Maui Recap

 Duke 80, Seton Hall 79

 Duke 81, South Carolina 56

 Duke 83, Ball State 71

  The first game of the Maui Invitational seemed to provoke a great deal of angst among Duke fans.  Many had pictured their team as an unbeatable group that would crush all foes by 50 points a game.  Duke was seen as a finished product that would be running near-clinics.  Instead, Duke was like many other teams this year: a work in progress.  There is no question that the team has a ton of individual talent, and it was Jason Williams' individual talent that bailed Duke out of the Seton Hall game. But the Devils have some work to do before they can be considered a real team. 

  Before I talk about the games themselves, let's discuss the areas where Duke needs work.  First and foremost is team defense.  This is where Duke misses Shane Battier the most.  His ability to anticipate where the offensive player was headed with the ball and ability to predict where passes would go was uncanny.  Part of this is coaching--the players are well briefed as to the tendencies of their opponents--but his ability to internalize this and use it in a split-second was unmatched.  This meant that he could not only cover for post players who missed their assignment and got out of position, but he could also erase any mistakes his guards made in letting guys penetrate too far.  The team learned very quickly how much he meant on defense when Seton Hall's mediocre big men had a field day inside and drove by Duke's guards. 

  The second area is team offense.  The team can pass and pass well, to be sure.  That razzle-dazzle play in Maui where Williams passed to Dunleavy who went behind the back to Jones for a slam was very nice indeed. But Duke has blown a lot of early scoring chances by seeming to go for degree of difficulty rather than simply making the play.  Before the team can go for the spectacular, they must prove they can do the routine, and do it every time.  There are also some shot selection issues to deal with. The key is not to take the first open shot, but the best open shot.  This means that while it's OK to take the occasional NBA (and beyond) range three pointer, it's not necessary to make that a large number of your attempts.

  The last key point is intensity.  The team has had stretches of utter dominance, where they clicked at both ends of the court and simply ran their opponents out of the gym.  But then they'd get careless on offense, especially when trying to slow the game down.  A charge here, a ballhandling slip there, and you suddenly give your opponent more opportunities.  The bottom line is that these are easily correctable flaws if the team works hard at them.  Replacing a couple of two-year captains is not an easy task.  This is the first Duke team in many years without a significant senior leader, one who takes over games when necessary and whom everyone looks up to and respects.  This is not meant to disrespect Matt Christensen, a long-time member of the team and very hard worker.  But he simply doesn't get enough playing time or serve in the same sort of role as a Battier, Carrawell, Wojo, etc.  While Williams and Dunleavy are the captains, it's going to take a while for everyone to be comfortable with them as the team's leaders--and for them to acclimate as well.  It takes time to establish roles and build relationships--and while most of the people on the team have played together for a couple of years now, there are new roles to be determined.  I think both the players and the fans bought into preseason hype a bit too much, but I think the team is well on their way to dealing with that issue and getting back to Coach K's "next play" philosophy.

  When a team is in the NCAA tournament and is favored to win, there are an endless number of variables to contend with.  Coach K plays the varied and interesting schedule that he does to provide as many different kinds of challenges as possible.  The key is to develop a level of consistency that does not waver not matter the conditions.  Learning to thrive under the most unusual of circumstances is the key to success, because to succumb to excuses automatically takes a player out of the frame of mind needed to win.  Maui was an interesting environment to start the season off with, especially the Seton Hall game.  In many respects, this was a "worst case scenario" type game.  The gym was hot to the point of players cramping up and being unable to play, and the floor was often slippery.  Duke was not exactly a crowd favorite, either.  Then there was the very close officiating that got Duke's big men into instant foul trouble.  As a result, they were thrown off rhythm and played rather tentative defense.

  These were the factors out of Duke's control, and the Devils did not always adjust to them well.  In fact, they let foul trouble completely throw them off.  But there were many ways Duke's lack of discipline led to Seton Hall giving them so much trouble.  In the game's early going, Duke took several extremely long threes and tried some ill-advised alley-oop attempts.  Seton Hall responded with some baskets inside and a couple of open jumpers.  The Hall took an early lead, with only Mike Dunleavy and Nick Horvath keeping Duke in the game.  Williams and Duhon shot a combined 2-14 in the first half. Dunleavy was moving well without the ball and scoring on cuts while Horvath was putting back missed shots.

