***DUKE VS VIRGINIA TECH OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[bmbritt]

Loved the ball movement. This is the way we need to play on offense from here forward. Bagley needs to just blend right in and not be the focal point. Carter showed how to pass out of the post. Grayson was looking for his shot and he is our best post feeder. That's why the ball needs to be in his hands more than anyone else. The 3 games without Bagley Grayson has averaged 28 points.

The key with getting both Duval and Grayson time at the point will be come tournament time against a teams that like to pressure 3/4 or full court. Allen is better at feeding the post w/ his height and threat of shot, but Duval is better at beating a press with his speed and dribbling. Having them both playing at the top of their game should allow us to attack both defenses who play great half court defense and attack a pressing team.

Coach K making the needed moves to get us ready for tourney time.

 

[dukiejay]

K said Zone is going to be our primary defense moving forward....

Saw that. I also liked how he scoffed at the notion of the team having to incorporate Marvin back in the lineup, saying it’s a good problem to have.

 

[2 skerz 3]

No MB3 = Grayson going for 25+ and a Devils W!

This guy is a f’ing genius!

 

[Showenuff]

Somebody said Duval was +27 tonight, where do you get that info?

 

[Showenuff]

I’d like to see all players rating tonight.

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

Getting back from the obligatory Valentines day dinner....looked at the box score and it shows 0-0 for Bolden for shooting. Did he really not take a shot or is that a misprint?

I didn’t even realize that he didn’t take a single shot. I could’ve sworn that I remembered him taking at least a shot or two.

 

[K-oach Q]

Somebody said Duval was +27 tonight, where do you get that info?

Usually it’s posted to Twitter fairly quickly from Duke reporters and such at the game...I saw it also....that’s a hell of a +-

 

[skysdad]

This game tonight reminded me of vintage Duke basketball. Who's next Clemson. OFC

 

[Showenuff]

Suggestions on the Twitter acct I should follow for that rating?

 

[DukeDenver]

Were we in zone pretty much the whole game?

 

[jwill133]

I’d love to get that plus/minus twitter account as well. First game I haven’t watched live in years due to this dumb holiday. Can’t wait to watch later.

-Glad to see Grayson got scoring again, when Bagley comes back let’s have them both score 25 and see how much we win by.
-If Duval had a +27 that’s scary, considering his was top against UNC too.
-VT was a great offense and we held them to 0.90 points per possession, that’s BY FAR our best defensive performance this year.

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

Somebody said Duval was +27 tonight, where do you get that info?

Usually it’s posted to Twitter fairly quickly from Duke reporters and such at the game...I saw it also....that’s a hell of a +-

According to the live stats link that’s posted every game. Here’s the +/- for the 6 players that played double digit minutes

Grayson (38 minutes) +23
Gary (37 minutes) +25
Wendell (31 minutes) +23
Trevon (33 minutes) +26
Javin (24 minutes) +18
Marques (16 minutes) +4

 

[denverexpat]

According to the live stats link that’s posted every game. Here’s the +/- for the 6 players that played double digit minutes

Grayson +23
Gary +25
Wendell +23
Trevon +26
Javin +18
Marques +4

I wonder if the coaches share these with the players? I would think so as almost all sports are very data and statistic driven these days. Obviously if all players focus on being a + then a win is pretty much guaranteed

 

[gottagonow]

I hope that when Bags comes back Grayson and Gary will keep shooting and scoring and realize they have to score for us to be successful. Grayson can be Grayson of old but its all up to him. I just love his jumper from the top of the key.

 

[DukefanKY]

We gonna beat UVA in the tourney.

I feel the same way. If we win Saturday, I think we win out.....IF Grayson stays aggressive

 

[BlueDaveil]

Really proud of Duval tonight. Thought in the second half especially he wasn’t trying to force things and it was great seeing how excited he was for Javin on his assist. K said this about what having him playing off the ball can open up for us: “It also puts Trevon inside where we can get side penetration, We haven’t had side penetration all year. The defense has to come out on Grayson, so it gives you a side … I think Tre played really well too.”

Also looked like EJ Montgomery had a good time at the game as well.

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

I'm glad Coach has accepted reality and confirmed we're a Zone team moving forward. I think it helps on the defensive end when Carter isn't pulled 20 feet from the basket, and on the offensive end when Grayson's legs are still fresh instead of chasing guys for 40 minutes all over the court in M2M.

I know this will sound crazy but I won't be disappointed if Bagley rests another game. Sample size issues but the ball seems to move better w/o him and Grayson seems willing/able to take control both as a shooter and distributor. I also like Grayson at point and Duval off the ball.

