Vote For Blue Devils -- NC Pro-Am Style

I'll admit, I first got the idea for Poll Skewing the fine folks at Duke Basketball Report, where I've spent more time than I care to admit talking about Duke Hoops. I want to pass along a poll I found where Duke fans should be able to make an impact.

The NC Pro-Am Blog is asking for fans to vote on the Top 5 players from the league so far. Do your part and vote for the Blue Devils:

http://greaterncproambasketballleague.blogspot.com/

DCA Classic This Weekend!

If you are in the Washington DC Area this weekend, you will get a chance to see Duke's highest ranked commit for 2011 Michael Gbinije and one of the top 2011 Recruits in Quinn Cook battle in the last sanctioned event of the Summer AAU circuit.

For more details, go to the I95Ballerz website here.

If you're going to see these two Duke targets, be at St. Stephens High School for Gbinije's game at 2 PM as he and his Team Takeover DC battle Team Finesse.

Stick around for the 4:30 PM matchup as Quinn's DC Assault(Gold) team battles Atlas Basketball.

The schedule doesn't leave much room for pool play, so I'm assuming they'll add some more games tomorrow, but if not you'll at least get a chance to watch Michael and Quinn compete. Watch out for James Robinson (2012 guard) for Team Takeover and Torian Graham (2012 guard) for DC Assault (Gold) as they may get some Duke interest in the future...

The DC Assault website only has the schedules up for the younger kids, so check back tomorrow to see if there have been any updates: DC Assault

Here's a map for St. Stephen's High School if you're unfamiliar:


View Larger Map

Trip Durham Will Be New "Voice of Cameron"

Last year was the final year of Dr. Art Chandler's magical 40 year run as the "Voice of Cameron". He leaves behind quite a legacy of missing only 3 games minus a short Army Reserves stint with the original Desert Storm Operation over 39 seasons of Duke Basketball in Cameron.

Dr. Chandler is best known for his "Here Comes Duke" introduction at the urging of former Duke player Alaa Abdelnaby. As he said in this GoDuke.com article towards the end of his career,

“I’ve always felt that a P.A. announcer is there to give information, be clear, be concise and not try to add anything to the atmosphere other than dignity and decorum,’’ Chandler said. “Referees and P.A. announcers should be noticed only if they make bad mistakes.”

While he can certainly not be replaced, all good things must come to an end eventually. Knowing this would be Dr. Chandler's final season as the PA Announcer at Duke, the program auditioned a select few candidates throughout the undefeated 17-0 home season last year, and one has been chosen to take Dr. Chandler's spot behind the microphone. Duke Hoop Blog has learned that Trip Durham has been tabbed as the new "Voice of Cameron".

If you are not familiar with Trip Durham the man, he has quite an impressive story. His professional career has allowed him to be intimately involved with college basketball in general, but more specifically at Elon University.

At Elon, Durham was not only the Associate Athletic Director, but also served as the Executive Producer and play-by-play announcer of Elon University’s commercial radio broadcasts for football and men’s basketball.

Trip has quite an impressive portfolio of audio clips if you want to get a taste of what's to come next year: http://tripdurham.com/portfolio.php

But according to his bio, Trip got his start in announcing as a Sophomore in High School, quite by chance:

In 1984, I was a sophomore at Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington when Ronnie Wall, then Director of Athletics, stopped me in the hallway and asked me a seemingly benign question. “Durham, can you handle doing public address at the JV football game tonight?” Even though I had never picked up a microphone, I did not want to disappoint a teacher.

My answer was simple. "Sure." The answer changed my life forever, because that October night was the start of an amazing twenty-five-year journey. I have since been the public address announcer for countless sporting events, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and even short-track auto racing. I have also served as a play-by-play broadcaster for over a hundred collegiate football and basketball games, calling thrilling come-from-behind victories and heart-breaking last-second losses. For each game, when I turn on the mic, I still have the same excitement that I had the very first time, a quarter of a century ago.

While Trip clearly had quite a memorable time announcing football and basketball games for the Elon Phoenix, his job didn't survive a departmental restructuring after 14 years of employment and he found himself unemployed in the middle of a down job market in March of 2009. Playing off his branding and marketing past, Trip did not take the road less traveled, but instead took out a billboard advertising himself and his website, TripDurham.com.

Read this story about Trip's ingenious attempts to brand himself and make lemons out of lemonade.

This kind of ingenuity and determination has clearly led Mr. Durham to become the PA Announcer in one of college basketball's most hallowed arenas, widely recognized as the best atmosphere for a basketball game. While the "Voice of Cameron" can never be replaced, we seem to be in some very good hands with Mr. Trip Durham.

Duke Players at the Pro-Am Thursday, July 28th

Thursday, July 29

6 pm Team 212/Trianglegi.com vs. Team Navy

7 pm Coaches In Christ vs. Team McGladrey

8 pm Team Stackhouse/TRSC vs. Team Jamison

9 pm Lucky 7 vs. Body of Christ

Should be a pretty light evening for Duke guys in action tonight. As you know by now, Team Navy does not actually consist of any Duke players, so do not attend the 6 PM game if you're expecting to see any of your Blue Devil ballers.

Honestly, other than that it's been pretty unpredictable as to who shows up when, and what team they'll be on. We'll try and confirm some players tomorrow via Twitter, so follow us there: twitter.com/dukehoopblog. In the meantime, check out our videos from last night's action: http://dukehoop.blogspot.com/2010/07/nc-pro-am-highlights-72710.html

Thanks as always for reading and even if you don't see every Devil you planned on seeing, at least you'll see some of them, unlike the Wolpfackers.

*****UPDATED*******

Kyrie Irving confirmed he would not be playing tonight.

NC Pro-Am Highlights 7/27/10

Check out these highlights from the NC Pro-Am featuring Duke players: Mason Plumlee, Kyrie Irving, Josh Hairston, Tyler Thornton, Ryan Kelly, and Nolan Smith.

Even More Great USA Basketball Photos

I bet you thought she was gone, but Lara Lee is still making her mark at Duke Hoop.

