you forgot where I stand....

I hate that expression "game on", not sure why but it makes me want to vomit..anyway I digress.

The first game of the season is upon us, and D Day is the 20th of November against Tennessee-Martin of the Ohio Valley Conference..with the way the season has gone so far for the so-called elite teams I would look for this game to be a bit closer than one might think.  Of course Duke will win the game but it might not be by 30 points, this is a team (UTM) that possesses a great deal of confidence and confidence  has been known to slay giants.  So this will be a good test of the team in a few different respects:

1. It will be a good test of whether Duke is believing what the media is saying and that this is an off year-they can respond to that in a couple of different ways, hopefully they will respond by putting teams away, especially teams that they are supposed to beat like UTM.  Taking a team lightly or taking a game, or even a play off isn't an option for this team..they will have to come into every game mentally fit, to match their newfound physical fitness.

2.  The big men will be playing guys that may be a tad smaller, and aggressive moves to the hoop might get some whistles, I am sure the Skyhawks will try to exploit the lack of big man depth of Duke by going inside--at least I would.  Why not try to bait Shel and Shav into committing fouls?

3. Dock will have to prove himself to teams, he has already been up and down and the season hasn't even started yet.  Shot selection is the golden rule as well as control.  If he chooses to take good shots and he can stick them, then half the battle is won--either he gets tons of open shots, or he makes the defenses  honest enough to penetrate and dish or just feed the bigs.  As far as control, I would say Dock just needs to choose when and where his crafty drives will be most effective, and try to have that big man option in case the other teams bigs step in.

Ok here is my problem with this article by Seth Davis, ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/seth_davis/11/16/hoops.1116/index.html ), :

First off, why can't we just take a kid at his word and let the situation play out, this so reminds me of the Jason Williams situation when Seth seemed as if he was trying to get Jason to leave Duke after his Sophomore year.  Jason said on numerous occaisions that he would stay another year, he informed the coaching staff to that effect.  Jasons word was never enough for Seth.  Is it something about Duke players? Or something about future and present Duke point guards??

Paulus has not given any indication that he is not going to honor his verbal committment to Duke University..if he doesn't that is his choice, but do we have to put a high school student on blast by continuing to feed rumors that are baseless???

There are no sources sited, there is no evidence at all, none that Paulus has wavered in any way. 

Let him concentrate on his job right now which is going to high school and finishing up his season in the playoffs, and winning a state title, then perhaps he will focus on the next task.  Why not find something worthwhile to write about..this is not a diss of Seth in any way, just my opinion on the continuing rumors.

There had been rumors circulating that Duke recruit Greg Paulus, who not only is one of the best high school point guards in the country but also probably the best high school quarterback as well, might skip out on his committment to Duke for greener football pastures...Gregs Dad has assured the Duke staff that Greg fully intends on being the starting PG at Duke in his freshman year..that is good enough for me. 

Duke defeated St. Francis Xavier (Canada) 107-56, not a real shocker there but a much needed exhibition in order to peep Daniel Ewing in the position of point guard.  He faired well aside from shooting, the key was assists and turnovers.. and he was 7-1 and the is impressive, very impressive for a kid who was said not to have a handle.   Doc (sean dockery)played under control only took one shot and made it, which is fine, he doesn't have to shoot for this team to win, he just needs to run the offense.

Sheldon and Shav were beasts, Shav is looking like he did when he was in high school and that is a sigh of relief for all Duke fans.  Sheldon is just going to be instoppable, that is all I can say, he has some Kevin McHale style shots to compliment his hooks with either hand and he will be a force.

The only other performances of note were JJ, who shot well, and also McClue who while is no offensive juggernaught is a playmaker, a loose ball gatherer, and  has a nose for rebounding and passing, a great addition to the team.

HOME TEAM: Duke 0-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 Daniel Ewing........   f  7-17   2-9    0-0    4  1  5   3  16  7  1  0  3  35
42 Shavlik Randolph.... f  9-10   0-0    4-7    1  4  5   3  22  2  0  0  1  25
23 Shelden Williams.... c 14-16   0-0    4-4    5  7 12   1  32  1  1  6  0  26
04 J.J. Redick..............g  6-12   4-8    2-2    0  2  2   0  18  4  2  0  1  30
15 Sean Dockery........ g  1-1    0-0    1-3    0  3  3   3   3  1  2  0  1  21
13 Lee Melchionni......    2-7    1-4    5-6    2  1  3   3  10  0  0  0  0  21
14 David McClure.......    1-2    0-0    0-0    3  2  5   0   2  2  0  1  0  16
30 Reggie Love.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   2   0  0  3  0  2  10
40 Ross Perkins........    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   2
41 Patrick Davidson....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
45 Joe Pagliuca........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  1  0  0  0   3
50 Tom Novick..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   2
51 Patrick Johnson.....    0-1    0-0    2-2    1  2  3   0   2  0  0  1  0   6
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   41-68   7-21  18-24  19 26 45  16 107 18 10  8  8 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-36 50.0%   2nd Half: 23-32 71.9%   Game: 60.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-15 33.3%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3%   2nd Half:  8-12 66.7%   Game: 75.0%   3,1

Tonight is Dukes first exhibition game versus St. Francis/Xavier of Canada. DeMarcus is the only injury to report as he heals from surgery on his finger...

As I expected Chris Duhon did make the Bulls roster, shot much better than Ben Gordon, I guess Ben is lucky he plays the 2.

Not so fortunate for Nate James and Trajan Langdon who were cut by the Sixers and the Clippers respectively.

From what I have gathered from many areas about the Blue White game, it pretty much went as I expected...

The stars were JJ and Shelden, they killed, Redick has slimmed down considerably and is much quicker and has a mid-range shot now that should be very useful this season and he still hits the bombs too.  Shelden is in great shape still dominates on both ends, has a wider range of offensive moves now. 

Shav has adjusted fully, it seems, to his new frame..if you saw him as a Senior in high school, you wouldn't recognize him now.  He is a lot more confident on the offensive end, and on defense will be able to move his feet better..look for more blocked shots from this team. 

Dockery, Sean that is, showed a very good shooting touch, I have no idea whether this is luck or skill, but this off season he worked on it for sure, he was 2-2 from 3-- and 7-8 overall..had no turnovers and I believe 6 assists.  Ran the team efficiently.  If this keeps up this team should over-achieve.  Ewing was solid, he was picked to run point opposite Dockery, this will be good practice as someone will need to spell Dock from time to time otherwise foul problems will arise..he wasn't Chris Paul but he didn't make the dumb mistakes that was important. 

Markie and McClure should adjust well, at different paces I am sure, McClure will be a do-it-all type, has a decent mid-range jumper and has a real sense of where the ball is going, he will be a great rebound and loose ball guy.  has mad hops too.  Not great at the 3, but he doesn't have to be.  Markie takes it inside with no regard for his own safety a la J-Will, he isn't a J-Will type finisher just yet, but by mid-season I bet you see a double digit scorer.



Some Links about the game:

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/dbrboard/bin/bplist.cgi?submit=Read+the+Article&article=/home/dbr/dbrboard/boards/28885/message.txt

http://www.dukeupdate.com/Rob_C/20041023_Blue_White.htm

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/duke/story/1762689p-8044889c.html

http://story.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=178&p=2&c=310163

http://www.chronicle.duke.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/25/417cf74600e00

Duke freshman DeMarcus (Markie) Nelson injured his hand, ruptured thumb ligament in his right hand to be exact.  He has had surgery and is expecte back within a months time, this is probably the best time for it to happen really...I would doubt it would keep him out of drills and practice, but one never knows.

The rumors proved to be true as Martynas Poncius has chosen to attend and play basketball at Duke University over Kansas, some say Kansas withdrew the offer, some say Poncius chose first..who knows..who cares, the kid flew under the radar for quite a while but is most likely and elite shooter with international skills, which fits the Duke mold.