DURHAM— The layup drill needs a little work. Other than that, the Duke men’s basketball team looks a lot like it did at the end of last season’s run to the national championship.
In Saturday night’s Blue-White scrimmage, Jason Williams and Chris Duhon powered the White team to a 69-61 victory in front of a sellout crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The guards bombed away from the 3-point line. Hulking center Carlos Boozer dominated inside. Mike Dunleavy glided in for finger rolls and nailed shots from long range.
The only wrinkle Saturday night? A very non-regulation layup drill turned slam dunk contest that thrilled the Cameron Crazies.
“It was fun getting out there in front of the crowd,”Dunleavy said. “We all had a lot of adrenaline going, being in front of people for the first time in awhile. We just tried to show them a few things we learned this summer.”
Dunleavy, teamed with Boozer on the Blue team, quickly remembered how troublesome Duke’s guards can be. The Blue team held a 26-25 lead late in the first half before Williams canned a pair of 3-pointers for a 31-26 halftime advantage.
Duhon then drained a trio of triples after the break and added an alley-oop pass to Dahntay Jones for a patented Blue Devil run — 21-2 — that put the game away.
“It’s tough,”Dunleavy said. “Those guys got out on us, defended well and scored. I definitely like being on our side (instead of the opposition during the runs).”
The White team was stacked with Duhon (25 points)and Williams (21) because the two guards haven’t had many chances to play together. Williams broke his left hand playing in a pickup game this summer. When he got back to full speed, Duhon pulled a hamstring and missed a week.
Duhon said the hamstring injury is behind him, while Williams is still trying to make up for lost practice time. Williams shot 8-for-23 Saturday, including 4-for-13 from long range.
“It’s not sore,”Williams said afterward. “It’s a matter of getting confidence in it again.”
Jones, the transfer from Rutgers who sat out last season, scored 14 points in support of the White team.
For the Blue, Carlos Boozer scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Dunleavy had 18 points and 11 boards.
Following the White team’s scoring binge, Dunleavy and Nick Horvath — who missed all but six games last year with a broken foot — led a comeback. Horvath hit two jumpers and added a dunk and Dunleavy put home a pair of finger rolls and a 3-pointer to make it 65-59 in the final minute.
The White team got as close as four points before Williams closed out the game with a one-handed, fast-break jam.
“It shows us how good we all are, getting a chance to play against Mike, against Carlos,”Williams said. “It lets us know we’re going to be a heckuva basketball team if we can put what we had in the Blue and White game together into one team.”
Added Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski:“I was pleased. I think we can figure out how to have a team with those guys.”
n
NOTES:Freshman guard Daniel Ewing finished 1-for-7 shooting but had six assists and five steals. Fellow rookie Mark Causey only played eight minutes and had two free throws. “I was pleased with our freshmen,”Krzyzewski said. “Ewing didn’t look shy. I know his stats weren’t great, but his presence on the court was good.” … The 30-minute game was divided into halves and played with TV timeouts for one reason:to give the teams a breather. The White squad consisted of Casey Sanders (five blocks), Duhon, Williams, Jones and Matt Christensen. The Blue team had six players: Horvath, Andre Buckner, Boozer, Dunleavy, Ewing and Causey. … In the “old-timers” game prior to the scrimmage, the night’s biggest ovation went to Chuck Holly, who jumped center in the first game at Cameron on Jan. 6, 1940. Teammates passed to Holly for the first three shots before he put in a rebound basket on his fourth attempt — handed to him from the other team. Both knees wrapped tight, white socks pulled high, Holly raised his arms in triumph and headed for the bench.
n
Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com
.