Duke Puts Up 22 Assists in Big Win Over Western Michigan
By Ray Horn — After a long layoff, you might expect a bit of rust for the Duke Blue Devils. The Western Michigan Broncos scored the first basket of the game and that would be the only time they led all game. A 40 point victory over the MAC West favorite is very impressive, especially considering the eleven days between games and holiday break. The first thing that jumped out to me from this game was the faster pace. I have been clamoring for the Devils to get out and run more and that is exactly what they did. 16 fast break points was a season high. The quicker pace freed up shooters and opened the offensive glass. Absolutely loved the quicker pace on offense. Look for the quicker pace to be a trademark for this team going forward. Another thing I noticed and loved was the aggressiveness coming off screens. In recent games, Austin Rivers had been the only player that was consistently coming off screens looking to create a shot for himself or a teammate. Andre Dawkins, and especially Seth Curry, had been coming off screens too slow and not looking to make a play towards the basket. Against Western Michigan Curry was magnificent coming off of both ball screens and off-ball screens. Dawkins didn’t get nearly as many opportunities, but he too looked a little more aggressive.
With this team’s size and athleticism in the frontcourt, they should almost always outrebound the opposition. The Blue Devils out rebounded the Broncos by 22, which points to the bigs playing more aggressively and focusing on cleaning the glass. Miles Plumlee especially was an animal on the backboard, which is what I had been hoping to see from him this season. Focusing on rebounding, protecting the rim and finishing anything close to the rim should be Miles’ gameplan every night and when he does this is the type of game you get from him. Sharing the basketball is vital to any team’s success, something I haven’t really seen as strength of this team so far this season. The extra pass was made against Western Michigan and it added up to 110 points and 22 assists, easily a season high for both. The chief distributor was clearly Quinn Cook. Cook totaled 8 assists to go along with 16 points in only 23 minutes of play. I’ve liked Quinn’s game so far this season, but felt he wasn’t ready for steady minutes. After his performance against Western Michigan I have changed my mind. Quinn looked extremely comfortable running the offense, penetrating and knowing when to either pass or shoot. He looked especially good in transition. I think we may be looking at our number one point guard for the rest of the season. Read more
Leadership, Sportsmanship and Composure: Rasheed Sulaimon
With four minutes and change left on the clock, but no more time left for Rasheed Sulaimon to play in the game, the senior guard walked off the court towards his bench. Head sunk, shoulders shrugged, and a body ravaged by food poisoning; the talented basketball player was about to join the large crowd seated in Holliday Gymnasium as a spectator. Steps away from his destination however, this young man did something unusual for a basketball player who had just fouled out of a game. Instead of sitting down, he turned his body and began walking towards the Garner Trojans’ bench and proceeded to shake the hand of all five of their coaches.
It was something I’ve never seen before, on any level of basketball. But then again, I had never watched Strake Jesuit play before.
Sulaimon would later explain that he wanted to show respect to the Garner coaches for the defense they put on Strake Jesuit. Garner head coach Eddie Gray used a triangle and two to hold Rasheed to his lowest scoring output of the season.
Frustrated and feeling ill, Rasheed entered the media room 20 minutes after the game and in line with his behavior during the game patiently waited through a ten minute interview session after the main press conference. He answered every question thrown at him thoughtfully and completely and refused to use the food poisoning he was suffering from as an excuse for his or his team’s performance.
Strake Jesuit coach Wayne Jones says of his senior guard:
He’s one of those who has set himself apart from the very beginning of his career. We’ve worked very hard for him on the leadership thing on and off the court. It’s not just something he’s concentrated on for 32 minutes on the 94×50 but it’s in the classroom, it’s in the locker room, it’s in the cafeteria. He’s really done a great job of improving that as time goes on. He’s one of the first ones to practice and one of the last ones to leave.
Jaquel Richmond To Visit Duke Sunday, January 1
Doing some research before the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational, the two players that would be participating in the event were Theo Pinson and Rasheed Sulaimon. One player who has received a lot of interest from the Duke Basketball program but is probably more under the radar to the casual Blue Devil fan is Pinson’s teammate and point guard, JaQuel Richmond.
Built like a pitbull, JaQuel is 6’0″ and is able to beat just about anyone off the dribble. The strength of Richmond’s game lies in his ability to get to the rim and finish through contact. Even he acknowledges that shooting is a weakness in his game “I’ve been working on my 3-pointer, that’s the weakest part of my game. I just put up 1,000 shots this past Monday.”
Like any good player though, JaQuel takes what the defense gives him and in this game on Tuesday, Miller School played him tight. He was able to score 19 points on 8-14 shooting, almost all of them driving layups or dunks. One of those misses was a two-handed try on a breakaway, but Richmond was able to corral his own miss and go right back up for an easy layup.
