WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Krzyzewski finds Duke and Villanova very similar

By Tim Hall

Mar 23, 2009

Mike Krzyzewski might not have to look far to find a team similar to Villanova. In his opinion all he would have to do is look at the one right in front of him at practice.

The coach in his 29th season at Duke joined Mike and Mike in the Morning on 99.9 The Fan ESPN Radio on Monday morning and he commented on how his team is very comparable to Villanova's.

"We're actually pretty similar in that we're more perimeter oriented (both of our teams)," Krzyzewski said. "Neither team has a real strong low post presence although Cunningham has had a sensational year."

Dante Cunningham is a 6-8 230 pound senior forward for the Wildcats. He leads the team in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), blocked shots (1.3 bpg) and field goal percentage (53 %).

Kyle Singler is the closest match to Cunningham in terms of size at 6-8 235 pounds, but his style of game is focused much more on the outside. Singler has tossed up 174 3-pointers compared to Cunningham's two. Three of Duke's top four scorers are guards.

The next five leading scorers for Villanova are all guards as well, led by junior Scottie Reynolds (15.1 ppg). Coach Krzyzewski told ESPN Radio that Reynolds is the key, a guy who "can put up 30 points on you". His season high was actually 40 points at Seton Hall back in January.

As well as mentioning the similarities in perimeter play with these two teams, Krzyzewski noted that the Wildcats other attribute is that they are hitting their stride at the right time.

"We're playing very good basketball right now also," Krzyzewski said. "Can both teams defend the drive and the kicks? And if one kid or a couple get hot from the outside it could be the difference in the ball game."

Duke fans will hope those kids getting hot are Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson instead of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes.