Slow Watching Duke-Citadel First Half

Lots of fun stuff in the first half of the Duke-Citadel game so let’s go to the videotape!

• 18:46: Williams is beginning to move beyond just being a tall shot blocker. Don’t misunderstand, we’ve all seen he’s smart. But he’s beginning to use his body in different ways and it’s fun to watch. He didn’t ultimately get the board but cool nonetheless.
• 18:28: Roach whiffed last time on offense so it’s nice to see how he gets his shot in rhythm here.
• 17:59: Leaving Keels this open is probably not a great idea as Duke opens with three straight treys. A trifecta of threes! Born three! Oh, never mind.
• 17:42: It’s not his fault but Williams is trapped here - can’t guard outside and also in at the same time. Banchero let Brown go for the backdoor. Gorgeous play by the Bulldogs.
• 17:14: Clark is not the guy Roach should necessarily be guarding here but who else is there to do it? Another backdoor. Somewhere, Willie Dixon is smiling and, hopefully, finally collecting royalties.
• 16:41: Clark picks up a loose ball and gets another dunk.
• 16:22: FYI, we’ve been downloading games from YouTube which allows you to scrub through the video. Brown, for whatever anti-Pat Conroy reason, had his shorts hiked up over his pads all game. If you scrub back and forth right there at the line, it’s pretty funny. Back to your normal programming…
• 16:08: Not sure who the Citadel kid is on the bench here between the coaches but either they’re instructing him or taking nooooo chances with this one.
• 15:36: First, Moore is pretty assertive on this pass to Keels. And second, watch him blow by Clark. And third, he’s triple-teamed and hits the shot on the way down - and one.
• 15:32: Can’t we have some Theo John jokes, aka Chuck Norris? That dude is seriously powerful.
• 15:20: The Citadel aerial assault begins. Only 17 more to go.
• 14:49: There are no streets named after Theo John because no one would ever cross Theo John. See? Like that. And while he sent that one flying, Duke retained possession. Blocked shots that go back to the other team should count as turnovers.
• 14:39: Moore goes into a triple team and suckers them all. Banchero for three!
• 14:17: It’d be fun to chart long rebounds. For someone else, we mean. No way in hell we’re doing it.
• 14:10: Theo John never needs to flush the toilet. He always scares the crap out of it.
• 14:08: Roach is gone reallllly fast after the turnover and Moore hits him immediately with a pass that’s just about perfect. Roach doesn’t have to break stride or dribble. Freakin’ sweet!
• 13:42: not to slam Moffe here - we’re glad he did it - but this was a really unnecessary shot.
• 13:33: Williams, when he can impose himself consistently, will be a nightmare. He’s already long and smart. What about when he’s powerful?
• 13:07: A weird sequence here. What the hell is Williams doing? Looks like he’s trying to stay inbounds but he’s in front of his man then behind him then dancing on the baseline. Odd. Then Banchero dives for a loose ball which is very cool.
• 12:55: More great effort from #5 but maybe he was off script. Whatever it was, K immediately subbed him out.
• 12:25: You know, this Duke team has very active hands.
• 12:02: Vitale voice - freeze it! Williams made some great passes in this game, and quickly. It’s possible he’s the smartest player on the team although Bates Jones is ridiculously sharp.
• 11:45: The Citadel aerial assault is starting to heat up.
• 11:11: And again with the threes.
• 10:40: Just a little IQ thing - watch as Griffin is ready to switch off to guard a possible three.
• 10:28: It isn’t exactly a pass but looks what Williams does here. Pretty great considering he’s behind the guy who is boxing him out. Long arms are a gift from God.
• 10:10: Williams does this just about once a game. Pretty impressive for a big guy. It’s almost as if he grew up with an older sister who was a great player and he had to figure out smart ways to compete with her when he was still kicking his ass and taunting him too.
• 9:01: This is a seriously sweet pass by Cadet Brown. Banchero got the shot though.
• 7:55: Banchero makes a really nice drive but look for the subtle fake that makes it possible. Still, he shoots right-handed on the left side of the basket. Why can’t anyone use their off hand?
• 7:27: When Theo John looked into the abyss, the abyss looked the other way.
• 6:50: Banchero, aided and abetted by Moore. He’s getting confident now.
• 6:24: Theo John walked into chemistry class and ripped the Periodic Table of Elements off of the wall. Why? Because the only element Theo John needs is the element of surprise.
• 5:28: Okay, no goofing around. Did you see this pass by Banchero? Magic Johnson would have loved it.
• 4:21: The Jim Spanarkel stratagem: let your opponent turn your eye then you can do whatever you want. Spanarkel killed people by getting out of their field of vision then dancing around where they couldn’t see him. Banchero got lucky here.
• 2:31: Griffin had a quiet game but blocking a three point shot is pretty damn cool.
• 1:54: Griffin did not get there in time for this one…Coach K is getting sick of the threes. How can you tell? Because when he calls time out he makes the TO motion three times. Chop. Chop. Chop. Get ready, heathens, there’s some fire and brimstone coming your way.
• 1:33: Not a huge deal, but freshman Moore would not have been able to make this pass.
• 1:11: Again, not a huge deal, but Banchero sticks with the play, which is impressive. The defender, #0, is not listed on the Citadel’s web site. Maybe it’s the guy who was sitting between the coaches earlier. The unknown Cadet?