 

[christophero]

Complete game. Grayson raining threes. Delaurier emerging. All without Bagley. Impressive. Most impressive.

 

[DukefanKY]

I think it's important to get Bagley back early as possible and see if we can sustain tonight's play with him in the lineup. Obviously if we can play the way we did tonight, and adding in what Bags does, we become a nightmare to prep for

 

[topps coach]

Dude, Wendell Carter is a great player. Great.

Grown ass man

 

[bmbritt]

I didn’t even realize that he didn’t take a single shot. I could’ve sworn that I remembered him taking at least a shot or two.

Thought the same when it happened but it was Carter. It’s a good thing when occasionally think Carter is Bolden because Wendell is just getting bigger. Putting that Freshman 15 in muscle on.

 

[BlueDevils725]

So proud of our guys tonight. Kind of making me feel weird, Bagley exits early against MSU, we win. He's not here the past 2 games, we win big. He's easily our best player but it's insane how much better Grayson plays without him in, it's like a huge confidence boost. I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it. GO DUKE!

 

[bmbritt]

Real nice game!! Enjoyed listening to Hubie doing the game

Hubie and Bilas are probably the two sharpest minds doing games in CBB/NBA so loved having them together. Bilas can get annoying occasionally when he’s doing games and isn’t balanced out well, but Hubie as smart as they come so Jay couldn’t just dominate the conversation.

Wouldn’t mind seeing another game with them in the future.

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

I think it's important to get Bagley back early as possible and see if we can sustain tonight's play with him in the lineup. Obviously if we can play the way we did tonight, and adding in what Bags does, we become a nightmare to prep for

Agree. I'm curious if the staff would play Carter as a stretch 4 on offense. Clears up the lane for our guards and he's shown he can hit the 3 at a good rate. (granted only takes a couple per game.) I think ideally we'd pull Bagley as the Stretch 4 given Carter is a beast down low, and a better offensive rebounder, but I don't think Bagley has the stroke to pull that off.

 

[dachampishere2]

Agree. I'm curious if the staff would play Carter as a stretch 4 on offense. Clears up the lane for our guards and he's shown he can hit the 3 at a good rate. (granted only takes a couple per game.) I think ideally we'd pull Bagley as the Stretch 4 given Carter is a beast down low, and a better offensive rebounder, but I don't think Bagley has the stroke to pull that off.

Bagley is definitely a better offensive rebounder

 

[dachampishere2]

I pray no one loses their mind and say we’re better without Bagley. Grayson better do this all year round. We won’t need 25 but damn it we need 12. In the losses he was nowhere to be found.

 

[SWEc/o95]

Show trust me, you haven't seen anything. The premium board is absolutely embarrassing with how they talk about that kid damn near every post. I'm canceling my subscription tomorrow. As a new posting member to this board and the premium, after reading for years, I just can't believe people dog a Duke player out that bad. Rather keep my money and stay off the boards.

Would have loved to hear what these same guys would have said back during Hurley's freshman year. He shot 35% from the floor and averaged damn near 5 TO'S A GAME! We still made it to a National Championship game I do believe.

 

[TheDude1]

Grown ass man

I posted this on the main board... Wendell as a fresh has nearly identical stats to Elton as a sophomore, when he won the NPOY award. That's pretty amazing.

 

[duke198025]

Nice win and good to see the perimeter guys take over a game. I liked how K had Duval off the ball. I think that could be an interesting adjustment. I think Duval is the biggest X factor. He’s so physically talented. Could he be the Winslow of the 18 team? He has the ability to ratchet up the D and disrupt other teams guards leading to transition buckets. Winslow didn’t really turn it on until the tourney. One can hope.

 

[hart2chesson]

I pray no one loses their mind and say we’re better without Bagley. Grayson better do this all year round. We won’t need 25 but damn it we need 12. In the losses he was nowhere to be found.

If Grayson goes ahead and plays w/o being so unselfish w/Bagley in the line-up he can put up these same numbers or at least double digits. However part of this is on Bagley too. He's an awesome, franchise talent but needs to kick it out more when doubled down in low post.

The ball movement as Mac noted was as good as I've seen last nite, AND there were more ball screens set by our bigs as well. This kind of offense benefits Grayson tremendously!

OFC

 

[jwill133]

The debate of whether we are better or not without the best player in the country is stupid and a debate that shouldn't be had. We scored 74 points last night, didn't exactly set the world on fire with scoring. One thing I do like, is how we have slowed our offense down, we now hold the ball towards the end of our clock. 2 things here, it simply wears down the opponent, and it's less time we have to spend on the defensive end.

