Chris Carrawell, Nate James and Shane Battier laid the groundwork a year ago in The World's Most Famous Arena. Now Duke's tri-captains will revisit a landmark game in college basketball's most famous arena.
It was 13 months ago that the Blue Devils, in the midst of a 32-game winning streak and racing towards the No. 1 ranking, walked into a St. John's ambush at Madison Square Garden.
"It was a classic," Battier said, recalling Duke's 92-88 overtime victory last January. "It was really the precursor to this year, especially in the overtime period when Elton [Brand] and William [Avery] fouled out. It was Chris, Nate and I who were thrown in there."
With two of Duke's three leading scorers watching from the sidelines, Carrawell and Battier took control. Battier drew two charges and scored four points in the extra period, and Carrawell iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final minute.
"As a result, we proved to ourselves we could handle the responsibilities of leading this team," Battier said.
Not everyone was convinced though.
"A lot of people were like, 'That was just one game; they can't do it all year,'" Carrawell said.
Of course, no one is saying that now.
Not after Duke ripped off another 18-game win streak this year on its way to a 22-3 start. Not after Battier poured in a
And especially not after Carrawell, the ACC's third-leading scorer and top candidate for player of the year, and redshirt junior James became the first players in league history to win four consecutive regular season titles outright.
"The goal now," Battier said, "is to secure a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. I don't think we have that locked up by any means."
St. John's (19-6, 11-3 Big East) has even more to play for when it visits Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
The Red Storm is unranked but tearing through the second half of its Big East schedule, having knocked off No. 13 Syracuse and No. 22 Connecticut last week.
"It'll be good for the ACC," Battier said. "Kind of like the best of the ACC vs. the best of the Big East, though I doubt it will do anything in terms of determining which is the better conference."
Erick Barkley, the Red Storm's electric sophomore point guard, recently returned to the team after a two-game suspension over Jeepgate. The NCAA ruled that Barkley, who swapped his Jeep Grand Cherokee for a relative's Ford Expedition, had received preferential treatment, compromising his amateur status.
Barkley, who leads the Red Storm in scoring (17.0 ppg), assists (4.3) and steals (3.3), is the cornerstone of the Johnnies' offense. With him in the lineup, the Red Storm averages 75.9 ppg. In two games without him, St. John's averaged 60.
"He's one of the best point guards in the country," Battier said. "Very quick and very athletic."
Barkley may be back, but the fallout from his suspension lingers.
On Wednesday, the NCAA suspended DerMarr Johnson of Cincinnati for one game for $7,000 in prep school tuition he received from an AAU coach. Barkley, who played on the same AAU team, is reportedly under investigation again.
Meanwhile, Michigan freshman Jamal Crawford completed a six-game suspension for the aid he received from a foster parent, only to learn yesterday that the NCAA slapped him with another eight-game ban for trying to declare for last spring's NBA draft (Crawford mailed his letter to the league a day late).
From Barkley to Johnson to Crawford, and from programs like Missouri to UCLA to Oklahoma State, a startling trend is developing. It's clear that no school is safe from the NCAA's newfound vigilance.
"It's a sad part of the game right now, almost a witch hunt," Battier said. "These kids are not doing anything wrong. They're not hurting anybody or breaking the law.
"Erick Barkley is not a bad guy. He just traded in a car and he's being vilified by the NCAA."
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