Quotes & Notes - February 15
at Virginia, vs. Notre Dame
After every game I do three things: watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. Quotes & Notes is my wrap-up of the most recent games of the Duke season, including postgame quotes, stats, and other thoughts.
Quotes
“It’s hard for me to take lessons right now. I’m pissed for our guys. I’m pissed that we were right there and we weren’t able to come away with a win. And look, I believe in them like crazy. The fact that there’s so many more things that we can do better and still, we have an opportunity to beat a great Virginia team. I have a ton of respect and credit for who they are and what they’re all about. They’re as good as anybody in our league. If not, they’ve been the best team up to this point. But we’ll figure out how to move on and to learn from this and use it as motivation to keep going. Because there’s a lot left for us still and we need a quick response.”
- Coach Scheyer on lessons from the Virginia game
“It was a great win coming off being on the road last week. For me, it's an honor to coach against Mike Brey, for what he's done at Duke, first and foremost. In this back hallway, you have to go to a Final Four to get your team picture up. Going through the hallway and earlier today, there he is, there he is, again, there he is. He went to six Final Fours in eight years here as an assistant coach. Pretty good years that he was here: two national championships. For me, it was an honor and knowing Notre Dame and what they're all about, we felt it was going to be a very dangerous game today: the way they can shoot threes. I thought our defense was really good overall. I'm just proud of, each one of our guys. I thought at different points they all stepped up. Flip [Kyle Filipowski], coming off of a really tough game at Virginia to bounce back the way that he did, to carry the load throughout was huge. I thought Jeremy [Roach] had an offensive rebound when it got tight, he got back in and scored, and that was a big play. For Mark Mitchell, I don't think Mark has played his best as of late, and every day he gets 100 corner threes in and he works religiously on shooting before and after practice. Our coaches do a great job with him. So, to come back in late, they plug off of him in the corner, Jeremy kicks it to him. That is a big-time shot and that's not the first time he has made a shot like that so really proud of him for sticking with it and making that play. Then Tyrese [Proctor] at the end, two free throws. I don't even know if it hit the rim, went right through the net. So, proud to get this win. There is a lot to learn from, but happy to beat a good Notre Dame team who is really dangerous and capable of beating anybody.”
- Coach Scheyer after the win against Notre Dame
Stats
Duke shared the ball well in both games, especially with 16 assists against Notre Dame, and the assist percentage in regulation at Virginia was 55%. Bench points is not something I look at often, especially since Duke has used multiple starting lineups this season, but the Blue Devils got a combined 44 points off the bench in these two games. That is the best output for the Duke bench in consecutive games since the calendar turned to 2023.
Notes
Unfortunately, I feel obligated to provide my thoughts on the end of regulation in Charlottesville. It was obviously a disappointing (and incorrect) reversed call and I hate it for the guys - a top ten win on the road is always huge, and this would have been no exception. Virginia is really good. As I’ve said a few times since I started writing, more than one thing can be true, so it is important to keep the following things in mind. Filipowski should have been awarded two free throws with the score tied and essentially no time left on the clock - of course, he still has to make one to avoid overtime (and I believe 1,000% he does so). The Blue Devils turned the ball over 18 times in regulation for 16 Virginia points, and allowed the Cavaliers 42 points in the paint. Duke was terrific from 3, generating 1.29 points per shot from beyond the arc in regulation. Even in overtime, Duke was one stop and a defensive rebound away from having the ball down only 1 with 0:40 remaining. My point is, one play rarely (if ever) decides the outcome of a game. Duke played really well and also had some things they could have done much better. In a vacuum, yes, the last play of regulation likely cost Duke the game. The Blue Devils also could have won the game (or vice versa) without it coming down to the last play if one or two things go differently beforehand. I was really proud of the effort all game and the resolve in OT, and really bummed out at the result. Next play.
I wish Coach Mike Brey the very best as he steps down from Notre Dame after this season. The Fighting Irish deserve a lot of credit for keeping the game within striking distance, including 17 straight points for Dane Goodwin in the second half, but that is typical of a Mike Brey team. Notre Dame has been a tough opponent for teams since joining the ACC, including their 2015 ACC Tournament Championship - I think his team was one of the five best teams in the country that year. Coach Brey played for and coached under one of my three favorite high school coaches of all-time, Morgan Wootten, before being hired by Mike Krzyzewski. Brey talked about Coach K and his time at Duke after last night’s game, saying “...he gave me a shot in 1987. I was a high school assistant and he taught me how to be a head coach and everything that’s come off of that until my last game in Greensboro, it’s all been because of this move – Mike hired me. We were saying today the three of us before the game, I said, ‘Damn, we had some fun in this place, didn’t we?’”
I loved seeing the Krzyzewski’s in Cameron last night. I’m so happy for them in their retirement.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources
Who are your other favorite high school coaches?