Duke's 2004-2005 men's basketball team is slowly coming together. Although drawing hard and fast conclusions from Duke's 88-46 victory against Tennessee-Martin would be fairly foolish, and although it's anybody's guess how this team will respond to its grueling ACC schedule, it is this time of the year when players begin to step up and define the niches they will fill for the rest of the season.
"Guys are pretty much settled into their roles," senior Daniel Ewing said. "We've been practicing this since preseason. I think guys are getting more comfortable in their roles that they're going to have during the season, and I think tonight showed how our guys can play different positions in the different lineups we have."
As expected, all 10 players who saw playing time Saturday night showcased the defensive hustle that has become a trademark of Duke Basketball. What is less certain, however, is how the Blue Devils intend to score points.
Against Tennessee-Martin, Ewing demonstrated that he has evolved into a guard who can both run the point and still remain a dangerous scoring threat.
Ewing is the best on the team when it comes to creating points off the dribble, but we saw little penetration from the senior Saturday night.
Instead, Ewing opted to remain on the perimeter. Twelve of Ewing's 20 points came by way of the three-point shot, a result of an undisciplined Skyhawk defense that often collapsed in the paint and left the senior with numerous open looks.
Whereas Ewing stayed on the outside, J.J. Redick attempted to create his own scoring opportunities and rely less on the three-point shot.
Against Tennessee-Martin, Redick didn't execute the all-around game he has been working on. After a few failed attempts to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket, Redick reverted back to his old self 12 minutes into the first half, when he pulled up and converted long distance shots on two consecutive fast breaks.
"I passed up some shots and put the ball on the floor when I shouldn't have," Redick said. "I'm going to look at that tomorrow on tape, and Coach and me will talk about it. I just have to take shots when they're there, and if the shot's there to take off the dribble, then I have to take that as well."
In the frontcourt, Shavlik Randolph showed early glimpses that he may have found the toughness that has been sorely lacking from his game. Six minutes into the contest, the junior ripped down an offensive rebound and slammed it back into the basket with a two-handed dunk that gave Duke an 11-8 lead.
A minute later, Randolph made a similar statement on the defensive end by chasing down Tennessee-Martin's Jason Thompson on a fast break and emphatically pinned his right-handed layup between the rim and backboard.
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The role of Randolph's partner in the frontcourt, Shelden Williams, is very well defined. If Williams is single-teamed, he will receive the ball. Unfortunately, that rarely happened Saturday night.
"Shelden Williams is always in a traffic jam," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It gets you frustrated. That's what he has to be careful of and show maturity, so that when he's in a traffic jam--and he is a lot--he doesn't extend and do something extraneous that will put him in foul trouble. I think he's getting a lot better at that."
Duke's greatest enigmas, however, are its freshmen. At this point, it appears as if Krzyzewski will use the duo as wild cards.
Surprisingly, it was David McClure, not the highly touted DeMarcus Nelson, who was first to ingratiate himself with the Cameron Crazies. Five minutes into the game, McClure displayed uncanny awareness by fooling the Tennessee-Martin defense with a pump fake and finishing a mid-air up-and-under layup in traffic.
In the second half the freshman electrified the crowd by picking off the Skyhawks' inbound pass and finding a streaking Daniel Ewing for the quick layup.
"McClure's been really solid," Krzyzewski said. "He kept balls alive, he got three steals, a couple of blocks. He's real efficient. He is actually our most efficient guy outside of the top four guys on our team."
Nelson, who was hampered by a protective brace on his right thumb, started the season by shooting a sub-par 3-for-11 from the field. Krzyzewski said he expects Nelson to carry a large part of the team's offensive load and was not disappointed by his poor shooting percentage.
"I was actually real pleased with [Nelson] tonight," Krzyzewski said. "He was active, enthusiastic and playing to complement those other guys.... When DeMarcus gets in really good shape, he's a multiple position player, and could even guard against some teams' second big."