His talent is extremely advanced for a player a sophomore point guard, and many recruiting services have he and Tyus Jones at the top of their lists for this position.
Richmond will visit Duke on Sunday for the Pennsylvania game along with 2013 standout Julius Randle and possibly his current teammate Theo Pinson. Like Pinson, Jaquel grew up as a Duke fan so this visit (his second to Duke’s campus) will be special. Read more
Theo Pinson at Holiday Invitational Tournament
Leading up to the 2011 Holiday Invitational, I looked through the rosters of the teams for Duke Basketball targets that would be playing in Raleigh. Rasheed Sulaimon and Theo Pinson were the first two names to jump off the page at me. These are the only two players in the field currently holding a Duke scholarship offer, with Theo the youngest as a high school sophomore.
Catching his first game, it was immediately clear why Pinson garnered the offer at such a young age. Tenacious on defense and showcasing a wide range of offensive skills, the 6’6″ wing looked as comfortable on the blocks guarding bigger players as he did on the perimeter rising up for jumpers over smaller ones.
Theo finished the game with 15 points on 33% shooting from the field, connecting on two of four 3-point shots. His biggest impact however came on the defensive end, where I tallied 8 steals but he disrupted many more plays than that.
After the game, Theo spoke to the media and talked about the schools recruiting him, his upcoming visit to Georgetown, and the fact that he wants to play the 2 in college. At 6’6″ with his shooting ability and touch from nearly anywhere on the court, he would be a matchup nightmare as a shooting guard in the NCAA. Not unlike his favorite player to watch growing up, Kobe Bryant.
“When I grew up I was a Duke fan.”
Theo plays at the tournament again tonight at 9 PM, leading his Wesleyan Christian Academy team against NCSU commit Rodney Purvis’ Upper Room School. For more information, visit the Holiday Invitational Tournament website here or the HighSchoolOt.com site here.
Duke vs. Western Michigan: By The Numbers
The Duke Blue Devils (10-1) return to the court Friday night to host the Western Michigan Broncos (5-7) of the Mid-American Conference. It will mark the first game for the Blue Devils in 10 days and only their second game in the past 19 days. Duke comes into Friday’s game ranked #5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and #7 in the AP Poll. The game will be televised on ESPN2 with the tip coming at approximately 7:02 PM ET. Let’s take a closer look of the upcoming matchup by the numbers:
Duke-Western Michigan Series
• Friday’s contest marks the first meeting between the two schools.
Duke vs. the Mid-American Conference
• Duke is 7-1 all-time against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference.
• The Blue Devils have won five straight games against MAC opponents.
• Mike Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to a 6-1 record against schools currently in the Mid-American Conference.
• Duke is 4-0 all-time (with a +22.2 scoring margin) against MAC opponents at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won five of the seven games against MAC schools by 10 or more points.
• The Blue Devils are 1-1 all-time against MAC schools in NCAA Tournament play. Read more
Shabazz Muhammad at Beach Ball Classic
Highlights from the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC of 2012′s #1 player in the nation Shabazz Muhammad. He only played a half and you can see why based on the level of competition. Duke coaches Steve Wojciechowski, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jeff Capel will be heading down there to watch Bazz, Julius Randle, Jahlil Okafor and many other prospects until the Blue Devils’ game on Friday.
Duke Recruit Ricardo Gathers Interview
Duke Basketball has made recruiting a post player in the Class of 2012 a priority, choosing to focus on Tony Parker and Mitch McGary over the course of the last year and a half. While the McGary recruitment was short-lived and didn’t turn out the way the Blue Devils’ coaching staff would have liked, they are still running the race with Parker.
A new name popped up on Duke’s radar in December in former St. John’s commit Ricardo Gathers. You can learn more about Gathers here.
FiveStarBasketball.com recently conducted an interview with the 6’8″ Power Forward and asked for his comments on Duke. See what he had to say below.
On programs like Kentucky and Duke: “I feel like they are proven. Day in, day out they’re always going to be a Top 10 team. They’re always going to develop players and you’ll always see somebody coming out of their program. I’m a championship type dude. I want to win. I’m not just trying to show up and say hey how you doing. I want to be there.”
On Duke: “One thing they got, they got bigs. They got the Plumlee Brothers and I like what they’re doing with them. They’re utilizing them.”
On when he’ll make a decision: “Definitely by the next signing period.” (The NCAA Men’s Basketball Spring Signing Period runs from April 11th to May 16th of next year.)
