Duke 98
Villanova 85
(November 17, 2000)

  Duke defeated Villanova 98-85 on November 17th in Cameron...on the newly- christened Coach K Court.  This game was Coach K's 500th victory at Duke (573 overall), and the administration honored him by naming the court after him and actually laying down a sign on the court.  As to the game itself, Coach K said it best when he thanked his team for playing great offensively and being so generous to Villanova on the defensive end.  Duke was playing 'Nova for the jumper and as a result, allowed them way too much dribble penetration. Duke also let them get into their sets far too easily, so that their big men were in great position to receive entry passes.  And with a super-skilled center like Michael Bradley, who torched Duke for 28 points, allowing them such easy access to the post was murder. 

  Villanova shot a shocking 62% for the game and outrebounded Duke 31-23. They had an excellent game plan, taking advantage of Duke's tight man coverage, and executed it well, never taking a bad shot.  While Duke did hold the Wildcats to 3-13 shooting from three by staying constantly in their face, their failure to rotate back gave 'Nova plenty of opportunities.  Of course, Duke did compensate for this by fiercely attacking the guards as they were trying to penetrate, resulting in a huge number of turnovers--29 in all, with 15 steals.  Jason Williams in particular was a buzzsaw, accounting for 5 rips and in general making Jermaine Medley's life unpleasant. 

  A quick stat check reveals that six Duke players made it into double figures, with Boozer leading the way with 22.  Shane Battier had 18, Chris Duhon had 17 off the bench and Mike Dunleavy had 16.  Williams had a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and only 3 turnovers.  He and Boozer led the team with 5 steals apiece.  Battier and Boozer combined for 13 of Duke's 23 rebounds. Bradley had 8 rebounds, as did Aaron Matthews.  Duke forced Medley into 7 turnovers.  

  Duke won because Villanova didn't quite have the firepower to match the Devils, and turning the ball over made things too easy for Duke at times. While they had good size and decent quickness, they didn't have the inside strength to really bother Duke, especially on defense.  The Devils put enough pressure on to force errors and rattle the Wildcats at times, but never were quite able to completely finish them off.  While it would have been nice to see Duke blow them out, it was also good to see Duke put into a situation where they had to make pressure free throws and deal with a full court press.  In particular, Jason responded magnificently to the challenge at the end of the game.

  The first nine minutes or so were back and forth, as the two teams traded leads for awhile.  Villanova had an early 7-4 lead thanks to Bradley, a couple of close-in baskets by Brook Sales, and a score off an offensive rebound.     Duke countered by going to Boozer, who scored Duke's first 8 points and then stole the ball and passed it to Battier for their 9th and 10th points. Dunleavy got into the act at this point, cutting and receiving a pass from Williams, then taking a dribble and spinning around for better position before laying it in.  On Duke's next possession, he rebounded a miss by Boozer and  zipped it out to Battier for a 17' jumper.  Duke was up 14-9 and looking like  they wanted to take control.  Instead, Gary Buchanan, Aaron Matthews and  Bradley scored 6 straight points, thanks to a turnover, 3 missed threes and a  charge.  Especially frustrating was that 'Nova scored on a tip-in play.   Villanova had the lead for the last time at 17-16 with about twelve minutes  left in the first half, but the unstoppable Boozer struck again and Dunleavy  finally got a three to drop for Duke. 

  The two teams continued to trade baskets, but this time Duke was trading 2-for-3 as Duhon hit the first three of his career and followed it up by passing to Dunleavy for the same.  Bradley scored again to cut the lead to 27-23, but Duke then turned the pressure up and the Wildcats melted down a bit.  Dunleavy overplayed the passing lane and came up with a steal, tossing it downcourt to Duhon.  Then Boozer stepped in front of a pass and ran it all the way back to the basket for a slam, putting Duke up 8 and letting everyone relax again.

  Wrong move.  After a timeout, Duke put Casey Sanders in and he was promptly victimized for a basket as 'Nova stayed alive at 31-27.  But the Wildcats had trouble dealing with Duke in transition, as exemplified when Dunleavy snagged a rebound on the run and flung it a speeding Williams, who threw down a dunk.  Bradley then scored 5 in a row, including getting a three point play when Battier's attempt to draw a charge was ruled a blocking foul.  With just six minutes left in the half, the Wildcats were within 3 at 35-32.

  Battier finally came alive by hitting a couple of threes as Williams and Boozer kept up their assault on the passing lanes by getting 2 more steals. Jason took one in by himself, and Boozer passed to a not exactly fleet of foot Nate James, who got fouled going up after being caught by 'Nova.  Duke finally had their first double-digit lead at 44-34.  Two Boozer turnovers helped lead to 6 straight Villanova points, leaving just over a minute in the half.  Jason responded with a strong drive for a layup, just taking things over.  Duke toughened up on the boards as Nate got one and outletted to Boozer, who got fouled and hit 2 free throws.  After Buchanan missed a three, Duke took a timeout to set up a play for the end of the half.

