Wednesday's rivalry clash between Duke and North Carolina may be the 239th in the series and 81st of Mike Krzyzewski's career, but for more than 50 percent of the Blue Devil offense, it will be the first—and possibly last—time they ever line up against the light blue neighbors at home.
Duke's freshman quartet of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen will all make their debut appearance in college basketball's most famous rivalry Wednesday at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"When I committed to Duke, this is definitely one of the games I marked on my calendar—to be a part of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry and add on to this great tradition," Okafor said. "Im definitely looking forward to the game."
The Chicago big man will face off against North Carolina's Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson in the paint, a duo that leads the second-best rebounding team in the nation. And though much has been made of Okafor's ability to score—he leads the No. 4 Blue Devils with 18.2 points per game—just as much has been made about his defensive liabilities heading into a game against the top-scoring team in the conference.
Okafor was seemingly exposed early on in conference play, with many calling out his ability to guard pick-and-rolls, which Krzyzewski and the coaching staff countered by inserting several zone defense packages to prevent teams from taking advantage of the mismatch.
One-on-one, Okafor has been solid in the post, as opposing starting centers—or forwards playing the five—have averaged just 7.6 points per game since the start of ACC play. Okafor, on the other hand, has put up 17.6 points per contest since conference play kicked off.
"Jah continually has progressed into playing better and better defense," Krzyzewski said. "Theres a lot that goes on with him offensively. He's in a very physical game when he's on offense. It's amazing how good a job he's done on defense as a result of the physical play he deals with on offense."
Point guard Tyus Jones has been a spark plug for the Blue Devil offense, going for 11.5 points and 5.3 assists per game and establishing himself as the offensive leader, even if he does not dominate the stat sheet.
Jones has also shown out for all the biggest games this year, as his knack for shining in primetime has been well-documented. With tomorrow's game being broadcast by ESPN and Jones having already played at Wisconsin, Louisville, Virginia and Madison Square Garden, the Apple Valley, Minn., native is ready for the rivalry.
"My preparation's been good. I've been looking to the older guys, anybody who's been through it and played in the game last year and in years prior," Jones said. "I'm just very excited for the greatest rivalry in college basketball. If you can't get up for this game, something's wrong with you."
One of the biggest pieces of advice Jones pointed toward regarding Wednesday's clash—which was echoed by Okafor and Krzyzewski—was to save the hype for the game.
"Sometimes people make the mistake of—the adrenaline's flowing and they'll get too excited and worked up in warmups and by game-time, they're gassed," Jones said. "Just try to stay level and stay grounded."
Rounding out the quartet are Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen. Winslow has stepped into the role of swingman well for the Blue Devils, as he is the team's third-leading scorer and rebounder at 11.4 points and 5.3 boards per game. The Houston, Texas native has also worked his way into Duke fans' hearts with several highlight chase-down blocks.
Allen, on the other hand, has not had the sustained success or court time of his fellow classmates. But the Jacksonville, Fla., native has come on in the past three weeks, logging double-digit minutes in three separate games—his 11 minutes at then-No. 2 Virginia Jan. 31 were the most since a Nov. 30 contest against Army.
In Duke's 90-60 romp against then-No.10 Notre Dame, the rookie came up with a huge swat in transition and followed it up with a 3-pointer. Then at Syracuse Saturday, Allen came up with a key steal to put the Blue Devils up by 11 and sunk two free throws with 39 seconds remaining to push the lead to seven and help seal the win.
"He's making steady progress. He's more like a freshman, a freshman on a talented team," Krzyzewski said. "Usually freshman like that, they're not going to get the playing time. So they have to keep a level of confidence while they're getting better. Now he's getting playing time. It's not just confidence, but the experience of being out there."
All four will look to lead Duke to win No. 23 against the Tar Heels Wednesday, as they try and make their mark in the historic rivalry.
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