On the heels of the roster cut to 15 players, here is the final installment of USA Basketball Photos, this time from the Blue/White Scrimmage.

Have a look by clicking here.

Shabazz Muhammad, Alex Murphy, Kaleb Tarczewski Highlights

Watch Alex Murphy, Shabazz Muhammad, and Kaleb Tarczewski compete at the Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, NV on July 2010.

At this point, getting all 3 of these guys would be a dream class for Duke fans. Make it happen, boys!

Shabazz is #15 in Blue/Orange (Dream Vision). On the opposing squad (New England Playaz), Alex Murphy is #35 and Kaleb Tarczewski is #33.

Quinn Cook and DC Assault Photos

Lara Lee got a chance to catch 2011 recruit Quinn Cook and his DC Assault play while in Las Vegas. If you haven't been introduced to Quinn through our blog, or else where, you must be new here and to Duke recruiting. Check out a couple of our earlier stories on Quinn here:


Quinn Cook to Oak Hill Academy?

Quinn Cook Has Duke At the Top of His List

And the gallery from Vegas

Shabazz Muhammad and Dream Vision Photos

Lara Lee (twitter.com/livehead16) has been lighting up DukeHoopBlog lately. Here's another of her galleries from the Adidas Super 64 Tournament on July 22nd out in Las Vegas. This one focuses on 2012's Shabazz Muhammad, one of Duke's highest priority recruits for the rising Junior class:

Dream Vision Photo Gallery

Shabazz Muhammad

More Great USA Basketball Photos

Thanks again to Lara Lee (@livhead16) for some more great shots of the USA Basketball Training Camp in Las Vegas!

Check them out here:

USA Basketball Photos

Nolan driving through traffic


Kyle Singler is intense!


Coach K commanding respect


Coach Collins and Kyle Singler

Rodney Purvis Won't Stop Ballin'

Just a rising Sophomore at Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, NC, 6'2" SG Rodney Purvis has a lot on his plate. Juggling AAU responsibilities while playing at the NC Pro-Am in Durham, he took a few minutes out of his busy day today to speak with Duke Hoop Blog.

Only a few hours removed from a battle in the Orlando AAU Super Showcase Semi-Finals versus fellow Super Sophomore Julius Randle and the Texas Titans where he scored 23 points while shooting 11-15 from the Free Throw line, Rodney said "I just helped my team win today. We were down 16 heading into the 4th quarter, and we ended up winning by 6."

The Championship Game versus the NY Gauchos is tonight at 8 PM and can be found online at ESPN3.com streaming live. Be sure to watch Rodney and the rest of his CP3 All-Stars compete for the AAU U-15 Division crown. Rodney is 16, but all of his classmates and peers play for the U-15 team, so he does as well. "Playing with the 15s helps me become a better leader," Rodney says.

Before you think less of Rodney because he's playing down a division, he'll be playing up a division with the 17s next. After playing two games a day for the last 3 days, he'll take one day off and go right back at it again on Sunday at 1:20. "Playing with the 17s helps me become a better player and I get to compete against the best players." Watch him in action on ESPN3.com, as most of his games will be broadcast live.

Before this Super Showcase, Rodney was on a whirlwind tour of camps, tournaments, and events. One of those camps was the NBA Players Camp where he was the youngest camper invited to the event. It made quite an impression on him evidently "At first it was tough because we were in the gym from 6 in the morning to 10 at night. After the first couple of days my body got adjusted and it started to get a lot easier." While at the camp, Rodney had a chance to work out with noted strength and conditioning coach Alan Stein of StrongerTeam.com. Rodney had very kind words for Alan. "Yeah, he's pretty tough. He had me feeling like I've never felt before. After stretching with him I felt like I could jump out the gym and could move faster than I ever had. I didn't really understand why were doing some of the stretches we did, but now I stretch like that every day."

This Fall, Purvis will be playing at Upper Room Christian Academy. He wants to help get the word out about his fellow teammates Tyrek Coger, Waymond Wright, and Willie Gaston. He says they are a few of a small group of players committed to playing for the school this season. In between games, Rodney has quite a few visits lined up. He says "I'll definitely visit Duke and Carolina this Fall but I haven't set a date yet." Already scheduled are trips to "Miami, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida, and Alabama" for football games.

Purvis says he's hearing from "Xavier, UNC, Duke, Louisville, UK, Syracuse, Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, NC State, and NC Central the most." While many of the bigger programs in college basketball will certainly get involved with the ultra-talented Shooting Guard, his Mom wants him to stay close to home. He says "She wants me close to home. At the end of the day she wants what's best for me. I want to be close to her too so I can go and see her whenever I can."

If he wants to stay close to home, Rodney will have no shortage of options. Expect UNC, Duke, and NC State to stay very involved with this rising star.

NE Playaz vs Dream Vision Photos

Duke Hoop Blog is strangely becoming some sort of link dump for Lara Lee's (@livehead16) wonderful work in Vegas. Two days ago, she got exclusive 1-on-1 interviews with Kyle Singler (here) and Nolan Smith (here). Yesterday, she published 75 (USA Basketball's limit -- there are more where that came from) great photos of Duke's Coach K, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, and Chris Spatola (here).

Today, she follows all that up with a stacked photo gallery of three of Duke's biggest targets from the Class of 2012 -- Shabazz Muhammad, Alex Murphy, and Kaleb Tarczewski.

Please click the link to check out all 77 shots: 2012 Prospect Photos

Look out for some video from today's action tomorrow, as well as #9 on my countdown of favorite moments from the title run last year...

Here's a sampling:
Alex Murphy

Shabazz Muhammad

Kaleb Tarczewski


Bonus -- "International" Nate James

USA Training Camp Photo Gallery!

We now have pictures from the Las Vegas USA Basketball Training Camp:
Click here to see the entire gallery

All pictures via Lara Lee (on Twitter at twitter.com/livehead16)

Duke's Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Coach K, Chris Spatola are seen as well as Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Jason Kidd and more...

Quinn Cook Has Duke At The Top Of His List

After reading our previous article regarding Kyrie Irving already being guaranteed a Top 5 spot in the 2011 NBA Draft, Duke fans may be weary of what is to come with unheralded (and inexperienced) Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry, who hasn't played the position in a live game. Many people within the Duke program are confident in Seth's ability to play the point, after watching him do so all of the past year in practice, but for those of us who didn't watch practice on a regular basis we can obviously be apprehensive.

The Duke staff is clearly not going to sit back and wait to see what happens with their point guard slot, the most important position on the floor. They are being very proactive as Nate James has been watching 2011 recruit Quinn Cook as he led the U-17 USA Olympic Team to victory in Hamburg, Germany and then the following weekend as his AAU squad, DC Assault, played in a tournament in Minnesota where he was voted to the All-Tournament First Team: http://minnesotapreps.rivals.co/content.asp?CID=1103861

Duke Hoop has learned that Nate James will again travel to see Quinn play, this time flying to Las Vegas, Nevada to watch DC Assault compete in the Adidas Super 64: http://www.adidassuper64.com/

A source close to Cook told us tonight: "Duke is on top of the list, that's for sure." and that "Nate is going out to Vegas." You can be sure that Quinn is noticing the Duke presence at his events as "InterNational Nate" has been putting some miles on Duke Air lately.

Photo credit to boxofmess.com

Kyrie Irving -- Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Going into the Summer, Duke thought they had the point guard position locked up for the immediate future with Kyrie Irving and Tyler Thornton in the bag and Seth Curry having spent a year practicing the position.

After Kyrie kept improving his game and after he impressed even those watching the pickup games in the K Center, those in the program began to think they may have too good of a solution at the position. A source has told Duke Hoop that NBA front office people have already guaranteed Duke that Kyrie will be a Top 5 pick in the upcoming draft barring injury or an unexpectedly poor showing this year. Duke fans, enjoy Kyrie at the helm while you can, because he will almost certainly be gone before you know it...

Photo credit to sports.chronicleblogs.com

Kyle Singler 1-on-1 Interview

Part 2 of the USA Basketball Duke player interviews brings us Kyle Singler as he looks back on his busy Summer and looks forward to his Senior Year as Captain of the Duke Men's Basketball team. Duke Hoop Blog's Lara Lee sat down with Kyle before he joined the USA Select Team for training camp:


Duke Hoop Blog: What does it mean to you to be chosen for this Select Team?

Kyle Singler: It's a great honor. It's a good opportunity to play with and against great competition, and it's just a fun opportunity and experience to be part of.

DHB: What do you hope to take away from this week?

K: Hopefully I get better as a basketball player. Hopefully I have fun, and hopefully I learn some stuff. And so far, I've been doing all three.

DHB: You've had a really busy summer so far; it seems like you've been all over the place. What have you gained from the camps and the various things you've been up to?

K: You take away different things from different camps. But I think the main thing that has happened is just playing against good competition and just being away from Duke, I think, has helped, just being in different arenas and atmospheres. I think that's helped, and it's kind of mixed up the summer a little bit.

DHB: Have you got any plans to take a breather before you get into the season?

K: Yeah, I'll probably go home like the first part of August and stay there for about two weeks before school starts.

DHB: Speaking of home, what did you think when Coach first approached you with the idea of playing against EJ up in Portland this fall?

K: Yeah, I was really excited about it. You know, I was hoping that we would get the chance to at least go back to Oregon to play when I was at Duke. So now that I'm playing my brother, and it's in Oregon, it should be a really fun thing. A lot of people in Oregon are excited about it, so I'm excited to get back there.

DHB: You said that a big reason you decided to stay for your senior year was because you love Duke so much. What are some things that you love about the program and about the university that made you want to stick around?

K: Well, just those things. I love the program, I love being around the guys and Coach. The university and just the people at the school are fun to be around. Just the whole experience I’ve had a blast. Each year's been more fun so hopefully my senior year is even better than the last one. And that's pretty tough to do.

DHB: Speaking of next year, what does it mean to you to be a captain coming up this year?

K: Yeah, it's something new; it's something that I haven't done. I think it'll help Nolan and I as basketball players, just to become more of a leader, I guess, in our program. It'll just help us as basketball players, just become more complete.

DHB: It's going to be a very different year next year. Not only do you have a lot of personnel changes, but the outside expectations for the team are so different than they were last year. How do you tackle that as a captain?

K: Well, you kind of have to just be yourself. I think that's the main thing. Just like you said, it's going to be different. Every year's been different since I've been at Duke, so I think if Nolan and I are just ourselves, our instincts will take over. I mean, we're leaders already, so I think we'll just be ourselves and things just come natural.

DHB: You mentioned how it's been different every year... that's really been true for you, because you've been moving around on the court pretty much every year. What do you think your role this year will be on the court?

K: I have no idea, to be honest. It could be anything. I really can't see what it's going to be like. We're just going to work hard during the summer and hopefully we put ourselves in the right positions to be successful.

Nolan Smith 1-on-1 Interview

Nolan Smith is in Las Vegas for a week with Duke teammate Kyle Singler and a number of other college players training with the USA Select team. This squad was hand selected by a panel of college coaches and USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Committee to train against the USA Men's National Team and gain valuable experience in the Olympic program.

Duke Hoop Blog's Lara Lee caught up with the two players before they set out on their second day of practice. Here's the first interview with Nolan:


Duke Hoop Blog: What does it mean for you to be chosen for this Select Team?

Nolan Smith: It's a huge honor to be out here, you know, to play alongside these great college guys and also get the opportunity to play against some of the best NBA players. It's a great honor, and it's very exciting to be out here.

DHB: What do you hope to take away from this week, for yourself?

N: Just learn a lot about my game. I'll really know what I have to do to improve, not only for next season in college basketball, but going forward in my game at the next level. To see myself against the NBA guys, I'll really get to test myself and test my game.

DHB: You've had a really busy summer so far. You said that yourself yesterday... you've been all over the place. What do you think you've gained from going to the different camps and things like that?

