Czyz tied for the dunk contest earlier this season - BDN Photo
DURHAM, N.C. - Sophomore forward Olek Czyzhas decided to leave Duke University, school officials announced Friday. Czyz leaves Duke in good academic standing and is expected to transfer to another Division I school.
Czyz started the first two games of the 2009-10 season and played in six of the team's nine contests on the year. He averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game while shooting .583 (7-of-12) from the field.
"Olek has a bright future ahead of him and we wish him the best of luck," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "He has been a valued member of the Duke Basketball family and we will support him through his impending transfer."
A 6-7, 240-pound native of Gdynia, Poland, Czyz saw action in 19 career games at Duke finishing with 23 points, 24 rebounds, eight assists, one block and two steals.
[7 AP/7 Coaches] Duke (8-1) vs. [15 AP/15 Coaches] Gonzaga (8-2)
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 • 4:00 p.m. • CBS
Madison Square Garden (19,763) • New York, N.Y.
The Opening Tip
Duke (8-1), ranked seventh in the AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Gonzaga (8-2) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4:00 p.m. Gonzaga enters the contests ranked 15th in both polls. Saturday’s game will air on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Senior Jon Scheyer posted a career-high 36 points on 11-of-13 shooting to lead Duke to a 113-68 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. Scheyer also knocked down a career-best seven three-pointers and added eight rebounds and nine assists.
Andre Dawkins added 16 points, while Brian Zoubek and Miles Plumlee each scored 13 points in the contest. Juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith netted 11 points apiece to give the Blue Devils six double-figure scorers.
The Blue Devils shot 65.2 percent (43-of-66) from the floor, including 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range, in the game. Duke shot nearly 70 percent from the field after halftime, unloading for 64 second half points to match the 10th-best scoring half in school history.
Blue Devils At Madison Square Garden
Duke is 25-14 all-time, including a 20-6 mark under Mike Krzyzewski, at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils have won five straight and 12 of their last 13 games at MSG. Duke posted wins over Arizona State and Connecticut at MSG in November en route to the 2009 NIT Season Tip-Off championship.
Numbers Game
l The Blue Devils are 158-26 in the month of December under Coach K. Duke is 50-4 in December since the 1999-2000 season.
l Duke is 8-1 all-time against teams currently in the West Coast Conference, including a 6-0 mark under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have won six straight against the WCC.
l The Blue Devils are 2-0 at Madison Square Garden this season with wins over Arizona State and Connecticut in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Duke has won its last five games at MSG.
l Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (6.4:1), while playing over 35 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all nine games with five turnover-free games on the year.
l Senior Brian Zoubek leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game. He is the only non-starter in the ACC to rank in the top 20 in rebounding. Zoubek is tied for for 12th in the league in rebounding, while also ranking third in offensive rebounds at 4.0 orpg.
l Jon Scheyer is averaging 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in Duke’s last two contests. He is shooting 55.6 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent from three-point range, in that span.
l Freshman Andre Dawkins and senior Jon Scheyer are tied for second in the ACC with 2.6 three-point field goals per game. Both players also rank in the top 10 in three-point percentage, shooting a combined 46.5 percent (46-of-99) from deep.
l Duke’s post tandem of Miles Plumlee and Brian Zoubek is combining to average 15.2 points and 14.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.3 percent (57-of-93) from the field.
l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in a career-best seven straight games. He is averaging 16.3 points per game, a 7.9 ppg. increase from a year ago for the third-highest scoring jump in the ACC.
l Duke is the only team in the ACC with more than one player ranked in the top 10 in scoring. Jon Scheyer is tied for second at 18.0 ppg., while Kyle Singler (16.4 ppg.) and Nolan Smith (16.3 ppg.) rank seventh and eighth respectively.
l The Blue Devils are 2-0 this season against teams ranked in the top 10 of the RPI.
BDN caught up to Mile Plumlee and got a couple of post game thoughts after the Blue Devil dumped Garner Webb 113-68 on Tuesday evening. Plumlee went 6 of 8 from the field in route to 13 points. He added 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 rebounds as well.
Durham, N.C. - Despite coming off a ten day break, the Duke Blue Devils looked sharp in defeating Gardner-Webb 113-68. The story of this game is did you see the Jon Scheyer show? The senior captain had the game of a lifetime stuffing the stat sheet in a way where you can practically hand him the ACC Player of the Week Award after a single game.
Scheyer went 11 of 13 from the field, including hitting 7 of 9 three point shots to go with a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line which translated into his career high 36 points. Scheyer also grabbed 8 rebounds which tied him with Brian Zoubek for tops on the team. But wait, there is more! Scheyer dished out 9 assists, one of which was a behind the back pass to Kyle Singler who connected on a three point play.
