Let's get ready to RUMMMMMMMBBBBBBLEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Exams are finally OVER!!!! Duke greets Albany after 9 days of no action, and Nelson gets things started right away with a 3. Paulus hits one, watching it sail straight through the net, no iron - then Singler! That's the way to do it! Duke is SHARP!!!!! Ohhhhh, Albany travels. Upp! Carry. Ball STOLEN by Greg!!!! Who looks over his shoulder and sees so much wide open space behind him that he easily lays it up, blowing smoke off his trigger fingers. Second team is in - with Nelson staying on, Nolan, Scheyer, McClure!!, and King effectively playing the "5". No problemo! Nelson gets a 4 point play! Lovely to see them let us shoot a wide-open three, then put a body on us after the shot goes to get us a FT attempt. And Nelson knocks that one down like a pro. They get a nice 3 from the top of the key. Then Nolan comes down, trades a few passes with Nelson, gets the ball back, and rockets off the earth for a nice-looking 3, nodding back at them, saying "you wanna trade three's? We can do this all day." King with a steal!! Then got a little too excited bullying into the lane and got called for an offensive foul.
Boy, look at that pressure - look at that!! It does look like 5 on 7, huh? (hilarious Albany Times-Union article saying how the Albany coach made his team practice 5 vs 7 defenders to get a feel for the signature Duke pressure tonight) Unfortunately, Nolan gets called for the foul right at what would've been a 10 second call, and Coach K motions for him to calm down, settle down. On the next trip up-court, he looks to penetrate - circling the field, running by a screen - and then there he goes, dribbling, spinning, shedding his defender and stepping over him as he falls down only to meet another one flying at him, and neatly, so cool as a cucumber, dishes off to a waiting King who just leaps up for that jam. What a beautiful play! 23-9! 11:36 - isn't this way more fun than finals? If Pitt fans wanna come on our boards and post all hosts of scary stuff like "be very aware of Blair" - can they watch this game right here? Thanks. Beats me wasting my time typing a response back. A picture is worth 1,000 words, you know!
Hey, Albany is tightening up its defense. Z can't get anything going, so he's replaced by King. We run some plays but can't get any open looks, forcing Henderson to sort of toss one up over his shoulder, then the next time, Singler tries a low post move but partially has it blocked! On the other end, Ambrose dexterously tosses two in, and suddenly they've got momentum. Paulus says "enough with this!" and smoothly pulls out a three from his arsenal, knowing exactly what his club needs to grab the horn back. After the shot, they show a camera that stays on him - and it's amazing, no emotion whatsoever, he knows it's going in, and then instead of jubilation, he makes the "calm down" sign to his team, as if sternly reminding them "hey, no worries, I've got your back. I have experience from last year in scenarios such as this. I can shoot 52% from three!" 28-15, 7:35 left.
There goes KING!!!! For three!!!! A scramble for the rebound, guys falling to the floor, the ball bounces out like a jack rabbit, and Nolan grabs it - back to Duke! To Henderson, then to King - who wastes no time in launching that 3-ball to the hoop. In the space of about 6 seconds, we've turned around an opponent's possession into a 3 pointer! And you gotta love King - he was just standing there, silently willing Henderson to notice him - and the adrenaline off that loose ball was still so high that nobody could do anything but watch his shot rocket towards the goal. Hey, did anybody measure that thing? It was probably going 100mph! 34-15? 6 of 10 from beyond the arc? That's like 90% from two-land!!!
SCHEYER!!!!! Oh, Scheyer!!!! What a move! Nolan gives him a happy hug - what fearless determination! And one! We have our small lineup in there (King and McClure being the 4 and 5), Nolan tries to penetrate, and is met promptly by 2 Great Danes (so much fun to type that!). Scheyer runs out of his corner and says here, gimme that, and he heads into the lane, showing a nifty spin move that is quickly starting to be a trademark of just about every slasher into the paint (first patented by Singler? Illinois game?), sheds his defender right on cue, meets 2 other Albanyians in the lane, goes up zig-zaggedly, gets fouled, and tosses the ball up anyway, his eyes the whole time following through with his shot and his effort. It's IN!!!! And the plus-one instantly snuggles into his Midas hand to turn into a gold coin, as good as given, for the 3 point play. Very nice to offset the "his feet wasn't set" remark the announcers gave him earlier for his 1st shot attempt of the game. Everywhere you go, you see articles and discussions about Scheyer coming off the bench rather than starting, what a change that's been, from when he started all his games last year - but what I want to talk about is his new mentality to get into the lane. Granted, he's still working that out, but it's definitely an improvement over last year. Did you know DeMarcus Nelson was also the 3rd leading rebounder in his California HS days? No wonder he has such a nose for the ball! And I think he's teaching Scheyer a thing or two about how to find it! Boy, am I going to miss him when he's gone next year. 4:55.
