Duke 128
Nike Elite 75

Cameron Indoor Stadium
November 15, 2001

   There really isn't too much to say about a game that starts with a 24-1 run and where the lead is 72-35 at the half.  The Nike team did not have the athletes or teamwork to compete with Duke.  In fact, as ridiculous as this sounds, the only reason the game was as "close" as it was is that former Temple player Quincy Wadley had a big night.  Wadley hit several long, contested bombs, including a tough shot right before the half.  The remarkable thing about Duke's early run is that it wasn't because of the other team's ineptitude.  It wasn't due to a full-court press or a barrage of threes.  Duke got the lead through constant, intense defense; efficiency on offense and a spectacular effort on the boards.  All five starters scored in the game's first four minutes.  The Devils concentrated on getting the ball inside and then expanded their offense.  Nike had 6 turnovers in the game's first four minutes; Duke had 6 turnovers in the entire first half.  The best way to describe the team at this point is relentless but controlled.  They are constantly attacking, but have lost some of the recklessness that marked them the last couple of years.  Duke has a quiet but quite palpable air of confidence about them.  They know that if the other team finds one way to stop them, they'll find another way to score. And that they will be able to stop their opponents when it counts. 

   Another big difference is that the starters look more comfortable because they know the bench will actually contribute on offense.  Nick Horvath came into the game and immediately scored 5 points, while Dan Ewing looked poised at either guard position.  Casey Sanders is also slowly gaining confidence at the offensive end and has always been a weapon defensively. I think Coach K is trying to figure out lineup combos at this point.  He's using Sanders and Horvath as a pair to replace Boozer and Dunleavy in  the lineup.  This has had mixed results, with defense being a problem.  He then subs in Ewing for Williams, with Duhon leaving when Williams returns. With three games in three days coming up, it'll be important for the Sanders- Horvath-Ewing group to be ready for extended playing time, especially if foul trouble becomes an issue.

   Duke began with a 14-0 run over the first four minutes.  Boozer had half of them, thanks to running the floor and rebounding.  The Devils had 7 points in this period on offensive rebounds alone.  After Nike got a free throw, Duke went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to really let their opponents know that this was not to be a competitive game.  Duhon had 5 points here on one of his odd drives and a pull-up, 25' three pointer.  My pal the Lobster and I keep talking about Chris shooting from the "K" on the floor--one day.  Jones also had a truly spectacular alley-oop layup on the break.  Duke switched from a team attack to one-on-one breakdowns effortlessly, reading what little defense was played and exploiting it.

   After Nike finally scored their first field goal six minutes into the game, Horvath got a tip-in and Williams stole the ball.  He had Jones ahead of him, and this time there was no stopping the dunk.  That play seemed to have finished the initial run at 28-3.  Duke would still outscore Nike 44-32 in the remainder of the half, but they had turned off the  domination mojo that had set up the first seven minutes of the game.  The two teams traded baskets for awhile, with Nike actually hitting some threes. They were a respectable 5-11 in the first half, while Duke was an insane 10-18.  Duhon was in control during this period, finding Ewing on the break, hitting another long three and finding Dunleavy for a three.  Duke was up 40-15 with about nine minutes left in the half when the Devils went on a mini-run.  It started with 2 Dunleavy foul shots, and continued as Jones found Williams for a three after retrieving a loose ball.  Then Williams found Sanders for an acrobatic reverse layup.  At 47-15, the game was officially out of reach.

   Still, the Devils played on, going to the long ball to increase the lead.  Duhon, Horvath and then Duhon again hit consecutive threes.  The latter shot started another 7-0 run that put Duke up 60-23.  Jason decided to take over at this point, running the ball right at Nike and scoring on 3 strong drives.  Duke went up 40 by points after Dunleavy scored 5 in a row.  The Devils had a chance to go up by more than 40 at the half, but a bad pass led to Nike getting a last chance at the basket and hitting a three. 

   The second half began with the two teams punching and counterpunching. A Nike score was followed by Jason hitting a jumper and Mike driving.  That duo in fact scored Duke's first 9 points of the half, and pushed the lead up to 81-39.  The reserves came in at about the fifteen minute mark, and did a great job of immediately establishing themselves on offense. Sanders found Horvath for a three, and then Casey got fouled going up and hit both free throws.  More spectacularly, Ewing got a rebound, ran the floor and found Sanders for a spectacular lob dunk.  Duke continued to pour it on as Duhon found Dunleavy and Ewing for threes and Boozer rebounded a miss.  The Devils led by 50 with around twelve minutes left.

   Nike rallied with a 9-1 run, as former Temple start Quincy Wadley made an impact.  Duke responded to the challenge with a 15-2 burst of their own.  It was a run that featured inside and outside attacks, as Ewing found Christensen and Duhon led Boozer for easy post scores, while Dunleavy, Duhon and Williams all struck from three.  Most interestingly, Boozer pulled up for a 15' jumper that went in.  That made the lead an absurd 114-59, with a full six minutes left to play!  Not surprisingly, Duke let up a bit on defense as they started to rotate the deep reserves into the game, and Nike actually outscored Duke 16-14 down the stretch.

   Of course, there were still some highlights left to be created.  Mark Causey came into the game and kept the energy going with a tip-in and some very active defense.  He also threw up a superb lob pass to Sanders for another throw-down.  When Andy Means scored with about a minute left, it wrapped up the whole evening.

   All-in-all, a good game.  It showed that the team hadn't played any live opposition in 10 days, and it'll take a while to get everyone on the same page.  But this team loves to pass (20+ assists), loves to run and is fairly active on the boards.  Facing some big and talented teams in Maui will be an excellent test.  Coach K noted that he wanted to see how this team reacted to adversity and tight game situations, and that would truly see how well they're coming together.  

     ** Negatives:

  1. Blocking out.  While Duke did this well in the first half, they got much more lax in the second half and gave up too many second chance points.

  2. Defensive rotation. Duke's subs in particular did a poor job of rotating on the baseline and gave up several easy baskets.

   ** Positives:  

   1. Ball pressure.  Duke had 15 steals, and most were generated with either on-ball pressure or by flashing into the passing lanes.  Dunleavy, Williams and Duhon were all very tough in this area.  Williams' defense overall  has greatly improved, especially in its play-to-play consistency.   

   2. Ball reversal.  The Devils made the extra pass every time to find the open man, resulting in many open shots.  At the same time, they didn't  overpass.  When a player had a good shot, he took it.

   3. Aggressiveness.  Duke wanted to get the upper hand very early in the game, suffocating Nike with sticky defense and an incredibly efficient offense. Duke pounded them inside and then switched to a three point attack when things opened up.     

Player-by-Player:  

** Boozer:  Carlos was not nearly as dominant or smooth in this game as he was against EA Sports.  He missed several easy shots, including a blown dunk.  To some degree, the 7-2 Nike center Rob Dryden threw him off his game a bit.  Carlos just generally seemed out of synch, with several balls slipping out of his hands.  Normally easy catches in the post were bobbled. Despite that, he still did plenty of nice things.  He started the game with 7 quick points, one of them on an offensive rebound plus the foul.  He wouldn't score again for the rest of the half, however.  Once he got an easy dunk in the second half, he relaxed a bit and made himself a better target down low.  He had a rebound basket and a layup on a Duhon pass.   He also pulled up for a 15' jumper that swished easily.  15 points and 5 rebounds isn't bad for an off night.        

** Dunleavy: Mike D was truly awesome in this game.  I was stunned when he actually missed a shot.  In the first ten minutes of the game, he concentrated on rebounding, with his only shot a rebound dunk.  Then he scored 7 in a row with a baseline drive, a smooth three and a couple of free throws.  He also had a couple of baskets late in the half, including another three and a  tough pull-up 17' jumper.  Mike had 8 boards in the first half, as well as a block and a couple of alert steals.  He, like all of the Duke big men, needs to play better help defense.  His second half was even more spectacular than his first.  He had a smooth drive to the basket with an arching shot to avoid a block.  He sank 3 threes, on the run and at a dead stop.  He hit a baseline jumper that looked effortless.  On the break, he tossed a behind-the-back pass to Duhon for a three.  Duhon had been finding him all night--a very wise decision on Chris' part, rewarding the hot shooter.  Mike isn't going to stop anyone one-on-one, but his smarts and quick hands make him dangerous on defense with Duke's scheme.   It'll be interesting to see how his game evolves this year.  

** Jones:  'tay started off with a bang, zipping inside to get an offensive rebound and lay it in.  Then Jason found him on the break for an alley-oop. Only Dahntay caught it a little too far ahead of the basket for him to dunk. So he just hung in the air for what seemed like ten minutes and twisted his body so as to casually flip the ball into the basket.  To quote Jack Black: "That's levitation, homes."  Jason tried again on the break and this time it was an honest-to-goodness throwdown by 'tay.  Jones never did reach 10  points, missing all 4 of his second-half shots.  He also missed both threes.   It didn't matter much, because he was doing his real job: attacking the offensive boards.  He kept several Duke possessions alive that way.  His defense was also suffocating.  It's clear that he's trying to feel out his role in the offense, being careful not to take away shots from his teammates. He doesn't pass as well as his teammates, though he did find Jason for a three.  But that really isn't his role.   

** Williams: Jason was really under the weather with a stomach virus and had to leave the game for a while.  As a result, he "only" shot 8-17 and scored 19 points.  He actually did seem just a touch slow at times, although he still found his pal Dahntay for a couple of magnificent finishes.  The second came after Jason picked his man's pocket and immediately zoomed downcourt.  He had only scored 6 points deep into the first half, letting others do their thing and setting others up on offense (his pass to Sanders for a layup was a sharp one).  Then he decided to take over.  He noticed that Nike was starting to play him a little tighter, respecting his range. So he simply blew by the defense 3 times in about a minute, finishing by either going strong to the basket or flipping it up softly.  It was just too easy--Nike could not guard him.  It got to the point where he seemed to try more difficult shots just to make it more challenging.  He pulled up for one of his classic 15' jumpers that are impossible to stop, drove for another easy basket and nailed a three before leaving the game with about seven minutes left.  He looked rather queasy and was holding his gut, but Coach K says he'll be OK for Maui.  One thing to note is that Jason's defense has really improved.  He did a great job of keeping his man in front of him and didn't gamble too much, but was still aggressive enough to disrupt the other team.

** Duhon: Chris was frighteningly efficient.  11 assists and 0 turnovers is about as good as it gets, especially when you toss in 5 three pointers. And those threes were often from 25', looking very smooth and natural.  He was truly in control the entire time, hounding his opponents on defense and setting up baskets for his teammates.  His early plays were interesting to watch, because he was systematically taking his man out of the game.  He opened by spotting Jason for a three, then ran the break to perfection by finding Boozer for a finish.  He got the attention of the defense by driving to the basket with a floater, and then fired away from 25' and nailed the three.  It was his way of informing his opponents that they couldn't prevent him from doing anything he wanted.  He followed up another transition dish (this time to Ewing) with another 25' bomb, and then found Dunleavy for a three.  After sinking a couple of more threes, he got a steal and dished to Dunleavy for another three.  His best play of the game came in the second half, and it was somewhat subtle.  He had an open jumper, faked and drove the lane.  He had to have noticed that Boozer had struggled to start the second half, and so led Carlos perfectly for a dunk.  It was an unselfish play that helped get his teammate started.  He found Ewing for a three and Dunleavy for 2 more before Mike returned the favor as Chris swished the only shot he took in the second half.  Seeing him and Jason in the same backcourt is an eye-popping experience.       

