Duke 93
NC A&T 51

December 16, 2001.  
Cameron Indoor Stadium.

  One word describes this game for Duke: efficiency.  Duke coldly dissected A&T's zone in the first half and systematically prevented them from scoring, possession by possession.  The best thing about Duke's dominant first half was that the players didn't seem to pay attention to the score, but rather continued to play hard every time down the court.  It took A&T seven minutes to break into double figures, and the entire half for them to hit 20 points. Even though Duke's offense was erratic at times (no surprise considering the long break), their defense played so hard that it didn't matter.  At one point in the first half, Duke went nearly three minutes with only 2 points--but the Aggies could only score 4 points during that span. 

  The team's defense is still ahead of the offense overall, though there were periods where Duke looked tough to stop.  The Devils scored over a fairly active zone, and then mudded their way through an aggressive and physical A&T defense in the second half.  Duke had to adjust to a foul- plagued second half, but once they did, the Devils got to the foul line with regularity.  Of course, crashing to the floor every other play didn't  do much for the team's health--Mike Dunleavy turned his ankle and never quite looked the same afterwards, and Jason Williams had a groin pull. Meanwhile, Nick Horvath didn't play do to a hip flexor injury.  Mike and Jason will both play against Kentucky.

  The Devils started the game with an 11-0 run--as Chris Duhon put it later, they didn't want to give their opponent the slightest hope of winning.  This start shows how the team has developed since Maui.  While Seton Hall and USC were certainly better teams than A&T, Duke was far too impatient to start the game against them, wanting to start the game up 20 rather than patiently applying pressure on every possession.  In this game, Duke immediately worked the offensive boards with Boozer tapping in a miss.  Dahntay Jones then found Dunleavy under the basket, and Mike followed that up by hitting Boozer inside.  After another A&T miss, Duhon hit Williams for a three, and then stole the inbounds pass for a layup.  Just like that, Duke had taken complete control of the game. No gimmicks, just great defense.

  The next eight minutes were all about the way Duke took apart A&T's zone, thanks to Duhon's passing and Williams' marksmanship.  Chris found Jason three times in a row from long range to give Duke a 27-11 lead with nine minutes left in the half.  Jason then found Jones for an easy bucket and hit another three to close out another 11-0 run to gave Duke a 32-11 lead that removed any suspense from the game. 

  By this time, Duke was experimenting with some different lineups, with Reggie Love and Matt Christensen getting some minutes along with regular subs Casey Sanders and Dan Ewing.  In particular, Coach K used Sanders and Boozer in the lineup together, as well as Christensen and Boozer.   Duke did not relent on offense, though A&T started to play better and was getting to the free throw line.  Still, Duke outscored them 16-10 in the last eight minutes of the half, with Boozer playing particularly well.  His post moves looked quite polished, using a flawless drop-step to score easily.  He later grabbed an offensive rebound and got a three point play out of it.  Duhon got into the scoring act (after declining to take many shots) by finishing in transition and nailing a long three. The one down note of the half was that Duke had the ball for the final possession of the half, but Jason turned the ball over and it led to an A&T basket at the buzzer.  Duke still led 48-21 and had limited the Aggies to just 24% from the field.

  The first five minutes of the second half were pretty much a draw, with Duke outscoring the Aggies 8-5.  Jones was the only Duke player  able to hit a basket, and he scored a couple in transition.  He finished one with a great crossover that froze a defender and scored on another after a Sanders block.  The Devils then started to turn the ball over several times in a row, and this time the Aggies were able to capitalize, going on a 6-0 run.  Coach K inserted Christensen, who surprisingly scored Duke's next 6 points.  He simply powered his way to the basket, starting with a 3 point play and continuing with multiple free throw attempts.  He helped spark a 13-1 run that consisted almost entirely of free throws as Duke out-toughed the Aggies.  It ended with a Ewing steal that he tossed behind him to Jones on the break for a thunderous dunk.  Duke led 69-33 and got to do pretty much whatever they wanted at that point.  This was especially true since A&T's starting backcourt was on the bench nursing injuries.  On Duke's side, Williams and Dunleavy were on the bench nursing their own injuries--Dunleavy actually left the court with about eight minutes left in the game.  Jones and Duhon had a couple of more tricks up their sleeve, however--Dahntay got an offensive putback and Duhon spotted up for a three.

  With about eight minutes to go, Coach K started to go deeper into his bench.  Andre Buckner took over at point and did a nice job, finding Ewing for a three.  Love got plenty of more playing time and hit the boards hard.  Deep reserves Andy Means, Andy Borman and Mark Causey also played, with Causey's three causing the bench to erupt.  Overall, a solid effort as Duke shook off its rust.  If Duke shows this kind of defensive intensity against Kentucky, then their chances are quite good against them.  Of course, Duke will need to limit their fouling and turnovers--17 turnovers against the Wildcats won't get the job done.  

  ** Negatives:  

1. Valuing the ball.  Some of Duke's turnovers were good ideas that just went bad--a slightly overthrown alley-oop or a bullet pass inside that ricocheted off someone's hands.  But some of them were passes forced into double coverage or just plain slip-ups.    

2. Blocking out.  Duke allowed 20 offensive rebounds, which was the only reason why A&T came within 40 points of the Devils.  

3. Fouling.  Giving up offensive rebounds often led directly to fouls to make up for it.  Result: A&T got 26 foul shots, making 15.       

  ** Positives:  

1. Defense.  From the very beginning of the game, Duke played defense like their lives depended on it.  I think their intensity shocked A&T to the point where most of their team became intimidated, because they started shortarming and airballing a lot of shots.  Duke's helpside defense was solid, their ball pressure was insane, and even their shotblocking was a factor.  

2. Dealing with contact.  A&T got very physical in the second half, forcing Duke to go hard to the basket and get it done from the foul line.  Duke didn't flinch when being dealt that much punishment, and they got to deal out a little of their own.  

3. Offensive adaptability.  When being zoned in the first half, Duke used penetration and kick-outs to find open shooters and cutters.  Result: 14 assists on 18 field goals.  When A&T went to a more physical approach in the second half, Duke put it on the floor and then pounded the glass. Result: 22-31 from the line. 

    Player-by-Player:  

  ** Boozer: A fine overall game for Carlos, who logged yet another double- double.  This was especially notable since he was being zoned in the first half, but still found ways of slipping behind it to get touches.  This is the first time in his career that he's really been able to do this against that type of zone.  Some of his short attempts didn't fall in the second half (none of them did, actually) and he blew an easy dunk, but those were all errors of commission--they were all good shots.  More important to understand is that he had 0 turnovers and grabbed everything that came  near him.  Not only that, but in addition to his 11 rebounds, he had a  couple of nice tap-outs to his own players with the ball in the air.  Whenever he was in the game in the first half, he was a threat to score.  He scored twice on offensive rebounds, once on a post up and once on a drop step.  More impressively, he had 7 rebounds in heavy traffic and started breaks well.  He missed 3 short hooks in the second half but still managed to grab 4 boards for his double-double.  Carlos' services were obviously not needed in the half with the big lead and a need to see what the other big men could do.  

  ** Dunleavy: Mike turned his ankle early in the game, and didn't really look right the rest of the contest.  This didn't stop him from scoring on a pretty reverse right after that, but his 0-6 mark from three may have been affected by it.  Mike also had an assist to Boozer inside and to  Duhon for a three.  He also had a decent rebounding performance in limited minutes, snagging 4 defensive boards.  Hopefully, a day's rest will see him get healthy for the Kentucky game.  I sense that he'll be needed to come up with a big performance.  

  ** Jones: Dahntay is just getting better and better in a Blue Devil uniform. Today, he was able to mix the spectacular with the routine and got great results.  In the first half, he concentrated on defense and offensive flow. He was 2-3, scoring on a Williams feed and converting a Duhon lob in spectacular fashion.  But he also had assists to Dunleavy and Duhon and picked up 3 boards.  But with Dunleavy going to the bench for most of the second half, the team needed a bit more from him.  So he started the  half by dusting off his defender with a nasty crossover for an easy layup. A block led to an easy runout for Dahntay, who finished with two hands. Then he got to the line for some free throws.  Ewing then stole a pass and dished to Jones for a crowd-pleasing one-handed tomahawk jam.  Jones then followed up a missed shot with a putback.  He scored a team-high 12 points in the half, which was especially crucial since no one was hitting anything for Duke in the first few minutes of the half.  (In fact, the other starters were a combined 1-12 in the second half.)  Jones was smooth and in control throughout the game.  Just as impressive as his scoring was his second-half rebounding.  He had 6 in the half to lead the team, with several of them offensive.  More than anything, he sensed what his team needed out of him and went out and did it.  

  ** Williams: Jason hit 6 three pointers twelve minutes into the game, and didn't score again after that.  He had a groin pull late in the first half, and didn't play a whole lot in the second half as a result.  His  ball pressure was extremely impressive, forcing 5 steals.  Jason also alternated well with Duhon at point, finding Boozer, Jones and Duhon for baskets.  But he was truly in "off-guard" mode, which I noticed seemed to give him a lot more energy on defense, since he had to worry a lot less about setting up the offense.  His points came with very little effort other than running to the right location for a screen.  His hailstorm of threes seemed to have a rather demoralizing effect on the Aggies--he was simply a force of nature out there at times.  

  ** Duhon: Kind of an erratic game offensively for Chris.  As a point guard, he's starting to take more risks in terms of the types of passes he's tossing around.  It's a high-risk, high-reward type of scenario, but the results on Sunday revealed a bit of sloppiness, with 7 turnovers to 6 assists.  On the other hand, his defense was as good as any I've ever seen at Duke.  While his 3 steals were nice, it was his constant ball pressure that was amazing.  The way he kept his shoulders squared and feet moving in front of his man utterly frustrated him.  One thing I'd like to see Chris do more of is drive and use his floater.  There are times when he overpasses instead of taking a good available shot--I realize he's trying to be a leader and point guard, but by removing himself from the offensive equation too often he can hurt the team.  

  ** Sanders: Casey had a great defensive game, getting 2 energizing blocks and winding up with 3 steals.  Of course, a couple of tough passes went right through his hands.  My favorite part of his game came when he went to the basket and was intentionally fouled hard, but he came right up and sank both free throws.  Casey tends to respond when he's needed, and I sense that he'll be a very important part of Duke's defensive plan against Kentucky.  

  ** Ewing: A very quiet first half, with just an assist to Williams and a steal but no points.  He turned it on in the second half, energizing the team with some big steals and nice passes.  He also hit a three late in the game.  His 5 rebounds were also a huge plus.    

  ** Love: Reggie saw his first action of the year late in the first half, and it was a welcome return indeed.  His size was nice to have in the post, especially with Dunleavy on the bench.  But it was his effort in the second half that showed that he may be ready to seize some real playing time this year.  He attacked the offensive glass like few other Duke players have this year, and wasn't afraid to throw his weight around. His ballhandling was a bit shaky, but he was clearly ready to play in a team mode--his pass to Causey after he snagged an offensive board was perfect.    

  ** Christensen: Matt came in at a point when Duke had the blahs on offense and A&T had just scored 6 in a row.  He responded by taking a Duhon pass and powering up for a three point play.  Matt in fact had 6 straight points for Duke in about a minute and a half.  He basically came out to knock some heads and did so, going hard at the basket and his opponents.  The amazing thing is that he was 6-7 from the foul line, easily the best showing of his career.  Rumor has it that he may become Duke's designated technical foul shooter.  His energy and toughness made him useful in a game that had devolved to the foulfest stage.  While Duke doesn't always play well in such situations, Matt thrives on contact.  I would not be shocked to see him get some spot minutes against Kentucky, especially if Boozer gets in foul trouble.  This would seem to make sense as well in light of Horvath being out for that game.  

  ** Buckner: Andre got some extended minutes and took some good-looking shots, none of which went in.  However, he had a nice assist to Ewing for a three and took care of the ball.  Andre also hit a couple of free throws.  

  ** Causey: Mark hit a nice-looking three on a Love pass and missed a couple of other short jumpers.  The bench went bananas when he hit that shot.  

  ** Means: Andy M. didn't score but he did hustle to get 3 rebounds.  Andy is actually a pretty good player, much like Mark, and displayed a lot of energy.  In general, the walk-ons played with a lot of intelligence and fire.  

  ** Borman:  Andy B also picked up 3 rebounds.  He was posterized by an A&T player for a three point play.  The strutting A&T player then posed and preened to the Duke fans as though he had just scored the most important basket in the history of the game over Michael Jordan, instead of a meaningless jam in a game where his team was being blown out.  The player fouled out on the next possession...fouling Borman, who went to the line and hit 1.          

  ** Cameron Craziness:  This being an exam break game, the usual crowd energy just wasn't there.  In fact, the whole place got very quiet through long stretches of the game.  There were a few things of interest to report.  The best-costumed fans of the game were two young women, one of whom was an X-Mas gift (complete with red bow on top) and the other was a tree (complete with blinking lights!).  As far as chants went, one could hear "Boozer's winning" and "Jason's winning" at various points in the first half.  (And Jason was still winning until there were three minutes to go in the half!) The grad students were out in force, however, and in good voice.  When A&T was confused at one point which side of the court they were supposed to  be on for a Duke free throw, the grads chanted "You shoot over there, we shoot over here."    

  ** Next Game: Tuesday, December 20th vs Kentucky.  This is one of the more eagerly-anticipated games of the year.  Kentucky has considerable depth inside but has been shaking at point guard.  The Cats will try to pound the ball inside while using offensive weapon Tayshaun Prince inside and out, while Duke will look to pressure the ball and force a lot of turnovers. Rebounding margin (especially on the offensive boards) and turnovers will be the key stats to watch.     

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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