Name of the game is Kre-Shef-Ski

ABOVE: Former Duke player Danny Ferry guards Christian Laettner during a charity game held at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Aug. 23,

2002. CHUCK LIDDY / THE NEWS & OBSERVER

LEFT: Duke forward Christian Laettner attempts a layup against

Clemson. NEWS & OBSERVER FILE PHOTO

Duke nets third title

BY BARRY SVRLUGA, THE NEWS & OBSERVER • PUBLISHED APRIL 3, 2001

MINNEAPOLIS — They drew it up this way, you know. Just like this. Practice. Prepare. Play.

Win. Win again. Win some more.

Bring home the national championship.

So it was Monday night. Duke, for much of the season the best college basketball team in the land, ended it as such at the Metrodome. There, the Blue Devils beat Arizona, 82-72, to win the NCAA title, Duke’s third overall, its first since 1992, when one of the best ACC teams ever won in this very building.

It was right there that Duke’s Shane Battier — who has heard every conceivable compliment, earned every conceivable honor during his four years in Durham — crouched down in the waning moments, alone among the 45,994 on hand, whispering to himself, his career finally as complete as it could be.

Moments later, with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the bag, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award became the final honor of his college career.

“It’s complete,” said Battier, who played in his 131st victory, tying him with Kentucky’s Wayne Turner for the most ever. “All that’s left for me is to ride off into the sunset on a white horse.”

When Battier hops on that horse’s back — to the NBA, or eventually to some governor’s mansion — he will leave behind Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who overhauled these Blue Devils when center Carlos Boozer was injured late in the year. As much as the win completed Battier’s career, it also put Krzyzewski square in the middle of an elite class, those coaches with three or more national championships.

Krzyzewski — who 21 years ago came to Duke unproven and unknown — joined UCLA’s John Wooden (10), Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp (4) and the man who coached Krzyzewski at Army, Indiana’s Bobby Knight (3), as the only men to win more than two titles.

Those will do just fine for leading men. But for Duke (35-4) to oust the inspired and inspiring Wildcats (28-8) — who came into the tournament still filled with anguish over the New Year’s Day death of coach Lute Olson’s wife, Bobbi — there had to be more.

How about 21 points from sophomore Mike Dunleavy, 18 of them after Duke led by just two at halftime? Or a gutsy-if-not-glowing performance from point guard Jason Williams. Laden with foul trouble, limited to just 29 minutes, Williams’ 16 points included a devastating 3-pointer with 1:44 left, a bucket that gave the Blue Devils an 80-72 advantage. Then, a dozen points and a dozen rebounds from Boozer, without whom the Devils likely don’t win the title.

It was all needed. This matchup of the nation’s two best teams may not have been as pretty as some would have liked. But the Devils will take it.

“Being so young, we showed toughness,” Krzyzewski said. “We just did tough things, and I think we’re deserving of it.”

They deserved it during two spurts in the second half. Start with a two-point game, Duke up 39-37. That’s when Dunleavy — who, in the first game-and-a-half of the Final Four, had scored just seven total points — arrived. How? Try three 3-pointers in a 45-second span, the bulk of a 10-2 Duke run that provided a 50-39 advantage.

Arizona, naturally, came back. And center Loren Woods helped them do it.

Woods, the 7-foot-1 enigma of a transfer

OPPOSITE: Duke’s Shane Battier, right, shares a moment with Jason Williams (holding the NCAA championship trophy) as coach Mike Krzyzewski looks on after the Blue Devils’ 82-72 NCAA championship win over Arizona, April 2, 2001. Casey Sanders is in the middle. CHUCK LIDDY / THE NEWS & OBSERVER