  Duhon and Williams took turns handling the ball, until Williams soared to the basket thanks to a backpick, but the pass from Duhon was just a bit high. Now 'Nova had the ball and a chance to cut into an 8 point lead with just over 2 seconds left.  But when Medley got the ball, he dragged his feet and got whistled for a turnover in his own backcourt.  Duke inbounded, James passed to Duhon who was about four feet away from the three point line, and he nailed the jumper at the buzzer as a 'Nova player came straight at him.  It was a  great way to end the half, giving Duke its largest lead of the game.

  Duke jumped on 'Nova a bit to start the second half, with Williams finding Boozer in transition and Dunleavy snaking through on a drive.  But the Wildcats kept fighting back, going on a 7-2 run that brought them within 8.  Then a player who is known for making the right play at the right time but who had been quiet in the first half stepped in: Nate James.  In the next couple of minutes, he twice rebounded and put back two misses, breaking Villanova's spirit a bit.  He also got a rebound and gave it to Williams, who was fouled. That started a 6-0 run that also featured Dunleavy getting a steal and basket, and James getting a steal that led to Battier getting fouled. 

  The next few minutes saw Duke going up by 15 or 16, then 'Nova score a  couple of baskets to come within 11, and then Duke come up with a big play to push the lead back up.  Battier and Duhon stepped up their play during this sequence, with Shane driving and hitting a mini-hook and sinking a tough 15' jumper with a man in his face.  Williams found Duhon twice in the corner for threes, and the frosh sank them both.  James also took his man off the dribble, a rare sight, for a driving layup.  Duke was up 86-69 with about five minutes left and sitting pretty, but the Wildcats had enough for one last push.  They went on an 11-1 run that was aided by a charge being called on Battier, two Villanova offensive rebounds, a missed James alley-oop, Duhon missing the front end of a one-and-one, and James missing a free throw.   Suddenly, it was a three possession game at 87-80 with just over two minutes left, and stranger things hae certainly happened. 

  Once again, Nate came through, this time hitting two free throws to give Duke a bit of room.  Then Williams, who had been bumped and bruised by Villanova all night, made two huge plays.  The first was an outright theft of the ball, just ripping it out of Medley's hands as he was trying to set up.  The second came as he ran the clock down: he accelerated and just drove  all the way in for a layup that more or less sealed the deal with just a minute left.  A parade to the foul line began, with Duke hitting 7-10 down the stretch and holding the Wildcats to 5 points.  Annoyingly, Duke actually fouled  Villanova twice during that sequence, a remarkably dumb thing to do, although  it did happen scrambling for the ball.

  Coach K said it best when he noted that this was a good Duke team, but not yet a great one.  It is lethal offensively and becoming deadlier as Williams and Duhon become more comfortable with each other on the court, but the interior defense is a big question mark.  Even Battier was getting out-maneuvered, but to be honest he didn't have a lot of help.  While it was good to see Duke aggressively attack a turnover-prone Villanova squad, there were times that players were too aggressive, leading to some out-of-position results on defense that allowed the opponent an easy chance at the basket.  It must also be said that Villanova played with poise and discipline, never deviating from a solid game plan or relying on one-on-one play.  It was great for Duke to play two such teams so early in the year, squads that won't give up and won't hand you a win.          

** Positives:  

1. Defensive pressure. When Duke strongly pressured on inbounds plays and on the perimeter, it usually ended up in a steal.  In fact, Duke scored a frightening number of their points thanks to its pressure.  The Wildcats  were able to beat it at times, and when they did, they almost always scored. Duke did let up a bit at times, partially because of a short rotation.    

2. Penetration.  Duke was pretty much doing to 'Nova what they were doing to us: taking advantage of a tight man defense by taking their opponents off the dribble, often all the way to the basket.  Boozer got tons of great looks because Williams was shredding the defense.    

** Negatives:  

1. Defensive rotation.  If you're going to put that much pressure on the perimeter, you'd better be ready to rotate.  Shane did his usual good job at this, but Carlos and Mike both got caught out of position repeatedly.  

2. Rebounding.  Duke was outboarded 14-8 in the first half and 31-23 for the game.  There were several occasions when a Duke player would get his hands on the ball and lose it, and a few other times when Devils were simply caught flatfooted.  Things picked up in the second half, especially on the offensive boards, but this was not a great performance in this area.  

3. Shaky hands.  Carlos in particular got a number of fine passes that he simply dropped.  Even Shane and Mike dropped a couple.  

