Front Row Seats

Now that’s a way to watch a game.

Yours truly got front row seats at tonight’s Duke/Southern Illinois game at Madison Square Gardens. I sat directly across from the Duke bench and I may be mistaken, but I think Coach K was winking at me.

All I can say is wow, an experience unlike any other. Took every ounce of strength to not jump in for a rebound (I got mad hops, coach). Not only do you hear everything from the players (Gerald calls Scheyer, “John.” I’m not sure why I’m disappointed in that), coaches (Mike limited the swears tonight) and refs, you feel everything. It really makes me hate envious of Spike Lee (although you couldn’t give me those seats to a Knicks game, even with Duhon).

While I tend to act like an adult when I go to games (as oppose to at home where I throw fits of rage), you can’t help but get involved when you’re in the ‘Spike Lee’ seats. You can’t help but yell at the refs, encourage the players and imitate Coach K. If he yells a set play, you yell it with him. “21!, 21!”. For the record, 21 didn’t work. The Salukis scored against it.
The hardest part about sitting so close is the action is so in your face and so frantic, it’s hard to focus. It’s sort of like going to a bar and watching NFL football when there are ten games going on at the same time. You don’t know what to watch. Anyhow, let’s recap this baby.

RANDOM RANTS

– Another slow start. The baskets weren’t falling and the turnovers were getting pathetic. This is becoming a trend for this Duke team. Luckily Southern Illinois was having the same troubles. We can probably chalk it up to just having two great defensive teams. The Salukis play a very aggressive, hands on-style of defense. Luckily for us, the refs were calling a lot (both teams were in the double bonus in the first half).

– Free throws were the difference. This is also becoming a ’08-09 trend. The Devils are shooting a lot and are making a lot. This is huge for this team. Last season they shot about 69% from the free throw line, but tonight they dropped in 40-47. It’s hard to lose a game when you’re opponent gives you 40 free points.

– Finally, Henderson became the man. Prior to this game, we predicted that this was going to be Gerald’s breakout game. In the first half, we looked dead wrong. Gerald scored zero points and again looked like he had no role in the offense. Then the second half started. Gerald set up shop on the left side of the court and took over. He finished with 20 points (4-5 from three) and one monster dunk (you can see it at the bottom of this page).

– The Big’s actually looked good again (as a combined effort). Zoubek, Thomas and Plumlee scored 18 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, blocked two, committing only eight fouls. I’m still hoping to get about 24ppg and double-digit rebounds per game, but I’ll take these numbers. Zoubek and Thomas have both flourished with the new rotation this year. Zoubek looks healthy and smarter, while Thomas remains a giant ball of energy coming off the pine. Combined they made all three of their shots, but most importantly, they shot 12-14 from the line. Huge. The only part lacking are the ballhandlers, who need to do a better job of getting the ball down low on the pick-n-rolls. I saw at least four missed opportunities.

– Rebounds are plentiful. Granted, this was only Southern Illinois, but trust me, this is the kind of team we would have struggled against in the tournament last year. Duke out-rebounded the Salukis 40-22, dominating on the boards. Better yet, it was a total team effort. Eleven different players grabbed at least one board, six snagged at least four and four grabbed five or more. You don’t need to be big to be a good rebounding team.

– Maybe it’s the longer three line, but Duke seems to be taking a lot less threes. Last season Duke launched almost 26 threes per game, making about 9.5 per game. This season they’re taking only 15.8 threes per game, making under six per game. While the shooting talent is there, this team is relying on the dribble drive into the lane, producing easy jumpers, lay ups or a trip to the charity stripe.

The rookies (Williams, Plumlee and Cryz) looked better tonight. However, their production won’t show up on the stat sheet; they combined for only one shot, but pulled down seven boards. They did though play good defense and were involved and energitic on both sides of the court. Plumlee looked solid in the paint (with four boards). He still needs to learn about when to engage in a double-team and when to stay on his man, but he’ll get there.

At the point, I never realized how quiet Nolan Smith is on the court, the complete opposite of Paulus, who’s directing traffic and setting the offense, even when he’s sitting on the bench. I guess that’s the difference between a senior and a sophomore.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: It has to be Gerald Henderson. 20 points & three boards

SOME MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS:

– The stadium was barely half full. I was surprised by this. I wasn’t expecting a sell out, but I thought there would be more. When Duke plays St. Johns or Pittsburgh last year, the place was packed and rocking. It was so bad that this morning, they were doing, ‘buy one ticket, get one free’ promotions.

– I’ll hand it to the Southern Illinois faithful, they traveled well. The Salukis had a nice fan base at the game. While they got excited at times, the MSG crowd never caught the fever. While a game in New York is a Duke-friendly group, if an underdog can keep it close, the crowd will turn on the Devils. I’ve see it.

– The hard foul on Singler’s dunk happened right in front of me. At the game, it looked like a definite intentional foul. However, watching it on TV later, I actually diagree with the call (and myself). While the foul was hard, it didn’t look as bad at home on TV.

– Favorite moment: Early first half, Coach K up and yelling about a no-call. The refs response, “Coach, I’m watching the game too!”

– I never noticed this on TV, but Brian Zoubek screams at the opposing players when they drive towards him in the lane. He just yells – loudly. I guess when you’re seven-foot tall, it helps?

Anyhow, we now know Michigan upset UCLA in the later game. No disrespect to Michigan, but I really wanted to face UCLA. It would have been a good test for Duke to find out what kind of team we have. Oh well, tomorrow should be a good one. Michigan doesn’t have a Fave-five anymore, but they’re an up and coming program with a wicked 1-3-1 zone. Duke will need to be patient again and run when they have the opportunity.

Below is some video I shot from the game. The first is Gerald’s monster dunk in the second half, shot from the best seat in the house.

The second is Gerald nailing a three in my lap.