Open Practice Report

October 25, 2002

 A preliminary version of this report was printed on Duke Basketball Report.  This version will flesh out the original and also provide some thoughts on Friday's practice.

 It was interesting to compare the two practices.  Thursday's was an intense, hard-fought series of scrimmages with only one interruption by Coach K.  Friday's practice was a more traditional practice that emphasized offensive fundamentals.  Both revealed a lot about where a lot of players stand right now.  Please do note that this team is a work in progress, and players who are not up to contributing now may be able to contribute later in the year.  At this point, Duke has nine players who are ready to contribute right away.

  Thursday's practice was for Duke employees on the new Season Ticket plan (for football & women's basketball season tickets).  Thus, it was sort of a second Blue-White game since Saturday's game is sold out.  In general, Thursday's practice was filled with enthusiasm, intensity, and sloppiness with good and bad moments from virtually every player.  While some players were more active than others, there are no truly dominant players on this team.  Some of the older players like Casey Sanders and Nick Horvath have improved but still have a ways to go, while some of the younger players like Shelden Williams are clearly quite talented but just need experience. In speaking to the crowd afterwards, Coach K told them that there was one big difference in what they saw today versus what they'll see in the regular season:  pacing.  He plans to speed things up in real games and utilize his bench to wear teams down.  He mentioned that team weaknesses included having no dominant players and youth, while strengths included chemistry, camaraderie and depth.  That depth also made it possible for some players to sit out particular games during the practice and rest.

  Coach K also mentioned that this would be the first of three practices where there would be spectators, and the Thursday practice even included ACC officials and was timed as a game would be.  On Thursday, the games switched between 10-12 minute timed scrimmages and situational scrimmages of variable times and pre-set scores.

  The first scrimmage featured a team with Chris Duhon, JJ Redick, Nick Horvath, Dahntay Jones, Shelden Williams and Andy Means against a squad consisting of Andre Buckner, Casey Sanders, Shav Randolph, Sean Dockery, Dan Ewing and Lee Melchionni.  In the first scrimmage, both teams had a lot of trouble scoring inside in the early going.  Lee Melchionni scored 5 quick points for his Blue team (nailing a three), while JJ Redick proved deadly from long range, nailing his first 3 threes.  Casey absolutely clobbered Shelden after he went to the hoop off a slipscreen and perfect Duhon bounce pass.  That play actually seemed to energize Casey, who was extremely aggressive and went hard to the basket.  He was switched to the other team when Shelden went out (even scoring Shelden's free throws for him!).  More impressively, he hit a couple of 15' wing jumpers.  Other highlights in this game included a turnaround jumper from Dahntay that resulted in a three point play; an overplay from Shav that resulted in a turnover; and two excellent relocation passes from Shelden.

  The second game had the following scenario: two minutes left, White leads Blue 32-30.  This was a very sloppy scrimmage controlled by the White team.  Casey stepped in with a huge block on Dahntay that led to Dan getting a couple of free throws after a Duhon pass.  A series of turnovers and missed shots followed before Shav hit a foul shot to put his team up 35-30.  A Melchionni jumper after he picked up a rebound made it 35-32, but a Shav dunk and Duhon drive offset a Dockery three.

  Game three was another 12 minute scrimmage.  The White team this time featured Horvath, Duhon, Ewing, Randolph, Williams and Redick, while Blue had Melchionni, Thompson, Buckner, Sanders, Dockery and Jones.  This game also started a bit slowly for both squads, especially when players tried to feed the post.  Casey had a turnover trying to feed Thompson in the early going.  Nick, Casey and Big Mike also missed shots early on, and Nick also travelled trying to go to the basket.  The two teams started to warm up, with Casey throwing down a dunk, Ewing fouled on a rebound and hitting a couple of freebies, and Nick spinning in with a dropstep for a layup.  Shav stepped in with a short jumper and a finish on a break after Horvath started a break with a steal.  Dockery countered with a drive that wound up as a three point play--he wound up on his backside after finishing, a position we will often see this player in this year.  He has absolutely no fear of going hard all the time.

  Then came another minute or two of somewhat ragged play.  Shav missed an off-balance shot, Casey missed an easy 10' jumper, and Horvath got swallowed inside by Casey & Mike.  Both of them collapsed quickly whenever someone got the ball inside.  After Casey pulled Blue within 1-7 on a nice dropstep spin, White asserted itself with a Ewing drive, a Williams finish and a Randolph layup.  Duhon was proving to be the different, scoring on a drive, throwing an alley-oop to Ewing, getting rebounds, finding Ewing for a three and driving again.  That last drive was a miss, but Randolph followed with a huge dunk.  The White team won the scrimmage with ease, 27-15.  Ewing scored 9 of his team's 27 points and also played excellent defense.

  Then came the most interesting scrimmage of the day.  The score was 60-60 with 3 minutes left, and the teams played it out.  The White team was Sanders, Horvath, Ewing, Redick & Duhon.  Blue was Dockery, Randolph, Buckner, Melchionni and Williams.  The Blue team actually dominated early on because White was just plain missing.  Buckner hit a three, Dockery hit a floater and Shav came in for a super dunk.  Meanwhile, Redick missed a three and a 17' jumper while Ewing also missed a three.  Blue was up 70-62 with less than 2 minutes left.  Casey then faked out Shav and got a three point play.  Dock then charged at the other end. Then came a great play. Nick missed an open three, Duhon stormed in to get the rebound and passed it out to Ewing.  Dan had a shot, but he saw that JJ had an even better shot...which he buried.  Shav then missed 2 free throws but Dan turned the ball over.  Shav atoned by hitting a 15' jumper to give his team a 72-68 lead with less than a minute left.  Dan hit a couple of freebies with about 40 seconds left to make it 72-70.  All Blue had to do was get a good shot at the end of the shot clock.  But White played great defense and Buckner put up an ugly shot.  Duhon got the board with about 8 seconds, zoomed up the court, found Ewing open for a three, who nailed it with about a second left.  The crowd went nuts!

  The last scrimmage of the day had Randolph, Sanders, Ewing, Redick, Williams & Dockery on the White team, while Horvath, Jones, Thompson, Duhon, Melchionni and Buckner played for Blue.  Shelden was the man early on, scoring on a turnaround three point play, getting a rebound dunk and squaring up for a 15' jumper.  This sequence was a microcosm of what to expect from Mr Williams in the regular season.  A Redick three made the score 10-2, but threes from Buckner & Duhon along with 4 points from Jones tied it up at 10.  You could really see the teams start to really get in synch here.  Sanders hit a couple of free throws (looking rather

confident) and Williams rebounded a missed Horvath three.  Ewing drove and was fouled, hitting 2 freebies.  A Randolph drive put White up 16-12, but a Duhon three made it a 1 point game.  Consecutive misses by Duhon & Horvath led to Williams getting fouled and hitting 2.  The game continued to stay rough, with Jones and Williams trading free throws.  Shelden was too much down the stretch, scoring 13 of his team's 24 points and getting a bunch of rebounds.

  Friday's practice was a classic early-season Coach K practice, starting off with stretches and conditioning work.  Then came 3-on-0 drills that establish good habits for spacing and finishing.  With a good deal of precision, it would then switch to 3-on-2.  Every segment was timed, and after the initial warmups came individual work.  The perimeter players went over to work with Coach Chris Collins and the big men worked with Coach Wojo.  Coach Johnny Dawkins moved from place to place when he found it necessary.  At times he was talking to Duke recruit Luol Deng, at other times working with the big men, at other times giving advice to the guards.  Coach K frequently stepped in to offer teaching points.

  Coach Dawkins worked quite a bit with Mike Thompson.  Mike's biggest flaw is his lack of touch around the basket.  Johnny was working with him on his form and delivery.  Players like Andre Buckner and Andy Means worked closely with the big men as well, feeding them for simulated post-up plays.  Wojo was drilling making good decisions at the top of the key, not putting the ball on the floor unless it was for one power dribble going to the basket, and keeping both hands on the ball when faking or passing.  Managers would also use a huge pad to simulate contact on both post players going hard to the hoop and guards driving to the basket.

  Some highlights in brief scrimmages: Shelden Williams perfectly executing a give and go with Chris Duhon; Nick Horvath dominating several consecutive plays with a screen and dish to Randolph, a score on a cut and a score on a lead; a Thompson backpick and Dockery drive leading to an alley-oop pass for a Sanders slam; Duhon being caught after a runout by a streaking Ewing, pinning Chris's layup attempt; a one-handed turnaround hook by Nick; a spinning dropstep for a monster slam by Thompson.

   Now for those all-important general player impressions....

 Sanders:  Casey looks much more confident and poised.  He's managed to keep on the weight he's added and is much harder to push around.  In fact, he physically dominated the heavier Thompson when they matched up.  Casey is playing to his strengths: quickness and shotblocking.  He looked solid from about 15' and in, not being afraid to take that shot.  He was more accurate from the wing than the top of the key.  He rebounded reasonably well.  Casey sometimes put the ball on the floor too much and made several passing errors and missed a few close-in shots (including a dunk).  All in all, he looks like he's making a strong case as a starter.

 Horvath:  K pegged Nick as the most consistent player in practice.  He's much bigger and stronger and looks comfortable with his new physique. Nick is also finally healthy.  More of a force on defense than offense, he is setting some nice high picks.  Nick is also shooting more threes, though not necessarily at a high percentage.  His biggest weakness is his lack of quickness; plays around the basket tend to develop slowly for him though he is working on his release a bit.  His one-handed hook can be a nice weapon for him if he can get it to go consistently.  I sense that he'll be a solid reserve that gets a lot of minutes, but won't necessarily do anything spectacular.

  Thompson:  The word to describe Big Mike is raw.  He possesses a great body, is reasonably quick and can run the floor.  But it's clear that he's confused playing in a motion system as his reads often come way too late. He's not a threat from the perimeter and is still too hesitant going to the basket.  Doesn't have much confidence in his shot and is still trying to adjust to how physical the game is at this level.  Mike needs to learn how to trust his body and strength and just go after people.  The coaching staff is working on trying to develop his touch on his turnaround hook and teaching him how to use a power dribble spin move.  Very much a work in progress and unlikely to make much of an impact this year, especially early on.  If he works hard and absorbs the game, he has a chance to contribute later because he's physically ready to go out there.

 Williams:  Coach K also pointed out the way Shelden has developed.  This is a young man who continues to get better week by week as he gets used to this particular set of teammates and his role among them.  Williams is very smooth and powerful and fits perfectly in Duke's system.  He's a Brand/Boozer style player, perhaps a bit more mobile than either.  He lacks the sheer power of Elton and the finishing ability of Carlos, but his perimeter skills are quite smooth to go with his rebounding ferocity. He loves to set up in the right block and fire off a turnaround hook or square up for a turnaround jumper.  More than anything, he has a nice touch around the basket and from the foul line, where he will get many opportunities to score.  In practice, he was hustling after every rebound and loose ball.  Shelden is not selfish and looks to find the open man, either in the post or reversing it back to the three point line.

 Randolph:  Shav is very skilled and really knows the game, but he has certain limitations at this point.  First of all, his ballhandling needs a lot of work.  This is especially true for a forward in Duke's system. Being able to put it on the floor and go to the hoop will make him tough to stop on offense.  Second, he must get stronger.  At this point, he has trouble finishing in traffic or drawing fouls.  Increased strength will give him more chances to score and increase his durability.  That said, this kid has a lot of ways to score.  Nice touch around the hoop (using all sorts of fakes and up and unders), good medium-range shooter, decent three point shooter (though not a great one).  He complements Williams rather nicely.  Shav is also a pretty good rebounder and better-than-average post defender; he's not quick but he knows where to be, which is half the battle.  He seems to have absorbed a lot of Duke's defensive principles, pressuring the wings and generating steals that way. Both he and Shelden must learn help defense very quickly or Duke will be in trouble.

 Jones:  Dahntay sat out most of Thursday's scrimmages and it was hard to get a gauge on him based on Friday.  I can say that he is in incredible shape, looking very cut, and is jumping as well as ever.

 Melch: Lee is what I like to call a utility player.  He does nothing especially well but can do a lot of different things at a decent level.  Good passer, good shooter, good rebounder, good defender.   Lee will be the sort of player you're glad to have around when he's a senior and will come up with a hustle play here and there, but I don't think he'll be a regular part of the rotation this year.

 Ewing:  Dan was very smooth and aggressive at both ends of the court.  He looks extremely eager to make his presence known.  His jumper was definitely on and he was going to the basket with regularity.  Dan is also much stronger and drew a number of fouls, hitting most of them.  He also handled the ball quite a bit, running the offense and making solid reads. He's not as good a ballhandler or passer as Duhon, which only makes sense. Dan worked very well with Chris and I suspect that will be a backcourt with some chemistry.  Ewing is poised for a breakout year and could be one of the team leaders in scoring.

 Redick:  JJ is a truly deadly shooter when open.  For that reason, he is never left alone by his teammates.  This is great training for him, since when he plays against elite guards he will have to find ways to score without being left open.  JJ must work on his ballhandling and continue to look for screens.  I can see that he's working hard on pulling up for intermediate range jumpers.  JJ's defense is also pretty good, denying the dribble well.  JJ will do some damage if his teammates can set him well off screens and as a trailer on fast breaks.  Even if he misses three straight shots, you still give him the ball for the fourth because he will bury it.

 Dockery: As a frosh, Sean will be a perfect backup.  He's extremely strong and quick, with a great handle and nasty crossover.  He loves to pass, especially throwing up lobs.  Sean is a ballhawk who loves to apply constant pressure, and his strength and balance make him difficult to shake.  His primary deficiencies are all on offense.  You can see that his form is decent in warmups even if his range isn't impressive, but he tends to throw up knuckleballs in live action.  His signature move is this sort of one-handed driving push shot that he flings at the backboard.  Like many frosh, he sometimes tends to get out of control, going up in the air without having a real idea of what to do.  He charged a couple of times doing this, but he will learn his lessons here in time.  Right now, he will get plenty of playing time as Duhon's backup and will be very effective in short bursts.

 Duhon: Chris is still feeling his way as team leader.  He's looking to set everyone else up in practice, play tough defense and offer words of encouragement.  More than anything, he's just getting used to having the ball in his hands most of the time.  It's encouraging to see him go to the hoop more often.  He's hustling all over the place, getting every key rebound.  We'll know more about him once the games actually begin.

  This is not yet a team.  It's a group of individuals who are slowly getting used to each other and finding out what they can do.  As such, team defense is going to be a problem for a while, especially for the young big men.  Casey & Nick have a chance to really step up and help in this area right away.  Making reads will also be a problem as the coaches intend to run a lot more motion this year.  Everyone will have to be unselfish but at the same time confident enough to shoot when they have a good shot.  The fact that there's so little separation among the top nine or so players makes every possession in practice an intense battle.  The Blue team has legitimate players who will push the starters every day, and that starting lineup may be rather fluid.  At this point, I'd say that Duhon, Ewing & Jones have locked up starting jobs.  Sanders, Williams and Randolph are fighting for two other starting jobs, with the odd man out being first off the bench. Horvath, Redick and Dockery will all get plenty of minutes.  How many will depend on situational factors like foul trouble and the kind of defense being used against Duke, or the need to press other teams.  If all goes well, it could be a group greater than the sum of its parts.

          Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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