Sports > February 14, 2008

By Matt Six | Staff writer

Wake basketball has a big game at Florida State Feb. 14. We need a road win worse than UVA’s Ryan Pettinella (#34) needs a free throw coach.

Nevertheless, let’s take a look at another big game on the horizon: Duke.

It is hard for me to write an unbiased article on this game set to take place Feb.17.

Ever since the Shane Battier years, Duke players have had a reputation for flopping more than pancakes.

The sad part is, the refs perpetuate the flopping instead of rightfully eating their whistles and ignoring their attempts to draw fouls on the opposition.

Furthering my disdain for Duke basketball, I clearly remember the 2004-2005 season game at Cameron when Duke sent in the goons to hack Chris Paul at the start of the game.

For those unfamiliar with the incident, Coach K started walk-on Patrick Davidson with the specific assignment of fouling Paul and getting in his head.

As expected, Coach K berated the refs after Davidson’s hard fouls on Paul.

Paul and Prosser took the high road in their post-game remarks, keeping their cool despite Duke resorting to thuggish tactics to earn a win.

Dino, if you are reading this, you should start walk-on Jimmy McQuilkin so he can set the tone by hacking DeMarcus Nelson.

Don’t worry; you can spin it to the media by praising Jimmy’s ability to drain the three in practice.

But I digress.

The key to beating Duke, ironically, is to treat them like every other opponent.

“We know we can beat Duke as long as we just treat them like everyone else,” Chris Paul said to the media in 2005 after downing the Blue Devils 92-89 for the third straight time at home.

“Don’t get too up, don’t get on a high horse, just treat them like any other team and we can play with them.”

Therein lies the secret. In a parity-laden ACC any team can beat any other team on any given night.

To defeat Duke, Wake must treat them as every other opponent and not attempt to go outside of their game plan. This means no crazy 360 degree dunk attempts a la Trent Strickland.

Wake succeeds when they drive the ball and dish it back out to create open looks.

Ish Smith and Jeff Teague are two of the quickest guards in the ACC and create open looks for shooters like Harvey Hale, Gary Clark and Jamie Skeen. David Weaver, I know you nailed that three-pointer against UVA, but I am still reluctant to include your name among the list of sharpshooters. Nail a couple more and we’ll talk.

Wake also succeeds when they swing the ball around the perimeter, looking for either the open three or the entry pass to Chas McFarland or David Weaver.

Wake’s big men will match up well against those of Duke; Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas are the tallest Blue Devil starters at only 6 feet 8 inches. Brian Zoubek is 7 feet 1 inch but sees limited playing time.

On a strategic note, Wake needs to have a solid perimeter defense in order to defeat Duke. The Blue Devils defeated UNC by making 13 three-pointers and were led by Paulus’ 6-for-8 shooting behind the arc.

In the past, J.J. Redick has been a thorn in Wake’s side because of his ability to make the three.

Now Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer lead their team in shooting 38.9 percent behind the arc. Singler is also not afraid to shoot from the outside.

Wake’s perimeter defense has done well this season, holding its opponents to a three point percentage of 35.4 percent.

Smith and Teague use their quickness to stay in front of their defenders. Hale and Clark also show great defensive intensity.

Hopefully LD Williams, one of Wake’s top defenders, will be ready to go on Sunday.

In the end, the ACC is full of parity. That is what makes it so enjoyable to watch.

No one expected Maryland to go down to Chapel Hill and leave with a victory. Any team can win on any given night in the ACC.

To defeat Duke, Wake must treat them like every other team and stick to the game plan.

Oh, and Wake must start Jimmy McQuilkin.

You better watch out, DeMarcus.