SWISS KEEGS'

DUKE-PFEIFFER GAME NOTES

As is usually the case when there is such a tremendous size and talent disparity, it was difficult to take much away from Saturday’s 128-70 exhibition victory over Division II Pfeiffer University.  Pfeiffer did not have anyone in its rotation over 6’5” and it showed on the boards, where Duke had a ridiculous 65-24 advantage.  The Plumlee brothers and Zoubek each finished with double-doubles and combined for 39 rebounds in just 53 minutes.   

Recruiting Update

If you’re reading this, you are probably aware that point guard Kyrie Irving – a consensus top 10 player in the 2010 class – committed to Duke last week.  Irving was widely expected to choose Duke over Kentucky and Texas A&M.  You may also be aware that Irving is friends with Harrison Barnes, who was in attendance for the Pfeiffer game and who I saw Coach K and the staff hosting for breakfast at the Washington Duke Inn on Sunday morning.  Barnes, a multi-talented 6’6” swingman, is an elite prospect – he’s ranked #1 in next year’s class according to scout.com and nbadraft.net projects him as the first player off the board in the 2011 NBA Draft.  The Irving signing – along with four-star recruits Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton – should give Duke another strong, top ten class for next year.  If Barnes joins this group by choosing the Devils over UNC and others, it would potentially be the #1 ranked class in the country and certainly the best for the program in several years.

Game Notes

·        Freshman Mason Plumlee missed his first four shots, continuing his struggles finishing around the rim from the prior weekend’s Blue-White Game.  However, he was a perfect 5-5 in the second half to finish 8-14 for the game with 18 points, 12 boards and 3 assists in 19 minutes.  Mason seemed to take his time more in the second half and there was no one on the Falcons roster that could contest his shot.  He also continued to display his versatility, attacking the offensive glass, creating shots for teammates off the bounce, finishing in transition, and tossing alley oops to his older bro

·        Miles Plumlee put on a show and – while the massive size mismatch makes it difficult to draw too many conclusions – seems to have improved considerably from a season ago.  Miles scored 11 points, grabbed 14 boards, had 4 assists and rejected 3 shots in 18 minutes of action.  There is little doubt that the presence of Mason has had a positive influence on Miles’ confidence and his production.  Not surprisingly, they have a great chemistry and work together well on the block.  Miles still needs to work on his individual defense – he allowed players 5-6 inches shorter score on him in the post on multiple occasions – but plays solid help defense and the Plumlee duo will make it difficult for opponents to get easy looks at the rim this year.

·        Ryan Kelly was considerably more productive than during the Blue-White scrimmage, scoring 18 on 8-11 shooting in 22 minutes.  Kelly is a multi-dimensional scorer, with three-point range (he won the McDonalds three-point contest), a strong mid-range game, and the ability to pull up off the dribble or shoot the turnaround from the post, using his 6’10” frame to shoot over smaller defenders.  Kelly also impressed with 5 assists and zero turnovers and surprised me with his ability to elevate when he converted a two-handed alley oop off a pass from Zoubek that I expected to sail over his head.  It will be interesting to see how he performs versus bigger and more athletic opponents, but it was an encouraging effort. 

·        The third freshman, Andre Dawkins, scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting (including 3-5 from downtown) in 17 minutes.  Dawkins is not shy about putting up shots and needs to improve his decision-making, but he has a nice shooting stroke to go along with explosive athleticism and should have a good career at Duke.

·        Brian Zoubek used his 8+ inch advantage on anyone the Falcons threw at him to score 14 points on 7-8 shooting and grab 13 rebounds in just 16 minutes.  As I mentioned in my Blue-White recap, he appears to be in the best shape of his tenure at Duke after a healthy offseason, which was evident when he threw down a two-handed jam in transition.

·        Coach K occasionally went with a very big lineup, using Olek Czyz at the “two” and playing four players 6’7” or taller.  This may be the only way Czyz sees material minutes this year given the depth upfront, and he responded well with 11 points on 5-6 shooting and 5 boards in 17 minutes.  It’s hard to imagine K using this lineup regularly once the games count unless the backcourt experiences foul trouble.  In general, the big lineup held its own defensively and stayed in front of Pfeiffer’s quick guards, but I’m skeptical whether it would be effective against a higher quality opponent unless K is willing to play more zone.

·        While it is often tempting to go for the highlight-reel play against such an overmatched opponent and Pfeiffer pressed and trapped throughout the game, Duke turned the ball over way too much in this game.  The Devils had 23 miscues and their assist-to-turnover ratio – which has been consistently subpar in recent years – was a very pedestrian 30-to-23 in the contest.  Many of the turnovers were the result of over-passing on the break or ill-conceived lob attempts, but it’s never too early in the season to emphasize the importance of good possessions. 

·        Lance Thomas sat this one with out with an illness but should be back at practice this week.

 by: Swiss Keegs