It was the second time Cameron Indoor Stadium experienced a moment of silence Sunday night.
A minute and a half remained in the first half, and Virginia"s J.R. Reynolds launched a ball from behind the arc that shanked off the rim. In an attempt to grab the rebound, Daniel Ewing fell to the floor, reached for his left ankle and rolled out of bounds amid the traffic of a loose ball. As Ewing writhed in pain on the floor, the crowd held its collective breath, and visions of a lost season flashed before its very eyes.
The fear of injury looms in the minds of players, coaches and fans alike. Some college players even use it to justify leaving for the NBA early, though the millions of dollars waiting probably play a large part in their decisions as well. Injury is also something nobody wants to talk about, for fear that mentioning it might just jinx them in the end. So, when Ewing was curled up under the basket holding his ankle, nobody had a word to say.
'I really couldn"t pinpoint what happened,' Ewing described. 'It wasn"t really my ankle. I was just hoping I would be okay and I"d be able to play the second half.... We were in a close game, and I was able to play. I was going to go out there and give it my all.'
Earlier in the game, however, the Crazies could not have been happier or louder when Shavlik Randolph made his grand re-entrance after battling mononucleosis for the past month.
'That was their Christmas present to me,' Randolph said of the crowd"s exuberant welcome back. 'That felt great.'
Reggie Love also has been on crutches since breaking his foot in the ACC opener against Clemson. So, with two of the team"s three big men sitting on the sidelines, Duke could have been in trouble. Thankfully for the Blue Devils, though, Shelden Williams uses his strength in the paint to score big in the absence of Randolph and Love.
'Shelden Williams makes up for a lot of things,' Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. 'He just blocks a lot of shots--he"s very physical.'
Duke"s lack of depth has been the conversation of choice for basketball analysts all season long. Time and again, the team has fielded questions about how deep it is, but it is this healthy cynicism that keeps the Blue Devils going.
'People keep saying, "Duke"s not this and Duke"s not that," but we keep proving that we can win,' Williams said. 'We"re still doing that, so obviously we"re doing something right.'
But, Duke has proved it has depth in talent--just not all in one game. J.J. Redick, Williams and Ewing have shown they can consistently score in double digits. Against UVa, the trio scored 28, 16 and 17, respectively.
Outside of the 'big three,' there is potential and talent. Against N.C. State, DeMarcus Nelson and Lee Melchionni scored 15 and 16 points, respectively. Sean Dockery provides regular defensive strength and has scored more than 10 points in a couple of games this season. Additionally, a healthy Randolph will likely again put up strong numbers.
On any given night, Duke can showcase its depth--but, on the other hand, it can also show its lack thereof.
For example, only five Blue Devils scored points in the game against Oklahoma Dec. 18. Granted, all five scored at least 10 points each, but still--five.
'I don"t think we"ve had a game where we"ve gotten everything that we can do,' Krzyzewski said. 'I"d love for those big three to play like [they did tonight] and our bench to play like they played at N.C. State.'
Ewing came back to the game in the second half and played through pain for the team. His absence would undoubtedly have been a brutal hit, but could have opened up an opportunity for someone else to step up. Thankfully, though, it doesn"t look like the Blue Devils will need that just yet.
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