The nation's preseason No. 1 team, the Duke Blue Devils, plays its first game against an opposing team tonight against the EA Sports All-Stars. The Blue Devils are excited to defend their national title.
"I'm looking forward to starting a great season," said preseason national player of the year candidate Jason Williams.
The EA Sports All-Stars are a formidable foe, as the team's roster includes Curtis Staples and Schea Cotton. Staples, who averaged 18.1 points per game as senior, was a standout player for UVa and is the NCAA's all-time three point field goal leader with 413. Schea Cotton was once considered the top high school prospect in the country, and he led the All-Stars in scoring with 23 points in a 98-75 loss against N.C. State.
"You always feel challenges from teams that come in here and play against us," Williams said. "I think this is a very big game on their schedule, and I think they're going to come out and play really hard."
If Duke needs any motivation about how good this team is, they can look at EA Sports' 31-point victory over UNC yesterday. The All-Stars won 107-76, and Curtis Staples scored 31 points.
Williams wants his team to use this game to grow.
"We're going to improve from each game that we play," said Williams.
The team's preseason has gone well, with good practices and a good showing in the Blue-White game.
"Practice is going good," said Williams. "I think roles are starting to be defined."
Transfer Dahntay Jones is playing his first game against another team at Cameron, and he will try to improve on his solid performance at the Blue-White game, where he scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Chris Duhon looked good despite his hamstring problems in the Blue-White game, connecting on seven three-pointers. Williams, who is still recovering from a broken hand, will try to regain his touch after only shooting 8-23 at the Blue-White game.
The Duke big men also look to have an impressive year, as Carlos Boozer scored 20 points in the Blue-White game, and Mike Dunleavy and Casey Sanders added needed pounds to their skinny frames.
The game is at 7:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The team's next exhibition game is Nov. 15 against the Nike Elite team, also in Cameron. The team does not start its regular season until Nov. 19 at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.