Waiting for Tyler Thornton Day 2014
(02/12/14 1:29pm)
Once per season, Duke fans celebrate Tyler Thornton Day.
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Once per season, Duke fans celebrate Tyler Thornton Day.
Saturday's 91-89 overtime loss to Syracuse was Duke's fifth loss of the year. On paper, this looks concerning. It also just feels concerning. Heck, the team lost only six games all of last season. You have to go back to the 1996-97 season to find a Duke team that lost this many games, this early in the season.
Plenty of times, I’ve heard people have a conversation that goes something like this:
CORAL GABLES, Fla.—Duke’s loss last season to Miami at the BankUnited Center was the nadir of the team’s season.
This season, Duke became the first college basketball program to install Stats LLC’s SportVU camera system, which tracks players’ movements and provides advanced statistical data.
At first, Duke fans tried to rationalize and avoid panic mode: The loss to Notre Dame was fluke. The Fighting Irish are notoriously tough against top teams on their home court and were geared up to topple Duke in the first ACC matchup between the two programs. Sure Notre Dame had just lost its best player and had already lost to bad teams at home this year, but we could write it off.
For the second game in a row, Duke struggled against an inferior opponent. And once again, National Player of the Year candidate Jabari Parker wasn’t in peak form.Unlike the last game—a 79-77 loss to Notre Dame that dropped the Blue Devils out of the top 10 for the first time since November 2007—Parker's teammates picked up the slack.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Duke led for most of the half but not by much as Georgia Tech hung around the entire way and goes into the half down 34-33 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Jabari Parker, coming off his worst game of the season against Notre Dame, struggled once again. Observations from the first half:
Updated predictions and analysis from the Duke basketball beat writers following the conclusion of the Blue Devils' nonconference slate.
It is an unusual day when this needs reminding: Duke basketball also has a game Tuesday.
Hannukah came early this year, but Christmas is finally here.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Would Grayson Allen win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest? Just watch this video of the Duke basketball commit in the City of Palms dunk contest. He goes through his legs for one dunk, behind his back for another, and then dunks over two 6-foot-8 guys. That's no typo. Six. Foot. Eight. Two of them. Just watch:Allen played fellow Duke commit Jahlil Okafor in the third-place game of the City of Palms event. Okafor's Whitney Young squad prevailed 63-55, making him 2-0 over the last few weeks against his future teammates, having beaten best friend and Duke commit Tyus Jones earlier in December. Okafor scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds while Allen dropped 17 points and snagged three steals.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Duke basketball's 2014 class appears set with Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen, and the staff has used December to take a look at some 2015ers. It's worth noting, though, that the staff is still keeping tabs on 2014 big man Myles Turner, who assistant head coach Nate James visited earlier this month, per Blue Devil Lair. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski watched 2015 recruit Luke Kennard Friday, according to Zags Blog, as the shooting guard scored 41 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Franklin (Ohio). Ranked No. 24 in his class per ESPN, Kennard stands at 6-foot-5 and was also watched by Kentucky head coach John Calipari. His father told Zags Blog that he is also considering North Carolina, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, Florida, Michigan State and Indiana. Though people have been saying Kennard is one of Duke's top targets (Scout, subscription required), the staff is also in on 2015 guard Tyler Dorsey, ranked No. 9 in the class. Dorsey told Scout that the staff sees Tyus Jones as a one-and-done and him as a potential replacement. Dorsey faced Grayson Allen this weekend in the City of Palms Classic, with Allen scoring 31 points, 17 of which came from the free-throw line. Dorsey had 11 points and eight assists as he and teammate Daniel Hamilton struggled from the field. Duke Blogger has a video of some of Allen's highlights, from HomeTeamHoops. Jahlil Okfaor's Whitney Young squad fell in the City of Palms semifinal, but he had a strong performance with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Coach K also made his way to the Tark Classic to see a few other 2015 targets. Two of them are teammates, big men Stephen Zimmerman (No. 2 in 2015) and Chase Jeter (No. 37). Jeter was Duke's first post player offer in the class. Also there, Coach K watched 2015 PF Ivan Rabb (No. 3), who "put on a clinic" according to Rodger Bohn.
