Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #7 UConn on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 73
/
Final
Men's Basketball
72
vs #7 UConn
73
Miles Plumlee Rediscovers His Game
3/19/2011 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Miles Plumlee pulled down 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of action Friday during Duke's opening NCAA victory over Hampton.
His performance looked very much like the kind of game Brian Zoubek routinely turned in during Duke's 2010 NCAA title run.
“I think Zoubs might be proud,” Plumlee said. “I'm going to try and keep it going.”
The elder Plumlee brother didn't merely play like the 2010 Zoubek … he looked a bit like him too, sporting an unshaven face that hinted at Zoubek's famous beard.
“No beard – I need to find a razor,” Plumlee said, rubbing his chin.
Indeed, a day later, when Duke returned to the Time Warner Cable Arena to prepare for Sunday's NCAA matchup with Michigan, the 6-10, 245-pound junior big man was clean shaven. He insisted that his beardless look is a matter of choice, not team policy.
“I went down that path before,” Plumlee said. “It doesn't suit me right now. Maybe next year.”
For now, Miles – and his younger brother Mason Plumlee – are trying to focus on helping Duke repeat its 2010 NCAA triumph. A year ago, they brought energy off the bench in relief of Zoubek and senior Lance Thomas in the post. Now they're Duke's starting bigs, sharing the post rotation with sophomore Ryan Kelly.
“What's similar – Mason and I starting together, we're still trying to bring a lot of energy,” Miles Plumlee said. “With us three bigs, I feel like we have a little more offensive capability. We've got a strong rotation of three. We can all score and make plays and play aggressively the whole game.”
Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out that senior Kyle Singler is also part of the post rotation, although the 6-8 senior sees the majority of his minutes at wing forward.
“It's deeper than the one last year,” Krzyzewski said when asked about the post rotation. “I'm not saying it's better. Zoubek and Thomas – they were men … they were terrific.”
Kelly pointed out that the better Duke's three bigs play, the less Singler has to play in the post.
“Kyle is obviously going to be on the floor for most of the game, but the way our bigs have been playing, it's hard to take them off the floor,” Kelly said. “Guys are playing with a lot of confidence. It's good to have a team filled with guys who can put the ball in the basket. Right now, we all seem to be doing it.”
The evolution of Duke's post rotation has not always been smooth or easy. The two Plumlees started the opener against Princeton, but they've been in and out of the lineup ever since. Mason has started 30 of Duke's first 35 games, Kelly has started 27 games and Miles started 13 times, including the last four.
In fact, there was a stretch in late February when the junior post player was barely getting off the bench. He played less than 10 minutes in three of four games down the stretch of the regular season and was scoreless with just four total rebounds in three straight games leading up to the regular season finale at North Carolina.
“It was really frustrating,” Miles said. “It was hard not to get down on yourself at a time like that. I just focused on doing what the coaches wanted and working in practice. You just have to prove to them that you're going to be there every game … be a dependable player. You can't be in and out. They can't not know who's going to be on the court one day.”
Mason saw his brother struggling and did what he could to help.
“That was a tough thing,” he said. “But it happens. I remember last year, Zoubek might have played two minutes against Georgetown and he was pretty solid after that.
“I talked to him. Of course, there's a lot of frustration. It's not easy not playing. That's one of the hardest things to deal with. I knew it wasn't easy for him. He just stayed positive and fought his way back into the lineup and now he's playing great. It's a long season and it's crazy how things turn and twist. You have to stay positive. By him doing that, it allowed him to be in the situation he's in now.”
Ironically, Plumlee had his breakthrough game at North Carolina, when the Blue Devils were enduring one of their worst moments of the season. He came off the bench and contributed seven points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes against the Tar Heels.
“I started playing better and I got playing time back,” he said.
He moved back into the starting lineup for the ACC Tournament and has averaged just over 22 minutes a game since.
“We just felt we needed to be a little more physical and athletic,” Krzyzewski said, explaining the lineup change. “It didn't have any impact on Ryan, as far as his player ego or whatever. He's done very well since coming off the bench. We look at those three kids as three starters.”
