Quotes & Notes - November 14
vs. Jacksonville; vs. USC Upstate
After every game I do three things: watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. I tend to only be concerned with what is said from inside the program after the game and there are certain team statistics I like to look at throughout the year. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts and stats from the first two games of the season against Jacksonville and USC Upstate.
Quotes
“...What an opportunity, what a moment. This is a place I've grown up in, playing, coaching, and to be here as a head coach, I was not going to be anywhere other than this moment right now.”
-Coach Scheyer on his first game in Cameron as the Duke Head Coach
“[Our chemistry] is maybe not midseason form, we have a lot of work to do. But I think it starts with their attitudes from day one. Nobody's been above anything. They all get along, although on the court, they push each other. It starts there for me. I think you see that on the court, the way we shared the ball…”
-Coach Scheyer on Team Chemistry after the Jacksonville game
“We’ve spent a lot of time on defense. That has been our main focus, and I think we're in a good spot. They have six assists and 23 turnovers. I thought we were really disruptive…”
-Coach Scheyer on the team’s defense after the USC Upstate game
Stats
Assist/Made Field Goals: I always look at this ratio as one indication of sharing the ball offensively. Against Jacksonville, Duke assisted on 19 of 27 made field goals (70.3%) and had 16 assists on 30 field goals (53.3%) against USC Upstate.
Points Off Turnovers: I like this better than just looking at total turnovers. While every turnover is one less opportunity to score, the “live ball” turnovers that lead to easy baskets are especially critical. Duke was outscored 15-13 against Jacksonville (-2 differential) but reversed that in a big way against USC Upstate, with a 39-5 advantage (+34).
“Line” Points: Points from the free throw line and the 3-point line combined. In today’s game, the 3-pointer and the free throw are two of the most efficient scoring opportunities, with shots at the rim being the third. Duke scored 37 points from the lines compared to 14 points for Jacksonville (+23). Duke had 38 “line” points against 22 line points for USC Upstate (+16).
Notes
Duke played well last week, especially on defense, and this time of the year is so fun in my opinion. We get to know the newcomers and see the offseason growth of the returners - I love the mix of youth and experience on the team this year.
I love The Champions Classic coming up tomorrow, it’s been a great early season event. In 2013, I went to the games in Chicago and it’s just awesome to see four high caliber programs play early in the season. Win or lose, it provides great game experience for the teams and helps set expectations about what is required to win big time games in the bright lights.
I don’t love calling too many results early in the year an “upset” or a “stunner”. Media ignores the fact that all teams are new together this season (even if they return most of their players) and it takes time for chemistry and communication to develop. I read over the weekend where Gonzaga “avoided upset” at the hands of Michigan State, Temple “stunned” Villanova, and Colorado “upset” Tennessee. Bullshit. Nobody has played any games yet - we can talk in March but these are not upsets this time of the year.
I love this tweet from @DukeMBB and will add it to my list of favorite “sequences” throughout the years. This sequence from 2009 is one of my favorites of all time.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources
Do you think we will ever see Duke- MD in the ACC/BIG 10? It been a decade, gotta bring it back.