   Player-by-Player:  

** Boozer: When Carlos caught the ball, he was virtually unstoppable.  That sometimes proved to be problematic, however, especially in the second half. After not getting many touches against Princeton, Duke was feeding him the ball early and often.  As a result, he was getting some great looks thanks to Villanova defending him one-on-one.  But his turnovers in the post were maddening, because he could have easily scored another 10 points if he had simply held on to the ball.  Defensively, it was a similar mixed bag.  He was flashing into the lanes aggressively and getting his hands on a lot of passes, and surprised Villanova by coming out to the perimeter.  His quickness and anticipation allowed him to get a lot of steals, but at the same time he was repeatedly victimized by Bradley, who simply had to spin around him to get free.  He needs to get tougher in the blocks and use his speed to react to his man.  Offensively, he's doing a fine job at getting open and his leaping ability is definitely there, as evidenced by an alley oop he threw down on a pass from Williams.  He did wrest away a few rebounds in the second half, but had the opportunity to get many more--a number of Villanova's offensive rebounds came at his expense.  Carlos will next be playing against Rick Barnes' group of rough and physical big men, and will need to step up his level of play accordingly.  He has the talent, but now we must see if he has the desire.   

** Battier: An OK showing by Shane with flashes of brilliance but by no means a dominant performance.  Offensively, he was solid with a 7-13 shooting performance, but only 2-7 from three.  The shots simply weren't going down. Both of his threes came when 'Nova had crawled back into the game late in the first half and ended up boosting Duke's lead to 9.  His drive and hook late in the game added a new element to Duke's attack after he had bombed away from outside most of the game.  It was nice to see him drive, fake and then dribble over for a better shot on one possession, as well as sink a baseline jumper.  What was really disappointing was not attacking the defensive boards a bit more, as well as the way he was abused by Villanova's frontcourt. He did manage to take a charge but two other calls went against him.  On the other hand, it's actually a good thing that the team doesn't completely depend on him for everything, the way they did on Carrawell last year.  It took a toll on Chris emotionally, and it would be good to see Shane have the luxury of being a role player at times this year.  More than anything, I could see Jason assert himself in a big way.  By the end of the year, I suspect he will be the true leader of the team.       

** Dunleavy: A good game with lots of plusses and minuses.  The upside includes a great shooting night and superb shot selection.  His fake/dribble/move/shoot routine works perfectly on the perimeter.  He also fought for and tipped a number of rebounds.  Negatives include being outmuscled and outfought for much of the night, and playing mediocre defense.  His best plays included a big offensive rebound and pass to Battier for a bucket, a steal that led to a dunk, and a nice drive for a layup.    

** James: Absolutely dead silent in the first half, with but a single point and board.  And then he was a monster in the second half, scoring on two tip-ins and a drive, getting a steal and earning a living at the foul line. Most of his accomplishments were described in detail above, but the best thing about Nate may be that he has no ego.  He's all about team and playing his role, yet at the same time is completely comfortable in taking over a  game when necessary.  He's not the greatest athlete or flashiest player, but all he does is make winning plays.  He hits big shots, he gets the rebounds when Duke needs them, he's one of Duke's best at getting in the passing lanes, and he's a terrific leader.  I am delighted that he has his own personal cheering section, because he deserves it.  

** Williams: Another superior floor game.  His long-range jumper just wasn't falling, so he eased up a bit in the second half and concentrated on his drive.  With Jason's improved feel for the game and Duke's potent offense, Bobby Hurley's single-game assist record may be in danger, because he could have had many more assists if some passes hadn't been dropped.  But more than points or assists was his attitude.  Jason was bumped hard a couple of times, having to come out of the game the first time.  All it did was make him fight harder.  And though he was beaten off the dribble once in Villanova's late surge, he made the big plays down the stretch, with a scowl on his face that seemed to suggest "You are not going to beat us."  And he made himself personally responsible for Duke winning.  It must also be stressed that his attitude in dealing with Chris has been outstanding.  Instead of viewing him as a rival, he's seen that having Chris around can only make both of them better.  Pay close attention to this duo, folks, because you will see many wonderful things from them.  By the way, six of Jason's assists were to Boozer, and a couple of more were to Duhon for those threes.  One of Jason's turnovers was a palming call--he wasn't picked clean once the whole night.     

