The men's basketball team is hoping to carry its sizzling start over to the frozen plains of Alaska this Thanksgiving.
The top-ranked Blue Devils (3-0) will be making their second trip in four years to the Great Alaska Tournament in Anchorage. The tournament will provide several plot twists for Duke as the Blue Devils square off against Notre Dame in the first round Thursday night at midnight EST.
The game marks a homecoming for senior guard Trajan Langdon. The Anchorage native was unable to play in the tournament three years ago due to a stress reaction in his left leg that sidelined him for the entire season. Tournament rules prior to this year prohibited Duke from returning so soon after winning the tournament in 1995, but a new policy will allow Langdon to play in his hometown.
"It was really frustrating," Langdon said. "I have a lot of friends and family there and I was really disappointed [not to play three years ago].
"I'm just going to go up there relaxed. We've got a great team and I just want to have fun."
Langdon's teammates are also looking forward to playing in front of his fans in Anchorage.
"He's probably excited, as well is the rest of the team," junior Chris Carrawell said. "I hear he's king of Alaska up there."
The Fighting Irish will be a less-experienced opponent. Notre Dame is still searching to replace All-American Pat Garrity, who was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks in June. Garrity carried the Irish on his back the last three seasons, leading the team in scoring and rebounding each year.
"We certainly lost a key member of our team with Pat's graduation," said coach John MacLeod. "But we have some quality experienced players returning this year and we are bringing three talented freshmen into the program."
MacLeod is hoping the freshman trio of 6-foot-6 David Graves, 6-10 Troy Murphy and 6-8 Harold Swanagan can provide some of the offense that left with Garrity. Graves and Murphy have been the Irish's leading scorers in their first three games of the season.
Joining those two freshmen in the starting lineup will be three returnees from last year's team, senior Phil Hickey and sophomores Martin Ingelsby and Antoni Wyche.
"We're looking forward to playing against them and we know [Notre Dame] is looking forward to playing against us," Carrawell said. "We know every game from now on out we're going to be the number one game on [our opponent's] schedule.
"We're going to a neutral site to play some pretty good teams on a neutral court."
The Shootout could offer several other tough opponents for the Blue Devils. Cincinnati, Southern Utah, Iowa State, St. Mary's, Fresno State and Alaska-Anchorage will make up the remainder of the field. The Blue Devils could have a potential second-round matchup with the Bulldogs that would pit Fresno St. coach Jerry Tarkanian against Duke for the first time since the Blue Devils upset Tarkanian's UNLV squad in the 1991 NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Besides Duke, only one of the other seven teams in the tournament is ranked in national polls, with Cincinnati ranked No. 17. But the Blue Devils are not taking their opponents lightly.
"This team is very prepared for Alaska, and we're going to have to be," said Elton Brand. "We'll be facing stiff competition."
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