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Devils prepare for London trip
BY BRYAN STRICKLAND
The Herald-Sun
Friday, October 11, 2002
Final Edition
Sports Section
Page C9
While other college basketball teams sit on the sidelines, counting the minutes until they can begin practice, the Duke Blue Devils completed their 10th practice of the preseason Thursday afternoon.
And when midnight strikes tonight and other teams get to hit the court for the first time, the Blue Devils will be a couple hours away from landing in London, where they'll play four exhibition games against a trio of European pro teams.
NCAA rules allow teams to take overseas tours when school isn't in session (Duke is on fall break), and those teams are allowed to hold 10 practices before the trip.
The Blue Devils are taking full advantage, and they aren't apologizing for any advantage the trip may give them.
'If guys are crying about it, that's too bad,' senior center Casey Sanders said. 'They'd do the same thing if they could.'
The timing couldn't be better for the Blue Devils, who need time to develop a team that returns just two starters from last season. Five players who saw significant minutes return from last year's Sweet 16 team, but six highly touted freshmen are expected to grab plenty of playing time as well.
'I think it's smart, especially with us having such a young team, for us to get an early start to see where we are and see how we can build to become a better team,' junior point guard Chris Duhon said.
'A number of guys could start right now, and I think that's what makes it great. No one has a definite starting spot, so guys are competing and getting better and trying to separate themselves from the next person.'
Duhon, Sanders and sophomore guard Daniel Ewing took turns Thursday singing the praises of their new teammates - who are all expected to compete for playing time with those three veterans as well as returners Dahntay Jones and Nick Horvath.
Duhon said that freshman guard J.J. Redick is a better shooter than Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy were ('I ask him just to hit the rim every now and then just so I can make sure he is human,' Duhon said.)
Sanders said that post players Shelden Williams and Michael Thompson are more physically gifted than most freshmen, pointing out that they weigh more than Sanders now weighs as a senior.
And all the veterans heaped praise on Raleigh product Shavlik Randolph.
Duhon said that starting spots hadn't been locked up yet, but the trip to London should help.
'I think whoever our second team is could definitely contend for the ACC championship right now,' Duhon said. 'Practices have been tough; I think these have been the toughest practices that I've been a part of just because the talent level is so high on both sides of the court.'
The Blue Devils will get a chance to test their talent against outside competition beginning Saturday, when they compete in a closed scrimmage against Racing Basket Antwerpen, a pro team from Belgium that includes former Michigan player Chris Young, who scored 25 points in a loss to Duke last season.
Sunday, Duke takes on the Belgian team at 6 a.m. EST (11 a.m. London time), then faces the London Towers, a top English pro team, at noon EST. The Towers are hosting the event at their home arena, the Crystal Palace.
Monday, the Blue Devils take on another English team, the Brighton Bears, at 8:30 EST, then meet the Towers for a second time at 2:30 p.m. EST.
'We're just taking advantage of an opportunity for us to get better,' Duhon said. 'If people have problems with that, so be it - we're just trying to get better and trying to see where we are.'
NOTES - The Blue Devils better get some sleep on the airplane. They're scheduled to arrive Saturday at 7 a.m. London time and will then take a tour of some London landmarks before heading to Saturday's scrimmage. * Seven Duke players - the most for any one school - were named among the top 100 players in college hoops history in Mike DeCourcy's new book, 'Sporting News Selects Legends of College Basketball.' The list, headed by UCLA's Bill Walton includes Christian Laettner
(No. 9), Bobby Hurley (28), Jason Williams (37), Shane Battier (54), Danny Ferry (71), Johnny Dawkins (78) and Art Heyman (83). N.C. State great David Thompson ranked fifth.
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