Blue/White Game
(October 28, 2000)

  There was quite a bit of basketball played in Cameron on October 28th, as the Alumni game and two halves worth of the Blue-White game were held. The former featured all-time greats like Jack Marin, Jeff Mullins, Gene Banks, Tate Armstrong, and Mike Lewis and ended with a buzzer-beater.  The latter had an awesome array of scoring talent and several very pleasant surprises from a certain 6-11 Floridian. 

  The Alumni game is always fun, allowing the graying former stars and role players a chance to clown around.  The White team had Gene "Tinkerbell" Banks, who led his team with 10 points, including a three pointer.  Marin brought his sweet shooting stroke with him, nailing a three.  Marty Clark, sporting a much better haircut than in his playing days, pleased the crowd with a  dunk.  And former Duke coach Bucky Waters threatened to break the rim and backboard with some of his ugly attempts.  The Blue team featured a frontcourt plucked from the 60's, with the Missoula Mountain, Mike Lewis, going for 6 points and Jay Buckley 4.  58-year-old Jeff Mullins looked as smooth as ever, scoring 7.  But the real star was MLS player and former walk-on Jay Heaps, who hit a three pointer as time expired after catching a long pass. The running clock mysteriously stopped a few times down the stretch, allowing the Blue team a chance to catch up.  The crowd roared when Heaps hit his buzzer-beater, and it gave the Blues a 37-35 win.  There were lots of  thrown away balls, but many nice passes as well, especially from Mullins. The funniest moment came when a White player threw a long outlet pass that another white player managed to catch while falling down.  It was a travel, but everyone there signalled "touchdown"! 

  On to the Blue-White game itself.  Both squads gave their annual pre-game dunking routine, the only time of the year where Duke will show off during warm-ups.  The White team consisted of three of the likely starters this year: Carlos Boozer, Nate James and Jason Williams, plus Nick Horvath, Andre Sweet and JD Simpson.  The Blue squad featured Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Casey Sanders, Matt Christensen, Chris Duhon, Andre Buckner and Ryan Caldbeck. One would assume that any team with Battier would likely win, and while this was true, he was but one of three players who made a huge impact.  The teams played two 15-minute halves, so both squads actually got the kind of playing time they might earn in a regular game. 

  In the early going, the White team was in control, as Battier was held in check by Jones' ferocious defense, even committing a turnover.  Williams opened things up with a three and James drove for a basket.  The scoring was spread around as Boozer got into the act on a feed from Williams and Jones drew a foul from Battier.  Dunleavy kept the Blues within reach, hitting two early threes and scoring on a nice transition feed from Duhon.  Then Battier started warming up, and things got ugly.  After missing an early three, he hit a couple of very tough 15' jumpers with Horvath in his face both times. He nailed a three to put his team up 3, then sank another to answer a Jones three.  Anything that he happened to miss was scooped up by either Sanders or Christensen, who combined for 6 offensive rebounds.  The prettiest play of that kind came on a Dunleavy miss.  Sanders swooped in for a rebound on the right block, and then in the same motion tossed a perfect pass to Christensen for an easy dunk.  Casey's ability to quickly find the open man adds a new dimension to Duke's offense. 

  Speaking of Casey, the Blue team took control in the last four minutes of the half on a personal 5-0 run.  First came a rebound of a Battier miss, where he zipped in and got fouled by Nate as he made the layup.  He showed nice form on his foul shot, though he would later miss a pair.  He later powered his way in with an eye-opening slam.  There was a sequence late in the half that I hope will become a common sight: Sanders blocked an Andre Sweet shot, which was rebounded by Jones, who was blocked by Battier.  He got the board, and outletted it up to Duhon.  Sanders trailed and slammed it home when Duhon simply flipped it back to him.  Andre Buckner came in late and finished  a couple of nice passes from Dunleavy and Duhon, and also played some very sticky defense on Williams.  If Duke does indeed decide to play a lot of full court press this year, don't be surprised to see Andre in harrassing  the ball-handler.  The Blue team had a solid 40-29 halftime lead. 

  At halftime, Coach K addressed the crowd, the parents in particular.  He was pleased to see the large turnout, as the student/parent section was jam-packed.  He said that the students wanted three things, and he asked for  their parents' permission: 1) Permission to camp out,  2) Permission to go wild during games, and 3) More money.  He mentioned that he could sympathize with the parents, since he currently is a Duke dad (daughter Jamie is a frosh at Duke, but he said that he wasn't giving her any more money.  He also noted that she didn't have to camp out unless she wanted to, since her old man could spring for a ticket).  He also welcomed the grandparents to the game, and had daughter Debbie hold up his grandson.  Coach K noted that in a year's time,  another grandchild would be arriving since Debbie is due in March.  Finally, he announced that Jason Williams had a birthday present for his mother, a bouquet of flowers, which he delivered to her in the stands.  "What a schmooze," said Coach K.   

  The second half was really more of the same, to be honest.  Battier, Dunleavy and Sanders scored 33 of the team's 37 second-half points, while Duhon and Battier kept Williams and Jones in check (shooting only 3-7).  Boozer came alive in the second frame, going 5-5 and scoring 12 points.  He did a much better job of powering over Sanders, though Casey gave as good as he got, going 5-6 for 10 points and getting a couple of more assists and blocks.  The White team managed to close to within 51-41 thanks to some Williams drives, but the Blue team went on a 10-0 run fueled by hard work.  Christensen dunked a Battier miss, Sanders dished a nice pass to Duhon on the break and later got fed for a slam and spin move, and it closed with Battier rebounding his own miss.  After a Jones basket, Dunleavy scored 5 in a row, including one of his standard stutter-step drives to the basket, getting the basket and one. Down 24, the White team made one last charge, as Boozer and Jones combined for 8 straight points.  But the Big Three for the Blues had all the answers, and cruised to a 77-57 win.

  So what did this game teach us?  It's clear that Battier is ready to lead.  He was 5-8 from three and didn't even seem to be trying that hard. He only took 6 shots in the second half, trying to get others involved.  It also looks like the team is improving its offensive rebounding.  Christensen has always made this a specialty with his bulk, but Sanders did it with quickness, and both Williams and Duhon have the size and speed to dart in after missed shots.  Both frosh were quiet offensively and looked reluctant to shoot, but contributed in other ways.  Duhon in particular was dominant defensively and did a fine job in running the team.  Duke shot extremely well from the three point line and worked its offense to perfection to get the open threes.  But perimeter defense might be a concern; learning to break through screens to prevent open shots takes time.  The ballhandling was sloppy at times and there were some inexplicable passes, but there was also lots of solid defense.  Defensive rotation in the post was often tardy, leading to some big performances by the post players.  This will also come in time. Duke is very fleet of foot, extremely versatile and has a number of deadeye shooters.  While Battier and James will lead the team as seniors, the sophomores are going to provide an incredible amount of energy.  With a year of training and maturity, talent will now be start to really come into play.

   Player Comments:

 ** Boozer: Surprisingly quiet in the first half, when he floated to the perimeter and missed a couple of jumpers.  He exploded in the second half, powering to the basket and scoring on a drive.  He blocked one Duhon drive attempt as well.  He had a nice soft turnaround one-hander that we'll be seeing a lot more of.  Carlos looks like he could lose another 5-10 pounds for maximum efficiency, especially on defense. 

 ** Battier:  Did it all: nailed several threes, pulled up for the tough 15 footers, and drove hard to the basket.  He patrolled the baseline looking for steals and came up with a big block.  The only player who could even slow him down was Jones, who forced Battier into 3 turnovers.  He looks to truly excel as the team's go-to player.

 ** James:  A relatively quiet game for a player who didn't really need to prove himself in a scrimmage.  Started out very strong, with a jumper and drive, and hit a three late in the game.  Played solid defense and helped a little on the boards.

 ** Dunleavy:  Wow.  Dominant from beginning to end.  Flirted with a triple double and made very few mistakes.  Mike has very long arms, which allow him greater extension when going to the basket or reaching in for rebounds. He looked much sturdier out there than last year and played with a Langdon- like unflappable calm.  His jumper looks crisp and his snaking drives are more effective than ever.  His timing on finding players cutting was uncanny, as he nailed Sanders a couple of times in step, and Buckner at another time. His only turnover came when he wasn't quite ready to take a Duhon pass.  Mike was also quite adept at pulling up for the mid-range jumper.  His ten boards were pretty shocking, as he outworked the White big men over and over again. He was also an impressive 5-5 from the foul line.  Both teams in general did a great job from the stripe, going a combined 21-24 (87%!).

 ** Williams:  A good job overall, but only had 5 second-half points.  Had trouble with Duhon and Buckner's combined defensive efforts, but he fought back by forcing a five-second call on Duhon and taking him off the dribble a few times.  His shot from the corner looks excellent, and his penetration is as lethal as ever.  He didn't look to pass as much as I would have liked. He did his usual good job on the boards.

