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
Duke Gets Back On Practice Court, Tours Beijing
8/21/2011 9:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BEIJING, CHINA -- The Duke men's basketball team arrived in Beijing yesterday and spent the day relaxing and recovering in preparation for a busy day in the capital city on Sunday. The day opened with a tour of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City before an afternoon practice at MasterCard Center, and a trip to a downtown silk market.
The tour started with tour guide Wang alerting the group to stay close and follow his "Friendship Games" sign attached to a four-foot tall pole. With thousands of people visiting the massive city this morning, it would have been easy to get lost in a crowd while walking the grounds. However, between the tall sign hoisted by Wang and having three Plumlee brothers towering over everyone, the Duke team easily stayed together throughout the two-mile walk around all of the palaces.
Shortly after arriving, Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton acquired China-themed headwear from local street vendors while Nolan Smith picked up a Chinese fan to help stay cool on a warm day. Wang and Coach K led the way through the heavy crowds as the group maneuvered around the impressive palaces. Several times along the way, local residents awed by uncommonly tall young men sought photo opportunities with the Plumlee brothers, and the towering brothers happily obliged. The coaching staff also wanted to capture a few team photos during the tour and a few locals tried to jump in and join and the team.
Wang stopped the group on a few
occasions to provide history lessons on the palaces. He noted that the
Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms because legend dictated that 10,000-room
venues are reserved for the Gods. Also, Wang noted that the palaces are
red because the color represents happiness and prosperity in China and
the roofs are yellow with the color reserved exclusively for the
emperor.
At one point, Smith and several staff members stepped away from the group to visit the first turf basketball court they had ever seen. Several guards and a fence protected the unique hoops court, discouraging visitors from taking jump shots.
Towards the end of the tour, Quinn Cook, Alex Murphy and Todd Zafirovski stepped away to grab a blueberry smoothie from a snack shop. The smoothie did not quite arrive as expected so Zafirovski earned praise for adding a vanilla soft-serve cone to his order.
After strolling through the two-mile stretch palaces, the team arrived at the bus on the opposite side of the Forbidden City. As the group approached the bus, street merchants hustled over looking to sell watches, chop sticks and wooden buddha dolls. One aggressive merchant almost boarded the bus as in an attempt to close a sale. The vendors did not have many takers with a trip to the silk markets on tap later in the day and the team made the quick drive back to the hotel for lunch.
"It was unreal and I've never seen anything like it," said freshman Marshall Plumlee about touring the Forbidden City. "It was just crazy to see how many resources that were devoted to China's emperors and government."
Following the 2+ hour tour, the team traveled to MasterCard Center for practice. The MasterCard Center, formely Wukesong Arena, was the site of Team USA's 2008 Olympic gold medal run. Practice was open to a group of people involved with the Global Health Institute, including several youngsters who participated in some dribbling races prior to the Blue Devils taking the floor. The Wall Street Journal, along with the China Daily, was on hand to cover the event.
Associate head coach Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski reminisced about the 2008 Beijing Olympics as they entered the arena. Not only did they hold strong memories of the actual game, but both of them remembered what they described as "odd-colored hot dogs on-a-stick that smelled worse than they looked."
The practice was a full workout with all of the sneaker-squeaking of a Duke practice at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The team put up a lot of shots and worked in the full court on offensive and defensive execution. The veteran-laden white squad dominated in full court action in a steamy MasterCard Center.
"It felt good to get back on the court," said Mason Plumlee after Sunday's workout. "We got a good sweat in and got loose - it feels really good to get a good run in right before you play. It'll be good for us, now we'll go back and rest and be ready to go tomorrow."
Following practice, Coach K conducted sitdown interviews with China Daily, Nike, Intersport and GoDuke.com, while Quinn Cook and Austin Rivers met with Taylor Doherty of the Chronicle.
With the coaching staff heading back to the hotel, the team and other staffers ventured out to a Beijing silk market. Popular purchase items included sunglasses, headphones, watches, silk robes, scroll paintings, jewelry and a pair of hockey jerseys. Dave Bradley went with the #10 Ron Francis Hartford Whalers jersey, while Marshall Plumlee picked up a Vancauver Canucks (his favorite team on NHL '11) sweater.
"Today was much better than my first market experience," said Marshall Plumlee. "I stayed away from the touristy stuff and got some Beats, a Canucks hockey jersey, real Raybans, real Oakleys and real watches this time."
An afternoon of shopping and bartering in the crowded market transitioned into a quiet dinner at the hotel except when the youngest Plumlee elected to model a silk robe while eating his dinner. The remainder of the evening is for rest in preparation for tomorrow's packed schedule, which includes a tour of Olympic Green, home of the 2008 Olympiad.
The Blue Devils will also play their third and final exhibition game in China tomorrow at the MasterCard Center. Duke's game against the China Olympic team will be shown live by ESPNU at 8 am ET on Monday.
Players Mentioned
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