GRAHAM: Red-Blooded Hoosiers Challenge Blue-Blooded Devils
11/27/2018 3:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It isn't just the school color.
Duke is a blue-blood.
By any men's-basketball measure.
And Indiana will take the measure of Duke when the No. 3-ranked Blue Devils host the Hoosiers for a 9:30 p.m. tip Tuesday as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Both schools have won five NCAA titles apiece. But no school has thrived on the national scene since the inception of the 64-team tournament field quite as much as Duke.
Nobody else has:
Oh, and nobody has a better Big Ten/ACC Challenge record than does Duke (17-2 overall, .895, 8-0 at home).
And no other school has Mike Krzyzewski coaching.
Krzyzewski has helmed Duke since 1980, five years after serving as a Bob Knight assistant for arguably the greatest Indiana team to ever trod the hardwood – the 1974-75 Hoosiers who went unbeaten before Scott May's broken arm helped derail their tournament hopes.
The Knight coaching acolyte, who also captained Knight's Army team to the NIT semis in Madison Square Garden, also coaches the United States Men's Basketball Team (three consecutive gold medals; mentor of the 1992 "Dream Team.")
Krzyzewski has won more games (1,105) than any coach in Division I history.
Hoosier head coach Archie Miller knows all this, some of it first-hand as a standout point guard for North Carolina State from 1998 through 2002.
"Not very many wins, I know that," Miller said of his playing experience at Duke's venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium. "Not very many wins. But, yeah, it's a great place to play. I'm sure, more than anything, there's some mystique about it.
"But the thing that I always remember about playing in Cameron wasn't really the fans or the environment, it was much more of the teams that we played. This team that we're going up against Tuesday really resembles and reminds me of some of the teams in the late '90s and early 2000s that I played against. Extremely talented, have great chemistry, play really, really hard. They really challenge you on both ends of the floor."
Not only did Duke again pull in the nation's top recruiting class in 2018, as rated by both 247sports.com and rivals.com, but three of the top five individual players and four of the top 15.
R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish were 247's top two players in the 2018 class and Zion Williamson was No. 5 – but Williamson is perhaps No. 1 in a category of 1 in terms of physique and still set. Williamson freakishly athletic at 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds, with a 45-inch vertical leap.
Barrett (22.8 points, 5.7 rebounds per game), Williamson (20.7, 9.5) and Reddish (15.7, 3.8) are Duke's top three scorers and fellow frosh Tre Jones (the No. 15-rated recruit by 247) runs the point, averages 9.5 points and leads the team with 33 assists.
Indiana freshman Romeo Langford, also a Top 10 recruit and a fellow McDonald's All-American, knows that Duke quartet well. Reddish, who shoots .432 from 3-point range as a 6-8 guard, is also a familiar face to IU freshman Jake Forrester, as they were prep teammates at Westtown (Harrisburg, Pa.)
"Obviously they are really good players, elite players," Langford, Indiana's scoring leader at 18.5, said last Friday of Duke's frosh. "But it really is not like … me or freshmen against freshmen or upperclassmen. It's Indiana against Duke.
"It's really a team effort. We're going to go in practice the rest of this week and get prepared for them and hopefully try our best and do what we do to get the win on Tuesday."
Miller, asked Monday specifically about Barrett, Reddish and Williamson, replied: "I think all three guys are right fitting into the mold of what Duke basketball does, which is team (basketball). I don't see three guys … sort of out there rolling their eyes at another guy. That's the thing you're always so impressed with Duke, regardless of the team, is their chemistry.
"I think they have good chemistry. Those guys are playing their roles. They have great opportunities with expanded roles. They've been able to impact their team, in my opinion, with great attitude, great competitiveness. Obviously their talents and basketball ability is on display. I think everybody has seen how good they are."
That was evident right away during a 118-84 wipeout of then No. 1-ranked Kentucky to open the season.
