Duke Blue Planet BLOG

Blue Devils Tame Tigers in ACC Opener

In Pictures - PHOTO GALLERY

Top Plays

Turning Point

Duke set the tone in the first half, leading 30-12 at the break after holding Clemson to 17% shooting from the floor (5-30).  However, the Tigers opened the second half on an 11-0 run and the turning point came in Duke’s response to the spurt.  First came a layup from Nolan off a turnover, followed by a basket by after Mason off an offensive rebound.  Then, Jon stole the inbound pass in the backcourt and quickly drilled a 3-pointer, pushing the lead up to 42-25 with 13:52 left.

Blue Devil Ballers

Struggling on the court?  Need buckets?  Call the law offices of Scheyer, Singler and Smith.  “The firm” was working overtime on a Sunday tonight, outscoring the entire Clemson team with 60 points (22 each for Nolan and Jon, 16 for Kyle).

Duke Data

23-2 – Duke’s record in our last 25 games against Clemson

3-0 – Duke’s record against ranked foes this season (winning the three games by an average of 21.7 points)

13-1 –Duke record in our last 14 ACC openers

.167 – Clemson’s field-goal percentage in the first half (5-30), the second-lowest total for an ACC opponent in Duke history

Coach K’s Comments

“I’m proud of our guys.  I thought we played very well.  It’s tough to single out one guy.  We played very well defensively and then they missed some open shots too.  It’s always a case of you have to play well and if they hit them then at least you’re playing well, but they missed some open ones.  I thought we kept our poise very well at the start of the second half.  They got run outs and we missed a couple of open shots, two open threes, that led to them scoring.  When we called the timeout we just said, ‘We have to keep shooting and keep playing because it’s not like we’re making a lot of mistakes’.  It’s just we’re missing shots and they’re a quick team and [Demontez] Stitt can really take that ball down the court.  We regained our composure and every conference game is a big win.  It’s especially nice with so many of our former players back to be honored (for the 50th anniversary of Duke’s first ACC championship team) and to have Coach [Vic] Bubas here.  He was writing down something so I wonder if he was rating me.  If he was I’ll take all the advice he has because he’s one of the great coaches.  He’s the one who first of all showed that you could win big at Duke.  I’ve always considered him a very close friend and mentor for me.  So to have him and his wife here tonight makes that even more special.”

Locker Room Reaction

The Blue Devils appeared to play the first half with some payback in mind after losing at Clemson last time out against the Tigers.  Although the Devils outscored Clemson 30-12 in that opening stanza and rolled to a 21-point, the team was more pleased about starting the ACC season with a solid win.  Said Kyle, “I guess you could say [last year's game at Clemson] was in the back of our heads, but it is a new year, different games, different teams.  I think we did want to send a message.  It was our first ACC game, so we were very excited to play, and it was kind of ironic that it was against Clemson.  We wanted to get out to a good start.  Our first half, even though we were kind of sloppy and turning the ball over, I thought we played very well.”

Sixth Man

There were 43 fouls called in the game and the Crazies did not seem to agree with all of the whistles.  At one point, a Crazie offered her glasses to an official.  Also, the Crazies seemed to think one of the officials looked like Mario from old-school Nintendo lore and didn’t mind sharing the sentiment with the ref.  At the end of the day, though, it looks like our Sixth Man and the officials made amends.  On a completely unrelated note, a ferocious beast was seen in the crowd.

Around the Web

Box Score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke beats Clemson

Duke D Stifles Clemson — Devils hold Clemson to 12 in first half, 53 in game

Quotes — Coach K and player reactions

Notes

*Duke’s 1960 ACC championship team was honored at halftime.  Here’s a great article on the team by Al Featherston.

*The 70th anniversary of Cameron was also recognized with a tribute video at halftime.

*Next up: Duke heads to Chicago to take on Iowa State at the United Center on Wednesday (9:00 EST on ESPN2).

