Open Practice Notes
(October 20, 2000)

  On October 20th, Duke held a basketball practice open to the public.  Not surprisingly, there were quite a few people there despite the odd hour (I noted many a lab-coat adorned doctor there).  The most immediate reaction  I had was to marvel at the array of individual talents on display there, and understand that they had a long way to go in order to function as a team. As one might expect, the session lasted for nearly two hours and focused mostly on fundamentals.  Later in the year, Coach K likes to focus on game situations and the like, but there was very little organized scrimmaging here.   

  Things started off with individual shooting sessions, with Wojo and Chris Collins helping to set up the players.  This led to a striking realization: this team can really, REALLY shoot.  The prettiest is certainly Chris Duhon's textbook-perfect jumper.  His form is perfect and his release is appealling fluid, with a great backspin.  He was routinely canning 22 footers.  Dunleavy and Battier were also rather smooth, and Shane showed that he was the most ready to hit shots in game situations.  Interestingly, Casey Sanders and Carlos Boozer also showed some excellent range in the warm-ups.

  The team then took about 15 minutes or so to warm up, both in mini-sprints, backwards slides and work with the mat.  Coach K also took the opportunity to warm up, doing a variety of stretches.  It's nice to see him so robust out there, as he would frequently stop play and demonstrate defensive  positioning.

   Things got going with some transition drills.  It began with fun 3 on 0 breaks, where the kids could go out and finish breaks with a flourish.  Rutgers transfer Dahntay Jones proved right away that he might be Duke's most  flamboyant finisher.  Casey Sanders hammered down several alley-oop dunks. Mike D also dunked effortlessly.

   The next phase was another interesting transition drill, this time a set of 3-on-2 breaks, where the offensive trio ran against 2 defenders, then ran back against 2 new defenders who were waiting for them.  Seeing this drill made me quickly understand why the team had difficulty improving in practices last year, because there simply weren't enough bodies or capable players to make the starting unit work hard.  The arrival of Jones and Andre Sweet has certainly changed matters there, however.

   The rest of practice revolved around practicing a variety of 5 on 5 sets. Running the transition game after made free throws, defending in halfcourt, focusing on certain sets...it was fascinating to see the team struggle to find its way, and frequently produce some spectacular play.  One thing that's always been true about Coach K is that he always makes the most out of the tools he has, and that's true of his coaching staff as well.  He had Wojo as point guard of one team and Collins of another as they were working on entry passes to the post, with Wojo and Collins having the option of taking a jumper as part of the drill.  In another drill, Johnny Dawkins took a three, evoking loud cheers and one fan yelling "YEAH JOHNNY D!" when he effortlessly sank it.

   The last part of practice was a 12-minute scrimmage featuring Battier, Williams, Dunleavy, James, Duhon, Boozer and Sanders as the home team and Christensen, Sweet, Horvath, Jones, Buckner, Borman and Simpson as the opposition.  The home team won pretty easily, but not without some feisty play.     Duke is frighteningly quick.  With Duhon and Williams triggering breaks, the home team was devastating on the break.  Coach K told his team about one big flaw: the team was rushing shots.  And as he noted, "we have too many players who can score to rush your shots".  The team defense was spotty at points, but the overall intensity level was very high.  There were lots of people diving after balls and clawing after rebounds. 

  Let's go to some individual player evaluations:

 ** Battier: He is ready to dominate.  He was the only player who wasn't rushing his shots, and he was spraying them from all over.  Duke will be devastating on the secondary break when Williams pitches back to a trailing Battier for three.  His defense is already in mid-season form, as he dominated in every single one-on-one drill, especially against the guards. (Coach K had mentioned wanting to see Shane guarding out on the perimeter a bit more.)  I lost count of his steals and tipped balls.  He looks to be fresh and in great shape.  Don't be surprised to see him average 20 points a game this year.  Shane got tangled up with Casey at one point and twisted an ankle, but a quick tape job and walking it off on the baseline made him good as new.

  ** James: Nate was his usual nasty self.  Like Shane, he knew what to do to stay in shape and how to excel in game situations.  He drained a number of shots from his favorite baseline spot, deflected a lot of balls and robbed the ballhandler several times, taking it all the way for scores.  In short, he looked like his usual solid self.  Nothing spectacular, just a lot of consistent play.

  ** Christensen:  Similar story with Matt.  He struggled on offense and with shooting in general (he airballed one free throw).  But he used his muscle to power in for several other baskets and cleared out a lot of bodies. He looked a lot more mobile though is still not especially quick.  As long as his timing on rebounds continues to improve (not to mention his hands), he can really make a significant contribution.

  ** Williams:  Last year, Jason tended to make the spectacular play 2/3 of the  time and extreme miscalculations the other third.  Right now, that ratio is about 9:1 in favor of the spectacular.  The raves about him this summer seem entirely accurate, as his shot has become much more fluid.  He nailed them on the break and spotting up, from the baseline and top of the key. He also hit a bunch of shots in transition where he pulled up at the top of the key.  These are significant weapons, because it allows him to make his penetration even more effective.  Think about Bobby Hurley as a frosh, then think about him as a sophomore.  This, in my opinion, is the kind of leap that Jason will make this year.  Raves aside, he still makes a few impossible passes and gets caught in awkward situations.  But his creativity on the break and flawless crossover are making up for these faults.  He and Shane are communicating extremely well, and Jason was looking to him as a first option in any halfcourt and many transition sets. 