Duke (5-1) kept cruising until challenged by No. 8 Auburn in the Maui Invitational semifinals (a 78-72 Blue Devil win) and nipped by current No. 1 Gonzaga (89-87) in the Maui championship game – a loss that probably sends the Blue Devils into Tuesday night a bit surly.
Indiana (unranked but also 5-1) had to rally at home twice this past week but ended up posting 14-point wins over Texas Arlington (78-64) and Cal-Davis (76-62).
The Hoosiers played those four games without four players projected to fit regularly into the rotation (projected starters Zach McRoberts and Devonte Green, and freshmen Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson) due to a rash of injuries that has also sidelined other key players at times.
Miller is hoping to have both McRoberts (back spasms) and Green (thigh bruise) available soon, though their status for Tuesday night remains uncertain.
"Both guys, for the first time in I don't know how long, were on the court yesterday doing non-contact work, full court and half-court, which is good to see," Miller said Monday of Green and McRoberts. "They did not practice in the live stuff. Today we'll try to give that a go again and see where we're at. We haven't had a setback with those two.
"Not just now, but heading into our first two Big Ten games (Saturday versus Northwestern and next Tuesday at Penn State), then finishing December off of our non-conference (including Dec. 8 versus Louisville and Dec. 15 versus Butler), it will be nice to get those guys back. It would be a big help. It would also get those guys an opportunity to prepare themselves for January."
The injuries have prevented Miller and his staff from doing their customary early-season team building. IU hasn't even had the ability to go five-on-five during practice at times, let alone experiment with different possible lineups or create a rotation.
"It's been difficult, a little bit, early," Miller acknowledged. "November has been hard on our team. in general. Guys just … in, out, in, out. I don't feel bad as a coach. I feel bad for them because I believe certain guys have worked really hard to get in there and they haven't had a chance yet.
"But (we) came back yesterday with probably one of our better practices in a long time. We just had to get back and start to compete more. I thought that the guys were really engaged. That's always a good sign."
And so even as Miller saw some lack of offensive cohesion and some defensive slippage last week (though IU still hasn't allowed any opponent to score more than a point per possession all season), Miller feels his team also showed some toughness and fight.
"I give our guys credit," he said. "They found a way to win two hard-fought games. Especially the last seven minutes (or so) of both games, your leadership kind of spearheaded you. Some guys stepped up and made some plays.
"At the end of the day, it's hard to win. Winning is the ultimate goal. If you get one, regardless of how you get it, you feel good about it. You try to obviously get a little bit better."
The Hoosiers will have to stay plenty tough Tuesday night in a famously hostile environment for visiting teams, and while going against as talented a team as they will face all season.
"Mental toughness is something that's going to be paramount," Miller said. "Confidence, though, is everything when you go into these types of games. You need your best guys to be the most confident, you need them to lead the way.
"I think as a staff right now, we're comfortable with our leadership. As we go into this game on Tuesday, it's a mindset. You just have to physically be ready, mentally you have to be ready. More so than anything, you have to be smart, you have to be yourself."
No Hoosier seemed to epitomize that more last week than senior co-captain Juwan Morgan, both in terms of leadership and production, with a pair of double-doubles.
The 6-7 Morgan led IU's scoring with 23 points (with 9 of 11 shooting from the field) Tuesday and 31 Friday (13 of 18) and added 10 boards per contest.
"It will be fun," Morgan said of challenging Duke "It's us versus them. I can't wait to get there and (see) the ball is in the air, the jump ball. There's not really much more I can say. I'm just excited.
"I watched when they played Gonzaga the other day. They are a great team, but I feel we're a great team, so it should be a good game."
Miller knows Duke. But he has gotten to know Indiana, now, too. And he is making no concessions.
"Yeah, you got to be tough (to play at Duke)," Miller said. "You got to be tough to play on the road in the Big Ten, too. There's a lot of great environments. Duke is obviously one of them.
"I think. more than anything, you can't make the platform and the stage even bigger than it is. It's Indiana. Us. Can we go and execute against a good team, compete against a good team?"
If the Hoosiers draw some blue blood Tuesday, the nation will take note.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It isn't just the school color.