 ** Sanders: This was quite a coming-out party for Casey.  He got the only "name" chant from the crowd ("Ca-sey San-ders!"), always a good barometer of a player's performance.  Casey played strong and smart the entire game, which is not to say he was perfect.  The 7 fouls were a glaring reminder that Casey needs to improve his defensive footwork.  There were a few passes thrown his way that he didn't catch cleanly.  Boozer was starting to bull by him towards the end and even Horvath powered his way for a layup.  Casey also clanked a couple of free throws.  Now for the good stuff, and I do mean stuff: Casey was throwing down powerful dunks and rejecting shot after shot.  He slapped away 2 of Sweet's attempts, Horvath's first attempt, and a late Williams shot.  That alone adds an element that Duke has lacked since Elton Brand left, although Battier is a good shot blocker.  Casey played a savvy and unselfish floor game, passing to Christensen for an uncontested dunk by drawing away Boozer, finding Duhon on the run and Dunleavy in the half court.  He ran down another miss for a stickback and even took a couple of good looking jumpers that didn't fall.  He was impressive on the break and made quick, smart decisions in the half court.  Casey wasn't just a role player--he was a weapon.  One that still needs some fine-tuning and continued confidence and consistency, but certainly a player who can make a huge difference.   

 ** Duhon: Chris' box score won't look very impressive, but I was pleased with his overall game.  He had one shot blocked and rushed several of his three point attempts, but also managed to finish a couple of drives.  He'll definitely have to learn how to hunt his shot.  More impressive was his defense, as he held Williams in check for much of the game.  He picked Williams clean a couple of times and didn't allow him many open shots.  Williams was able to drive by him a few times in the second half, but Chris held his own. Chris also impressively got his own rebound after a missed shot, passing it out immediately.  The best thing about his performance was the way he ran his team.  He fed four different men assists, with Mike being his favorite target.  He found Battier for some threes, Sanders for a couple of dunks, and Andre Buckner on the run.  His five turnovers were more a matter of ferocious defense on the part of Jones and Williams than careless errors. This was a good first performance, with the promise of much more to come.   

 ** Christensen:  Matt had a very typical game, with 6 points and 4 boards that all came at important times.  If he averaged those numbers over the season, I'd be a very happy man.  He adds a strong, physical element that Duke otherwise lacks.  He boxes out well and has a knack for getting big offensive rebounds.  His offense is still rather crude but he's starting to throw down dunks instead of laying it in.  His tip-slam of a Battier miss was his most impressive play, but I loved the communication between he and Casey as Sanders fed him the ball for a dunk.  I think Matt will be a perfect role player for this team.

 ** Buckner:  He's not playing like a guy who was a recruiting afterthought. Andre is playing like someone who wants to be a real factor.  He looks very quick, very strong for his size and rather confident.  He missed a three but had excellent form and no hesitation in his shot.  He ran the floor extremely well to score on two breaks.  There were several sequences where he dogged Williams the entire length of the floor.  Duke is well-stocked at point guard this year, but I wouldn't mind seeing Andre come in at all for spot duty, or for defensive purposes. 

 ** Horvath: A very tough night for Nick.  Sanders swatted his first attempt away and things got uglier from there.  Battier dominated him offensively and he didn't prove to be any kind of factor on the boards.  He missed his only open three attempt and his only basket, a decent baseline power move over Sanders, almost didn't happen because he bobbled the ball.  His teammates have raved about his improvements, so hopefully he'll continue to work hard. The playing time is there if he can capitalize on it.

 ** Sweet:  Andre struggled on offense but it didn't help that Sanders rejected two of his shot attempts.  Andre came up with a block of his own and played decent defense.  He's not going to stuff the stat sheet this year, but I do think he'll be able to contribute defensively and on the boards.

 ** Jones:  Offensively, Jones was held in check by Battier for much of the game, although he did pop one of his soon-to-be trademark threes from the wing.  He had a great open-floor move for a score but missed a number of mid-range jumpers.  As advertised, he is a ferocious defender, making Battier's life difficult and also harrassing Duhon.  He attacked Shane when he was trying to dribble, causing one ball to go out of bounds off Shane and picking another away cleanly.  Dahntay has the potential to be one of the greatest one-on-one defenders in Duke history--he has the desire, the smarts and the quickness.

 ** Simpson: Did a good job running the team in limited action, getting an assist to Boozer.  Also got a board.

 ** Caldbeck: No notable action.       

 Cameron Craziness: The fans chanted for Michael Thompson but were otherwise unremarkable.  Kudos to the parents in the stands who actually stood up the whole way through.  Cameron was also incredibly hot, making me wish for that air-conditioning right now.    

 Next Game: Saturday, November 4th against Ed Cota and his EA Sports All-Stars. Bring your mug shots!

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu 

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