** Sanders: Casey had mixed results.  11 points and 4 rebounds is a decent night, but the problem is that when he got the ball, he hesitated instead of immediately going strong to the hole.  He's thinking too much out there instead of just reacting.  That said, he did some nice things.  The greatest improvement is in the form on his jumper.  He missed a 17' jumper and a baseline jumper, but the shots looked good and he took them with confidence.  He was also 3-4 from the foul line, with his stroke looking smooth and assured.  Casey also took advantage of his quickness by hammering down a couple of alley-oop passes.  He also tipped in a missed shot, and in his most athletic move of the night, sank a reverse layup after his defender moved in to block his shot.  Casey has definitely improved in both form and assertiveness, but he needs to play a little more consistently on defense.  He did have one block, but wasn't always in the right place at the right time, as his three fouls came when he was late in getting back on defense.  Still, you can tell that he's ready to learn and that playing is actually helping him now.      

** Horvath: Nick made up for his poor shooting night against EA Sports with a blistering 4-6 mark tonight.  He had one airball three where he shot too quickly, but he otherwise was squaring up beautifully and nailing the open jumper.  Nick was not quite as solid on defense, though he did  pick up 1 steal.  He's still learning how to play physically and aggressively in the post.  His best move all night was a heady rebound basket.  It's very clear that if nothing else, he brings some offense off the bench.  

** Ewing:  Dan had a solid floor game.  He's very much in the Duhon mold, making good decisions, staying within the flow of the game, applying sticky defense and playing unselfishly.  Dan was out and running when he was with the regulars, finishing a break, missing another a layup on another break, and getting fouled on a third.  When he was with the other subs, he did a fine job passing the ball.  He threw an alley that Sanders oop'ed, a pass to the post for Christensen, a relocation pass to Horvath for a three,  a crosscourt pass to Duhon for a three, and a simple lead pass to Means for a layup.  Most importantly, he had no turnovers.  Dan hit 1 of 3 attempts from three.  About the only thing he could have done better was pass and finish a little better in transition--he was just a bit slow in making decisions.  

** Buckner:  Andre did not play, and in fact was in street clothes.  He has a strained knee ligament, but it's nothing serious.   

** Christensen:  Matt came on late in the first half for a minute or two and played much more in the second half.  He had the ball grabbed out of his hands on one play and threw it away on another.  He also had some problems rotating on defense.  On the plus side, he hit a free throw and had a soft layup in traffic.  He just didn't seem like he was moving that well.    

** Causey: "KamiCausey" is quite a player.  The best description I can give of him at this point is that he's a poor man's Dunleavy.  He's very smart and heady, and likes throwing pretty passes as much as he does going hard to the boards.  Mark also patrols the passing lanes like he was born to it. His only shot was a beautiful tip-in basket.  On one play, he got a long rebound and zipped upcourt.  Causey had Ewing open (he was frantically waving at him) but he held up.  The reason became clear--Sanders flew into the picture and Causey tossed up a perfect alley-oop pass that Casey hammered down.  Mark is for real and will help the team this year, even if he doesn't play much.  

** Means:  Andy was very active and scored on a nice feed from Ewing.   

** Cameron Craziness:  There was a pretty good crowd tonight.  The student section was close to full, which is fantastic for an exhibition game.  There were also a few good cheers here and there--when Duke went up 11-0 and Nike was called for their third team foul, a chant of "Three fouls, no points" arose.  When it was 18-1, "We want Reebok" could be heard.  When Duke led 30-6 and Jones had 8 points, I could hear "Dahntay's winning."  Boozer subbed in for him, and his 7 points brought forth "Boozer's winning" just like that.  And Jason, Chris, and Matt got their own personal cheers, along  with Mark Causey--or "Kami-Causey" to the Crazies.

  ** Next Game: Monday vs Seton Hall in Maui.  The Pirates were a big disappointment last year despite (and in part, because of) the heralded freshman class.  The team still has tons of talent, especially in the backcourt with Andre Barrett.  He'll definitely give Chris Duhon a  challenge on defense.    

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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