Watching Duke play this year is an almost completely new experience when comparing it to the last decade or so. It's really a flashback to the 80's, when Duke made up for a lack of dominant athletes by utilizing its size, depth and shooting. UCLA is a team that depends almost entirely on its outside shooting. When they get hot, they're a tough team to play. Duke used its normal starting five of Duhon/Ewing/Jones/Randolph/Williams today, and that group was shredded by UCLA's early hot streak. In particular, Shav Randolph had trouble dealing with tall UCLA guard Dijon Thompson. Thompson nailed a three to start the game and hit four jumpers in the game's first three minutes.

Meanwhile, Duke couldn't get anything going as they tried to pound it in to the post players. Randolph and Shelden Williams took 4 of Duke's first 5 shots and missed all of them. A couple were easy layup attempts that simply rimmed out. Only a Dahntay Jones 15' jumper let Duke scratch, but the Bruins started the game on a 12-2 run. Duke looked disorganized on offense and lethargic on defense. What basketball is all about is creating easy shots, and the best way to create easy shots is to force matchup problems. UCLA was essentially running a four guard offense with Jason Kapono, Thompson, Jon Crispin and Cedric Bozeman, and they were spreading the floor nicely. Shav simply wasn't quick enough to match up with Thompson, and the result was a nice start by the Bruins.

Coach K quickly countered by putting an almost completely different lineup out there. He brought in Nick Horvath, Casey Sanders, JJ Redick and Sean Dockery. Sanders was used to cover Thompson, a clever move because Casey's quickness and length made him the perfect candidate to shut down the rail-thin Thompson. Dockery put more pressure on Bozeman, while JJ did a credible job on Kapono. The big surprise was Horvath who moved as well without the ball in this game than in any I've seen him in. His first play was finishing a perfect Duhon pass for a dunk. Then he made a nice cut on an ideal Dockery feed. UCLA started missing shots and Duke took advantage. Duhon fed Redick for a picture-perfect three, then pulled up to nail his own long-range bomb. A Dockery pass to Redick resulted in his 2nd three of the game and Duke's first lead at 15-12 with thirteen minutes to go in the half.

Kapono finally got in the game with a three point play where he faked Redick into committing a foul. Redick fed surprise contributor Sanders inside for a potential three point play, though Casey missed the foul shot. Sanders grabbed a rebound and threw a nice outlet to Redick. JJ then dished to Duhon in transition for the finish. That put Duke up 19-15. Duke had their chances to really extend the lead, but missed a few shots here and there. A missed Redick three led to Ray Young of UCLA hitting a shot to cut the lead to 2. Shav and Dahntay both missed jumpers, but Duhon found Ewing in the corner for a three. Someone missed a switch on the other end, however, as Bozeman slithered along the baseline uncontested for a jumper.

Duke followed that up with JJ's third three of the game. Though he missed his fourth on Duke's next possession, Casey flew in for a rebound dunk that fired up the team. That gave Duke a 27-19 lead and forced a UCLA timeout. UCLA was able to stay within range thanks to their offensive rebounding, with Michael Fey sticking back a Kapono miss. Duke did their own work on the boards on the following play, as Horvath got a rebound basket on a Duhon miss. Duke's defense was now matching up quite well with UCLA as the Bruins now had no open looks. The only way they stayed in range was by drawing fouls. Fouls on Jones, Sanders and Ewing led to Young & Kapono combining to go 6-6 from the foul line. Ewing countered with a three on a Duhon feed but UCLA pulled to within 32-27 with under four minutes to go in the half.

The Devils finally got something going in the paint with a strong move by Shelden for a three point play. The Bruins countered with yet another stickback. Duhon passed the ball to a set Redick, who took one step back and drained the three. The remarkable thing about the play was that Redick was a step behind the NBA three point line when he shot it! Young again struck on a stickback, but Ewing countered with a couple of free throws in a one-and-one situation. Young scored his 10 point of the game with another jumper to make it 40-33 at the half, Duke. The Devils got 2 good looks at the basket in the final seconds, but Redick missed a three and Ewing a short jumper. Still, Duke did a nice job of rebounding from an early deficit and did a good job of taking UCLA out of their offense. Only foul shots and offensive rebounds were saving the Bruins from a beating.

Duke opened the second half with a Horvath three point play, using the same kind of cut to the basket that had worked so well in the first half. While Nick finished the play strong, it was Duhon who made it work. Duke couldn't take advantage of this as Jon Crispin (who wanted to transfer to Duke after he left Penn State) scored 5 straight points. As it turns out, those would be his only points of the game. Horvath scored on yet another cut, as the Bruins had trouble finding him without the ball. After Kapono missed the front end of a one-and-one, Dan Ewing made them pay with a three off a Duhon feed. Bozeman then followed his own shot to make the score 48-42, but Duke would get the separation they wanted with a 14-1 run. It started with Duhon simply outrunning the Bruins for a layup. After a Thompson miss, Redick drove right at him and picked up an old-fashioned three point play off the dribble. It was a spectacular play, proving that he could find other ways to score. Duke finally started getting the tough rebounds, and Duhon drove in for another layup. Redick continued to torture the Bruins, this time faking the three and pulling up for a feathery 15' jumper. Duhon then drove hard to the basket and got a three point play of his own. With fifteen minutes to go in the half, Duke had a 60-42 lead.

The two teams exchanged baskets for the next few minutes. UCLA did miss a couple of free throws during a period where Jones finally started to have an impact. He first drove and simply elevated for a 10' jumper in the lane. Then he dished to Redick for three pointer #5. Jones followed up Thompson's first field goal since early in the game by driving right through the Bruins for a one handed slam. With about eleven minutes left, Duke had a solid 67-46 lead. Fey brought it under 20 on UCLA's next possession, and the Devils missed some chances to extend the lead. Duhon missed an easy lawyup, Sanders missed 2 free throws after picking up the offensive rebound, and then Redick missed a three. TJ Cummings of UCLA took advantage and cut the lead to 67-52 with nearly ten minutes--certainly within the realm of reason.

Jones stepped up again and drove through the Bruins for a layup. Duke started to run a bit of clock and got a Ewing free throw out of it. UCLA again had a chance to creep a bit closer, but Young missed the front end of a one-and-one. Finally, Kapono hit a shot that made it 70-55 with seven minutes to go. Duke ran the shot clock down to two seconds when Horvath drove in for a three point play. Nick sank the free throw to complete the play. Dockery then helped Duke turn up the defense with a steal and runout to make it 75-55 with six minutes to go. Kapono stepped out for a long three pointer and Duhon again missed a chippie, followed by Sanders blowing the stickback.

The Bruins decided to turn up the pressure and forced three consecutive turnovers, cutting the lead to 75-64 with nearly four minutes left. The Devils wisely took a timeout to regroup, and this time managed to break the press. Jones was fouled and calmly sank both shots to settle his team down, but Kapono was fouled on the other end to keep up the pressure after he sank both free throws. UCLA continued to press but this time Duke was ready to attack it. With some precision passing, Dockery found Horvath for a dunk on the break. A Duhon steal and runout made it 81-66 with two minutes to go. Kapono tried to keep his team in it with a three, but Jones sliced through for another layup, and hit a foul shot with 25 seconds left to make it 84-71.

Duke made a lot of mistakes in this game but also showed a lot of guts. Duhon's grit and Jones' emotion were big keys in calming down the team. Even though Horvath and Sanders haven't necessarily been big contributors in the past, they are still veterans and have been in big games. Given the chance, they proved that they could play. The Devils didn't impose their will on UCLA so much as adapt to the kind of game UCLA wanted to play and simply did it better. Duke doesn't have the kind of versatility that Mike Dunleavy, Jason Williams & Carlos Boozer had last year, but their roster offers a lot of different looks. Teams are still letting Duke shoot because there aren't a lot of guys who can create their own shot ala Williams or Dunleavy, but the Devils are starting to make teams pay. It'll be intersting to see Duke play a team confident enough in its post game, one that would settle for one-on-one matchups with Williams & Randolph. Both could potentially have huge games in such settings. The most remarkable thing about this game is that the bench outscored the starters in the first half and split the final margin at 42 points apiece. That hasn't happened for quite a long time, but we may well see it happen again this season.

** Negatives:

1. Blocking out. UCLA cleaned up on the offensive boards, grabbing 16 of them and scoring on at least half of them. They simply out-quicked Duke and boxed them out.

2. Fouling. Duke bailed out the Bruins time after time with fouls, usually because players were a step slow. UCLA really had no chance otherwise. Outside of their opening 12-2 run, more than 60% of their offense came from stickbacks or free throws.

3. Post offense. The Devils did a bad job of taking advantage of UCLA's lack of height. The Bruins simply double-teamed any big man who tried to post up, and once again they did a poor job of recognizing the double-team and relocating the ball to an open shooter.

** Positives:

1. Shooting. Ewing, Duhon, Jones and especially Redick were terrific. This shows that Duke is really starting to do a nice job of setting double screens to set up shooters. While Redick was lights-out, all he really had to do was catch and shoot. His confidence as a shooter is growing, which means that his shot release is getting quicker.

2. Perimeter defense. Outside of Thompson's early rampage, the Bruins got shut down from the perimeter. Extra kudos to Sanders for shutting down Thompson.

3. Unselfishness. Led by Duhon's 8 assists, over 50% of Duke's baskets came on assists. The Devils did a nice job of attacking UCLA's defense with cuts and screens.

Player-by-Player:

** Williams: Shelden didn't know quite what to do, matched up against a player who wasn't getting the ball like Hollins. A couple of missed shots of his own also made him look tentative out there. It was nice seeing him recover enough to score on a three point play with two men on him, a play generated by his raw strength. Duke is willing to be patient with him because of his strength and quickness, though it would be nice to see him get a real breakout game.

** Randolph: Poor Shav was just overwhelmed here and got caught in a bad matchup. When he missed an easy layup to start the game, I thought it might be a long afternoon for him. UCLA was ready for him and it showed, bodying him up at all times. Shav simply needs to move on from this game and gear up for his next big matchup.

** Jones: This is the kind of performance that Dahntay should have in every game--especially down the stretch. As badly as he played against Davidson late in the game, he was absolutely clutch against UCLA. He had 11 of his 13 points in the game's last ten minutes and made very few mistakes. He was 4-6 from the field and 3-4 from the line during that time span, and also passed the ball quite well. With Redick shooting only 2-7 in the half, Dahntay did a fine job of making reads and taking what was available. Jones also hit Duke's first shot of the game, a tough jumper that did settle the team a bit. His best move was a drive in the lane where he elevated and hit the short jumper. This will be available for him most of the year--teams are going to stay at home near the basket against him until he regularly proves that he will stick that jumper. I loved the way he found open lanes to attack the Bruins, getting drives and dunks. Also crucial were his 2 free throws with three minutes left--UCLA had cut a 20 point lead to 11 and Duke needed a shot in the arm. Dahntay hasn't approached the star potential he showed in England, but this game was a definite step in the right direction. His only real mistake in the second half was stepping on the end line when UCLA was applying their press.

** Ewing: Dan scored a quiet 12 points, including a couple of big first half threes, and had several nice passes. It's odd to see him next to frenetic players like Duhon, Jones and Dockery, because he's so smooth and relaxed. I love the fact that he never forces things and rarely takes bad shots, not to mention his smooth free throw stroke. He's a guy who will score 10-15 points a night and you'll struggle to remember his presence--a silent killer. I would like to see a 25+ point game from him sometime soon, perhaps against a big-name opponent.

** Duhon: Some were dubious about including Chris' name as one of the best players in the country. The numbers he's put up so far should silence those doubters. 14 points on 6-10 shooting (including one of his patented long bombs), 8 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers was what I would call an average game for Chris this year. His increasing willingness to drive to the hoop or unleash that "giant killer" floater of his have made him much more dangerous on offense. Defensively, he's as tough as ever, as the charge he took shows. But it's as a leader where he's made the most remarkable transformation. He's gone from being a player who didn't know how to step up early in the year to someone who gets in his teammates' faces when need be and encourages them at all times. His driving three point play and his emotional reaction afterward show how much he's investing in his role as leader. Chris simply needs to refine what he's done so far: a few more points per game, and fewer turnovers.

** Horvath: Nick scored a career high 16 points, grabbed 4 boards, blocked a shot, and didn't turn the ball over once. I had noted earlier in the year that Nick at times was dominating practices simply by being in the right place at the right time, and he showed exactly what I meant here. He moved without the ball better than anyone else on the team, and as a result finished a number of plays with dunks, cutting layups, or three point plays. Nick kept it simple and didn't try to do anything beyond his abilities, yet was completely confident on what he did attempt. UCLA was obviously caught completely by surprise, because they never laid a body on him to obstruct his movement. With passers like Duhon & Dockery in the game, Nick becomes a real threat to score simply by catching the ball and finishing simple plays. This turns him into a real weapon instead of just a stopgap body who is there to relieve foul trouble. He won't be doing this in every game, but if he stays healthy he could surprise a lot of people.

** Redick: JJ is another example of a player who did a few simple things and did them well. He hunted his shot, and knew that his teammates had been instructed to get him the ball when he was open. He did a fine job of following Horvath and Sanders setting screens and simply caught the ball and shot it. His range (when not being guarded) is "within the building", as his shot beyond the NBA stripe proved. It was like watching Trajan Langdon out there--JJ has really started to use screens and use a quick release like Trajan did. Seeing him use pump fakes and head fakes to get rid of his man ane either hit short jumpers or go straight to the basket for a three point place was huge. Like the other frosh, JJ is starting to adjust to the speed of the game at this level and is learning what he can and can't do. His defense was also more than adequate, with Kapono only being able to score in the game's final minutes. While Chris is the heart of the team and makes everything else go, JJ was the difference-maker in this game.

** Sanders: Casey had a truly excellent game, especially in the first half when Duke really needed a boost inside. He came in and shut down Thompson, which essentially stopped UCLA cold for several minutes. His 8 rebounds tied a career high, with 5 of them in the first half. Casey's follow-up dunk of a Duhon miss was spectacular, the kind of play that really fires up a team. His (potential) three point play came on a nice catch and post-up. One can see that he's really starting to absorb a lot of his lessons and he's less tentative in using them. The big negatives were his poor foul shooting (0-3) and his fouls. He had his usual offensive foul on a moving screen, for example. Casey's job is play strong off the bench and help shore up defense & rebounding, and score when needed. He certainly did that in this game, and it's clear that there's room for further contributions.

** Dockery: Dock played limited minutes simply because the team needed Duhon and Ewing out there, but he played well. His steal and layup was a big play, and he did a nice job of feeding the post. Sean's mere presence allowed Duhon to attack the basket. While I know that he's dying to play more and get a few cracks at the basket, he played his role to perfection here. He made no mistakes, he played good defense, and he set up his teammates for scores.

** Means: Andy is from the area and so getting into the game was a nice gesture down the stretch.

** Buckner: Andre also wasn't too far away from his Kentucky home, so it was nice to see him get a cameo.

    Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

**** None of the photos shown here are owned by or are located on the servers of DukeUpdate.com.  Click on the photos to see the photos with the original articles.  All of the photos are from the Duke/UCLA game on November 30.

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