Pickup Report
#1 | Pickup
Report #2 | Pickup
Report #3
Watzone comes through again...this was originally
posted on our board
The legendary Christian Laettner returned with his pal Brian Davis for pick up games with the 1999-2000 Blue Devils basketball team. Laettner, who hit the now famous shot versus
Kentucky lead our beloved Devils to two consecutive National Championships. Christian looked pretty good, and seems to be healing well from last seasons injury with the Pistons.
Brian Davis was still in playing shape too. Todays match ups were- Sanders, Davis, James, Battier and J.D. versus Horvath, Williams, CC, Laettner and Dunleavey. I tell you what
fans, todays play was by far the best yet. Everyone played well, if not outstanding. Caldbeck and Buckner did not play today and Carlos again watched on crutches. Ricky Price was
in attendence. Ricy played overseas last year. Like Carlos he was sporting an injury that he suffered in Los Angeles during NBA tryouts. Ricky tore his
Achilles', he was playing very
well at the time, and is still dreaming of a shot at the NBA. I am sure all Duke fans wish Carlos and Ricky a fast recovery.
Before I get to individual performances, let me tell you about some visitors to Cameron. During the last game Jason Cappel and incoming freshman Joe Forte of UNC walked into the
house. They were donning there Carolina blue shorts and were ready to play. Jason briefly talked to CC and greeted a few other players, as Joe kept to himself. They bolted after
shooting around a bit, they probably would have played, but arrived late. It was a friendly rival type of welcome, but no red carpet! Now for
today's performances. Todays play was
spirited and exciting. As I mentioned earlier, all players played very well. Our three captains all played outstanding basketball. Perhaps, Laettner and
Brian's presence picked up the intensity a bit!
Shane Battier played a flaw free game. He made a nice pump fake once and of course scored. His jump shot was net and he played with spirit and was intense. He hit a game
winning three pointer (2 pts. in pick up). Shane was a star today, I arrive late for the first game, but he went 7 for 9 in one stretch. Shane follows his shots well, the team can learn
from him.
Chris Carrawell was also impressive. His shot from the outside was equally lethal, he once tok the ball the length of the court as if he were a point guard. He is a
definite leader on this
squad, and is playing good ball.
Nate James had another great shooting day too. He has added a little arch to his shot, which is net from the three point line. He continues to play good defense.
Jason Williams made several awesome passes and continued to show he can shoot from anywhere, and drive at will. He had another outstanding pass to Nate for a dunk,
smooth as
silk and does all thing well.
Michael Dunleavy played a superb floor game He had a sizzling shooting touch today, shooting well from the outside and driving the lane. Its his best performance thus far. He is a
most coachable kid, that knows where to be on the court.
Casey Sanders must have read my post about being more active on defense. In game number #3, Casey hit the game winning shot by hustling and following up. He had three
blocks...once Dunleavy made an incredible move (that would have juked the average player) but Sanders recovered and swatted the ball towards the side lines. He is quick on his
feet.
Nick Horvath benefited from playing against more big men (Laettner). Nick had several follow-ups and displayed a one handed hook type shot, as did Sanders. His outside shot was
a little off today.
The team will be much better when Carlos is back. Carlos is a hugh speciman, cut up and looks very tough, throw him on the
frontline with Sanders and Shane and watch out to those
who think we are weak defensively inside. This seems to be a team that will be quick on its feet, meaning they have the potential to plays K's style defense (green-fly man to man).
J.D. Simpson again shot the ball very well and has shown signs that he is a bit more than a walk on now.
If the guys were playing together today they would be tough to beat. As a team they shot around 60% plus. They are becoming more accustomed to one another each day. Once our
coaching staff implements our system...watch out! I hope you enjoyed this report as much as I did watching our guys.
The players need to take advantage of the pros in town, they can learn a lot. Our ex- players need to bang em' hard. Christian played well, the guys can learn from his passing skills,
especially Horvath and Sanders. Brian played well and is in great physical shape, but did call a few cheap fouls, hey I call it like I see it! All in all it was a most interesting day. Let me
close by saying Lets Go Duke, and Go to Hell Carolina!