It has been a crazy stretch of five games in nine days with a long West-Coast trip for our team. We have joked with our players that we are in a middle of an NBA-type schedule. Going through this kind of challenge really gives our coaches a great indication of the kind of group that we have. Needless to say, we are very excited to be sitting at 6-0 and champions of the Maui Invitational.
The trip to Maui was a great experience and provided a chance for us to really bond as a team. It was a long 12-hour trip to get there, but it is definitely worth it once you see the blue skies, sunshine and ocean. Maui is definitely one of my favorite places to visit in the world and the tournament presents an incredible opportunity for so many college basketball players to visit. We arrived in Maui on Friday night, so
that our players would have the weekend to get adjusted to the five-hour time change and have a chance to enjoy themselves a little bit before the tournament started on Monday. There were a couple of pre-tournament functions for the players of all of the teams. Congrats to Jon Scheyer for winning the EA Sports college basketball video game tournament and to Coach K for winning the free-throw shootout between the head coaches. Overall, it was a clean sweep for Duke!
that our players would have the weekend to get adjusted to the five-hour time change and have a chance to enjoy themselves a little bit before the tournament started on Monday. There were a couple of pre-tournament functions for the players of all of the teams. Congrats to Jon Scheyer for winning the EA Sports college basketball video game tournament and to Coach K for winning the free-throw shootout between the head coaches. Overall, it was a clean sweep for Duke!
We had three games in three days against three completely different styles of play. First, we had Princeton and their patented spread offense. Our guys did a great job of getting off to a fast start and not allowing them to control the tempo of the game. The guys were really excited to start the tournament and it showed with our energy. We then had to bounce
back and play a tough Illinois team on Day Two. They are extremely well-coached and a proud program. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. Our guys really responded well and Gerald Henderson was phenomena! Hopefully all of you saw that rim-rocking dunk he had. That had all of us out of our seats. The best part of the tournament was having a chance to play Marquette for the Championship. It was ironic
that it was the same exact date, one year later, from our loss to them in the CBE Championship last season. Many people feel as though they have one of the top backcourts in the nation, they returned all five
starters from last year, and we knew the game was going to be a great test for our team. We were so proud of how our guys played that night. Everyone who was out there made big plays down the stretch and we were able to come away with the Championship. Kyle Singler was terrific and received MVP of the tournament.
back and play a tough Illinois team on Day Two. They are extremely well-coached and a proud program. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. Our guys really responded well and Gerald Henderson was phenomena! Hopefully all of you saw that rim-rocking dunk he had. That had all of us out of our seats. The best part of the tournament was having a chance to play Marquette for the Championship. It was ironic
that it was the same exact date, one year later, from our loss to them in the CBE Championship last season. Many people feel as though they have one of the top backcourts in the nation, they returned all five
starters from last year, and we knew the game was going to be a great test for our team. We were so proud of how our guys played that night. Everyone who was out there made big plays down the stretch and we were able to come away with the Championship. Kyle Singler was terrific and received MVP of the tournament.
We spent Thanksgiving Day as a team on the plane. We left our hotel at 5 AM Maui time and finally arrived back on campus at 2 AM that night. It was a long day for sure, but important for us to get back to prepare for a quick turnaround against Eastern Kentucky. We were able to have a great Thanksgiving dinner the next night with the team and all of the staff and families.
We responded well to the travel with a good win over Eastern Kentucky. Because of the strenuous schedule and tough games that we had in Maui, we knew that the EKU game would be a day for our bench to really
step up and give us a shot in the arm. We were right as Taylor King was sensational off the bench with 27 points. We were really proud of our defense in holding them to 12 points in the first half.
Now, it was time to turn our attention to Wisconsin in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This game was going to be a battle of two completely different systems — size and strength vs. speed and quickness. We wanted to make it an up-and-down game and push the ball for 40 minutes. We knew that if the tempo was controlled by them, we could be in trouble. The guys played their hearts out, the Cameron Crazies were on fire, and we came out with a big non-conference win against an outstanding program and coach.
We finish up this big stretch of games with a huge game against Davidson in Charlotte. The game will take place at Bobcats Arena, the site of this year’s ACC Tournament. Everyone knows what a great program Davidson has and how successful they have been. They have one of the top scorers in the NCAA in Stephen Curry and all five starters returning from last year. It should be another great test for our developing team.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of our fans and thanks for your continued support of our team. Hopefully we can keep improving and building on a great start to the season.
On a foul line approximately 4,500 miles from Durham, with 13 seconds remaining and the excited but apprehensive Blue Devil faithful on its feet, Kyle Singler was calmer than the patrons back at the Hyatt Regency Maui lounging in the comforts of ocean-side cabanas. The 6′9″ forward had just secured a critical loose ball and was fouled by a Marquette player. Now he needed to convert a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game.
After Singler drilled the first free throw, Marquette Head Coach Tom Crean called timeout to prepare his team for its next possession, inviting the freshman to think a little bit harder about the magnitude of his upcoming foul shot.
“I knew I was going to make it. There was no doubt in my mind,” Singler said. “There was no doubt I was going to make it a two-possession game.”
Indeed, Singler’s second free throw found nothing but net, capping his perfect 8-of-8 night from the foul line. The Oregon native finished his first championship game in a Duke uniform with 25 points (7-11 FG, 3-5 3pt) and seven rebounds, leading Duke to its fourth all-time championship in the Maui Invitational with a 77-73 win over the No. 11 Golden Eagles.
After the game, as the team celebrated its victory and championship, it was time to name the tournament MVP. Standing in the shadows behind his teammates as his name was called, the humble Singler mouthed two mostly inaudible words that were fitting given his thoughtfulness and the total team effort that led to the championship: “Why me?”
Singler certainly earned the MVP award, leading the tournament in scoring and offensive rebounding while converting 61 percent of his field-goal attempts, but it was Duke’s team cohesion, attitude and collective will that got it done for the Blue Devils.
Said freshman Nolan Smith, “Winning Maui was one of our goals and I knew we were going to win it before we even played our first game just with the confidence and relationships our team has. We went out there and took care of business.”
Setting the tone all tournament was team captain DeMarcus Nelson. The senior has embraced the honor of being Duke’s lone captain, leading by example, looking out for his teammates, and playing to his strengths. In Maui, Nelson drove relentlessly to the bucket and at times seemed unstoppable. He also had more rebounds than any guard in the tournament (19), while playing intense defense on some of the opposition’s top perimeter threats.
“I’ve matured a lot,” Nelson said. “Really taking that responsibility of the captaincy with open arms, trying to make the most of an opportunity, making sure guys are ready to play, making sure that guys are in the right spots — the end result is that it makes me better because I have to be there for my teammates at all times.”
Nelson was Duke’s top player in a backcourt quietly emerging as one of the nation’s best. Gerald Henderson had perhaps the best game of his Duke career against a terrific Illinois squad in the Maui Final Four, pouring in a career-high 23 points and pulling down five boards. Like Singler, he also made a pair of clutch free throws with under 45 seconds to go against Marquette. Meanwhile, Greg Paulus provided steady play at point guard, compiling an assist-to-turnover ratio just shy of 2-to-1, knocking down a team-high six 3’s including a pair of huge triples in the second half vs. Marquette, and leading the team in steals. Teaming with Paulus at point guard was Nolan Smith, a freshman who offered solid ball-handling, additional perimeter quickness, and a great hunger to attack and defend. Rounding out Duke’s perimeter in Maui were Jon Scheyer, who gave his usual consistent play and intangibles that do not always show up in box scores, and Martynas Pocius, capable of delivering instant offense.
It was this perimeter group that proved to be the tournament’s best, with Singler, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek and Taylor King giving Duke a versatile and formidable frontcourt as well. When combined with a commitment to Duke’s standards, you had a team worthy of the championship earned in Maui.
The trip started on the afternoon of November 16th, when the team journeyed to Hawaii. The first two days in the Rainbow State were devoted to time-zone acclimation, rest, and a pair of practices. We opened with an 83-61 win over Princeton on Monday and then defeated Illinois 79-66 on Tuesday, before meeting up with Marquette in Wednesday’s final.
During the tournament, a reporter asked Coach K what Duke’s secret was to winning in Maui. The Hall of Famer replied, “Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Jason Williams, Steve Wojciechowski. You have to have good players and we have had great players and veteran teams and we’ve been lucky, a kid hit a big shot or whatever. It’s the same scenario whoever wins. Good players make good plays and get a little bit lucky and all of a sudden you win.”
To that list of players, you could now add Singler and Nelson, among other Blue Devils past and present. Consequently, fantastic weather, unforgettable vistas, and Duke Basketball remain unbeatable in Maui.
Top Performer
Grant Hill has made the adjustment to playing in Phoenix in a big way. In his first seven games with the Suns, Grant was averaging a respectable 11.7 points per game. Since then, however, a light has come on. Grant is doing what he does best, slashing to the hoop and making mid-range jumpers, rather than settling on three-pointers, and the results are impressive. The seven-time All-Star is averaging 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in his last six games, all Phoenix wins. Grant’s re-emergence has lifted the Suns to the top of the Western Conference standings and the top of ESPN.com’s NBA Power Rankings.
Grant Hill has made the adjustment to playing in Phoenix in a big way. In his first seven games with the Suns, Grant was averaging a respectable 11.7 points per game. Since then, however, a light has come on. Grant is doing what he does best, slashing to the hoop and making mid-range jumpers, rather than settling on three-pointers, and the results are impressive. The seven-time All-Star is averaging 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in his last six games, all Phoenix wins. Grant’s re-emergence has lifted the Suns to the top of the Western Conference standings and the top of ESPN.com’s NBA Power Rankings.
Line of the Week
After two straight games without a double-double for the only time all season, Carlos Boozer got his groove back in the last two games, leading the Jazz to impressive victories over New Orleans and Detroit. His 19-point, 16-rebound performance Friday was just the prelude. Sunday saw Carlos dominate the Pistons’ front line to the tune of 36 points on 17-of-20 (.850) from the floor, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. The Jazz are now 10-4, at the top of the Northwest Division and trailing only Phoenix and San Antonio in the Western Conference standings. Boozer currently leads all NBA power forwards in scoring (seventh in the league). He is fourth in the entire league in efficiency rating, second in double-doubles, tenth in rebounding, and is becoming a legitimate MVP candidate.
Injury Update
Unfortunately, the biggest NBA news for Duke fans last week was about Blue Devils that weren’t playing. Two of Duke’s best joined Elton Brand on the injured list, with Corey Maggette and Luol Deng both missing three games. Maggette’s last contest was his best all-around game of the season, tallying 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists against Golden State before being sidelined with an injured hamstring. Deng injured his back against Corey’s Clippers on November 17th, after a 23-point, 9-rebound performance against the Suns two days earlier. Thankfully, Luol returned Sunday with another great all-around effort, notching 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in the Bulls’ loss to Toronto. Maggette was originally projected to miss 2-3 weeks while his hamstring recovers, although recent reports say he may return sooner than expected.
Blue Planet NBA Fantasy League Update
The injuries are taking their toll on the Blue Devil’s fantasy league team. Duke slipped in the standings this week without three of its four best players in the lineup. Now that Deng has returned, look for the Devils to hold their ground, but they’ll need a quick return from Maggette if they expect to challenge for the top spot again.
1. North Carolina Tar Heels: 3069.0
2. Connecticut Huskies: 3044.3
3. Duke Blue Devils: 2634.7
4. Arizona Wildcats: 2515.4
5. Florida Gators: 2201.3
6. Kentucky Wildcats: 2075.7
7. Kansas Jayhawks: 1778.2
The scoring system is explained in the November 12th blog.
Quote of the Week
“Luol Deng’s showing me something that a lot of guys aren’t showing me right now. He’s a pro in everything he does. The way he shakes hands reminds me of Grant Hill. The way he stretches reminds me of Shane Battier. The way he listens reminds me of Elton Brand. Mike [Krzyzewski] always rubs off on the great Duke kids.”
-NBA Eastern Conference scout, before the 2004 NBA Draft
BP: Was your first Duke Basketball road trip everything you expected?
Nolan Smith: It was definitely what I expected. We travel nice. We are taken care of very nicely. It was just a good trip in general with us winning the championship.
BP: How did you like Hawaii and had you been there before?
Nolan: It was beautiful. The weather was nice. It was good to get out of Durham a little bit. I had been there before during my freshman year of high school at St. John’s.
BP: Did you guys get a chance to explore a little bit or was it all business?
Nolan: We were mostly business until Wednesday night after we won the championship. That night, we were able to go out on the beach, get in the ocean a little bit, and have a lot of fun.
BP: At this point in the season, what can our team do to improve?
Nolan: As a team, we can always defend a little better. We can always push the ball even more than we are. We can just pick it up a notch. We can hold teams to fewer points, and I think that is the main thing we will work on.
BP: Last year at about this time, we lost to Marquette in an early-season tournament’s championship game as Dominic James poured in 25 points. I thought this year, one of the keys to beating Marquette was our depth and the variety of defensive looks we could throw at them with you obviously being a key to these improvements. Talk about that and your partnership with Greg at our point guard position.
Nolan: Greg and I — Our chemistry right now is great. When we sub in and out for each other, we keep each other fresh. With Dominic James being such a great player, you have to have fresh legs on him in order to check him, and a fresh mind in order to keep him in front of you and make him force shots. That was a key in the game. The second half, he only scored one point. Greg did a great job keeping him in front, and Kyle and Lance both took a lot of charges in the game when Dominic left his feet.
BP: Talk about the poise of our three freshmen. You guys seem to have a comfort level already that greatly exceeds what you would expect out of first-year college basketball players.
Nolan: The poise is natural, it is just in us, we are poised human beings. It extends from off the court to on the court. I have never been scared of anybody. I feel if I were to play against Kobe Bryant on any night, I would never back down and I wouldn’t be scared of him. That is how all of the freshmen here now approach the game. When we are out there, we just try to make plays with the confidence that we will do something good.
BP: Last year, for the first time in 12 years, Duke failed to win a championship during the season. What did it mean to you to win a championship in our first try this season?
Nolan: It feels great. That is what I wanted to do, come in and take this team to another level with my defense and my fearlessness. It was really letting the guys know it is a new year. Last year was over and done with, and the coaches are really excited about this year. Winning Maui was one of our goals and I knew we were going to win it before we even played our first game just with the confidence and relationships our team has. We went out there and took care of business.
BP: You guys seem to be a close-knit group that has a lot of fun playing together. Do you feel that way?
Nolan: Oh yeah, this is definitely one of the closest teams I have been on. We hang out all the time on the weekends. In Hawaii we were very close. That will take us a long way. The coaches said in the hotel they will mix up our roommates on the road, so we all get to know each other even better so we can continue to grow and get better on and off the court.
BP: Where do you personally go from here — What do you work on in the days ahead?
Nolan: Just take the big games we just played and run with them. Maintain my confidence and my ability to stop the other team’s point guards and helping the team win any way I can. Getting in the gym and getting lots of shots and continuing to get better.
2007 Maui Invitational Champs
Duke completed a championship trip with lifetime Maui memories by defeating No. 11 Marquette 77-73. Kyle Singler poured in 25 points and pulled down seven boards, on his way to earning tournament MVP honors and leading the tourney in scoring. The spirited Blue Devils would not be denied, clearly the aggressor in all three games in Maui.
Wednesday Photo Gallery
Click HERE to view photos from Wednesday in Maui. Choose the gallery labeled “Duke in Maui – 11/21/07 (MAUI INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS).”
Hawaii 12-0
Duke improved to 12-0 all-time in Maui with four tournament titles. We are the winningest team in tournament history, and no other program has won more than two tournament titles.
Aloha Means Goodbye
After the game, our team headed to Longhi’s for a celebratory team dinner to cap an awesome trip. The team will head home early on Turkey Day with a full day of travel in store. Perhaps turkey sandwiches will be served on the plane!
All-Tournament Team
Kyle Singler and DeMarcus Nelson were named to the Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team. At the post-game press conference, Coach K noted that DeMarcus’ great effort and leadership were worthy of co-MVP honors.
Championship Sweep
Duke leaves Maui with a sweep of three championships. Jon Scheyer won the video game championship, Coach K took home the free-throw shooting title, and then Duke won its fourth Maui Invitational championship.
Quote of the Day
“This was special for this team. It was a chance for us to be a champion. We talked about that since the beginning of the year. It was our first chance to be a champion. At this time last year, we didn’t do that. We’ve improved and gotten better.”
-DeMarcus Nelson
HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND GO DUKE!!