N: Oh, I've gained a lot. In my next blog coming out, I'm actually going to talk about that. I've gained a lot. Learning from guys like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, LeBron... all of them have really just given different pieces of their game that they have. And then all the trainers that I've been working with all summer, you know, I've tried to just soak it all in. Keep my game the way it is, but add different pieces that they have. I really feel like I've grown this summer.

DHB: Speaking of the blog... What brought that on?

N: You know, just my personality. Really wanting to become one with my fans, Duke fans, and basketball fans. I really think that they appreciate it. People that love sports love to hear what we're doing, love to hear and see our personalities. And I love giving out to them, so it's just something I want to do to really just spend my free time, you know, when I'm just sitting at the house, and really just do it for the fans.

DHB: So is that your ultimate goal with the blog, give more the insider view of your life off the court?

N: Oh yeah, definitely... give an insider's view, allow people to ask me questions, and I'll try to answer as many questions as I can, and really just try to connect with everybody. I'm a people person; I love putting a smile on people's faces. That's just me.

DHB: Most people were under the impression earlier in the spring that you had no thoughts of declaring for the draft this year. And then after the fact we got a little bit of a different story. How come you kind of kept your thoughts to yourself for a while there?

N: That was just the way I wanted it. You know, I really didn't want to deal with the questions, deal with the interviews asking me about it. I wanted to keep it inside Duke, and keep it with the coaches, keep everything just really low-key. If I would have decided [to leave], then I'd have been prepared for any questions. But then when I decided to stay, it was kind of like, everybody was expecting me to stay, and that's just the way I wanted it.

DHB: What does it mean to you to be a captain coming up this season?

N: It means a lot to me. You know, especially the captains that we had this year, they set a high bar. You know, Jon and Lance... and Zoubs wasn't a captain but he really was, just our senior leadership. This year it's going to be Kyle and myself, and we're ready to try and do the best we can, like last year's guys did. And we're ready for it, you know, leading by example but also being very vocal with our freshmen and our guys coming up. So, it's a huge task and we're ready for it.

DHB: Along that same line, it's a very different team coming in this year personnel-wise, but also the outside expectations for this team are very different this year from last year. How do you handle that, starting out?

N: Just try and be humble. You know, as long as we get everybody on the same page, and play to take it one game at a time. We know the expectations are going to be very high for us. But we just have to stay relaxed, and we got to expect that after winning a championship, the expectations are always going to be high. But even more so with the guys coming in, Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry, who was sitting out, you know people are expecting a lot out of those guys. So we're just going to have to all keep it together. If we play together, then everything will just fall into place.

DHB: Are you going to make it to any of the DC Assault games while you're out here?

N: I definitely plan to. Our workouts here are pretty much over by 2 or 3 o'clock every day, so I definitely plan to go support DC Assault kids and just watch my guys.

Countdown to Craziness October 15th

Not sure if everyone saw this from Duke Blue Planet, but CTC is scheduled for October 15th:

Oct 15 RT @joeyl21: @dukeblueplanet r they goin to be a Countdown to Craziness if so you know the dateless than a minute ago via TweetDeckDuke Basketball
dukeblueplanet

Check Crazie-Talk for the rest of the confirmed schedule dates: http://www.crazie-talk.com/scores-schedule/2010-2011/

Duke's Players at NC Pro-Am Tuesday, July 20th

Schedule is here:

Tuesday, July 20

6 pm Team Jamison vs. Team Navy

7 pm Lucky 7 vs. Hendrick Of Durham

8 pm D1 Sports/C Ryan vs. Team Dreamworks

9 pm Team Stackhouse vs. Team McGladrey

The Duke guys are not playing on Team Navy anymore and have switched to D1Sports. Adjust your viewing schedules accordingly.

Playing with Team Jamison, we'll get to see Miles Plumlee, Seth Curry, and Josh Hairston (possibly playing with Dexter Strickland and Justin Knox of unc) going up against a ragtag Team Navy. Note that Torian Graham, who we profiled here: http://dukehoop.blogspot.com/2010/07/torian-graham.html will be in Vegas with his DC Assault AAU Squad at the Adidas Super 64. Click here for more info on that tourney: http://dukehoop.blogspot.com/2010/07/vegas-aau-matchup-between-2012s-biggest.html

In the 7 PM game, we'll get another look at Kyrie Irving, although Kyle Singler will be absent as he is in Las Vegas with the USA Select Team. We will be covering the USA Training Camp beginning tomorrow, so check back tomorrow evening for some pictures from the action. Kyrie's squad will hopefully be joined by Durham Riverside's Class of 2012 standout TJ Warren.

The 8 PM game brings us Ryan Kelly, Tyler Thornton, and Andre Dawkins in their first game back since switching to the D1Sports Team 2 weeks ago. 2011 Standout Quincy Miller will be in Vegas with the rest of his D1Sports AAU Squad and we're assuming John Wall will not be present. They face off against Mason Plumlee's Team Dreamworks, who will be missing Nolan Smith as he is in Vegas with the USA Select Team with Kyle.

At 9 PM some unc guys will face some NC State guys...

We should be live tweeting from the event again and hope you are already following us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dukehoopblog

Thanks for reading!

Adam

Vegas AAU Matchup Between 2012's Biggest Targets

If you follow recruiting, you know that Duke's two biggest targets in the Class of 2012 are 6'5" lefty SG Shabazz Muhammad, and 6'8" WF Alex Murphy. Not only are they good friends, they will also be facing each other during the opening round of the Adidas Super 64.

The tournament matches some of the best Adidas-Affiliated AAU teams in the country. See the teams playing here: http://www.adidassuper64.com/Assets/Documents/2010-17-B-Pools.Pdf and the schedule here: http://www.adidassuper64.com/Assets/Documents/2010-17-B-Pool-Play.Pdf

While it's not the easiest thing to read, Pool B contains Shabazz' Dream Vision and Alex' NE Playaz. If you use your decoder glasses on the schedule, that 11:40 AM matchup between 17B1 and 17B2 will pit to possible future team mates at Duke against each other. Here's to hoping they like sharing the court, and wishing they were wearing the same color jersey...

