In the 2005-2006 season, Eric Boateng was a freshman center on Duke’s roster and Herb Sendek coached ACC foe N.C. State. Four years later, Boateng and Sendek both reside in Tempe—and the former Blue Devil big man looks to defeat his old team for a spot in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Duke (4-0) will take on Arizona State (4-0) in Madison Square Garden tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. The Blue Devils will be heavily favored against the Sun Devils, but Sendek’s squad will give Duke a look on both ends of the court that it has not faced so far this season.
“They have a unique style that you don’t see every game,” associate head coach Chris Collins said. “They play a version of the Princeton offense offensively, and then on defense they play a matchup zone 100 percent of the time. They are very good at it—it’s something that they’ve done for the last couple of years.”
On the defensive end, No. 7 Duke will need to guard against the multiple 3-point threats in Arizona State’s lineup. The Sun Devils went 18-for-32 from deep in their last game against San Francisco. Arizona State has gone 38-for-77, or 49.4 percent, from 3-point range on the season.
Boateng will be Arizona State’s prime force on the inside. The 6-foot-10 senior has averaged 11.5 points and 8 rebounds per game so far this year. No current Blue Devil played alongside Boateng during his freshman season, but his recruiting class’s story is as interesting as it was unlikely.
Boateng’s recruiting class included Greg Paulus, Josh McRoberts, Marty Pocius and Jamal Boykin. Paulus now plays quarterback for Syracuse, McRoberts left for the NBA after two years despite watching his pro prospects steeply decline, Pocius plays professionally in Lithuania and Boykin—like Boateng—transfered after his freshman season, in his case to California.
“It was a five-man class that ended up being two last year as seniors,” Collins said. “Certainly in today’s day and age it shows just how unpredictable college basketball is with guys leaving early, transfers, Marty going back to Europe. It shows you kind of the landscape of where things are.”
With Paulus and Pocius finishing their playing days at Duke last season, juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith will likely lead the Blue Devils on the offensive end. Smith, after being suspended for the first two games of the season for playing in an unsanctioned summer league, has gotten off to a great start and is currently averaging 22 points and six assists per game. Singler has averaged 18.3 points per game after moving to the perimeter this season and has shot 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
Should Duke defeat the Sun Devils, it will face the winner of tomorrow night’s other semifinal between Connecticut and LSU Friday night at 5 p.m.
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