andre dawkins – Rush The Court

Rasheed Sulaimon Crescendos While Quinn Cook Spirals

Chris Kehoe — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 20:15:14 +0000

Rasheed Sulaimon came into this season with high expectations for himself, as did most all of college basketball and Duke fans. Sulaimon had averaged 11.6 PPG in 29 minutes per game as a freshman and was coming back better than before, surrounded by even more talent. The shooting guard position seemed to be Sulaimon’s to lose as well, with freshman and fellow Texas native Matt Jones the only other true shooting guard on the roster. Sulaimon was riding an extreme high after his very successful freshman campaign and his gold medal winning summer on the U-19 USA Team, making him [...]

Amile Jefferson Channels His Inner Zoubek

Chris Kehoe — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 19:21:00 +0000

He knew he had it within him all along. The skinny 6’9” “power” forward from Philadelphia had always played with an infectious sense of energy — the quintessential ‘hype man’ for Duke. But in Amile Jefferson’s freshman season, he primarily logged spot duty minutes at a clip of about 13 minutes per game. Stuck behind senior frontcourt leaders Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee, Jefferson struggled to get into a groove and find a defined role in Duke’s system. Coming into this year, the 2012 McDonald’s All-American made it his business to add weight to his frame so he could take [...]

Duke’s New Starting Lineup Pays Dividends

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 20:01:31 +0000

Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Mike Krzyzewski gave another chance to a starting lineup that had started four consecutive games back in November. Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon replaced Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton, playing well enough to earn a combined 64 minutes in Duke’s 79-57 win over Georgia Tech. After an evenly played first half, Rodney Hood’s second straight 27-point game and the Blue Devils’ energy level rolled past a Yellow Jackets team trying to adjust to playing without Robert Carter, Jr., in the wake of his meniscus injury.

Rodney Hood Scores 27 Again As Duke Beats Georgia [...]

ACC M5: 01.06.14 Edition

mpatton — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 13:40:06 +0000

Winston-Salem Journal and Raleigh News & Observer: In honor of Wake Forest‘s best win of the Jeff Bzdelik era, here are a couple of posts on the Demon Deacons. Dan Collins gives some context to the Wake Forest-North Carolina rivalry (and a good reminder of how awesome Randolph Childress was). Speaking of Childress, I can’t help thinking he’s played a role in Codi Miller-McIntyre‘s leap this season. He also should prove an asset recruiting, as he seems to have the charisma Bzdelik is missing. State of the U: Good catch-up with Miami assistant coach Michael Huger on where the Hurricanes are [...]

ACC M5: 11.14.13 Edition

Matt Patton — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:40:23 +0000

Winston Salem Journal: Somehow missed this a couple of weeks ago, but this is an awesome mini-series on the history of the ACC. Things are broken down by decade with all the top coaches, players and quotes highlighted. If you’ve got a few minutes, it’s definitely worth reading all the way through. Also who knew Frank McGuire felt so offended by the full-court press? Sports Illustrated: And make it two great Andre Dawkins stories. Seth Davis did some great reporting on Dawkins’ struggle with depression following his sister’s death. It’s really hard to read these stories and know that someone didn’t [...]

Morning Five: 11.14.13 Edition

rtmsf — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:01:27 +0000

The residual from Tuesday’s Champions Classic buzzed throughout the sports world on Wednesday, with considerable discussion devoted to rank-ordering the superstar freshmen who were on display (Parker, Randle, Wiggins was a popular order), discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the four teams, and projecting the areas in which each will get better. But perhaps the biggest storyline that came out of the game was related to the interview that Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski gave afterward. In response to a media member’s question about the not-exactly-secretive practice by NBA teams to tank games in order to position themselves for high draft picks [...]

ACC Team Preview: Duke Blue Devils

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 21:15:46 +0000

Duke had a successful 2013-14 season but it will be remembered as three seasons in one. Led by the senior trio of Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly, Duke got off to the best start in the country, winning its first 15 games against a very tough schedule. Then Kelly went down with a foot injury and the Blue Devils dropped to merely a good team, going 9-4 without him in the lineup. Kelly’s dramatic return in a 79-76 win over eventual ACC champion Miami gave hope to Duke as a national title contender, but they couldn’t quite get there, [...]

