Touted as the best backcourt in the country, it usually consists of sophomore sensation Chris Duhon running the point so that National Player of the Year candidate Jason Williams can rain threes on the competition.
But Sunday night, Duke's dynamic backcourt duo substituted freshman Daniel Ewing for Williams. In the Blue Devils' first ACC win of the season, the game went anything but conventionally, including a pre-game on-court interview with Clemson Tiger Edward Scott, a shot-clock malfunction and Duke's worst rebounding effort this season.
In the midst of all these distractions, the normal stars of the Blue Devil offense--Williams and junior Mike Dunleavy--fell to the wayside in the first half, allowing the utility players to show blue-chip potential.
With Dunleavy scoring a measly five points in the first four minutes and then disappearing from the offensive end until 5:34 remained in the half, the mantle of scoring leader appeared to fall to Williams. But the All-American shot 4-for-10 from the floor in the first half, including 0-for-5 beyond the arc.
In response, Duhon played all 20 minutes of the first half, posting a team-high 12 points with three assists and two steals. His presence steadied a sluggish Blue Devil squad, as he began his scoring drive with a fast-break layup just 2:30 into pull even with Clemson, 6-6.
"[Duhon's] play really helped me," Ewing said. "I think it helped a lot to win the game. I really fed off of his intensity from my standpoint. We need that kind of energy from our leaders."
On the defensive end, Duhon fired up his team and the Cameron Crazies with his own version of payback. After Tiger guard Edward Scott used a strong Clemson pick to shoot a 10-foot jumper over Duhon, the sophomore quickly answered with a layup on the other end of the floor. On the very next play, Duhon drew the charge on Scott, the junior's first foul of the game.
At the end of the half, Duhon showed the ability to make up for past mistakes, as his turnover with 3:15 remaining allowed Tiger Tony Stockman to cut Duke's six-point lead in half with a cool, calm trey. On the Tigers' next possession, the Slidell, La., native picked off a Clemson passing lane to set up a three.
"I was trying to get everybody on the same page to stop [Clemson] and give them a good hard blow at the end of the first half," Duhon said. "One of my responsibilities on the team is to bring that excitement and energy to the team."
The real boost, though, came from the freshman who didn't play like one. Ewing showed a level of athleticism and immediate impact not seen since--well, last season's freshman phenom, Chris Duhon. Yet Duhon is quick to point out the differences between Ewing and himself at the same time last year.
"Daniel's more confident; he has a lot of confidence in his ability," Duhon said. "With me, I was just trying to fit in, and with Daniel, he knows he's going to fit in."
Just as Duhon and Williams came together last year for the Jason-Chris Express, Duhon and Ewing combined for two big first-half plays. Eight minutes into the half, Duhon stole the ball from Tiger center Ray Henderson and connected with Ewing for the layup that doubled Clemson, 24-12. In a later display of hitherto unexploited chemistry, Ewing calmly drained a three-pointer of his own with seven seconds left on the shot clock on a pass from Duhon. Ewing shot 67 percent from the field in the first half, with nine points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
"I thought Ewing gave us a huge lift coming off the bench," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought he was a key factor in the basketball game."
In the second stanza, both Duhon and Ewing were relegated to their usual places, that of supporting characters to Williams' and Dunleavy's starring roles. Williams rebounded from his nine-point first-half performance to finish with 19 and Dunleavy tallied 15 points of his own. Duhon scored only one point in the second half, finishing with 13, while Ewing added five points to notch 14.
In the end, once the stars warmed up, the understudies' first-half performance got lost in the shuffle. But the message was clear: Duke has leaders outside the cover of Sports Illustrated that are ready and willing to pick up the slack.
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