Eye of the Tiger

Sorry for the delayed post but I had to TiVo the game and I didn't get a chance to watch it until yesterday. What can you say? This was a very important win for the Dukies especially with North Carolina going down earlier in the day, which I will certainly touch on a little bit later. I know you're supposed to win at home and Duke has absolutely owned Clemson over the past 13 years but this is a very important win. After the heartbreaking loss to Pitt before Christmas, it meant a ton for Duke to go out and beat a team that is much more physical than they are.

Duke got absolutely man handled on the boards but their defense more than made up for it by creating 21 turnovers and converting a number of those into easy baskets on the offensive end. DeMarcus Nelson was fabulous and led the team with 24 points and let's hope his back is alright after it appeared that he tweaked it at the end of the game.

Gerald Henderson continues to amaze me with his athleticism and NBA ready medium range jump shot. As a Duke fan, that jumper has to scare you to death because that is already NBA ready. Let's hope he realizes that there will be an abundance of talent in this years draft and he comes back for another season. I didn't comment on this when the news broke a few weeks ago but I love the fact that Singler has already said he will be back next year at Duke. Singler and Henderson are in an arduous battle to win over my heart as my favorite Dukie. I am leaning towards Singler because he is much more like me in terms of diving on the floor and not being afraid of getting hurt.

I can't end this without mentioning Nolan Smith. He played tremendous, especially in the 1st Half. The drive he had coast to coast that ended in a monster dunk is something that he brings to the table that Paulus cannot.

Also, even though the numbers don't show it, I thought Lance Thomas played a pretty solid game. He only had 2 points but he was much more active down low than he has been. Still, Duke desperately needs more than 2 points from their 5 spot if they are going to compete at the highest level. If Duke can get 8 points and 10 rebounds a game out of Thomas, McClure, and Zoubek on a consistent basis, this team would be very tough to beat.

With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing Taylor King playing a few minutes down low. Let me explain. I know he can't handle the traditional post presence down low but if you played him at that spot for a few minutes a game, I think it would help. On the offensive end, King could keep the opponents center on the perimeter and open up the lanes even more for dribble penetration.

One final note: What is Oliver Purnell doing? He burnt his 2nd to last timeout with 12 minutes left in the game and the game was tied! By the time Duke started to pull away, he couldn't stop the momentum.

Next up is Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Thursday night. The Hokies will be without Jeff Allen who bumped an official and is serving a two-game suspension. VA Tech always plays Duke very well at home and like my brother said "they will have the kid responsible for that massacre on the campus last year in a Duke uniform to pump them up" Now, I seriously doubt that considering how horrific that event truly was but you know that place will be packed and ready to go. If Duke keeps Washington in check and limit Vasiello's 3-point attempts, they should be able to win this conference road game with relative ease.

Prediction: Duke 87 VA Tech 73