Tag Archives: Mason Plumlee

A Welcome Return To Optimism

Happy Monday, TRB readers. The last time that you heard from me, my perspective was heavy on the alcohol consumption and light on the optimism. You may have feared for me due to my curious silence after the loss to Miami. Perhaps that brutal home defeat had finally been enough to send me over the edge. While you may have pictured me slumped over a bottle of Buffalo Trace, sobbing into my favorite Battier jersey, the truth is much more mundane and shamefully adult. On that particular day, I was finalizing a move to Chicago for a new job, and didn’t have time to think about the game. I don’t enjoy life’s occasional reminders that there are many things more important than sports.

This Duke team, which had been the softest, most confused team in recent memory, took the pen out of my hands with two amazing comebacks against in-state rivals. Even so, I wanted to withhold judgment about this group until I saw how they handled one of the biggest games of the year in Tallahassee. We knew how tough this game was going to be because of Florida State’s defense, their emerging star in Michael Snaer, and a hostile home crowd. Leonard Hamilton’s team certainly knows the recipe to beat the Devils. A win would have made it 3 straight, which sounds unbelievable, but is absolutely true.

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Being wrong…

At no point before or during last night’s game did I think Duke was going to beat UNC. It was a combination of the previous game against Miami and the fact that Duke matched up terribly with UNC. I didn’t know who would guard Barnes, how they would stop Marshall from getting in the lane or how they could prevent UNC from dominating the offensive rebounds. During the game it looked like UNC took Duke’s best shot in the first half and was still up three going into halftime. It didn’t really surprise me that the lead fluctuated between 8 and 12 points for most of the 2nd half. Normally, I don’t text my brother-in-law (the enemy) during the game, but didn’t seem to be that big of a deal because it more closely resembled the Paulus/McRoberts Duke-UNC games. I was content with how Duke played and was actually somewhat ok with them losing to UNC. I was wrong. I was wrong about so many things, but most importantly I was wrong in thinking that Duke couldn’t beat UNC.

Also, I was wrong about questioning any of Coach K lineup decisions. I thought Quinn Cook should play more, and that playing Tyler Thornton wasn’t the best idea. Thornton didn’t have the best game, but this three to start the comeback was an intelligent, critical play. Coach K has been searching for what works with the team, and give him credit for taking a team that lost Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Kyrie Iring and leading it to impressive wins against Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and UNC. I might complain about the team, but they have five wins against top 25 (RPI ranking), which just so happens to be four more wins than UNC has against top 25 teams.  

I was wrong for comparing Mason Plumlee to Josh McRoberts. The middle Plumlee didn’t have the best game, but his steal before Curry’s three was something that at least got him of the McRoberts line. There will be time to analyze his game, but after last night I would like to stay positive.

I was wrong about Austin Rivers. I never really liked watching him play. His outside shot seemed to be at best described as streaky, and I wondered if he was ever going to be a decent three point shooter. Ask Tyler Zeller how his three point shot looks? Anyway, his passion, heart and production last night made me a believer. No matter how the rest of his career goes, Rivers has given me a game and a moment that cements part of his legacy. Just like last year when Nolan Smith and Seth Curry led the comeback against UNC, Rivers never has to pay for another drink around me.

Last night was one of those sports miracles that makes following sports worth it. I had low expectations of the game, and just like a lot of things I was wrong. This was a classic UNC-Duke game and 30 years from now I will still smile whenever I see a replay of Rivers shot to complete the comeback.

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Hope!

The Duke-Michigan State game was a complete disaster for the brothers Plumlee.  Their mental errors were egregious and they were physically dominated by a tough Michigan State interior.  I lost all of my optimism for the Plumlees at the end of the Michigan State game. It took a long time for me to reach the realization that the Plumlees will never play up to their potential while they wear a Duke uniform. After the MSU game I decided to temper my expectations and appreciate the Plumlees for what they are: players with copious amounts of potential, who show flashes of brilliance, but can’t put it all together. I know what the Plumlees bring the table and decided to enjoy watching them play, rather than focusing on unrealistic expectations. But, like a crazy ex-girlfriend you can’t stay away from, the Plumlees have given me a reignited and unrealistic hope in them.

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That was Ugly

(Amigos- my take on Coach K’s 903rd win for Grantland can be found here. Below is Marc’s. Thanks for reading. -Shane)

Thanks Mike, Now I can be crotchety in peace.

