Basketball season is finally here.
When Duke men's basketball team opens its 95th season against Stanford at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer Ikon Classic, the Blue Devils will also tip off the nation's first college game of the 1999-2000 season.
Tonight's early-season showdown between the 10th-ranked Blue Devils and the 13th-ranked Cardinal will give a rare chance for fans to enjoy a March Madness-like atmosphere in the second week of November. But before either team starts thinking about the postseason, each will have to show it can account for significant losses from last year with a total of six untested freshmen.
"I think it has kind of kept a little bit of foot to the pedal in terms of trying to get ready a little earlier than you normally would," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said.
This is the first time ever meeting between Duke and the Cardinal, but Blue Devil Mike Krzyzewski and Montgomery have already coached together at Michael Jordan's Fantasy Camp this summer in Las Vegas.
Returning to Palo Alto this fall, Montgomery rebuilt a program that now relies on a depleted veteran roster. The reigning Pac-10 champions lost four starters from last season, with senior forward Mark Madsen as the sole Cardinal with starting experience.
Madsen, at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, is a preseason All-American pick and Stanford's most consistent scorer with a .587 career shooting percentage.
"[Mark] is a tremendous influence on the world on and off the court," Montgomery said. "He brings consistent competitiveness to the court every day."
Fellow senior David Moseley joins Madsen on the court at shooting guard, along with junior forward Ryan Mendez, center Jarron Collins and point guard Michael McDonald.
"[McDonald's] biggest problem is that he missed a lot of time from injuries," Montgomery said. "He doesn't have the experience you would normally expect a junior to have."
While McDonald matches up with novice point guard Jason Williams experience-wise, freshman sharpshooter Casey Jacobsen will be Mike Dunleavy's alter ego on the perimeter.
"I think Dunleavy is better with the ball in his hands, where I think Casey might be a little bit better with the ball out of his hands so he can get his head up and shoot the ball," Montgomery said.
Whichever team wins will probably face preseason No. 1 UConn. The possibility of a potential UConn-Duke rematch of last year's National Championship game is whetting the appetites of both Husky and Blue Devil fans alike.
While Duke would be searching for vindication and retribution, a rematch would give UConn a chance to confirm that it really was the top team in the nation last year.
"I think the preseason ranking is a tribute to what we did last year, not this year," UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said. "I want [my players] thinking of last season as a season for a lifetime, but to also make this season one to remember."
UConn is possibly the only team primed to play at this level this early in the season because it retained most of its key players. Junior guard Khalid El-Amin garnered the 1999-2000 Big East preseason player of the year honors after former teammate Richard Hamilton left for the NBA after last season.
Fellow Husky Ajou Deng, a 6-10 sophomore, was named Big East preseason rookie of the year and poses a scoring threat on the floor. He recorded 12 points, three blocks and five rebounds in an exhibition game against the New York All-Stars.
Senior co-captains Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman round out the Huskies' veteran lineup. Freeman, who has averaged 10.4 points his last three seasons, was the Most Outstanding Player at the 1999 Big East tournament.
Immediately following the Stanford-Duke game, Calhoun's top-ranked squad will take on Iowa, which is led by the newest coach of all four teams. First-year coach Steve Alford mans the helm for Iowa, fresh off leading Southwest Missouri State to the Sweet 16 last March.
No matter how inexperienced the team or how new the opposing head coach, Calhoun and the Huskies are not taking the game lightly.
"Our most physical game last year was against Iowa," Calhoun said. "We're facing a new Iowa team with a terrific new coach who brings a new style. [Alford's] got an attitude of competitiveness he had as a player and now as a coach."this level of competition this early in the season.
"I think it has kind of kept a little bit of foot to the pedal," Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery said. "In terms of trying to get ready a little earlier than you normally would."
This is the first time ever meeting between Duke and the Cardinal, but Mike Krzyzewski and Montgomery have already coached together at Michael Jordan's Fantasy Camp this summer in Las Vegas.
Returning to Palo Alto this fall, Montgomery rebuilt a program that now relies on a depleted veteran roster. The reigning Pac-10 champions lost four starters from last season, with senior forward Mark Madsen as the sole Cardinal with starting experience.
Madsen, at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, is a preseason All-American pick and Stanford's most consistent and tested scorer with a .587 career shooting percentage
"[Mark] is a tremendous influence on the world on and off the court," Montgomery said. "He brings consistent competitiveness to the court every day."
Fellow senior David Moseley joins Madsen on the court at shooting guard, along with junior forward Ryan Mendez, center Jarron Collins and point guard Michael McDonald.
"[McDonald's] biggest problem is that he missed a lot of time from injuries," Montgomery said. "He doesn't have the experience you would normally expect a junior to have."
Where McDonald matches up with novice point guard Jason Williams experience-wise, freshman sharpshooter Casey Jacobsen will be Mike Dunleavy's alter ego on the perimeter.
"I think Dunleavy's better with the ball in his hands where I think Casey might be a little bit better with the ball out of his hands so he can get his head up and shoot the ball," Montgomery said.
Whichever team wins will probably face preseason No. 1 UConn, whetting both UConn and Duke fans' appetites for vindication and retribution.
"I think the preseason ranking is a tribute to what we did last year, not this year," UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said. "I want [my players] thinking of last season as a season for a lifetime, but to also make this season one to remember."
UConn is possibly the only team primed to play at this level this early in the season due to the Huskies' retention of key players. Junior guard Khalid El-Amin garnered the 1999-2000 Big East preseason player of the year honors after former teammate Richard Hamilton left for the NBA after last season.
Fellow Husky Ajou Deng, a 6-10 sophomore, was named Big East preseason rookie of the year and poses a scoring threat on the floor. He recorded 12 points, three blocks and five rebounds in an exhibition against the New York All-Stars.
Senior co-captains Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman round out the Huskies' veteran lineup. Last year Freeman was the Most Outstanding Player at the 1999 Big East tournament, and he averaged 10.4 points his last three seasons.
Calhoun and his top-ranked squad take on Iowa, which is led by the newest coach of all four teams.
First-year coach Steve Alford mans the helm for Iowa, fresh off leading his 1998-99 Southwest Missouri State squad to the Sweet 16 last March.
No matter how inexperienced the team or how new the opposing head coach, Calhoun and the Huskies are not taking the game lightly.
"Our most physical game last year was against Iowa," Calhoun said. "We're facing a new Iowa team with a terrific new coach who brings a new style. [Alford's] got an attitude of competitiveness he had as a player and now as a coach."
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