November 23, 2002.

Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Box Score

Despite the huge margin of victory for Duke, Army gave the Devils a lot of trouble. The Black Knights were well coached and followed their game plan to perfection. With only one player as tall as 6-8, and most of them between 6-4 and 6-6, Army knew that they had no chance against the bigger Devils inside. So they packed the box and dared Duke to shoot threes (hence Duke's 37 attempts from three). Whenever a big man got the ball inside, they were immediately double or even triple teamed, and Duke's young post players had trouble relocating the ball to open shooters at times. Packing the lane also meant that Duke's penetrators didn't have any room to work with. On defense, while Duke did a nice job of forcing turnovers (27), they gave up a number of wide open shots simply because they failed to rotate. Army simply missed a number of good looks. A number of their shots literally spun their way out of the basket. Army correctly attacked Duke's overplaying style by going backdoor as much as possible. Again, Duke's young big men simply didn't communicate very well in calling out switches.

Army not surprisingly played a very physical style of ball. If someone got near the basket, they fouled them. This meant that Shav & Shelden had a hard time finding a rhythm down low, that Dahntay found it nearly impossible to drive, and that Dock didn't know what to do when he ran into 2 or 3 players. With all the fouls and Army's weird style, there wasn't much rhythm on offense. Duke adjusted relatively well and even managed to force the issue here and there, getting some drives and getting the ball into the blocks for scores.

Early in the game, it was the Shavlik Randolph show. He scored on a stickback, muscled in for a score on a Shelden Williams feed, and hit a free throw to put Duke up 5-0. After Army hit a three, the Devils responded with back-to-back treys from Nick Horvath and JJ Redick, both on Duhon feeds. Army stayed closed for the first five minutes, cutting the score to 11-7. Coach K was substituting liberally, and put in a lineup that consisted of four frosh (Randolph, Williams, Redick and Dockery) and Daniel Ewing. That group came up with a 7-0 run, with Redick hitting his second three of the game, Dock hitting a couple of free throws after getting fouled on a steal, and Randolph hitting a long jumper on a Ewing feed.

Army stayed within shootin' range, trailing only 23-13 even after Duhon had hit one of his trademark 25' jumpers. But that just set off another long-range attack by the Devils. A 13-0 run gave Duke a 36-13 lead and essentially settled matters. It started with Duhon hitting another very long range three. Shelden then hit a couple of free throws, Chris found Dock for a three, Ewing pulled up for a three, and Sean then sank a couple of more free throws. Duke went cold for a few minutes, allowing Army to crawl back in just a little at 37-18, but Shav took charge once again. It was nothing fancy--he was fouled and hit some free throws, then used a head fake to get a three point play. Result: 6 straight Randolph points.

In the last four minutes of the half, Duke went for the throat. Army insisted on continuing to pack the box even down by 20 points, so Duke simply took the open threes that were available. Jones, Horvath, and Redick all sank long range buckets, with Duhon and Ewing setting them up. Jones ended the half with a nice turnaround jumper from the baseline. The Devils had forced 18 first half turnovers, including 3 five second calls and Shav taking a charge. The Black Knights also committed 14 team fouls. The Devils were 10-24 from three and just 6-12 from inside the arc. Eight different players scored and eleven different players got minutes. Shav led the way with 16 rebounds.

Duke went inside early in the second half, and this allowed Williams to get 3 quick free throws. Jones stepped up with another turnaround jumper and a floater in the lane to make the score 61-23. Shav scored on a three point stickback, Casey Sanders connected on a Horvath pass from the high post, and Redick knocked down 3 free throws after being fouled taking a three. Duke put in 5 frosh, with Michael Thompson joining the others. This group struggled a bit, allowing Army a 7-0 run. But they sparked a 14-2 run that opened the door for extended playing time from the bench. It was mostly lots of free throws--2 from JJ, 3 from Shelden, and 2 from Dahntay. Jones finished his stint in style, hitting a three and dunking after a Ewing pilfer.

Army never quit. Even after that run, they came back to score 7 in a row. Shav finished up his minutes with a drive in traffic and some more free throws. In the last seven minutes of the game, the deep bench came in and did well, outscoring Army 14-8. Duke cooled off a bit in the second half from three, hitting just 3-13. On the other hand, they got into a groove at the foul line, sinking 18 of 25. The Devils called off the dogs defensively, forcing just 6 turnovers in the half. Army made Duke work but never really threatened the Devils. They certainly worked harder and more as a team than the exhibition squads Duke had pulped earlier. The game mostly served as a chance for the frosh to get their feet wet and to see what the team needed to work on.

** Negatives:

1. Help defense. This is crucial for Duke because they like to spread the defense so thin in an effort to attack the wings. Shelden & Shav must improve their communication.

2. Shot selection. Duke was a bit hamstrung by Army's defense, but it would have been nice to see the Devils use the mid-range jumper more.

3. Foul shooting. 67% is a bit under what is acceptable. It should be noted that Duke bounced back to shoot 72% in the second half after shooting 60% in the first half.

** Positives:

1. Defensive pressure. Eight different players had steals. Three different players forced five second calls. Dockery and Duhon put extreme pressure on the ball while Redick's eye for playing the passing lanes is sharp for a young player.

2. Rebounding. Army missed 37 shots but could only generate 9 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Duke had 19 offensive rebounds. Yes, Army is a much smaller team, but they were going after the ball. Seven different players had at least 4 rebounds.

3. Balance. Four different players were in double figures and three others had at least 6 points. Randolph is the best scorer overall, but all of the guards can put up points, while Williams can be a huge post scorer. Duhon is proving to be quite adept at setting up his teammates.

Player by Player:

** Williams: Shelden couldn't anything to drop and was never allowed to set up in the post. He was 2-6 from foul line in first half, 6-8 in the second. Got some nice boards but did volleyball a few of them. He's still a bit raw overall but his skills are considerable.

** Randolph: This kid gets better every time I see him. He hit the three, hit other medium range jumpers, fought inside for three point plays, and got tough rebounds. He's comfortable in the high post or low. I'll be curious to see what he can do against the better post players in the country. He and Shelden need to work on their relocation passes and how to deal with double teams. Still, Shav is so skilled that he was able to use his footwork to get rid of defenders who were crowding him.

** Jones: Dahntay had a quiet first half, but finished up strong. He went to the boards hard, leading the team with 8. He missed 3 threes but did hit 1. Jones finally got it going off the dribble in the second half, hitting floaters and getting a nice runout dunk. Overall, he showed good body control and made good decisions. Nice touch from the foul line as well.

** Ewing: Dan hit a gorgeous three coming off a screen, and scored on a nice tip-in after Duhon tossed it off the backboard on a break. An underrated passer (4 assists), he also likes to hit the tough shots. Not a huge game but could have done more with more playing time.

** Duhon: Excellent floor game, hit a couple of early threes that put Duke comfortably ahead. He was really in control, directing traffic in a way that I haven't seen in his time here. As the team matures, he will do more scoring; right now, he's trying to keep everyone involved.

** Horvath: Nick was the first man off the bench. He hit a couple of threes, got some boards, and blocked a shot. A solid but unspectacular showing. Nick played very good defense in the second half when Duke was finally starting to switch out properly.

** Sanders: Casey came in with Dock & JJ as a platoon of sorts. We'll see how long that lasts. He had good energy and hit a shot but also had his traditional quick offensive foul. I liked his 5 rebounds but cringed at his 3 turnovers.

** Dockery: Dock made a number of bad decisions, getting called for a charge and taking some bad shots. He did hit his freebies, at least. A good learning experience against a weird team--Dock is so charged up that he has trouble taking what the other team gives him at times. He will figure out when to attack and how to make the correct read.

** Redick: Good game for JJ. He hit his first 2 threes, missed several, and hit another one late. He's a great foul shooter, of course. JJ did put the ball on the deck a few too many times, leading to a couple of turnovers. He played good defense overall, staying in front of his man. JJ will threaten many shooting records at Duke.

** Melchionni: Played hard, as always. He hit the boards (getting 5), and sank a three.

** Thompson: Not a bad game. Yes, he did have a few turnovers, but there was one great move where he brushed aside three guys hanging all over him for a three point play. Also hit a 17' jumper. Had a couple of big-time blocks. There were definite signs of life here.

** Buckner: Hit a crazy running bank shot for three and another long jumper. Dished to Melch for a three.

** Means: Got a couple of rebounds.

** Johnson: Scored his first career points on a free throw. That's quite a leap for a former rec league player!

** Cameron Craziness: The best cheer of the night was "I don't know but I've been told, all these fouls are getting old", a dig at Army's defensive style. There were a few grey-suited cadets in the crowd, creating noise during free throws. The crowd was a good one--about 90% of the seats were filled upstairs and things looked jammed downstairs.

    Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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