While on the move for the recent Friendship Games trip to China and Dubai, the Duke travel party covered approximately 21,188 miles and seven countries. The distance between NYC and LA is about 2,450 miles so the Blue Devils traveled a distance equivalent to about 8.5 trips across the USA. The Blue Devils ventured through Durham, Anchorage, Japan, Shanghai, Kunshan, Beijing, Bangkok, Dubai, Germany, Ireland and Maine before returning to Cameron!
The Blue Devils spanned the globe aboard a chartered jet, covering over 20,000 miles during the trip to China and Dubai.
Saturday, Aug. 27th (11:50 AM in Durham)… Seven countries and over 20,000 miles later, the Duke Basketball team has made it back safely to Cameron. The return home included stops in Germany, Ireland and Maine before Duke Airlines touched down at RDU.
Before flying out, the team made it up to the 124th of the world’s tallest building, rode the world’s fastest elevator and visited the world’s largest mall (which is home to the world’s largest aquarium). Built at a cost of about $2.5 billion, the Burj Khalifa is 2,717 feet tall. Click HERE to check out the view from the top.
Thanks for following us as we navigated from Durham to Alaska to Japan to Shanghai to Kunshan to Shanghai to Beijing to Thailand to Dubai to Germany to Ireland to Maine and back. The Friendship Games proved to be an unbelievable journey and a phenomenal growth experience for the 2011-12 Blue Devils.
Thursday, Aug. 25th (11:50 PM in Dubai)… The Blue Devils had one of the more non-traditional game-day experiences today including an uncommon start time (in part to accomodate Ramadan customs) and a trip to the nearby Wild Wadi water park. Our game tipped off at 9:30 PM in Dubai (1:30 PM back in Durham) and was televised on ESPNU.
Andre Dawkins and Mason Plumlee led the way with 20 points and 17 points/15 boards respectively. The team enjoyed a great day in Dubai, conquering both amazing and sometimes very steep water slides and the Friendship Games as well (finishing with a perfect 4-0 mark).
The team will leave a little bit early on Friday but not before a trip to the world’s tallest building and a final team meal at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Stay tuned for video footage from today and also check out this article from China Central TV on our Chinese tour.
Wednesday, Aug. 24th (11:30 PM in Dubai)… After a 5 AM hotel departure and 15.5 hours of travel, the Blue Devils arrived in Dubai. The final spot on the Friendship Games tour has not disappointed so far with incredible architecture and one of the great hotels in the world impressing the team.
After arriving, the squad grabbed some dinner and headed over to the gym for practice and some media time. The practice session was productive despite the late practice time and travel (the guys were playing at midnight Beijing time after flying all day!).
Afterwards, it was back to the hotel for a snack. The team plays it’s fourth and final game on Thursday (1:30 EST on ESPNU) so be sure to check it out.
Tuesday, Aug. 23rd (11:55 PM in Beijing)… The team started the day with breakfast and a trip to the Great Wall of China. A few Great Wall veterans from a previous USA Basketball trip shared their tips but everyone still was surprised by the wall’s size, scale and elevation.
The team climbed over 1,600 steps to reach the top of the wall and an amazing scenic overlook of the whole area. From there, the cameras were firing fast and furiously… Check out the GoDuke.com recap of the entire adventure and click here for some photos.
After conquering the wall, the team ate lunch and then returned to the hotel for a short rest and dinner. After several nights of local fare, players were excited to eat pizza and burgers. A special addition to the menu was one of the most impressive birthday cakes of all time cooked up in honor of Seth Curry’s big day.
After the meal, some players and staff opted to return to the local markets for some final shopping and bargaining opportunities before departing China tomorrow. The team will be up early with the bus slated to leave at 5 AM. Next stop: Dubai!
Monday, Aug. 22nd (11:50 PM in Beijing)… Duke completed the three-game sweep of the Chinese Olympic Team on Monday evening with a 93-78 victory as Coach K won for the ninth time in MasterCard Arena (site of the 2008 Olympics). The gym just might rank second all-time if the Hall of Famer has ever thought about ranking his favorite places to coach.
The Blue Devils raced out to a 28-6 lead and led the rest of the way as Ryan Kelly scored a team-high 20 points (click here for the box score), Seth Curry netted 16 and Miles Plumlee contributed 14 points and 13 boards. Six Blue Devils scored in double figures in the game.
Sunday, Aug. 21st (7:59 PM in Beijing)… The Blue Devils experienced a taste of ancient history on Saturday morning when the team visited Beijing’s Forbidden City. Located in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and Chinese government for almost 500 years.
The tour started with tour guide Wang alerting the group to stay close and follow his “Friendship Games” sign attached to a four-foot tall pole. With thousands of people visiting the massive city this morning, it would have been easy to get lost in a crowd while walking the grounds. However, between the tall sign hoisted by Wang and having three Plumlee brothers towering over everyone, the Duke team easily stayed together throughout the two-mile walk around all of the palaces.
Shortly after arriving, Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton acquired China-themed headwear from local street vendors while Nolan Smith picked up a Chinese fan to help stay cool on a warm day. Wang and Coach K led the way through the heavy crowds as the group maneuvered around the impressive palaces. Several times along the way, local residents awed by uncommonly tall young men sought photo opportunities with the Plumlee brothers, and the towering brothers happily obliged. The coaching staff also wanted to capture a few team photos during the tour and a few locals tried to jump in the photo.
Wang stopped the group on a few occasions to provide history lessons on the palaces. He noted that the Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms because legend dictated that 10,000-room venues are reserved for the Gods. Also, Wang noted that the palaces are red because the color represents happiness and prosperity in China and the roofs are yellow with the color reserved exclusively for the emperor.
At one point, Smith and several staff members stepped away from the group to visit the first turf basketball court they had ever seen. Several guards and a fence protected the unique hoops court, discouraging visitors from taking jump shots.
Towards the end of the tour, Quinn Cook, Alex Murphy and Todd Zafirovski stepped away to grab a blueberry smoothie from a snack shop. The smoothie did not quite arrive as expected so Zafirovski earned praise for adding a vanilla soft-serve cone to his order.
After strolling through the two-mile stretch palaces, the team arrived at the bus on the opposite side of the Forbidden City. As the group approached the bus, street merchants hustled over looking to sell watches, chop sticks and wooden buddha dolls. One aggressive merchant almost boarded the bus in an attempt to close a sale. The vendors did not have many takers with a trip to the silk markets on tap later in the day and the team made the quick drive back to the hotel for lunch.
“It was unreal and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said freshman Marshall Plumlee about touring the Forbidden City. ”It was just crazy to see how many resources that were devoted to China’s emperors and government.”
After lunch, the team headed over to MasterCard Arena which not only will host our game tomorrow but also was the site of the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal Game. The practice brought back fond memories for Coach K who led Team USA to the Olympic championship with a win over Spain. The Duke Global Health Institute hosted a youth health/exercise program during practice so local kids were able to watch some hoops, meet some of the Blue Devils and learn more about keys to staying healthy.
Following practice, the team headed to the silk market where electronics, clothes and trinkets for friends back home were among the most frequent Blue Devil buys. Marshall Plumlee scored a silk robe and a Vancouver Canucks hockey jersey.
Following the market trip, the team headed home for dinner which included stuffed chicken breast, steak, mashed potatoes, salad, fruit, meat lasagna and various cakes for dessert. Be sure to watch the Blue Devils in action Monday (8 AM vs. China’s Olympic Team on ESPNU).
Saturday, Aug. 20th (11:19 PM in Beijing)… The Blue Devils packed up last night and woke up around 7:00 AM to grab breakfast and board the flight to Beijing. The team arrived at the hotel in the afternoon after the two-hour flight and rested for a little while until dinner. The group visited Peking Duck for the evening meal and had a variety of interesting options:
Saturday, Aug. 20th (2:30 AM in Shanghai)… Friday was a fun-filled and productive day for the Blue Devils highlighted by a visit to the Shanghai street market, a trip over to the Nike Festival of Sport, an authentic Chinese dinner and then an evening cruise on the Huangpu River. Check out GoDuke.com’s recap of the day along with the photo galleries below. Also, stay tuned for a DBP video production that includes video of the Blue Devils strolling the Shanghai markets, enjoying the Nike Festival of Sport and then hanging out on a cruise with incredible views of Shanghai at night. The team leaves tomorrow morning on a three-hour flight heading to Beijing.
