Blue Devil Thanksgiving Week Culminates with a Championship
Saturday – 12:30 AM – Champs Return Home
On one of basketball’s biggest stages against a strong and athletic Connecticut team, the Blue Devils showed up ready to battle. The shots weren’t falling but the effort was consistent and the rebounding was impressive all night. By the time the buzzer sounded, the team had somehow managed to lead by as many as 20 and win the NIT trophy despite shooting less than 30 percent.
The ability to “win ugly” is a trait that great teams develop over time and this squad took great strides towards understanding what that takes in a marquee game. The whole team was obviously very pleased and excited to return home (around midnight) with the championship hardware (team trophy and watches for each coach and player).
This wraps up the NYC blog — Thanks for following us during our memorable championship Thanksgiving week in the Big Apple! Let’s Go Duke.
p.s. Check back later this weekend for a couple of videos from today’s game and the aftermath of the championship victory.
Friday – 1:55 PM – 3 Hours to Tip
After a pregame meal, the team is resting up and packing. At 5 PM, a pair of college basketball powerhouses led by the top two winningest active head coaches will battle it out at the Garden with the NIT championship on the line. As you probably know by now given the frequent promos, the game will be aired on ESPN.
Thursday – 10:00 PM – Turkey Day in NYC
The setup for breakfast this morning was similar to the previous two days except today huge balloons, festive floats and inflatable characters roamed outside the windows. Just outside the meal room are huge windows overlooking Times Square so the team was able to catch some of the famous Macy’s parade in action. Later in the day, the team had practice at Madison Square Garden and then got together for a Thanksgiving meal at a nearby restaurant that is only a couple of blocks from the hotel. On the menu was of course turkey along with an array of pastas, ham, veal, salad and an assortment of desserts. The day is wrapping up right now with a team meeting.
Thursday – 9:00 AM – HAPPY THANKSGIVING
A Turkey day message from the Devils…
Thursday – 12:30 AM – Duke 64, Arizona State 53 (Click HERE for Game Photos)
After earning a birth in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game, the players returned back to the hotel for a brief meeting and snack (burgers, fries, grilled cheese and of course the sundae bar!). After the snack, the players hit the sack while the coaching staff went to work watching the game tape and planning for Friday’s matchup. It will definitely be a late night for the staff that won’t end until the scouting report is set.
The players will be able to sleep in after the late-night game, with breakfast not scheduled until 11 AM. Thanksgiving for the Blue Devils in NYC will also include practice at the Garden and a nice dinner in town.
Wednesday – 6:17 PM – Gameday at the Garden (Click HERE for MSG Shoot-Around Photos)
Wednesday started with a late team breakfast in the hotel at 10:30. French toast, pancakes, bagels, yogurt, fresh fruit, bacon, scrambled eggs and sausage were among the tasty options. After breakfast, the team had some downtime before driving over to the Garden at 1:15 for the shoot-around.
At the shoot-around, the players took some shots to adjust to the larger arena and darker shooting backdrop. The coaches also talked about the game tonight and went through some of our strategies again on the court. It is always cool to have Madison Square Garden pretty much all to yourself with all the banners and history there.
After the shoot-around, we headed back to the bus via the huge freight elevator. The locker room and arena entrance is not on the ground level at MSG so you have to travel each time via an immense, slow-moving, rickety freight elevator. At a previous trip, a Garden official told us the elevator had to be so large in order to accommodate elephants for when the circus is in town!
Upon arriving at the hotel, we had a snack and the coaches and players headed back to their rooms. With such a late start time tonight and what will be a particularly late night for the coaches with scouting after our game, pre-game naps were in order. The bus leaves at around 7:45 for our 9:30 game — Check us out on ESPN2 in the battle of the Devils!
Tuesday – 5:10 PM – Practice and a Visit with a Legend (Click HERE for Photos)
We headed over to practice at the Nets facility near the Meadowlands with a special guest aboard the bus… Coach Knight. College basketball’s all-time winningest coach is calling the action for ESPN tomorrow and was kind enough to spend his afternoon with the Blue Devils. After arriving, the guys stretched out and the coaches went through additional scouting to continue to prepare the team for the game tomorrow. At that point, Coach K called the team together and the highlight of the practice ensued with Coach Knight speaking to the team for about five minutes.
