Tag Archives: Quinn Cook

Duke basketball Mason Plumlee flashback: 21 points and 17 rebounds against Ohio State

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Over the past two weeks, The Blue Zone has been counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we conclude with forward Mason Plumlee.

No. 1: Plumlee leads comeback over Ohio State with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

The date: November 28, 2012

Plumlee's 21 points and 17 rebounds helped Duke complete it's comeback against No. 4 Ohio State.

Plumlee’s 21 points and 17 rebounds helped Duke complete it’s comeback against No. 4 Ohio State.

The game: Duke 73, Ohio State 68

Plumlee statline: 21 points and 17 rebounds in 39 minutes of play against No. 4 Ohio State

The breakdown: The Blue Devils had one of the hardest November schedules in recent history, facing off against No. 3 Kentucky, No. 2 Louisville, and future NCAA Tournament teams Florida Gulf Coast, Minnesota and Virginia Commonwealth before a road-weary Duke team returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a date with No. 4 Ohio State.

After playing three games in three days during the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, the Blue Devils were sluggish offensively to start the game. Except for Mason Plumlee. The senior forward kept Duke afloat in the first half, scoring 10 of Duke’s 23 first half points as it went into the locker room trailing by eight points.

The highlight of Plumlee’s first half was an awe-inspiring alley-oop pass from Quinn Cook that sent Plumlee well above the rim and the crowd into a frenzy.

The second half the Blue Devils rallied around their leader and completed the comeback to keep their perfect record and their non-conference winning streak. The hallmark of the second half came when Plumlee corralled his own miss on the offensive glass, then kicked out the ball to Ryan Kelly for a 3-pointer that gave Duke the lead for good late in the game.

When there was no other Blue Devil who could provide any sort of offense, the team leaned on its best player to keep them in the game. It was a total team performance in the second half that ultimately pushed Duke over the top, but without Plumlee’s consistent production in both halves, Duke never would have had a shot against No. 4 Ohio State.

The quote: “He’s one of the best players in the country. His performance tonight was magnificent,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Previous Plumlee performances:

No. 5: Plumlee records double-double in Maui win against Kansas

No. 4: Plumlee sets career highs in points and blocks against Marquette

No. 3: Plumlee scores 32 and pulls down 12 boards against Demon Deacons

No. 2: Plumlee scores 30 in complete game against Wolfpack

Steve Aoki, Kendrick Lamar rock Duke basketball jerseys

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Steve Aoki and Kendrick Lamar make a pretty fresh 1-2 combo.

Duke celebrated its Last Day of Classes for the 2012-13 academic year Wednesday with a concert on the main quad, headlined by Lamar, a rapper, and Aoki, a DJ.

Aoki donned a #1 jersey, last worn by Kyrie Irving:

This is what Durham North Carolina at Duke University show looks like! #steveaokixkendricklamartour

Lamar, who performed before Aoki, rocked a Duke basketball Quinn Cook #2 jersey:

Salute to the big homie @kendricklamar! RiP DAD!

 

Duke basketball Ryan Kelly flashback: Charity stripe clinic

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Over the next three weeks, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we start with forward Ryan Kelly.

The dates: January 7, 2012

The game: Duke 81, Georgia Tech 74

Cook helps Duke hold off Georgia Tech in first start

Ryan Kelly was immaculate from the free throw line against Georgia Tech. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

Ryan Kelly was immaculate from the free throw line against Georgia Tech. (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

 

Kelly statline: Coming off the bench, Kelly scored a career-high (to date) 21 points, shooting 75.0% from the field. The junior forward was perfect from the free throw line, shooting 14-for-14 from the stripe.

The breakdown: After a tough road loss to Temple, the Blue Devils needed to earn their first hostile-site road win in Atlanta to start the ACC season off on the right note. The 6-foot-11 Kelly did not earn the starting nod, but his number was quickly called. Kelly made an immediate impact—attacking the basket in tandem with teammate Quinn Cook.

Led by Kelly and Cook, Duke shot out to a 32-14 lead, and Coach Krzyzewski quickly realized he had a good thing going in the Raleigh, N.C. native. Despite coming off of the pine, the forward still managed to log 27 minutes for the game.

But Duke’s hot offense did not last, and Glen Rice Jr.’s efforts trimmed the Yellow Jackets’ deficit to two with 4:18 remaining. Thankfully for the Blue Devils, however, Ryan Kelly’s immaculate touch from the line ended any chance of a comeback.

The junior was fouled four times in the final minute, but he knocked down his free throws with ease. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, struggled from the line shooting 12-for-19; Kelly made more free throws than the Yellow Jackets did as a team.

Just three days after a disappointing loss to Temple, Duke’s shaky offense almost resulted in a second upset. As fellow juniors Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins had underwhelming performances, Kelly stepped up to anchor the Blue Devils.

The quote: “Our best play was to say, ‘Mason, if they score get it into Ryan,’” Krzyzewski said. “That’s the best play I called all day.”

Previous Kelly performances:

No. 5: Kelly scores 20 points against Wake Forest

No. 4: Kelly wins MVP at the Maui Invitational

Duke basketball Ryan Kelly flashback: Maui Invitational Tournament

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Over the next three weeks, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we start with forward Ryan Kelly.

Blue Devils sweep at Maui Invitational 

The dates: November 21-23, 2011

Kelly's strong performance in the Maui Invitational set the stage for his big junior season.

Kelly’s strong performance in the Maui Invitational set the stage for his big junior season.

The games: Duke 77, Tennessee 67; Duke 82, Michigan 75; Duke 68, Kansas 61

Kelly statline: In three games, Kelly tallied 51 points (averaging 17.0 ppg), 14 rebounds (4.7 rpg), and shot 16-18 from the charity stripe.

The breakdown: Hawaii’s Maui Invitational was the first real test for the 2011-12 Duke team. Under Ryan Kelly’s leadership, the Blue Devils passed with flying colors: Duke defeated two ranked opponents, won its fifth Maui Invitational, and extended its winning streak to 15-0 on the islands. Kelly earned MVP of the Tournament honors for his performance.

Kelly was certainly proficient on the offensive end, averaging 17.0 points per game against high-caliber defense, but the junior forward also set the tone on defense. Providing a stellar example for Duke’s rookie backcourt of Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook, Kelly was relentless in his perimeter man-to-man.

Entering their opening-round matchup against the Blue Devils, the Volunteers had nailed 26 threes in their first two games, in which they went 2-0. Against Duke, however, they did not hit one shot from beyond the arc.

Kelly also displayed excellent physical stamina throughout the tournament—he played a total of 99 minutes (33 minutes per game) in the tournament. In the semi-final and final games, Kelly was allowed only four minutes of rest apiece.

The 2011-12 season marked an enormous increase in production for Kelly; his points per game and rebounds per game averages both nearly doubled from the previous season and he began to dramatically increased game minutes as a result of his improvement. The Maui Invitational was a significant benchmark in this development, one that earned Kelly increased confidence from both his teammates and the coaching staff.

The quote: “You get more comfortable with each other so you realize what a guy like Ryan can do, what Seth can do,” Mason Plumlee said. “Playing with them in back-to-back-to-back games, you learn that.”

Previous Kelly performances:

No. 5: Kelly scores 20 points against Wake Forest

Photos and awards from Duke basketball’s end-of-season banquet

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The Duke basketball team ended its season Friday night with a banquet at Cameron Indoor Stadium, giving out awards and celebrating the team’s 30-6 season.

The Blue Devils lost in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight to Louisville, the eventual national champions.

Seniors Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee shared the Swett-Baylin Award, annually given to the team’s MVP. In the trio’s four years, Duke went 124-23.

Plumlee, who averaged 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this year, also won other awards: the Dr. Deryl Hart Award for the top scholar athlete and the Iron Duke award for most minutes. He also led the team in field goal percentage and rebounding average.

 

Curry, who averaged a team-high 17.5 points per game, won the Pagliuca Family Coach’s Award for “exemplifying the commitment and values of Duke basketball while displaying overall improvement.” Curry played the entire season on a leg injury, which he had surgery on last week.

Curry transfered to Duke after his freshman season from Liberty.

Kelly tallied 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while missing 13 games during ACC play due to a foot injury. He came back from that foot injury with a career-high 36-point performance to lead Duke past then-No. 5 Miami at Cameron.

 

Kelly won the team’s Best Defensive Player award. He also had surgery after the season and will be out 10-12 weeks.

The banquet also served as Chris Collins’ goodbye to the Blue Devils. Collins was hired a few weeks ago to be the head coach at Northwestern:

 

From @dukeblueplanet’s Instagram, here are some of the best photos from the evening:

The banquet at Cameron:

This is where we usually play basketball. Cameron all dressed up for banquet.

Amile Jefferson, Quinn Cook and Rodney Hood getting ready inside Cameron. Cook won the team’s most assists award with 5.3 per game:

Almost showtime at team banquet @amilejefferson @qcook323 @hood_foe

Juniors Tyler Thornton, Scott Lamson (manager) and Josh Hairston. Thornton won the Glenn E. “Ted” Mann Award for the reserve contributing most to team morale. Hairston won the True Blue Award for the most charges taken:

Banquet is a wrap. @tythornton3 @jhairston15

Cook, Todd Zafirovski and former Blue Devil Nolan Smith, who just finished his NBA season with the Portland Trailblazers:

Look who we found in the locker room... @ndotsmitty also @qcook323 @tdotzaf

Top five Duke basketball performances of the year: Quinn Cook vs. Louisville

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This week, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five Duke basketball individual performances of the year. After Seth Curry’s Sweet 16 performance against Michigan State, we have Quinn Cook’s game against Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis final.

The game: Duke 76, Louisville 71 on November 24

After earning the Battle 4 Atlantis Most Outstanding Player, Quinn Cook earned ACC Co-Player of the Week honors.

Quinn Cook scored the final eight Duke points to lead the Blue Devils over Louisville to the Battle 4 Atlantis title.

The player: Quinn Cook

The stat line: 15 points—including Duke’s final eight—, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

The headline: QUINN-SANITY

The story: Quinn Cook was instrumental in the then-No. 5 Blue Devil’s 76-71 victory over the then-No. 2 Louisville to give Duke its 23rd consecutive regular-season tournament game victory, dating back to the 2006 CBE classic. The game marked Cook’s fourth career start after earning his way into the starting lineup in the Florida Gulf Coast game four games prior.

The Blue Devils had the lead for most of the game, trailing for only a total of 1:20, but found themselves behind 59-58 with 8:18 left to play.

Cook came to the rescue for Duke in the last eight minutes, sinking a three-pointer to give the Blue Devils the lead with 7:48 to play. Cook subbed in and out with junior Tyler Thornton in the final four minutes, Cook coming in on offense and Thornton on defense. With 1:14 remaining in the game and with Duke up by just two, Cook converted on a crucial layup. Ryan Kelly then committed his fifth foul and was forced to the bench, but Cardinal forward Chane Behanan was able to convert only one-of-two from the charity stripe, bringing Louisville to within three of Duke. The next time down the floor, after using up a good portion of the shot clock, Cook hit a jumper to make it a two-possession game with just 29 seconds remaining. After a basket the Cardinals were forced to foul. Cook stepped up to the line like a veteran in such a pressure situation and sank both shots.

After collecting just two points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half, Cook came out with the pedal to the medal in the second half, including the final eight points of the game for Duke.

For his stellar performance in the tournament, the sophomore earned himself Most Valuable Player of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament after averaging 13.7 points, 6.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in the Blue Devils’ three victories. Cook shot 4-of-8 from behind the arc and 91.7 percent from the free-throw line on the tournament.

The quote: “Respect is not something you can give. It’s earned,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I think since the Georgia State game, Quinn has earned the respect of everyone. What he did in the Kentucky game, everyone talks about a kid getting confidence. It’s when a team has confidence in its point guard that you take off. This team has great confidence in Quinn and he has earned it.”

Previously:

No. 5: Rasheed Sulaimon vs. Creighton 

No. 4: Mason Plumlee vs. Ohio State

No. 3: Seth Curry vs. Michigan State