Sunday night, the Virginia men's basketball team will have its mettle tested in one of the stiffest challenges that college basketball has to offer. It will be a test to determine if the Cavaliers can hang with the creme de la creme.
Just ask the members of Cavaliers teams from years past. Three straight years they have been blown out by 20 or more, including a 42-point thumping a year ago and a 46-point laugher in Gillen's inaugural game with the Cavaliers at Cameron.
Just ask the members of Cavaliers teams from years past. Three straight years they have been blown out by 20 or more, including a 42-point thumping a year ago and a 46-point laugher in Gillen's inaugural game with the Cavaliers at Cameron.
It could be the loyal Duke students two feet from the floor, jumping up and down and chanting. Or it might be the suffocating heat created by 8,365 "crazies" confined to a small gothic gymnasium. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that any college basketball mind will tell you Cameron Indoor is the most intimidating place in the world to play the game.
It doesn't help that the Blue Devils feature three of the premier players in the country. Foremost is reigning Associated Press player of the year Jason "Dickie V. thinks I'm awesome, with a capital OA'" Williams. Unfortunately for Hoos fans out there, Vitale, crazy as it may seem, appears to be right on this account.
Williams is, without a doubt, college basketball's best point guard. After this semester he will graduate from Duke (in three years) and likely become the number one pick in the NBA draft if 7-foot-2 center Yao Ming doesn't come out from China.
Although most point guards in the country have a pass-first mentality, Williams shoots first, thinks later. Averaging 20 points in the ACC is no small feat, so to hurt Duke in any way, shape or form on Sunday, the Cavaliers will have to find some way to neutralize Duke's star.
Emerging in the shadow of Williams is college basketball's newest "Mr. Versatility" (please excuse the use of another Vitale reference) in the form of Mike Dunleavy. A young man who used to resemble a bean pole more than a ball player has since put on 25 pounds and grown two inches to develop into a big-time player.
The junior has excelled at four positions for the Blue Devils, proving himself a viable threat all over the court and presenting matchup problems for every team he goes up against.
Unfortunately for opposing teams, Williams, Dunleavy and most of Coach K's cronies create matchup problems against their opposition. If the Cavaliers hope to stay in the game Sunday night they will have to bring their "A++" game and all the defensive intensity they can find. History has shown that those who have come into Cameron nervous and on their heels haven't left Durham with smiles on their faces.
As soon as the teams tip it off, the young members of the Cavaliers must focus on the blue and white with the ball and not the blue and white in the rafters. For within the defensive intensity of Jermaine Harper, Elton Brown, Jason Clark and Keith Jenifer lies an important piece in solving the puzzle that is Cameron Indoor.
Harper and Jenifer have successfully shut down opposing guards over the last four games, and they will need a similar performance going up against the likes of Williams. They must contain him as he comes around on his many screens and pick and rolls. Of course, saying is easier than doing.
It will be just as imperative for the Cavaliers to receive contributions from Brown, who is coming off career highs in points and rebounds, and Clark on the defensive end going up against the likes of Carlos Boozer and Dunleavy, two of the conference's leading scorers. On the offensive end, their strength can translate into easy buckets if they continue their tremendous offensive rebounding.
It comes as a surprise to no one, however, that the larger piece of the puzzle will come from Virginia's upperclassmen.
Travis Watson has made a living in the ACC making bigger big men look bad. The 6-8 "center's" arsenal of low post moves and beast-like board work should give Carlos Boozer all he can handle. If the Cavalier backcourt can get the ball through the 3-2 zone they will surely face, and if Watson can stay out of foul trouble, he could go a long way in shutting up the Cameron Crazies.
In order for "The Big Smooth" to come out with his first-ever victory at Duke, he's going to have to get a little rougher. Whether it's the Chris Williams who seemed satisfied with just passing the ball around the perimeter while being held scoreless at Little John Coliseum, or the Chris Williams that has, for the most part, been more aggressive this season in looking for his shot, he will go a long way in determining if the Cavaliers can come out with a win.
There is no question, however, that, for the most part this season's success for the Cavaliers begins and ends with one man: Roger Mason Jr. He has been Virginia's best and most consistent player to date. Though he is nursing a sore shoulder, if Virginia hopes to contend at all on Sunday, Mason will have to be red hot.
He has struggled early in games on the road, like much of the team. He cannot shoot the 13 percent (3-for-23) from beyond the arc that he has in ACC road games so far this season. Obviously, the 48 percent (16-of-33) that he has shot from downtown at home is crucial if the Cavaliers hope for a rare win in Durham. A 40-point performance would certainly be nice.
And though "Dookie V." believes his beloved Dukies are unbeatable at home, they can be beaten, believe it or not. Let's just hope the Virginia kids believe it.
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