U Conn

CONNECTICUT 71

DUKE 66

November 12, 1999

Overview:

Duke's 71-65 loss to UConn should be put in proper perspective. Yes, it put Duke in an 0-2 hole to start out the year, but Duke put up a very credible effort against an excellent team, only really faltering down the stretch. UConn may have lost a top scorer in Rip Hamilton and a great defender in Ricky Moore, but their replacements (Edmund Saunders and Albert Mouring) did a fantastic job. I think the experience of UConn's starting 5 was the deciding factor in this game. Sure, Mouring burned Duke with 22 points, but it was the high picks of Voskhul and Freeman, combined with Freeman's tough defense and rebounding, that really won the game for the Huskies.

UConn has relied for years on a gimmicky full-court press, the kind of thing that bothers weak teams but is usually broken with ease by good teams. They laid off the press for most of the night, out of respect for Duke's break and the ballhandling of Jason Williams. I was impressed with the way they played hardnosed defense, especially in the post. Connecticut may not be the best team in the country, but they have all the tools. UConn played terribly in their loss to Iowa, especially on defense. They were down 15 at the half and clawed their way back into it, but it was too little, too late. They definitely had a much better effort against Duke.

The first half was tight all the way. Jason Williams came out extremely focused, with a perfect assist to Nate James on a dunk and a steal from El-Amin. He was really looking to run as much as possible, but the offense still looked a bit disorganized. There was a lot of balance on offense in the half, as every starter but Christensen had at least three points, and Boozer & Dunleavy came off the bench to score 14. Dunleavy in particular was very effective. He was 3-5 from behind the arc, including a beautiful play where Williams hit him in transition and another where Battier flipped it behind him to a waiting Mike D. Duke's main weakness in the half was poor defensive rotation and general sloppiness, followed by intense periods of high pressure that forced turnovers. Like any young team, Duke was battling inconsistency and lack of focus. Still, it was a solid half and Duke held a one point lead. (That could have been three points, but James blew a layup after a great Williams penetration move.)

Duke held the lead until about the fifteen minute mark of the second half, when UConn's hot shooting took over. Duke battled back to 51-49 and 54-52 (thanks to threes from Nate and Shane) but the Huskies took over in the last five minutes and Duke's offense became very stagnant. Still, Duke didn't give up, playing tough defense and forcing some steals, and finally getting some threes to fall. Most of Williams' threes came at this late point in the game.

The story of this game was one where an experienced team exerted its will over an equally talented but much younger team. Duke found out very quickly what it does well and what it doesn't do well in an environment that had the intensity of a Final Four game--all in the month of November. This game was a valuable experience that will only help the Devils, much more than the blowout exhibition games did. This is the point where Coach K knows what to teach and correct, and he must do this while keeping his young team's confidence high. C'well was much more positive after the UConn game than the Stanford game, emphasizing that Duke will be fine. Battier was also upbeat, focusing on the team's overall effort and the quality of the opposition. There is obviously a lot of room for improvement, but there's also a lot to work with--Duke was in position to win both games. They weren't blowout losses. The months of November and December will have more challenges for Duke, all of which will help prepare the Devils for the ACC. They'll have been through the tough battles that they'll encounter when the league starts, and they'll be a better team for it.

Negatives:

1) Perimeter defense. To be frank, it was awful. Mouring in particular feasted on it after getting open look after open look to put the game away.

2) Shot selection. Duke clearly got frustrated in the second half and tried to make up for it all at once with quick threes. This played right into UConn's hands. This made Duke's offense stagnate and didn't force UConn to work hard on defense at all. The fact that Duke's inside game was non-existent didn't help matters any. To quote C'well: "We've...got...to... get...an...inside...game." He emphasized each word as he spoke, showing his frustration.

3) Transition defense. Duke got burned more than once after a score and didn't hustle after the long rebounds enough.

Positives:

1) Rebounding. Duke was only outrebounded by the Huskies 43-40, although they were missing their backup center Souleymane Wane. When you take team rebounds out of the equation, Duke actually won the battle 36-34. Once again, every starter had at least 5 rebounds, simply an amazing stat.

2) Transition offense. Looked very good at times, burning the Huskies on breaks.

3) Occasionally very good defensive pressure. Duke forced a shot clock violation on one possession, and Williams did a great job of containing El-Amin for the most part.

Player-by-player analysis:

** Christensen: A really, really tough game. He fought so hard around the basket, getting six offensive rebounds, but simply couldn't convert from point-blank range. Wasn't afraid to mix it up with Voskuhl as they got entangled down low on more than one occasion.

** Battier: A much quieter game than he had against Stanford, partially because of great defense from Kevin Freeman. Still had 15 points, 11 in the second half when they were really needed, 5 boards, 2 blocks and a steal. Shane and Chris can't be superhuman in every game, but he played very solid basketball. Shane is also playing very physically, not afraid to throw an elbow or two. Played great individual defense, forcing a shot clock violation when he locked up Ajou Deng. Did a much better job of driving to the basket, with one truly explosive dunk as he drove by Voskuhl and Deng.

** Carrawell: Also had a solid but unspectacular game. He shared a rebounding high (7) with Williams and shot a decent 6-14, but his jumper left him. Did a good job of running the team when Williams was on the bench. I would liked to have seen him drive a bit more and create contact, but then I could say that of the entire team.

** James: Had a much better game than against Stanford. Did a little of everything: dunked on powerful drives, converted in transition, converted three point plays, hit the boards, dished for assists and even hit a three. I'd like to see him take some more mid-range jumpers, but he showed his maturity by responding after a terrible game.

** Williams: Very solid game overall. Spent most of the first half setting up others and he did a decent job in harassing the far more experienced El-Amin. He was using his quickness to penetrate much more, although he still couldn't hit after he penetrated. He finally started to warm up from downtown late in the game, hitting 3 of his last 6. One can sense that Duke will become a great team when he matches his talents with the team's personnel, knowing where everyone wants the ball and when. As long as he stays aggressive and turns up the defensive pressure to Amaker/Hurley/Wojo levels, he'll be fine.

** Dunleavy: Fantastic first half, but shut out in the second. Needs to quicken his release just a tad, but once he's set, it's going in. Shoots really well off passes, a very valuable skill that will be needed for this team. His offense is ahead of his defense at this point, although he will frequently come up with a steal thanks to quick hands and court vision.

** Boozer: Scored on a great pass from Williams on a reverse, but didn't do much else. He's being brought along slowly at this point but needs to learn how to play more physically. His post defense in particular needs work, but this will improve once he learns how to mix it up inside.

** Horvath: Nick didn't play much, and it is to be assumed that it was for defensive reasons. Like I've been saying, he will be a player who will greatly benefit from the upcoming week of practice.

Next Game:

Army on Saturday November 20th, at 5:00pm. This game will be in Cameron and televised by HTS. Army is of course Coach K's alma mater and they're coached by his first point guard, Pat Harris. The last time Army played in Cameron, they played a very physical style of basketball, bordering on dirty. Duke really blew them out after that. Duke also beat them two years ago in the debut of the class of 2001. This game promises to be a tune-up for Duke as they try to put together what they've learned from their first two games and a week of practice.

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu