Duke 106
Davidson 71

January 2, 2002.  

Charlotte Coliseum.

   This game was designed for last-minute tinkering before the long ACC season gets underway, and the results of that experimentation were quite positive.  Of course, there were the unfortunate side-effects of some minor injuries to Mike Dunleavy and Dahntay Jones, but it seems as though they won't have any lasting effects.  The bench wound up with 70 minutes of playing time and produced 45 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and only 2 turnovers.  It is unlikely that Coach K will use a long bench as a rule once the tough games begin, but it's nice to know that some of the key contributors will be ready when their time comes.

   Davidson is a disciplined team that shot 45% from three in this game and of course upset UNC in the Dean Dome.  But they simply didn't have the raw talent and ability to stay in the game for long.  What they did have was size, and dealing with it was a good test for Duke.  It was also in an NCAA tourney-type environment, which Coach K likes to do a few times a year to get his team used to them.  The most intriguing thing about the game came before it even started--Casey Sanders started in place of  Dahntay Jones.  The move worked out pretty well for all involved.  Jones, who has sometimes been nervous in games as he tries to be as perfect as possible, needed to loosen up a bit.  Coming into the game a few minutes into it allowed him to see how the game was flowing before he got in, and that enabled him to make a big impact right away.  Sanders on the other hand often has trouble making a big impact when he comes off the bench, but responded well last year when he was a starter.  It's not that he becomes a better offensive player, but he seems to be more active on the boards. Coach K said he wasn't sure if he was going to keep this lineup or not. The big problem is that if Duke is guarding a team with a quick wing or a three-guard lineup, there may be some difficulties defending that player.

   Duke started out with a bang, much like they have in many of their games. Duhon drove and passed back to Boozer for an 18' jumper, and then Sanders passed behind him to Dunleavy for a three.  After Dunleavy drove in for a 10' jumper, Duhon snagged a rebound and zipped it upcourt to Boozer for a dunk.  Just two minutes into the game, Duke led 9-0.  But Davidson has a  lot of veterans, and after they scored on the next play, they calmed down a bit and started taking better shots.  They scored 5 in a row (including a three from seven footer Martin Ides) but were let down by Dunleavy getting a steal and dunk.  Tenacious play helped them close to within 12-9, but Duhon found Williams for a three.  Amazingly, the Wildcats stuck to their game plan and continued to attack, storming back with a 7-0 run topped off by a three that gave them a 16-15 lead.  Williams found a screen and sank a three of his own, but the Wildcats hit another three to go up 19-18 with thirteen minutes left in the half.  Enter Dahntay Jones.

   Williams drove and passed to Jones in the corner.  He hesitated for a moment but then pulled up and nailed a three.  That seemed to be the shot in the arm that he needed as he scored 7 straight points for Duke.  Davidson, geared up to stop Duke's threes and inside game, had no answer for Jones attacking the basket as he hit a floater and a drive.  Williams continued the barrage with some foul shots and another pull-up three.  All of a sudden, Duke had a 12-0 run and a 30-19 lead with nine minutes to go in the half.

   Duke started to let up a bit as the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to make it a game again.  It didn't help that Dunleavy had turned his ankle and was sitting the rest of the game out, since he had started out so well, but Duke was struggling to make shots for a while.  The Devils went back to Jones,  who hit another long baseline jumper.  Duhon then passed into Boozer for a slick turnaround jumper and before you knew it Duke was on an 11-0 run. Jones and free throw shooting were the stars, with 'tay driving in on an acrobatic layup for a three point play.  Boozer and Jones then hit some more free throws to put Duke up 43-27 with three minutes left in the half.

   The Devils couldn't add much to that lead as Davidson regrouped and hit a couple of more threes to stop the bleeding.  Boozer continued his strong play with a rebound basket, while the bench started making some more contributions.  Williams found Ewing on a drive, and then Jones drove and hit Ewing in the corner for a three (his favorite spot, much like Nate  James).  Even Andre Buckner got in the act, scoring on a cut off a Williams pass.  Still, the halftime lead was only 53-49.  Boozer, Williams and Jones were the three biggest stars of the half, scoring 39 of Duke's 53 points. Boozer went up against a big front line but still pulled down 8 boards

   Boozer started the second half by going strong to the hole and getting fouled, hitting both shots.  Sanders grabbed an offensive rebound after a scramble and passed it to Williams for a three.  But Davidson coolly  responded by scoring 4 in a row to keep Duke's lead at 15.  Then Chris Duhon started to heat up.  Scoreless in the first half with only 2 attempts, he drove in for a layup, pulled up for a three and hit another three on a Williams feed in about a minute's time.  Duke had a 20 point lead, but again went into a bit of a lull as back-to-back threes kept the Wildcats close.  With twelve minutes left, they were only down 68-55, and stranger things have certainly happened. 

