Duke University’s Blue & White Game: A preview of what may be the ACC’s surprise team

By Vivek Upadhyay
Special to Scrapper Nation
Note – this article will also appear at http://sportsstation.blogspot.com

In his halftime speech to the crowd, Coach K explained to the Cameron Crazies, many of whom were freshmen experiencing their first game ever in Cameron, who he wants this Duke team to be. Coach K said "there are a lot of expectations for a Duke Basketball team. And the reason why, are well—those,” as he pointed to the 10 final four banners lining the ceiling above him. In the past 27 seasons while he’s been head coach, Duke has been to 10 final fours, won 3 national titles, and finished the season #1 seven different times, more than any other conference (yes, conference) in all of Division I. “I don’t want us to be anyone else but ourselves. I want us to be Duke.”

That excellence over the past 27 years is the main reason why Duke is in an unfamiliar role this year—sleeper. I went to the Blue and White game to get an idea of how talented this Duke team is going to end up, and found what may be the best team in the ACC this year (that’s right, better than North Carolina).

First of all, to all of you who don’t know, what is the Blue & White game? The Blue & White is an exhibition game held every year (usually during Parents’ Weekend) which features Duke Blue v. Duke White, with half the team on each side. This year's teams were:

Duke Blue

G – Greg Paulus – Jr.
G – Demarcus Nelson – Sr.
F – Gerald Henderson – Soph.
F – Taylor King – Fresh.
C – Brian Zoubek – Soph.

Duke White

G – Nolan Smith – Fresh.
G – Jon Scheyer – Soph.
F – Kyle Singler – Fresh.
F – Lance Thomas – Soph.
F – Steve Johnson – Soph. (walk-on in place of injured David McClure)
Reserve – Jordan Davidson – Jr. (walk-on in place of injured Marty Pocius)

The Game

Blue & White started as a complete massacre on the part of Duke Blue, as they went up 27-9 at one point in the first half. Paulus did a good job running the offense as Taylor King, freshman from Mater Dei HS in California, lit up Duke White, scoring 17 points in the first half (5-7 from three). King was afraid of nothing, as he threw up a three anytime he thought he could. Also looking good for Duke was Gerald (or G, as we affectionately call him), who did an outstanding job playing defense and covering Scheyer.

White trailed blue going into the second half. However, when they came back, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler showed exactly why they were recruited. Smith took control of the offense, while Singler quietly scored a game-high 23 points, as they tied it up 57-57 with 6 minutes left. Blue struck back, building a 5 point cushion and riding it to the end, 69-64.

Highlights

- Brian Zoubek’s new defense: scream
- Taylor King making his 3rd three in a row and screaming out “yeah boi.”
- Nolan Smith throwing a 25-foot alley-oop to Singler, finishing it one-handed
- Smith and Singler connecting again from 30 feet, only to have G block Singler’s shot mid-air
- An offense. Enough said.

Grades for Blue and White

Coaching – A – Coach K learned his lesson from last year and decided to run an up-tempo, full-court offense this year based around three point shooting. Thank you to the big guy upstairs. Coach K finally realized that JJ and Sheldon aren’t on the team anymore.

Nolan Smith – A - defensively, one of the best players on the team. It’s obvious that this kid spent 3 years in high school covering Ty Lawson and Brandon Jennings. He came out looking scared, but after the first half, he dominated the 2nd half, already setting up the inevitable “Paulus or Smith” dilemma.

Taylor King – A – Taylor King plays with the same, if not greater, talent and energy than Lee Melchioni his senior year. For a freshman, that is outstanding. People often forget that most freshmen don’t come in and contribute day one. King showed his place in the Duke offense today. When he’s hot, no one can stop him.

Kyle Singler – A+ - the silent leader of the white team, he lead all scorers with 23, doing it quietly. However, I will warn you all, the past 4 leading scorers of the blue/white game have been Brian Zoubek, Lee Melchioni, and Shavlik Randolph twice. Maybe he shouldn’t have done so well…

Jon Scheyer – C – Scheyer was forced into being more of a “glue-guy” in this game, disabling him from being the pure shooter he is. With that said, G just shut him down. Come on, 8 points?

Gerald Henderson – A+ - Gerald dramatically improved his jump shot, is by far the best athlete on the team, and arguably the most popular one too. One big play from Gerald makes the Crazies go, well, crazy, and he is undoubtedly going to be a star someday. I will say right now, the fate of this year’s team lies in whether Gerald can step up and be the big playmaker he’s meant to be.

Lance Thomas – C+ - Lance put on some visible muscle during the off-season, and improved his jumper. However, Zoubek forced him to play a style of game that isn’t right for him. I’d compare his style of game to Channing Frye. Unfortunately, lack of post defenders might prevent him from showing it off.

Brian Zoubek – C+ -Duke recruited Zoubek knowing that he, by the earliest, would be a major contributor his junior year. Nonetheless, it’s just a little disappointing to see that many traveling calls, missed lay-ups, and fouls (6 for the evening). The ridiculous screaming during defense might be it though…

Greg Paulus – B- - Paulus finished with 8 points, and would have gotten a C if he didn’t make a critical lay-up to seal Blue the victory with 14 seconds left. He was good running the floor, but could have looked much better on defense.

Dave McClure (Inj) – Incomplete – McClure could be the X-factor for this Duke frontcourt. If he can effectively cover opposing big men, much like a Malik Rose or Dennis Rodman, the Blue Devils’ biggest worry will be eliminated.

Marty Pocius (Inj) – Incomplete – Marty didn’t play, but he better during the year. He’s one of the team’s better offensive players, and hasn’t gotten the minutes he deserves.

DeMarcus Nelson – B+ - DeMarc is, along with Gerald, one of the most liked players on the team. He lost some weight during the off-season and looks much quicker, but still is a great rebounder. I’d like to see more production from that jump shot though.

The Cameron Crazies – A+ - for the Blue & White game, the Crazies came in numbers, as the entire camera-side of the Crazies was filled with students decked out in Blue & White. This year’s freshmen really seem to have taken to the Duke Basketball Tradition, and opposing teams should know Duke is once again, as it always was, the hardest place to play in college basketball.