Ok, I’m Almost Over It

Well, I’m over it enough to be able to break down the game without swearing. First of all Wake Forest is a really good team so there’s no shame in a 2 point loss on the road for Duke. On top of that we learned a lot of good things about Duke but there were also a couple glaring issues.

Let’s hit the low points first:

1. Point Guard Play: Paulus’s decision making and defense are never going to get better but for him to be productive he’s going to need to score 6-8 points a game and keep the other team’s point honest. Nolan Smith, who looked great early in the season is shooting awful and seems to be in foul trouble a lot. At one point in the second half they even went back to Scheyer at the point.
2. Jon Scheyer: Speaking of Scheyer, where has his jumper gone? Suddenly it’s a two man show between Henderson and Singler. To complete in the ACC and not fall in the second round of the tournament they need to have 3 reliable scorers. Right now they need Scheyer, Smith, or Paulus to step up.
3. Their Freshman: Non-existant is the issue. Plumee plays 7 minutes and Williams 3. Mix in these guys to keep Singler and Henderson fresh. The last thing we need is those two hitting a wall late in the season again.
4. Height: The lack of height and Zoubek barely counts, was exposed again. The biggest problem isn’t that they aren’t tall it’s that they don’t play big. Zoubek is 7-1 and Thomas 6-8 but they play so low to the ground they constantly get their shots swatted.

Now for the high points:

1. Gerald Henderson: Give Mike Patrick credit for stealing Demski’s “cold-blooded” line last night. Henderson is averaging close to 20 in ACC play and when he’s needed to step he does. That fade away to tie the game was sweet.
2. Kyle Singler: Dude is a small forward and he seems to get 10+ rebounds every game. Kind of like Lazar Hayward I guess. 22 and 12 last night to keep them in the game was the kind of performance we expect
3. Tenacity: Last year’s team would not have come back to tie that game. Last year the final is 70-52 in a laugher. Down 61-48 they locked down defensively and slowly chipped away at the lead whittling it down to a tie. They never seemed to panic and I only recall a couple forced shots from Scheyer and Paulus down the stretch.
4. David McClure: This guy might be the difference maker this year. Hear me out before you laugh. In the middle of the first half he enters the game for Zoubek and is put on their 7-0 center (McClure is 6-4). Two plays later, after Teague hits a drive and a jumper over Smith, Duke slides McClure over on Teague. Yes, in a matter of 3 minutes McClure played man to man on the Wake Forest center and point guard. And on top of that, you know what kind of respect they gave McClure? Wake put Teague beyond the 3 point line and didn’t move him. With McClure not leaving his side they were content to play 4-4 without the leading candidate for ACC player of the year and this happened more than once during the game.

There you have it, my unbiased opinion of the Wake Forest-Duke game. I didn’t even mention how the refs screwed Duke with the crappy travel call with 2 seconds left.