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 Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. (Re: Deng)
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"Luol is not a freshman anymore," teammate Daniel Ewing said. "He's stepped up for us numerous times. Big-time players step up in big situations."
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Washingtontimes.
NCAA tournament
ACC double-teams Final Four
Duke heeds Deng's plea, rallies by Xavier, 66-63, to reach its 14th Final 4; Freshman rises with 19 points; His emotional speech at halftime, clutch play help top seed prevail
By Marlen Garcia
Chicago Tribune
Originally published March 29, 2004
ATLANTA - Daniel Ewing made the declaration, but it was unnecessary.
Anyone who watched Duke freshman Luol Deng in the final minutes of the Blue Devils' 66-63 victory over Xavier yesterday could have said it for him.
"Luol's not a freshman anymore," Ewing said.
Deng, less than three weeks shy of his 19th birthday, let his emotions fly in the locker room at intermission and carried that spirit into the second half in front of 24,711 at the Georgia Dome.
He was named the Atlanta Regional's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 19 points and collecting seven rebounds to give the top-seeded Blue Devils a Final Four date with Connecticut on Saturday night in San Antonio.
Duke (31-5), which won its third NCAA championship in 2001, will make its 14th Final Four appearance and 10th under coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils could face fellow Atlantic Coast Conference representative Georgia Tech in the championship.
"One of the great things that happened in this game happened at halftime," Krzyzewski said. "Luol got very emotional. He was crying. He expressed his feelings to the team - that we needed to play outside of ourselves.
"For a kid, a freshman, to do that, for any kid to do that, I think it had a tremendous impact on our team. In my time as a coach, whenever I've seen a kid do that ... they usually end up doing something exceptional."
Krzyzewski has seen other players - Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Shane Battier, to name a few - rally his teams that way.
"His leadership qualities came out," Krzyzewski said of Deng, a native of Sudan. "As a result, he made those plays."
With Duke trailing 56-53, Deng launched a three-pointer from the right wing and tied the game with 5:11 left. About two minutes later, he rebounded a missed layup by Chris Duhon and sent the ball sharply to J.J. Redick, waiting at the top of the key. Redick hit a three-pointer, putting Duke ahead for good.
"We needed something extraordinary from our kids, and Luey gave us that," Krzyzewski said.
His Blue Devils needed some inspiration after Dedrick Finn buried a three-pointer as time ran out in the first half to put Xavier ahead 30-28.
But Xavier (26-11), an upstart seventh seed, never could put away the game, in part because of Duhon's defense. Duhon effectively guarded Xavier's Romain Sato in the first half and Lionel Chalmers in the second. Chalmers scored 17 points but shot 6-for-16, and Sato had just 10 points.
"Whatever player was hot, I put [Duhon] on, and he became not hot," Krzyzewski said. "The kid's a winner, and I was glad to be able to ride his bus."
Playing with sore ribs, Duhon scored just six points but didn't mind a bit.
"This is probably my favorite team since I've been at Duke," said Duhon, who was part of the 2001 national championship team as a freshman. "It's an amazing feeling to go out and battle with these guys. I hope they enjoy it as much as I have."
Xavier, which won the Atlantic 10 tournament, ending Saint Joseph's perfect season with a 20-point victory, had already cut down the second- and third-seeded teams in the region. But it couldn't make it 1-2-3 (last done by LSU in 1986).
Not that it didn't threaten the more experienced Blue Devils. Over the course of 40 minutes, there were 12 lead changes and 11 ties, the margin between the teams never higher than six points.
The Musketeers were up by three with 12:33 left when they began to collapse. Anthony Myles picked up his fourth foul, and Xavier coach Thad Matta hesitated before sending reserve Brandon Cole to the scorer's table to sub for Myles.
Six seconds later, with Cole waiting to enter the game, Myles fouled out, leaving with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Xavier could not compensate for the absence of the 6-foot-9 forward.
"We should have gotten him out of there sooner," Matta said.
Only reserve Shavlik Randolph fouled out for Duke, and the Blue Devils didn't blink.
After all, they still had Deng, a lanky 6-8 forward who can play almost any position. He played the final minutes with four fouls along with Redick and Shelden Williams. Redick and Ewing each scored 13, and Williams had 12 with 13 rebounds.
Ewing said Deng "has stepped up for us numerous times this season, and tonight was one of those times."
Deng had just one basket and four points at the half, before his fiery words gave the team a jolt.
"I wasn't happy with the way I was playing, and I felt like I was letting everybody down," Deng said. "At times I just get so emotional. It was time to let it out."
The Chicago Tribune is a Tribune Publishing newspaper. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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الكاتب |
Date |
| Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-29-04, 10:50 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | zumrawi | 03-29-04, 11:07 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-29-04, 11:11 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | مراويد | 03-29-04, 11:13 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | مراويد | 03-29-04, 11:25 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-30-04, 02:15 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Muhib | 03-30-04, 02:17 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-31-04, 02:42 AM |
 Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Raja | 03-31-04, 03:05 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-31-04, 03:11 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | omdurmani | 03-31-04, 06:58 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | aymen | 03-31-04, 10:49 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | ابو جهينة | 03-31-04, 12:28 PM |
 Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | ترهاقا | 03-31-04, 12:51 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | أبوالزفت | 03-31-04, 02:27 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 03-31-04, 11:37 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | اسامة الخاتم | 04-01-04, 00:21 AM |
 Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Raja | 04-01-04, 05:18 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | خالد عويس | 04-01-04, 05:31 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Raja | 04-02-04, 05:02 AM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Raja | 04-02-04, 10:37 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 04-03-04, 06:25 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 04-03-04, 11:11 PM |
| Re: Loual Deng, is already a star in the US. | Deng | 04-03-04, 11:18 PM |
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