It was everyone's first look at this year's men's basketball team against an opponent other than itself. And it was good.
Duke took a 67-29 lead into the locker room at halftime and cruised the rest of the way to a 128-80 win over the Five-Star Hawks last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I thought our kids looked really good out there tonight," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We played really hard, especially in the first half, both offensively and defensively, and we rebounded very well."
Just 50 seconds into the game, Matt Christensen grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball in off the backboard for the Blue Devils' first two points, and the rout was on.
Duke opened a 21-2 advantage with 14:02 to play in the first stanza due in large part to four three-pointers and stellar play by Jason Williams.
Just over two minutes later, Casey Sanders hit Chris Carrawell inside for a slam dunk, extending the lead to 29-4.
The Hawks finally connected on their first field goal with 10:22 to play in the first half when Michael Byers hit a three-pointer from the wing. Despite the basket, Duke still held a 29-7 lead.
The Blue Devils used runs of 16-2 and 12-4 to create their largest lead of the first half at 57-18 with 3:18 remaining. The half ended in grand fashion with Williams splitting a double team and finding Mike Dunleavy in the right corner for a wide open three-pointer.
"I told them at halftime that they were doing two things really well," Krzyzewski said. "One was keeping spacing. It seemed like our team was spread out all over the court.... And the second thing was that they were very, very unselfish. They were making the extra passes."
The second half played out much the same as the first. After the Hawks mounted their best run of the game, outscoring Duke 9-2 to start the half, the Blue Devils responded behind the play of Carlos Boozer.
The Alaskan big man put in an easy lay-up off a feed from Dunleavy, then rejected Cedric Carter on the other end. On the ensuing offensive possession, Boozer used deep inside position to convert a hook shot, bumping Duke's lead to 80-40 with 14:25 to play.
"It was good to see Carlos, even though he fouled out" Krzyzewski said. "That was after a week of practice. He'll keep getting better; he just needs to play and practice."
Dunleavy then took a turn putting on a show of his own, as he buried a three from the left corner. On the following defensive series, he stole the ball on the baseline, drove the floor and found Nate James on the break for the crowd-pleasing slam dunk, making the score 90-47.
The Blue Devils opened their largest lead at 118-59 when Williams drove the lane for a lay-up with 4:34 remaining.
While this was the first real game experience for the Duke freshmen, they did not play much like freshmen. Krzyzewski, however, took note of who the opponent was.
"I'm not sure that [they've been] at the five-star stations working on individual and team defense," he said.
Among the returning players, James had an impressive outing. The junior connected on 8-of-11 from the field for 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
"Nate really played outstanding," Krzyzewski said. "He played his role. This last week of practice was the best Nate has ever played, and it was nice to see him carry it over to the game. Our veterans were right there."
James also noted how important a role the veterans will play in the upcoming season.
"We have to be vocal out there and show, as well as tell, the guys what's going on," he said. "Even though the freshmen are great players, they don't know exactly what to expect and don't know what Duke basketball is about yet.
"It is important for us every night to go out there and set the tone, so they can follow our lead."
Battier continued to show off his offensive game last night against the Hawks. He netted 19 points, including 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc.
"I'm looking to score," Battier said. "For us to be the best team possible, I'm going to have to be really aggressive and open things up for my teammates....
"I've learned to, what I call, 'lose him through the forest,' where I take my man all over the court to where he loses me. Then I'm sticking out there open for a three-pointer."
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