Men's Basketball Roster Posted!

http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1845&SPSID=22727

Some interesting items:

Seth Curry has said he is now 6'2", 182 lbs. as of the posting of this article on May 2nd: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/02/1410910/at-duke-a-curry-is-talk-of-the.html He is listed at 6'1" 175 on the roster.

Ryan Kelly is listed at 6'10" 220 lbs. We know from sources he's actually at 232 lbs.

Miles Plumlee, for anyone who's seen him this Summer, is much thicker than his 240 lbs. playing weight from last year.

It's definitely weird to not see Jon, Lance, and Zoubs on the roster. Jordan Davidson's name has also been up there for what seems like a decade. All good things...

10 Favorite Moments From '09-'10

Duke Hoop 10 Favorite Moments From Last Year’s Title Run

It’s a lot easier to look back on last year, when it ended like it did. Some people have referred to the title run of ’09-’10 as a fairy tale scenario, and at times it certainly felt that way. There were the ups of 82-50, the downs of the NC State and Georgetown games, and the ultimate, nerve racking finish in Indianapolis as the Duke Blue Devils won their fourth National Title. We will look back at our 10 favorite moments from last year, not just because it’s a nice, round even number, but also because it’s Duke’s current winning streak. It’s good to be king…

We start our look back with #10:

#10 – Moments of Toughness

Cohesiveness, a true team, magical, fairy tale, all are words used for the ’09-’10 team from last year. One word you don’t typically hear to describe that team is tough. For whatever reason, and it’s curious to us, the outside perspective of that team was that of a finesse team who relied on outside jumpers to outscore their opponents. If you were paying attention though, you saw Miles Plumlee bleeding from his head in the Florida State game, you saw Lance Thomas go down with a knee injury in the second half of the Duke-UNC game in Chapel Hill, and you saw Kyle Singler’s black eye that he wore as a badge of badassedness for the majority of the second half of the season.

This first "moment" is actually three. The first was when Kyle came flying in for a dunk in the (Which game was it, Wake Forest at Cameron?) and landed flat on his back right underneath the basket. Without missing a beat, he popped right up and shook it off like he stubbed his toe. It was quite a fall for a 6’8” 230 lb small forward to take, especially at as fast of a speed as he was traveling. Didn’t phase him one bit. Well, maybe a little as he airballed his first free throw. Even the ref checked with Kyle to make sure he was okay as that was so uncharacteristic. Never the less, Kyle shook the miss off just like he had the fall and stepped up to the line to coolly sink his second free throw.

Here are the highlights from that game, unfortunately Kyle's show of toughness wasn't in here:





Second was when Kyle was going for a loose ball in the ACC Tournament Fianls vs. Georgia Tech and ended up flying over Dick Vitale and Dan Shulman, again shaking it off and going about his business.



Last, but certainly not least, was when Kyle got crushed by Matt Howard on a screen on the last shot of the '09-'10 College Basketball Season.



These were all emblematic of the team the entire year, as Zoubs would battle for rebounds, and Nolan would dive after the ball on the floor at a crucial moment during the Final Four matchup with West Virginia. Coach K’s teams are nothing but tough on defense, and it really showed throughout the year last year.
Stay tuned to Duke Hoop as we chronicle our 10 favorite moments from the magical season of ’09-’10.

--Adam

Duke Coaching Staff Heading to Vegas

Photo credit about.com

Fresh off winning his fourth National Championship, Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski heads off to begin the defense of his other recent title, the Olympic Gold he won in Beijing in 2008.

Starting July 19th, Coach K, Coach Chris Collins, and Coach Steve Wojciechowski (Nate James will stay behind in Durham) will all head off to begin their second jobs, as coaches of the USA Olympic team. The following players are confirmed to be on the court from the 19th to the 24th:

Confirmed to be on the court in Las Vegas are Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Chandler; Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); David Lee (Golden State Warriors); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Robin Lopez; Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Rondo; Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Amar’e Stoudemire (New York Knicks); Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

During the USA Training Camp, there will be daily practice sessions from noon to 3 PM (PDT) at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. The five-day event will end with a "Blue-White" Intrasquad Scrimmage at 7 PM (PDT) on July 24th at the Thomas and Mack Center, also on the UNLV campus. If you're in the area, you can get tickets either by calling 866-388-FANS or visiting www.UNLVtickets.com.

August 12th, selected members of the USA Team reconvene in New York City for the very exciting World Basketball Festival. If you're in New York, you absolutely have to check this out: http://www.slamonline.com/online/news-rumors/other-news/2010/06/nike-usa-basketball-debut-world-basketball-festival/

WBF tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on an open-air court in Times Square (Broadway between 47th & 48th), along with an unprecedented performance by a surprise musical act. (Yes, they’re laying down the hardwood in the center of Times Square.) From there, the next two days will feature games at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, where open-air practices and scrimmages by the National Teams from Brazil and Puerto Rico, and training by France, will be mixed with a grassroots youth tournament serving as the championships for some of New York’s top summer basketball leagues.

The Festival will conclude with an exciting exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m.) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m.) at famed Madison Square Garden. The exhibition games are being utilized as part of the teams’ preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Turkey, which runs August 28 to September 12.

WOW! Can Coach K defend the Olympic Gold while defending the 2010 National Championship? If there's a coach out there that can, it's him...

Duke Players at the Pro-Am Tonight

Schedule for this evening: http://www.ncproam.com/schedule.html

Thursday, July 15

6 pm Lucky 7 vs. Team Navy

7 pm Body of Christ vs. Team Stackhouse/TRSC

8 pm Team Jamison vs. Team McGladrey

9 pm Team Dreamworks vs. Team 212/Trianglegi.com

http://www.ncproam.com/rosters.html

***Although Ryan Kelly, Andre Dawkins, and Tyler Thornton are all on the Team Navy roster, they have moved over to D1 Sports because as my friend Ryan said "Team Navy looked like a middle school team out there."

