Quotes: Duke 110, Colgate 58

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening statement:
"Again I said the last two ball games about our crowd, the crowd has been unbelievable. It's really the best that I've seen to start a season. You know these three games they have been absolutely terrific. I should never be completely surprised by them, but it's not just the students; the stands upstairs, they're just a really good atmosphere. Our players played hard, Colgate played their butts off and we did too. We just have more weapons you know, and once we started hitting three's the points just kind of go up there real quick, and we are sharing the ball. From our two starting guards, to get 18 assists in a game like this is really very, very good, just really good. I thought we played defense hard the whole game so I am pleased with our performance, and we will practice here tomorrow and then head off to Kansas City where we will play two really tough opponents. We are just trying to get better, you know, we've got a lot of work to do but we are working, we're working hard."

On the how the four newcomers are fitting in:
"That's a really good question. I think better, almost better than any young group has meshed with the returning group. I think it's the maturity of those three freshmen and obviously Seth is, would be a junior, but they really like one another a lot and they do things together. The freshmen were very well coached in high school, really well coached and they're just older you know, not necessarily age wise but they are just more mature. They take instruction well and they aren't knocked back with constructive criticism; they take it willingly and the upperclassmen, Nolan and Kyle have been really good about not looking for their stuff you know, looking for our stuff. So when those two guys are playing hard and unselfish, it's really its very respectful to those young guys. So they're very much accepted."

On if Duke will use depth against tougher competition:
"Not exactly, I mean Kyle [Singler] is going to play. I don't think I'll put him out the last 14 minutes of the game. No we won't use it like that, but getting the minutes that these guys do, if there are emergency situations where guys can come in you know Tyler [Thornton] and Josh [Hairston], we know that they can come in for a few minutes and give us some minutes. You can't get a ten-man rotation, but you can have ten guys ready to play. I mean you can, but then you're not using your key guys well enough. Nolan [Smith] and Kyle have to get major minutes for us to be really good."

On the second half defense that led to a 26-7 run opening second half:
"The defense was good. We got some fast breaks, and I was proud of the way we played today in that second half because you know you're up by 18, you know you're going to win the game and basically at halftime I told them that, you know I said 'we're gonna win you know, lets be sharp' and they were. They could have been thinking ahead and got sloppy, I didn't think we got sloppy at all for the whole twenty minutes in the second half. Our team has been a good team to coach. We will learn a lot just by being in the games we are going to be in the next couple of weeks and then we'll evaluate during the exam break and by that time we will have played a number of really difficult games and we are kind of looking at the year that way. Because we have to develop, everyone has picked us number one or whatever, but we are so much a developing team, very much a developing team."

On the teams sharing of the basketball:
"I didn't expect them to be selfish and they haven't been, they've been pretty efficient. We haven't turned it over as much in games where there are a lot of possessions in a game, and you know our games have been a lot of possessions and so when you can go in game and have nine or 12 turnovers and 20 something assists that's good. It shows that you're fairly sharp. I know we don't have selfish guys, and if a team can learn to really like the pass, it's still I think the most beautiful part of our game, the connecting passes. You know people like to dunk and the three-point shot and I do to if it's there, but I really like connecting passes

Colgate head coach Emmett Davis
Opening statement:
"I just felt like the game was physically very difficult for us. I thought we battled at times in the first half, played much better in the first fifteen minutes or so, and then the last five minutes of the first half. The beginning of the second half, that run was a 21-4 run and it took a lot out of us. Duke just does a tremendous job with their ball pressure and their denials. They forced a lot of turnovers. We didn't do a good job in our zone at times, and we left guys open which was disappointing. I felt like the rebounding was fairly even. Too many turnovers, obviously, 26 turnovers. Our first two ball games against teams that aren't the caliber of Duke we had 12 turnovers in each game, so certainly they force you to do things you don't want to do. This is an outstanding team, there is a reason they are number one in the country."

On Colgate's challenge strategy on the boards:
"We had talked about sending two guys to the glass most of the time. We are a team that normally sends four to the glass. It's hard to turn it on and off sometimes. The guys they get out there ant they think they got a chance to get the ball, and they really don't have a chance. We wanted to send three back, but it helped us sometimes with rebounds. But certainly with the transition game it didn't help us. Their ability to push the basketball and find guys for open shots. Earlier on in the second half, they were throwing at the rim and we just had no answer for that. Our big guys weren't doing a good job of contacting their guys inside, and they were getting some easy ones."

Duke Freshman Kyrie Irving
On coming together as a team so far this season:
"I think we definitely went through some growing pains since the beginning of this season. We've been through a lot. But this is a brotherhood here. I really feel like these are my brothers, and we really have great relationships with everybody on the team and that's why it translates on the court."

On his growth as a point guard so far under Coach K:
"He really takes that position very seriously. It's one of the most important jobs in college basketball and in any basketball, especially the NBA. He really wants to teach me how to run an offense and how to be a better leader. Just orchestrating our offense...it starts on the defensive end with me."

Duke Senior Kyle Singler
On how the team approaches each game:
"Coach really stresses to us to take each game as equals. He doesn't want us to overlook games. These three games are past us, and now we're playing Marquette. He just wants us to prepare for each game like it's a championship game, so when we're in those moments, we're ready to play."

Duke Sophomore Andre Dawkins
On coming together as a team so far this season:
"I think we've grown a lot since the beginning of practice. I think at the beginning of practice, it was more of each individual guy trying to get his. But as the season's progressed, we've played together more and grown closer. There's more room for improvement, but that's why the season is so long. I think we've made big strides these last three games on both ends of the floor. It's exciting to see."

On the depth at the guard spot and the group's ability to play no matter who is on the court:
"We feel like we're one of the better perimeters in the country. Each guy coming off the bench, we don't' look at ourselves as bench players. We're just basketball players. We come in and we know that we have to keep the energy level up and the level of play up. They'll pull us out and put Nolan [Smith] right back in. Like you saw last year, Nolan played 40 minutes. We know we need to do our job because they'll put Nolan right back in."

Quotes: Duke 110, Colgate 58

Players Mentioned

Andre Dawkins

Kyle Singler

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Quotes: Duke 110, Colgate 58

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Players Mentioned

Andre Dawkins

Kyle Singler

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