Duke vs. China National Team – As Good As It Gets

In a night of U.S. collegiate basketball in China, Duke left Shanghai last night with a win against the Chinese national team after a friendly exhibition that, unlike the Georgetown game in Beijing, went a full four quarters.

In front of a largely supportive crowd at Mercedes-Benz Arena, Duke started the game with eight unanswered points before China scored their first on one of their many, many free throws of the night. Over the first two quarters it seemed all the calls were going China’s way, prompting loud outcry from the Duke fans. A visibly heated Coach K took to the floor and pleaded his case with officials who appeared to agree with him less than they understood him. In one of the “friendliest” moments of the night, Coach K high-fived a referee after Duke finally got a favorable travelling call.

Coach K high-fives a referee after finally getting a call to go Duke’s way -Photo by Tiffany Hynek

The length of the Chinese team seemed to be a problem for Duke, who frequently took it to the rim only to be blocked or forced to kick the ball out to perimeter shooters.

“Their players are well-schooled, they’re big, they play hard together…and defensively they make you work by changing up defenses, so for our team it’s a great experience to play against a well-coached quality team,” Coach K said after the game.

Length may have been a problem for Duke, but it wasn’t an issue when the ball was going in the basket -Photo by Tiffany Hynek

In a remarkable show of determination, Duke players rolled with the punches and led throughout the entire game. The efficiency of Junior Ryan Kelly easily made him the star of the game, as was expected, with 20 points on 9-11 shooting while also hauling in 8 rebounds.

The other Duke starters also came away with double digits: Seth Curry scored 15 points, Miles Plumless had 14, and Andre Dawkins and Austin Rivers both had 12 points.

While Duke and China were going head-to-head in Shanghai, however, Georgetown was in Beijing literally fighting the Bayi Rockets. A game that was supposed to be marked by its “goodwill” ended when players started exchanging punches and fans began throwing full water bottles at the players. Coach John Thompson III pulled his players off the court with 9 minutes, 32 seconds left to play, leaving a game unfinished and, more importantly, a stain on the future of collegiate programs playing summer basketball overseas.

The collegiate game in Shanghai ended with hand shakes -Photo by Tiffany Hynek

Despite the melee to the north, Duke was excited to come away from Shanghai with a win and support from local fans. When asked about the impact exhibition games in China will have on his legacy as a coach, Coach K said, “For Duke to be in China, building a campus in Kunshan, it’s as good as it gets.”

Local fans hold up signs to support their alma mater, Duke University -Photo by Tiffany Hynek

Mike Finstad is the Editor for Shanghai Expat. If you have any questions or comments about this article, please send an email to: mike.finstad@shanghaiexpat.com.