TONIGHTS GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT

Great win, even with their center injured.

Mason's rebounding is actually starting to concern me. Van Treese had one more rebound in 15 less minutes. I think he's playing differently this year because he knows: a) team's will try to get him in foul trouble b) more chances for offensive fouls. Hopefully a healthy little brother changes that.

He seemed really tentative in the 2nd half especially, but I couldn't tell if that was because of concerns over foul trouble (not only with himself but also since Ryan had 3) or just generally being tired and trying to save himself for the end of the game. I am really curious to see if Marshall's availability allows Mason to be much more aggressive.

rome8180 said:

To clarify on the paper tiger comment, didn't you feel we were one last year? Even early? Maybe that's just an illusion created by hindsight. But I have a totally different feeling this year.

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No, I felt the same way. Every game, I had the sense we were teetering on a ledge.

I like this team a lot. The pieces all seem to fit.

K said Mason was exhausted. I'm sure that affected his rebounding tonight. HUGE win for Duke, and yes, this team is a legit contender. Quinn Cook ballin' too.

Mase played about 15 minutes where he didn't really body up on anyone or challenge shots after the second foul. It definitely impacted his numbers in addition to the fatigue.

IMO he could have picked up on his aggression with about 15:00 to go in the game, but he never really did. Too conservative for a senior, but K obviously trusted him not to pick up that third by putting him back in during the first half.

Give Kelly those 2 blocks instead of 2 fouls and his line is 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls.

thewiseben said:

Also, were those not two of the most absurd foul calls on RKelly? Both beautiful blocks.

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The refs were consistent in their awfulness.

SeanMayTriedToEatMe said:

Give Kelly those 2 blocks instead of 2 fouls and his line is 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls.

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He's unathletic, so your numbers are meaningless.

His defense is much improved this year

For some reason, I'm surprised that Ryan had that many rebounds.

My two cents from the last two games -- (I was unable to see the first atlantis game)

Overall, I agree with others here that this team is legit -- in my view owing mostly to the emergence in the last week of one Quinn Cook. He's made a leap and everyone on this team is benefiting..

QC --as noted, in this tourney, he was better in every phase of the game. seemed more confident, athletic, quicker pushing the ball -- (contrary to a previous poster I would say we saw this kind of transition a couple years ago for 11 games, but it is awesome to see again nonetheless). a couple errors but out of over exuberance and aggression which to me is still progress. I think his play as much as MP's will determine how this team ends up.

RS -- still progressing, high ceiling. growing expectations for this kid. worry about the fatigue (mental and physical) factor over the whole season, but he seems mentally to have the right approach. he is not scared of the moment!

RK -- love watching him play. love the new aggression getting to the basket. hasn't lost the ability to pick and pop. most importantly, smart, I always feel he is going to make the right play

MP -- Love to see him take on the leadership role as a senior. seems finally to be living up to his potential. As more teams focus on taking away his go-tos, he will be challenged, but i have to say this is the best I have felt about our inside presence in a long time.

TT -- I think TT is adjusting to his role as a clear second to QC and possibly 3rd behind RS. Get the sense his confidence is shaken, he sometimes presses. thought his defense improved last night imho.

AJ -- i feel good about him. he is aggressive on both sides, has energy and some skill. wish he could get more time to help him develop more quickly.

JH -- much improved. his ability to spell MP effectively has been huge. love seeing him sprint the floor to get back on d -- don't remember that speed from last year.

SC -- key senior leadership on this team. his influence of having "been there before" seems to have a calming influence on the younger guards, the value of which is immeasurable. hits big shots when we need them too and love the aggressive moves to the basket I see this year. concerned about the injury which I don't have a clear picture of -- not that I have done a lot of research, but still would love any insight

AM -- just not enough to say anything here.

one last note, the bench seems to have shortened early this season with 6 players dominating the minutes during the last game. always wondered about this from a player dev standpoint, but that said, I trust in K and the rest of the staff who obviously know far more about the theory and the actual case specific facts relating to this team than I.

would love to hear others' thoughts.

All 5 starters scored at least 14 vs UL. That balance won't be there every game, but I like that each of them has the potential to get hot and carry us for any given game.

My #1 concern right now is Marshall's health. And after that, it's his quality of play. If he's a solid back-up, that eliminates my concerns about Amile's quick development and Jiggy's continued viability.

In the backcourt, Seth's physical health may experience a similar arc as Sheed's freshman adjustment. Seth's toughness may help ease the latter, and Sheed's surprising readiness may help ease the former. Tyler has been largely a nonfactor in my eyes so far. I agree w/ others here that he may be struggling to find his role. As his resilience, toughness, and commitment are his strongest attributes, I am confident he will find it, and when he does, that also will support Seth and Sheed. It's kind of cool how Tyler was such a clutch star in our Maui title win over KU last year, and now the guy who has taken the reins from him (w/ TT's blessing, team guy that he is) plays clutch at B4A to take home honors there. One of the knocks on Quinn last year was his emotional maturity. I want to see how he responds to a bad game. The way he finished the UL game -- scoring our last 8 points -- might be a glimpse that he'll do well there. All in all, his growth has exceeded my expectations so far.

I think it's been since Elliot Williams that someone has been buried on the bench for much of the season, then emerged to play a crucial role later. Considering our preseason expectations and our need for a true SF, I'm holding out hope that Alex may still find a spot. I don't see much potential for Amile, Josh, or Ryan to slide to the 3 w/ 2 other bigs in, so Alex is really our only hope of not having to play 3 guards at all times.

rome8180 said:

thewiseben said:

Also, were those not two of the most absurd foul calls on RKelly? Both beautiful blocks.

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I'll give the refs the benefit of the doubt and allow them to call one a foul. But that was absurd.

"He's slow and white. Must be a foul."

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I was pretty pissed about both. The first one was clearly all ball. The second one looked like all ball but even if it wasn't it was close enough that it should have been a non call. The refs were starting too blow whistles before plays even happened.

Both fouls made me mad, the first one especially since it looked even cleaner. With the second one, it was like, "well, we called that last one as a foul, so let's at least be consistent and call this one too."

I agree with most posters that Mason looked really reluctant to go up inside during the second half. I don't doubt that fatigue was a factor, but I think fear of foul trouble was more at play w/ RK in his situation. Overall, I was very glad to see us hold out the win. This team has such a high potential, which is something I didn't feel last year.

The absolute worst was when Mason went up with the ball in the early 2nd half, got HACKED, and the refs waited a second or two to even blow the whistle. They were THIS close to letting a no-call but even they realized it was so obvious that they had to do something.