Pitt vs. Duke Recap (as Seen on nbadraft.net)

By Drew Wolin
NBADraft.net
12/21/07

The Pittsburgh Panthers tied a school record by overcoming a twelve point halftime deficit and defeated the previously unbeaten Duke Blue Devils 65-64 at Madison Square Garden. Pittsburgh's Brooklyn-bred guard Levance Fields came up big in his homecoming, hitting the game winning three pointer with 4.7 seconds left in overtime to put his squad up by one point. The victory, however, was bittersweet in both Levance's and Pitt coach Jamie Dixon's eyes.

Senior forward Mike Cook went down with what appears to be "a serious knee injury," according to Dixon, who was doing his best to hold back his tears as he empathized with his senior's situation. Dixon was genuinely let down, to say the least, that his forward's college basketball career may be over. There is still no official word on the extent of the injury. Levance, Cook's best friend on the team, said that his big game-winning shot was for Mike.

The first half of the game was all about the D. Pitt's guards were not able to make it past half court without having to deal with multiple Duke defenders pestering them. Even once over half court, the Panthers' backcourt of Levance Fields and Ronald Ramon was not able to get the offense flowing. Pitt is seventh in the nation in assist to turnover ratio, though one would never know from watching this game, where the team committed 22 turnovers with only ten assists. The aforementioned guards were rushing shots and turning the ball over at an extraordinary rate in the first half; the Panthers had 13 turnovers by halftime.

Duke's halfcourt offense looked decently sharp the few times that it needed to utilize its set plays in the first half. There were times where the Devils relied quite heavily on Kyle Singler to make something happen (in most cases he came through with a bucket). Otherwise, Taylor King was an integral part in keeping the floor spaced because he is a constant threat anywhere inside of 26 feet.

The tables quickly turned in the second half. The Panthers slowed the game down and took advantage of the Bluedevils' youth and inexperience. Accompanied by an extremely hearty performance by Levance Fields, DeJuan Blair helped his team take over in the second half. Blair finished the game with 15 points and a whopping twenty rebounds.

Singler was a non-factor for much of the second half, and the Devils turned to Gerald Henderson to put points on the board. The son of a former NBA player came up big in the second half and finished the game with 17 points, including the game-tying bucket at the end of regulation.

The neutral crowd, which acted more as a home crowd for both teams, had a night to remember in this battle between two of the nation's best.

Top Prospects:

Kyle Singler (Duke, 6'8" 220 lbs.): Singler was phenomenal in the first half; while he has the ability to shoot it from deep, he does not give in to the temptation of long range bombing. Much like the modern-day Dirk Nowitzki, he mixes in inside/midrange and outside shots. Singler has excellent rebounding and interior passing ability and it was on full display in the first half of this game.

In the second half when the pace slowed he was not nearly as affective as he was in the first half. Depending on which way Singler decides to go, a few extra pounds wouldn't hurt. He was not able to bang with Pitt's big bodies. In terms of NBA success, Singler may be best suited to model his game after Duke alum Mike Dunleavy, who is having a career year in Indy. Like Dunleavy, Singler is long and smooth with a nice shooting touch. Though he does have the ability to rebound, he does not have the bulk to rely on his rebounding ability in the NBA. Overall it would certainly be detrimental to his game (speed, agility) to put on too much bulk.

Gerald Henderson (Duke, 6'5" 210 lbs.): Henderson had somewhat of an inverted version of Singler's game. He was not nearly as aggressive as he should have been in the first half, though in the second half he demanded the ball a bit more and was more willing to take shots. He took Duke's biggest shot of the game – a very tough runner in the lane to tie the game and send it into overtime. Henderson is a bit of an anomaly in that he usually lets the game come to him, hence him not being too aggressive in the first half, though in the second half he did appear to be forcing things. If a player spends the first half not playing aggressively, he should not need the second half to make too many mistakes. Henderson often tried to bull his way past defenders. Henderson's game would benefit from a little more assertiveness at the beginning of games and then a sustained intensity throughout. He already has many of the physical tools for an NBA wing.

DeJuan Blair (Pitt, 6'7" 265 lbs.): Beast. The freshman had twenty rebounds in the game. What more needs to be said? Blair, in part thanks to his 7'3" wingspan, swatted away three shots in the game as well. Making matters more disconcerting for opponents is the fact that Blair seems to always have a smile on his face. The big body possesses very soft hands for such a bruiser. He was an anchor in the middle for Pitt the way Shelden Williams and Carlos Boozer used to be for Duke. Coach K can only dream about having a beast like Blair lacing it up for Duke this year.

Taylor King (Duke, 6'6" 230 lbs.): Taylor King does one thing very well and one thing with adequate proficiency: shoot threes and rebound, respectively. Though limited in his skill set, he may be in luck because these two tools will get a player far in the basketball world. King believes in his sweet lefty stroke and there is really nothing anyone can do to wane his confidence.