WINSTON SALEM, N.C. - With 30 seconds to go before tipoff Wednesday night, the Blue Devils' emotional senior leader narrowed his eyes into a determined glare and barked instructions at his teammates.
The orders weren't coming from Steve Wojciechowski though; the center of attention was Roshown McLeod, shedding his image as a stoic player and emerging as the most likely answer to the question: Who will replace Elton Brand as Duke's go-to big man?
In the six games since Brand's season-ending foot injury, McLeod has found himself back at home in the starting lineup, reaching double figures five times and providing a defensive spark seldom seen from the 6-foot-8 small forward.
"Roshown's been very determined," Wojciechowski said. "Anytime you look in his eyes right now you see a guy who wants to dominate, and that's been a tremendous boost for our team."
McLeod was one of five Blue Devils in double figures Wednesday as the Blue Devils used a balanced attack to hand a listless Wake Forest team its worst loss ever in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Meanwhile, if McLeod is a reborn player, Taymon Domzalski is a brand-new man.
Relegated to mop-up duty for the first 11 games, Domzalski was the forgotten big man in Duke's rotation. Given an unexpected second chance by Brand's absence, Domzalski has made the most of it.
On Wednesday he started for just the second time this year and logged a season-high 22 minutes-third only to Wojciechowski and Trajan Langdon. Domzalski blanketed Wake 7-footer Loren Woods, holding him to seven points, and looked very little like a player who watched the first half of the season from the end of the bench.
"When you see yourself doing things well, all of a sudden your confidence level just builds," said Domzalski, who blocked three shots. "It's the same thing with Roshown; he started making shots and his confidence started going up and up."
A starter in 30 of Duke's 33 games last year, McLeod saw his playing time take a nose-dive with the emergence of Brand, Duke's leading scorer and rebounder. His renewed aggression showed again Wednesday night, as he took some of the burden off Wojciechowski as the Blue Devils' passionate floor leader.
"I'm providing a spark for the team at the beginning of the game," McLeod said. "My teammates are seeing that and they are putting me in good positions to score and to contribute."
McLeod scored just 10 points against the Demon Deacons, but he didn't have to do much more. He led an airtight Duke defense which held Wake to just 28.6 percent shooting in the first half, and by the time Chris Carrawell started his layup clinic early in the second half, things had gotten well out of hand.
"I kind of got in an offensive groove tonight," said Carrawell, who finished with a team-high 15 points. "But I have to really give credit to Taymon for the way he played defense tonight. He gives us a physical presence inside that we really needed.
"Roshown didn't do that much tonight on offense, but he carried us against Florida State. He's such a talented offensive player, we can just give him the ball and clear out while he goes to work."
With McLeod and Domzalski back in the lineup, freshman Shane Battier has been squeezed out of the lineup into a sixth-man role. But if the move bothers Battier, he's not showing it.
"In a way, I think I like it better [coming off the bench]," Battier said after a stat sheet-stuffing performance Wednesday night. The Birmingham, Mich., freshman posted team-highs in rebounds, assists and steals in just 20 minutes.
"I like coming into the game when everyone's tired and I'm fresh," Battier said.
McLeod nodded his head in agreement at Battier's observation.
"That's the same thing I was saying when I was coming off the bench," McLeod said. "It's great to see the game develop so you know what to do when you get on the floor."
McLeod's tone was sincere, but you could tell he wasn't hoping to give up his starting spot anytime soon.
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