Freshman Phenom Kyrie Irving Surpassing Expectations at Duke

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Late October in 2009, Kyrie Irving announced his college decision before the nation on ESPNU recruiting insider. Irving was down to Texas A&M, Kentucky and Duke, but we obviously know where he ended up.

As soon as Irving announced his college discretion Duke fans prepped for a possible one-and-done guard. Not just any one-and-done guard, but a Jay Williams type of guard.

Remember his career as a Duke Blue Devil? However, even Jay Williams admits that Irving is currently ahead of him when he was at his stage.

That is something I can agree with. Irving has done very well, leading the Blue Devils to believe he could make up for some of what they lost when star point guard Jon Scheyer graduated.

Irving picked up his third ACC rookie of the week honor after putting on a show against Butler, and Michigan State. He has already jumped in the record books after nailing 13 free-throws against the Spartans, while recording the fourth 30-point outing for a freshman in Duke history.

Senior guard Nolan Smith has said before, Irving is a veteran. During every ranked game, or big game for that matter, Irving is the one to step up.

Unlike many young point guards, Irving takes care of the ball, penetrates the lane and finishes around the rim in easy fashion.

In 28.9 minutes of action, Irving is the second leading scorer for the No. 1 team in the nation at 17.4 points per game. He also adds 3.8 rebounds, and team-highs in both, assist with 5.1, as well as steals with 1.5 per game.

Irving is on pace to become the first ACC Rookie of the Year since Kyle Singler embraced the honors in '08.

Nonetheless, he is currently listed as doubtful against Bradley due to a toe injury that occurred against Butler in the second half that caused him to limp off the floor.

FoxSports.com reports that Irving is in a walking boot, and did not practice with the team on Monday. With such an easy schedule, Coach Mike Krzyzewski might give his talented freshman the game off.

Irving has the potential to be one of the best freshman in the Blue Devils storied history. He has helped Duke get off to a hot (8-0) start and out-dueled many point guards in the process.

By now, it's clear that all previous expectations need to be raised when referring to Kyrie Irving.

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2010-11 Week 4 Review and Week 5 Preview

Posted by Marc Daley
I know it's only December 6 but if you're looking for teams that could be favorites to hit the Final Four in March look for teams that can win despite playing a bad game. Two popular teams that played ugly this weekend didn't come out on the winning end.

If the Kentucky-North Carolina matchup had been strictly a three-point contest the Wildcats could have called it a day after the first round. However, their offense from inside the money zone was hard to watch. Most of the time, nine for 21 from three is good enough to win – unless you go 15 for 41 from two, get outrebounded by eight and have enough players foul out that you expect your coach to morph into Gene Hackman and declare "My team is on the floor". Somehow, I don't think Jarred Polson, Stacey Poole, Jon Hood and Doron Lamb would have struck fear in Tyler Zeller and Co. had it gone to overtime.

At least that game went down to the wire. Texas inexplicably stole pages from their football brethren and turned in a turkey against a Southern Cal team that was lucky to still be eligible for the postseason this year. It's doubtful that the Trojans will continue after the Pac-10 tournament but if they become a bubble team for any tournament they can put this on their resume as a "quality" win – even though the 'Horns shot 32 percent for the game and were never really in it.

"Bad" has been slang for "good" for several decades. "Bad" can be relative, especially when it relates to teams from the BCS conferences and non-BCS conferences. Bad teams from the BCS conferences will reach double digits in wins by getting the majority of their wins against the bad teams from the non-BCS conferences. Bad teams from the non-BCS conferences will be lucky to grab a handful of victories. However, there may be one team from a BCS conference that may be non-BCS "bad" – Auburn. So far, they have lost at home to this murderer's row: North Carolina-Asheville, Campbell, Samford and Jacksonville. This weekend they faced off against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, which hails from the SWAC (a combined 12-60 this season). The Lions haven't played a home game and have been blown out in every contest. However, they nearly beat the Tigers for their first win until Auburn rallied for a four-point victory. Don't be surprised if the Tigers barely get that handful this season.