Looks like Team Stackhouse with some carolina guys on it are playing at 7, if you're into that sort of thing.

At 8, you can watch Seth Curry, Miles Plumlee, and Josh Hairston go up against the NCSU contingent of Ryan Harrow, Tracy Smith, Zo Brown, and CJ Leslie. Not sure how many of those guys will show up. It's always a crapshoot.

The 9 PM game features Mason Plumlee and Nolan Smith of Duke. I seriously doubt Nolan will be there as he was up partying last night at the ESPY's aftershow in LA.

We have received confirmation that all Duke players will be at the Pro-Am except for Nolan!

Duke Signee Michael Gbinije on ESPNU at 7 PM!

His Team Takeover DC made it to the Peach Jam Finals and the game which is live at 3 PM today will be replayed tonight at 7!

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Torian Graham

Photo credit to Scout.com

Duke Hoop has spoken with 2012 SG Torian Graham's father, Len Lilly. Torian has a pretty long list of potential suitors at this time. Len named the following schools that were pursuing the Oak Hill Academy and DC Assault stud the hardest:

Boston College, Xavier, NC State, Rutgers, Kansas State, Miami, Oregon, Depaul, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, VCU, Richmond, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Cincinnatie, and Indiana

As you can see, there are some high major schools interested in the rising Junior and they would all be lucky to get his services. At this time, Boston College, NC State, Xavier, and Kansas State have offered scholarships. He does not have a leader at this time.

Len informed us that Torian's goal is to be recruited by Duke and UNC and if he continues to develop as he already has, we are guessing that goal will become a reality.

Watch him at the NC Pro-Am on Team Navy this Thursday here in Durham as he is one of only a few 2012 players invited to perform in the Summer League composed of mainly pros and college stars.

Pro-Am Last Night

Well, last night was quite an experience. I got to see Josh and Kyrie play live for the first time, witnessed a transformed Miles Plumlee (physically and folically),
and got to see a team of Duke players up close and personal who have an unbelievable amount of team chemistry.

Nolan Smith, Ryan Kelly, Andre Dawkins, and Tyler Thornton were all on hand to watch their teammates play at the Greater Rucker NC Pro-Am on NCCU's campus just down the road from Duke. They, along with the rest of the 3,200 person (may have been a few more than that, but don't tell the fire marshalls) capacity crowd were not disappointed. The action started off with Team Hendrick vs. Team Navy featuring Kyrie Irving in his debut performance at the Summer League. Kyle Singler is normally on his team, but was apparently resting up for his appearance on the Espys tonight (set your DVRs!) Kyle's absence did not stop Kyrie from having a breakout performance in his first Pro-Am. See video from our friends at Crazie-Talk here: http://www.crazie-talk.com/2010/07/14/video-duke-at-the-nc-pro-am/ I haven't seen a player with Kyrie's ability to handle the ball and change directions at his breakneck speed since Chris Paul's days at Wake Forest. Kyrie can stop and start on a dime, using a nice hesitation move to freeze his defender and giving him an opening to make one of his patented moves to the basket. Needless to say, I'm very excited to watch Kyrie over the rest of the league, and of course for the next year at Duke. Enjoy him while you can, because if he plays like expected, he won't be around Durham very long...

The next game featured Miles Plumlee, Seth Curry, and Josh Hairston. Their team dominated a much smaller squad as Miles and Josh were beasts on the boards all evening. Miles had a litany of dunks, one-handed, two-handed, from up close, and from a few feet out. He was a monster. Not really too much you can take from such a mismatch, but I was very impressed with Miles' ability to stay in front of smaller, quicker guards, and he recovered nicely for blocks when he did get beat off the dribble. Rumors of a much more chiseled Miles from last year are true, as I'd say he's put on 10 lbs of pure muscle.

Josh also used his size to his advantage on the boards, and had a number of rebounds. He had a little trouble finishing though and will need to work more on his ability to put the ball in the basket from up close. While his work down low left something to be desired, he showed a much better handle in the open court than I expected and had a very nice touch on his turnaround jumpers from 10-15 feet. For those Duke fans expected Josh to play more of a PF/C role, I think you should be expecting more of a SF/PF player a la Battier or Singler (this past year.) Josh simply doesn't have the body to bang down low yet and hasn't learned how use his sturdy frame to bang around down low. Duke's 2011 recruits (Marshall Plumlee and Tyler Adams) will allow Josh to slide over to a more perimeter-oriented role.

Seth Curry was definitely my standout player of the night. While he wasn't as flashy as Kyrie, Seth showed a patience you don't normally see in these games. He allowed the game to come to him and found ways to score that I didn't know he had in his arsenal. From dribble penetration to step back threes, to steals and breakaway scores, Seth did it all. It's easy not to notice him putting up points, as he does it in such a quiet way. I was very impressed with Seth's ability to be a facilitator of his team and saw some "floor general" qualities that should allow him to step into the leadership role that will certainly be left after Nolan graduates.

I don't generally take too much away from these glorified pickup games, but a backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Nolan would be Top 5 in the nation. Add in the Nation's leading scoring Freshman from two years ago in Seth Curry, rising Sophomore Andre Dawkins, and incoming Freshman Tyler Thornton and it's just not fair how deep and talented Duke will be in the back court next year. As we all know, elite talented guards make big guys look a lot better than they are, so look out for the Plumlee Brothers Dunking Company to wow some people next year as well.

I think some carolina and state guys played after Duke did, but I'm not sure. You can probably find something online about it somewhere. Someone said there would be a matchup between Leslie and Harriett but I didn't think girls were playing in this league. Who knows?!?

I'll be attending the league for the rest of the season, so look back here for reports -- Adam

Don't forget to check our twitter for live tweets from last night's and subsequent games: http://twitter.com/dukehoopblog

NC Pro-AM Tonight!

Very excited about tonight's NC Pro-Am as it's the first time I get to see Kyrie Irving and Josh Hairston live.

We will be tweeting from the games at http://twitter.com/dukehoopblog Give us a follow if you haven't already.

We also will be shooting video and should have it up on the site later this week. If we get lucky, we'll get some interviews and hope to do them on camera...

On tap for this evening is Hendrick of Durham (Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler's team) at 6 PM. Nolan recently tweeted that he may be their team as well! Also on that team is Duke recruit TJ Warren, a rising Junior.

At 7, we'll get to check out Seth Curry, Josh Hairston, and Miles Plumlee's team. It will be my first time seeing Josh live also. Very excited as I think he'll surprise some people over the next four years.

For rosters, click here: http://ncproam.com/rosters.html

For schedule, click here: http://www.ncproam.com/schedule.html

The players in attendance are subject to change at any time and you often see guys play for two different teams in one night or even switch teams all together. Part of the fun of Summer League, I guess...

From Adam's Twitter

I'm gonna try to start posting a daily roundup of my Twitter Feed here, as it looks like not everyone who comes to the blog is following me there and I don't want you people missing out on all the Duke haps from throughout the day.




Derek Fisher has said no to the Heat and will remain with the Lakers. This can only be good for Jon Scheyer in his attempts to make the team.

Speaking of Jon Scheyer, he received some praise from Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra in a recent interview: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/heat/jon-scheyer-earns-praise-from-heats-erik-spoelstra-797458.html

Spoelstra also went out of his way to praise undrafted Duke guard Jon Scheyer.

"We wanted him because we thought he'd be a guy that would stretch the floor," Spoelstra said. "A lot of what we do offensively is predicated on spacing and 3-point shooting really helps. He's been a pleasant surprise with other aspects of his game. He has an extremely high basketball IQ. He does a better job of putting the ball on the floor, making plays, than I anticipated."

If you want to follow Jon in his quest to make an NBA Title-contender, check out the Heat's Summer League schedule: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2010/teams/heat/
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Anthony Davis expects to garner offers from UNC and Duke following the Peach Jam: http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/07/12/carolina-pursuing-anthony-davis/ We agree with Zagoria that Duke is done recruiting bigs for the Class of 2011. Yes, that includes Quincy Miller although Duke certainly wouldn't turn down a commitment from him...

Speaking of the Peach Jam, Austin Rivers went off for 29 points today in front of 50 to 100 college coaches. Included in that contingent was Coach K and Coach Collins. Notably absent was Roy Williams and unc's other assistant in town, Jerrod Haase. They are reportedly in attendance for Austin's 6 PM game.

Here's the Peach Jam Schedule if you're interested: http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/wp-content/themes/inside_bb/images/elite-youth/pdfs/PeachJamSchedule.pdf
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If you're wondering how Duke got lucky enough for both Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith to return to Duke, check out this article where Nolan attributes the decision to Kyle Singler's wanting to return: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13615837/duke-senior-duo-returned-together-to-return-devils-to-top Thanks Kyle!

If you missed Kyle "The Standard Package" Singler on The Dan Patrick Show today, go here and click the red button: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/blog/119741/index.html
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Duke has contacted 6'3" Guard Josiah Turner from the Class of 2011. He says in this Zagsblog.com article that

“There’s a lot of schools coming out hard now,” Turner said. “Duke called [Sunday] night. They said they need a guard to come in after Kyrie [Irving]. They think he’s going to be one-and-done so they’re trying to find a guard to come in.”

Duke fans should enjoy Kyrie while he's here, cause he'll probably be gone before you can say "threepeat".

Kyrie will make his debut performance tomorrow (Tuesday night at the NC Pro-Am on NCCU's campus at 6 PM with fellow teammate Kyle Singler. Other Duke players including Seth Curry, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Thornton, and Andre Dawkins will also play tomorrow. For rosters and schedules, go to http://www.ncproam.com/
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Also, after Nate James followed recruits Quinn Cook and Chasson Randle to Germany for the U-17 World Championships, he will stay with Quinn as he travels to Minnesota for a tourney. Newest Duke commit Marshall Plumlee will also be at this tournament.

Thanks for following!

Adam

Marshall Plumlee and The Post Rotation

(Photo credit to Asheville Citizen-Times)


Saturday night, Duke got a verbal commitment from the third of three Plumlee brothers, Marshall. While it had been rumored for quite some time:

This Marshall Plumlee to Duke train is rolling along faster than I thought. Quite a turn of events from a month ago. #recruitingiswild #dukeless than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Adam Rowe
dukehoopblog

it finally became a reality as Marshall called the Duke staff with the good news. Those within the program actually expected this to be over earlier in the week, but good things come to those who wait...

With a 7'1", 208 lb frame, Marshall certainly has some room to put on some weight. He knows he has work to do, and clearly the Plumlee family feels as though Duke has done good things developing Marshall's two older brothers, Mason and Miles.

Welcome to Duke, Marshall Plumlee!

With the addition of Marshall to the 2011 recruiting class, Duke now has two solid big men (Tyler Adams too) to build around down low. Barring defections, here's what our post rotation is looking like for the 2012 season:

Freshmen
Tyler Adams --------- True Center
Marshall Plumlee ---- True Center

Sophomore
Josh Hairston ------- SF/PF

Juniors
Ryan Kelly ---------- PF/C
Mason Plumlee ------- PF/C

Senior
Miles Plumlee ------- PF/C

Many pundits, fans, and people within the program believe that Mason has the potential and skill to go pro after this year, including DraftExpress.com which has Mason at #10, just behind teammate Kyrie Irving at #9. Assuming Mason leaves, the addition of Marshall and Tyler in the Class of 2011 will give Duke enough flexibility down low for Josh Hairston to be able to slide over to the Small Forward position with 2011 recruit Michael Gbinije. At the Center position, you will see Miles backed up by Tyler and Marshall while the PF position will be manned by Ryan Kelly and backed up by Miles at times.

If Mason stays, Duke will have a solid 5-man rotation down low, which worked well for the Devils this past year. Speaking of this year, chemistry played a large part in the unexpected title run. You think the Duke staff feels like they know what they're going to get with Marshall and vice versa? I'm guessing there's a level of familiarity there that both parties are very comfortable with.

9 Golden Years Of Duke Basketball To Come?

Duke under Mike Krzyzewski has been one of the most stable programs over a 30 year run NCAA Basketball has ever seen. Though there have been some lows, they were always followed by highs immediately after. My friend Kedsy crunched the numbers and found an extremely exciting pattern for Duke fans to look forward to over the next 9 years or so. While last year's team exceeded nearly everyone's expectations except the most optimistic of Duke fans and those within the locker room, what's to come may just keep Duke on top of the college basketball world where it belongs:

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The summer of 2009 was tough on Duke fans. The powderpuff blue team from down the road had won the national championship, and Duke had failed to advance past the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight year. A whole lot of journalists and more than a few of the Blue Devil faithful were yammering on about Duke's five year downward spiral pattern after twenty years of high-flying success.

Of course, you could only see a downward spiral if you believe a team's last game defines its season. Because Duke had outstanding seasons in every season from 2005 (really 2004-05, but for this post I'll use the shorthand) to 2009, with the exception of one down year in 2007. Yet, the ignominious endings, especially in 2008 and 2009, left an impression with even the most optimistic fan that those fine regular seasons had been a bit of a mirage.

But was this a new, negative pattern after a twenty year party? I was sitting at my computer in the summer of 2009 and something was off. It didn't seem new; I remember feeling much the same way in the mid-1990s, and also in the mid-1980s, before the 1986 team propelled Duke's historic run. I decided to look more closely at the entirety of K's career at Duke instead of just the previous five years.

A huge part of the perception issue was 2006, but as I thought about it I realized that was mostly due to a single piece of bad luck. LSU won their game before Duke by one point against a #12 seed on a last second desperation three-point heave. If that shot clanked off the rim, Duke would have played #12 seed Texas A&M in a game Duke almost certainly wins, and then Duke's next game would have been against Texas, who Duke matched up well with and had blown out by 31 earlier in the year. So if not for a halfcourt prayer, Duke probably makes the Final Four in 2006.

Looking at it that way, with 2006 as an "up" year, the alleged downward spiral was only three years, and seemed hauntingly familiar, centered around the one down year of 2007.

Coach K's first real recruiting class came to campus for the 1983 season. Including that season (but not his first two years with Bill Foster's recruits), under Coach K Duke has only three times experienced what an objective observer would classify as "down years." Those were 1983, 1995, and 2007. Focusing the analysis on those three years, a larger pattern emerges over the course of K's entire Duke career, and the recent years fit right in:

1983 -- DOWN year (11-17)
1984 -- Rebuilding year; #14 in final AP poll but probably overrated; lost first NCAA game.
1985 -- Frustrating year; solid #10 in final AP poll. Lost 2nd game in NCAAT.

and then nine golden years:
1986 -- #1 in final AP poll, NCAA final game
1987 -- #17, lost in Sweet 16 to eventual national champion
1988 -- #5, Final Four
1989 -- #9, Final Four
1990 -- #15, final game
1991 -- #6, national champs
1992 -- #1, national champs
1993 -- #10, upset in 2nd round of NCAAT
1994 -- #6, final game

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1995 -- DOWN year (13-18)
1996 -- Rebuilding year; unranked; lost first NCAA game
1997 -- Frustrating year; #8 in Final AP poll; barely beat Murray State before losing to Providence in 2nd round of NCAAT

and then nine golden years:
1998 -- #3 in Final AP poll; Elite Eight, with only a late game collapse against eventual national champion keeping team from the Final Four
1999 -- #1, final game
2000 -- #1, upset in Sweet 16
2001 -- #1, national champion
2002 -- #1, upset in Sweet 16
2003 -- #7, lost in Sweet 16
2004 -- #6, Final Four
2005 -- #3, upset in Sweet 16
2006 -- #1, see above

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2007 -- Down year; not nearly as awful as the previous down years, but still...
2008 -- Rebuilding year; #9 in Final AP poll; barely beat Belmont before losing to West Virginia in 2nd round
2009 -- Frustrating year; #6 in Final AP poll; lost in Sweet 16

...and then nine golden years? Well obviously the national championship in 2010 was a pretty good start.

In part because of this pattern I was convinced all year that Duke was going to the Final Four this season. Sure it could have been just a clever bit of data-fitting mixed with a healthy dose of wishful thinking, but it also might be that a Coach K team needs a certain amount of time to "recover" from a down year and be able to play with enough confidence to advance in the NCAA Tournament. It could be the frustration of 2008 and 2009 was exactly what history predicted.

With this year's experience and the new players we have coming in next year, here's hoping we truly have started another nine year run.

We're Baaaaaaack!

Hey folks, big thanks to Big Pappa for all of his hard work down in San Antonio at the FIBA U-18s. For a young blogger such as myself with little resources and no journalism experience, it's nice to get a little help from my friends. We hope you all thoroughly enjoyed his reporting from down there, both on the blog and on Twitter. If you're not following us yet, we do a lot of Duke-centric links and retweets on there as well as a lot of opinion from myself.

I've been out as I got married on Saturday, June 26th and was on my honeymoon from that Sunday through this past Thursday. My wonderful new wife got me a championship hat signed by both Coach K and Kyle Singler for my 0th anniversary present and allowed me to write Coach K and Duke into our vows. Here's an excerpt:

"Because I love you, I promise to respect your unhealthy obsession with Duke Basketball, and join you in that obsession. I promise to love them even in the seasons they do not win their 4th National Championship, which made Mike Krzyzewski the greatest coach in college basketball history, especially after going to 11 Final Fours, winning two Olympic Gold Medals, and being the only coach to ever go through an ACC season 16-0. In addition, by the end of next season, he will be the all time winningest head coach in NCAA history, and will be forever, just like our love for each other."

I've got a keeper.

An article on Coach K's stretch of dominance will be put up shortly, and will be live tweeting from the NC Pro-Am on Tuesday. Thanks for all of your support and we will continue to do all we can on the little budget we have.

Adam