The men's basketball team did its best impression of the Big Bang Theory Saturday night in the annual Blue-White scrimmage when Chris Burgess received a pass from Nate James off the opening tip for a two-handed slam.
The game, which ended in a 43-41 victory by the White squad, was the first opportunity for the Cameron faithful to see what this year's team is all about.
"I was pleased," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We've been working real hard in practice and I thought it showed in that we were in good shape tonight. It was a very competitive scrimmage. When you have good players, they want to play hard."
The format for the game was changed this year to two 12-minute halves to give it more of a real-game feel. The two halves turned out to be completely different, with the Blue team controlling the first half and the White dominating the second stanza.
"Both teams did a great job on offense for at least one half," sophomore Will Avery said. "We need to pick it up and do that for both halves."
Krzyzewski noted the struggles in the half-court at times for each team. There were few times when both offenses were executing at a high percentage.
"We averaged about 90 points a game last year, but our half-court offense was not a strength," he said. "So we have been working on that a lot during the first week of practice."
Elton Brand had a very strong performance, leading the White squad with 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Brand also showed an interest in the point-guard position, as he dribbled the ball out of traffic many times after rebounds and even went coast-to-coast for his first points of the game.
"Elton should touch [the ball] a lot in the half-court," Krzyzewski said. "Whether he shoots it or he draws the double team, something happens. The defense has to react."
Chris Carrawell led the Blue team with 15 points, including two three-pointers. He did not have any spectacular offensive maneuvers, but he found ways to get the ball through the hoop.
"Carrawell in the first half was so efficient," Krzyzewski said. "He took some good shots but just missed in the second half. He's playing well."
Avery, who recorded 12 points, was solid in the first half for the Blue team. He had several drives to the basket and did a nice job taking care of the ball in the point guard role.
Shane Battier showed that he had not lost any defensive intensity from last season, taking several charges and an impressive rejection of a Brand layup in the first half.
"It was good to see everyone out there, and good to see Shane still taking charges," said Burgess.
Trajan Langdon had a solid performance running the show for the White team. He totaled 10 points and connected on both of his three-point attempts.
Krzyzewski thought the performance by Burgess, who had eight points and a memorable one-armed rebound in a crowd, was better than expected.
"I think [Burgess] played better today than he practiced during the first week," Krzyzewski said. "Today he was very, very lively throughout the whole 24 minutes."
Corey Maggette, the only player who had never played in Cameron, seemed a little tentative at first but soon relaxed and contributed on both ends, scoring eight points. At one point he took the ball strong to the basket on a fast break and crashed into Battier, who, of course, drew the charge.
Maggette's real show, though, began in the pre-game warmups, as he wowed the on-lookers with windmill and 360 dunks, as well as one he threw off the backboard before slamming it through the net.
"It was wild," Maggette said. "It is just great how much the fans are together with the team."
Many of the players commented on the excitement of playing in front of the Cameron crowd for the first time this year. The terms "atmosphere" and "fun" seemed to be buzz words in the locker room.
"They enjoy playing in Cameron especially," Krzyzewski said. "I think it is a big boost for them to be back in front of the crowd."
The intensity was higher than one might expect for a scrimmage game. Nearly every shot was contested and an amazing amount of fouls were called.
"It was very exciting," Brand said. "We all worked hard and talked a little trash this week. Chris Carrawell, Will Avery, we were just going at it waiting for the game."
The team felt confident after its first scrimmage, but the players all knew they had a lot to work on before the season starts.
"We need to work on our offensive consistency," Brand said. "Our defense can be better. We were stepping up taking charges, but we just need to position ourselves better."
Duke opens exhibition play Nov. 2 in Cameron at 7:30.
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