bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM -- Duke senior Jon Scheyer will get an opportunity to play close to his Illinois home when the Blue Devils face Iowa State in Chicago next month. For fellow seniors Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas, playing close to home seems like a monthly occurrence.
"My family makes it to every game I play there," said Zoubek, who will play in Madison Square Garden for the ninth time in his college career when the No. 7 Blue Devils face No. 15 Gonzaga today (4 p.m., WRAL). "It's been nice. We have a lot of fans there, and it's nice to go somewhere so familiar with a good fan base."
While New York trips always are a homecoming of sorts for Zoubek, who hails from less than two hours away in Haddonfield, N.J., and Thomas (less than a hour away in Scotch Plains, N.J.), New Yorkers don't flock to Duke games just to watch homegrown talent.
The Northeast is full of Duke alumni and fans, something Coach Mike Krzyzewski realized when the Blue Devils started playing an annual home-away-from-home game in the New York area in 2003. Combine that with a long-standing series with St. John's and the preponderance of preseason tournaments that crown their champions in the area, and Duke has averaged more than two games a year in the New York area since 2003.
"Everybody pretty much holds Duke up in high respect in my area," Zoubek said. "We love playing there. It's a great atmosphere.
"We feel really comfortable. How could you not feel comfortable as many times as we've played big games there?"
One of the most vocal opposing fan bases Duke has faced in its annual pre-Christmas trip -- surprising considering the distance -- was in 2006 when the Blue Devils played Gonzaga, which is located in Spokane, Wash. Duke scratched out a 61-54 victory, and tonight's game should be another tough one.
Most of the Big Apple games have been tough, with Texas twice serving as the opponent, along with Pitt, Oklahoma, and Xavier. Yet Duke is 5-1 in the games, the Blue Devils' lone loss coming in 2007 against Pitt in a meeting of two teams that were unbeaten at the time.
"This is like a Final Four game, almost, with the quality of opponent we always play," Zoubek said. "It's a great opportunity to show where our team is right now, both to the world and to ourselves.
"Hopefully, we'll learn from it, no matter what happens."
Even as a senior, the 7-1 Zoubek still is learning. He entered the season averaging 3.6 points and 3.1 points per game for his career, but this season he is putting up 6.9 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-1).
Zoubek ranks 12th in the ACC in rebounding, the only non-starter in the top 20.
"I definitely feel my experience coming out this year. I have more poise," Zoubek said. "For me, I'm playing smarter and I'm healthy. This is the first year I've been able to work out and get better throughout. That was huge for me.
"I feel like it's been a pretty solid season for me. Now I've just got to keep it up once ACC comes around."
While most of his teammates will head back to Durham after the game before heading home for the holidays, Zoubek will be able to join his family after the game.
"I'm really lucky," he said.
NOTES -- Gonzaga (8-2) hopes that senior guard Matt Bouldin, the Bulldogs' leading scorer, can play today. Bouldin sat out the most game, a 103-91 victory over Davidson a week ago, after suffering a concussion in the Bulldogs' previous game. ... Gonzaga has a victory over Wisconsin -- the one team to beat Duke so far -- but also has lost to Wake Forest, a team tabbed to finish in the middle of the pack in the ACC. ... Duke made it official Friday, announcing that sophomore Olek Czyz will transfer. Czyz leaves in good academic standing and hope to land at another Division I school. "Olek has a bright future ahead of him and we wish him the best of luck," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement released by the school. "He has been a valued member of the Duke basketball family, and we will support him through his impending transfer." ... Duke assistant coach Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski will debut the Duke Men's Basketball Radio Show on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. on the Blue Devils ISP Sports Network. The one-hour show, hosted by Dave Nathan, will originate from the Bull Durham Bar inside the Washington Duke Inn Golf Club.
