TonightWed. 12/15 S.C. vs Duke

[TeamFirst!]

Did I hear that Day-Wilson had 8 - 3 pointers the other day and she still doesn't start after tonight? She's a solid player and kept them in the game.

 

[Drew8]

I have not seen a team dominate against a full-court press as well as South Carolina, it just tires the other teams players out and the S.C. depth leaves them fresher at the end.

The sagging zone defense seems to be the best strategy against them so far.

 

[GoChips20]

Ugly game, but a fun atmosphere. Surprised that we didn't try to press them, until near the end of the game. We played hard, fought to the end, and lessons were learned.




Of course I knew she was good... but in person... she's was a monster tonight. Not sure her official block number... seemed like she at least 8.. and scared off another dozen or so. I think the only player who wasn't scared of Boston on the interior was Day-Wilson.... she is fearless.

Duke is going to be such a fun program to follow, Tria. Lawson has it all going right.

 

[Jmsdawg]

I have not seen a team dominate against a full-court press as well as South Carolina, it just tires the other teams players out and the S.C. depth leaves them fresher at the end.

The sagging zone defense seems to be the best strategy against them so far.

Texas presses all over court, they have some bigs and great guards. That is the game I want to see!

 

[LoboDays]

That’s a pretty amazing OOC schedule. The SEC is tough enough.

 

[visitingcock]

Ncst Oregon, Uconn, Maryland, Duke, what a gauntlet. Only need to beat Stanford to finish the job, SC feels like they are just at another level than the rest of wbb.

I don't feel like we are "at another level." We are very good as attested to by record and strength to date. However, it's not like we have blown NCSt, Maryland or Duke out. Furthermore, we have a couple of glaring flaws.

We are a poor free throwing team. We shot 40% against Duke! We are only 65% on the season. He miss too many front ends of 1and1sTeams can play "hackacock" against us especially late in the 4th quarter when trailing us. Let's say UConn had employed that tactic in the 4th quarter against us. I believe the outcome would have been different. UConn might not have won, but it would have been much closer. I would expect Geno to employ the tactic during our late January game though his short bench could limit the number of fouls he can us.

We commit waaaaaay too many turnovers. That will improve when Destanni returns at the point, but other players will still turn it over.

We face Stanford next. They are a team that can reduce our huge rebounding and shot-blocking advantage over other teams. We face Tennessee in conference play and the same could be said of them. Georgia is a pretty solid rebounding team.

BTW, @HuskyNan could you move this to the general board instead of nuking it?

 

[cacoastfan]

Boston was so fun to watch, POY frontrunner imo at this point. Her defensive prowess combined with her offensive ability makes her a nightmare. What I also have enjoyed is her developed leadership, and watching her direct the team, whether it be when she's on the court or bench.

Day-Wilson also continues to impress. Turnovers are an obvious concern, but I think that can come with the freshman territory. As the season progresses, and under Kara, I believe that is something that can be cut down.

 

[visitingcock]

Boston was so fun to watch, POY frontrunner imo at this point. Her defensive prowess combined with her offensive ability makes her a nightmare. What I also have enjoyed is her developed leadership, and watching her direct the team, whether it be when she's on the court or bench.

Day-Wilson also continues to impress. Turnovers are an obvious concern, but I think that can come with the freshman territory. As the season progresses, and under Kara, I believe that is something that can be cut down.

Yes, Boston is an excellent all American player, BUT SO MUCH MORE.

When you watch her you see the joy of the game. There may be moments where she displays exuberance, but I have never seen her taunt an opponent. She plays like an old-school "good sport." No "me, me, me." It's all "we, we, we."

Plus, some may forget that she is also an Academic All American.

I would want my daughter to live, play and study like Aliyah does.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

As @triaddukefan can attest, the good sign for Duke WBB was the post-halftime adjustments. After trailing 32-16 at the half (and with the game looking like it could be a blowout loss), Duke won the second half, 30-23. In doing so, the Blue Devils held South Carolina to season lows in points (55) and field goal percentage (35.1).

