Quotes & Notes - March 5
at NC State
After every game I always watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. Quotes & Notes is my wrap-up of Duke’s most recent game(s).
Quotes
“I just want to start off and say it was a great win for us. It felt a little bit like déjà vu the first couple of minutes there, the way the game started off. I just thought we showed poise, which you have to show against these guys. A lot of toughness. The story of the game for me was – against them you have five turnovers against their pressure all game. Tyrese [Proctor], Jeremy [Roach], Jared [McCain], they did a terrific job handling the pressure. They only score four fast-break points, which is important. And then our bench – the job that, obviously Sean [Stewart], but TJ [Power] and Ryan [Young] in that first half – Ryan had four offensive rebounds, TJ had some big-time plays. He had that one pass to Sean. TJ did it without making shots, which I know he’s going to do. Sean throughout, the thing he did, he just competed, man. Burns is a handful, obviously. We took away their 3’s, sometimes it can hurt you where you’re giving up both. You’re giving up [DJ Burns] and you’re giving up 3’s. Our thing was trying to make him work for everything and we did that. Sean, TJ and Ryan, really proud of those guys and what they did. It was a big win for us.”
- Coach Scheyer on the NC State game
“They responded great. I mean I think everything I said, they all knew and felt and could see themselves. Like, you have to calm down on offense. You can’t play the way that they want to play. You have to play how we want to play, which is being tough, getting stops on defense, and then obviously we want to push. But you’re not just going to be able to come down after one pass or no passes and score on them. You have to make them work and break them down, and Tyrese’s basket, it was the first basket of the game, was really important. We had a hard time scoring and so just to settle us down, that was huge. And then to go through the first half and play the whole half without Flip, and you end up having the lead, you know you hope that doesn’t happen but it did. And that was a lot of growth by our team.”
- Coach Scheyer on Duke’s timeout after trailing 9-0
“...the thing that nobody else gets to see is practice. His work has been consistent the whole time. There are two things – one, we have two really good players in [Kyle Filipowski] and Mark [Mitchell], who are established, so the window to play is there but those guys are going to play as well. The job that Sean has done, just adjusting to the college game, it’s an adjustment sometimes. I think Dereck [Lively II] went through it last year. Sean has gone through it this year. And he’s just gotten better and better. Naturally, as a freshman, the more you play, the more confidence you can get. We felt about halfway through the year, even earlier, Sean provides something that we don’t have. He's our best athlete. His versatility on defense. His touch around the basket. He’s a lob threat. And his skill is going to continue to get better and better. You’re trying to find ways to get him out there but today, it was quite simple. We’re better when he’s out there. He just did a terrific job. He competed at the highest level. That’s something, sometimes as a freshman, you’re adjusting to. He’s helped us in a lot more games that just this one, but tonight, obviously, with the amount of minutes he played, hit his free throws, he was great. Really proud of him.”
- Coach Scheyer on Sean Stewart’s development
Stats
With NC State taking a quick 9-0 lead, Duke pounded the glass for 14 offensive rebounds and a 13-4 advantage in second chance points in the first half. Duke’s 23 second chance points for the game matched a season-high. The Blue Devils also outscored the Wolfpack 11-4 in points off turnovers before halftime, which helped counter Duke’s 25% shooting from three-point range and 15 first half points from D.J. Burns. Burns played great, finishing with 27 points on the night. State led 46-45 with 12:10 remaining in the game, before Duke outscored the Wolfpack 19-6 over the next 5:08. After halftime, the Blue Devils posted an effective field goal percentage of 70.3%, committed only 2 turnovers, and gained a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint. Jeremy Roach and Jared McCain combined for 27 of Duke’s 46 points in the second half. The Blue Devils’ transition defense and bench production were also key. NC State only scored 4 fast break points, compared to their 13.5 average coming into the game. Sean Stewart, Ryan Young, and TJ Power combined to play 49:29, while outscoring the Wolfpack bench 17-7. Stewart finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Notes
In Case You Missed It: LeBron James became the only player to eclipse 40,000 career points on Saturday night. James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) last season as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. I’ve mentioned my disdain for the constant GOAT debates throughout sports but, wherever King James is on your personal list, his longevity is not up for discussion. James currently ranks 1st in career points (40,036), 4th in career assists (10,855), 2nd in career minutes (56,019), and t-3rd in career NBA Finals appearances (10).
Next Play: Saturday March 9 | 6:30 pm ESPN | Duke is back in Cameron to play North Carolina in the regular season finale.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources
Box Score - Duke 79 NC State 64