke Men’s Basketball program will actually be on the air more than Law & Order for the first week of November, as ESPNU will provide a rare behind the scenes look at the Duke Men’s Basketball Program with ESPNU All-Access: Training Days with the Duke Blue Devils. The show will air on ESPNU and ESPN2 with an hour-long special Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU and Thursday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Look for re-air opportunities at the end of this post and if you haven’t set your DVR already, do it!
According to this press release, ESPN spent 9 days with the players and staff as Coach K “gives a rare look at the inner workings of his program, as he runs practices, breaks down film and inspires players through a variety of leadership-driven activities. Follow the Hall of Fame coach on a guided tour of his office through 30 years of history.” Read more
The Coach’s Box with Coach Mattocks
We’re going to start a new weekly feature called The Coach’s Box as the season kicks off and try to bring some knowledge your way. A friend of mine, Coach Ryan Mattocks, will impart the wisdom he has learned over years of instructing and teaching basketball players in the Southeast. His first installment covers the sideline out of bounds play (SLOB) and uses an example from a 2005 game in Cameron versus St. John’s.
Utilizing and Defending the Backscreen
Part One
By: Ryan Mattocks
The backscreen (when an offensive player sets a screen with his back to the basket – freeing up a cutter going towards the basket) is an underappreciated aspect of halfcourt offensive play that accounts for many of the spectacular dunks the casual fan tends to take for granted. For this initial installment, I’ll break down two situations (one offensive, one defensive) involving backscreens and how Duke’s respective teams either executed or defended them.
Watch 0:50-1:03
“Why don’t we run that alley-oop play more often?”
Ryan Kelly Is Poised To Breakout
After a disappointing freshman season by McDonald’s All-American standards, Duke Blue Devils’ sophomore Ryan Kelly is poised for an increase in playing time this season as Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek have moved on from the 4-man post rotation that kept Kelly on the bench for most of last season. Armed with a championship ring and an entirely new physique (he’s put on almost 30 pounds since the start of last season), watch for Ryan to be the surprise player on the #1 ranked Devils’ this season. Not familiar with his game? OneEntertainmentHoops.com has a new highlight video out of the 6’11″ 237 pounder from Raleigh, NC. Check it out below…
Mason Plumlee Likes To Dunk The Basketball(s)
In February of 2009, the Duke Blue Devils received a verbal commitment from 6’10″ power forward Mason Plumlee. Two brothers, one national championship ring, and 35 wins later, the guy still throws it down on the basketball court. Watch this video from OneEntertainment.com of Mason dunking the ball from damn near everywhere on the court over the last few years.
Tyler Adams Decommitted From Duke
Scout.com
Duke’s 2011 recruiting class just officially got a lot smaller. Not in numbers, but in size. Tyler Adams, a 6’9″ 255 pound PF from Brandon, Mississippi was committed to the Blue Devils as recently as a few weeks ago, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
Its getting out that Tyler Adams and Duke parted ways. From my understanding that happened 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Evan Daniels
EvanDanielscout
While word had been trickling out recently over Twitter and on various message boards that Adams and Duke were not as serious about one another as they were when he first made his verbal commitment back in April, nothing official had come out to the general public until this evening. This article, written by Ron Bailey of HoyaReport.com had some quotes from Adams after he decided to attend Georgetown’s Midnight Madness event instead of Duke’s Countdown to Crazieness.
When reports first surfaced that Adams was forsaking the opportunity to watch his future school’s banner-raising and ring presentation ceremony, many Duke fans were upset that a committed recruit would do so. No, it makes more sense as Adams and Duke had actually split ways prior to the event. Adams does still list Duke in his Top 2 with the Hoyas, but Duke fans should be the wiser as they have just recently been on the other side of this coin with a similar (but not identical) situation surrounding Austin Rivers’ recruitment.
Adams still intends to sign in the early signing period, which runs from November 10th through the 17th, as this tweet from Jason Jordan of Espn.com and HighSchoolHoop.com reports.
There is no reason now to speculate on why this has happened other than morbid curiosity and I choose not to partake in these things. At this point, it’s best for Duke fans to wish Adams the best in his future endeavors and concentrate on those players that want to be a part of the Duke Mens Basketball team.
“Leaders show respect for people by giving them time.” — Mike Krzyzewski
2012 Duke Hoops Recruits Team Up
#1 SG Shabazz Muhammad and recently reclassified combo guard Rodney Purvis, both targets for the Blue Devils’ Class of 2012 played in a training camp together this past weekend and were widely regarded as two of the top performers. Put on by Christian Popoola of PremierBall.com, the camp was named E.A.T. (Elite Athletic Training).
The two guards have expressed an interest in playing together in college, and both currently hold offers from Duke. Read reports from ESPN on their performances over the weekend and watch a couple of highlight videos as well below. ESPN.com on EAT
Standout players
Shabazz Muhammad
2012, SG, 6-foot-5, 180 pounds
Maybe the most accurate way to describe Muhammad is relentless. He can score in a variety of ways and his full arsenal was on display at this event. Whether it was posting up his defender and scoring over the top of him or slashing his way to the rim and finishing with an array of spectacular dunks, Muhammad was dominant. He plays with a warrior’s mentality and he has a tremendous knack to score. He still needs to continue to improve his shot and handle, but he is definitely a menace to deal with each and every possession.