Duke is a blue-blood.
By any men's-basketball measure.
And Indiana will take the measure of Duke when the No. 3-ranked Blue Devils host the Hoosiers for a 9:30 p.m. tip Tuesday as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Both schools have won five NCAA titles apiece. But no school has thrived on the national scene since the inception of the 64-team tournament field quite as much as Duke.
Nobody else has:
- A better NCAA-tournament winning percentage (.755 all-time).
- More weeks topping the Associated Press poll (135 weeks as No. 1).
- More Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships (20).
Oh, and nobody has a better Big Ten/ACC Challenge record than does Duke (17-2 overall, .895, 8-0 at home).
And no other school has Mike Krzyzewski coaching.
Krzyzewski has helmed Duke since 1980, five years after serving as a Bob Knight assistant for arguably the greatest Indiana team to ever trod the hardwood – the 1974-75 Hoosiers who went unbeaten before Scott May's broken arm helped derail their tournament hopes.
The Knight coaching acolyte, who also captained Knight's Army team to the NIT semis in Madison Square Garden, also coaches the United States Men's Basketball Team (three consecutive gold medals; mentor of the 1992 "Dream Team.")
Krzyzewski has won more games (1,105) than any coach in Division I history.
Hoosier head coach Archie Miller knows all this, some of it first-hand as a standout point guard for North Carolina State from 1998 through 2002.
"Not very many wins, I know that," Miller said of his playing experience at Duke's venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium. "Not very many wins. But, yeah, it's a great place to play. I'm sure, more than anything, there's some mystique about it.
"But the thing that I always remember about playing in Cameron wasn't really the fans or the environment, it was much more of the teams that we played. This team that we're going up against Tuesday really resembles and reminds me of some of the teams in the late '90s and early 2000s that I played against. Extremely talented, have great chemistry, play really, really hard. They really challenge you on both ends of the floor."
Not only did Duke again pull in the nation's top recruiting class in 2018, as rated by both 247sports.com and rivals.com, but three of the top five individual players and four of the top 15.
R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish were 247's top two players in the 2018 class and Zion Williamson was No. 5 – but Williamson is perhaps No. 1 in a category of 1 in terms of physique and still set. Williamson freakishly athletic at 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds, with a 45-inch vertical leap.
Barrett (22.8 points, 5.7 rebounds per game), Williamson (20.7, 9.5) and Reddish (15.7, 3.8) are Duke's top three scorers and fellow frosh Tre Jones (the No. 15-rated recruit by 247) runs the point, averages 9.5 points and leads the team with 33 assists.
Indiana freshman Romeo Langford, also a Top 10 recruit and a fellow McDonald's All-American, knows that Duke quartet well. Reddish, who shoots .432 from 3-point range as a 6-8 guard, is also a familiar face to IU freshman Jake Forrester, as they were prep teammates at Westtown (Harrisburg, Pa.)
"Obviously they are really good players, elite players," Langford, Indiana's scoring leader at 18.5, said last Friday of Duke's frosh. "But it really is not like … me or freshmen against freshmen or upperclassmen. It's Indiana against Duke.
"It's really a team effort. We're going to go in practice the rest of this week and get prepared for them and hopefully try our best and do what we do to get the win on Tuesday."
Miller, asked Monday specifically about Barrett, Reddish and Williamson, replied: "I think all three guys are right fitting into the mold of what Duke basketball does, which is team (basketball). I don't see three guys … sort of out there rolling their eyes at another guy. That's the thing you're always so impressed with Duke, regardless of the team, is their chemistry.
"I think they have good chemistry. Those guys are playing their roles. They have great opportunities with expanded roles. They've been able to impact their team, in my opinion, with great attitude, great competitiveness. Obviously their talents and basketball ability is on display. I think everybody has seen how good they are."
That was evident right away during a 118-84 wipeout of then No. 1-ranked Kentucky to open the season.
