Sunday school teachers everywhere cringed at the result of Saturday's men's basketball exhibition game, as the Devils trounced the Christians at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke opened its exhibition season with a 75-60 victory over Athletes in Action, a group of former college basketball players who tour the country preaching Christianity.
Sophomore forward Ricky Price paced the Blue Devils with 18 points, including the game's most impressive play, a thunderous left-handed tomahawk slam dunk during a first-half Duke run. Price broke into the open court, leaped over a defender and threw down the jam that gave Duke a 14-6 lead and helped the Blue Devils take charge of the game. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski saw Price's play as one that typified the confidence that this year's squad needs to exhibit.
"Ricky's finish in the first half was a big-time play," Krzyzewski said. "He dunked with somebody there, and to me, that's something he would have never done last year. Signs like that we need to build on."
Price's dunk began with a steal, just as much of Duke's production Saturday came as a result of outstanding defensive play. While the Blue Devils struggled at times offensively, they accomplished their main goal of applying strong defensive pressure.
"I think we wanted to come out tonight and set the tone as a tough defensive team," senior guard Chris Collins said following the game Saturday. "We felt that we were real soft last year, and [we wanted] to come out and get out in passing lanes and pressure the ball, and have big guys who can block shots and run, and go from there.
"I think we made a positive step tonight."
Despite a pair of first-half spurts that gave Duke 12-point leads, Athletes in Action rallied late in the first half to cut the Blue Devils' advantage to 32-26. But Duke started the second half with a 20-4 run, highlighted by senior forward Tony Moore's three dunks, to seal the outcome.
Saturday's contest marked Krzyzewski's first time coaching an inter-squad game since last January. Coach K missed much of last season because of back problems, and in his absence, the Blue Devils lost 15 of 19 games. Even though they have not yet begun the regular season, Krzyzewski's players already appreciate the difference that their coach makes.
"Just the presence [Coach K] has on the sidelines gives us so much confidence," Collins said. "We feel like a team again."
On the night when his coach returned to action, Moore made a major impact for the first time in his Duke career. The senior forward scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and made two steals, performing far better than at any time in his first three seasons.
"He deserves to play," Krzyzewski said. "He gave us a low-post presence. I thought he played very aggressively, and we need that.
"I think for us to be a good team, Tony and [freshman] Taymon [Domzalski] have to give us a low-post presence, and if they don't, then we're going to be an easier team to defend."
Moore's play inside was one of several factors that contributed to Duke easily outrebounding Athletes in Action, 55-31. Junior center Greg Newton grabbed 12 rebounds, but in addition, Duke's perimeter players helped out on the boards. Price and junior guard Jeff Capel collected seven rebounds each, while Collins totaled five.
"[Rebounding] is tough, but it's making me and the rest of the perimeter players complete players," Price said. "We don't have a Cherokee Parks or Erik Meek inside to grab all the boards, so as a team we have to contribute all together and get the boards."
Capel, one of Duke's co-captains, struggled from the field Saturday, hitting only four-of-15 field goal attempts. Yet despite missing many shots, Capel tallied five assists and four steals in addition to his seven rebounds. Krzyzewski considered Capel and the team's other wing players to be the keys to Duke's stellar defensive showing, as the Blue Devil swingmen denied Athletes in Action several open three-point shots.
"We took away their main strength, which is three-point shooting," Krzyzewski said. "I thought our perimeter guys did an outstanding job of switching on their crosses. I like that--it reminded me of how Tony Lang, Grant Hill and Brian Davis did that.
"I was impressed with Jeff, [junior] Carmen [Wallace] and Ricky in handling that."
While Duke excelled defensively, the Blue Devils failed to score on many of their offensive chances. Duke shot only 39.7 percent from the field, and sloppy play added to the Blue Devils' offensive woes. According to Price, early-season jitters contributed to the team's lack of production.
"We got a whole bunch of opportunities to convert," Price said. "Sometimes we didn't [convert], but in the future, we will. This is our first game, and we had a lot of nervous energy out there."
Overall, the Blue Devils played with the style that many of Krzyzewski's previous teams used, focusing on defense and team rebounding. Recovering from the terrible 1994-95 season may take time, but Krzyzewski saw positive signs from which the Blue Devils can build.
"It was a good start for this group," Krzyzewski said. "We know we're not a great team, but it was good."
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