The Blue Devils know the competition they face in early season exhibitions will not be indicative of what the regular season will bring. But every game for the young squad provides an opportunity for the team to continue to mesh and improve as a unit.
No. 7 Duke will take on Armstrong State at Cameron Indoor Stadium in its second exhibition game of the season Sunday at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils enter the season with an intriguing blend of young, highly-recruited talent and steady veteran leadership.
“All of our seniors are doing a super job and are really engaged and our young players are really responding well,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “This is a really responsive group that takes great pride in the Duke way and they’re certainly not hard to motivate. The key is to keep the consistency, the aggression, the attack mode you need in this game.”
Coming off of a 67-point victory in their first exhibition contest against Limestone Thursday, that aggression may be hard to muster against a Pirate squad that plays in the NCAA Division II's Peach Belt Conference.. But the Blue Devils—led by the intensity of their coach—know they cannot afford to take their foot of the gas pedal.
“You try to set standards of things we’re trying to accomplish as a team,” McCallie said. "The focus is more on what we’re trying to do. For example, 25 offensive rebounds, 25 assists, getting to the free throw line 25 times, holding our opponent below 40 points, etc. You set goals within the game.”
Armstrong State enters the exhibition with lofty expectations. After being picked to finish fourth in a preseason poll of Peach Belt coaches—their highest projected finish since 2005, there is no doubt that the Pirates will enter the exhibition with a chip on their shoulder.
Sophomore Brigitta Barta—a 6-foot forward from Hungary who led Armstrong State in scoring as a freshman with 15.1 points per game—will team with fellow post Amber Howell to battle the much taller Blue Devils down low. On the perimeter, the Pirates must replace 3-point shooters Bryonna Davis and Tyler Carlson, who accounted for 65.8 percent of Armstrong State's baskets from beyond the arc last season. That role will likely fall to senior Dee Hayward, who fired at a 35.4-percent clip from long range in 2013-14.
McCallie and her staff are well aware of the potential danger the Pirates pose and have prepared accordingly.
“You simply can’t motivate by your opponent regardless of whether it’s Division II or a really strong opponent,” McCallie said. “I like what I see so far, but we have to get better every day. We don’t have the luxury of wasting time and we have to really get on it.”
Early in the season, Duke has shown flashes of just how dangerous a team it could become. Led by All-American senior Elizabeth Williams at center and with a highly-touted recruited class, the Blue Devils certainly have the pieces in place to compete with some of the best teams in the nation.
But Duke’s success throughout the season will hinge on the performance on their point guard platoon. After losing last year’s dynamic floor generals, Chelsea Gray and Alexis Jones, the Blue Devils have turned to a combination of senior Ka’lia Johnson, junior college transfer Mercedes Riggs and even redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell—a natural shooting guard— to run the point.
With a bevy of versatile players on the roster—such as freshman Azurá Stevens, who can play all five positions on the floor—preseason exhibitions will allow Duke to try to set their rotation and situate their bench ahead of the beginning of the regular season in two weeks.
With the season quickly approaching, the Blue Devils face many unknowns that will dictate Duke’s success in the always-competitive ACC. Sunday’s exhibition provides another chance for McCallie and her coaching staff to examine the talent on the Blue Devils roster.
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