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.
