Coach Collins on the Clemson game, Chicago, start of ACC
I hope everyone had a great Holiday season! It was nice for our players and staff to get a little bit of a break at Christmas to spend time with our families. The season is long, so for our guys to be able to go home, enjoy Christmas and get their bodies refreshed for the conference season is always a good thing. We’ve had a hectic schedule since we’ve been back. Having the chance to play 2 games before we had to face Clemson in our ACC opener was a great thing for our team. Once you get started with the season, players get in a rhythm of playing games every couple of games. So, we needed the Long Beach State and Penn games to get our game legs back heading into the ACC. I thought our guys responded really well in those 2 games and it was great preparation for what we were facing with Clemson.
Everyone, from players to coaches to managers, was really excited about starting the ACC. There is always a different level of intensity and energy when you get into league play. I know people say it all the time, but it really doesn’t matter what the teams’ records are at the time when you play them. Every game is a physical and mental battle, and you have to put together a full 40 minutes in order to win. The Clemson game was a very important one for us because we wanted to get off to a great start in the ACC. In order to be a team that challenges to win the conference, you have to be able to take care of your home court. Clemson is one of the most talented teams in the ACC and we knew that we were going to have to play a great game to win. Plus, the last time we played them we lost by 27 points, so none of the players had to be reminded of their potential. We played some of the best defense we have played all year that night as Clemson only had 12 points at halftime. Every guy that we had out there was battling on every possession. As a staff, that’s all we could ever ask of our guys. After they made a run at the start of the 2nd half, we were able to get back on track and finish off the game for a terrific win.
Earlier this week, we were able to head to Chicago to play Iowa State at the United Center in a homecoming game for Jon Scheyer and Coach K. We try to get each of our guys an opportunity to play close to home at least once during their time at Duke. This was Jon’s chance to show off his team in front of all of his family and friends. It was also a special trip for me. I grew up in Chicago as well and spent 3 years as a Chicago Bulls ballboy when my dad was the head coach. Going back and being in that arena always bring back special memories for me of where I came from and how I got to where I am today. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces. We even had two of our former guys, Luol Deng and Sean Dockery there to cheer us on. To see Jon go out there and play such an incredible game was amazing. He has been playing great basketball so far this season, but it is not always easy playing in your hometown. There are so many added distractions with tickets and people wanting to see you, that it is easy to get out of your normal game routine. However, it showed Jon’s maturity and experience to be able to go out and play one of the best games of his career. It made for an incredible night! We were able to get a good win over a quality opponent in Iowa State.
There is no time for us to sit back and relax, as we head out to Atlanta today to face Georgia Tech. It is our first road ACC game and a very important one. Georgia Tech has a lot of talent and one of the best frontlines in the country. They are athletic and physical and we will need to continue to play at a high level if we want to be successful. Hopefully our guys will continue to get better and improve as a group. We still believe that we have alot of room to grow as a team. The journey has been fun so far, but we have a long way to go!
Take care,
Coach Collins
We have just started our second full week of practice, so the season is in full swing. We had an exciting first week!! From our Countdown to Craziness event, to an Open House with Player Autographing, and, finally, with our 1st Exhibition game vs Pfeiffer, our players and staff had a full schedule. The support we had from the fans for all of these events was amazing!! It made our whole team and staff that much more excited to get going with the season.
With all of the preseason workouts, open gyms, and practices, it is always great as a team to get a chance to play against a different opponent like we did with Pfeiffer. We were happy with our performance in our first game as a group. There are obviously alot of things for us to continue to work on and improve, but overall, we saw some good things. The best part was getting valuable game experience for our young guys. All three freshmen contributed in a big way! Ryan Kelly had 18 pts on 8-11 FGs, Mason Plumlee had 18 pts, 12 rebs and Andre Dawkins chipped in with 12 pts on 3-5 shooting from 3pt range. In order for us to be the team we want to be, we are going to need each of these guys to be able to contribute. It was also a great confidence builder for our two sophomores. Miles Plumlee and Olek Czyz did some really good things and showed all the hard work that they have put in over the summer. We feel real good about our veteran production and leadership. Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith will all be counted on heavily, and adding the young talent and enthusiasm will be a big boost to our team. It will be exciting to see how we can grow and improve as the season goes on.
It was also fun to see the start of the NBA season this week. We are so proud to, once again, have the most alumni of any school on opening day NBA rosters. We take great pride in developing our players and seeing them realize their dreams of becoming NBA players is great. We will have 14 former players on opening day rosters. Congratulations to Gerald Henderson on being the newest Duke rookie in the NBA, and to Grant Hill for being the oldest veteran (had to recognize my old teammate). The other stat that I liked seeing was that our collection of NBA guys’ combined salary is also the highest amongst any college program. Our 14 players will combine to make over $82 million dollars this season!! That’s incredible! Good luck to all of our guys with the starts of their seasons. We will all be watching and cheering you on!
We have another busy week ahead with a hard week of practice that will culminate with our annual Coaches Clinic on Saturday. Come on out and check us out if you can. It’s a great day for coaches and also fans who want to learn more about the game and our program.
Happy Halloween to all Blue Devil Fans! I’m looking forward to trick or treating with my very own G.I. Joe and Snow White!
Sincerely,
Coach Collins
It’s an exciting time for us as we get started with the beginning of the school year. The first part of August is always a great time for the players and coaches to spend time with their families and get refreshed for the start of the long, exciting journey of the season. It’s crazy to think that a year ago today, I was over in Beijing helping out Team USA and our hunt for the Olympic Gold Medal. Man, how time flies!
