Quotes & Notes - January 12
at Boston College, vs. Pittsburgh
After every game I do three things: watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. Quotes and Notes is my wrap-up of the most recent games of the Duke season, including postgame quotes, stats, and other thoughts.
Quotes
“I think for us, it was, it’s important to have some different pitches. We’re a man-to-man team, that’s what we want to play, but depending on the opponent and the swing of the game, just to have a different defense, and this game it was our 2-3 zone but it can be other defense as well, just be able to have a different punch. A different pitch. I thought our guys did a good job, it was pretty hectic at the end, but just being able to react. Going man the last couple of possessions, they were starting to get a rhythm against our zone. So, proud of how we made it work.”
- Coach Scheyer on switching to zone in the 2nd Half against Boston College
“Obviously tonight was a really tough ACC game. Jeff [Capel] had his team really ready to play, they compete. They’re really together. I thought they made some really difficult shots that knocked us back in the first half, and I’m just really proud of our team, the way we fought and competed in the second half. That, to me, is what it’s all about, being a Duke Basketball player, being a Duke Basketball team. Our rebounding was huge, and I thought in the second half our switching and our defense – I don’t know what the exact numbers were, but we held them to 10 or so points for a while there in the second half. Proud of the effort, I thought everybody on our team stepped up. The foul trouble was tough late, trying to figure out when to go back with guys. Fortunately for us, we’ve had players that are ready at all times to come off the bench and step up.”
- Coach Scheyer on the win against Pitt
“I think our league is really good. I think our league is the most disrespected good league in the country. And I hate when, especially people that are doing our games, talk like it's not good. We heard that all last year, and all we had was two teams in the Final Four, another team in the Elite Eight. I think our league is really good. It may not be as top heavy as it was when I first took the Pitt job and you had three number one seeds overall, number one seeds in the NCAA tournament, but it's a really, really good league. I wish people would really respect it across the country like we do as coaches. It’s really talented players, really good coaches, great home court environments, great passionate fan bases.”
- Coach Jeff Capel on the ACC
Stats
Rebounding is another stat that was key in both victories. Against Pittsburgh, it was easy to see - Duke had 19 second chance points compared to 8 for Pitt and out-rebounded the Panthers 51-28 overall. At Boston College, both teams finished with a total of 11 second chance points but it was 6-0 in favor of BC at the half. The 11 second chance points after the break were huge for Duke, especially with points being tough to come by, and the Blue Devils finished with a 38-32 advantage on the glass for the game. Ryan Young, Mark Mitchell, Tyrese Proctor, and Kyle Filipowski all had big offensive rebounds in the last 3 minutes and Duke needed them all.
Notes
I love this young Duke team continuing to be tested in different situations. After going up by 14 at Boston College with 14:41 left to go, Duke managed only 2 made field goals for the remainder of the game including a 9+ minute stretch without a basket. To fight through that drought on the road, have BC come back to tie the game, and still find a way to win is a learning experience you can’t simulate in practice. It wasn’t pretty but that showed a lot of toughness from Duke. Then to be down 11 at the half in Cameron against Pitt is obviously another challenge. Duke changed their ball screen coverage and began switching on the perimeter, played with more pace on offense, and continued to pound the glass. Halftime adjustments like that are also difficult to replicate in practice, especially when the first half didn’t go well. Credit the coaching staff obviously but also the players for responding on the floor.
I don’t love the idea that the ACC has been a down basketball conference recently. I do not usually include quotes from the opposing coach, but with the Duke connection I wanted to see what Coach Capel had to say. I can’t echo his thoughts on the ACC enough. I don’t follow what is being said or written too much about conferences throughout the season, but even I have heard some of the comments about the ACC in recent years. I’m biased given my love for the conference, and I’m not saying other conferences aren’t really good too, I just think the track record of the ACC speaks for itself. Whether you want to talk about strength at the top or depth of teams, the ACC should be mentioned as one of the top leagues in the country year in and year out.
I love the Stones brothers. Tyus and Tre are two of my favorite players to wear the Duke uniform and super proud of what they are doing in the league. Memphis and San Antonio have played twice this week. On Monday, Tyus logged 24 points and 6 assists while Tre posted 18 and 7. Last night, Tyus had 16 points and 3 assists and Tre put up 22 and 6. The Jones brothers are both top 10 point guards in assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA, the Grizzlies are currently atop the Western Conference standings, and I love what Tre had to say about his older brother.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources