Dunk contest, Smith’s play highlight Countdown event

Sophomore Olek Czyz’s performance in the dunk contest stole the show Friday at Countdown to Craziness.
Sophomore Olek Czyz’s performance in the dunk contest stole the show Friday at Countdown to Craziness.

From the use of a Mike Posner tune in the introduction videos to the appearance of Duke greats Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, Friday night was all about celebrating Duke. The Countdown to Craziness event combined the Blue-White game with videos featuring players, a dunk contest, an awards show and even an outdoor concert, creating a lively start to the season. 

“It was amazing, a great atmosphere,” junior Nolan Smith said. “The team was very excited and the coaches [were too], and I think we went out and played a great game.”

Following player introductions, the Blue Devils tipped off for the first time this season in front of a expectant crowd. The Blue-White game had players divided among two teams that competed in two 12-minute halves. A brief halftime and the presentation of awards for past Duke moments during timeouts helped keep the scrimmage from dragging or slowing down the action.

Smith stole much of the spotlight on the floor, showing off a visibly improved jump shot. The junior guard shot 10-of-14 from the floor—including 3-of-6 from 3-point range—en route to an efficient 25 points.

In the first half, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee joined Smith in the starting lineup for the White team. That group of five would start if the season began this week, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday. White dominated the Blue squad—which featured Andre Dawkins, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek—on the way to a 40-17 victory.

In the second half, White traded Smith, Miles Plumlee and Steve Johnson for Dawkins, Thomas and Kelly. Smith’s two free throws less than a second before time expired helped the guard secure a second victory on the night.

“I was just being aggressive,” Smith said. “My teammates were looking for me and the coaches are looking for me to be aggressive, and I was being aggressive trying to get in the flow of the game. If you can get into a flow early then that gets you going for the rest of the game.”

Following the scrimmage, Dawkins, Czyz, Smith and both Plumlees participated in a dunk contest, which was a real crowd pleaser. Fans participated by holding up  pieces of papers with numbers between one and ten to rate the dunks and influnece the judges—Director of Athletics Kevin White, women’s basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie and former Duke great Jason Williams.

The contest was narrated by Thomas and Scheyer from the sideline and gave competing players a chance to lighten up in front of the packed stadium. Smith made a playful tribute to former associate head coach Johnny Dawkins by wearing his number 24 jersey and a pair of thigh-length shorts. But his antics weren’t quite enough to win the competition.

A between-the-legs flush by Czyz—complete with an ingenious celebration in which the forward imitated revving the engine of a motorcycle—was enough for the Poland native to join Dawkins in the finals after two rounds. In the finals, a one-round, head-to-head matchup proved not to be enough when it resulted in a tie. When the two received perfect scores in sudden death, the judges declared the contest a tie.

A number of Duke recruits attended the event, including Marshall Plumlee and verbal commits Joshua Hairston and Tyler Thornton. Marshall Plumlee is the youngest brother of Miles and Mason Plumlee.

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