"In some games, the opportunities are there. I saw Kyle and hit him with the pass. We have a lot of guys on our team you can pass the ball to and can really finish, so they make me look good," said Scheyer when questioned about the pass.
Kyle Singler warmed up in the second half after being held scoreless finishing the game with 11 points. Brian Zoubek added a spark off the bench with 13 points and 8 rebounds and he helped get the Garner Webb bigs in foul trouble. Miles Plumlee added 13 points and Nolan Smith 11.
If Scheyer was the lead story of the game, the Andre Dawkins was just behind him in that this was his first game after his sisters untimely death. Dawkins was able to crack some smiles on his way to 16 points making him the second leading scorer on the team. Check back with BDN for an interview with Dawkins.
""First of all, Andre has a beautiful family and we're a part of that family. I think oer the last eight or nine days we've kind of all worked as a team to to try and deal with the tradegy," said Krzyzewski in the post game press conference.
"I don't think it's tough to focus. Once I get in here [Cameron] it's so intense, you have no choice but to focus. I think it's a lot easier to focus on basketball rather than to be down in the dumps. It felt great. I couldn't wait to get back with my teammates," said Dawkins.
The Blue Devils pushed their record to 8-1 and they next travel to New York's Madison Square Garden to take on Gonzaga.
Team Notes:
Duke extended its home winning streak over non-conference opponents to 74 straight games. It is the longest streak in the country with the last loss coming against St. John’s on Feb. 26, 2000. The Blue Devils have won 34 straight home games against unranked opponents.
The Blue Devils have won 47 consecutive home games in the month of December dating back to a 62-61 loss to Michigan on Dec. 8, 1996. Under Coach K, Duke owns a 158-26 record in the month of December.
Duke is now 169-5 all-time when scoring at least 100 points in a game. The 113 points is a season-high and marks the third game this season the Blue Devils have scored 100 or more points. The 113 points are the most since the 2007-08 season opener when Duke had 121 points against N.C. Central.
The Blue Devils scored 64 points in the second half which ties for the 10th most in school history for a single half and tied for the fifth most in a second half. It is the most since Duke scored 67 against N.C. Central in the first half in 2007.
Duke made 43 field goals and shot 65.2 percent (43-of-66) in the game. The 43 field goals are the most since Duke had 46 field goals against Virginia on Jan. 10, 1999, and the last time the Blue Devils made at least 40 shots was Feb. 14, 2002, against N.C. State (42-of-67).
The last time the Blue Devils shot over 60 percent was Dec. 17, 2007, against Albany (.603, 38-of-63). The 65.2 percent was the highest since Duke shot .683 (28-of-41) at Miami on Jan. 14, 2007. It's the highest field goal percentage in Cameron Indoor Stadium since Duke shot 68.5 percent (37-of-54) against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19, 1994, and is the 15th highest shooting percentage all-time at Cameron.
The 65.2 ranks 26th best in school history and is the 28th time Duke has shot 65 percent or higher from the field.
The Blue Devils made over 10 three-point field goals for the third time this season, also making 18 against Radford and 12 against Charlotte. Duke has shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in all three of those contests. The 57.9 percent from deep is the highest percentage at home for the Blue Devils (making at least 10 treys) since Feb. 16, 2000 vs. Florida State (12-of-18, 67.7).
Duke also dished out a season-high 27 assists, the third game this year they have had at least 20 assists as a team. The 27 assists are the most since they had 28 assists against N.C. Central in 2007.
The nine blocks were a season-high for the Blue Devils as seven different players registered a blocked shot.
The Blue Devils forced a season-high 23 turnovers, the first time this season they have caused over 20 turnovers in a game. The previous high was 17 by Charlotte.
Freshman Andre Dawkins scored 16 points off the bench for his fifth double figure scoring game this season.
Dawkins made three three-point field goals to give him seven games this season with at least two treys and four games with three or more. He leads the team with 23 made three-point field goals, an average of 2.6 per game.
Sophomore Miles Plumlee scored 13 points to give him five double figure scoring games on the year.
Plumlee matched a career high with three blocks, the fifth time in his career he has tallied three blocks, including three games this season. He blocked a shot for the eighth time in nine games this season. He has two or more blocks in four games this season and seven career contests. He now leads the team with 15 blocks for the year.
Senior Jon Scheyer set career highs with 36 points, 11 made field goals, seven made three-point field goals and nine assists.
Scheyer is the first player in school history with at least 1,500 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists, 200 three-point field goals and 150 steals in a career. He became the 27th player at Duke to score at least 1,500 career points.
Scheyer became just the third player in school history with at least 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a game, joining Danny Ferry and Jim Spanarkel. Ferry had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists vs. Wake Forest on Dec. 21, 1988 while Spanarkel had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against East Carolina on Jan. 28, 1978. For the third time this season, Scheyer posted at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game.
The 36 points by Scheyer is tied for 29th most in Duke history for a single game. The last player to score at least 36 points was J.J. Redick against Florida State on Feb. 4, 2006. Scheyer is the first player in school history to score 35 or more points in 30 minutes or less. It's just the 11th time in Duke history a player has scored 36 or more points in less than 36 minutes played. Scheyer's 36 points on just 13 field goal attempts ranks tied for 7th best in school history.
Scheyer topped his previous high of 30 points against Wake Forest last season. He reached at least 20 points for the second time this season and 17th time in his career. He has scored in double figures in all nine games this year and in 85 career games.
Scheyer either scored or had an assist on nine of Duke’s first 10 made field goals. In the first nine minutes of the game, he made his first four attempts from the field, including three three-point field goals while dishing out five assists. Overall he connected on his first seven attempts from the floor, making his first five treys and 5-of-5 free throws for 24 first half points. The 24 points in a half were two more than Scheyer’s 22 points in the second half at Miami in 2008. The last Duke player with at least 24 points in a half was Redick, who had 24 points in the second half against Maryland on Feb. 11, 2006.
Scheyer now has five or more assists in seven of the nine games on the season after recording a career-high nine assists. He now has 51 assists compared to just eight turnovers in the nine games this season.
With a season-high eight rebounds, Scheyer has three games this season with at least five boards and 24 career games.
Scheyer was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line and has made 21 consecutive free throw attempts. He is shooting .918 (45-of-49) from the foul line this season.
Senior Brian Zoubek scored 13 points to give him 11 career games with 10 or more points and three games this season.
Zoubek had eight rebounds, including three offensive to give him four games off the bench this season with eight or more boards. He leads the team with 36 offensive rebounds.
Miles and Zoubs face one another in practice - BDN Photo
Game 9
[8 AP/8 Coaches] Duke (7-1) vs. Gardner-Webb (3-4)
Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. • espn2
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
The Opening Tip
Duke (7-1), ranked eighth in the AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked Gardner-Webb (3-4) on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday’s contest will be aired by espn2 with Mike Patrick and Len Elmore calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Duke posted an 80-71 win over St. John’s on Saturday, Dec. 5 in their last outing. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 40-24 lead at the half and finished the game with five double-figure scorers.
Junior Kyle Singler led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals.
The starting guard tandem of Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith combined for 31 points, nine assists and zero turnovers in 70 minutes of action. Smith had 16 points for his sixth straight game with 10 or more points, while Scheyer had 15 points and a team-high six assists. Scheyer has now played turnover free basketball in five games this season.
Seniors Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek provided punch off the bench with 11 points each. Thomas also matched a game-high with eight rebounds, while Zoubek added seven boards. The duo finished the game 9-of-12 (.750) from the field and 4-of-5 (.800) from the foul line.
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Red Storm, 41-31, including a 17-8 edge on the offensive glass. Duke converted its 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points. Thomas led the way with four offensive rebounds, while Zoubek and Scheyer each grabbed three.
Numbers Game
l Duke has won 33 straight home games against unranked opponents, dating back to a 68-67 loss to Florida State on Feb. 4, 2007.
l The Blue Devils have won a current NCAA-best 73 consecutive non-conference home games.
l Duke has won 46 straight December home games, dating back to a 62-61 loss to Michigan on Dec. 8, 1996.
l The Blue Devils are 157-26 in the month of December under Coach K. Duke is 49-4 since the 1999-2000 season in December contests.
l The Blue Devils have won 12 straight games against teams currently in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Duke is 15-4 all-time against the Atlantic Sun.
l Duke is ranked No. 1 in the latest RPI (ratings percentage index), according to CollegeRPI.com and Sagarin. The Blue Devils’ strength of schedule is also ranked first overall by CollegeRPI.com.
l Duke leads the ACC and ranks third nationally in free throw percentage at .798 (134-of-168). Five Blue Devil regulars (Andre Dawkins, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler & Lance Thomas) are shooting 80.0 percent or better from the charity stripe.
l Senior Jon Scheyer has led Duke in assists in all eight games this season. He ranks second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (8.4:1) and has played five turnover-free games on the year.
l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in six straight games to match a career-best string of double figure scoring games. He is averaging a team-high 17.2 points per game, an +8.8 ppg. scoring jump from a year ago.
l Duke is the only team in the ACC with more than two players ranked in the top 10 in scoring. Nolan Smith (third, 17.2), Kyle Singler (fourth, 17.1) and Jon Scheyer (eighth, 15.8) combine to score 50.1 of Duke's 82.0 points per game (61.1 percent).
l Jon Scheyer has reached double figures in scoring in 20 straight games. He has scored 10 or more points in 84 of 112 career games.
l Junior Kyle Singler has made at least one three-point ifeld goal in 23 consecutive games. He currenlty ranks 14th at Duke with 134 three-point field goals in 79 career games.
l Andre Dawkins is second in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (.513) and tied for second in threes per game (2.5).