Fave Photo

Cameron Indoor Stadium celebrates its 70th anniversary on January 6th

Having hosted 746 Duke wins, three win streaks longer than 35 games each, and 14 undefeated seasons, Cameron Indoor has been an ideal home for Duke Basketball.  The venue is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest venues in sport and also one of the most intimidating for opposing teams.  “A Duke game in Cameron,” wrote USA Today, “is the toughest road game in America.”  Dick Vitale, a man who has experienced more hoops venues than maybe anyone, said about our home court, “Cameron is the best place to play in the country.  The Cameron Crazies set the tone and are emulated throughout America.”

On January 6th, the building will celebrate its 70th anniversary.  The Blue Devils offered a nice early birthday gift on Sunday, limiting #21 Clemson to just 12 points in the first half and winning handily 74-53 in the 896th regular-season game played in Cameron.

DukeBluePlanet.com Cameron Historical Slideshow

Photo Gallery – 70 Photos for 70 Years

Tribute video shown at halftime during the Clemson game…

DBP’s final decade review looks back at Cameron Crazie memories

10 “Crazie” Cameron Moments (selected by fans via Twitter, Facebook, fan message boards)

*Speedo Guy… Enough said.

*Not in Kansas Anymore… For UNC’s first trip to Cameron under Roy Williams, the Crazies brought a yellow brick road to welcome the Tar Heels and a number of students dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland.

*Little Duhon, Little Boozer, Little Point Guard”… With the younger brothers of Chris Duhon and Carlos Boozer in the house (and Michigan featuring a point guard under six feet), the Crazies chanted “Little Duhon, Little Boozer, Little Point Guard”, pointing at each one as the cheer progressed.  Most notably, the chant occurred as Duke opened the game on an amazing 37-2 run.

*Lederhosen Guy… Similar to Speedo Guy, a Crazie sported German lederhosen at a number of games in the grad student section, distracting numerous Duke opponents on the charity stripe with his bizarre outfit and unusual dancing style.

*UNC’s Last Possession in 2005… Trailing by one in 2005, UNC had the ball with the shot clock turned off and 18 seconds left.  The Crazies brought the house down as Duke locked in on defense, and the Tar Heels failed to get a shot off before time expired.

*A Crazie Valentine… Dressed as Cupid, a Crazie approached a player on NC State before the tip with a heart and a rose on Valentine’s Day 2002.  The officials went over to prevent the interaction but found the stunt so hilarious they insisted that “Cupid” pose with them in front of the CBS cameras.

*A Discussion of Venezuelan Politics… Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez, a native of Venezuela, enjoyed a discussion (at least partly in Spanish) with Crazies about Venezuelan politics.  The Maryland guard stated about the Crazies, “Their fans are so good; they’re into the game, they make the game so much better.  It’s just good to play in that environment…  The funniest thing is when they started calling me names about my president in Venezuela.  They know the situation there.  Our president is known as a guy who talks a lot, who doesn’t like the president of the United States…  I guess they do research and think, ‘How can I get this guy?’”

*The Big Mac and Sean May… A Crazie, dressed head-to-toe as UNC’s Sean May, chased a big mac on a fishing pole before the 2005 rivalry game and had a number of related signs as well to distract the Tar Heel big man.  Said May when asked about the most memorable opposing fan moment in his college career, “It had to be at Duke.  A dude dressed up as me and he (was following) a Happy Meal on a fish hook.  That had to be funniest.  I’ll never forget that till the day I die.”

*Thanks, Shane… During Shane Battier’s jersey retirement in 2001, the Crazies raised hundreds of sheets of paper with various Battier-related accolades.  It was a deserving and thoughtful gesture for one of the greatest college basketball players in history.  Battier would lead Duke to a national title later that season.

