Utes determined not to be in awe of Duke

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Utah guard Brandon Taylor has definitely seen the Duke Blue Devils on television over the years and he knows all about Mike Krzyzewski being a historic coach and all that.

Playing them in the NCAA tournament, Taylor admits, is ?crazy.?

However, Friday night?s game in Houston is all about business.

?At the end of the day they?re another team. We?re going to scout them like any other team and we?re going to play them like any other team,? Taylor said. ?We?re going to play harder and we?re going to come out with our intensity being very high.?

The Blue Devils have their attention and respect.

?They have a solid all-around team. Duke is a solid team all the way around and we know that,? Taylor said. ?But we?re a solid team all the way around, too.?

Teammate Delon Wright has similar thoughts.

?I think it?s a mind game,? he said, noting that the Utes can?t think about the Blue Devils being a historic program or anything ? just regular players like them. ?They just happen to go to a big-name school.?

SPECIAL K: Wright was asked who the real ?Coach K? is ? Utah?s Larry Krystkowiak or Duke?s legendary Krzyzewski.

?Definitely have to go with (Krzyzewski) but I like my Coach K better,? he said. ?Hopefully we?ll prove that.?

COACHING CONNECTION: The Utes and Blue Devils have a common link in Bill Foster. He served as head coach of both programs ? guiding Utah from 1971-74 before leaving for Duke (1975-80). Foster had a 43-39 record with the Utes and led them to the 1974 NIT championship game. He was 113-64 with the Blue Devils and coached them to the NCAA title game in 1978.

NO SATISFACTION: Krystkowiak had a pretty stern response when asked if he thought the Utes might be satisfied with reaching the Sweet 16. After all, it?s a pretty big accomplishment for a program that was just 6-25 overall in 2011-12.

?I can only hope that our guys aren?t satisfied or we?ll get embarrassed on Friday night,? Krystkowiak said.

 

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Runnin' Ute enemy camp: 5 questions with a Duke beat writer



What is the best way to effectively guard Jahlil Okafor? Does Utah have the personnel to be able to slow him down?

I think the best strategy for attempting to slow down Okafor is to send him to the free-throw line as often as possible. For everything Okafor does well, he only shoots 51.6 percent from the line. Utah does appear to have some frontcourt depth, so the Utes could rack up a high number of fouls without losing any one person.

Other than that ? good luck. He's not really a guy that can be defended one-on-one. And teams that have opted to play him like that (Notre Dame) have just made peace with the idea that Okafor is going to get his, with the hope that they can shut down everyone else.

Duke averages 80.6 points per game. What style of offense do the Blue Devils run? What, in your mind, is the best way to limit the Duke attack?



I don't know that Duke's offense can be given any one name. Obviously Okafor is the focal point down low, but he's far from the only option. The Blue Devils like to get out in transition (look for this against Utah, so they don't have to try to score against the Utes' effective half-court defense), and there are a number of guys who can score on the break: Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones, Matt Jones and Justise Winslow, most notably. The offense seems to work best when Winslow is aggressively driving to the basket ? he is so physically gifted that it's hard to slow him down. And all four of those guys can knock down shots from three-point range

As far as limiting Duke offensively, I'd try to take away their transition opportunities. If you slow them down, make them grind it out; at least you'll limit their opportunities to score. And I would do what Notre Dame did: go one-on-one with Okafor, accept that he'll score close to 30 points a game, but don't let any of the other Blue Devils beat you.

Why has Justise Winslow thrived at the four spot?



His combination of size, skill and strength is a tough matchup for anyone. He can drive like a guard, shoot three's like a guard, but he's also strong enough to post guys up, down, low and guard bigger guys who play at the four (much easier than they can guard him). Duke has long employed a stretch four, dating back to the days of Grant Hill and Shane Battier, and Winslow is next in that line.



How is Duke defensively? Who will the Blue Devils use to guard Delon Wright? How well does Duke defend the three-point line?

Duke is definitely stronger offensively. The defense has been shaky at times, especially against the type of high ball screens Utah likes to run. I'd imagine Quinn Cook draws the assignment on Wright when Duke is in a man-to-man defense. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of their 2-3, 3-2 and matchup zones as well. The goal will be to keep him out of the paint, so it might take a few different defenses to accomplish that.

As far as guarding the three-point line, that really hasn't been an issue so far this year. Krzyzewski prefers to extend Duke's defense out high, so that helps limit three-point shots.



Who are Duke's biggest X-factor players? What will Duke need out of them to win on Friday?

Well, there aren't too many Blue Devils ? there are just eight scholarship players ? and when things are going well, Krzyzewski will stick with the starting five of Jones, Cook, Jones, Winslow and Okafor for long stretches of time. But Duke reaches another level when Winslow is playing his best, being aggressive on both ends of the floor. If Winslow is locked in, driving to the basket and blocking shots, then the Blue Devils will be tough to beat.


--Desert News