Tag Archives: Austin Rivers

The Rivers shot: Duke’s most memorable play of 2012?

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2012 was an exciting year for Duke sports and two plays stood out to us as the most exciting of the year. Today, two of our writers will make the case for why each was the most exciting of 2012. We begin with Austin Rivers’ buzzer-beating, game-winning shot against North Carolina on Feb. 8, The Miracle on Franklin Street.

Check back later today for the case of why Jamison Crowder’s catch against North Carolina, which gave Duke the lead and ultimately its first bowl bid in 18 years, was the most memorable play of 2012.

Before The Chronicle’s Jacob Levitt makes his argument for the Rivers shot, here is a video of it:

Sean Renfree’s game-winning pass to Jamison Crowder against was a miraculous, program-shifting moment that will live on in Duke lore, and rushing the field that night may well have been the highlight of my year. But Austin Rivers’s shot at the buzzer was still the more memorable moment for three reasons:

  1. Schadenfreude: As in any good rivalry, at least half the thrill of victory comes from the opponent’s agony in defeat. This game was no exception. The Daily Tar Heel, North Carolina’s student newspaper, really did a great job of capturing just how distressing the moment was for the baby blue faithful. Check out the video… The fun really starts at about 2:15!

    Add in Zeller’s infamous tip-in of Ryan Kelly’s shot, and you have one of the greatest moments in the history of gloating. If Rivers fails to knock down his clutch shot—over Zeller, in case you needed reminding—everyone would forget Zeller’s heroism that day.

  2. Duke and North Carolina are still basketball schools: Duke football has made enormous strides, but that cannot take the place of nearly three decades of extended excellence. Likewise, North Carolina’s basketball program gets a lot more attention (from everyone except NCAA investigators) than its football program does. As a result, highlight shows will replay Rivers’s shot for the ages as a great moment in a storied rivalry. Fair or not, Renfree and Crowder’s miracle took place on a smaller stage.

    This is also a large contributor to the Schadenfreude factor. The Tar Heels’ supporters shrugged off the football loss in a way that they could not for the basketball loss. SportsCenter replayed Austin Rivers’s shot over and over again, pounding it into the mind of its viewers. The Blue Devils’ football win did not receive the same attention, making it easier for bitter North Carolina fans to forget.

  3. The context within the respective seasons and careers of the teams and individuals involved: Renfree’s pass to Crowder came in the middle of the best Duke football season since most Duke students have been able to talk, and it was chock-full of memorable moments. The team defeated Wake Forest for the first time this millennium; Conner Vernon set ACC career marks in both catches and yards; the team appeared in a bowl game. Those other shining moments do not diminish Crowder’s catch, but they do make it stand out a bit less.

    Rivers’s shot, by contrast, came just as everyone was losing hope in Duke basketball. The team had lost two of its last three home games and looked lackluster in several of its wins, the players had just voted to ban social media, and more people were focusing on the school selling tickets to the student section than the game itself. Rivers’s shot gleamed in comparison to the news from the weeks before and after it.

    The same can be said of the players’ careers. Renfree will leave Duke this year as one of the program’s most decorated passers ever, and he was essential to Vernon’s record-breaking career. Most importantly, he was part of a senior class that revitalized the program. Crowder, too, will be remembered for far more than his last-second catch. As a true sophomore, he gained more than 1,000 yards receiving and scored eight-touchdowns, including the first 99-yard score in Duke history. With two more years left, Duke fans can look forward to more highlights from the explosive receiver.

    Rivers, on the other hand, left after one year, and that was good but not great. The shot over Zeller is the one memory people will have from last basketball season, and it’s a helluva memory—a Duke-UNC game has never ended on game-winning buzzer-beater before. Ironically, this makes the moment more memorable than one great play in the careers of two players who made such a tremendous impact on their program.

 

Top 10 Duke sports photos of 2012

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From Austin Rivers’ game-winning shot against North Carolina to Blue Devils earning medals at the London Olympics, 2012 will certainly not be forgotten in Duke sports history. With the year winding down today, here are The Chronicle’s top 10 photos of 2012:


Top 10 Sports Photos of 2012 – Images by Duke Student Publishing Co. Duke Chronicle

Austin Rivers has an adventure grocery shopping

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On a relatively quiet day, here is a fun video from the NBA Rooks series, which follows around former Duke basketball guard Austin Rivers on a grocery shopping trip.

(Spoiler alert, he likes ham sandwiches):

Rivers, selected No. 10 overall by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA Draft, is 20 games into his rookie campaign. He’s averaging 7.0 points per game on 32.5% shooting from the field, also dishing out 2.9 assists per game.

StatChat: Be thankful for good passing

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There are many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. In addition to the usual family time and gargantuan amount of food, there is a wonderful slate of tournament basketball. Duke is playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis, what many think is the most competitive of the bunch.

The Blue Devils begin the tournament against Minnesota and then could play Virginia Commonwealth, No. 19 Memphis, Stanford, No. 13 Missouri, and No. 2 Louisville later on. Needless to say, Duke will need to bring their A-game if they want to make a run at the title.

