Tonight is Dukes first exhibition game versus St. Francis/Xavier of Canada. DeMarcus is the only injury to report as he heals from surgery on his finger...

As I expected Chris Duhon did make the Bulls roster, shot much better than Ben Gordon, I guess Ben is lucky he plays the 2.

Not so fortunate for Nate James and Trajan Langdon who were cut by the Sixers and the Clippers respectively.

From what I have gathered from many areas about the Blue White game, it pretty much went as I expected...

The stars were JJ and Shelden, they killed, Redick has slimmed down considerably and is much quicker and has a mid-range shot now that should be very useful this season and he still hits the bombs too.  Shelden is in great shape still dominates on both ends, has a wider range of offensive moves now. 

Shav has adjusted fully, it seems, to his new frame..if you saw him as a Senior in high school, you wouldn't recognize him now.  He is a lot more confident on the offensive end, and on defense will be able to move his feet better..look for more blocked shots from this team. 

Dockery, Sean that is, showed a very good shooting touch, I have no idea whether this is luck or skill, but this off season he worked on it for sure, he was 2-2 from 3-- and 7-8 overall..had no turnovers and I believe 6 assists.  Ran the team efficiently.  If this keeps up this team should over-achieve.  Ewing was solid, he was picked to run point opposite Dockery, this will be good practice as someone will need to spell Dock from time to time otherwise foul problems will arise..he wasn't Chris Paul but he didn't make the dumb mistakes that was important. 

Markie and McClure should adjust well, at different paces I am sure, McClure will be a do-it-all type, has a decent mid-range jumper and has a real sense of where the ball is going, he will be a great rebound and loose ball guy.  has mad hops too.  Not great at the 3, but he doesn't have to be.  Markie takes it inside with no regard for his own safety a la J-Will, he isn't a J-Will type finisher just yet, but by mid-season I bet you see a double digit scorer.



Some Links about the game:

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/dbrboard/bin/bplist.cgi?submit=Read+the+Article&article=/home/dbr/dbrboard/boards/28885/message.txt

http://www.dukeupdate.com/Rob_C/20041023_Blue_White.htm

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/duke/story/1762689p-8044889c.html

http://story.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=178&p=2&c=310163

http://www.chronicle.duke.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/25/417cf74600e00

Duke freshman DeMarcus (Markie) Nelson injured his hand, ruptured thumb ligament in his right hand to be exact.  He has had surgery and is expecte back within a months time, this is probably the best time for it to happen really...I would doubt it would keep him out of drills and practice, but one never knows.

The rumors proved to be true as Martynas Poncius has chosen to attend and play basketball at Duke University over Kansas, some say Kansas withdrew the offer, some say Poncius chose first..who knows..who cares, the kid flew under the radar for quite a while but is most likely and elite shooter with international skills, which fits the Duke mold. 

Column about Duke this year and Shavs rebirth

News about Deng, and Duhons chances of making the Bulls

Thoughts from the Chronicle on the upcoming hoops season, mostly I am in agreement with what they say.

The Sixers waive Nate "Dogg" James dude still has more heart than anyone who has ever worn the Duke blue.

I want to say congrats to Grant Hill (knock on wood) for playing pain free the other night and scoring 20 points..he looked very sharp.  This is a good thing for the Magic and for Grants mental state I am sure.  Good to see him back in the saddle again.

From what people are saying about the team on dukebasketball report who attended that practice on Saturday, it is pretty much like I expected.