WOW!!! Awesome, awesome play! A Great Dane loses the ball en route to the lane, handling the globe like he's wearing oven mitts, and quick as lightening, McClure has picked it off. To the fastbreak! He hits a streaking Scheyer ahead of him, who converges to the goal but sees a body flying at him, doesn't quite care to get body-slammed, and instinctively hands it off behind the back to a Dukie right there - Nolan! - who gladly goes up for the stuff. Scheyer looks back to see that everything is alright, and blinks nary an eye, like "heh, I do that stuff for breakfast." "He's in the Christmas spirit of giving!" the announcers applaud. Cute.
Hmm . . Z still looks the same, unfortunately. Picked up his 2nd foul before McClure blocked the shot he was supposed to, and goes to the bench in exchange for Singler. OH! McClure with the steal! Followed by Nelson! With a 3 despite a defender right in his face. Are we putting on a 3-pointer shooting clinic today? Followed by Singler with a defender right in his face, but he rises so high it doesn't matter, and of course I am softly calling out "No!" but no sooner does that leave my lips, the ball is already sailing in, smooth as anything, and now I will simply stop saying no to his three's. It's always like this - his first 2 are like warm-ups where he gets a feel for where the basket is, and then his 3rd and 4th are always good. I believe 7 Blue Devils have already demonstrated to us their love for the 3, including Paulus, King, Nelson, Henderson, Nolan, Scheyer, and now Singler. I think I just about named the entire roster. God DAMN!!!!!
Oh, and another STEAL to punctuate our dominance right before the half! Don't you forget it! The replay shows Nelson picking off that pass right on cue, streaking off immediately to the other end - and the guy he stole it from just kind of jogs up, already knowing that he is beat, not even trying to get back. Meanwhile - remember the last play when Scheyer dished to Nolan right behind him because there was about 3 Blue Devils right behind him, and only 1 defender in sight? Yeah. It's that kind of game. I love the hustle!
OH, NOLAN with the BLOCK!!!! Owww!! Scheyer is so amazed he bear-hugs the freshman right on the spot! And Nolan just kind of snarls - like, dude, get that weak-**** stuff outta my gym! And Paulus, running end to end in the last 6.3 seconds to try a tough layup against 3 defenders, but misses, in a great heady move that will come in handy someday.
Boy, they are talking up that Pittsburgh game to death, aren't they? Wonder what the big deal is? 57-31 halftime, as we attempt to dust off these feisty, ruthless, deceptively sized Great Danes.
Oh HOOO!!!!!! Gerald Henderson for the alley-oop!!! Do we know how to open the second half or what?? Their defenders just stood there flat-footed! In shock! Then - Nelson with the block? Amazing! And - a quick feed up to McClure, who can't quite corral it, loses it to an Albany kid, the ball careens loose - and right into the hands of a streaking Singler, who scoops it up with delight and lays it up strong for the deuce. What a sequence! If that's not the quickest way to put up 4 points, I don't know what is.
I love how Singler is basically using this game to work out every kind of offensive game he's got. He first started off with a couple three's, sending in a miss before hitting one late in the first half. He's also shown some low-post moves, catching the ball and turning to shoot, as well as mid-range jumpers, including one off a rebound, one a pull-up J on the wing, then finally hitting one from about 15 feet. He hasn't had a dunk yet. Can we try one of those next? As Paulus efficiently swishes another dead-aim 3. He cannot miss tonight!
Three after three! Looking to practice against a 2-3 zone that might break out any minute, huh guys? Awesome!! 14 of 20 at one point. Singler breaks away from the lane after another Taylor King dead-eye to say "why did I even bother tangling into the paint?" King hitting his free throws - nice. Because Nelson is not (7 of 13 for the night?).