NEW YORK—Rasheed Sulaimon said he’s never been attacked so hard.
Duke basketball just finished its last marquee non-conference game, beating UCLA 80-63 at Madison Square Garden. But there are some still big games left and The Chronicle sat down with Chris Spatola for his thoughts on what he has seen from ACC teams during non-conference play. Spatola, formerly the director of basketball operations at Duke, now analyzes college basketball for CBS Sports and Campus Insiders. He also serves as a special assistant to Duke AD Kevin White.
After the fifth steal, Cook put home an acrobatic layup to give No. 8 Duke the lead, spurring a 16-4 run en route to a 80-63 victory at Madison Square Garden.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>NEW YORK—With the game tied at 45 in the second half, UCLA Jordan Adams heaved a long pass to Kyle Anderson to push a fastbreak. The previous possession, Anderson tried the same type of pass. Both times, Quinn Cook ended up with the ball. They were his fourth and fifth steals of the game. After the fifth steal, Cook put home an acrobatic layup to give No. 8 Duke, spurring a 16-4 run en route to a 80-63 victory at Madison Square Garden. Cook's sixth steal came during that run, which was finished by a Jabari Parker slam. Cook finished with seven steals, along with five assists and 14 points. Although not usually lauded for his defensive prowess, he also helped limit star UCLA guard Jordan Adams, who entered play averaging 21.2 points per game, to a season-low 10 points. Jabari Parker paced the Blue Devils with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Both teams fired from distance early and often, combining for 55 3-point attempts. Duke made only 11-of-32 tries from long range, and during the first half took eight 3-pointers in an eight-shot stretch. Duke's final 3-pointer of the game was hit by Rasheed Sulaimon, who has struggled recently. Sulaimon made 3-of-9 shots but was the first guard off the bench for the Blue Devils in the second half.
Duke’s only two losses of the season came on neutral courts to a then-No. 5 Kansas team featuring phenom Andrew Wiggins and an athletic Arizona squad now ranked No. 1.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Alex Murphy will transfer to Florida, where his brother Erik played."It's official, I'm a Florida Gator! I'm more than excited and can't wait to get down to Gainesville soon!!!" Murphy tweeted this morning. Murphy, a redshirt sophomore, was also reportedly considering Rhode Island, Providence and Northeastern, all of which are close to his native Wakefield, R.I. The Chronicle reported Dec. 5 that Murphy intended to transfer. "I really appreciate the experience at Duke, playing for a Hall of Fame coach in Mike Krzyzewski," Murphy said according to ESPN.com. "I've gotten a chance to know Coach [Billy] Donovan and the program. I think it's a great fit for me to continue my career. I think they can help me develop as a player -- and that I can help them a lot as well."ESPN's Jeff Goodman first reported the news. Erik Murphy graduated from Florida last season and was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. After redshirting as a freshman following an early-season concussion, Murphy played in 31 games last season, averaging 6.3 minutes per game and 2.1 points. He sat four of the team's past five games before deciding to transfer this season. Prospects for playing next season did not appear better with the addition of wing players Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen, in addition to Matt Jones, Semi Ojeleye, Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon. And if Rodney Hood and/or Jabari Parker decide to stay, that would have only limited Murphy's minutes even more. According to NCAA rules, players have a five-year period of eligibility that begins when they first enroll as a first-time student. Because Murphy redshirted his first season, any time he spent sitting out due to transfer rules would be lost playing time.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Many predicted Boston College to be one of the big movers in this year's ACC, but the Eagles are off to a 4-7 start, now having lost three of their last four. Chris Spatola, who calls games for the CBS Sports Network and analyzes college basketball for Campus Insiders, attributes their issues to difficult scheduling, a lack of an interior presence and a dearth of depth. Spatola, Duke's former director of basketball operations and now as assistant to athletic director Kevin White, writes on his blog: