What was it like courtside at Cameron for the Duke vs UNC game?

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For the ones who get it done. But I want to get to this because Brendan Marks is about to head to Washington DC and Brendan marks from the athletic at Brendan are marks on Twitter. So let's talk real quick about Saturday night and maybe I'm crazy, but wasn't this really just an extension of the last game? Yeah, it basically was, you know, I was pretty surprised actually at the way that more so do came out that North Carolina, you know, obviously North Carolina came in and you're expecting to be the aggressor. You expect North Carolina to what, you know, they're playing in the opposing gym. They're playing in the hated rivalry.

They've got everything to lose. Duke, on the other hand, you know, it's your senior night and they have all these fakes. You have a chance to the ACC on the line. So I was really surprised that Duke did not come out with more intensity, more aggression.

And, you know, as John Shire said after the game, he was to that sort of sets the tone for everything and definitely was a continuation of the first game. Brendan marks from the athletic covers both Duke and North Carolina here on the show. I was really surprised and I want to go. I want to get to the fact that every single player who wore powder blue or again powder blue last night was, I thought, either exceeded expectations or exactly fulfilled their role. But I want to get to two players for Duke that really surprised me, especially in the first half.

I was surprised. It looked like Jeremy Roach kind of was overwhelmed by the moment and Kyle Philipowski. I don't know if he tried too hard to be too dominant, but he also looked like he was moving faster than he needed to move like he was rushing. Those two players surprised me a lot, especially in the first half. Yeah, you know, Jeremy Roach said after the game, I think he started over seven from three.

Obviously was able to eventually get one of them to drop or over seven overall before he had his first basket with basically a minute left before halftime. He said he was pressing and, you know, it's one of those things where obviously the senior night ritual at North Carolina and at Duke is very different. North Carolina for one just happened to have a lot more of those guys than Duke does. But you can understand how a guy who's been through everything Jeremy Roach was like, as Armando Baycott said after his last game in North Carolina, I didn't feel like I was in the flow of things in the first half because you're thinking, hey, maybe what if this isn't? And you could definitely sort of see some of that from Jeremy Roach. You know, there were a couple of wide open looks that he had that, you know, normally those those drop those balls.

So and especially for this Duke team, you know, knowing the matchup they have with North Carolina, knowing how the first game went, you know, going into that game, I really thought Jeremy Roach needed to be one of the most effective players in the court. And he ended up being, you know, not he was three or 12. So he especially surprised me.

And then Philip house. Yeah, you know, he came out early in the second half and showed that aggression and scored, you know, three or 12. Aggression and scored, you know, eight of Duke's first 11 points after the break. But like you were saying in the first half, you know, it felt like he was back to being in that funk. And we've heard that from his teammates. We've heard that from John Shire at times this season how he gets in those moods and it takes him a little while to get out of them. And, you know, I wonder if North Carolina's early start for some of that.

Yeah, probably. I mean, it was before you realized that your nachos were empty. It was 21 to six. So that seemed to happen pretty quickly. Brendan Marks from the athletic is here on the Adam Gold show Cormac Ryan. I know he said after the game, how he loves basically those types of environments where he's almost the villain, but he certainly embraced it. And we knew all year long that he was not sub 40% three point shooter, that he had these types of games in him and these types of runs in him.

But it's when that guy gets going early, I mean, he becomes as lethal as anybody in the league. Adam Gold here with my man, Coach Pete DeRuta, Capital Financial Advisory Group. Are most of your clients hands on or they just give you their money and let it work for them? About 90% give the money and then we meet every year and go through status reports, have a financial pit stop, make sure everything's fine. It is like a puzzle, Adam, but for the next 10 of you will solve your own retirement puzzle at no cost or obligation.

Call and claim your comprehensive review with Coach Pete and the team AAA 843-0013 or text Adam to 600-700. Adam Gold is a paid spokesman, investment advisory services offered by Capital Financial Advisory Group, a North Carolina registered investment advisor. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that that is sort of the Cormac Ryan, maybe not quite to that extent. You know, Armando Bacon said after the game, you know, I didn't expect he was going to go for 30, but I knew he was locked in. But this is a guy who, you know, obviously we had expected a lot from and it has taken a while, but now over the last five games, Cormac Ryan has kind of become the player that I think a lot of us expected he would be for North Carolina most of the season. Over the last five games, you know, including Saturday, he's averaging 15 points a game and he's making 44.4% of his threes on seven and 7.2 attempts per game. So he has become that Deadeye sharpshooter that North Carolina, quite frankly, needs. And, you know, for most of this season, RJ Davis, Armando Bacon and Harrison Ingram have been a good enough trio to get it done. And adding another guy of this caliber now, adding someone who can legitimately stretch defenses, who can open things up inside for Bacon, for Ingram, for some of those driving lanes for RJ, I do think it has the potential to change the trajectory of North Carolina season.

Even this late. There's a second time in the last five games, he's made six threes. And, you know, the crazy stat from last night that, you know, there were a bunch of them that came out after Cora Ryan's career night. This is the first time that UNC has won a game where neither RJ Davis nor Armando Bacon hit double figures since Hubert Davis's first game as head coach, which is just kind of unfathomable to me. But they combined for I believe they combined for 18 right in the game. They each had nine. It was it was amazing. Brendan Marks from the Athletic is here. You know, rather than me lead you places, what do you think last night came down to?

I should say Saturday night. What do you think Saturday night came down to? Yeah, you know, I really do think that it was the level of intensity and the level of drive and Duke, you know, for all of the talent that it has for all of the awesome pieces that Jones Shire has assembled.

Like, you know, Tyrese Crosser was terrific. You know, Kyle Flopalski ended up getting the counting stats. Jared McCain, like, my God, if I was an opposing defender and I thought Jared McCain shooting up for a shot, I would be so afraid because it looks like it's dead on every single time. For all the talent Duke has, it has been a question all season of being able to get them singularly focused and, you know, focus to the level that it takes to win in games like that. And, you know, there have been times when it has looked like Duke is starting to get on that roll.

There have been times when they've won a couple of games in a row, you know, they've had these stretches. And then when somebody else is able to match that, Duke, outside of I would probably say the Baylor game, has not really been able to keep pace at that intensity level for a sustained 40 minutes across the entire roster. And, you know, it's for me that that has been my biggest question about Duke all year.

It's not about the talent. You know, you can question the roster construction and whether this team needs a legitimate, you know, rim protecting five. And I think having another big man, you know, Jon Stewart and Ryan Young had seven fouls and no points. But I think the biggest thing that has been my question all year and that I still have the question going into postseason, which is not ideal, is I don't know that all of Duke's players have ever all been on the same page and all been at the same level for one game this season. And no matter how much talent you have, if you don't have that, when you get in, you know, when you get in the muck and you get in the fire in games like Saturday night, you have to have that. And, you know, like I said, outside of the Baylor game, I'm not sure that I can necessarily say that about this Duke team.

Yeah, it's funny. I mean, I hate to use, well, one team is tougher than the other, but I do think North Carolina is the tougher, mentally, mentally tougher team than Duke is. And I also think the league might be in tears, right? I think North Carolina is in a tear by itself, and I think Duke is below them in a tear by itself. And winning games against the rest of the league doesn't necessarily prove anything because I don't believe the rest of the league, and there are good teams and I think there are NCAA tournament teams below Duke. But I think there is a severe drop off between Duke and the next best team, and I consider Clemson in that group, even if they might be the best of the rest. And it's hard to really, you know, hone yourself when you're beating teams that you probably should beat.

Yeah, I agree with you, and I 100% am on the same page with you in terms of that tear breakdown. I think North Carolina, you know, it's so funny because at the start of the year, I probably would have said the reverse of that. I would have expected Duke to be in the tear by itself atop the ACC UNC in the next tear and then sort of everybody else. But, you know, I don't think you can look at Duke's resume and really say that they're in that same class right now. You know, again, that Baylor win, neutral court, I thought that was probably the toughest game, you know, in terms of resilience that Duke has showed all season.

But, you know, you look at the rest of the resume and, like, there really isn't too much to write home about. I mean, you beat Clemson, that's a good win. You beat Wake Forest, that's a good win.

But, you know, the rest of it really does not stand out as anything special. And then in those games against the marquee opponents, two against North Carolina, against Arizona back earlier in the season, the games haven't been blowouts by any means. Duke has the talent and the horses to hang with it. But now 0 of 5 when Duke has allowed 80 or more points this season.

And I think that just speaks to the ability to get those late stops, to be tough when you need it the most. And there were a couple of times on Saturday when Duke got two possessions, got it to six, got it to five, got it to one, and was never able to fully close the gap. So I agree with you. I think North Carolina is, you know, pretty firmly in a tier by itself and then Duke is in a tier below them.

But, you know, hopefully that lines up so that we get a third meeting between them and D.C. this week. Yeah, I don't think either. I'm not sure either team. Well, I actually give Duke a better chance to win the ACC tournament than I do North Carolina because I think UNC is supremely focused on the tournament after that. And I think they have a chance to win it. I love the way their role players, the Seth Trimbels, Jalen Withers of the world. I love those guys and how they have embraced their roles and attacked their roles. And I'll just let this out of the bag.

I don't care about stats. Elliot Cadeau is one of the 15 best players in the ACC, and I voted for him on my third team yesterday. So I think that kid is amazing. Shopify helps you sell at every stage of your business like that. Let's put it online and see what happens stage. And the site is live that we opened a store and need a fast checkout stage. Thanks. You're all set. That counted up and ship it around the globe stage.

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Oh, oh, oh, O'Reilly Auto Parts. Yeah, I agree with you on the role player thing. I mean, Jalen Withers, you know, somebody was saying to me in the media room after the game on Saturday, you know, wow, Armando Baker didn't necessarily have as many rebounds as you would have expected. You only had eight rebounds. And I'm like, Yeah, well, that's because Jalen Withers had eight rebounds. And a couple of them were those offensive rebounds where it's kind of athletic finish that you don't necessarily expect.

And North Carolina needed it. Same thing with Seth Trimble. Like you're talking about, you know, Seth had two steals. And both times when Duke was making those runs and like seemed to be on the on the verge of sort of rallying momentum, it was Seth Trimble who was either driving to the hoop or getting those free throw line jumpers and sort of quelling everything. So, you know, obviously, again, and then Cadeau, I don't know that I'd call him a role player. He's been a starter for most of the season. But, you know, his ability to take the ball handling load off of R.J. Davis and let R.J. Davis focus on scoring, which is obviously what he does best.

I mean, you just can't say enough about it. And like, I think, you know, Cadeau has gotten better at four turnovers on Saturday. I still think there's room for him to improve and grow. But, you know, certainly North Carolina's offense does not operate nearly to the level that it needs to win the ACC outright without L.A. Cadeau.

All right. Final thing for Brendan Marks. We waited all the way to here to get to it. Looked to me like it was a trip, unless Kyle Filipowski was trying to impersonate a dog going to the bathroom on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium. I mean, I think in the grand scheme of things, it's kind of the whole thing is silly, but I mean, we can't live in denial.

Yeah, I, you know, I hate that we have to keep sort of getting dragged into the muck with these sorts of things. You know, all like the distractions or whatever. So I'll tell you, sitting court side at first, especially while play is sort of continuing down the court, you sort of see it out of your periphery. And what I saw was I saw Harrison Ingram going down the second time. I saw Filipowski getting up there after sort of, you know, stomping his foot or limping a little bit, looking like he might have. And so it looked like they get tangled up. And then you see the review and both from the end zone view and then, you know, just the regular broadcast review. And to me, I agree with you. I think it's pretty clear, you know, Kyle Filipowski said after the game that he wasn't sure that Harrison Ingram was back there.

He thought he was the only one. But if you watch the replay, you know, Harrison Ingram's got his hands all over. He's back before he moves his leg. So, you know, I thought upon review it was pretty clearly a trip. I don't know that there's going to be any sort of disciplinary action or whatever. I don't think that there necessarily even needs to be any disciplinary action. But I do think that, you know, it, you know, Filipowski for only having been at Duke two years has sure crammed a lot of these incidents in. And he's been on the wrong end of most of them, you know, getting hit in the throat at Virginia, getting hit in the head. Obviously, the incident waits for it. This is the one where he's been on the other side of it, in my opinion. And again, I don't think we need to make this a bigger deal than it is.

Of course, people will. But to me, I think when you watch the replay, it's hard to say. Even the Cameron Crazies, I was watching it live, watching the replay back with some of the other reporters, the Cameron Crazies behind me were like, can we see it? And I showed it to them and they're like, oh, that's a bad look for us.

You know, when when the crazies aren't on your side, that's that's a tough one. Yeah. Look, again, not a big deal, a small deal, but we all saw it. And yeah, it would be I think the best the the best way to get through this would be for Kyle to maybe send Harrison Ingram a message.

Yo, man, sorry about that. I lost my head and we'd be done with it, right? Yep.

Yep. One hundred percent agree. And I'm sure something like that will happen. And like, you know, we should not. You know, I've heard some people say, you know, obviously, Filipowski is, you know, getting roasted today.

You know, that has been really since the game ended for it. And I just feel like that's a little overdramatic, like it's too much. Like, you know, it's the heat of a moment. Do I think that he was like trying to hurt Harrison Ingram? No, absolutely not. I think, yeah, you send a message, you apologize. I think Harrison Ingram is a pretty logical guy. I mean, in the moment, Harrison Ingram was over talking about that, like he tripped me, he tripped me. So, you know, again, I think you send a message, move past it.

Both of these teams hopefully have much bigger things to worry about. Brendan Marks from The Athletic, at Brendan R Marks on Twitter. Thank you very much, my man. Enjoy D.C. I'll see you soon. Absolutely. Appreciate you. I'll talk to you soon.