ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Senior Grant Hill is talented enough to be a one-man show. But a one-man show doesn't usually win basketball games.
Hill has proven all year long that he is capable of almost single-handedly carrying the men's basketball team on his back during short stretches of games. But when his teammates begin to rely on him too much, Hill often gets exhausted late in the second half and can no longer produce when the Blue Devils need him most -- in crunch time.
That's why the play of Cherokee Parks and Antonio Lang was so crucial in Duke's 85-74 second-round NCAA Tournament win over Michigan State Sunday in the Thunder Dome. Parks ignored pains in his back to battle Anthony Miller and Quinton Brooks down low. Also, Lang played a key role defensively against the Spartans' leading scorer, Shawn Respert (24.4 ppg), and offensively on the glass and around the paint.
Parks suffered a mild back injury in Duke's first-round win over Texas Southern. While the injury was a hassle, it also forced him to think more about the Michigan State game.
"I was really focused for this game because I slightly hurt my back in Friday night's game, so I've been constantly icing it," Parks said.
It seemed that while Parks was focused on the game, his teammates were focused on him. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he didn't think Parks touched the ball enough in Duke's victory over Texas Southern. But early in the Michigan State game, the junior center was constantly involved in the action. He had 10 points and seven rebounds at halftime, mostly because he had no trouble draining short turnaround jumpers over the smaller Spartans.
"Their big guys were playing us straight behind, so we were able to get some looks inside and hit some turnaround jumpers," Parks said. "I think our perimeter did a good job of looking down low."
"Cherokee is one of the best players in the United States," Krzyzewski said. "The way he's played this year has been at the highest level. . . I thought it was a gutsy effort and a great effort by a mature player. Did you ever think I'd say mature and Parks in the same sentence?. . . He was the most fired up I've seen him."
Although Parks was in high gear from the onset, it took Lang a little longer to get going. The senior forward finished the first half with only three points as he watched Hill baffle the Michigan State defenders.
"Grant really has done a lot for us, and we realize that we have to help him in order for us to win," Lang said. "Grant can't go out there and put the team on his shoulders every time."
So in the second half, Lang made every touch count. He took only four shots but buried every one of them, draining a pair of short jumpers and finishing a couple of fast breaks with slam dunks.
"We had a little slump, and it feels good to get out of that slump and to really contribute and to go out there and do things that we feel we are capable of doing," Lang said.
But probably even more important than his offensive production was Lang's defensive presence. Although Grant Hill had the primary responsibility of guarding Respert, it would have been impossible for him to do it alone. The Spartans ran countless screens to free Respert, and Lang was usually the Duke defender switching with Hill to keep Respert frustrated.
"They do so many things for [Respert], one guy can't fight through all those screens," Krzyzewski said. "So we tried to put Tony Lang in a position where he would be the guy most of the time that would switch off."
The defensive strategy certainly worked -- at least for the first half -- as Respert was shut down completely. In the second half, however, it didn't matter what the Duke defenders tried to do. Respert tried to lead his team back into the thick of things by torching the Blue Devils for 22 points.
But down the stretch, when the Spartans were hacking at Duke's lead, Parks came up big again, this time from the free throw line. Michigan State went on a fouling spree to keep the clock stopped and leave the door open for a comeback. Normally the Blue Devils look solely to Hill at the end of the game.
"Yes, I always want the ball in my hands with the game on the line," Hill said. "The only time I didn't want the ball was in the last two minutes because I could not make a free throw."
That's where Parks stepped in -- the Blue Devils made a conscious effort to find him in the backcourt against the press. Michigan State had no choice but to foul, and Parks hit six straight free throws to shut the door on the Spartans.
"I think we were defeated by a very good basketball team," Michigan State head coach Jud Heathcote said. "Maybe this is not the Duke of former years, but certainly it is a really good team with a great, great player."
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