Z is back for more, and is steadily looking better and better. I do love how simply having a taller guy on your side is an advantage (yes, I know - duh). Scheyer guns into the lane, finds to his disbelief that he's drawn 3 sharks to himself, and thankfully dishes off to Z, who comes charging into the lane to his comrade's rescue, raising his arm like a high flag to signal "land ho!" Scheyer gets the assist, and Z gets a basket and a foul! Next trip, he gets the pass, dribbles with his back into the paint, then switches to his right and up for the goal. Nice! Oh, Z with a clean block! Aww, c'mon! A foul?? On the replay - what, he maybe tapped the guy's arm coming down from that block? It was clean as a whistle! "Some big guys just look like they are committing a foul. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because they are slower than the other guy, but they just look guilty whether they've committed the foul or not." Thanks, Len Elmore. So you're telling me this whole referee business is basically a sham? That it's not really about the truth, but the fuzzy perception of the truth? And that we have one guy who supposedly always looks guilty, while the other team across town has someone who always looks righteous (Hansborough)? Ugh. What a world.
We've hit the CENTURY MARK!!!! 100! On a Nelson free throw, natch.
Nice! Z showing his stuff! Paulus delivers the ball right to his doorstep, and he gives back a nice assist for Greg as he goes up to bank that one home. Next? Henderson tries to drive, faces 3 guys collapsing on him and gets his shot blocked, falls to the floor . . but Z is there to gather that into a putback! Nice! Next? Ooooh, a pileup for a loose ball . . McClure gets his hands on the rebound, 2 Great Danes jump him and Henderson comes in to help, and they have to tap their shirts to get them off the football scrimmage. Troy is curled up at the bottom, refusing to let up and give that ball back to Albany - hey, I had it first!
What a gritty effort and team play! Taylor has the ball, tosses it to McClure to hold it for a sec while he runs to his favorite spot along the 3-point line, gets it back and instantly fires one up - airball? But Scheyer on the opposite side is alert enough to tap it out long, where Jordan Davidson hustles to grab it for the offensive rebound. Then the bullet pass - to KING! For the running layup! Was that a backdoor cut?? Wow! It's 104-68, but there is no stallball in sight . . are we getting ready for some big dogs at the Garden in 3 days?? The Iron City Panthers? Yes, we are!!!
You know, watching them play - and the commentators, too, remarking that there is no let-up from this team, despite being up 40 - I'm thinking, why would you let up? Unless you're dead tired or something? I mean, this is a special, special team. Sure, you're used to it - but I'm not. I'm not used to winning my whole entire life. And when you find a team that does - when you can recognize the talent and the effort and the coaching that goes into that winning formula - it's like a little fairy dust being sprinkled and shared amongst you as all 5 hit the floor, as you square down to prepare for your opponent. There is that special twinkle in the air - that Duke magic. The gym is rocking . . the fans are chanting . . and there is simply, nothing else like it in the entire world. Why would you not play for every single minute of it? Cherish it? I know Nelson does. And as the cameramen finally realize what a non-contest this is, they start showing the camaraderie along the sidelines: Nelson coming off to a nice hand, hugs from Paulus and King. Scheyer sitting down after some heady moves, and playfully catching banter with Singler. Zoubek getting a nice congratulatory thump to the chest after he grabs a rebound and converts it into a put-back and a foul. Coach K, looking, for once, like he has no words to say to the officials - nice job, fellas! - as he looks on with comfort and pride from the bench. Take a snapshot, and send it to the Kodak guys. This was definitely a frame-worthy game.
Post-Game Quote from Brian Zoubek:
"Just once you throw yourself into the game - I might've been worried about points, I might've been worried about something in the first half - but once you just completely forget about that and not worry about it, things will just come to you and the game will come to you. That's what happened in the second half. I had a couple of bad plays in the first half, struggled a little bit and got out of my game. I was able to get back into the flow in the second half. I made a couple of plays and they led to more plays and points. I just can't worry about my performance in the first half because once the first half is over you just have to start over."
