Duke 81
Army 48
November 25, 2000
@ Cameron Indoor Stadium

Dis-MISSED!  

    Duke's game against Army was held to test the Devils on one thing: intensity.  Could Duke keep up their intensity just 22 hours after finishing up a grueling win against Temple, getting into Durham at three in the  morning?  The answer to this question was an emphatic yes.  A secondary question was, could Duke establish their inside game and dominate a much smaller Cadet squad?  The answer, supplied by Carlos Boozer, was once again resoundingly positive.  Boozer scored 9 of Duke's first 13 points, and was outscoring Army by himself on several occasions.  All of this led to a near-record first half, where the Devils had one of their largest halftime  point totals (67) and scoring margins (+41) ever. 

   In addition to being so effective on offense, Duke absolutely suffocated the Black Knights on defense.  Their post players had absolutely no chance, and most of their 11 first-half field goals came under extreme duress.  A lot of them were jumpers with no one in rebounding position, so they were taking an enormous risk there. 

   Taking a look at the stats, Mike Dunleavy led the team with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.  Williams and Duhon also had 4 assists, and combined to score 17 points on 6-11 shooting.  Boozer scored all 22 of his points in the first half on 10-12 shooting.  Andre Sweet and Nick Horvath both had strong performances off the bench; Horvath played 22 minutes and Sweet 18.  Sweet had 8 points, 5 boards and 3 steals.  Horvath had 10 points, 5 rebounds, a block & a steal.  Duke's 6-20 performance from three is a bit less  important than one might think, considering that Sweet, Simpson, Caldbeck and Horvath combined to go 1-8--and these guys are far from Duke's regular shooters.  Overall, Army shot an anemic 29% for the game, and only their 6-14 shooting performance from three saved them from all-time embarrassment.   Duke shot 54% and a smoking 67% in the decisive first half.

  Boozer was ready to go right at the tip, winning the jump ball and getting a layup on a Williams pass just fourteen seconds into the game.  Battier fed him on Duke's next possession from the high post, and Boozer caught it, turned around and shot it, made the basket and got fouled.  Battier kept  the energy level high by getting a rebound basket and driving towards the basket, dishing behind him to James, who dunked.  This was right after James found Boozer for a basket and one.  After Nate hit a free throw, Duke was up 14-4 just three minutes into the game.

  Army hit a three after a mad scramble for a loose ball, but Duke again went on a mini-run, scoring 6 straight.  The degree of difficulty should have been worth extra points, as Dunleavy pretzled his way into the lane only to dump it off to Battier for a layup, and Williams nailed a pull-up 17' jumper at a dead stop.  After Army hit a close-in shot, Duke reeled off 9 straight points, including another high-low play to Boozer (this time from James), a turnaround jumper from Carlos, and a transition bucket from James.  Nick Horvath also made his presence felt by rebounding a missed Williams three for a bucket and the foul.

  The story begins to get monotonous here.  Army would score another basket, and Duke unleashed a 10-0 run that removed any doubts still remaining as to who the victor would be.  This was a Williams kind of run, where Jason hit a three, and then used dribble penetration to get all the way to the  basket.  But the play of the game followed that.  Shane hustled to get a  steal and tipped it out to Jason.  He flicked it to Dunleavy on the wing, who then drove all the way to the basket and heaved a wrap-around pass to Boozer, who dunked.  This was Duke basketball at its most devastating.  Duhon followed that act with a 22' three point bomb on a Boozer relocation pass. At this point, the score was 39-11, and Boozer had more points than Army. Coach K started to call off the dogs and put Sweet, Christensen and Buckner   into the game at various points. 

  Duke was still incredibly effective even with the deep reserves in, as the Devils this time went on a 12-0 run.  Andre Sweet scored 4 points, including a jumper and breakaway, and Buckner found James on an assist.  Finally, Army put together a mini-run, scoring 7 in a row to cut the lead to 51-20.  Battier hit a three to put an end to any delusions of grandeur, but my favorite play of the game came right after that.  Horvath spotted up for one of his  threes, but saw immediately that the shot's trajectory was all wrong, and  hustled over to the hoop to lay in his own miss.  That kind of  effort can only lead to more playing time.     

  Coach K was trying out different lineups at this point to see what would happen.  With about four minutes left, he had Christensen, Boozer, Dunleavy, Williams and Duhon.  This allowed Boozer to cheat more towards the perimeter, and as a result he picked up a steal on an overplay and got a layup.  Matt picked up Duke's 8th point from an offensive rebound, and harrassing defense in the final seconds yielded a Dunleavy steal and dunk as the half expired. Duke was up 67-26 and did it with style and heart.

  There's not much to say about the second half.  Duke started on a 6-0 run to prove they were still taking things seriously, with James getting a rebound basket and driving for a hoop.  Things bogged down a bit for a bit, and the Devils did not score for nearly four minutes as Battier missed a few shots.  Horvath entered the game with scoring on his mind, getting a nice pass from Duhon and hitting his first three of the year.  Duke was up 80-31 at that point, and with only ten minutes left, it was time for the deep reserves.  Sweet and Christensen got some extended minutes, and they proved to be very positive for Andre, as he had a couple of offensive rebounds for scores and a steal.  Matt was getting fouled but wasn't showing much for his efforts.  When Caldbeck and Simpson entered the game with about six minutes left, things got really ugly, as Army ended the game on a 9-0 run thanks to a host of missed shots, missed free throws and awful turnovers. Still, that couldn't take away from a fine game otherwise by the Devils, and Army battled hard to the end even though they were impossibly overmatched.

  The connections between the two schools run deep.  West Point is Coach K's alma mater and first coaching job.  The Army coach, Pat Harris, was his point guard.  All-time Duke great Robert Brickey is in his first year as an assistant coach at Army.  The Spatola brothers for Army both attended Duke summer camp.  I've rarely seen Coach K so respectful and friendly in greeting  the opposing coaching staff before a game.

**   Positives:  

1. Post scoring.  Boozer was a man amongst boys out there.  He didn't have to bull his way in, he simply turned around and used the glass since he had such a huge height advantage.    

2. Rebounding.  Battier and Dunleavy looked hungry for rebounds, and went after them with abandon.  Horvath opened some eyes by being in the right place at the right time with his quick hands.  The margin was an eye-popping 44-27 in favor of Duke, with the o-boards also going to Duke, 12-6.  The latter figure is particular amazing since Army missed 11 more shots than Duke and had that many more opportunities to get the ball.   

3. Post defense. Five different players had blocked shots, and many more were hurried.  Army looked stunned at how difficult it was getting any easy baskets inside.

**   Negatives:  

1. Perimeter defense.  Duke did get a little sloppy at times and allow some open threes, but even this wasn't so bad. 

  Player-by-Player:

**   Boozer: Carlos dominated a team he should have dominated.  He once again did a fine job of getting open, and his problems catching the ball seem to have subsided.  Carlos personally outscored Army 16-13 with six minutes to go in the half (which the crowd let Army know about).  He wasted little time or energy in immediately turning around to score.  I love his attitude of taking a shot when he's open and near the basket-- it's an absolutely crucial aspect of Duke's offense.  Carlos grabbed a  few rebounds, getting some tough ones in his sixteen minutes of play.   Duke missed so few shots in the first half that their chances of getting offensive rebounds were limited, but Carlos' presence allowed others to snag some of the few stray shots available.  

**   Battier: A laid-back game where he looked to get others involved, but one where he was still dominant defensively.  He absolutely suffocated  Army on both the perimeter and post, intercepting several passes and tipping some others.  His shooting is still somewhat of a concern, and he hit only one jumper all day.  He's going to have to deal with the fact that he's going to be doubleteamed and made the focus of the other team's defense, and learn to find other ways to score.  It was nice to see him drive and dish off to James for a dunk, and feed Carlos in the post.   

**   Dunleavy: A great but bizarre game from Mike D.  With such a huge lead, he seemed almost completely disinterested in scoring and instead was trying for some spectacular assists.  And he sure got them.  A forceful drive and dish to Battier, the insane break with a wrap-around pass to Boozer, another beautiful feed inside to Carlos, and a missed connection to Sanders.  Mike also missed a couple of spectacular running reverse layups, continuing on his theme of concentrating on the amazing.  Mike mixed a lot of substance with his style, ripping down 6 rebounds in the second half, including a  putback.  One of these games, he's going to decide to put up 10 or 15 shots, depending on what the defense gives him.   

