The Demon Deacons' Big Three

The Demon Deacons' Big Three After advancing into the frontcourt, the Blue Devils again gave the ball to McRoberts. The Demon Deacons kept trying to pressure him, but McRoberts raised the ball over his head and, spotting his moment, fired a pass to Henderson, who was cutting from the weak side. That possession showed exactly why the Demon Deacons' scheme had broken down: McRoberts wasn't just a big man with better passing vision — his ball-handling and passing were both strong. Far from fearing the pressure, he could turn it into chances. Henderson caught it and drove toward the basket, paying no mind when he saw Ibaka coming over to help. As one of the top ten high school players in the class of 2006, he was an outstanding athlete and had no respect for the unknown player in front of him. He took one more burst of speed and rose into the air, cocking the ball high in his right hand, ready to throw down a flying dunk. But at the very peak of his windup, he suddenly realized Ibaka's lift was far quicker than he'd expected — and that Ibaka jumped a bit higher too. Well, a lot higher. “Boom!” The spectacular dunk over a defender that he'd pictured never came. Ibaka simply pinned the ball against the backboard! A block pinned to the backboard! The arena fell silent for an instant, then filled with the roar of the crowd. None of them knew who Ibaka was — and precisely because they didn't, the surprise hit them at full force! And the possession wasn't over: not only had Ibaka pinned the ball to the glass, he'd gone on to snatch the rebound as well. He could jump, and his hands were big enough. After landing, Ibaka held the ball high over his head, a habit clearly carried over from his youth-team days — but it kept the ball safe. Westbrook had crashed the offensive glass and was already in the paint, so Ibaka simply handed him the ball. Westbrook turned and took off the other way, flooring the gas. The Blue Devils reacted and closed in on him. But as he brought it into the frontcourt, Westbrook spotted his chance and kicked it to Curry, who was trailing on the opposite wing. Curry and Westbrook pulled that off fairly often these days, but the Blue Devils reacted much faster than other teams — Nelson immediately moved to cut off Curry's driving lane. Curry had no intention of going inside; the moment he caught it, he went for a transition three! Had Curry been on Duke, Coach K would have jumped out of his shoes at a shot like that — but Prosser didn't react at all, because he knew what Curry could do from deep. “Swish!” The ball traced a high arc through the air and dropped dead center through the net! Curry hit the transition three! The arena was flooded with cheering again. That one-two of offense and defense had steadied things for the Demon Deacons. Coach K still didn't call timeout. The Blue Devils advanced again, McRoberts holding the ball at the high post; this time Henderson used a screen to come backdoor, catching it for a midrange jumper. It was beautifully executed, evidence of Duke's poise under pressure. But at the instant of his release, that familiar figure appeared in Henderson's vision again. Ibaka had indeed been caught on the screen, but he quickly fought around it, and with his astonishing hops and terrifying wingspan, the defensive pressure was maxed out. Henderson was only a freshman, and he'd just had one pinned to the backboard; his nerves got the better of him and he instinctively raised his arc — and the result was... a complete airball! Visser grabbed the rebound at the rim and passed out to Curry on the perimeter. The Demon Deacons ran their transition offense again, and this time Curry returned the favor, feeding Westbrook for a layup on the wing. Paulus actually got in Westbrook's fast-break path, but he couldn't hold up against a Westbrook already at full speed. 15–7. The Demon Deacons had pushed the lead back out to eight! Coach K finally raised a hand and called timeout. That sent the crowd into a frenzy, whistles and cheers rising one after another. Ever since Ibaka had been subbed in, the game had begun to take a very different shape from last season's finale! Yang Shuai couldn't help clenching his fist. What excited him, though, was a little different from what thrilled the fans. McRoberts could shoot from mid and deep range, which meant that when he worked from the high post he pulled the center out of the paint — and in those situations the Demon Deacons badly needed a power forward who could sweep the lane and protect the rim on defense. Swinton didn't have that ability. In fact, a power forward like that needed mobility and rim protection together, and even outstanding basketball IQ and defensive instincts — across the entire league, you could count them on your fingers. Losing to Boston College last time out had been about conditioning, but this was another crucial factor. But now Ibaka had appeared, and he filled the last missing piece of the Demon Deacons' transition offense. Yang Shuai knew what Ibaka would eventually do in the NBA, but he hadn't expected this Ibaka to do it already in the NAA. The way he'd overcome the language barrier alone showed that Ibaka was working even harder than he'd imagined! Coming out of the timeout, Duke adjusted again: McRoberts still operated from the high post, but their offense now started outside the arc instead of inside the paint. Nelson used a Scheyer screen to catch and hit a three. If Ibaka could protect the rim effectively everywhere inside the free-throw line, what about out to the three-point line? A big man who could cover from the paint all the way out to the arc was called Victor Wembanyama — and at this point he was probably still nursing in his mother's arms. Coach K's adjustment was well timed and showed his in-game adaptability to the fullest. But on the other end, Westbrook and Ibaka ran a pick-and-roll; Westbrook drew a double-team and kicked it back to Ibaka, who hit a midrange jumper from eighteen feet! That shot dropped, and Coach K's perpetually calm face finally showed a ripple. America has never lacked gifted Black big men, but one who can run, jump and shoot? Those are extremely rare! Even Eagle changed his tune on the spot and cried out, “How did they find him? A genius from Congo!” Duke ran the same play again, only swinging it