Quotes & Notes - December 21
vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, at Wake Forest
Quotes and Notes is my wrap-up of the most recent games of the Duke season, including postgame quotes, stats, and other thoughts.
Quotes
“For me, I’m proud we’re learning what it takes to win. The talent has been there, the unselfishness has been there. Now it’s the plays, the loose balls, the talking on defense, how to work to get open. All the little details; they’re embracing what they’re seeing and I think their confidence is improving, and our confidence is growing. We have a long way to go and a lot to work on, but I do feel we’re night and day already from who we were to start the year until right now.”
- Coach Scheyer after the UMES game on Duke’s growth this season
Stats
vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
at Wake Forest
From a stats perspective, the loss last night at Wake Forest can be traced to a few areas. Duke was less efficient from 3 than Wake but the real disparity came from the free throw line. The Demon Deacons made 22 of 26 free throw attempts, outscoring Duke by 12 from the foul line and illustrating Wake’s attacking offense all night. As Coach Scheyer said, Wake was the aggressor for sure. The other stat not included above was on the glass. Wake Forest won the rebounding battle 37-29 and limited Duke to just 7 offensive rebounds, an area that has been an advantage for the Blue Devils so far this season. The points off turnovers were fairly even but the 21 for Wake Forest was the most for a Duke opponent to this point.
Notes
I obviously wish they had won but I love Duke continuing to be in challenging situations like last night. The Blue Devils were playing their first road game, while missing two key players, after a 10 day layoff. Then add in the fact that Wake Forest was assertive and engaged from the jump, making strong drives, controlling the glass, and playing disruptive defense. Unfortunately, Duke couldn’t meet the challenge but that is how you learn what it takes to win night in, night out in the difficult ACC.
A game is never won or lost on any given possession, all the plays throughout the game matter, but I want to point out a couple of possessions as Duke was trying to overcome a 15 point deficit in the 2nd half.
With 6:49 remaining and Duke trailing by 9, Tyrese Proctor’s 3 from the corner went in and out. Cutting the lead to 6 would have put additional game pressure on Wake with plenty of time left in the game. I’m not faulting Tyrese at all, it was a great shot - great shots don’t always go in and bad shots don’t always miss, the result doesn’t change the shot quality. I want him to take that shot every time.
With 3:22 remaining and Duke down 7, Jeremy Roach committed a charge driving into the lane. At this point in the game, time is obviously more of a factor, so attacking the paint is a great play in that situation since getting fouled stops the clock and puts Duke on the line. Unfortunately, Cameron Hildreth made a great play as well, staying in front and absorbing the contact. Again, I don’t fault Jeremy and I love him driving strong - if Duke can get a bucket there the lead could have been cut to 4 or 5 points.
I’ve always felt cutting a lead to two possessions is a key hurdle when mounting a comeback because the game pressure is now different on the team with the lead. Duke could never quite get over that hump last night and, if they had, it doesn’t mean they would have completed the comeback and won the game. It does mean the Blue Devils kept playing hard despite the deficit and have now experienced more game situations they can work to improve on.
I loved listening to Paolo Banchero on JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and Three” podcast. Paolo was a candid guest and their conversation was super interesting. If you’re not aware, Paolo is off to a great start in his rookie season and I definitely recommend giving this one a listen.
Happy Holidays, Go Duke!
Sources