The new rotation has given Duke some of the best post play it's had since … well, since Zoubek and Thomas were patrolling the low blocks a year ago. Through Duke's first four postseason games, the starting brother combo has averaged 17.0 points and 16.5 rebounds between them – which compares favorably to the 12.3 points and 15.3 rebounds that Zoubek and Thomas contributed during the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Kelly's 8.8 points and 2.8 rebounds during the same time span, have replaced the 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds that the Plumlees combined for as the backup bigs in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
“The most important things we did last year and we're aiming to do this year is defensive, first – protecting the basket -- then rebounding the basketball,” Kelly said. “We've shown the ability to score the ball a little differently than our bigs did last year. That's just an added dimension. Our first role is to protect the basket and rebound.”
Hampton coach Edward Joyner Junior was impressed with the way the Plumlee brothers defended his smaller, quicker post performers.
“The Plumlee guys, they move a lot better than I thought,” Joyner said. “I don't think the video does them justice. They're able to switch and stay in front of our guys.”
Krzyzewski is delighted by the production of the Plumlee brothers.
“They've been great, you know,” he said. “They complement each other real well and they're tall and athletic. We can still play fast and we can still play man. And they've really been on the boards like crazy. Miles has had 18 offensive rebounds in the last four games. That's a huge plus when he does that. Mason over the year has been our best defensive rebounder by far.”
The Duke coach said the late resolution of his post situation is a natural consequence of what his team has been through this season.
“Part of it was, our team was evolving,” Coach K said. “When Kyrie [Irving] went down, we had to change the way we played and that had an effect on everybody. We've finally become the team we should have evolved into.”
Duke's evolved post rotation will be tested by a smaller Michigan team that likes to use its long-range shooting big men to draw bigger teams away from the basket. The Wolverines used that strategy in an overtime loss to Kansas and in three close losses to Ohio State.
“They've played big teams and they're not going to be in awe of our height,” Krzyzewski said. “They're going to figure out ways to use that against us.”
But dealing with Duke's post players is not as easy today as it was a few weeks ago. It appears that the Blue Devil big men have done what they did a year ago — found their roles and stabilized the rotation just in time for postseason play.
His performance looked very much like the kind of game Brian Zoubek routinely turned in during Duke's 2010 NCAA title run.
“I think Zoubs might be proud,” Plumlee said. “I'm going to try and keep it going.”
The elder Plumlee brother didn't merely play like the 2010 Zoubek … he looked a bit like him too, sporting an unshaven face that hinted at Zoubek's famous beard.
“No beard – I need to find a razor,” Plumlee said, rubbing his chin.
Indeed, a day later, when Duke returned to the Time Warner Cable Arena to prepare for Sunday's NCAA matchup with Michigan, the 6-10, 245-pound junior big man was clean shaven. He insisted that his beardless look is a matter of choice, not team policy.
“I went down that path before,” Plumlee said. “It doesn't suit me right now. Maybe next year.”
For now, Miles – and his younger brother Mason Plumlee – are trying to focus on helping Duke repeat its 2010 NCAA triumph. A year ago, they brought energy off the bench in relief of Zoubek and senior Lance Thomas in the post. Now they're Duke's starting bigs, sharing the post rotation with sophomore Ryan Kelly.
“What's similar – Mason and I starting together, we're still trying to bring a lot of energy,” Miles Plumlee said. “With us three bigs, I feel like we have a little more offensive capability. We've got a strong rotation of three. We can all score and make plays and play aggressively the whole game.”
Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out that senior Kyle Singler is also part of the post rotation, although the 6-8 senior sees the majority of his minutes at wing forward.
“It's deeper than the one last year,” Krzyzewski said when asked about the post rotation. “I'm not saying it's better. Zoubek and Thomas – they were men … they were terrific.”
Kelly pointed out that the better Duke's three bigs play, the less Singler has to play in the post.
“Kyle is obviously going to be on the floor for most of the game, but the way our bigs have been playing, it's hard to take them off the floor,” Kelly said. “Guys are playing with a lot of confidence. It's good to have a team filled with guys who can put the ball in the basket. Right now, we all seem to be doing it.”