Friday, Aug, 19th (3:35 AM in Shanghai)… Today was a typical Duke game day… except this one took place halfway around the world. Our coaches and staff woke up for breakfast and then discussed our first game against China. The coaches presented some video (shout-out to video coordinator Kevin Cullen for turning it around overnight) and then we headed over to Mercedes-Benz Arena for a shoot-around.
At the shoot-around, the team adjusted to the court and rims while also preparing for China. The gym is spectacular and our guys were impressed to learn that the first game ever in the arena would have the Duke logo at center court.
After shoot-around, it was back to the hotel for some rest, lunch and then a team meal. Even though we are 24 hours of travel time away from Durham, the menu for the pre-game meal does not change, with the usuals spaghetti, meatballs, chicken and steak included.
Around two hours before tip, we headed back to MB Arena where we earned the 78-66 win in a game televised live on ESPNU. Ryan led the way with 21 points (9-11 FG) and Miles contributed 14 points and nine boards against a large and physical China frontcourt.
“Ryan and Miles are playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially Ryan knocking down shots and Miles down there battling and playing against real good big men,” Dre said after the game. “Miles was ready to take on that challenge.”
Duke and China will meet again on August 22nd in Beijing. Until then, the squad will enjoy some sightseeing around Shanghai tomorrow, fly to Beijing on Saturday and practice over there Sunday after visiting Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City. Tomorrow will be a fun day with a trip to the markets, a Nike hoops clinic and a scenic river cruise scheduled.
Lastly, a big thanks to all our fans who woke up early in the USA to watch us on ESPNU and a shout-out to Nolan Smith for serving as the guest tweeter during the game. In case you missed it, Nolan tweeted live from @dukeblueplanet throughout the matchup — here’s a sample of his tweets…
R Kelly with a tough shot, followed by a and 1 by Mason Plumlee! 51-44! Duke!!! Yessirr
Coach K getting the crowd hype in here!!
Dre has looked good out here in China! Shooting, defending, passing! He is ready! Watch!
10-8…… Good guys up
Sdotcurry with the threeeeeeee, and Austin with tough bucket! 7-0.. Good guys!
Miles with first bucket of tonight’s game! And we looking great on defense! 2-0!
Lets go!! It’s time! Starting the game, Sdot, Dre, RKelly, Miles Plum, and the young fella Austin Rivers!
What’s up Duke Fans!? It’s yours truly Nolan “the people’s champ” Smith! Ready for this great game vs. China!? 13min min till tip! Yessirr
Thursday, Aug, 18th (4:15 AM in Shanghai)… The team woke up and had breakfast before making the two-hour drive to Kunshan which according to our savvy tour guide Jimmy has a population of 1.5 million (and is also supposed to be one of China’s wealthiest cities). Two-time NCAA champ Grant Hill joined the team for breakfast and later attended the game in Kunshan and enjoyed a tasty meal (highlighted by burgers, fries, grilled chicken, and the ice cream sundae bar) after the win.
We drove right to the arena for shoot-around, then had lunch before driving over to Duke’s new campus (DKU). Before seeing the campus, Duke’s Blair Sheppard gave a presentation on the ins and outs of DKU (which is slated to be double the size of Duke’s East Campus when it’s done).
After seeing DKU, the team headed back for a pre-game meal and a little bit of down time before heading to the arena. At 8 PM in Kunshan, the Friendship Games officially tipped-off. The squads were even at 11 after the first quarter before our Blue Devils took command of the game by out-scoring China 21-12 in the second quarter (games are played under international rules with four 10-minute quarters). The run was highlighted by an Andre Dawkins slam that was worthy of a SportsCenter top play nomination. Duke ended up with the 77-64 victory as Austin Rivers scored a team-high 18 points, Andre scored 15, Ryan netted 14 and Seth scored 13. Here’s a look at the box score. Special shout-out to the Duke cross-continent MBA program students (the Kunshan Crazies!?!) who arrived in full force to support their Blue Devils!
After the win, the team swung by our hotel in Kunshan for a post-game meal before making the drive back to Shanghai. Thursday is another game day, so be sure to check us out on ESPNU or ESPN3.com at 8 AM EST! And take a look at our latest photo galleries too…
Wednesday, Aug. 17th (3:30 AM in Shanghai)… After almost 24 straight hours of travel, the Blue Devils arrived in Shanghai. After powering back up the phones and seeing how they would work (and in some cases who could tweet), the team slipped through customs easily and hopped on a bus for a 45-minute trip to our hotel. The time zone switch is a 12-hour jump so the team will have to rest up and focus quickly with our first game tipping off later today in Kunshan (8 PM in Kunshan).