All of guys are now back on campus and ready to get to work towards our goal of being a championship team this year. For us coaches, it is always good to see how each of the players have improved over the summer with their skills and strength and conditioning work. Because of NCAA rules, from the time the spring semester ends until the fall semester begins, none of the coaches are allowed to perform any on the court instruction with our players. So, basically since the end of April, we haven’t seen any of our guys play or do anything basketball related. We were able to give each of the guys the things we wanted them to concentrate on during the summer, and then it was up to them to put in the work. The start of school gives us a chance to see how much that work has paid off, as well as integrating our freshmen class into the mix and getting them up to speed as quickly as possible.
Were really looking forward to seeing what our team will become this year. We feel that we have the talent and experience to be one of the better teams in the country. Now, we have to figure out exactly how to get the most out of the group we have. You always want to place your players in a position to maximize their strengths and limit their weaknesses. That’s the fun part of coaching! It was exciting to see Kyle and Jon recognized by being named to the Pre-season Wooden Award List. It was definitely well deserved. Both of those guys should have outstanding seasons and be amongst the best players in the country. Were also looking forward to seeing how the other guys will step up and emerge as players. Certainly we lost a lot with last year’s seniors, G and Elliot, but we are confident that the guys we have can get it done. Once again, we will have a challenging schedule and we will need to be ready to bring it every night.
Well, there’s a lot of work to be done, so it’s time to get going!
Talk to you soon,
Coach Collins
|
| Hello Duke fans,
I hope you all are enjoying an amazing season of ACC basketball. The league is a good as I can remember it from top to bottom and the competition is fierce. Our game against Wake Forest marked the 6th time this season we have faced a top 10 in the country. Wake has terrific talent and athleticism. We showed great energy and a fighter’s spirit. G and Jon were sensational. It was the first time Coach K has had two players score thirty points in the same game – WOW! Also, the impact and contribution that Elliot Williams has made since he has entered the starting lineup has be so important to this team. He has set a great standard for our defense and he has given our team a real burst of energy. We are very proud of all of our guys and the week they have had. Our team has had some incredibly tough tests so far with more looming on the horizon. You may have noticed the uniforms in last night’s game were different than normal. Nike outfitted our team with new uniforms. It was the first time a uniform like this was worn in the history of college basketball. There was a subtle design that covered the back of the uniform that highlighted and combined the Duke Chapel and the Duke Basketball logo. Nike did an amazing job! The uniforms are an incredible way to connect the traditions and the cultures of Duke University on to each student-athlete’s uniform. We were honored to wear the uniform and be a part of college basketball history. Thanks to all our fans for the great support. In the ACC, you don’t have time to take victory laps so we are back at work preparing for a hot and re-energized Maryland team. Coach Williams really has his team playing well. The Maryland team has really taken on the personality of their coach – intense, tough, and competitive. It will be a really tough environment and our guys will need to be together and focused! Go DUKE, Coach Wojo |
Hello Duke Fans,
This is my favorite part of the year. Now that we have gotten into January and the ACC season is in full swing, every game has great meaning and every environment you play at on the road is tough. We are off to a great start in the ACC with a 5-0 record. Our conference this year is as strong as it has been in many years, so each win you get is extremely important. We just finished off a great week with wins over Georgetown, NC State and Maryland, all at home.
Playing a great non-conference opponent like Georgetown is always a lot of fun. Its one of the reasons why you come to Duke to play. I remember from my playing days, the great games we played against teams like Michigan, Temple and UCLA. Those are some of the games that I will remember forever. These kinds of games always give you a sneak preview of what it would be like to play in a big-time NCAA tournament game. Our guys were really excited about the game and our crowd was amazing. Gerald Henderson had an incredible 1st half in that that game and it carried us to a big win. I didn’t think he was going to ever miss!!
Next, we had to get back into our regular ACC schedule and routine. It was a quick turnaround with a Tuesday night game against NC State. NC State is a team that is extremely dangerous because they have good talent, especially in the frontcourt, and they seem to always to be ready to play against us. We felt like our guys were ready to play, but we got off to a terrible shooting start to the game. We only shot 20% in the first half and we trailed by four. At halftime, our staff told our guys that we were getting great shots and we just needed to keep shooting with the ball with confidence. The main thing we needed to keep doing was play great defense and hopefully wear them down. In the 2nd half we really turned it on. We shot an amazing 20-26 FGs and ended up winning 73-56.
To finish off the week, we had Maryland coming to town. Over the years, we have always had great games with Maryland. It doesn’t seem to ever matter what the teams records are. In fact, Maryland had been able to come into Cameron and win more than any other team in the past 10 years, so we knew that we had to be ready to play. It was a unique start time at noon, so one of the most important things was making sure our guys were up and ready to go once the ball was tipped. Well, our guys were sure ready! We put together maybe our best 40 minutes of the season on offense and defense and won 85-44. Overall, it was a great performance. The best part of the game was watching the unselfishness that our guys played with on offense. On our 31 FGs, we had 23 assists, and there were a couple fastbreaks where everyone touched the ball and it never hit the floor. We have really been stressing with our team that when we play together and share the ball, we are really a good team.
I have to give credit to the Cameron Crazies because they have been awesome this year. Our guys really feed off their energy and I hope they can keep it going the rest of the way because we are going to need everyone’s support.
It was exciting to see our guys recognized as being the #1 team in the country. These guys have really worked hard, and although the goal is to be #1 at the end of the year, it is an honor that we are proud of. Being #1 is not something we talk about on a daily basis. We just want to keep getting better and fully realize the potential of our group. We realize that there is still a long ways to go with the season. Other teams will always give Duke their best shot, so where we are ranked doesn’t really matter with that either. We know we don’t have any time to celebrate as we play at Wake Forest next. They are an incredible team, we are going to have to be at our best to have a chance to win on their home court.
With that said, I have to go get ready for the game.
Until next time, GO DUKE!!
Coach Collins