Nineteen teams remain undefeated this season. Duke, Kansas and Ohio State are among them, which is about as shocking as a Cincinnati Bengals loss. But just down the road a piece from Paul Brown Stadium you can come in, get warm and watch the Cincinnati Bearcats play their best basketball since the days of Kenyon Martin. Granted, they have beaten up most of the Little Sisters of the Poor conference but do own a 34-point blowout against Dayton. Their defense would make their old master Huggie-Bear proud as they allow their opponents to score barely over fifty points a game. They won't get tested until 2011 when they take on Xavier on January 7 but they could be interesting to watch in the Big East.

The week ahead has a great doubleheader on Tuesday night and some other matchups that look enticing, especially since winter decided to come early. So stay inside where the only cold ones should be in the fridge and check these games out:

Memphis-Kansas and Michigan State-Syracuse (Tuesday, 7 and 9 EST) The number of undefeated teams will decrease by one after the first game. Memphis hasn't had a tough test and nearly lost a big lead to Arkansas State last week. Kansas had some help from the refs against a UCLA team to escape with their lives – the same UCLA team that turned around and lost to Montana. Memphis looks primed to return to the Final Four – in 2012. Kansas still looked primed to get back there this season but this will be a great neutral court test in the Garden.

Syracuse also stands among the ranks of the undefeated but has been walking the tightrope in their last few games, including a nip over a Georgia Tech team that got drilled by Northwestern and lost earlier this season to Kennesaw State. Michigan State is easily the best two-loss team in the nation, which isn't hard to claim when your losses come against UConn and Duke. If the Spartans can get the Orange in foul trouble their thin bench should be exposed and the boys from East Lansing will get back to their winning ways.

Vermont-Brigham Young (Wednesday, 7 EST) Is Tom Brennan back with the Catamounts? In all seriousness, their only loss has come by sixteen to UConn. All eyes will be on Jimmer Fredette, who is continuing to light it up for the Cougars, but keep an eye on Evan Fjeld for Vermont, who is averaging a robust 21 points per game. If he can help the 'Mounts hang tough or even pull an upset they would have to be considered heavy favorites to win the America East and give their first-round opponent fits in March.

Tennessee-Pittsburgh (Saturday, 3:15 EST) Tobias Harris has been good as advertised for the Volunteers, who have already knocked off one Top 10 Big East opponent this year. The Panthers remain the best team who have never had made the Final Four but they look primed to break that streak this season. The key will come down to how well a couple of big men play against each other. While your eyes may go to Harris and Scotty Hopson or Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker look at the battle between Brian Williams and Gary McGhee. I have a feeling that will decide the contest.

This week's poll is full of changes. Three teams drop in, a couple of SEC teams took a dive but it was business as usual for the top four.

1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Ohio State
4. Pittsburgh
5. Michigan State
6. Villanova
7. Purdue
8. Kansas State
9. Missouri
10. Memphis
11. Tennessee
12. Syracuse
13. Connecticut
14. Baylor
15. Florida
16. Kentucky
17. Illinois
18. Brigham Young
19. San Diego State
20. Georgetown
21. Notre Dame
22. UNLV
23. Louisville
24. UCF
25. Northwestern

Butler Down But Not Out Following Loss to Duke

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Butler Bulldogs (4-3), last years runner-ups, recently fell to the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (8-0) 82-70.

With 13:04 left in the second half Ronald Nored picked up a cheap fourth foul after grazing Nolan Smith on a three-point attempt that sidelined him with his fourth foul.

At the 12:48 mark in the second half, Shelvin Mack fired up a three and came down awkwardly.

Many people found out later that it was leg cramps, and instead of coming back in Mack sat for the rest of the game, which hurted the Bulldogs.

With those two on the bench, Duke's knockout punch was a 12-0 run that pushed the game out of range for Butler.

Howard returned only to pick up his fifth foul with 2:17 left in the game, with Shawn Vanzant working to pull Butler closer to the lead.

Thereafter, Duke knocked down nine straight free-throws and marched away with a 12-point victory in the National Championship rematch.

With Butler falling for the third time in seven games, the Bulldogs are off to their worst start since 2005-06. Now many people are starting to count Butler out, but that is not the right thing to do.

The Bulldogs are on a rough stretch with losses coming at Louisville, against Evansville and Duke.

