DUKE 96

WAKE FOREST 78

February 22, 2000

Four More Years!

   Duke defeated Wake Forest 96-78 in Cameron on February 22nd to clinch their fourth consecutive first place finish in the ACC outright.  The Deacs have been underachieving all season, but they showed a lot of poise, toughness and patience in their play tonight, and made the game an intense struggle until the last ten minutes or so.  There are so many stories to choose from in this game, some good and some bad.  Battier's incandescent 34 point performance, the incredible defensive job by Carrawell on Robert O'Kelley, the huge 13 points & 4 rebounds that little-used Nick Horvath provided in Mike Dunleavy's absence, Jason Williams playing 38 minutes and getting 10 assists, some poor defensive rotation by Duke and Boozer in particular, Nate James being dogged by the flu, the stirring return of the Cameron Crazies in full force, the team celebrating with the Sixth Man after the game near the foul line, Chris Carrawell jumping for joy as he leaped into Coach K's arms as he was taken out of the game...  It makes one sit back and just relish what an amazing year Duke has had thus far, and how unlikely it all seemed before the season started. 

   Duke was playing without Mike Dunleavy, who's out for at least two weeks with mono.  Horvath and Sanders were told to be ready for extended minutes, and tonight, it was Nick who was the beneficiary of increased playing time, logging 18 minutes.  Wake came out aggressively, attacking Duke off the dribble instead of their usual perimeter-oriented offense.  They took quick shots that were good shots, striking before Duke could rotate over to help. The Devils were able to counter each score, and the game stood tied at 9 with three minutes gone by.  Howard & Songaila were taking advantage of the sluggish defense and took some smart shots. 

   The Devils finally started to build a little lead thanks to a rebound basket from Horvath.  But in this segment of the game, Duke would build a 4 point lead only to see Wake immediately cut it to 2.  Finally, with thirteen minutes left in the half, Duke went on a 9-0 run sparked by Battier to go up by 11.  Duke went up 12 on a three from C'well, but Wake immediately answered.  However, Battier trumped that with 2 threes in a row to give Duke their biggest lead at 33-18.  There was a sense that Duke was finally able to take a breath, but Wake would have none of it.  The Deacs went on a 13-3 run, playing some stifling defense and getting to the foul line.  Wake was in the bonus ten minutes into the game and this really helped them.  As one might expect, one of the points scored by Duke in the run was by C-well.  And when Wake pulled with 5 with six minutes left, Battier drove and got fouled.  Then Chris stepped up again and drove for the basket, getting fouled after the shot was good.  Duke turned up the pressure and got a steal, with a heady James getting it to Williams who got it to Carrawell once again. Though Duke was up 10, Wake wasn't going away, and Antwan Scott came off the bench to cause some serious trouble. 

  The score stood at 45-39 with two minutes left and Wake had momentum.  A good run into the second half might turn the game around.  And when Carrawell missed the front end of a one-and-one, things looked promising for Wake.  But Scott shot a mite too quickly, and Williams snatched the board, zoomed upcourt and went in for a layup.  Things were on an even keel again, and Duke closed out the half with four free throws and excellent defense on Wake's last possession to take a solid, but not entirely comfortable, 51-41 lead.  The game felt a lot like the Maryland defeat, where the other team was shredding the defense.  The difference is that Wake didn't have a quick guard that was giving us a lot of trouble, but their aggressiveness around the basket and the touch of Songaila gave Duke headaches.  On the plus side, ROK was an utter no-show thanks to C'well.

  The second half was nip-and-tuck.  Wake again cut it to 6 early on, but threes from Battier and Horvath (both from alert Williams passes) kept the lead at around 10.  A Williams three made it 13, but Wake had a 6-2 run that brought it down to 8.  The Deacs weren't going to quit; Duke was going to have to kill them.  And with eleven minutes left, Battier released the deathblow: a desperation three with the shotclock running down that also drew a foul.  Wake would mount one last small offensive with a 6-3 run to cut it to 12, but it was too little, too late.  A 10-0 Duke run led by a resurgent Boozer (5 points and an assist) brought the margin to 22 and the rest of the game an exercise in clock management.  Odom wasn't interested in fouling Duke, and the Devils were brilliant in getting off good shots with time running down.  Duke also started to force some turnovers for the first time in the open court, and took advantage with easy baskets. 

