Baseball Guru
01-27-2005, 09:00 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpc2RicmIxBF9TAzk1ODYyMjM4BHNlYwN0 aA--?slug=ap-dukeloss&prov=ap&type=lgns
By KEITH PARSONS, AP Sports Writer
January 27, 2005
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- When Duke needed a basket, J.J. Redick tried to deliver.
The streaky scorer took 3-pointers, stepped inside the arc for midrange jumpers and even drove to the basket. Very few of his shots went in as Maryland's stifling defense sent the Blue Devils to their first loss.
``Part of it was that we didn't have balance,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ``If we were scoring inside, they wouldn't be that tight on him.''
But center Shelden Williams also struggled, going 6-of-15 from the field. Guard Daniel Ewing, the second-leading scorer, offered little help. He failed to reach double figures for only the second time this season.
With the ``Big Three'' -- what Coach K calls his trio of leaders -- limited offensively, second-ranked Duke had no answer for the Terrapins in a 75-66 loss Wednesday night.
``We had missed opportunities throughout the game,'' Krzyzewski said. ``Whether it was on breaks or when we had the ball inside so many times and just came up empty. We just can't keep doing that.''
The majority of those chances came from Redick, Williams and Ewing, who combined to shoot 33 percent (16-of-48). They had 15 turnovers among them, led by Redick's season-high eight. Most of those came when he was forced to abandon his catch-and-shoot method that works so well. He had two in a span of seconds down the stretch with the Blue Devils trailing 64-62.
Later, Redick jumped in the passing lane at midcourt for a steal, but Maryland's Nik Caner-Medley raced back to stymie Redick's layup attempt with 1:43 left. It was one of a handful of big plays by Caner-Medley, who sprained his ankle in the sequence and left for good.
He finished with 25 points, including nine straight early in the second half.
``He's really started to change his game to where he does more things on the court,'' Terps coach Gary Williams said. ``I think that he's been the kind of guy who waits for the ball to come to him as a shooter his first two years, and this year, he started to be more aggressive with the ball.''
With Caner-Medley doing the scoring and point guard John Gilchrist running the team, Maryland (12-5. 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from eight points down in the second half and won at Duke for the third time in six years.
``Every time we went up in the game, we had a chance to put them away, and we didn't,'' Blue Devils forward Lee Melchionni said. ``That was a very disappointing loss for us. We were just sloppy, and we didn't play like a veteran team.''
Redick had 20 points but shot 7-for-21, including 3-of-10 on 3s, and Williams got his 10th double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Still, neither could make a play when Duke (15-1, 5-1) needed it most.
The loss wasn't totally unexpected by Krzyzewski, because he knows his team has a small margin for error. He has only eight recruited players on the roster, and forward Shavlik Randolph still playing his way into shape after a bout with mononucleosis.
When Redick, Ewing and Williams play well, the Blue Devils can beat anyone, and when they don't, such as Wednesday night, winning won't be so easy.
``Our big three got a lot of shots and they touched the ball a lot,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We need them to perform at a high level and that didn't happen. If that doesn't happen, we have no chance to win. If it happens, we have a chance.
``And that's the type of team we are.''
By KEITH PARSONS, AP Sports Writer
January 27, 2005
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- When Duke needed a basket, J.J. Redick tried to deliver.
The streaky scorer took 3-pointers, stepped inside the arc for midrange jumpers and even drove to the basket. Very few of his shots went in as Maryland's stifling defense sent the Blue Devils to their first loss.
``Part of it was that we didn't have balance,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ``If we were scoring inside, they wouldn't be that tight on him.''
But center Shelden Williams also struggled, going 6-of-15 from the field. Guard Daniel Ewing, the second-leading scorer, offered little help. He failed to reach double figures for only the second time this season.
With the ``Big Three'' -- what Coach K calls his trio of leaders -- limited offensively, second-ranked Duke had no answer for the Terrapins in a 75-66 loss Wednesday night.
``We had missed opportunities throughout the game,'' Krzyzewski said. ``Whether it was on breaks or when we had the ball inside so many times and just came up empty. We just can't keep doing that.''
The majority of those chances came from Redick, Williams and Ewing, who combined to shoot 33 percent (16-of-48). They had 15 turnovers among them, led by Redick's season-high eight. Most of those came when he was forced to abandon his catch-and-shoot method that works so well. He had two in a span of seconds down the stretch with the Blue Devils trailing 64-62.
Later, Redick jumped in the passing lane at midcourt for a steal, but Maryland's Nik Caner-Medley raced back to stymie Redick's layup attempt with 1:43 left. It was one of a handful of big plays by Caner-Medley, who sprained his ankle in the sequence and left for good.
He finished with 25 points, including nine straight early in the second half.
``He's really started to change his game to where he does more things on the court,'' Terps coach Gary Williams said. ``I think that he's been the kind of guy who waits for the ball to come to him as a shooter his first two years, and this year, he started to be more aggressive with the ball.''
With Caner-Medley doing the scoring and point guard John Gilchrist running the team, Maryland (12-5. 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from eight points down in the second half and won at Duke for the third time in six years.
``Every time we went up in the game, we had a chance to put them away, and we didn't,'' Blue Devils forward Lee Melchionni said. ``That was a very disappointing loss for us. We were just sloppy, and we didn't play like a veteran team.''
Redick had 20 points but shot 7-for-21, including 3-of-10 on 3s, and Williams got his 10th double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Still, neither could make a play when Duke (15-1, 5-1) needed it most.
The loss wasn't totally unexpected by Krzyzewski, because he knows his team has a small margin for error. He has only eight recruited players on the roster, and forward Shavlik Randolph still playing his way into shape after a bout with mononucleosis.
When Redick, Ewing and Williams play well, the Blue Devils can beat anyone, and when they don't, such as Wednesday night, winning won't be so easy.
``Our big three got a lot of shots and they touched the ball a lot,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We need them to perform at a high level and that didn't happen. If that doesn't happen, we have no chance to win. If it happens, we have a chance.
``And that's the type of team we are.''