The evolution of Duke's post rotation has not always been smooth or easy. The two Plumlees started the opener against Princeton, but they've been in and out of the lineup ever since. Mason has started 30 of Duke's first 35 games, Kelly has started 27 games and Miles started 13 times, including the last four.
In fact, there was a stretch in late February when the junior post player was barely getting off the bench. He played less than 10 minutes in three of four games down the stretch of the regular season and was scoreless with just four total rebounds in three straight games leading up to the regular season finale at North Carolina.
“It was really frustrating,” Miles said. “It was hard not to get down on yourself at a time like that. I just focused on doing what the coaches wanted and working in practice. You just have to prove to them that you're going to be there every game … be a dependable player. You can't be in and out. They can't not know who's going to be on the court one day.”
Mason saw his brother struggling and did what he could to help.
“That was a tough thing,” he said. “But it happens. I remember last year, Zoubek might have played two minutes against Georgetown and he was pretty solid after that.
“I talked to him. Of course, there's a lot of frustration. It's not easy not playing. That's one of the hardest things to deal with. I knew it wasn't easy for him. He just stayed positive and fought his way back into the lineup and now he's playing great. It's a long season and it's crazy how things turn and twist. You have to stay positive. By him doing that, it allowed him to be in the situation he's in now.”
Ironically, Plumlee had his breakthrough game at North Carolina, when the Blue Devils were enduring one of their worst moments of the season. He came off the bench and contributed seven points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes against the Tar Heels.
“I started playing better and I got playing time back,” he said.
He moved back into the starting lineup for the ACC Tournament and has averaged just over 22 minutes a game since.
“We just felt we needed to be a little more physical and athletic,” Krzyzewski said, explaining the lineup change. “It didn't have any impact on Ryan, as far as his player ego or whatever. He's done very well since coming off the bench. We look at those three kids as three starters.”
The new rotation has given Duke some of the best post play it's had since … well, since Zoubek and Thomas were patrolling the low blocks a year ago. Through Duke's first four postseason games, the starting brother combo has averaged 17.0 points and 16.5 rebounds between them – which compares favorably to the 12.3 points and 15.3 rebounds that Zoubek and Thomas contributed during the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Kelly's 8.8 points and 2.8 rebounds during the same time span, have replaced the 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds that the Plumlees combined for as the backup bigs in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
“The most important things we did last year and we're aiming to do this year is defensive, first – protecting the basket -- then rebounding the basketball,” Kelly said. “We've shown the ability to score the ball a little differently than our bigs did last year. That's just an added dimension. Our first role is to protect the basket and rebound.”
Hampton coach Edward Joyner Junior was impressed with the way the Plumlee brothers defended his smaller, quicker post performers.
“The Plumlee guys, they move a lot better than I thought,” Joyner said. “I don't think the video does them justice. They're able to switch and stay in front of our guys.”
Krzyzewski is delighted by the production of the Plumlee brothers.
“They've been great, you know,” he said. “They complement each other real well and they're tall and athletic. We can still play fast and we can still play man. And they've really been on the boards like crazy. Miles has had 18 offensive rebounds in the last four games. That's a huge plus when he does that. Mason over the year has been our best defensive rebounder by far.”
The Duke coach said the late resolution of his post situation is a natural consequence of what his team has been through this season.
“Part of it was, our team was evolving,” Coach K said. “When Kyrie [Irving] went down, we had to change the way we played and that had an effect on everybody. We've finally become the team we should have evolved into.”
Duke's evolved post rotation will be tested by a smaller Michigan team that likes to use its long-range shooting big men to draw bigger teams away from the basket. The Wolverines used that strategy in an overtime loss to Kansas and in three close losses to Ohio State.
“They've played big teams and they're not going to be in awe of our height,” Krzyzewski said. “They're going to figure out ways to use that against us.”
But dealing with Duke's post players is not as easy today as it was a few weeks ago. It appears that the Blue Devil big men have done what they did a year ago — found their roles and stabilized the rotation just in time for postseason play.
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