Excitement is in the air.
After months of suffering through a season of mediocre performances by many of Duke's sports teams this fall, Blue Devil sports fans will finally have something to cheer about tomorrow when the new edition of the Duke men's basketball team commences its season with the annual Blue-White scrimmage at 6:15 p.m. And the best part about the game? Duke can't lose.
"It's nice to get out in front of everyone," sophomore Mike Dunleavy said. "It'll be real fun and we're all looking forward to it."
More importantly, the scrimmage will provide an opportunity for the Cameron Crazies to check out the new members of the team, which include highly touted six-foot-one freshman guard Chris Duhon, 6-5 wing man Andre Sweet and Rutgers transfer Dahntay Jones.
Needless to say, the newcomers hope to make an exemplary first impression on the Duke faithful.
"I'm real excited, I'm ready to give the fans a little taste
The newcomers, however, aren't the only ones who want to show off their skills. Many members of the team who have been working arduously over the summer in hopes of increasing their playing time also want to demonstrate the improvements they have made since Duke's NCAA tournament loss to Florida last March.
Among those who look to garner more minutes are sophomore forward Nick Horvath, who many feel has benefited from going toe-to-toe with national player of the year candidate Shane Battier in preseason workouts, and sophomore center Casey Sanders, who has complemented his on-court workouts with an extensive weight training program designed to bolster the lanky 6-11 Floridian's strength in the post.
"I want to show [the fans] that I've gotten better," Sanders said. "I don't know the best way I can do that, but it's probably just showing them that I can compete on any level."
While much of the game will likely feature flashy moves that show off the new skills that the players have acquired, the Blue Devils believe that the scrimmage will be a solid first test for playing under the scrutiny of a demanding and enthusiastic basketball audience.
"It's something that's definitely for the fans, but at the same time, there's a lot that we can get out of it," Dunleavy said. "[It's valuable] playing in a different atmosphere, because we've practiced for the last two weeks by ourselves in an empty arena. I think guys play differently [in front of a crowd], so we'll see how it is when the lights go on."
And the game is also important as every player begins to find his identity on this potentially deep Duke squad, a quality missing in years past.
"We'll start to get a good idea of where we're going to be, where we fit on the team, and who's in charge," Sanders said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.