from one side to the other, but Paulus's three from the perimeter missed. Duke had plenty of talent, but they couldn't all be shooters of Curry's caliber — consistency was the biggest problem with three-pointers. And once a shot missed, a long rebound was inevitable. Westbrook showed his nose for the ball, judged the landing spot precisely, and came away with the long rebound. With the rebound secured, he turned and took off. The Blue Devils tried to stop him, but he was too fast — his feet looked as if they were strapped to a pair of flaming wheels. And the Blue Devils also had to spare attention for Curry. Westbrook took it coast to coast and, with a signature gather step, slammed the ball home. After landing, Westbrook pounded his chest and roared again, and the fans rose to their feet, unable to contain their excitement. Now they were completely certain: tonight's game was nothing like last season's finale, and this Demon Deacons team was nothing like last season's. At halftime the score was 45–41 in the Demon Deacons' favor. “Their recruitment of Curry may not have been a good choice, but I have to admit they did very well with Westbrook and Ibaka,” Williams offered a new take during the break. “Their overseas scouting is excellent, which is rare in the NAA.” Eagle was clearly impressed by Ibaka. In the second half, Duke shifted their strategy. In the first half their focus had been on the offensive end — how to break the Demon Deacons' transition offense. Now they moved the focus to defense and made it a defensive battle. To that end, Coach K pulled Scheyer from the starting lineup in favor of the better defender Lance Thomas. Turning passive into active gave Duke the comeback and a lead once again. That adjustment showed Coach K's tactical level once more, but one thing couldn't be ignored: Duke's roster depth was far better than the Demon Deacons'. Facing that, Prosser responded quickly, subbing Ibaka back in and setting up a 3-2 zone. The zone added more pressure on the perimeter and allowed them to launch the transition offense faster after a stop. All of this, of course, rested on Ibaka's outstanding defensive coverage inside. Yang Shuai watched from the sideline with great focus. Compared to reading playbooks, the tactical chess match between these two top coaches taught him far more. The two teams staged a defensive battle in the second half, and the score stayed tight. With the final minute approaching, the score was tied at 68. By this point the Demon Deacons' plan had worked: they couldn't lift their own level to Duke's in a short time, but through transition offense they had successfully dragged Duke down to theirs! And once Ibaka entered the rotation, the Demon Deacons expanded their rotation; the conditioning issue was greatly eased, which ensured their defensive intensity in the closing moments. In a Demon Deacons half-court set, Westbrook's driving layup was contested and missed; McRoberts secured the defensive rebound, and Duke called timeout. 32 seconds left in the game. The fans in the arena were now too tense to breathe. The Demon Deacons' performance tonight had certainly satisfied them, even exceeded expectations — but a basketball game without a win, like the one against Boston College, had no real meaning. Coming out of the timeout, Paulus brought the ball up and then began backing down his man to burn clock. NAA possessions ran 35 seconds, so they had a full one. With about 15 seconds left, Paulus passed to McRoberts to continue the high-post playmaking. Henderson came off a nice backdoor cut into the lane, and again Ibaka came to help. This time Henderson was clearly smarter: he sold a hard-stop jumper fake, Ibaka bit and flew past him, and Henderson turned with a hop step and released a floater. Ibaka could run and jump, but his experience was clearly lacking. Henderson was already picturing his celebration after the game-winner. But at the very instant he released the floater, he caught sight of that painfully familiar figure once more. Ibaka may have lacked experience, but his lift was simply too fast. Amid gasps from the crowd, Ibaka snatched the ball out of the air from behind! After getting one pinned to the backboard and being forced into an airball, Henderson had now had another one blocked snatched out of the air by Ibaka! That night when Henderson went to bed, he found Ibaka all over his sheets. Ibaka secured the ball, and Prosser immediately called timeout. The Demon Deacons had fought Duke with defense all night, and in the end defense had earned them a chance at the game-winner. Every fan in the arena was on his feet; no one could sit still now. Even Yang Shuai stood, his hands clasped tight. This was unquestionably the Demon Deacons' most important moment of the season so far. Out of the timeout, Westbrook brought the ball across midcourt. The arena, once loud, had gone eerily quiet — quiet enough that you could hear heartbeats. Once into the frontcourt, Westbrook called for a high pick-and-roll with Ibaka and drove off the screen. Duke chose to double-team Westbrook, forcing him to pass to Ibaka. The spot where Ibaka caught it was within his range, but as soon as he had the ball he ran into Henderson's help defense again. In the most important possession, Duke showed the top-tier defensive execution of a blue blood. Ibaka couldn't create off the dribble; he held the ball up, scanned the floor, and had no choice but to swing it out to Curry on the perimeter. Curry caught it with about five seconds left on the shot clock, but he was nearly two meters beyond the three-point line, and everyone else was covered. The Demon Deacons hadn't been able to run their game-winner play; it looked like overtime was coming. But when he saw where Curry stood, Yang Shuai's eyes went wide. For any other shooter, that spot was too far. For Curry... it was just right! Sure enough, Curry only glanced at his teammates' positions, then raised his hand and let it fly. The choice caught every player on the floor off guard, and even the fans were stunned. No one in the NAA would shoot from that spot! But soon that shock turned into excitement, because although the arc was long, it was dead straight! “Swish!” With a crisp sound of the net, Curry's deep three dropped through clean! Curry had just beaten Duke University with a game-winner!