Official game day thread- Duke vs VT

[bullcity gamer]

I guess saying flip dont care was a poor choice of words.. but you’re lying to yourself if you think he’s bringing the same intensity we saw last year and some throughout the year over the last two games.. seems lost a lot and the lack of concentration on free throws is scary

1) he had surgery in the off season for his hip
2) he has more offensive weapons surrounding him this season as opposed to last season
3) regardless other than his free throw shooting being down and his rebounding average being slightly down, he has improved in all other categories. He is doing all of this even when he gets targeted more than any other blue devil on this season’s team and is still a top candidate to win ACC Player of The Year

 

[pisgah101]

1) he had surgery in the off season for his hip
2) he has more offensive weapons surrounding him this season as opposed to last season
3) regardless other than his free throw shooting being down and his rebounding average being slightly down, he has improved in all other categories. He is doing all of this even when he gets targeted more than any other blue devil on this season’s team and is still a top candidate to win ACC Player of The Year

“Two hip flip better then ever”

 

[christophero]

Flip has gamely manned the 5 for us. We'd be sunk without him. That said, I think he came back assuming we'd bring in another 5. (Everyone else was assuming we would last summer) He has probably had to take more pounding because of that. He was able to play the 4 down the stretch last year due to Lively.

 

[bullcity gamer]

He has too Chris, it also appears Stewart is getting more comfortable out on the court, very positive thing to see. Would love to be 4 deep with the backcourt and 4 deep with the front court.

 

[christophero]

Jon has been easing Sean in. Only 4 minutes tonight; but with VT's slow bigs it was more of a Young match up. Ideally by year's end we could roll out either for 15 minutes if needed.

 

[bleediteveryday30]

lol you still don’t get it.. of course mediocre @bleediteveryday30 likes it, too. He’s probably as lost as you on it

There you go again. You're like a child you can't let anything go. I shouldn't be surprised at this point. When all you have is "mediocre".

 

[pisgah101]

There you go again. You're like a child you can't let anything go. I shouldn't be surprised at this point. When all you have is "mediocre".

lol ok I’m the child. You and Johnson look pretty stupid about now buddy

 

[bleediteveryday30]

lol ok I’m the child. You and Johnson look pretty stupid about now buddy

I didn't say you were a child. You're acting like one, though. Calling me mediocre and stupid because you're mad I said our fanbase was spoiled by K is pretty ridiculous. But that's fine. Duke won a big-time road game. We should be celebrating the win, not having this moronic back and forth.

 

[pisgah101]

I didn't say you were a child. You're acting like one, though. Calling me mediocre and stupid because you're mad I said our fanbase was spoiled by K is pretty ridiculous. But that's fine. Duke won a big-time road game. We should be celebrating the win, not having this moronic back and forth.

I agree go duke

 

[bmbritt]

Hell of a W. 5 quad 1 wins! Let's go!

Thought it was one of our best performances of the season especially considering it was in Blacksburg. Could Flip & Mitchell play better on offense? Yes, but they did a really good job rebounding and passing the ball to our 3 point shooters.

Proctor is playing as good if not better than he was playing at the end of last year. McCain is continuing to be the dominant perimeter scorer that we need. Roach hasn’t gotten back to the level of play that he was at during the end of last season, but you have to figure that if he can get healthy then it will happen. Mitchell is playing better than last year.

The only guy that’s underperforming too much is Flip. He will have a couple really good games then shit the bed because of foul trouble and inability to hit his FTs and perimeter shots. We can beat mid tier ACC teams without him playing his best, but we will struggle against UNC and during our 3 game stretch on the road against FSU, Miami, and Wake if he doesn’t show up.

Regarding this Saturday, we need Mitchell to shutdown Ingram and Proctor to slow down Davis. If we can keep Davis under 15 points and Ingram in single digits then we’ve got a shot to beat a really good UNC team. Flip has to outplay Bacot. Think it will be interesting to see who gaurd who when it comes to Davis, Cadeau, and Cormac. Do you stick Roach on him because he’s very familiar with Cormac or do you just put McCain on him.

Can’t wait for Saturday!!!!

 

[GAAP]

He has too Chris, it also appears Stewart is getting more comfortable out on the court, very positive thing to see. Would love to be 4 deep with the backcourt and 4 deep with the front court.

Stewart kept the ball alive so Roach could hit the 3 at the end of the first half. Big play.

 

[kwyjibos13]

Have not heard it this season, but yesterday was a perfect example of why you play stall ball. Under 4 media timeout up 10, there is no reason to lose unless the other team plays flawless and absolutely cannot miss.

Duke was in foul trouble, whistle was definitely slanted to VT, you got to limit possessions and take care of the basketball. We did that.

The scariest part of yesterday. At the end of games, is there any player you want other than Roach at the top of the key with the ball? He will drive to the lane and give you a giant killer of a shot (see both cheats games last year). Welp, now add Proctor to that mix. And while you are trying to help over to defend one of those two, here come Mitchell or Flip (or even Young) to clean it up if missed.

 

[Quavarius]

 

[pisgah101]

View embedded media

This is really interesting and surprising to me but in a good way

 

[hart2chesson]

Stewart kept the ball alive so Roach could hit the 3 at the end of the first half. Big play.

Huge!!