Yes, SC was missing Henderson and had to use its 6-4 forward as a de facto point guard, which is not the same as playing the Gamecocks near full strength. That being said, while the talent differential between SC and Duke is incredibly vast, the final score was much closer than expected or anticipated.

Coach K(ara) cannot get Duke back to the glory days of the Goestenkors era in one season (this is, in essence, her first full season as a head coach for Duke, with last season canceled after four games). The key is thinking of Duke as a staircase, with each step a building block toward a national powerhouse program.

• Getting very good transfers and massively upgrading the talent on the roster was a big step.
• Having Lawson getting more in-game experience as a head coach with Team USA's 3x3 squad was also a move forward (not to mention all of the great publicity and accolades she received from the team's players).
• Getting a player like Shayeann Day-Wilson so late in the recruiting cycle -- an offensive dynamo whose ceiling is incredibly high -- was another step.
• Beating a top-ten team in Iowa was yet an additional step.
• Securing a top 2022 recruiting class (ranked #5 by ASGR and #11 by espnW/Premier Basketball) was key.

And now, being competitive against the consensus top-ranked team in the country was yet another step. While Duke did not win, it was a single-digit loss (again, caveat SC missing Henderson) that can be used as another building block.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Duke played a very good second half. Just couldn't get enough scoring momentum going to cut more into the lead.

Aliyah Boston really carried SC tonight. There could be no clearer front-runner for NPOY than her. It can't be overstated how impactful she is on both ends.

No, it really can't be. She's been dominant the last 6 or 7 games.

I thought she was a lock for 1st AA but didn't really give much thought to NPOY. I don't know that there is a second horse in that race right now.

If Howard wins one of the SEC POY awards I'll be pretty upset. Well as upset as I get about this stuff, which isn't too much.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I was very impressed by Day-Wilson, who didn't seem unnerved at all by the situation or opponent.

 

[cancontent]

No, it really can't be. She's been dominant the last 6 or 7 games.

I thought she was a lock for 1st AA but didn't really give much thought to NPOY. I don't know that there is a second horse in that race right now.

If Howard wins one of the SEC POY awards I'll be pretty upset. Well as upset as I get about this stuff, which isn't too much.

The NPOY race changed significantly especially with how the season is playing out so far. In my opinion, even if Bueckers was healthy, she should be the front runner, especially with what she has done to date.

Scary thing is I don't think she's even hit her stride yet for the season. SEC conference play is going to be fun to watch.

 

[TC22]

What exactly is wrong with Henderson?

Lower leg injury is all anybody knows.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

The NPOY race changed significantly especially with how the season is playing out so far. In my opinion, even if Bueckers was healthy, she should be the front runner, especially with what she has done to date.

Scary thing is I don't think she's even hit her stride yet for the season. SEC conference play is going to be fun to watch.

I think Boston and Bueckers are the two best players in the country. For both, it's rare to see them make a bad decision or be in the wrong place.

I guess we don't have to have that hypothetical debate but I'd begun to think Boston had a case before Paige went down. I'll say that.

 

[triaddukefan]

A few more observations from last night, I parked in the parking deck about 5:45..... surrounded by fans sporting their garnet ... gave a few the evil eye... but that's about it. There was a long line waiting for the doors to open.. and out of nowhere that annoying Gamecock chant starting to ring out...... I was like.. aint this some bull A few times in the second half they started the chant...but the Duke fans eventually drowned them out with the Let's Go Duke chant.

I guess the people in front of me hadn't seen SC play... cause they were amazed how big they were... and how strong of a rebounding team they were. Then Cardoso entered the game and they were like... wow...they just keep getting taller and taller.

Hope none of the SC players, coaches, fans took offense with the lack of handshakes after the game. Duke hasn't shook hands all year.. as soon as the buzzer sounds... maybe a quick wave then off to the locker rooms. Hopefully the series will continue... its a fun atmosphere when the chickens come to Durham.