Dang - that's right. As I was watching ESPN SportsCenter, they were showing the presser with the new Michigan football coach, who was saying he doesn't watch a lot of cartoons, but he did watch the Lion King, where one scene had the monkey crack the lion over the head with his pogo-stick? I remember the scene. But I don't remember what was said along with it, the words that I, as a kid, forgot. They were:
lion: "Ow! Why did you do that for?" And the monkey responds, "It doesn't matter. It's in the past now."
Well . . how ‘bout that? Isn't that what Coach K always preaches - Next Play? Forget the mistake you just made - forget the turnover - forget the foul. Go on to your next play, because you have a chance to right the ship if you just concentrate and play with confidence and forget about what just happened 2 seconds ago. Often on Zoubek you'll see him grumbling a little bit to himself as he jogs back after another turnover, or an attempted block turned into a foul call. Just because the guy is 7'1", does not mean he has the ego and the aggressiveness to go with it. I'm glad that he showed the textbook definition of Next Play tonight. Way to go, Brian - we'll definitely need that against Pitt on Thursday!
Hey, Albany is tightening up its defense. Z can't get anything going, so he's replaced by King. We run some plays but can't get any open looks, forcing Henderson to sort of toss one up over his shoulder, then the next time, Singler tries a low post move but partially has it blocked! On the other end, Ambrose dexterously tosses two in, and suddenly they've got momentum. Paulus says "enough with this!" and smoothly pulls out a three from his arsenal, knowing exactly what his club needs to grab the horn back. After the shot, they show a camera that stays on him - and it's amazing, no emotion whatsoever, he knows it's going in, and then instead of jubilation, he makes the "calm down" sign to his team, as if sternly reminding them "hey, no worries, I've got your back. I have experience from last year in scenarios such as this. I can shoot 52% from three!" 28-15, 7:35 left.
There goes KING!!!! For three!!!! A scramble for the rebound, guys falling to the floor, the ball bounces out like a jack rabbit, and Nolan grabs it - back to Duke! To Henderson, then to King - who wastes no time in launching that 3-ball to the hoop. In the space of about 6 seconds, we've turned around an opponent's possession into a 3 pointer! And you gotta love King - he was just standing there, silently willing Henderson to notice him - and the adrenaline off that loose ball was still so high that nobody could do anything but watch his shot rocket towards the goal. Hey, did anybody measure that thing? It was probably going 100mph! 34-15? 6 of 10 from beyond the arc? That's like 90% from two-land!!!
SCHEYER!!!!! Oh, Scheyer!!!! What a move! Nolan gives him a happy hug - what fearless determination! And one! We have our small lineup in there (King and McClure being the 4 and 5), Nolan tries to penetrate, and is met promptly by 2 Great Danes (so much fun to type that!). Scheyer runs out of his corner and says here, gimme that, and he heads into the lane, showing a nifty spin move that is quickly starting to be a trademark of just about every slasher into the paint (first patented by Singler? Illinois game?), sheds his defender right on cue, meets 2 other Albanyians in the lane, goes up zig-zaggedly, gets fouled, and tosses the ball up anyway, his eyes the whole time following through with his shot and his effort. It's IN!!!! And the plus-one instantly snuggles into his Midas hand to turn into a gold coin, as good as given, for the 3 point play. Very nice to offset the "his feet wasn't set" remark the announcers gave him earlier for his 1st shot attempt of the game. Everywhere you go, you see articles and discussions about Scheyer coming off the bench rather than starting, what a change that's been, from when he started all his games last year - but what I want to talk about is his new mentality to get into the lane. Granted, he's still working that out, but it's definitely an improvement over last year. Did you know DeMarcus Nelson was also the 3rd leading rebounder in his California HS days? No wonder he has such a nose for the ball! And I think he's teaching Scheyer a thing or two about how to find it! Boy, am I going to miss him when he's gone next year. 4:55.
WOW!!! Awesome, awesome play! A Great Dane loses the ball en route to the lane, handling the globe like he's wearing oven mitts, and quick as lightening, McClure has picked it off. To the fastbreak! He hits a streaking Scheyer ahead of him, who converges to the goal but sees a body flying at him, doesn't quite care to get body-slammed, and instinctively hands it off behind the back to a Dukie right there - Nolan! - who gladly goes up for the stuff. Scheyer looks back to see that everything is alright, and blinks nary an eye, like "heh, I do that stuff for breakfast." "He's in the Christmas spirit of giving!" the announcers applaud. Cute.