Three losses in which Matt Howard faced foul trouble. Nored, Butler's best on-ball defender, and leader of the defense did not play against Evansville, and with all three, the Bulldogs were 10-minutes away from getting closure on the defending National Champs.

Butler also saw an emerging guard in Vanzant who can score the basketball on offense just as good as any player on the team. Andrew Smith, and Garret Butcher stepped up big for the Bulldogs in the post showing a lot of maturity.

If both can start finishing around the rim, the Bulldogs might establish a lot of depth in the frontcourt. Despite the (4-3) record, I expect the Bulldogs to improve as the season progresses.

The Bulldogs are back to health, hopefully, and have a chance to make a statement against the Xavier Musketeers (5-2) December 9, 9 PM ET.

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Verdell Jones Leads Hoosiers Past Savannah State, 79-57

Posted by CoHoops Josh Dhani

The Indiana Hoosiers were brought with their first loss of the season to the Boston College Eagles a few days earlier, dropping to 6-1. But no worries for Indiana, as they headed back home to face the Savannah State Tigers, improving to 7-1 with a 79-57 victory.

Verdell Jones led the Hoosiers with 18 points. Christian Watford had 14 and Maurice Creek produced eleven points.

The Hoosiers have won all of their seven home games this season and have extended the streak to eight total after beating the Northwestern Wildcats last season in the finale.

Joshua Montgomery led the Tigers with 15 points, but it wasn’t enough as Savannah State falls to 1-9. They got the Georgia Bulldogs coming up next.

It was a lopsided game, and it was a solid win for the Hoosiers. Jones also had eight rebounds in the game and shot well, having a percentage of 55.3-percent overall.

The Hoosiers scored the first points of the game, but would quickly go on a 10-o run. After that, Indiana was leading 22-12, which would lead to the big win.

Jordan Hulls and Victor Oladipo provided eleven points and nine points respectively. Preston Blackmon added 14 points for the Tigers.

This is a big win for the Hoosiers, as they shake off the loss to Boston College. But now they got a tough game ahead, as they go on to Kentucky to face the Wildcats. Let’s hope for the best. Win or lose, I see a good, close game. The game will take place on Saturday, December 11.

Good win Hoosiers.

Let’s get ready for UK!



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Butler, Duke Re-Match From March; Duke Wins Again, 82-70

Posted by CoHoops Josh Dhani

 

It was a re-match of last season’s National Championship. The Duke Blue Devils were leading, 61-59, over the Butler Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were the Cinderella team entering this match-up, but the Blue Devils came out on top with their great veteran experience from coach Mike Krzyzweski. Gordon Hayward had a chance to win the game for Butler, almost making a half-court shot to win the game, but it barely missed!

With Hayward gone, the Bulldogs hoped to bring revenge still on the Devils. It was basically a game going back and forth. But later in the game, star-player Shelvin Mack would injury himself with cramps. He would not return. With that, the Bulldogs were in a hole. But they would bounce back. But later in the second half, Kyrie Irving would get hot, and he would help end the game for a Duke win, 82-70. The Blue Devils improve to 8-0 while Butler falls to 4-3.

This would be Coach K’s 876th career victory, passing coach Rupp on the all-time wins list.

“I’m going to win more I think than Coach Rupp, God bless him, who won’t win any more,” Krzyzewski said of the late coach. “He won a lot of them and he won them in his way and they didn’t play as many games then. Each era has outstanding achievements by individuals, whether they be players or coaches and in this era I’ve been fortunate to have some.

“It’s tough to compare,” Krzyzewski said. “I much rather would have tied him in April than today because I’m going to keep coaching and we should win more games. You get too caught up with what your own team is doing to focus on that kind of stuff.”

It’s the 18th straight win overall for Duke now. Nolan Smith had 24 points while Irving had 21, including 17 in the second half. Like mentioned earlier, Irving hit two keys three-pointers to finish the game off.

“Nolan did a tremendous job tonight. He played like a veteran,” Irving said. “He put us on his back in the second half of this game.”

Smith said, “Kyrie brings a lot. He’s a dangerous point guard.”

Butler will face Xavier next while Duke will the Bradley Braves.
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