Rodney Purvis (Raleigh, N.C./Upper Room Christian Academy)
2012, PG, 6-2, 180 pounds
While Ledo was dazzling the audience with his flair for the spectacular, Purvis displayed an efficient all-around game. He was exceptional off the bounce and either exploded to the rim or set up one of his teammates with a terrific pass. His midrange jump shot is solid and he gets nice lift on it. However, as his shot extends to the 3-point line, it has a tendency to get very flat with little touch. Although he is listed as a scoring guard he displayed enough during the scrimmage where playing point guard at the next level could be an option.
Nolan Smith Plays With A Yo-Yo
I’ve heard it said that’s it’s unfair to the rest of the college basketball world that Duke had senior leaders Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler return for their senior seasons after winning the title last year. See how Nolan has been playing since winning the title in April in this HoopMixTape.com highlight video:
Devils Dish It Out In Exhibition Win
DukeBluePlanet.com
Although Duke’s 77 game non-conference home winning streak stayed the same, little else that happened on the court looked similar to the product that you saw from last year’s team. In fact, the pace of the game, extended defensive pressure, and accurate outside shooting more resembled the team that played in the Devils’ last loss to a non-conference foe in 2000 than it did the National Champions from 2010.
Led by freshman Kyrie Irving, replacing 2nd team All-American Jon Scheyer at the point guard position, Duke overwhelmed Raleigh’s St. Augustine’s early and often in their first exhibition game as defending national champions. The new floor leader made his mark early by nailing his first attempted shot and three-pointer from the corner and followed that up with alley-oops to Mason Plumlee and Nolan Smith, the first of which came from half court. On another play in the second half, Irving was initiating the offense at the top of the key as St. Aug’s came out in a 2-3 zone to try and slow down Duke’s attacking offense. In a set we saw many times last season, the offense was too initiate with a pass to Ryan Kelly on the high post but Irving saw an opportunity. Impressively, Kyrie pointed for Kelly to slip underneath the two point men of the zone and led him with a pass at head height. Knowing that the defense would instinctively collapse on a player in the middle of their zone, Kelly turned and fired a quick chest pass to a wide open Kyle Singler who made one of his six 3-point shots with ease. Read more
Time-Warner Cable Customers Can Watch ESPN3.com on 10/25
RDU Customers can now see the Colgate-Duke game on November 19th!
Authenticated Service Launches October 25 in Most Time Warner Cable Markets
NEW YORK, N.Y. and BRISTOL, Conn. – When the New York Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys, Time Warner Cable customers will not only be able to watch the game on their television set but will also be able to access the game through their Internet connection. As part of a recently announced agreement between ESPN and Time Warner Cable, beginning October 25, Time Warner Cable customers who receive ESPN as part of their video subscription will have access to a live simulcast of ESPN on their computers as well as access to ESPN3.com. To preregister, Time Warner Cable customers can go now to http://myservices.timewarnercable.com. On the 25th, customers can also go directly to ESPNnetworks.com or ESPN3.com to register or sign in and view the programming.
At launch, the new authenticated service will give Time Warner Cable subscribers the opportunity to watch ESPN’s linear network online. In the near future, access to ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater will also be offered through this same process, as well as on other Internet enabled devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Consumers can access the channels through a centralized web site, ESPNnetworks.com.
ESPN3.com, ESPN’s live sports broadband service, will also be available to Time Warner Cable subscribers who get ESPN through their video subscription. ESPN3.com gives fans a 24/7 online destination that delivers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually. Fans can toggle between up to 20 events in a main viewing window, and with a single click, jump to another event. Video can be viewed in widescreen (16:9) and normal (4:3) views and can be expanded to full screen or reduced to a compact size. Recently completed events are archived and available for on-demand replay.
“We are proud to be the first to use TV Everywhere to bring ESPN to our customers via the Internet and we are pleased that experience will include ESPN3 for our ESPN subscribers,” said Melinda Witmer, EVP & Chief Programming Officer for Time Warner Cable. “Our interests are really aligned here. Bringing ESPN to the fan who wants to start the game at work, on the train ride home, or at the airport, is a great value add to our customers. Expanding the ESPN lineup to include all that ESPN3 has to offer only makes that proposition more valuable to our customers. ESPN gets it – sports needs to be live – and with these new offerings we are coming together to bring the fan the best live experience they can get, inside and outside of the home.”
Added Sean Bratches, executive vice president, sales and marketing for ESPN, “ESPN strives to be on the bleeding edge of technology and offering our channels live through internet and wireless devices is just the next step in our evolution. We could not have done this without the foresight and commitment of Time Warner Cable. It’s a true sign of where our industry is going and we expect to see the authenticated universe grow exponentially in the coming year.”
It’s about time.
Game Preview: St. Augustine’s Saturday 7 PM (Home)
The banner is up.
Rings have been distributed.
Last season is over.
It’s been 200 days since Gordon Hayward’s shot caromed off the left side of the rim and Duke Blue Devil fans everywhere breathed out a sigh of relief and screams of jubilation as Duke celebrated its fourth national championship banner in Indianapolis, Indiana. After a summer where Duke’s two senior leaders traveled all across the country attending skills camps and practicing against the US World Championship team and its head and associate head coach brought that WC team into a hostile arena in Turkey and brought home their country’s first gold in the event since 1994, their biggest challenge now is not looking back. Read more