I wrote earlier this year that the Blue Devil defense will need to improve drastically this season, but the key this weekend will be on the offensive end. It all starts with the flow of the offense. Moving the ball effectively is more important than ever, due to the exponential growth of athletic teams in college basketball (see Kentucky 2011-12).

It’s an area of the game that top teams excel at, but if you don’t remember much ball movement last year, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Duke ranked 202nd in Division I in assists per game (12.4) and 129th in assist to turnover ratio (1.02). Seth Curry, the team’s assist leader, averaged an underwhelming 2.4 assists per game. In the end, the lack of offensive cohesiveness, coupled with arguably the worst defense in the Coach K era, resulted in the embarrassing loss against Lehigh in the NCAA’s round of 64.

So how can the Blue Devils improve? With true point guards Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton bringing the ball down the court, improvements have already been made. Often, Curry or Austin Rivers, both with shoot first mentalities, acted as the quarterback of the offense, resulting in less passing and more isolation. Cook and Thornton act, most of the time, as pass first players. This allows for Curry, Rasheed Sulaimon, and even Ryan Kelly to work off-ball to get open looks. Rest assured, there will be plenty of 3-pointers made this season.

However, the system that works best with this team, as with many Duke teams of the past, is an inside-outside game. This offensive style can be seen in two different ways. The first is the drive-and-kick technique, when a guard dribbles into the lane and dishes out to a wide open shooter on the perimeter. Cook and Sulaimon’s have the skill-set to drive-and-kick, and both have already shown they’re not afraid to take it hard to the basket. If you want a look at Cook’s passing potential, just rewatch the game against Florida Gulf Coast—the sophomore guard recorded a career-high nine assists.

But the style that will likely be used more often involves the big men down low. A guard passes the ball inside to a forward, who then has an option either to shoot or find an open shooter. It’s a method that has already seen success in 2012. The best example of this particular style came in the game against Kentucky. Early in the second half, Mason Plumlee found Cook and Sulaimon open for three on back-to-back possessions. Plumlee and Kelly accounted for four of the eight assists on three-point baskets in the game.

Ball movement will be of paramount importance this season, but if the Blue Devils can properly utilize an inside-outside offensive scheme, Coach K will have more to be thankful for than just turkey.

Report: Austin Rivers undergoes ankle surgery

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Former Blue Devil and No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft Austin Rivers underwent a procedure on his right ankle to clean up some bone spurs.

The news was passed along in a tweet by Ben Golliver of blazersedge.com Friday afternoon, which can be found here.

Rivers was limited to just two games during the Las Vegas Summer League due to his leg woes. The guard is expected to be fully healthy in advance of the Hornets’ training camp, where Rivers will be taxed with learned to play the point guard position at the NBA level.

Blue Devils wrap up at the Las Vegas Summer League

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Last week Duke basketball alumni, including Kyle Singler and John Scheyer, took to the courts in Orlando to showcase their wares in the Orlando Summer League. The rest of the young former Blue Devils just finished their exhibition schedule in Las Vegas.

Nolan Smith took the court for the Portland Trailblazer’s team, and didn’t disappoint in his two games before suffering a scary head injury that luckily turned out to be nothing more than a concussion. Smith still hasn’t recovered fully from the incident. In two games, Smith averaged 18.5 points per game on 58.3% shooting, including 40% from beyond the three point arc, and 100% from the free throw line. Smith added 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as well. With only career backup Ronnie Price to challenge Smith for backup minutes behind Weber St. rookie Damian Lillard at the point, the Duke product should have an easy road to quality bench minutes.

The next Blue Devil is a name from deep in the past. Shavlik Randolph, who averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in three years at Duke, ending in 2005, is trying to break back into the NBA. The power forward last played in the NBA back in the 2009-2010 season, where he played three games each for the Miami Heat and Portland Trailblazers. He spent the last few years in Puerto Rico and China. Back stateside, Randolph suited up for the Washington Wizard’s Summer League team, where he started all four games he played in. While Randolph struggled in his first two games, he came on very strong in his last two. In those final two games, Randolph averaged 13.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. He is currently unsigned, but may have made enough noise to get an invite to training camp with an NBA team.

The final two Blue Devils who took the court in Las Vegas were this year’s 10th overall pick Austin Rivers, and a former NCAA Champion and undrafted free agent Lance Thomas. Despite his pedigree, it was Rivers who struggled mightily while Thomas turned heads with his performance. Rivers played in just two games with the New Orleans Hornet’s team before sitting with a sore leg. Rivers scored 10.0 points per game and added 2.0 steals, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game. However, he shot just 21.1% from the field and averaged 3.0 turnovers and 5.5 fouls per game. Rivers is trying to learn the point guard position, so he can play in the back court with Hornets’ star Eric Gordon. He’ll play a very large role with New Orleans this season, despite his Summer League woes.

Lance Thomas was very successful in his five starts with the Hornets’ team, leading his team in both points (14.0) and rebounds (7.2). While his contract situation for the 2012-13 season is still up in the air, Thomas is widely expected to return to the Hornets. After playing well with the US Select team, who scrimmaged against the Olympic team, and then leading the Summer League team, Thomas will fight for minutes with Jason Smith behind first overall pick Anthony Davis and reigning Most Improved Player of the Year Ryan Anderson.