OFC

 

[AlanInNJ]

Finally got to watch the condensed game this morning. I thought we had a great plan to run Tech off the 3 point line, even still, they hit several really tough, contested 3's! It was concerning all the backdoor layups we gave up, but otherwise I thought we were solid. Stewart with a tough night shooting and with the turnovers, but I love his aggressive play......he found ways to contribute. Glad to see Ryan brought his lunch pail last night!

All around good game, on the road against a tournament quality team in the ACC.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Stewart kept the ball alive so Roach could hit the 3 at the end of the first half. Big play.

That was a huge 3. We were reeling towards the end of the half and that 3 have us a huge boost going into the locker room.

 

[JimboSlice00]

Thought it was one of our best performances of the season especially considering it was in Blacksburg. Could Flip & Mitchell play better on offense? Yes, but they did a really good job rebounding and passing the ball to our 3 point shooters.

Proctor is playing as good if not better than he was playing at the end of last year. McCain is continuing to be the dominant perimeter scorer that we need. Roach hasn’t gotten back to the level of play that he was at during the end of last season, but you have to figure that if he can get healthy then it will happen. Mitchell is playing better than last year.

The only guy that’s underperforming too much is Flip. He will have a couple really good games then shit the bed because of foul trouble and inability to hit his FTs and perimeter shots. We can beat mid tier ACC teams without him playing his best, but we will struggle against UNC and during our 3 game stretch on the road against FSU, Miami, and Wake if he doesn’t show up.

Regarding this Saturday, we need Mitchell to shutdown Ingram and Proctor to slow down Davis. If we can keep Davis under 15 points and Ingram in single digits then we’ve got a shot to beat a really good UNC team. Flip has to outplay Bacot. Think it will be interesting to see who gaurd who when it comes to Davis, Cadeau, and Cormac. Do you stick Roach on him because he’s very familiar with Cormac or do you just put McCain on him.

Can’t wait for Saturday!!!!

Agree with alot you say here, and good post. The only thing I disagree with is Flip as he's having a hell of a season. He has more points, rebounds, assist and less turnovers per game than he did last year- all while playing a position he shouldn't be playing.

We are damn lucky to have the kid and he's still playing at a very high level

 

[Liftee]

Flip is not and never will be Banchero. But what he gives us is very valuable and complements his teammates well.

Flip for some reason is never going to get the benefit of the doubt with the refs but he's got to deal with it and not get frustrated. Some of his fouls are frustration fouls and we need him in the game too badly.

 

[Mac9192]

We are lucky to have Flip. He hustles, passes, and can score from anywhere. My only beef with him is sometimes he tries to do too much. But he still has some growing to do.

We aren't terrible when we're shorthanded, but if we can keep everyone healthy, and this is the Proctor we have going forward, Duke is a tough team.

 

[bullcity gamer]

Agree with alot you say here, and good post. The only thing I disagree with is Flip as he's having a hell of a season. He has more points, rebounds, assist and less turnovers per game than he did last year- all while playing a position he shouldn't be playing.

We are damn lucky to have the kid and he's still playing at a very high level

Yeah I really do not understand the criticism Flip receives from some of our fans. He’s improved in the majority of his statistics. As you said Jimbo, he is playing outside of his natural position of the 4 and as Chris said he is doing a very good job at it too! Like Mac said we are fortunate to have Flip. It was a joy watching him battle in Chicago, Atlanta, and South Bend even when Flip is struggling scoring, he impacts the games in other ways and never gives up.

Flip is an unselfish player and I am sure his teammates appreciate that quality about him. He doesn’t need to average 23-26 points per game this season when he has the teammates he has this season.

These Blue Devils aren’t done improving, continue to enjoy the journey of this season.

 

[Mac9192]

For what it's worth concerning Flip, I have a customer of mine who's daughter is the Assistant AD. She says Flip is a very nice guy, always asking how she is doing.

 

[BlueBlackNWhite]

Long time lurker here who likes to poke fun on Rupp Rafters.
That was an impressive win. The 2 biggest plays of the game I thought were the Roach 3 at the end of the first half. Also midway in the 2nd half, it was a 4 point game and we were reeling a bit: Mitchell made a huge steal which led to a McCain 3, that was massive.
-Young gave huge minutes. Feel like some matchups he's equipped to play well, and some matchups he's just too outmatched athletically, hope Jon figures out when to pull the right strings. Stewart is a nice backup to Young when were playing an athletic team.
-Roach is our leader and we need him 100% healthy come March, he was a step slow last night, but he knocked down shots at least.
-Proctor is our key. If the Proctor of the last few games is here to stay, Duke has a shot to get to the promise land.
-As long as Flip isn't falling down on a drive when there isn't a foul, and as long as he isn't lowering his shoulder for a charge, he's kind of unstoppable unless he misses a bunny (which he tends to do.)
-Our 2 freshman guards keep getting better. McCain a little more consistent than Foster right now, but I like where both of them are heading into February.

 

[NCirishman]

Flip is not and never will be Banchero. But what he gives us is very valuable and complements his teammates well.

Flip for some reason is never going to get the benefit of the doubt with the refs but he's got to deal with it and not get frustrated. Some of his fouls are frustration fouls and we need him in the game too badly.

It could be because of his antics. He shows frustration often and he acts like he’s hurt so often it’s funny.