** Duhon: He and Williams have really meshed well, a positive sign for Duke. Seeing Jason dish off to Chris in the corner as he bombed away for three was encouraging.  Even more interesting was the play that Duke ran at the end of the first half.  As Duke was running the clock down, a back screen was set and Duhon lobbed it to Williams, who felt like he was pushed on the play, but a turnover was declared instead.  Coach K dusted off the old Amaker- Dawkins playbook for that one, and I don't think this was the last time we'll see that.  Chris has so far had one inexplicable turnover a game, but beyond that he has not played like a freshman.  His shot looked crisp and his approach was confident.  He played reasonably well on defense, but did his best work by being so efficient on offense.  Of his 4 three pointers, 3 of them came on passes from others, showing that he's not forcing his shot but rather looking to get open.  His falling-down three as the first half ended fired up the crowd and had him jumping up and down for a moment.     

** Sanders: Casey came in fairly early in the first half.  He was promptly beaten twice in the post, turned the ball over, took a weak shot that was blocked and got called for a foul.  He was quickly yanked after that.  There weren't any positives to take from his performance, unfortunately.  Hopefully, he will be able to address some of his problems in practice, because he  has looked improved in his preseason appearances.          

New Feature: 

Shane Battier Senior StatWatch (TM):    

As we all know, Shane is in the running for all sorts of honors.  Among them include his place in the Duke record books.  Here's a quick update as to where he stands in various categories, with the players immediately in front of and behind him listed as well.  

Points:  28. Joe Belmont, 1267 29. Battier, 1253 30. Bernie Janicki, 1247  

Threes:  5. Steve Wojciechowski, 141 6. Battier, 133 7. Phil Henderson, 128  

Steals:  7. Thomas Hill, 194 8. Battier, 188 9. Quin Snyder, 185  

Blocks:  1. Mike Gminski, 345 2. Cherokee Parks, 231 3. Battire, 167      

Cameron Craziness: All-in-all, a good showing.  Best sign: "Duke #2? I want a recount!"  There was a contingent of Villanova fans who fired up the Crazies, keeping them chanting through time-outs.  Old favorites like "safety school" were trotted out.  Brooks Sales' big sister is Nykesha, the all-time leading scorer at UConn, which led to lots of "Nykesha's better" chants.  The Crazies also zinged with "Temple's better", a little Big Five shot.  (Of course, I wish they had cycled through with St Joe's, La Salle and Penn.)  

  Jay Bilas came out at halftime and urged the crowd to stay after the game for a special ceremony.  He said that we would feel "honored" that we were there.  And he was right.  After the game, Coach K talked to his team while everyone in the stands waited.  And I do mean everyone--almost no one left, not even the 'Nova fans.  The Crazies chanted "Thank you, 'Nova" at them, for being good sports and for giving Duke a good game.  A lectern was set up, and Coach K's family sat in chairs next to it.  Something was brought out, shrouded in black, and laid on the court itself.  The team then came out, slapping five with the fans, and finally the Coach himself came out. President Keohane gave a brief but rambling speech about Coach K's many accomplishments, and said that the University of Virginia was well known for Thomas Jefferson's signature on its logo.  She said, now Duke catches up because its court will be named for Coach K.  And indeed, the shroud was lifted and a big "Coach K Court" label was revealed on the floor.  This was only the display version; the actual version will be painted on later.  He was also given a painting of Cameron with the new "Coach K Court" featured on it.  This is a pretty rare honor for an active coach; Cal's court is named for Pete Newell but I believe this was done after he retired. 

  Coach K said that he's not surprised very often, but that tonight he was. His entire family was there, including daughter Lindy, who's out on the west coast, and his brother Bill.  Coach K was very emotional and repeatedly  emphasized how much his family meant to him.  He talked about his brother always protecting him as a child, and how his wife and daughters have always been completely supportive of him, never complaining about his career.  He talked about how honoring him really means honoring all of his players, which makes it better in his eyes.  Coach even talked about his assistants,  reminiscing about Amaker setting up Dawkins on the lob, Wojo taking a charge and Collins taking a "very deep" three.  He thanked the various presidents of the university, the fans, and Tom Butters, the man who hired him to win with integrity.  Most of all, he thanked his departed parents, wishing and hoping that they were seeing this. 

  Shane and Nate presented him with a ball commemorating the win, and the SID thanked the team for winning, or everyone would have been pretty unhappy at that moment!  He pointed out some old teammates of his from his Army days who were there, and said "Those are the old guys with gray hair up there.  You'd never think they could actually play."  When the crowd groaned at the mock harshness of the comment, K retorted, "Cadet humor."  After the game, he told his team that while winning his 500th game here was special, he told them not to count on him being around for another 500!  When the crowd sputtered in protest, he said, "Well, maybe I will, but only if the team wins ALL THE REST OF THEIR GAMES!"

        Next Game: November 22nd vs Texas in Madison Square Garden.  This is the semifinal round of the NIT, and it's against old ACC pal Rick Barnes.  I'm sure we all remember the rather physical style his Tigers used to play, so this game will be an interesting test for a frontcourt that needs toughening up.      

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu 

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