MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—For a third straight season, Duke has the nation's top-ranked freshman—this year, it's R.J. Barrett. Add in second-ranked classmate Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils have quite the dynamic young duo.
In their first appearances wearing Duke blue, the two rookies put on a show.
Barrett and Williamson took control after a sluggish first quarter, leading the Blue Devils to an 86-67 victory against Ryerson at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre Wednesday night in the first of three exhibition games during the Duke Canada Tour. The two freshmen combined for 37 of the team’s 40 first-half points Wednesday and finished with 63, stepping up with classmates Cameron Reddish and Tre Jones sidelined for the trip due to minor injuries.
"We were a little bit nervous to start the game. We had seven turnovers in the first quarter, and they were good, they forced them, but I thought we were nervous too and the ball looked like a hot potato for us," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "In the second quarter, we held them to 11 points."
Playing in his hometown, Barrett ran the offense from the get go, leading the team with 34 points on 12-for-30 shooting. After a sloppy first quarter in which Barrett committed five turnovers as the primary ball-handler, Krzyzewski moved the freshman off the ball in favor of sophomore Jordan Goldwire.
From there, the 6-foot-7 forward found his rhythm, leading the Blue Devils alongside Williamson in a 25-11 second quarter to break the game open.
“I was a little nervous at first, overthinking things because you don’t want to be the freshman who messes up,” Williamson said. “The coaches, they tell us they brought us here to play our game and just make the right plays and we’ll be fine. When they told us that, things started clicking for us.”
Williamson showed that there’s much more to his game than the highlight-reel dunks constantly seen on social media. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound freshman quickly dispelled any doubts about his size, using his quickness and athleticism to dominate offensively.
Williamson complemented Barrett with 29 points in the contest in addition to leading the team with 13 rebounds and four assists. Beyond bullying his way to the basket on the interior, the Spartansburg, S.C., native was sharp from the perimeter as he converted three of four attempts from deep in the contest—something he struggled with as a high schooler, never shooting better than 30 percent from distance in any season.
“He’s very unique," Krzyzewski said of Williamson. "Obviously, he’s so good with the ball. He can get low with the ball, he can get high to get the ball, and he’s pretty good in between, too. A big thing for him that he’s been working on is his three-point shooting."
"Zion is just a different type of athlete. I can’t think of anyone in the ACC. That doesn’t mean that he’s the best athlete ever, but if we’re sitting around at a small table, he’s sitting at that table with a few others."
After a quiet first half, the reserves started to feed off Williamson and Barrett in the final 20 minutes. Junior Javin DeLaurier finished the contest with eight points and 11 rebounds, and fellow upperclassman Jack White added a trio of threes for Duke off the bench.
But on a night that was about the newbies, the Blue Devil head coach had plenty of praise for two of the youngsters that will almost certainly be major pieces of any success Duke has this season.
“I don’t think [R.J.'s] a kid that ever gets nervous. He’s never afraid, but he’s excited and proud," Krzyzewski said. "He’s a youngster who has loved representing Canada on the international stage and this is home.... He's a winner and a team player."
The Duke Canada Tour will continue Friday at 6 p.m. back in Mississauga when Duke takes on Toronto before moving to Montreal Sunday afternoon to battle McGill.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.