With sixteen minutes and twenty-seconds remaining in the second half Andre Dawkins buried a three pointer over a Michigan State Defender.  It was the beginning of a 17-1 Duke span where the Blue Devils started to run away with the game.  I felt content as I knew that Coach K was about to waltz into the history books against a gritty opponent.  I should have known better. Michigan State clawed back into the game with nine minutes remaining as the Duke offense went into “stall-ball,” and the shots stopped falling.  In the end Duke’s lead was too large for Michigan State to overcome and the Blue Devils pulled out a toughly fought victory. Congratulations to Coach K for becoming the winningest Coach in college basketball!

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On the Brink

"Get your licks in now. In thirty years I'll be the champ."

To begin, Sports Illustrated has a wonderful gallery of Mike Krzyzewski pictures located here. Anyone who has paid attention to the sports world this year has noticed an increased amount of attention placed on Coach K this year.  Why? Coach K is about to be the winningest coach in college basketball history.  His next victory, #903, will put him above his old coach Bob Knight.  This record may never be defeated because 903 is a huge number and Coach K has numerous years of coaching ahead of him.  He will continue to win 25-35 games a year and the number will only grow larger as time passes.  His career has been nothing short of remarkable.  Early struggles almost sent him into coaching obscurity, but Duke stuck with Coach K and has been wonderfully rewarded.

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Exhibitions against Little People

As college basketball teams get ready to start the season they take the court in exhibition games against feebler opponents. These opponents are generally small schools who will get paid well for the game. Players on the teams are talented but not nearly as good as the big schools. They specifically lack height. On the basketball court you often see exhibition teams sending out teams of little people when compared to bigger schools. You feel bad for the exhibition teams who trot out their 6’8″ centers against the seven footers of bigger schools. I’d compare it to watching your buddy approach a super hot girl at a bar to try and get her number. You know it’s a mistake, you’ll know he’ll be met with catastrophic failure, but you root for him because he’s the eternal underdog. As he walks across the bar you see he’s nervous, he even knows he’s going to fail, but he’s accompanied by a desperate sort of confidence. He has nothing to lose. If he tries and fails then life continues as normal, but if he tries and succeeds then he has achieved greatness.

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Predicting the Plumlees

Reading through various preseason reports and articles I’ve noticed a pattern has begun to emerge regarding the Plumlees and their potential contributions to this years Duke Blue Devils.  Instead of relying solely on words to describe the play of the Plumlees I will show you what they will bring to the table.

Miles will be doing a lot of this:

Miles Plumlee

Miles with the jump hook from 10 feet

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Mason “I really miss Kyrie Irving” Plumlee

Mason Plumlee

I just dunked and now I'm going to give up a bad foul trying to block a shot on defense!!!

Look at those biceps.  They make me salivate with jealously and maybe a bit of romanticism. This, my friends, is Mr. Mason Plumlee.  A six foot, ten inch, 235 pound monster of an athlete. When he committed to Duke I was extremely excited.  He was oft compared to Josh McRoberts.  Fast, athletic, with a handle and impressive passing abilities.  Thus far Mason has shown flashes of potential, but has yet to live up to that billing.

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The Youngest Plumblebee

(Editor’s note: for the foreseeable future, Marc is on “the Plumlee beat.” Enjoy him every Tuesday)

Ladies and Gentlemen… let me introduce Marshall Plumleeeeeeeeeeee! Standing at a towering 6″11′ with a weight of 225 pounds he is ready to dunk over the entire universe. I’m disappointed that Duke lists him at 6’11” because we all know the fear a seven footer strikes into the heart of opponents. That extra inch changes everything. A seven footer is a majestic rarity. Someone who is 6’11” is just another regular Joe running into door frames and cabinets.

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The Plumblebees

(Editor’s note: When I asked Marc if he wanted to write for the site, since I know him to be a funny and interesting dude, he asked me if someone had taken “the Plumlee beat.” I told him it was all his.) Hello friends! My name is Marc. My first sports memory is watching Christian Laettner crush the hopes and dreams of every Kentucky fan on that wonderful day back in 1992. I jumped around the living room like a maniac and gushed with glee as my dad replayed the shot over and over again because we taped the game on our high tech Hitachi VCR. Since that day Duke Basketball has been the only sport I’ve truly followed. The Carolina Hurricanes have a fun bandwagon to hop on if they are in the playoffs, but does anyone outside of Raleigh really care about the regular season? The Panthers have been an unmitigated disaster for the past few years and this year looks to promise some new lows! Shane’s article on the Duke-Richmond game brought up wonderful memories of the John Fox Run-Run-Pass-Punt offense. This year I’m expecting a variety based upon Run-Sack-Interception playcalling. I’ve lived in North Carolina for twenty-three years and I haven’t been able to really focus on anything but the Blue Devils. Continue reading

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