Hmm . . Z still looks the same, unfortunately. Picked up his 2nd foul before McClure blocked the shot he was supposed to, and goes to the bench in exchange for Singler. OH! McClure with the steal! Followed by Nelson! With a 3 despite a defender right in his face. Are we putting on a 3-pointer shooting clinic today? Followed by Singler with a defender right in his face, but he rises so high it doesn't matter, and of course I am softly calling out "No!" but no sooner does that leave my lips, the ball is already sailing in, smooth as anything, and now I will simply stop saying no to his three's. It's always like this - his first 2 are like warm-ups where he gets a feel for where the basket is, and then his 3rd and 4th are always good. I believe 7 Blue Devils have already demonstrated to us their love for the 3, including Paulus, King, Nelson, Henderson, Nolan, Scheyer, and now Singler. I think I just about named the entire roster. God DAMN!!!!!
Oh, and another STEAL to punctuate our dominance right before the half! Don't you forget it! The replay shows Nelson picking off that pass right on cue, streaking off immediately to the other end - and the guy he stole it from just kind of jogs up, already knowing that he is beat, not even trying to get back. Meanwhile - remember the last play when Scheyer dished to Nolan right behind him because there was about 3 Blue Devils right behind him, and only 1 defender in sight? Yeah. It's that kind of game. I love the hustle!
OH, NOLAN with the BLOCK!!!! Owww!! Scheyer is so amazed he bear-hugs the freshman right on the spot! And Nolan just kind of snarls - like, dude, get that weak-**** stuff outta my gym! And Paulus, running end to end in the last 6.3 seconds to try a tough layup against 3 defenders, but misses, in a great heady move that will come in handy someday.
Boy, they are talking up that Pittsburgh game to death, aren't they? Wonder what the big deal is? 57-31 halftime, as we attempt to dust off these feisty, ruthless, deceptively sized Great Danes.
Oh HOOO!!!!!! Gerald Henderson for the alley-oop!!! Do we know how to open the second half or what?? Their defenders just stood there flat-footed! In shock! Then - Nelson with the block? Amazing! And - a quick feed up to McClure, who can't quite corral it, loses it to an Albany kid, the ball careens loose - and right into the hands of a streaking Singler, who scoops it up with delight and lays it up strong for the deuce. What a sequence! If that's not the quickest way to put up 4 points, I don't know what is.
I love how Singler is basically using this game to work out every kind of offensive game he's got. He first started off with a couple three's, sending in a miss before hitting one late in the first half. He's also shown some low-post moves, catching the ball and turning to shoot, as well as mid-range jumpers, including one off a rebound, one a pull-up J on the wing, then finally hitting one from about 15 feet. He hasn't had a dunk yet. Can we try one of those next? As Paulus efficiently swishes another dead-aim 3. He cannot miss tonight!
Three after three! Looking to practice against a 2-3 zone that might break out any minute, huh guys? Awesome!! 14 of 20 at one point. Singler breaks away from the lane after another Taylor King dead-eye to say "why did I even bother tangling into the paint?" King hitting his free throws - nice. Because Nelson is not (7 of 13 for the night?).
Z is back for more, and is steadily looking better and better. I do love how simply having a taller guy on your side is an advantage (yes, I know - duh). Scheyer guns into the lane, finds to his disbelief that he's drawn 3 sharks to himself, and thankfully dishes off to Z, who comes charging into the lane to his comrade's rescue, raising his arm like a high flag to signal "land ho!" Scheyer gets the assist, and Z gets a basket and a foul! Next trip, he gets the pass, dribbles with his back into the paint, then switches to his right and up for the goal. Nice! Oh, Z with a clean block! Aww, c'mon! A foul?? On the replay - what, he maybe tapped the guy's arm coming down from that block? It was clean as a whistle! "Some big guys just look like they are committing a foul. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because they are slower than the other guy, but they just look guilty whether they've committed the foul or not." Thanks, Len Elmore. So you're telling me this whole referee business is basically a sham? That it's not really about the truth, but the fuzzy perception of the truth? And that we have one guy who supposedly always looks guilty, while the other team across town has someone who always looks righteous (Hansborough)? Ugh. What a world.