  The two teams traded the lead back and forth for awhile, but the Hall took firm control with about nine minutes left in the first half with a 10-1 run.  They led 27-18, scoring on threes and power moves inside as no one could hit a shot.  Duke fought back with improved defense and rebounding. Matt Christensen came in and snagged an offensive board, leading to a Williams three.  Then Duhon stole the ball, and fed it to Dunleavy for a dunk as he was falling down.  But Duke's attention lapsed once again, and the Pirates built the lead back up to 37-27 with under a minute left in the half.  Williams finally got another shot to drop as the half ended on a three point play. Still, the fact that this Duke squad only scored 30 points was a sad commentary on their effort.  Boozer and Horvath both had three fouls, while Sanders and Dunleavy both had two.  Duke was sending Seton Hall to the line early and often.  The Hall only shot 11-20 from the line in the game, while Duke was just as bad at 13-24. 

  Duke and the Hall traded baskets early on, but Duke made things tighter about two minutes into the half.  Dahntay Jones had a three point play while Jason followed up with a three after a Dunleavy rebound.  That brought Duke within 44-42.  Duke started trading three for two, with Jason hitting another three and Dunleavy following up after Pirate two point goals.  Duke tied the game at 48 but fell behind again.  Duhon, who had come alive in the second half, got a great offensive rebound and fed Williams for a basket. Duhon had had assists on each of Duke's last three plays.  Williams then hit another three to give Duke its first lead since midway through the first half.  Jason had scored 11 points in about three minutes after scoring just 6 in the first half.

  Seton Hall came right back to take the lead, but a Duhon three tied things up again with twelve minutes left.  It wasn't too long after that that Chris went out with some nasty cramping in his leg.  The Hall started fouling Duke, but the Devils were having great difficulty in converting.  Seton Hall actually took a 62-58 lead with ten minutes left, and they were barely hanging on.  Duke chipped away with some free throws (4-6) and another Williams three tied things up at 64.  The Hall continued to answer, hitting a three to pull ahead 69-68 after Williams had hit Jones for a dunk and nailed a three. 

  Boozer finally got back in the game and responded with a turnaround.  After Duke went 2-4 from the line, Boozer found Williams slipping behind a screen for a huge three.  That put Duke up 75-69 with four minute left, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  Big mistake.  The Hall immediately came back and shut Duke down for the next three minutes.  Duke turned the ball over, took bad shots, missed easy layups (Boozer), and missed free throws (3 of 4).  Even worse, Boozer fouled out with three minutes left, giving the Pirates a 79-76 lead.  Frosh Dan Ewing (aka Thomas Hill's psychic twin) fearlessly drove to the basket to cut the lead to 1.  Dunleavy tied it with a free throw, and Williams hit 1 of 2 to give Duke an 80-79 lead with less than ten seconds left (after missing the first shot!).  Duke then trapped the ballhandler, forcing him to make a bad decision.  (Dunleavy being 6-9 helped obscure his vision.)  Williams then intercepted a bad pass, ending the game. 

  Dunleavy and Williams carried Duke.  Dunleavy was steady in both halves, and really rebounded like a demon in the second half, winding up with a double-double.  Williams scored 21 of his 27 in the second half.  He essentially willed the team to victory, because the group was not functioning well as a team.  He was 5 of 7 from three when Duke needed him the most, and made a crucial free throw and defensive play down the stretch.  A good analogy for Jason might be John Elway.  Elway was a prodigious talent who frequently made mistakes in his games: interceptions, passes thrown into coverage, overthrowing receivers, etc.  But when it came down to winning time, he suddenly turned into a cool, confident leader who executed flawlessly. Jason makes mistakes, forces shots and is sometimes careless with the ball, but he has an indomitable will to win.  This is why Coach K gives him so much freedom: Jason will almost always make something happen.  He is a force of nature on the basketball court that must be given room to operate.  All of that said, Jason must become more consistent at both ends of the court to be truly great.  But the bottom line is that he made Duke win this game.

  South Carolina was looking like more of the same in the first fifteen minutes.  Jason Williams got in early foul trouble as the Cocks were zeroing in on his scoring.  Nick Horvath started in Duhon's place as Chris had to get IV transfusions after cramping up in the first game.  Jason was effective as a playmaker early on, dishing twice to Boozer.  But without Williams and Duhon in the game, USC was able to hit a few threes.  The Cocks held a 20-19 lead with nine minutes left in the half.  Dunleavy kept Duke in the game with 7 points on a three, a pull-up 15' (one of his signature moves) and a drive.  Dan Ewing did a nice job of energizing the team with a steal, a short jumper, and following up his own miss with an offensive rebound and putback. 

  Duhon came into the game and the Devils stepped up their play.  He found Dunleavy on a cut and Jones for a 15' baseline jumper, but SC quickly tied the game up again at 25.  Dunleavy had 11 points by then, but he was just getting warmed up.  Williams reentered the game and Duke went on an astounding 19-0 run in the last five minutes of the half--the first time all year that Duke looked like Duke.  Williams found Mike D for a three, then Carlos rebounded a miss.  Mike pulled up for another three, then pulled up for a short 10 footer.  A Duke steal led to Jason dishing to Chris on a perfect 2-on-1 break.  Everything was clicking for Duke at this point. Carlos was at the top of the key, 17 feet away from the basket.  USC backed off, trying to prevent him from passing out by blocking all of his targets.  'los simply responded by pulling up for a perfect 17' jumper.   SC responded by getting physical, but Dunleavy shot 3-4 on free throws.   Duke ended the half with Duhon driving and dishing to Horvath for an easy dunk.  As USC coach Dave Odom would note later, his team stopped playing tough defense for just a minute or two, but the results were cataclysmic. 

  The Cocks opened the half with a 5-2 run, but Duke was working its inside game to perfection.  Horvath showed off a nice passing touch, dishing to Boozer three times.  One of those was a touch pass off a Dunleavy feed and another was a perfectly timed high-low pass that resulted in a three point play.  Duke led 51-30 just two minutes into the half.  USC then ran off 6 straight points, but was met by Duhon stroking a three and Williams getting a steal and runout.  Jason followed that up with a nifty little scoop shot to put Duke up 20.  South Carolina never threatened again.  Coach K cleared the bench a bit, giving Jones and Ewing a real chance to get more comfortable with the offense.  Jones was 4-8 in the second half, including his first three at Duke.  Ewing did a nice job of running the floor, catching a couple of long bombs for layups.  Duke was happy just to get the game over and prepare for the Maui Championship.

  As we all know, Duke's opponent was not top ten UCLA or Kansas, but upset specialist Ball State.  Anyone who follows the NCAA tournament closely knows that the Mid American Conference has been a giant killer for years. Duke certainly found that out when Eastern Michigan upset them in 1996.  So this team was not to be taken lightly.  The Cardinals got to the finals using a formula familiar to Duke fans: spread the floor and take the open three after using dribble penetration to draw defenders.  They were aided by a few Kansas players being felled by cramps, but they absolutely took UCLA behind the woodshed. 

  Early in the game, Duke was very aggressive in trying to take away Ball State's confidence.  Dunleavy and Duhon both popped threes, while Jones drove and Williams pulled up from 16'.  Duke showed nice balance in taking that 10-4 lead.  But the Cardinals regrouped and hit 3 consecutive threes, starting a 17-2 run.  Ball State held a 21-12 lead with about twelve minutes left.  When the chips were down, Jason did what he does best, and that's drive to the basket.  He hit 2 foul shots, and then Duhon followed him a couple of minutes later.  But Ball State actually took a  27-16 lead with nine minutes left.  The Cardinals were rebounding Duke's missed threes (they were 2-11 after making their first two) and converting at the other end.

  But going down by double digits seems to flip a switch in Duke's collective consciousness, and the promptly went on an 11-0 run.  Everyone contributed here, as Duhon scored on a drive, Boozer powered in for a three point play, and a Casey Sanders block and rebound led to an easy transition basket for Williams.  Ball State wasn't shy with their shooting, and hit back-to-back threes to barely stay ahead of Duke.  But Duke turned up the ball pressure and started to get to the Cardinals, with Williams naturally leading the way.  He popped a three, passed into Boozer for an easy basket, and scored on a drive.  Meanwhile, Ewing was extremely active, scoring on a tip-in and stepping into the passing lane to get a steal and runout.  Duke was suddenly up 40-33 with four minutes left after Boozer put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket.  Duke held a tentative 44-39 lead with about a minute left when the Devils came up with several offensive boards that eventually wound up in a big Duhon three.  Duke got the ball back and Williams was fouled; he nailed the shots and Duke somehow had a 10 point halftime lead.

  The thing about the first half is that Duke did not play poorly; Ball State just played exceptionally well.  They found the open shooters and got them the ball, and they were on fire from beyond the arc.  The Devils would have to respond with their best effort to ensure a win.  And this is what they did, utterly blitzing the Cardinals in the first five minutes of the half.  Leading the charge was Dunleavy, who scored 8 points in the first two minutes, on drives, a cut and a rebound basket.  Boozer and Dunleavy controlled the boards and started several breaks.  Duke simply relentlessly attacked Ball State, not letting them get a moment's rest, and executed flawlessly.  The Devils started the half with a 20-5 run, at one point scoring 13 in a row.  Everyone was contributing--Duhon threw Jones a perfect alley-oop pass that he slammed, Sanders took a lightning bolt pass from Williams and layed it in, Dunleavy hit Duhon for a three and Boozer on a power move, and Mike hit a three of his own. 

  For the next five minutes or so, Ball State came back to its senses a bit but could do no better than trade baskets with Duke.  Ewing and Jones combined for five points as Duke would hold a 74-48 lead with about ten minutes left.  Court conditions moved Coach K to play as conservatively as possible for the remainder of the game, and Ball State took advantage with a 12-0 run.  But Duke's defense was such that the run took nearly seven minutes to accomplish, and the Devils still led 74-60 with three minutes left.  Missing shots is one thing, but Duke was turning the ball over without much ball pressure from the Cardinals.  A Jones rebound basket seemed to break the spell, but plucky Ball State responded with back-to-back threes that cut the lead to 10 with 1:35 left.  It was too little, too late as Duke went to the foul line and put the game away with 7-8 shooting.

  Duke had won its third Maui title, but there was a sense that there was something...lacking.  The Devils had not played a single game with a  consistent level of offense, defense and effort.  They played well in  spurts, but didn't dominate their opponents.  But the difficult playing conditions, odd officiating and poor shooting were in many ways beneficial for Duke.  It taught them that defense was going to be crucial for their hopes this year; they simply couldn't hope to outscore every opponent in shootouts.  It taught them that adverse conditions or calls that went against them were no excuse for not playing hard and smart.  A good player always tries to do well no matter what happens, and tries to ignore things that are beyond their control.  Finally, it taught them that a Duke uniform, while a weapon in its own right, can also be a two-edged blade.  It can serve to intimidate opponents, but if a Duke player doesn't perform with the effort needed to put a game out of reach, then it can be a remarkable motivating factor.  This is what happened with Seton Hall.  But with USC and Ball State, Duke's collective effort was enough to blow the game wide open and discourage their opponents.  The best thing to note is that it's only November, and there will be plenty of time to work on communication, team defense and establishing roles for the players. 

      Player-by-Player:  

 ** Boozer:  At times such as this, I find it most appropriate to invoke Highlights Magazine, a beloved publication from my childhood.  In particular, let us consider Goofus and Gallant, the pair who illustrated good and bad behavior with respect to Carlos.  Goofus Boozer picks up early fouls, is a non-entity on the boards and can't finish easy baskets.  He is passive and forces his teammates to win the game from the perimeter.  He also becomes tentative and awkward when he does pick up his fouls, instead of playing with aggression and intelligence.  Gallant Boozer uses his strength to grab rebounds in traffic and his smarts to get proper positioning.  He knows that he's one of Duke's best rebounders and has a responsibility to his teammates to dominate in this area.  He knows that he must also stay out of foul trouble (which often comes by being out of position on defense) to provide his teammates with a viable post target.  He goes hard to the basket, picking up fouls and getting three point plays.  He takes care of the ball and rewards his teammates for getting the ball to him by hitting easy shots.  Game 1 saw Goofus Boozer, but the second and third games saw more of Gallant Boozer.  He was a solid 14-21 from the field and 4-4 from the line, and averaged about 8 rebounds.  His rebounding in the second half of the Ball State game helped Duke stay ahead.  The down side is that he didn't play against a great big man in the tournament, especially a great big man who can score.  He was completely outplayed in the first game, dominated a big but mediocre USC frontline in the second game, and was facing much smaller competition in the third game.  Carlos needs to be able to stand up to better competition.  

 ** Dunleavy: Let us break down Mike's performance into a formula: Preparation + Opportunity = Success.   It wasn't just that he averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds in the tournament.  It was his 6 steals and 2 blocks, and multiple charges taken, and 5 assists.  It was stepping up when his team needed him the most.  In short, it was Mike asserting himself as a leader, acting in the mold of his friend Shane Battier.  There are still plenty of things he can improve on, like his free throw shooting (12-17), his three point shooting (6-15) and his overall defense.  Not that his numbers here are bad, but it's within his capabilities to improve them. The amazing thing is his penchant for rapid scoring flurries.  He had 10 points in three minutes against USC, 8 points in 2 minutes against Ball State and a 20 point first half against Seton Hall.  Each of these personal scoring runs either kept Duke in the game or broke the game wide open-- none were in garbage time.  It's clear that a summer spent lifting weights has made him stronger and more durable.  He's always had a knack for rebounding, but his new-found strength has made him more explosive off the floor and more difficult to move out of the way.  Mike has never been a quick player, but improved strength makes his formidable perimeter skills all the more effective.  Beyond all that, he was clearly ready to assume more responsiblities at both ends of the floor with Battier's departure, and the result will be many wins for Duke and considerable recognition nationwide. 

 ** Jones:  Dahntay's performance in the tournament can best be described as schizy.  Defensively, he lived up to his own hype.  He held Seton Hall's Darius Lane to 2-6 shooting and forced 7 turnovers.  USC's Chuck Eidson was 2-9 with 4 turnovers.  BSU's Theron Smith (who had dominated Kansas and UCLA) was just 2-8 with 3 giveaways.  That is thorough and systematic defensive domination.  His on-the-ball pressure is relentless and his quick feet allow him to keep up with any wing.  Offense was another story, however.  His 1-6 shooting from three stands out immediately.  7 turnovers from a player who isn't supposed to primarily handle the ball was another problem.  But mostly, he seemed unsure of what was a good shot and what was a bad shot. And there were times when he went for the spectacular play over the routine play that would have ensured a score.  He had several nice dunks (including the one called a charge) but seemed shakier on the perimeter.  But he just didn't fit in all that well on offense.  It's going to take him some time to adjust to not being the team's #1 option on offense, but I think he knew that coming into the program.  But theory and practice are two different things, and it will take time to iron out the kinks.  

 ** Williams:  Jason never does anything halfway.  He's either brilliant or horrible, but when it comes time to win, he always makes the right play.  When his team is down, it always serves to focus him.  Even if he's been having a horrible game, he can put all of that aside to make a brilliant, game-saving play or set off on a run that crushes the opponent's spirit.  His strength and quickness make him the most difficult matchup in college basketball.  While he didn't shoot well (18-49, including 7-20 from three) and had way too many turnovers (12), the fact remains that his play in the second half of the Seton Hall game won it for Duke, his playmaking against USC helped get Boozer going, and a spectacular first half against Ball State brought Duke back from a deficit.  Was his effeciency at an optimal level at all times?  No.  Was his concentration level where it needed to be at all times?  No.  Did he get the job done?  Absolutely. And while one can question his defense at times, the fact that he took three charges against Ball State shows that he has been working hard on off-ball defense.  The keys for Jason as the season continues are to work on precision and physical play.  Teams are going to pound him to keep him out of the lane, and he must respond with better foul shooting.  And he must work harder on making the right pass at the right time.  You don't want to curb his daring, but rather encourage him to take risks at better moments.  I fully expect his shooting to improve as the season goes on.        

 ** Duhon: Chris was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the tournament. This is not to say that he was terrible, it's just that he didn't shoot (8-20), pass (only 9 assists and 5 turnovers) or defend as well as he is capable.  His shot selection seemed iffy at times, taking several needless 25' jumpers.  That is certainly within his range, but he doesn't need to take that shot every time he squares up and is open.  While he did force a five-second call at one point, he also let his man drive by him a few times too many.  Of course, cramping up severely in the first game didn't help matters any, but it doesn't excuse his mental lapses.  More than anything, Chris just seemed out of synch with his teammates, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do.  His talent and toughness still made him valuable in each game, but he wasn't at his best.  I think that once he's used to being a star on this team while still fitting in and playing a role, he'll be much more comfortable and productive.        

 ** Ewing: Young Dan has seized his early opportunities by the throat.  The first thing a young player must do is prove that he can play good defense. That was accomplished: 4 steals and extremely sticky defense against some good players.  The second important thing is to minimize mistakes: 2 turnovers in three games isn't bad at all.  Dan then went out and got some extra credit by driving for a crucial late basket against Seton Hall; by getting an assist and 10 points on a variety of moves against USC; and by driving and running the floor against BSU to come up with 6 points. His three point shot could use a bit of work, but otherwise the team has very little dropoff when he comes in.  He's embracing the opportunity he's been given to become a mainstay, and his athleticism and effort have made him a nice fit.  Dan won't be a star this year, but he'll be the sort of role player that folks like Chris Carrawell, Nate James, Brian Davis, David Henderson and Marty Clark were in the past.     

 ** Horvath:  Nick had several good minutes against Seton Hall, helping to keep the team in the game.  He started against USC and again did a good job, picking up rebounds, blocking a shot and dunking.  He passed well and continued to rebound in the second half, but he looked extremely rusty on offense.  He barely played at all against Ball State, though he did get some rebounds.  At this point, he and Casey have a long way to go in order to become as effective as the regular starters.  Both have looked lost on offense and (surprisingly for Nick) on the foul line.  But both will be extremely important this year to help Boozer get rest.  

 ** Sanders: Game 1 can only be described as a disaster for Casey, who fouled early and often, mostly because he was so badly out of position so many times.  Game 2 was a little better as he relaxed a bit and came up with a block and some rebounds.  Game 3 was better still, as he hit an important basket during a run (albeit with some hesitation), blocked a couple of shots and generally looked much more comfortable.  The defense also didn't suffer much when he came in.  Casey still freezes at times when he's in the game, which is more about confidence than his skills.  One look at him will confirm that he's bigger and stronger, but he's still sometimes unsure of his abilities.  The most important thing for him to work on is his defensive positioning, which includes blocking out.  Once he's in the right place at all times, his fouls will ebb and he'll be in a better rhythm at both ends.  The one really nice thing about this tournament is that he took 2 charges, an excellent sign for a player who must accept more physical play.         

 ** Christensen:  Matt came in and played some very important minutes  against Seton Hall.  His hustle and rebounding were very impressive in his short stint, leading directly to a basket after he got an offensive board.  This was especially important since Duke's big men had been so ineffective up to that point--Matt inspired everyone with his toughness.  

 ** Means: Scored on a drive against USC and had a rebound.  A very poised showing.  

 ** Causey:  Played but did not score against USC.                

 Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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