Gardner-Webb (3-4) has dropped four straight games leading up to their arrival at Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke (7-1). The Runnin’ Bulldogs have been plagued by turnovers as they average 22 per game. An inability to take care of the basketball does not bode well for a team playing against the Blue Devils. Duke has forced their opponents to turnover the ball an average of 13.8 times per game this season, which equates to a +2.88 turnover margin for the Blue Devils.
Duke and Gardner-Webb have one common opponent this season the University of Charlotte. On November 17, Duke defeated Charlotte 101 – 59, while on December 12, Charlotte defeated Gardner-Webb 95 - 66.
Gardner-Webb’s leading scorer is Grayson Flittner (6’0” 200) at 12.3 points per game. Flittner is a dangerous 3-point shooter. While he is averaging only 37.3 percent from behind the arc, the senior tied a Dean E. Smith Center record with nine made 3-pointers earlier this season, while scoring 32 points, during a 93 – 72 loss to the Tar Heels. Duke does not desire for Flittner to tie any Cameron Indoor Stadium records in this game.
Auryn MacMillan (6’8” 235), another senior, is the Runnin’ Bulldogs center and averages 9.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. MacMillan had a season high 14 rebounds against UNC-Asheville on December 4th.
At forward, sophomore Joshua Henley (6’3” 215) averages double-digit rebounds with 10.3 per game. It would be easy to dismiss Henley as too short to make a difference on the glass against the tall Blue Devils; however, he pulled down 10 rebounds in the game against Carolina’s big and talented frontcourt.
A pair of six foot guards complete Gardner-Webb’s starting lineup. Senior C.J. Hailey averages 9.3 points per game but he also turns the ball over an average of 2.7 times per contest. Freshman Brian McNair averages 5.8 points and 3 turnovers per game.
Gardner-Webb plays a deep rotation with eleven players averaging double digit minutes. Stefon Johnson (6’6” 215) and Jonathan Moore (6’4” 190) average 17 and 13.5 minutes per game respectively, off the bench. Moore is the team’s fourth leading scorer at 7.8 points per game. Senior Anton Silver (6’3 175) averages 5.8 points per game in just 10 minutes of playing time.
The keys to the game will be:
1. Duke must turn up the defensive heat on Gardner-Webb. As previously stated, the Runnin’ Bulldogs are turnover prone and Duke must facilitate Gardner-Webb’s generosity by pressing the ball and converting turnovers into points. While this edition of the Blue Devils does not pressure the ball to the degree past Blue Devil squads have, Gardner-Webb is a team Duke should pressure hard and often.
2. In the half court, the Blue Devils should look to pound the ball into the post. Duke has a significant size and strength advantage and they need to exploit that advantage. This is a contest in which Duke’s big guys should dominate the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
3. Finally, Duke must avoid overconfidence. Gardner-Webb has neither the size nor talent to beat the Blue Devils. However, this game is the type of game that sets up the opponent to shock the World, such as when Gardner-Webb defeated the Kentucky Wildcats in former coach Billy Gillispie’s second game in Lexington.
Gardner-Webb will bring a deep and experienced team into Cameron Indoor Stadium and I’m confident they will play with grit and determination. However, in the end, the Blue Devils are a much superior team and will send the Runnin’ Bulldogs back to Boiling Springs with a fifth straight loss.
BDN caught up to Mile Plumlee and got a couple of post game thoughts after the Blue Devil dumped Garner Webb 113-68 on Tuesday evening. Plumlee went 6 of 8 from the field in route to 13 points. He added 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 rebounds as well.
Gardner-Webb (3-4) has dropped four straight games leading up to their arrival at Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke (7-1). The Runnin’ Bulldogs have been plagued by turnovers as they average 22 per game. An inability to take care of the basketball does not bode well for a team playing against the Blue Devils. Duke has forced their opponents to turnover the ball an average of 13.8 times per game this season, which equates to a +2.88 turnover margin for the Blue Devils.
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