   Duke went back to attacking the basket, and good things happened as a  result.  Boozer and Williams went to the line, hitting 3 of 4.  That helped spark a 13-2 run that pretty much put the game away for good.  Ewing came off the bench to keep it going, hitting a 12' pullup jumper and dishing to  Boozer in transition for a goaltend.  Duhon hit yet another three, but the play of the game came a bit later.  Boozer set up on the right block and passed to Jones, who drove up the middle and smashed down a highlight real jam over a 6-10 defender, getting the dunk and the foul.  That put Duke up 81-57 with about nine minutes left.  Davidson cut it to 84-62, but that was pretty much their last hurrah as Duke's bench came on to make mincemeat of the Wildcats.

   Jones got hurt a couple of plays after his dunk, getting a minor hip flexor injury.  It was time to bring in the top reserves, and they did not disappoint.  Christensen scored on consecutive tips and had a late three point play.  Mark Causey hit a three, while Buckner scored on another drive.  Duke's bench outscored Davidson 18-5 in the last five minutes of the game, closing them out strong.   

   At this point, Coach K is working on chemistry, taking long looks at different combinations to see how they mesh.  He wanted to look at how using two big men at once worked, so we saw lots of Boozer & Sanders out there.  I think he liked the idea of a super-sub who could bring a lot of offensive firepower to the table, so bringing in Jones off the bench was tried.  This Duke team is very efficient and scores as well in the halfcourt as any of Coach K's teams, but hasn't come out and flattened many of its opponents right away.  There are also periods of sloppiness where the team takes bad shots and plays indifferent defense.  Of course, when things get tight, this group always responds well.  I think the experience of the 2000 season was good for Williams, Dunleavy and Boozer--they played in a number of close games and learned what it took to win in those situations.  Whenever Duke goes into overtime, I rarely worry, because this group excels under pressure.  The problem is they don't always react well when they are winning by a lot.  Still, Duke has played very well and it's clear that they have not yet peaked.   

  ** Negatives:   

1. Perimeter defense.  Davidson shot 10-22 from three, and that's partly because Duke didn't do a good enough job rotating over to harrass the shooter.  

2. Fouling.  Duke put Davidson on the line 18 times and committed 20 fouls-- that's a bit above their preferred averages.  

  ** Positives:  

1. Rebounding.  Three starters had 6 or more rebounds.  Boozer had yet another double-double, and Christensen kept up his recent strong play.   Davidson is tall but not quick, and that hurt them here.  

2. Valuing the ball.  Duke only had 11 turnovers, which should be around  their goal for every game.  Duhon had 5 assists and 0 turnovers.  

3. Attacking the basket.  Duke had 37 free throw attempts and scored on a number of drives and in transition.  This is the bread-and-butter of the offense.  

Player-by-Player:  

  ** Boozer: Just a fine game for Carlos, who dominated lesser foes the way he should.  And these were not small players--Davidson had a 6-10 and 7-0 player, and Carlos scored and rebounded at will.  He was particularly impressive in the first half, scoring 13 points with a long jumper, a rebound basket, a transition dunk and 5 foul shots.  His pass to Jones for a flying dunk was an excellent read that pumped up the team.  Boozer's 13-14 performance from the foul line was truly impressive and highlights why he's so important for Duke.  His opposite number scored mostly from outside and only had 1 rebound.  

  ** Sanders:  Casey really does play with more energy and confidence when he starts.  The downside of this is that he's still not especially proficient as a scorer, though he did have one nice pickup in this game.  He does screen rather nicely, especially in the high post for threes, and his nifty behind-the-back flip to Dunleavy for a three as he was setting a screen was a great play.  Boozer grabbed most of the available rebounds, but Sanders got 5 in the second half.  Still, Duke's starting frontcourt getting a combined 19 rebounds is a great stat indeed.  I'm not convinced that this is a great long-term move, but it does seem to make sense against bigger teams.  Especially since Casey's quickness makes him capable of guarding certain big forwards.  But it's clear that Duke's offense isn't quite as prolific with Casey out there.  

  ** Dunleavy:  Mike was off to a great start before his injury.  He had 7 points in the first 3 minutes, grabbed 2 boards and blocked a couple of shots.  He was everywhere on the court as he was playing in his more natural wing position.  His size gave him some mismatches when wings were trying to guard him off the dribble.  Mike wasn't hurt on defense, either, as Davidson's guards weren't that quick.  He probably would have wound up with 20+ points if he hadn't gotten hurt.  Fortunately, it's a relatively minor injury.  

  ** Williams:  Let's talk stats for a moment.  A quick glance at the current edition of StatWatch (below) shows us that Jason has become only the fourth player in Duke history to score 1500 points and dish 500 assists (along with Hurley, Dawkins and Ferry).  Jason joins Hurley as the only players to do the above and hit 500 three pointers (although of course the three's only been in effect for the last 15 years or so).  Williams is simply storming through the Duke record books, as he's now #10 in steals.  Weirdly,  though Jason was a solid 4-9 from three but 0-4 from two.  His layup attempts  off drives simply wouldn't fall.  He was getting fouled regularly and hit the  free throws at a decent clip.  Of note was his three that put Duke ahead after Davidson took their first lead, and then an assist to Jones for three after Davidson re-took the lead.  When Duke is behind, Jason steps up immediately. Those were the only that leads Davidson held in the game. 

  ** Duhon:  Chris had a quietly spectacular game at both ends of the floor. In many ways, this was the ideal Duhon line: 11 points (3-5 from three), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 0 turnovers.  Considering that Jason was only 1-5 from the floor in the second half, Chris' 4-6 was particularly important.  His 8 quick points served to blow the game open early in the second half, giving Duke a margin too large to overcome.  Chris set the table early in the game, finding Boozer twice for baskets and setting up Jason for his first three.  The threes he hit in the second half were very long range, the kind of shots (when they fall) that can make your opponent throw up his hands in despair.  You simply can't defend it.  Chris very clearly is in point guard mode, actively seeking to get the ball to others, often at his own expense.  He must continue to learn that he must learn to pick and choose his spots, taking shots and driving to keep the defense honest.   

  ** Love: Reggie got some spot play, picking up 1 rebound.  Duke didn't need much help inside in this game, so Reggie wasn't needed quite as much.  

  ** Jones: Perhaps the best game of his Duke career.  Hitting 2 long jumpers undoubtedly pumped up his confidence and made his defenders a bit more wary. This allowed him to slash to the basket almost at will and with great body control.  His earlier three point play was almost as spectacular in its own way as his later dunk, because he drove hard and then twisted his body so that he wouldn't pick up the charging foul.  His foul shooting was smooth and assured, which was important since he was getting hacked a lot.  He moved the ball around well and only turned it over once.  And of course, his dunk was authoritative--his opponents had no chance.  I would have liked to have seen him pick up a few more rebounds--I think he's potentially double-double material.  But this was definitely a game to build on.     

  ** Christensen: Matt didn't do much in his first stint of the game, but came on strong in the second half.  He was everywhere on the boards, going hard after the ball for a couple of tip-ins and earning a three point play. It was nice to see him finish plays a bit better after several near-makes against San Diego State.  He also had only 1 foul, though clearly the quality and quickness of the competition wasn't of the highest caliber.   Still, he's playing harder and smarter now than at any time in his career.  

  ** Ewing:  Dan broke out of his mini-slump and put together a great  performance.  Hitting 2 threes was a welcome relief after his recent  difficulties from long range, but his short jumper and sizzling pass to Boozer were just as impressive.  I also liked the fact that he hustled for 2 offensive rebounds.  A big lift off the bench who got some of  Dunleavy and Jones' minutes tonight.   

  ** Buckner:  Andre actually got some first-half playing time and did well, scoring on a cut.  I think Coach K is rewarding him for his tremendous hard work with an extra minute or two here and there.  

  ** Horvath: Nick just got spot minutes, grabbing a rebound.  Still coming off his injuries, he's fallen behind Christensen in the rotation, though there's always time to improve.  

  ** Means/Borman/Causey: Means came up with a hustling steal.  Borman only played a minute and didn't do anything of note.  Causey came out firing and sank and three, and got fouled a couple of times.  The scrappy Georgian also picked up a couple of rebounds.  He's definitely skilled.   

  ** Next Game: Sunday, January 6th at 6:30 pm at Florida State.  FSU has a  decent array of talent and size, but has had trouble scoring.  They've lost to teams like Western Carolina but recently took out a solid South Florida squad.  The FSU students won't be back so there will likely be  many empty seats in the Leon County Civics Center.  

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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