Quinn, Mike, Marshall and Alex are excited to finally touch down in Shanghai
Monday, Aug. 15th (6:40 PM in Anchorage)… This time, Duke Airlines successfully took to the skies, arriving to 65 degrees and perfectly sunny in Anchorage. Massive mountains, crisp air and multiple 747s jumbo jets surrounded the team as we waited for our plane to refuel (and refueled some of our electronics, iPads, laptops and phones). Our sports info director Matt Plizga wrote up a great summary of the travel to the Great Frontier.
“The Duke men’s basketball team arrived at RDU on Monday ready to put Sunday’s travel woes in the rearview mirror. Gate D17 delivered as the Blue Devils boarded their plane around 11 a.m. and set flight for Shanghai via Anchorage and Japan. Prior to boarding in Raleigh the Blue Devils were met with exciting news about the trip as former NBA standout and Chinese icon Yao Ming confirmed that he would attend Duke’s game in Beijing on Aug. 22.
“Yao Ming is a global icon,” said sophomore Josh Hairston. “Seeing and possibly meeting him is another one of those once in a lifetime things. I know how much he means to China and the game of basketball over there. It’s pretty cool that he will be at the game.”
Freshman Austin Rivers obliged several autograph requests by the Taxco Sterling Kiosk at RDU while searching out a pre-flight meal.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and junior Mason Plumlee used a small window prior to boarding to go over tape from Sunday’s practice at the K Center.
“Coach and I had a good film session and talked about playing at a faster pace in practice and in games,” said Plumlee.
Meanwhile, freshman Marshall Plumlee entertained a small group of Duke staffers with a reenactment from the movie Men in Black. The younger Plumlee contorted his face and neck to replicate the opening scene where the alien crashes on the farm and essentially wears the farmer as a suit. Stay tuned for future video on this as Duke videographer Matt Mikula captured his entertaining rendition.
The 7+ hour flight to Anchorage was met with a lot of people eager to settle in for a nice long nap. Marshall Plumlee took home the sleep title by crashing for nearly the entire flight, while older brother Miles Plumlee took advantage of his sleeping teammates by cranking out a paper for his Business Improv class. Others traded off between napping, watching movies and showing off their iPad game greatness. Rivers and Michael Gbinije went old school with Rocky IV and Todd Zafirovski watched Legends of the Fall next to a napping Nolan Smith. Seth Curry spent a good portion watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, while Alex Murphy reviewed Season 4 & 5 of Entourage. ACC All-Academic team member Ryan Kelly was wrapped up in a Mitch Albom book while Andre Dawkins knocked out a paper during the flight before engaging in an impressive game of Plants vs. Zombies. Mix in a couple of Jason’s Deli sandwiches and the travel party remained relatively entertained through the first leg of the 22+ hour journey. The coaching staff passed time with some game/practice film as well as episodes of Friday Night Lights and the Wire.
With everyone eager to deboard in Alaska, team video coordinator Kevin Cullen came through with the play of the day as he located power outlets and pulled out several power strips for the travel party to charge a multitude of laptops, iPads, iPhones and more.
With the departure for Shanghai fast approaching players stretched their legs and grabbed a bite to eat before climbing aboard for another eight hours. The next stop will be in Japan for another refueling.”
Flying into Alaska...
Monday, Aug. 15th (7:51 in Durham, NC)… Let’s try this again… The team has experienced travel delays and we were not able to fly out last night. After some fun at the airport, buses brought us back to Durham. Round 2 starts at 9 AM.
Sunday, Aug. 14th (12:57 PM in Durham, NC)…We are about to depart for RDU Airport and then Alaska (and then Shanghai) as we begin our two-week journey through China and Dubai. Check back for updates and links to photos/video from our trip and also follow @dukeblueplanet and @Duke_MBB on Twitter for the latest news from the Far East. We will keep in touch along the way when we have the online access to do so. Stay tuned! We recently finished with practice and the guys are excited to get this journey going. Coach K just distributed our standards for the trip: flexibility, poise, respect, performance, no excuses, collective responsibility, care and pride.