**   James: Reason to love Nate James #317: With Duke up by 20 against a  team that had no chance against them, he still jumped into the grad student section to keep a ball inbounds.  He got a huge hand from the crowd and  a high five from a towel-waving Boozer, who jumped off the bench to greet him.  Speaking of substance over style, Nate once again was a solid backbone for the team, feeding the post well, getting steals, and varying his offense. He scored on some opportunistic plays, like being in position for a pass from Battier for a dunk.  He hit a three and scored in transition.  He took his man off the dribble and also got a rebound basket.  He also didn't turn the ball over once.  He wound up as the team's second-leading scorer and wasted little energy in doing it.   

**   Williams: A solid, routine game.  He found Boozer a couple of times in the first half.  On the break, he found Duhon with a bomb and James on the wing.  He hit a couple of threes, hit a long jumper, and drove for another basket.  He did good work on the boards and forced a held ball.  He was aggressive but only turned the ball over once.  He threw a great pass to Duhon way downcourt that was converted.  Very unselfish and poised throughout.

**   Sanders: Casey was the first man off the bench, subbing in for Boozer, but he pulled a hamstring very quickly.  I would guess it happened when a pass was thrown to him that went way over his head.  It's a shame, because I  think he would have done well in the second half against the small Army  squad.

**   Duhon: An economical game for Chris, who was also not very interested in shooting.  He found Williams for a three and hit a long bomb of his own in the first half, and also got fouled going to the basket, making both freebies.  He scored Duke's last points of the game on a long bomb from  Williams, catching and finishing nicely.  Chris found Horvath twice for baskets in the second half, but had a couple of silly turnovers.  Duhon has preferred to blend in rather than really assert himself offensively, but there will be a time when he needs to do this.

**   Horvath: A nice hustle game for Nick, whose timing and shot are still not completely 100%.  Scoring on a pair of putbacks in the first half showed that he's ready to provide the team with the kind of hustle and boardwork that it needs.  He finished a Duhon feed and finally managed to hit a three.  Despite his problems hitting, he still looked confident when shooting.  Nick also had a block, another area where he's shown he can contribute.  I don't see him as a big-time contributor this year, but I think he can help.  We'll see how he plays against Illinois, a game where Duke will need to use its bench a bit.  About the only negative was his three turnovers, but some of those were a result of bad passes.

**   Buckner: Andre usually makes some great plays, and this time it was  snagging a loose ball and tip-toeing along the sidelines, calling a time-out to keep possession.  But the normally under control Buckner made some incredibly stupid passes late in the game.  The whole team on the floor at that time was out of synch and clearly exhausted, so it's excusable.

**   Christensen: Matt had a nice rebound and putback late in the first half and in general did a good job on the boards.  He also has a new foul shooting routine.  He grabs the ball, slams it to the court with both hands, dribbles once, spins it and then shoots.  It worked perfectly on his first two attempts, as the ball swished right through.  After he missed his third, he started to get nervous and rushed his shot, missing 4 of his last 5. It's hard to tell what his future will be.  He's been glued to the bench the past few games, though part of that was match-up related.  There are some obvious confidence issues, and the new free throw shooting routine may well be an attempt to address that.  He might be needed to clog up the middle a bit against Illinois.   

**   Sweet: Andre S. played great defense, disrupting the passing lanes and picking off several passes.  He also hit the boards hard, getting 2 putbacks in the second half.  His first basket was a nice pull-up jumper from 10 feet on a Battier pass, and his second was on a steal and layup.  It was good to see him responding well to extended playing time, and his first half performance got him off the bench quicker in the second half.  It may well earn him a few minutes in upcoming games as well.  His ability to rebound in particular may get him some minutes, along with his solid defense.  Sweet and Duhon are among the most fundamentally sound defensive players that have ever played as freshmen at Duke.

**   Simpson: JD missed a couple of threes and threw some really bad passes.  

**   Caldbeck: Rebound king Caldbeck swept the boards clean a couple of times, making him the top rebound-per-minute man in the league.  He missed a three that went halfway down before it popped out.  

Cameron Craziness: Pretty good crowd, with the student section filled mostly with non-students who nonetheless stood the whole game.  Started "Boozer's winning" and "We want more booze" chants.  I also heard a "more than triple" chant when Duke went up 40-13.     

Next Game: November 28th against a loaded Illinois team.  Key matchup: Jason Williams vs Frank Williams (who can stay under control while still making big plays?).  Key matchup #2: Mike Dunleavy vs Sergio McClain.  This could be Mike's night to shine.  Lastly, Shane will probably need to score about 20 points in order for Duke to win.    

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu 

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