ACC M5: 11.01.13 Edition

Matt Patton — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:01:14 +0000

SBNation: Read this article on Andre Dawkins. Seriously great stuff from SBNation‘s Brandon Sneed. Just terrific reporting and writing. Augusta Free Press: Chris Graham doesn’t trust Tony Bennett yet. And I’m with him to a point. I don’t trust that Bennett’s system is designed for postseason success. Despite their consistent goodness, Wisconsin only made the Final Four once under Dick Bennett and has never made the final weekend under Bo Ryan. That’s still nothing to sneeze at by any means, but it doesn’t lead me to trust the plodding pace-based offense. That said, Graham takes it too far. I do trust Virginia [...]

Duke Looking to Run Early and Often With This Year’s Roster

Chris Kehoe — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 14:31:09 +0000

Duke’s roster this season is merely a shell of its former self. Gone is the backbone of the team, gone are the three seniors, gone are the leaders, gone are 47.9 PPG. You get the point. Duke lost its three leading scorers and a huge part of its 30-win Elite Eight team. Yet people are excited about the prospects of this team, even perhaps more excited than last season. Duke returns both its junior floor general, Quinn Cook, and its sophomore shooting guard and McDonald’s All-American, Rasheed Sulaimon. Another two McDonald’s All-Americans return in sophomore forward Amile Jefferson and redshirt sophomore center Marshall [...]

Morning Five: 04.12.13 Edition

nvr1983 — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:01:31 +0000

One of the downsides of taking a high-profile job is that some of your most questionable moments are brought out in public and Steve Alford learned that the hard way as his move to UCLA has prompted journalists to bring up the Pierre Pierce incident where Pierce was accused of sexual assault and Alford declared Pierce’s innocence (Pierce subsequently pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was eventually thrown off the team when he was involved in another similar incident). Yesterday, Alford finally relented and issued an apology (likely brought on by a wealthy booster or the school’s administration) in which Alford [...]

ACC Summer Recess: Duke Blue Devils

mpatton — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:13:16 +0000

Over the next four weeks we’ll be taking a step back and looking at each team in the ACC to assess where each program — and the conference as a whole — stands before we totally turn our attention to the 2013-14 season later this fall. Today’s target: Duke.

Where They Stand Now

Duke fans are still reeling from an embarrassing upset bid from CJ McCollum and the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh, but the sour ending to the team’s season overshadowed a very strong year. The Blue Devils showcased the most flaws it has had since the 2006-07 Duke team that went [...]

ACC Weekly Five: 06.26.12 Edition

KCarpenter — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:31:07 +0000

Raleigh News & Observer: Lorenzo Brown, arguably one of the top three point guards in the ACC last year, will be undergoing exploratory knee surgery Tuesday. Brown is one of the key cogs of a North Carolina State team that figures to be a major contender for the top spot in the conference next season. While coach Mark Gottfried’s worries are probably somewhat ameliorated by incoming freshman point guard, Tyler Lewis, losing an experienced point guard for even a few games can be fairly tough in the ACC. Durham Herald Sun: In news that is surprising no one, Mike Krzyzewski confirmed that [...]

Morning Five: 06.25.12 Edition

rtmsf — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:31:44 +0000

We’ve spent too much time on this site in the last five years lamenting a number of initiatives perpetrated against the game of college basketball in the name of dollar-chasing. The shamelessness of college administrators in discussing the welfare of student-athletes in one breath while simultaneously making decisions to further enrich themselves without regard for players and fans who put these folks in their positions of power continues to appall us. Interestingly, others outside our game (and our first cousin, college football) are starting to notice. Two articles published independently over the weekend get at the same point — that [...]

ACC Noon Five: 03.12.12 Edition

mpatton — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:54:18 +0000

Well, it’s all over. After a fantastic ACC Tournament (especially the final two days) the results are in with the conference getting the expected five bids. But before we move on to bracket analysis it’s time to think about the last couple of days.

Keeping It Heel: A lot of people recently have been making a big deal out of Kendall Marshall‘s minutes (he’s averaging 36 a game recently). And while it’s true that Roy Williams normally doesn’t like to play his guys more than around 30 minutes, Marshall is an exception for multiple reasons: (1) since Dexter Strickland’s injury there’s [...]

Night Line: Instant Classic a Result of Duke’s Late-Game Execution, UNC’s Lack of It

EJacoby — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:01:05 +0000

Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor to RTC. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. Night Line will run on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

Austin Rivers’ three-ball went down for Duke at the buzzer, and Mike Krzyzewski’s team walked away with a stunning road victory in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night. This 85-84 Blue Devils win will always be remembered for the freshman guard’s late-game heroics, but there were plenty of other factors that played into the result. By now, I assume everyone has seen the shot, which will undoubtedly go down [...]