Duke impressive

[asuwish]

Yes it's early, and yes it's Alabama, but in the 1st half this Duke team looked really good. They were up something like 48-12? One key player, and she was not there highest rated recruit, is this freshman Stevens who at 6'4" was playing at the top of there zone. Long arms and quick Alabama couldn't see around her and therefore could not do anything. E. Williams seems in good shape and was cleaning up any mistakes the others made on D. They are the tallest team in the country and did a good job of using there length.

 

[stwainfan]

Good job Duke I love seeing Alabama lose. No matter what sport.

 

[bballnut90]

Watched the game until the last 5-6 minutes. I'm looking forward to seeing Duke play a quality opponent, but even though Alabama was completely outmatched, Duke looked very good. A few highlights:
-Rebecca Greenwell is fantastic and could be that 'glue' player who Duke has been missing for a while. She must have had 4-5 steals, she is great at reading passing lanes and anticipating steals. Didn't see her drain any perimeter shots, but she has a great release and smooth looking shot. Great free throw shooter.

-Azura Stevens should have been ranked a top 10-15 recruit. She has an incredibly unique skill set for her size. She looks more comfortable on the perimeter but can battle for rebounds. Runs the floor extremely well and has good touch on her shot. She hit a few nice mid range jumpers and is big at 6-5. Very fluid athlete, good finisher inside, I'm looking forward to see how she performs against better competition.

-Elizabeth Williams looked great. So active defensively, she is a great shot blocker and rebounder. She looks more motivated than in previous seasons, still didn't show off a great offensive arsenal but I'm guessing she'll be the best defensive post player in the nation.

-Chidom looks much better. Active on the glass, very athletic and finished well inside.

On a team level, Duke was turnover prone but had great ball movement, especially for the first game of the year. Chidom and Williams did a great job of passing the ball. I think Duke will struggle against teams that press. Duke doesn't have many players skilled enough to break the press which could be their achilles heel. Great first game though for Duke.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Yes it's early, and yes it's Alabama, but in the 1st half this Duke team looked really good. They were up something like 48-12? One key player, and she was not there highest rated recruit, is this freshman Stevens who at 6'4" was playing at the top of there zone. Long arms and quick Alabama couldn't see around her and therefore could not do anything. E. Williams seems in good shape and was cleaning up any mistakes the others made on D. They are the tallest team in the country and did a good job of using there length.

I was under the impression that South Carolina was the TALLEST team in the country and hence, why some people are saying they could topple the Huskies, if not in the regular season, by the tournament.

 

[Gate81]

it had to do with how many over 6 feet tall, and 6;3" or over...i forgot the numbers that the announcer said. Clearly lacking in PG for this year, though...then next year they get the world of guards.

 

[triaddukefan]

I was under the impression that South Carolina was the TALLEST team in the country and hence, why some people are saying they could topple the Huskies, if not in the regular season, by the tournament.

Of Duke's 12 players.... 7 are 6'3 or taller..... 9 total taller than 6'0".

 

[wes33]

Watched the game until the last 5-6 minutes. I'm looking forward to seeing Duke play a quality opponent, but even though Alabama was completely outmatched, Duke looked very good. A few highlights:
-Rebecca Greenwell is fantastic and could be that 'glue' player who Duke has been missing for a while. She must have had 4-5 steals, she is great at reading passing lanes and anticipating steals. Didn't see her drain any perimeter shots, but she has a great release and smooth looking shot. Great free throw shooter.

-Azura Stevens should have been ranked a top 10-15 recruit. She has an incredibly unique skill set for her size. She looks more comfortable on the perimeter but can battle for rebounds. Runs the floor extremely well and has good touch on her shot. She hit a few nice mid range jumpers and is big at 6-5. Very fluid athlete, good finisher inside, I'm looking forward to see how she performs against better competition.

-Elizabeth Williams looked great. So active defensively, she is a great shot blocker and rebounder. She looks more motivated than in previous seasons, still didn't show off a great offensive arsenal but I'm guessing she'll be the best defensive post player in the nation.

-Chidom looks much better. Active on the glass, very athletic and finished well inside.

On a team level, Duke was turnover prone but had great ball movement, especially for the first game of the year. Chidom and Williams did a great job of passing the ball. I think Duke will struggle against teams that press. Duke doesn't have many players skilled enough to break the press which could be their achilles heel. Great first game though for Duke.

Alex Jones where are you ?

 

[FairView]

Of Duke's 12 players.... 7 are 6'3 or taller..... 9 total taller than 6'0".

But they can only play five at a time.

 

[UConn990411]

Sorry, but I'm just not buying Duke until I see them play a quality opponent without completely laying an egg.

 

[easttexastrash]

Alex Jones where are you ?

Waco

 

[bballnut90]

I was under the impression that South Carolina was the TALLEST team in the country and hence, why some people are saying they could topple the Huskies, if not in the regular season, by the tournament.

Duke has players that are 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-5. In their starting lineup, it is 5-10, 6-0, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.
South Carolina has players that are 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-5. Their starters though, are 5-9, 6-5, 6-0, 6-4 and 6-4.

Duke has more height than USC when you look at the full roster, but USC has more height in their starting 5.

 

[Orangutan]

-Rebecca Greenwell is fantastic and could be that 'glue' player who Duke has been missing for a while. She must have had 4-5 steals, she is great at reading passing lanes and anticipating steals.

Greenwell had 7 steals. I know because my eyes got big when I saw that in the box score.

 

[bballnut90]

Greenwell had 7 steals. I know because my eyes got big when I saw that in the box score.

I thought I was being conservative about 4-5....most of those steals led to break away layups for herself or her teammates, Duke's bigs run the floor well.

 

[John Glass]

Watched the game until the last 5-6 minutes. I'm looking forward to seeing Duke play a quality opponent, but even though Alabama was completely outmatched, Duke looked very good. A few highlights:
-Rebecca Greenwell is fantastic and could be that 'glue' player who Duke has been missing for a while. She must have had 4-5 steals, she is great at reading passing lanes and anticipating steals. Didn't see her drain any perimeter shots, but she has a great release and smooth looking shot. Great free throw shooter.

I like Greenwell, however Alabama threw some very bad passes- one pass was 35 feet cross court against a zone- Stevie Wonder could have read it

 

[hoophuskee]

I like teams with strong guard play - and throw in expereince. I'm not sure Duke has experienced strong guards. Not saying they can't get to ff - but imo strong experienced gaurd play is best. You don't need to press a team that doesn't have strong guard play to expose that type of team.

 

[triaddukefan]

But they can only play five at a time.

Of course... but that depth should allow our posts to play much more aggressively on defense without fear of foul trouble... knowing there are plenty of options on the bench

Alex Jones where are you ?

Waco

Another wacko in Waco ???


I assume he meant Alexis Jones not Alex (wacko)