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Duke 104 |
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December 8, 2001. Duke's win over Temple was all about passion.
Their win over Michigan was all about swagger.
Both are crucial elements for championship teams. Granted, this was
not a vintage Michigan squad, but playing on their home court with a huge
crowd and all of the emotion surrounding the Coach K- Tommy Amaker meeting
could have contributed to Duke struggling to get a win.
Needless to say, they didn't.
This was not a perfect win-- the team went through several scoring
lulls and didn't play great post defense--but the periods where Duke
focused their full attention on attacking their opponents relentlessly at
both ends of the court were beautiful and frightening to watch.
The best thing about the win is that Michigan played as hard as
they could against the Devils and made some incredible plays, just to keep
the margin under 30. This game made both teams better, and that's a positive for
both coaches. Duke's swagger was personified in the form of Jason Williams.
When Duke starts out, I like to see one of two things: either the
team giving the ball to Boozer in the block, or Jason attempting to score
via a drive or pull-up three. I
like to see Duke establishing its top weapons right away and letting the
other team know what they're in for.
And Duke did just that in this game: Jason started with a three,
drove in for a 10 footer, and then dished to Dahntay Jones for a bucket.
After Dunleavy stole the ball and dunked, Duke was up 9-0.
You could see the fear in Michigan's eyes right away as they
started taking quick shots and badly missed them. The Wolverines regrouped
somewhat and cut the lead to 11-4. Jason
simply reasserted his will and sparked an 18-0 run.
It began with a four-point play as he was fouled hitting a three.
He followed that up with a drive and a deep three.
Jason then found Duhon for something like a 26' three that left
Michigan looking bewildered. Duhon
then forced a steal and drove in for an easy layup.
Just five minutes into the game, Williams already had 14 points and
2 assists and Duke led 25-4. Visions
of Duke's knockout of Michigan danced through everyone's heads.
Duke followed this up with a Duhon lob to Ewing and a couple of
Dunleavy foul shots. Four straight points from Michigan were followed by some of
Dahntay's best moves as a Devil. He
rebounded a Duke miss for a score and then got two on a smooth drive.
It's clear that he's absorbed his lessons and is fitting in much
better--he was under control all day and didn't try the
outrageous play when the simple one would do.
With ten minutes gone by in the half, Duke led 34-8 and had several
subs in. The Wolverines
decided to fight back, aided in part by some bad shots on Duke's attempts.
Impressive-looking frosh Dommanic Ingerson hit a couple of treys in a row,
igniting the team and the crowd. It set off a 15-4 run, with Duke's only baskets a Duhon
delivery to Sanders on the break and a Boozer drive.
After Boozer then hit a couple of free throws, the Wolverines again
scored, cutting the lead to 40-25 with four minutes left in the half.
Stranger things have happened, especially in this series. But the starters came back and started playing with more
control, as Jones found Dunleavy on a cut and then Mike D pulled up for
one of his signature 10' jumpers. But
the player who started the onslaught would finish it in this half.
Williams started with a couple of free throws, dished to Jones for
a three, and then drove in for a tough hanging layup over two defenders as
time ran out in the half. He
had an absurd 18 points 3 rebounds, 2 assists 1 steal and only 1 turnover,
and shot 6-7 from the field. He
simply couldn't have been any more efficient or dominant.
Michigan's guards simply didn't know what to do with him.
Duke shot over 60% as a team in the first half, including
5-11 from three and 10-10 from the foul line.
But a 19 point lead was far from unassailable, and Duke would need
to firmly establish their control in the second half. After Michigan cut the lead to 17 to begin the half, the
Devils promptly went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes. This run was different from those in the first half in that
the focus was on getting the ball to Boozer.
Williams was still the overall focus, but this time he was doing it
as a playmaker. He started
with a dish to Boozer, who then drove for the basket.
Williams then came up with a steal by overplaying a lane and wound
up with an easy dunk. Jason
found Carlos inside for another easy basket, and then came up with another
steal that he tapped ahead to Dunleavy for a finish.
The Devils led 60-34, and any thoughts of a comeback had been
snuffed out. Michigan recovered from the knockout blow and kept things
relatively close over the next four minutes.
Dunleavy hit a three and Boozer scored again as the lead was 68-43
with thirteen minutes left. Duke
kept going to Boozer, whom Michigan simply could not stop.
Williams found him in the lane for a pretty hook shot, while Jones
hit him in stride for a flying slam.
Duke continued to apply pressure at both ends of the court as Jones
scored on a couple of controlled drives and Duhon got yet another steal
and runout. The lead was now
81-49 with under ten minutes left, and the only thing in doubt was the
final margin. The Wolverines kept fighting, as Young and Ingerson were
scoring against a defense that was no longer as aggressive. The Wolverines went on a 15-7 run, answering a Williams three
with a three of their own to make the score 88-64. It was Duke's turn for one last run, this time from the three
point line. Dunleavy struck
first, but it was Williams who hit three in a row in less than a minute.
That made it 102-70 with four minutes left, and
Coach K called off the dogs at that point.
Amaker's Wolverines kept fighting against Duke's bench and
outscored them 13-2 to end the game. Aside from that slip of
concentration, Duke's overall effort and focus was outstanding throughout
the game. But the lesson to
be drawn from this game is that the players are starting to understand
their roles a bit better, and further understand their full potential.
There is potential greatness here, and this aura can be used as a
weapon. This was the first
time Duke used it as such and it hopefully won't be the last. ** Negatives: 1. Post defense. Duke let Michigan center Chris Young get way too many easy attempts. This is not entirely the fault of Boozer, but rather the fact that too many uncontested passes came into the post. 2.
Bench play. Sanders, Horvath
and Ewing certainly all had their moments. But they also combined for 6 of
Duke's 13 turnovers, went 2-8 from the field and totaled 4 fouls.
And it's not like they were yanked for their mistakes--they
combined for 44 minutes. Duke
was running some new things when they were out there, but it's clear that
the level of intensity dropped
when they were out there. The
big mitigating factor: they also had 6 of Duke's 8 offensive rebounds, so
they were at least trying. ** Positives: 1. Offensive efficiency. For the first time, all five starters seemed to click on offense. Williams freelanced a bit but seemed to know when to do it and when to flow with the rest of the offense. Duhon is brilliantly directing the show and getting shots for everyone else. Boozer is adding new components to his game. Jones was driving, shooting and passing quite well and Dunleavy showed that he may be Duke's best motion player. 2. Defensive intensity. Duke attacked Michigan's guards and threw a blanket over their very good forwards. They turned miscues into points and genuinely intimidated the Wolverines at times. 3. Rebounding. My favorite stat of the night: Six different players had at least 4 rebounds. Dunleavy had another strong effort with 8, denying the offensive rebound after bad Michigan shots. Player-by-Player:
** Boozer: He
had a quiet first half, and it was clear that Coach K told the team that
they had to get Boozer going in the second half.
While the team found him 4 times in the half, the most interesting
thing was seeing him unveil a new move. For
the first time, he put the ball on the floor and drove in order to get a
short hook or layup attempt. It
was actually quite reminisicent of Christian Laettner.
And he did this two or three times, and was quite effective.
We won't be seeing Carlos running the break or anything, but this
will add a new level of versatility to his game if he can keep it up.
Carlos should be congratulated for joining the 1000 point club at
Duke with this game; see the Statwatch below for particulars.
Carlos did not have a great rebounding game, only picking up 3, but
Michigan wasn't able to capitalize as they only had 7 offensive rebounds
for the game. What I liked
most about the way Carlos played is the way he stepped up in the second
half. Instead of sulking about only getting 4 attempts (and missing
3 close-in shots), he simply made himself a better target in the second
half and made sure to finish (6-6). His
performance at the foul line, as always, was excellent (9-10). His foul trouble prevented him from being more physical with
Chris Young, though Young got some of his points taking Carlos outside.
Working on being more of a dominant defensive presence should be
his next goal. ** Dunleavy: Just a solid all-around game for Mike.
He shot well (6-9), rebounded
well and took care of the ball. He
was aggressive on defense and helped contain Lavell Blanchard, who was
scoreless in the first half. His driving to the basket got Blanchard in
immediate foul trouble, sending him to the bench for the decisive first
half. Because he moves so
well without the ball, most of his scores came with very little dribbling
on his part: two runouts, a cut, a dribble-drive and pull-up jumer, and 3
threes. He was also very
active in the passing lanes, using those long arms of his to pick up
steals. Throw in a block, a
couple of assists and only 1 turnover and you have a complete game.
** Jones: His best all-around game as a Blue Devil.
Shooting 6-8 from the field (including a three) and generally
wreaking havoc in the open floor is one thing, but he also held Michigan
star Bernard Robinson to 4 points on 2-11 shooting and forced 2 turnovers.
Yes, he had a charge, but it was a borderline call, not an
out-of-control Jones. The key to success in the Duke offense is efficiency;
excessive dribbling and off- balance shots are to be avoided. You can see that Jones is really catching on now with
smoother drives and better passing. In
the second half, he had 2 assists and only 3 shot attempts, making 2 of
them. And they came on
controlled drives to the basket. It
was also nice to see a three of his go down--not surprisingly, it came
from a pass to him as he was spotting up instead of off the dribble.
If he chips in with 14 points and 4 boards in every game and shoots
this effectively, he will only make his teammates that much more
effective.
** Williams: A Saturday afternoon game on national TV is
a very good time to pick to reestablish oneself as the leading contender
for national player of the year. His
level of play was just several notches above everyone else's. A player is generally considered to be successful in a game
if they have more points than shots.
In this game, Jason had more points than **minutes** (35-31), on
just 19 shots. He hit 7
threes, not hesitating on any of his attempts.
He also took them from different spots, but was most effective from
the wing. And it's not like
he's stopped passing the ball--his 5 assists and 2 turnovers would be
great for any point guard. Most of all, he simply looked relaxed.
Anytime he was in the game, Duke looked that much sharper, and
everyone sensed that he would do something spectacular.
On occasion, one can see Jason drifting a bit on the court,
resulting in a careless mistake. I didn't see that at all in this game. ** Duhon: There are times when his shot selection
frigtens me a bit, but other than that Duhon has been playing
near-flawless basketball as the floor leader.
His assist/turnover ratio is at 2.5:1 at this point and it will
only get higher with games like this one (10 assists, 2 turnovers). Throw
in 4 more steals (he's averaging over 3 per game) and he has become the
perfect complement to Jason Williams.
He had assists to Williams (and always knows when Jason is hot),
Dunleavy, Sanders, Boozer and Ewing--in other words, everyone who had a
field goal. He held
superquick PG Avery Queen to 1-4 from the field and forced 5 turnovers
(though Williams also picked his pocket), including a 5-second call.
I wouldn't mind seeing him take a few more open jumpers here and
there, especially from mid-range. He does have an uncanny sense of when to
drive into the lane, because he never seems to miss such a shot.
I sense that he has not yet had his best game as point guard.
** Ewing: Thus far, Daniel has not played as aggressively
or intelligently in his road games as he has in Cameron. This is to be expected since he's a freshman.
This is not to say that he didn't have a few highlights against
Michigan. He scored on a lob
and also hit a 15' jumper, but was out of position on defense at times and
picked up 3 fouls. Dan didn't
have a horrible game, he
simply didn't make as big an impact here as he did in other games. This is quite normal for a frosh. ** Horvath: There was a lot of effort from Nick here, but
there were also a lot of mistakes. He
was called for 3 seconds and had a pass bounce out of his hands. Nick
was unable to get anything to drop, from long range or in close. But
his main job is to rebound and play defense, and he did both of those pretty well.
He had a superb held-ball block with a man coming right at him and generally played hard the whole
time. Still, he can
contribute a lot more than he did on offense. ** Sanders: Casey had 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, which is a
big positive. But he also dropped several well-placed passes that should
have been easy scores, which is a big negative.
The rebounding was great to see, especially on the offensive end.
He's the team's only shotblocker, so it's heartening to see him use
this as a weapon. And he
generally was in good position on defense.
But when he and Horvath were in the game together on offense, Duke
had difficulty scoring. ** Christensen: The Monster came in towards the end of
the game and had a couple of nice hustle rebounds that he tried to tip in,
but that rimmed out instead.
** Buckner & Causey: Mark drove well and dropped off
a pass that was missed, while Andre played but didn't do much. **
StatWatch: Williams
(plus Boozer & Dunleavy) Career Scoring Watch:
(12/8) 20.
Thomas Hill 1594 Williams Career Assist Watch: (12/8) 1.
Bobby Hurley 1076 Williams
Career Steals Watch: 1.
Shane Battier 266 Williams
Career Threes Watch: 1.
Trajan Langdon
802 Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu
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| Rob is a thirty two year old Duke grad who's been an ACC fan since he was nine years old, when a young Duke team was beaten in the finals by Kentucky. Since that time, he has been fascinated by the entire league and started writing volumes on it in rec.sport.basketball.college and other electronic forums in 1991. Recently, he has been writing ACC analyses for Jazzy J's About.com site and regularly contributes features on women's basketball for the Duke Basketball Report. |