Beach Ball Classic Starts Today in Myrtle Beach
While Duke recruits Rasheed Sulaimon and Theo Pinson will be playing in Raleigh this week, three other high school ballers high on Duke’s most wanted list will be down in Myrtle Beach competing in the Beach Ball Classic Tournament.
Shabazz Muhammad (2012), Julius Randle (2013), and Jahlil Okafor (2014) are all taking part in the event so if you’re in the area be sure to head over to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to watch these guys in action.
If you’re not in the area, BeachBallClassic.com has live streams of all the games so you won’t have to miss the games if you can’t be in Myrtle.
To catch these three guys in action, be sure to go here at the following times: Read more
Duke Basketball Recruit Stats Tracker
By Chad Lykins — The future for the Duke Blue Devils looks incredibly bright as they have picked up two commitments from two of the best scorers on the high school level in Rasheed Sulaimon (2012) and Matt Jones (2013). It won’t stop with just those two as the Blue Devils are in hot pursuit of 2012 prospects Shabazz Muhammad, Tony Parker & Ricardo Gathers and 2013 prospects Jabari Parker & Julius Randle.
Here at DukeHoopBlog.com, I will be following each of the 5 players above very closely through their junior and senior seasons. Check out their numbers listed below for game by game stats (as I have researched) for each player:
Rasheed Sulaimon – Strake Jesuit (10-2) – 2012 Commit
Scoring Average: 27.9 ppg
11/14 vs. Jones – 92-67 W – 36 Pts.
11/18 vs. Dallas Jesuit – 72-67 W – 20 Pts.
11/22 vs. Wheatley – 87-75 W – 29 Pts.
11/26 vs. Lamar Consolidated – 64-43 W – 26 Pts.
11/29 vs. St. Thomas – 61-49 W – 20 Pts.
12/1 vs. Oakland Tech – 80-42 W – 28 Pts.
12/2 vs. Sheldon – 87-73 W – 26 Pts.
12/3 vs. Jesuit – 55-68 L – 21 Pts.
12/6 vs. Cypress Lakes – 66-67 L – 35 Pts.
12/12 vs. Chavez – 73-47 W – 32 Pts.
12/17 vs. Seven Lakes – 83-62 W – 32 Pts.
12/20 vs. Langham Creek – 74-73 W – 30 Pts.
Matt Jones – Desoto (14-2) – 2013 Commit
Scoring Average: 18.9 ppg
11/14 vs. Dunbar – 85-56 W – 15 Pts.
11/17 vs. Manvel – 52-32 W – 15 Pts.
11/17 vs. Westlake – 59-55 W – 16 Pts.
11/18 vs. Berkner – 67-64 W – 19 Pts.
11/18 vs. FB Bush – 73-63 W – 35 Pts.
11/19 vs. FM Marcus – 42-55 L – 6 Pts.
11/22 vs. Richland – 40-41 L – 14 Pts.
11/26 vs. Wheeler – 65-42 W – 29 Pts.
12/1 vs. Fort Trimble Tech – 63-43 W – 14 Pts.
12/2 vs. Arlington – 66-26 W – 16 Pts.
12/3 vs. South Grand Prairie – 68-56 W – 30 Pts.
12/3 vs. Arlington Seguin – 67-57 W – 20 Pts.
12/6 vs. Conrad – 69-58 W – 24 Pts.
12/9 vs. Duncanville – 67-50 – 28 Pts.
12/13 vs. Pinkston – 63-35 W – 18 Pts.
12/20 vs. Trinity Christian – 59-39 W – 4 Pts.
Dr. Art Chandler, the “Voice Of Cameron” for 40 Years, Passes Away
Sometime during Alaa Abdelnaby’s playing days from 1986 to 1990, he encouraged Dr. Art Chandler to begin using the phrase “Here Comes Duke” to announce the arrival of the Duke Basketball team on to the floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium for warmups before games. For many who have since entered the doors of Cameron, the experience of attending a Duke Basketball game hadn’t truly began until the man behind the mic uttered those words. Above the chants, cheers and jeers of the Cameron Crazies, the only amplified voice among 9,314 attendees in the arena was that of Dr. Chandler’s.
While he announced his final game on Saturday, March 6th, his legacy will live on in video and in the minds of those who had the pleasure of hearing his understated and all business announcing. He had an incredible streak of 40 years of Duke games, starting in the 1970s when Bucky Waters was still Duke’s coach, only missing a few games.
Only unusual circumstances have kept him away. He missed a big segment of the 1990-91 national championship season while serving with the Army Reserves during Desert Storm, but wasn’t forgotten. Coach Mike Krzyzewski sent him a “care” package.
Just three other times has he been absent — when off on his honeymoon, when trapped by an ice storm, and when undergoing radiation treatment. Read more