We've hit the CENTURY MARK!!!! 100! On a Nelson free throw, natch.
Nice! Z showing his stuff! Paulus delivers the ball right to his doorstep, and he gives back a nice assist for Greg as he goes up to bank that one home. Next? Henderson tries to drive, faces 3 guys collapsing on him and gets his shot blocked, falls to the floor . . but Z is there to gather that into a putback! Nice! Next? Ooooh, a pileup for a loose ball . . McClure gets his hands on the rebound, 2 Great Danes jump him and Henderson comes in to help, and they have to tap their shirts to get them off the football scrimmage. Troy is curled up at the bottom, refusing to let up and give that ball back to Albany - hey, I had it first!
What a gritty effort and team play! Taylor has the ball, tosses it to McClure to hold it for a sec while he runs to his favorite spot along the 3-point line, gets it back and instantly fires one up - airball? But Scheyer on the opposite side is alert enough to tap it out long, where Jordan Davidson hustles to grab it for the offensive rebound. Then the bullet pass - to KING! For the running layup! Was that a backdoor cut?? Wow! It's 104-68, but there is no stallball in sight . . are we getting ready for some big dogs at the Garden in 3 days?? The Iron City Panthers? Yes, we are!!!
You know, watching them play - and the commentators, too, remarking that there is no let-up from this team, despite being up 40 - I'm thinking, why would you let up? Unless you're dead tired or something? I mean, this is a special, special team. Sure, you're used to it - but I'm not. I'm not used to winning my whole entire life. And when you find a team that does - when you can recognize the talent and the effort and the coaching that goes into that winning formula - it's like a little fairy dust being sprinkled and shared amongst you as all 5 hit the floor, as you square down to prepare for your opponent. There is that special twinkle in the air - that Duke magic. The gym is rocking . . the fans are chanting . . and there is simply, nothing else like it in the entire world. Why would you not play for every single minute of it? Cherish it? I know Nelson does. And as the cameramen finally realize what a non-contest this is, they start showing the camaraderie along the sidelines: Nelson coming off to a nice hand, hugs from Paulus and King. Scheyer sitting down after some heady moves, and playfully catching banter with Singler. Zoubek getting a nice congratulatory thump to the chest after he grabs a rebound and converts it into a put-back and a foul. Coach K, looking, for once, like he has no words to say to the officials - nice job, fellas! - as he looks on with comfort and pride from the bench. Take a snapshot, and send it to the Kodak guys. This was definitely a frame-worthy game.
Post-Game Quote from Brian Zoubek:
"Just once you throw yourself into the game - I might've been worried about points, I might've been worried about something in the first half - but once you just completely forget about that and not worry about it, things will just come to you and the game will come to you. That's what happened in the second half. I had a couple of bad plays in the first half, struggled a little bit and got out of my game. I was able to get back into the flow in the second half. I made a couple of plays and they led to more plays and points. I just can't worry about my performance in the first half because once the first half is over you just have to start over."
Dang - that's right. As I was watching ESPN SportsCenter, they were showing the presser with the new Michigan football coach, who was saying he doesn't watch a lot of cartoons, but he did watch the Lion King, where one scene had the monkey crack the lion over the head with his pogo-stick? I remember the scene. But I don't remember what was said along with it, the words that I, as a kid, forgot. They were:
lion: "Ow! Why did you do that for?" And the monkey responds, "It doesn't matter. It's in the past now."
Well . . how ‘bout that? Isn't that what Coach K always preaches - Next Play? Forget the mistake you just made - forget the turnover - forget the foul. Go on to your next play, because you have a chance to right the ship if you just concentrate and play with confidence and forget about what just happened 2 seconds ago. Often on Zoubek you'll see him grumbling a little bit to himself as he jogs back after another turnover, or an attempted block turned into a foul call. Just because the guy is 7'1", does not mean he has the ego and the aggressiveness to go with it. I'm glad that he showed the textbook definition of Next Play tonight. Way to go, Brian - we'll definitely need that against Pitt on Thursday!
No comments:
Post a Comment