Freshmen and future Blue Devils Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon, playing for Team Dreamworks at the NC Pro-Am, came up against an opponent who has had a very illustrious career, former Tar Heel and 2004 NBA Champion Rasheed Wallace. The pair came up short, however, as Wallace's Sheraton Imperial squad prevailed 77-70.
Jefferson and Wallace were matched up throughout the contest, and Wallace definitely took advantage of Jefferson's lack of experience. The constant ribbing and talking throughout the game was part of the battle, with Jefferson also lacking the muscle and size of his bigger defender. He, however, accounted himself very well in spite of this, showing a combination of speed and length to put the ball in the hoop.
He shook off the trash-talk as something "Philly guys do" citing the connection he and Wallace shared coming from the same city.
Sulaimon was matched up with another familiar face, that of North Carolina's PJ Hairston. While Hairston did well, capping off the victory with an emphatic dunk at the buzzer, Sulaimon also showed his offensive capabilities. He shot the ball from deep accurately and was also able to finish at the rim with strong drives into the lane.
At times it looked as though Sulaimon was trying to string together too many tricks, and it was none other than Wallace who took him aside to give him some pointers. During a second half timeout Wallace told Sulaimon to choose one move and use that to get to the hoop, something Sulaimon did to great effect.
That it worked right away, though, was because Wallace also hinted in that conversation that he was not going to try to block the shot.
Highlights and interviews of Sulaimon and Jefferson will be posted shortly, check back here to see the future Blue Devils talk about their match-ups and their experience thus far in the NC Pro-Am.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.