Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #7 UConn on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 73
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Final
Men's Basketball
72
vs #7 UConn
73
Roth: New Twists Energize Hoops Debut
10/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke pumped some fresh air into an old tradition with its presentation of the annual Blue-White basketball game last Saturday. Fans were incorporated into the proceedings as never before, reflecting the athletics department's desire to forge stronger connections within the campus community. And the team did its part by delivering an energetic and entertaining performance in its official public debut for the 2007-08 season.
The Blue team, coached by Chris Collins, edged the White team, guided by Steve Wojciechowski, by a 69-64 count in the 30-minute scrimmage. There were 11 occasions last year in which Duke didn't top 69 points in 40 minutes. But any lingering vestiges of last season were easily eclipsed by the way this new team utilized its athleticism and conditioning to create a more expeditious tempo.
"This is the style I anticipated playing when I came here and now we really have the group to do it, so it's really exciting," said sophomore Jon Scheyer.
"I love it. It's a lot different compared to last year," added sophomore Gerald Henderson, who led the Blue team with 21 points. "We didn't get out and fastbreak (last year) as much as we're going to this year. It's definitely something I'm looking forward to because it complements everyone's game. A lot of our guys can get out on the wing and a lot of our guys can shoot, so it will be a lot of fun."
More on that in a moment. First, a look at how the roster was divided for this contest, because that process itself made another statement about the way coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff are approaching this season.
A couple of hours before the tipoff, the university held a "GameDay" festival on the lawn of Krzyzewskiville to celebrate the start of the season. New women's coach Joanne P. McCallie and all the men's assistants spoke to the crowd, videos were shown on a big screen, and the band and cheerleaders performed in pep rally fashion.
Near the end of the event, a raffle was held among members of the student body, and two Cameron Crazies were chosen to come on stage to draft the teams for the Blue-White game. Undergraduates Rish Sinha and John Brockardt were the lucky winners, and after picking the teams ? freshman Kyle Singler was the first selection ? they were invited to sit on the bench as the honorary captains for their squads.
Each side also had on its bench an honorary coach from the faculty ? professor Michael Gillespie with the White team and dean of undergraduate education Steve Nowicki with the Blue team. President Richard Brodhead was invited onto Coach K Court, given a microphone and asked to introduce all the players to the crowd before the game started.
In short, the athletics department put its best foot forward in reaching out to those on campus whose support is so vital to a successful operation. Krzyzewski made sure no one missed the message when he addressed the crowd at halftime and spoke about some of his favorite topics, such as connections and togetherness.
"Those students did a great job in picking the teams," said winning coach Collins. "We got a nice matchup, well balanced. We just wanted to drum up some fun and excitement for the fans. There was a great turnout in K-ville for the videos, interviews, face-painting. It was just a great environment. We wanted to have something fun for the fans, and we thought it would be fun to let the people see the lineups they wanted to see."
When Collins spoke to the GameDay crowd, his quip that the Devils were going to try to score 100 points a game this year drew an enthusiastic response from the students, who witnessed Duke post its lowest scoring average in 25 years last winter.
"We're a good outside shooting team, we have good athletes and we want to make it an up-tempo game," Collins said later. "To do that you have to have guys who can put the ball in the basket and we feel we have a number of guys who can score this year. Obviously Greg Paulus can score from the point guard position, and Nolan Smith at that position can score. We have three terrific wings in Jon Scheyer, DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson who can all score points, and we have big guys who can shoot the ball. We want to push the ball. We feel like we have 10 guys who can all play."
Collins' guys showed all those traits in sprinting out to an early 18-point lead. Freshman Taylor King knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers in the opening half while Henderson and Nelson pushed the pace for transition dunks and layups.
Singler scored 16 for White in the first half en route to a game-high 23. Scheyer helped the White team tie the game at 57-all when he delivered a four-point play with 5:45 to go, but Henderson hit three shots in the next two minutes to put Blue back in control. When the White team crept back to within two with two minutes left, Paulus nailed a three at the 1:36 mark to effectively seal the outcome.
The contest enabled each of the three freshmen to play before the Cameron crowd for the first time as collegians. King and Smith played there in a high school game last January, but Singler's only previous trip to the arena for a game came during his junior year of high school, when he attended the Duke-Miami game and watched J.J. Redick break associate head coach Johnny Dawkins' career scoring record.
"There is definitely a different perspective. It's better being on the floor," Singler said.
Singler hit 9-of-17 shots for his 23 points while adding nine rebounds. Smith was 7-of-18 for 19 points, along with five steals. King finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, with six boards.
"I thought they did a great job," Scheyer said. "They all showed they weren't scared at all and they played real aggressive. Taylor made the difference early by getting his team up with those threes, Kyle showed a lot of poise and Nolan showed how talented he is. I think all of those guys are going to help us."
"It was definitely an adrenaline rush," admitted Singler. "I've always dreamed about playing inside Cameron Indoor. It's just a great place to play ? the players, the fans, Coach K, there's just no better place to play. I was just having a blast out there."
As was King, who didn't hesitate to pull the trigger when left open on the perimeter.
"When I have the shot I'm going to take it. Coach recruited me to shoot the ball and to contribute, and that's what I did," he said. "When I get open and I have an open shot, shoot it. That's what I'm going to do."
Singler was involved in two of the more electrifying moments of the evening, first when he caught a lob from Scheyer and dunked it on the fly with one hand to bring down the house. Later, when Smith tried to hit him with a similar alley-oop, Henderson read the play and blocked Singler's shot in equally spectacular fashion.
Senior captain Nelson predicted the fun quotient would be high with the way the Blue Devils intend to run the floor this season.
"It creates a lot of possessions, it creates mismatch problems, it creates floor balance and spacing and gives guys room to create and room to make decisions, make reads based upon what the defense is doing," he said. "We got a lot of easy buckets doing it and it's going to be fun for our team playing that way."
No one appreciated the events more than Krzyzewski, who was pleased to see so much intensity on the floor and in the bleachers surrounding it.
"It's a team that I'm really happy that our student body is really excited about," he noted. "They've been terrific, our guys are terrific, the women's program ? it's just a good time. Today, having Joanne at the GameDay and to have the women's team there as well ? all of that is really good, and we know it's happening. That's the kind of effort that it's going to take, and that's the kind of effort we've had over the years when we've been successful."
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A day after the men's Blue-White, the Duke women had a Blue-White for the first time ever. While it was a new twist for Duke, McCallie said she has had a similar preseason exhibition in each of her previous 15 years as a head coach, at Maine and Michigan State. "That was as fundamental to me as showing up to work everyday," McCallie said. "Blue and White is a chance to bring everybody together to see the team. I can't imagine life without that Blue and White thing."
Duke's two returning post players had the best numbers in the women's scrimmage, as Chante Black scored 16 points in 40 minutes while Carrem Gay had 14 points, 14 rebounds and six steals.
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