I guess were gonna go all in with the zone, I like it, but at the same time it scares me in the tournament. One team gets hot from 3, and it could be a disaster. One last thing, Bolden didn't score last night, but our defense is just better with him out there, he has made huge strides.

 

[SWEc/o95]

Next game will tell a lot. Clemson will try and run like UNC did.

 

[500HP_Devil]

Another tough road game coming up. Love that are guys are coming together! Back in second place in the ACC.

I’m going to be at Disney with our 6yr old on sunday when the game starts but glued to my phone. Aarrggghhhh.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

Another tough road game coming up. Love that are guys are coming together! Back in second place in the ACC.

I’m going to be at Disney with our 6yr old on sunday when the game starts but glued to my phone. Aarrggghhhh.

I am going to miss our next three games. We are leaving for Aruba on Saturday. Please pitty me.

 

[tedmon23]

Were we in zone pretty much the whole game?

Yes they were and if we are being real, its not the greatest zone you'll ever see played, but they will continue to improve. I am hoping that they don't completely discard M2M, as I am sure we will need to play that down the road.

The positive is that it seemed like the guards were more active on the boards and helped to limit the hokies to one shot more often than not.Also the kenpom d rating is down to 61. I believe it was 79 going into it.

 

[jwill133]

Yes they were and if we are being real, its not the greatest zone you'll ever see played, but they will continue to improve. I am hoping that they don't completely discard M2M, as I am sure we will need to play that down the road.

The positive is that it seemed like the guards were more active on the boards and helped to limit the hokies to one shot more often than not.Also the kenpom d rating is down to 61. I believe it was 79 going into it.

Guard rebounding is a big key to our defense. We honestly haven't defended too bad the last month, but the UNC and St Johns games really stick out: our guards didn't rebound at all. Still have nightmares of our bigs or opposing bigs back tapping the ball, only for the opposing team to be first to the ball.

It's almost as if our guards expected Carter/Bagley to get every rebound, seems like K has gotten to them that they MUST help out. Trevon was just quicker to the ball than everyone else on the floor when he was in last night, he always should be the quickest out there. Gary and Grayson actually boxed out too, amazing.

 

[DukeDenver]

Yes they were and if we are being real, its not the greatest zone you'll ever see played, but they will continue to improve. I am hoping that they don't completely discard M2M, as I am sure we will need to play that down the road.

The positive is that it seemed like the guards were more active on the boards and helped to limit the hokies to one shot more often than not.Also the kenpom d rating is down to 61. I believe it was 79 going into it.

Gary rebounded really well the whole game. We picked our poison with VT. We left guys wide open in the middle of that zone and dared them to shoot floaters and big Wendell cleaned up the stuff near the rim without fouling. A team like UNC and a guy like Pinson or Maye would've torched that gameplan. We'll need to use man defense or at least a modified zone against better passing teams. Javin at the 4 gives us a lot better zone than have two traditional bigs in there at once. I think we might consider using Bagley and Carter as alternating centers rather than a frontcourt tandem.

 

[tedmon23]

Guard rebounding is a big key to our defense. We honestly haven't defended too bad the last month, but the UNC and St Johns games really stick out: our guards didn't rebound at all. Still have nightmares of our bigs or opposing bigs back tapping the ball, only for the opposing team to be first to the ball.

It's almost as if our guards expected Carter/Bagley to get every rebound, seems like K has gotten to them that they MUST help out. Trevon was just quicker to the ball than everyone else on the floor when he was in last night, he always should be the quickest out there. Gary and Grayson actually boxed out too, amazing.

Agree on the Carter/Bagley will get all the rebounds approach from the guards. A lot of great things were happening last night. Now we just have to hope that they become habits going forward. If they do, man look out!

 

[dukegrad02]

According to the live stats link that’s posted every game. Here’s the +/- for the 6 players that played double digit minutes

Grayson (38 minutes) +23
Gary (37 minutes) +25
Wendell (31 minutes) +23
Trevon (33 minutes) +26
Javin (24 minutes) +18
Marques (16 minutes) +4

+/- can be pretty misleading since it relies heavily on the performance of your teammates when you are on the floor. You'd have a hard time convincing me that Duval had the most positive presence when he went 3-10 with 4 TOs and 3 assists vs Allen at 9-17 with 6 assists and 2 TOs. I've never been one to bash Duval for his mistakes, but I wouldn't say he had an extraordinarily stellar game yesterday.

 

[Skeelow22]

I was at this game. Will try to post some thoughts later. Here is a quick interview with Gary Trent Jr after the game.