Coach Knight, Coach K’s coach at West Point, began by talking about the leadership at Duke and how fortunate the guys were to have Coach K and the staff helping them. He cited several examples from West Point about how coachable Coach K was and commented how well the Duke Hall of Famer made the adjustment that our guys are making from high school to college ball. Coach Knight also spoke to the guys about appreciating what the Duke uniform means and that “Duke is different.” He told the team they are in a unique position representing Duke made possible by the hard work and great talent of many who have come before them, from Coach K to our current assistants who were players to all the outstanding Duke players over the years. Coach Knight added that teams will be gunning for Duke because of that history and told the guys they should respond with toughness and pride. The three-time NCAA champion coach then emphasized the importance of the educational process on the court and in the classroom, and praised our guys for their academic efforts, work ethic and overall priorities. He told the team that they are gaining an advantage every day by going to class, having an attention detail in every aspect, and respecting the process at Duke. He concluded by telling everyone he always enjoys watching the team play and that the first box score he checks in the AM is Duke’s. The guys then shook hands with the legendary coach and practice continued.
After running through a variety of drills and some five-on-five work, the guys packed up and headed to the bus. We arrived back around 5:30 and the guys showered and changed before heading to the NIT Welcome Reception/dinner at Tavern on the Green with the three other teams.
Tuesday – 1:40 PM – NIT Press Conference (Click HERE for Photos)
After breakfast and scouting this morning, Coach K joined Kyle and Jon at the NIT press conference. The presser was held right at our hotel in Times Square where all four teams are staying. Individual media members had time to talk with players from each of the teams and then the four head coaches spoke.
Coach K talked about how much of an honor it was to have the team in New York playing in the NIT Tournament. He praised the tournament committee and commented how well the NIT has adjusted with the changing landscape of college basketball over the years.
The press conference setup was impressive with a delicious lunch spread available and views of Times Square right behind the stage. After the conference wrapped up, the team headed to practice at the Nets practice center.
Tuesday – 1:00 PM – Devils in the City
After breakfast, the team had some downtime before heading off to practice. Some of the guys chose to take naps and relax around the hotel, and a few team members took advantage of the perfect November weather to walk around the city. While taking some photos of the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, I ran into Nolan and Casey in Times Square (see photo below). Click HERE for a few NYC scenes.
Monday – 1:00 PM – Off to NY
The first road trip of the season is the longest of the year as the Blue Devils head to NYC for Thanksgiving week. The team is practicing at 1:30 today and then heading to the airport with a stop
Monday – 1:00 PM
The first road trip of the season is the longest of the year as the Blue Devils head to NYC for Thanksgiving week. The team is practicing at 1:30 today and then heading to the airport with a stop for dinner along the way. “Duke Airlines” leaves RDU at around 7 PM and we will arrive in NYC a few hours after that.
Road trips are always fun and the guys are especially excited to head to the Big Apple for a couple of games against great teams under the bright lights of the Garden. “There’s certain arenas where you walk in, it just feels special,” said Jon Scheyer. “Madison Square Garden is one of those places.” Nolan Smith added after our win on Saturday, “New York City-bound — I am very excited. I love going to New York, I love going to the Garden. The lights are on when you go into the Garden. I am very excited about the opportunity to win this championship.”
The NIT Season Tip-Off will feature Arizona State, UConn and LSU in addition to your Blue Devils competing for the NIT trophy. “It’s this team’s first chance to bring a trophy back to Cameron,” said Nolan. “Everyone is excited. We went up there last year and did the same thing. The guys that have done it we want to show the young guys that it’s a lot of fun and we can do it.”
In between competing for the trophy, the team will share some meals together (including Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night) and get in some practices at the NJ Nets Practice Facility and The Garden. Stay tuned for blog updates throughout the trip and also be sure to follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/dukeblueplanet) for all the latest updates and behind-the-scenes photos.
Having played 12 games in the Garden since the 2000 season, the “world’s most famous arena” is a home-away-from-home for Duke and we always appreciate the support from the Blue Devil faithful in NYC. Before we hopefully create some new great memories in the Big Apple, here’s a look back at some recent highlights of Duke feeling right at home in the big city.
