When sophomore Miles Plumlee forced a steal at half court, took the ball the other way and finished at the rim with an emphatic one-handed slam—getting fouled in the process—he gave fans a glimpse of the versatility that Duke’s crop of big men hope to display throughout the season.
All of the Blue Devils’ big bodies made their presence felt, particularly on the offensive end, helping Duke defeat Division-II Pfeiffer 128-70 Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Falcons had no answer for Duke’s size down low—their tallest player on the floor stood 6-foot-6. Freshman Mason Plumlee, his brother Miles and senior Brian Zoubek capitalized on the mismatches, as all three posted double-doubles.
“We’ve been working on our high-low action,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We haven’t gone into the post for a few years, since Shelden [Williams], and so I thought that was a good thing for us—even though they’re so small—just the fact that we got balance and we made good passes in there.”
Zoubek especially benefited from having other big men setting up at the high post, and he scored several easy lay-ups from the low blocks after receiving feeds from the Plumlee brothers and freshman Ryan Kelly at the top of the key.
“We can really work on that with the four big guys that we’ve got—me, Ryan, Mason and Miles—flashing, playing off of each other,” Zoubek said. “Most of the time, we’re going to be the biggest guys on the court, even in the ACC. So if we can learn to play like that, it’s going to be great.”
Pfeiffer employed a full-court press for almost the entire first half and much of the second, forcing the Blue Devils to play at a frenetic pace. Even though Krzyzewski said his team ran in a chaotic way that was different from the fast-paced but better-organized offense they have been practicing, he wanted Duke to experience the Falcons’ brand of basketball.
“Playing against that style is one of the reasons we wanted to play against them—especially for the first 20 minutes—because they push the ball down the court so much, and they can hit threes and they can dribble penetrate,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s something that’s good for us to practice against.”
The Blue Devils didn’t have much trouble adjusting to the run-and-gun style in the first half. Duke jumped out to a 14-0 lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Kyle Singler. The 6-foot-8 forward thrived in his new role as a perimeter player, scoring a team-high 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Senior guard Jon Scheyer ran the point and handled the pressure well, finishing the game with a team-high eight assists compared to only two turnovers. Scheyer had help from junior guard Nolan Smith in bringing the ball up the floor, and the big men got involved in the transition game as well, dribbling in the open court.
“They’re so athletic that they can get up and down the court and finish, and even handle the ball, so they’re very talented,” Singler said about the post players.
Mason Plumlee testified to that athleticism on numerous occasions, crashing the boards and leading the team with eight offensive rebounds. Not to be outdone by his brother, he showed off his own aerial acrobatics five minutes into the second half, dribbling through traffic and elevating over two defenders to throw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
But the Blue Devils weren’t the only team that found lanes to the basket in the second half. Pfeiffer began to spread out the Duke defense and found it much easier to penetrate as a result later in the game. The Falcons scored 24 points in the paint after intermission, compared to only 20 total points in the first half.
Although Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils were a little sloppy in the second session, he was pleased with the team’s overall performance.
Eight out of 12 Duke players scored in double figures, and the Plumlees, Zoubek and Kelly combined for 61 points. The Blue Devils will need their big men to continue to run the floor, use the dribble to get to the basket and dominate the glass to reduce the need for the perimeter offense Duke relied on so heavily last season.
Sabreena Merchant contributed reporting to this story.
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