Monday, January 14, 2008
Cavaliers take it too easy on Duke
Aaron McFarling
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DURHAM, N.C. -- All he was doing was bringing the ball up the court, but once Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson realized what he was facing, he quickly changed plans.
What he was facing was a guy who wasn't ready to defend.
Virginia's Calvin Baker -- who had suffered cramping in his lower legs earlier in the second half -- had no chance. Nelson blew right past him down the right sideline and scored on the reverse layup, providing another humbling moment for the Cavaliers.
Too easy.
That's what should concern the Cavaliers after their 87-65 loss to Duke in their ACC opener Sunday night.
It's not that they lost. The vast majority of visiting teams lose here at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and over the years, UVa has been no exception.
But it was how it happened.
The Blue Devils mauled them on offensive rebounds early, sliced through multiple defenders for easy layups, shot jumper after jumper without a hand in their faces.
Too easy.
More than anything, this tiny, noisy stadium tests your mental toughness. And outside of point guard Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers have yet to prove they have a lot of it.
They had four days to stew after coach Dave Leitao ripped them for a weak effort in a home victory over Hartford. They responded by playing their worst game of the year and lost by 38 at Xavier.
They had 10 days to recover from that one, and Leitao used a variety of motivational tactics to try to inspire the players for the conference opener. He restricted locker-room privileges. He drilled in the virtues of defense, the facet of the game that has always mattered most to him. He preached "getting back to basics."
And this was all they could muster? Trailing 18-6 before the second media timeout? Allowing the Blue Devils to shoot 54.5 percent in the second half?
Too easy.
The one positive UVa can take away from this one is the offensive play of Baker, the sophomore transfer from William and Mary. With Singletary struggling to find any room to work in the first half, Baker created some for himself, driving to the basket with slick moves and pulling up for short, soft jump shots.
Through the previous 13 games, Baker had already established himself as a valuable contributor, scoring in double figures six times. The fact that he scored 10 points in the first half Sunday -- finishing with 13, despite fighting cramps -- showed that he can handle himself against the elite.
This team is still searching for an offensive identity, and if last season was any indication, the search could take a while. But the one thing last year's team consistently brought, and the thing this one has no excuse not to bring, is defense. The Cavs entered the night as the nation's leader in rebounding margin -- one of the key indicators of good defense -- but they got outworked.
Jon Scheyer should not be able to cut right down the middle of the lane and score with no resistance, as he did late in the first half. Nolan Smith shouldn't be able to hold a stilt between himself and the closest defender after taking a kick-out pass and hitting an open 3-pointer, as he could have midway through the second half. Scheyer shouldn't be able to dribble through three defenders and drop in a layup ...
You get the point. Too easy.
"You can't put it on X's and O's," Singletary said. "You've just got to put it in the heart and intensity category. We didn't play hard enough, and that's why we lost."
UVa's next game is Wednesday against Virginia Tech. It's the first of two home games the Cavaliers absolutely must get before they go on the road for six of their next nine, all inside the conference.
They can't let it be this easy, or the road to the NCAA tournament will be too difficult to travel.