*The Regulars… This isn’t a single moment but you have to give a special shout-out to the die-hards who regularly attended games in Cameron.  Over the course of a decade, a number of Crazie “regulars” made their presence felt, usually standing in the same spot.  From Mullet Man to Viking Guy to the Gorilla to Nate’s Dogg Pound to Krzyzew’s Chefs to Crazie Towel Guy to the Caped Crazie to Body Armour Guy to the thousands of Crazies who supported Duke this decade, our Sixth Man made Cameron fun, loud and intimidating every night!

10 Popular Player Chants

*Who’s Your Daddy…Battier (Shane Battier)

*J-Will, J-Will… Rock You (Jason Williams)

*Du, Du, Du, DUHON (Chris Duhon)

*Pay Your Rent (Shelden Williams)

*BOOOOOOOZ (Carlos Boozer)

*JJ Redick…Dynomite! (JJ Redick)

*G can fly (Gerald Henderson)

*Scheyer’s on fire (Jon Scheyer)

*D, D, D… D-Marc (DeMarcus Nelson)

*From the window to Luol (Luol Deng)

Blue Devils Blow Past Quakers, Ready to Begin ACC Play Sunday

In Pictures - PHOTO GALLERY

Top Plays

Turning Point

The Blue Devils had control of this one from the tip, rolling to a double-digit lead within the first five minutes before blowing it open with a 23-3 run.

Blue Devil Ballers

Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Mason Plumlee had particularly outstanding performances.  Nolan netted a game-high 23 points (8-11 FG, 4-5 3pt), Kyle contributed 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Jon had a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists, while Mason had a career-high 18 points to go with seven boards and four steals.

Duke Data

294 – Duke wins this decade, most in college basketball

114 – Points scored by Duke, most ever allowed by a Penn team in program history (Duke’s 59-point win was also the largest margin of victory ever against Penn)

3 – Blue Devils among the top nine in the ACC in scoring on the year (Jon Scheyer- 2nd, Nolan Smith- 3rd, Kyle Singler- 9th)

10 – 3′s made by the Blue Devils (10-21 3pt FG for the game), marking the 5th time this year Duke has made at least 10 triples

Coach K’s Comments

“I thought we played really hard and unselfishly tonight.  They [Penn] played very hard, too.  They’re in the process of trying to build their program with a new coach.  I just told our team before the game, let’s just try to play as hard as they’re going to play against us, and I thought we did . Our talent level is obviously greater than theirs.  If we’re playing hard and they’re playing hard, we should win and we should win by a significant margin.  But I was happy with the way our kids played.”

Locker Room Reaction

The Blue Devils were pleased with the performance and excited to start ACC play on Sunday.  Said Jon Scheyer, “I think we’re in a really good position.  We have to get two really good days of practice in the next couple of days, and we’ll be ready to go.  There are obviously things we can improve on, but we’re in a good place right now and we feel very confident going into the ACC season.  We’ve been really close [to winning the regular season] the last couple of years, and this group of juniors and seniors, we really want to win it bad.  We’re going to work our butts off.   We know how you can’t take any games off in the ACC, and it starts Sunday.  We feel confident and good going in.  I think we need to get more consistent on our rebounding.  Obviously, we’ve done a really good job as a team taking care of the ball.  Those two things for our team will be two keys for us.”

Sixth Man

A number of Crazies in attendance, such as this duo and these ladies, kicked off their New Year’s celebration in Cameron.  We also appreciated the great signs in the crowd, including this one by a fan enjoying his chance to be a Crazie in Cameron.  The sign contest winner was this young Crazie, as he showed great style in his presentation, putting together a paper mache homemade Blue Devil head with a Happy New Year sign.  The top sign display at each game receives two tickets behind Coach K at the next Blue Devil game so be sure to bring an awesome sign to Cameron!

Around the Web

Box Score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke rolls past Penn

Duke leaves Quakers blue — News & Observer recap

Quotes — Coach K and player reactions

Notes

*Actor Denzel Washington was in Cameron tonight.  His son Malcolm is a player on the Penn team.

*Next up: Duke opens ACC play on Sunday when Clemson visits Cameron (7:45 PM, Fox Sports Net).

Fave Photo