  The mood on the sideline was celebratory, with Coach K slapping fives with everyone and giving Battier and C'well huge hugs.  This is clearly the best leadership the team has gotten since the Hill-Lang-Clark troika in '94, and the two situations are not dissimilar.  Upperclassmen used to success are now without their older team members who were in charge and must now prove themselves.  Young teammates must be guided into understanding what it means to play Duke defense and to learn how to deal with mistakes.  Overcoming mental errors is one of the most difficult things a young player has to learn, because it either shakes their confidence or makes them work too hard on a given play, trying to make up for it.  Instead, whether it's a good play or a bad one, the player must learn that the most important play is the next one.  This is a lesson that Williams in particular is learning little by little, and that Boozer applied in this very game.        

 ** Negatives:

 1. Rebounding.  Wake dominated the offensive boards, 14-9, and used this to get some easy baskets.  It's been killing Duke all year.  The Devils did get tougher on the boards in the second half when they started forcing longer shots.

 2. Rotating to cut off the drive.  Wake had a great game plan in forcing Duke's D to be active early on.  Teams like Virginia and UNC have hurt Duke with the drive this year and Wake went to that right away.  When they weren't scoring on drives, they were putting up nice soft jumpers from a few feet away.  When Duke got its act together and shut off penetration, Wake had nothing left to attack with but its feeble outside shooting.

 3. Fouling.  A symptom of #2, above.  Duke got beat on defense a few times too many, and the resultant hacks allowed Wake to stay in the game, as well as creating the potential for a disastrous foul-out situation.  Fortunately, the fouls were pretty well-distributed in the first half and it never became a big issue.

 ** Positives:

 1. Shooting.  Phenomenal shooting all-around.  54% overall, 46% from three, 90% from the foul line is tough to beat, especially when you take care of the ball.  There were very few bad shots taken and everyone did a good job of finding screens.

 2. Unselfishness.  The young members of the team were mature enough to understand that they needed to get the ball to Battier and Carrawell.   Carrawell knew Boozer was having a tough game so he fed him a few nice passes for dunks.  For all of Boozer's problems, he did a great job in using relocation passes.  Battier and Carrawell are one of the best teammate duos in Duke history.  

 3. Perimeter defense.  The three-happy Deacs only managed 8 attempts with ROK going 0-4.  When Wake was forced to start taking well-guarded threes, I knew Duke had the game won.     

 Player-By-Player Analysis:

 ** Boozer:  Defensively, this had to be one of the worst games I've ever seen Carlos play.  Dave Odom wisely attacked Duke's center by forcing him to make quick decisions defensively, and Carlos was not always up to the task.  Wake attacked Duke's post players early on, and Battier was left holding the bag on more than one occasion when no one would rotate to help. Now, James missed a couple of these assignments, but it was Carlos who blew a number of them, and he was pulled a couple of times for some stern lectures from Coach K.  Offensively, he was doing fine, at least initially. His early drive and turnaround off glass was very smooth indeed.  He also had an excellent pass in the lane to Battier for an easy bucket.  But he twisted his ankle early in the game.  It didn't seem to inhibit his range of motion on the court, but his overall play was more tentative.  He looked clumsy with the ball and turned it over a couple of times.  Songaila and Vidaurreta were abusing him.  Things picked up a bit in the second half, as he passed out to Williams for a three.  Carrawell found him for a nasty flying dunk, getting the foul as well.   Boozer also stepped up on defense, getting a nice block and recovery on a Wake jumper attempt.  Carlos was a solid 5-5 from the foul line.  This was not his best game, but he still did a few good things in it.  He has the chance to step up against St John's with their lack of size; he just needs to be aggressive.

 ** Battier:  Shane never ceases to amaze me.  Sometimes I wonder if he and C'well flip a coin before games in order to decide which one of them will go off for a new career high.  In this game, Shane went off early and often. He started slowly, getting a single bucket in the first five minutes, and that on an easy layup from Boozer.  But after another gimme from Williams, he started to get hot.  Williams hit him for a three and a baseline jumper as Duke built a 5 point lead and started a 9-0 run.  After finding C'well for a layup, Shane boosted Duke's lead to 15 after back-to-back threes on feeds from Williams.  He then halted an 11-3 Wake run by hitting some foul shots, and twice boosted Duke's lead to 10 late in the half, with another baseline jumper after a fake and 2 more free throws.  He had 21 points at the half and that wasn't even considering some of his excellent individual defensive plays, like one where he blocked a shot and then stripped the ball after the Wake player got the rebound.  After Wake pulled within 6 to start the second half, Battier took yet another Williams pass and buried a three.  He continued to hold off Wake, scoring on a drive and on free throws, both times after Wake baskets.  But then he missed a couple of shots, and Duke started to look flat and tired as Wake crawled back to within 8.  With the shot clock running down and a Deac all over him, Battier threw up a wild shot from beyond the arc.  He successfully drew the foul, but to his surprise and the delight of the crowd, the shot somehow went in as well, and he ended up with a 4-point play that really hurt Wake.  He'd finish his night with a nice driving scoop shot with the shot clock running down with about five minutes left and an assist to Horvath, again with the shot clock running down.  While Shane got a number of his shots off screens, he also shot under extreme duress.  He also used ball fakes extremely well.   

 ** Carrawell:  Spent much of his time shadowing ROK and absolutely owned him.  There was no key out of the jail Sherriff C'well built around O'Kelley, and this was crucial because Wake depends a great deal on its perimeter game. Chris also handled the ball a lot, and while he made a few questionable decisions, he also delivered some daggers.  Chris had a dominant first half as he held ROK scoreless and got 17 for himself.  Eight came from the foul line as he got Howard in a little bit of foul trouble.  He also hit a three that put Duke up 15 and drove and got fouled after the basket.  On the play immediately following, James got a steal and pushed it up the court, where Williams found C'well on a layup.  Toward the end of the first half, he hit 2 big free throws after just missing the front end of a one-and-one. Every time Duke needed a big basket, C'well was there to take it.  But with Battier taking over the offense in this game and Chris being better suited to defending ROK, he simply chased him around the entire stadium.  As a result, he had only 3 field goal attempts in the entire half, though he did hit both of his foul shots.  Chris was busy taking over the little things, like rebounding here and there, making good passes, playing great defense (he forced a five second call) and picking up the odd block or steal.  He did a nice job in finding Boozer for an easy basket.  In the end, it was his commitment to defense and doing whatever is needed that makes him such a great player.     

 ** James: Nate is stricken with the flu, and you could tell by how sluggish he looked on the floor.  His usual high-energy game was simply not there tonight.  He had a steal on an overplay and could barely make it downcourt for the layup.  He still managed to play good defense and came up with a couple of steals, and he never stopped hustling.  But while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak.  His biggest play was a first-half steal that led directly to a C'well layup.  Hopefully, Nate's flu will have run its course by Saturday, because Duke will need his strength and athleticism against St. John's.  Regardless, just being out there on the floor, giving whatever he had, showed the depth of his devotion to the team.      

 ** Williams: While Jason made some silly second-half decisions, possibly due to fatigue, it was hard to ask more of a freshman point guard than what he provided.  He was very careful with the ball in the first half, aided by the fact that Odom rarely puts much pressure on the ballhandler.  He began with a drive, then an early three taken at a dead stop.  Soon, he found Battier underneath on a cut and then a three.  He was also doing a very nice job on the boards, going hard after some tough ones and firing up the break quickly. Jason is getting quite astute at knowing when to feed the right player, and it was obvious to all present that Battier was scorchingly torrid, so Jase did the right thing and continued to find him spotting up a couple of more times in the first half, leading to a 15-point Duke lead.  Williams was quiet for the rest of the half as Wake mounted an impressive comeback, rallying to within six.  Carrawell was at the foul line and missed the front end of a one-and-one, which Wake rebounded.  Wake shot and their attempt rolled off the rim, straight into the hands of Williams.  He then drove coast to coast on an aggressive foray into the lane, and his quickness and aggressiveness surprised Wake.  The result was a four-point swing, where Duke was up 8 instead of 4.  It was a big play that utilized his own particular abilities rather well.  Jason started off strong in the second half, finding Battier and Horvath for threes and hitting one of his own, but he went through a period with around twelve minutes left where he started making bad decisions.  He took a couple of quick shots, tried a weak layup that got blocked into his backcourt, leading to an easy Wake score.  He made one of his charges into three guys where he forces the ball into a situation he can't handle.  But he showed his growth by quickly overcoming some bad plays with a simple but effective pass to Horvath for a score.  After Wake scored, he again aggressively looked for his shot, getting a nice layup on a drive where he outquicked the whole Wake team.  He hit the shot that really started to break the game open: with Duke up 12 with eight minutes left, Duke got the ball into Boozer.  He struggled for a few moments, then zapped it back out to Williams, who was waiting to spot up and shoot.  Duke would score the next 7 points as the Deacons were starting to get demoralized.  He finished off his solid evening with a steal on an overplay and a strong two-handed slam at the other end.  Jason was pretty fired up by the end of the game and looked like he could go another forty minutes.    

 ** Horvath:  This was Slick Nick's official coming-out party.  He had a modest showing in the first half, getting a nice rebound basket to put Duke up 11-9.  But he exploded in the second half, catching Wake flat-footed with his spotting up for threes.  His first came early in the half, when Wake was still hanging tough, down by only 7.  Williams did a nice job of finding him and he calmly swished it.  His next three helped spark a 13-2 run that put the game away.  He hit another with the shot clock running down to put Duke up 22 with four minutes left.  Nick also had a nice cut and easy score on a good look from Williams.  Horvath also did a good job on post defense, although he had a lot of trouble rotating quickly enough to cut off drivers.   He was beaten a couple of times in that manner.  Still, he stepped up with eighteen big minutes when the team needed him the most and provided the kind of spark that wins games.  He had 4 boards and even a steal, so while he isn't the quickest or strongest guy out there, he didn't embarrass himself at that end.

 ** Christensen:  Matt played a very tough twelve minutes.  He did an excellent job on defense, blocking one Scott shot and rotating well on the baseline.  He also did a nice job of collapsing on the man with the ball in the lane.  He added a determined defensive presence in the lane and did well in not biting on any fakes.  He also had a nice rebound basket.

 ** Sanders, Buckner, Simpson, Caldbeck & Borman: Just came out for spot duty at the end of the game.

 ** Cameron Craziness:  After a poor showing against Maryland, the Crazies reinvented themselves in a laugher against FSU.  Tonight, they had nearly a full house in a much tighter game, and the Sixth Man was up to the task.  They didn't worry about getting cute and instead got loud and supportive.  The free throw chants were loud and in synch, with the Nigel Dixon "Boom" now a part of the repetoire.  The evening got off to a good start when there was a long delay before the opening tipoff, but the Crazies had started jumping and kept it up for a good two minutes before the tip went up.  The cheers during possessions were long and sustained, and the noise on Wake possessions was good.  I think they chanted something at Vidaurreta in spanish at one point, but pretty much just stuck to harrassing ROK and cheering for Duke. Horvath, Battier and Carrawell got special mentions.  And as Duke took control late in the second half a chant of "our league!" went up, followed by "four more years"--reflective of Duke's dominance.  I think the fans will be ready to rip it up for St John's and there's never a need to worry about UNC. Sign of the night: "Dunleavy: Take MY Spleen!", a reference to the potential danger Mike's spleen is in if he damages it while he has mono.

** Next Game: Saturday the 26th vs St John's in Cameron.  The two played a classic contest last year in Madison Square Garden, with Duke pulling out a tough win in overtime.  Those who saw that game might recall that Brand, Avery and James all fouled out and Langdon had an off-game.  It was C-well and Battier who carried the day for Duke against a very talented Red Storm squad. Well, St John's lost Ron Artest, but return Bootsy Thornton, Lavor Postell, Erick Barkley and Reggie Jessie.  Barkley schooled Avery last year and will be a huge challenge for Williams, who must not let himself be drawn into a one-on-one battle.  St John's doesn't have much size, relying on quickness and a relentless defense.  They just crushed U-Conn in MSG a day or two ago and are on the cusp of a top-25 ranking.  They've had some problems playing against lesser teams and had a rough patch in January, but they've won six straight, including a win over Syracuse.  Their tough schedule included a loss on the road to DePaul.  Expect to see a lot of running, tough defense and lots of action.  The keys: rotating on defense to cut off the drive and extending the D out to the perimeter.  Look for Boozer to be all over the court.

 Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu