2001 Duke vs. Kentucky
Re-watch #3 - The Duke Basketball Project
Duke vs. Kentucky
Jimmy V Classic
Continental Airlines Arena - East Rutherford, NJ
December 18, 2001
Where I was
I was a senior in high school, presumably on Christmas break, and I recall watching this game in my room at home - the same house my parents still live in. I had a TV on my desk and any late night games I would always watch in my bedroom, standing at my desk. I haven’t done it much as an adult but standing has been a great way to exhaust some nervous energy while watching a game - whether pacing or swaying and I may or may not have occasionally gotten into a defensive stance over the years.
Why this game
With ESPN promoting Jimmy V Week and Duke set to play in their 4th Jimmy V Classic tomorrow night, I figured I’d pull this game to the top of my list. This game delivered on the “classic” in Jimmy V Classic and this event is one that I really love - four great teams, two games in a historic venue, all with the goal to bring awareness to The V Foundation, Coach Valvano, and his fight against cancer. Everyone has seen the ESPY speech, hopefully many times, but it amazes me how an ordinary person like Jim Valvano continues to inspire people to be better versions of themselves almost 30 years after his death. We should all heed his advice more often.
Storylines
The storyline entering the game could be as simple as “Duke versus Kentucky.” When you write that, you immediately think of two of the best programs in college basketball, classic games, and great players (Givens, Mashburn, Gminski, Laettner, etc.) Duke was the defending National Champion, returning Jason Williams, Chris Duhon, Carlos Boozer, and Mike Dunleavy among others, and had won 9 games in a row to start the season. It looked as though Duke and Kentucky were going to meet in the 2001 Elite 8 but the USC Trojans surprised Kentucky, delaying the next meeting of these two blue bloods until December at the Jimmy V Classic.
The Teams
Kentucky, coached by Tubby Smith, started Cliff Hawkins, Gerald Fitch, Keith Bogans, Tayshaun Prince, and Jules Camara. The Wildcats went deep in their bench with Rashaad Carruth, Marquis Estill, and J.P. Blevins logging double figure minutes; Erik Daniels, Adam Chiles, Marvin Stone, and Chuck Hayes also entered the game. Coach K’s Blue Devils started Chris Duhon, Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer, and Dahntay Jones. Casey Sanders, Daniel Ewing, Reggie Love, Matt Christensen, and Andre Buckner saw minutes as well. Dahntay Jones was just the second transfer player to play for Duke under Mike Krzyzewski - can you name the first transfer and the third transfer players under Coach K? See Trivia Answer below.
The Game
1st Half Summary
Chris Duhon set the defensive tone from the tip, as he often did, with a steal and a layup. It felt like he was in passing lanes for four straight years at Duke - man, I love that guy. The teams traded jabs for the first 20 minutes. Duhon delivered a precision bounce pass to Dunleavy for a 14-9 Duke advantage early. Kentucky responded with a 7-0 stretch, capped by a Tayshaun Prince chase down block, leading to a corner 3 by Rashaad Carruth. I can remember thinking how much I loved Prince’s game when he was in college, especially his versatility, and his block foreshadowed one of the great defensive plays in NBA Playoff history. The Wildcats now had their first lead of the game at 14-16 with 13:00 minutes left in the half. As the half continued, Duke took a 27-21 lead on back to back 3’s, first from Williams and then Dunleavy. But, as expected, Kentucky countered as they began to pound the offensive glass, Duke began to turn the ball over, and Carruth continued his hot shooting half. Kentucky now led 31-33 at the under 4 media timeout and I enjoyed this flashback on Cawood Ledford and the Laettner game. If you’ve never seen the full SportsCentury "Battle Lines" on the game, it’s worth a look when you have 45 minutes to spare. Kentucky would up their margin to 35-41 when Keith Bogans hit a long 2 in transition with 1:10 remaining. Thankfully, Dunleavy responded with a 3 and a putback by Boozer would leave the halftime score at Duke 40 Kentucky 43. Dunleavy and Williams led Duke with 12 and 11 points respectively, while Carruth had 14 of Kentucky’s 26 points off the bench.
2nd Half 20:00 - Duke 40 Kentucky 43
Kentucky used offensive rebounding and relentless drives to the basket to open the half on a 7-0 run, taking a 10 point lead. Coach K sent his starting five to the bench, sending a message to his talented group of veterans. In came Daniel Ewing, Matt Christensen, Reggie Love, Andre Buckner, and Casey Sanders - guys Coach knew would bring the toughness and energy that had been lacking since late in the first half. The second five held their own for a few minutes and Matt Christensen delivered a 3-point play as the starters approached the scorer’s table to check back in. While Duke was still down 9, the energy of the game had shifted.
2nd Half 14:08 - Duke 45 Kentucky 54
Credit Kentucky because as Duke rose their level of play, the Wildcats seemed to do the same and actually pushed the lead back to 12 on another 3 from Rashaad Carruth. But the Dukies were now engaged on both ends of the floor after their stint on the bench, and continued to punch back. Duke began to push the pace offensively and Jason Williams began to attack - driving to hoop, getting fouled, and narrowly missing out on a highlight play. Dickie V mentioned Duke’s record in ACC games for the previous four seasons was 60-5 but if you include the ACC Tournament, the record goes to 70-6. Not a bad four year stretch…
2nd Half 7:09 - Duke 57 Kentucky 65
Dunleavy found Boozer for a layup, Duke forced an airball at the end of the shot clock, and then Jason Williams hit one of his patented 3’s, moving to his right off a high ball screen. I can’t think of a more Chris Duhon play than this one, as he came up with a loose ball and outlet pass in one motion, finding Williams for a dunk to tie the game and earn a signature “Awesome baby with a capital A!” from Dickie V.
2nd Half 5:25 - Duke 65 Kentucky 65
Tayshaun Prince went to line after being challenged at the rim by Dunleavy and converted both free throws but Duke would finally regain the lead on another 3 by Williams, look familiar? The teams exchanged free throws, Williams hit a corner 3 to give him 30 on the night, and Duke held a 1 point lead after Boozer converted 1 of 2 from the line.
2nd Half 1:58 - Duke 74 Kentucky 73
Prince hit a floater in the lane to put Kentucky back on top but Jason Williams continued to light up the Meadowlands with another 3, this time following great ball movement. No one loves good defense more than me but when teams get into a back and forth where good offense is simply beating good defense, especially in crunch time, that will always be the most fun basketball to watch.
2nd Half 1:20 - Duke 77 Kentucky 75
Camara made 1 of 2 free throws after another offensive rebound to cut the Duke lead to 1. After a missed 3 by Duhon, Kentucky took the lead on another floater by Tayshaun Prince as he drove middle and lofted a soft shot over the outstretched arm of Carlos Boozer. Duke called timeout after the 8th lead change in the last five minutes. Jason Williams took the side out of bounds pass and used a high ball screen from Dunleavy to drive and get fouled at the rim. He made the first, missed the second and with the score tied at 78, Cliff Hawkins' long 3 attempt at the buzzer was no good. Overtime in New Jersey.
Overtime 5:00 - Duke 78 Kentucky 78
After Duke won the tip, Dahntay Jones picked up a loose ball following a Kentucky deflection and converted a layup. Hawkins made 1 of 2 from the line before Dunleavy picked up a driving miss from Williams for an offensive rebound and putback.
Overtime 4:04 - Duke 82 Kentucky 79
It was more back and forth as Cliff Hawkins made a pull-up jumper from the elbow. After an offensive rebound by Boozer, Dunleavy was called for a charge driving in from the 3-point arch. Tayshaun Prince rebounded a miss from Hawkins, put in a little jump hook, and Kentucky was back in front.
Overtime 3:13 - Duke 82 Kentucky 83
Duke went inside to Boozer and as the defense collapsed, he kicked it back out to Mike Dunleavy for another 3. Hawkins continued to get into the lane, was fouled again, but converted only 1 of 2. Williams fired a bullet to an open Dunleavy underneath and Duke was now up by 3.
Overtime 2:21 - Duke 87 Kentucky 84
I don’t think Cliff Hawkins called this one, but apparently the bank was open and his 3 knotted the score again. Williams made 1 of 2 free throws for his 35th point of the night but Hawkins answered again with another pull-up jumper and we had another lead change.
Overtime 1:47 - Duke 88 Kentucky 89
Jason Williams in attack mode was something special. He would seemingly go to another level and, good or bad, he was attacking every possession. His 3-point play gave Duke the lead again.
Overtime 1:39 - Duke 91 Kentucky 89
Hawkins, who at this point had 9 of Kentucky’s 11 points in OT, finally missed - first on a 3 and then on a floater in the lane. Jason Williams secured the second rebound and found Boozer rolling to the basket off a high ball screen. Bogans rebounded a miss from Carruth and was fouled. He calmly sank both free throws.
Overtime 0:43 - Duke 93 Kentucky 91
As Duke tried to use some clock, Camara was able to deflect a pass into the backcourt. Fortunately, Duhon was able to retrieve the loose ball and found Williams with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Williams drove and was able to kick it out to Dunleavy for a good look at a 3. It was off the mark but Dahntay Jones corralled the miss and put it back in for a four point lead with 9 seconds remaining.
Overtime 0:09 - Duke 95 Kentucky 91
Kentucky missed on a 3-point attempt but secured their 22nd offensive rebound as the clock was expiring. Unfortunately, Jones committed a silly foul on the rebound. Fortunately, there were only 0.3 seconds on the clock. Gerald Fitch made 1 of 2 free throws and another classic Duke/Kentucky game was in the books.
Final Score - Duke 95 Kentucky 92
From the Box Score
Jason Williams made 7 of his 10 attempts from 3 and finished with a career high 38 points. Mike Dunleavy had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer added 15 and 7. Kentucky got 19 points off the bench from Rashaad Carruth. Tayshaun Prince added 17 to go with 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Cliff Hawkins scored 9 of his 15 points in the overtime period.
Trivia Answer
Roshown McLeod and Seth Curry
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
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