Duke (5-1) kept cruising until challenged by No. 8 Auburn in the Maui Invitational semifinals (a 78-72 Blue Devil win) and nipped by current No. 1 Gonzaga (89-87) in the Maui championship game – a loss that probably sends the Blue Devils into Tuesday night a bit surly.
Indiana (unranked but also 5-1) had to rally at home twice this past week but ended up posting 14-point wins over Texas Arlington (78-64) and Cal-Davis (76-62).
The Hoosiers played those four games without four players projected to fit regularly into the rotation (projected starters Zach McRoberts and Devonte Green, and freshmen Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson) due to a rash of injuries that has also sidelined other key players at times.
Miller is hoping to have both McRoberts (back spasms) and Green (thigh bruise) available soon, though their status for Tuesday night remains uncertain.
"Both guys, for the first time in I don't know how long, were on the court yesterday doing non-contact work, full court and half-court, which is good to see," Miller said Monday of Green and McRoberts. "They did not practice in the live stuff. Today we'll try to give that a go again and see where we're at. We haven't had a setback with those two.
"Not just now, but heading into our first two Big Ten games (Saturday versus Northwestern and next Tuesday at Penn State), then finishing December off of our non-conference (including Dec. 8 versus Louisville and Dec. 15 versus Butler), it will be nice to get those guys back. It would be a big help. It would also get those guys an opportunity to prepare themselves for January."
The injuries have prevented Miller and his staff from doing their customary early-season team building. IU hasn't even had the ability to go five-on-five during practice at times, let alone experiment with different possible lineups or create a rotation.
"It's been difficult, a little bit, early," Miller acknowledged. "November has been hard on our team. in general. Guys just … in, out, in, out. I don't feel bad as a coach. I feel bad for them because I believe certain guys have worked really hard to get in there and they haven't had a chance yet.
"But (we) came back yesterday with probably one of our better practices in a long time. We just had to get back and start to compete more. I thought that the guys were really engaged. That's always a good sign."
And so even as Miller saw some lack of offensive cohesion and some defensive slippage last week (though IU still hasn't allowed any opponent to score more than a point per possession all season), Miller feels his team also showed some toughness and fight.
"I give our guys credit," he said. "They found a way to win two hard-fought games. Especially the last seven minutes (or so) of both games, your leadership kind of spearheaded you. Some guys stepped up and made some plays.
"At the end of the day, it's hard to win. Winning is the ultimate goal. If you get one, regardless of how you get it, you feel good about it. You try to obviously get a little bit better."
The Hoosiers will have to stay plenty tough Tuesday night in a famously hostile environment for visiting teams, and while going against as talented a team as they will face all season.
"Mental toughness is something that's going to be paramount," Miller said. "Confidence, though, is everything when you go into these types of games. You need your best guys to be the most confident, you need them to lead the way.
"I think as a staff right now, we're comfortable with our leadership. As we go into this game on Tuesday, it's a mindset. You just have to physically be ready, mentally you have to be ready. More so than anything, you have to be smart, you have to be yourself."
No Hoosier seemed to epitomize that more last week than senior co-captain Juwan Morgan, both in terms of leadership and production, with a pair of double-doubles.
The 6-7 Morgan led IU's scoring with 23 points (with 9 of 11 shooting from the field) Tuesday and 31 Friday (13 of 18) and added 10 boards per contest.
"It will be fun," Morgan said of challenging Duke "It's us versus them. I can't wait to get there and (see) the ball is in the air, the jump ball. There's not really much more I can say. I'm just excited.
"I watched when they played Gonzaga the other day. They are a great team, but I feel we're a great team, so it should be a good game."
Miller knows Duke. But he has gotten to know Indiana, now, too. And he is making no concessions.
"Yeah, you got to be tough (to play at Duke)," Miller said. "You got to be tough to play on the road in the Big Ten, too. There's a lot of great environments. Duke is obviously one of them.
"I think. more than anything, you can't make the platform and the stage even bigger than it is. It's Indiana. Us. Can we go and execute against a good team, compete against a good team?"
If the Hoosiers draw some blue blood Tuesday, the nation will take note.
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