I was very impressed by Day-Wilson, who didn't seem unnerved at all by the situation or opponent.

She is fearless... and quite the sparkplug. Quickly becoming a fan favorite.

 

[visitingcock]

5,491 in attendance is not bad but is less than half capacity. Get it up Duke. Give away tickets to youth groups. Give 1 dollar tickets to high schoolers in the area. Whip up the student body. Do what it takes.

Fill’er up! Your coach will love you when recruiting.

 

[triaddukefan]

5,491 in attendance is not bad but is less than half capacity. Get it up Duke. Give away tickets to youth groups. Give 1 dollar tickets to high schoolers in the area. Whip up the student body. Do what it takes.

Fill’er up! Your coach will love you when recruiting.

Thats a good # for this year... Students are not on campus... and I've read that some season ticket holders and others who had tickets stayed home because of increasing concern about Omicron. The games vs our Triangle neighbors will of course be higher... as well as our next home game vs ND ... that's if things don't get further out of hand with O....

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

5,491 in attendance is not bad but is less than half capacity.

Technically, that is incorrect.

Cameron holds 9314, so it was 58.95 percent full.

 

[Bigboote]

The NPOY race changed significantly especially with how the season is playing out so far. In my opinion, even if Bueckers was healthy, she should be the front runner, especially with what she has done to date.

Scary thing is I don't think she's even hit her stride yet for the season. SEC conference play is going to be fun to watch.

I absolutely agree about the NPOY. As soon as it was evident that Paige was out for a couple of months, I thought Boston would be a lock, barring any injuries to her. With her adding the three and bringing her inside game on offense AND defense from great to borderline awesome, lordy she's a beast and SO fun to watch.

And I'm with visitingcock, Aliyah plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. Goes about her business, expresses the occasional bit of joy, really seems all about the team.

 

[shiverz45]

Texas presses all over court, they have some bigs and great guards. That is the game I want to see!

If Texas presses SC with Henderson at the point they would get destroyed.

 

[shiverz45]

As @triaddukefan can attest, the good sign for Duke WBB was the post-halftime adjustments. After trailing 32-16 at the half (and with the game looking like it could be a blowout loss), Duke won the second half, 30-23. In doing so, the Blue Devils held South Carolina to season lows in points (55) and field goal percentage (35.1).

Yes, SC was missing Henderson and had to use its 6-4 forward as a de facto point guard, which is not the same as playing the Gamecocks near full strength. That being said, while the talent differential between SC and Duke is incredibly vast, the final score was much closer than expected or anticipated.

Coach K(ara) cannot get Duke back to the glory days of the Goestenkors era in one season (this is, in essence, her first full season as a head coach for Duke, with last season canceled after four games). The key is thinking of Duke as a staircase, with each step a building block toward a national powerhouse program.

• Getting very good transfers and massively upgrading the talent on the roster was a big step.
• Having Lawson getting more in-game experience as a head coach with Team USA's 3x3 squad was also a move forward (not to mention all of the great publicity and accolades she received from the team's players).
• Getting a player like Shayeann Day-Wilson so late in the recruiting cycle -- an offensive dynamo whose ceiling is incredibly high -- was another step.
• Beating a top-ten team in Iowa was yet an additional step.
• Securing a top 2022 recruiting class (ranked #5 by ASGR and #11 by espnW/Premier Basketball) was key.

And now, being competitive against the consensus top-ranked team in the country was yet another step. While Duke did not win, it was a single-digit loss (again, caveat SC missing Henderson) that can be used as another building block.

I see Duke as well as Notre Dame eventually rising back to the top of the ACC and being top 5 to 10 programs. The ACC will be real top heavy in the years to come.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I see Duke as well as Notre Dame eventually rising back to the top of the ACC and being top 5 to 10 programs. The ACC will be real top heavy in the years to come.

And North Carolina

 

[triaddukefan]

And North Carolina

Stop that.