  ** Dunleavy: Mike is about as tall as Carlos and is starting to fill out a little.  His shoulders have a little more beef on them and it looks like weight training is starting to become effective.  His shot is looking much smoother and he hit a few out there.  The idea of Battier, Duhon and Dunleavy lurking on the perimeter is a scary one, because they all have a quick release.  He wasn't spectacular on defense though he did have his moments, and looked a lot more ready to fight inside.  Didn't see that hook I had heard about; he was fairly quiet on offense but still showed enough (especially in transition, yikes!) to prove that he can be a major force.  Expect to see 2-3 minute stretches where he absolutely dominates on both ends.    

  ** Boozer:  Carlos has improved tremendously in all the little things, but most especially on defense.  He stuffed several shots and used his body well in smothering players trying to get a shot around the basket.  (This was, in fact, a drill:  two players immediately surround a man setting up in the post and try to strip the ball.  It's fascinating to see players practice things that fans have seen in games for years.)  Carlos was also working on his perimeter game a bit, which didn't go very well.  Inside, he was dominating everyone, getting big rebounds, drawing fouls, and posting up well.  And he remains one of the most devastating transition big men I've ever seen.  His soft hands caught a lot of passes whipped at high velocities on the run.  You could really see the results of Pete Newell's Big Man Camp, because his footwork really did look a lot better, especially on defense.   

 ** Horvath:  Nick and Casey have both made the most noticeable progress, but both still have a long way to go.  Nick has picked up some muscle but is still very rangy.  He was definitely looking for his jumper but it wasn't falling.  He was hitting the boards very effectively and has worked a  little baseline half-hook into his game.  Nick still looks rather mechanical out there--he's thinking too much and isn't very fluid.  There is no lack of effort, and one can see progress being made.  For example, he did a great job on Shane on one possession, dogging him on defense and forcing a bad shot.  He needs to focus on consistency and positioning, as well as trying to fit into a regular rotation.  His appearances last year were so disjointed that it had a real effect on his play, which has a herky-jerky quality to it. He's one to watch in the first month or so. 

  ** Sanders:  Of all Duke's players, the one with the most tantalizing potential is Casey.  I've never seen a big man who could run like that outside of Kevin Garnett.  His leaping ability is eye-popping.  He is slowly starting to evolve into a good basketball player.  He's a lot stronger than he was last year, though he still has a long way to go.  Casey still gets pushed around a lot though his upper-body strength has greatly improved.  He is still very raw and mechanical on offense.  He can sink the jumper but tends to freeze up a bit in game situations.  He was consistently making a nice 10' baseline jumper in the early part of practice, and like Nick must learn to accustom himself to the flow of game situations.  Defensively, he's using his unique skills rather well, blocking or altering a few shots.  Rebounding is still an issue on the defensive end, but he had two offensive rebound dunks that came as a result of his quickness and reaction time.  His most spectacular play was a missed dunk in transition, where he flew over another player and narrowly missed slamming it home.  Wojo was working very closely with him on his defensive stance, and it occurs to me that Steve is actually an interesting choice to teach the big men because he was so  physical as a defender. 

  ** Duhon:  He's ready right now in many respects.  His shot is the purest of the pure, although he seems to get better the further out he goes.  His frame is sturdy and should withstand the rigors of college ball quite well. He's remarkably mature and fits perfectly into the team concept.  He needs to work on some aspects of team defense, which should come with time, but also will have to be told not to defer so much.  He had two wide open shots that he passed up and dished off to players who took more difficult shots. He's nowhere near as creative as Jason and doesn't have his ability to break down defenses, but he never makes mistakes.  He's a perfect complement to the more daring but unpredictable Williams.  Fans will go ga-ga over his shooting ability, which is like unto Langdon's.  As soon as he gets comfortable, watch out.

  ** Sweet:  A.Sweet's game is the living definition of "solid but  unspectacular."  His range is limited to about 10 feet, yet he's completely reliable there.  He's strong and quick, playing aggressive defense.  Nothing he does really stands out, except for one thing: he makes very few mistakes and still manages to stay aggressive.  If Duke plays a lot of full-court pressure defense this year, look for Sweet to be one of the guys pressuring the ball.  I think he'll eventually be frozen out of the regular rotation, but he'll contribute more than folks think, even if it's only the little    things.   

  ** Buckner: I really like Andre's game quite a bit.  His defensive ability makes him a great practice player.  He disrupted many a ballhandler and was especially pesky on inbounds plays.  He also finished in transition pretty well and hit a three.  He's never likely to get significant playing time but he'll end up being a difference maker in some ways. 

  ** Simpson: JD nailed a three in a halfcourt drill and in general looked pretty confident out there.

  ** Borman: Didn't pay much attention to him, though he did handle the ball a little bit.   

 ** Jones: Dahntay can be summed up in one word: competitor.  He hates to lose.  Not just games, but he hates to lose on any possession.  The last guy at Duke who just oozed that hatred of losing was Laettner.  He's a fierce defender with a slim but strong physique who emphatically finishes breaks. His only weakness is his jumper, which is just OK.  He especially seemed to relish battling Shane.  While not the team defender that Shane is (but then, who is?), the effort, will and positioning are all there.  I could see him becoming Duke's defensive stopper next year.  One to watch at the Blue-White game.

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu