Duke ready for challenge

BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

So what if the Florida Gators face off against Duke in the Carrier Dome tonight. They’re not planning anything special for theNo. 1 team in the country when the tip goes up in the East Regional Sweet 16 matchup.

“Our pressing style is the way we play, ”Gator sophomore Mike Miller said. “We’re not going to change it for anybody.”

Florida thrives in the fullcourt game. The Gators run up and down the floor with a frenzied press that creates turnovers, increases the tempo and helps them score 84.8 points a game, fourth best in the nation.

That style worked in a season that saw Florida go 26-7 overall and tie for first in the Southeastern Conference with a 12-4 mark. After scraping past Butler in the first round of the NCAATournament, the press worked for the fifth-seeded Gators against Illinois in a 93-76 second-round win.

But this is Duke. Top-seeded Duke. A Duke team that just happens to score 88.3 points a game — best in the nation.

“I think they have a great press, but we’re ready for it,”Blue Devil senior Chris Carrawell said. “We’re going to be in attack mode all night long.”

Attacking a talented BlueDevil team won’t be anything new for Florida head coach Billy Donovan. He was an assistant at Kentucky in 1992 when the underdog Wildcats pressed Duke, forced overtime, then watched in agony when Christian Laettner hit his miracle shot for a 104-103 win.

That was a great game, perhaps the best of all time, Donovan said. This one could see more scoring and be even better.

“There’s no question they’re a hard team to press, but I remember when I was an assistant coach at Kentucky and they had Bobby Hurley, Laettner and Grant Hill. People said, ‘Are you out of your mind trying to press them?’”Donovan said. “People thought we would get blown out and have no chance playing against Duke that way, and in essence what ended up happening was the greatest college basketball game was played that day.

“For us to say we don’t think we can press them would be a mistake and send a bad message to our players.”

Guards Brett Nelson and Kenyan Weaks lead the Gator defense with more than three steals a game. As a team Florida grabs more than 10 steals a game and opponents average 20 turnovers a game.

Easy baskets lead to high-scoring games, as Weaks, who played in Cabarrus County for Concord High, is one of four Gators averaging in double figures. Miller leads with 14.5 points a game, while frontcourt stars Udonis Haslem and Donnell Harvey score big and average seven rebounds a game.

Donovan’s biggest advantage could come from a deep bench. TheGators go all out, and they can because 10 players average better than 14 minutes a game. Compare that to the BlueDevils, whose six-man rotation plays at least 24 minutes a game and no other player sees more than 10 minutes of action off the bench.

“They hope that they get you tired because they sub a lot of people in,”Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They keep it on. They don’t just have one trap, they trap or contain throughout the exchange. It’s extended because it continues to press.”

Carrawell and Shane Battier log just more than 35 minutes a game for the BlueDevils and average 17 points. Freshman Jason Williams, who gets the biggest job of press-breaking from his point guard spot, plays 34 minutes a game.

“I think there’s a misconception about fatigue,”Battier said. “When you prepare for a game you know you’re going to play 35, 36, 37 minutes a game, you just have a much better understanding of your body and as a result you don’t get fatigued. It all starts with your mind-frame.”

The mindsets of both teams have been put forth well in advance.

Attack.

Get ready for a great one.

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Steve Hanf is covering Duke in the NCAATournament.