Thornton, Hairston and Curry pace deep Duke squad

As the Blue Devils anxiously await a final diagnosis on Kyrie Irving’s toe injury, basketball still goes on for the rest of the team.

And in an unusual way, Irving’s injury might actually make the Blue Devils deeper. Instead of alotting 30-plus minutes per night to his star freshman, head coach Mike Krzyzewski will have to divide those minutes among other players. There’s no obvious replacement to take all of that playing time, so other players are likely to get opportunities. Granted, Saturday’s game was a blowout win against a weak opponent, but it’s clear that any of several different players are going to get the chance to pick up some of Irving’s vacated production. Nine players reached double figures in minutes played. Mason Plumlee, who had averaged about 27 minutes per game coming into the contest, played just 11 minutes. Instead, Ryan Kelly, and three new players—Tyler Thornton, Josh Hairston and Seth Curry— all set or tied Duke career highs in minutes played.

Perhaps the most important of the replacements is backup guard Curry.

“I think the key guy to step up in [Irving’s] absence is Seth,” associate head coach Chris Collins said. “Andre [Dawkins] has been there the whole year and now that he’s starting, it doesn’t really change his role all that much…. The guy now who is getting more minutes and getting a chance to have the ball more and run things is Seth.”

Curry drilled three of his five three-point attempts and played tenacious defense to begin his case for more playing time. More significant for Curry, however, was his proficiency bringing the ball up. He dished out six assists while turning the ball over only twice. While Nolan Smith’s five assists and four turnovers aren’t poor numbers by any stretch, the Blue Devils found out last year that Smith may be more effective as a scoring guard.

“One of the things we want to do with Seth, is even when Nolan’s in the game, have him handle the ball so it gets Nolan off the ball some,” Collins said.

The other candidates for Irving’s minutes also performed well in a contest against St. Louis that at times looked like an open tryout for playing time.

Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston were perhaps the most pleasant surprises, and getting useful minutes from the two less-heralded freshmen would be a huge boon to the team until Irving returns. Though Thornton was the only player not to score, he was poised and reliable running the point, playing 14 turnover-free minutes while racking up four assists.

There’s still work to do for the team to make up for Irving’s absence. But the depth of talent that the Blue Devils possess is still the envy of the nation, and the load that had been shouldered by Irving can be shared among several other players.

“We’ve got to figure this thing out,” Collins said. “I think we’re on the right track, and having some of these other guys step up and play well can only help us moving forward.”