CORAL GABLES, Fla. — If you knew that two Duke players were on the court for 39 minutes or more on any given night, there would be a good chance those two were seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. But Sunday night, after Smith took a poke to the eye early in the first half that sent him to the locker room for several minutes, it was Seth Curry who nearly joined Singler in playing a complete game.
Singler and Smith have been head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s workhorses so far, each playing in nearly 85 percent of the team’s total minutes. No other player has appeared in more than 62 percent of the team’s minutes. But it’s been no secret that Krzyzewski could really use a third go-to guy.
No one has been quite sure who would step up, but during Sunday’s contest against Miami, Curry wasn’t the only player who continued to make his case as a dependable scoring option.
The other candidate flew a bit under the radar, playing just 15 minutes due to a sprained ankle that Krzyzewski said had been suffered “about 48 hours” prior to the contest. Still, sophomore Ryan Kelly’s production belied his ailing ankle: He confidently sank several mid-range jumpers en route to a 4-for-5 shooting performance and nine points.
In ACC play, Kelly has posted the team’s highest shooting percentage, making nearly 60 percent of his shots. He’s also posted the team-high percentage from behind the arc in conference play. Throw in 38 blocks on the year, and all that’s missing for the 6-foot-10 forward are bigger rebounding numbers.
But if Kelly’s narrow frame keeps him off the court against burly big men like Miami’s Reggie Johnson, it is looking like Curry may emerge as a more-than-capable third scorer. The transfer from Liberty burst onto the scene with 22 critical points against North Carolina Wednesday, and he added 16 more against the Hurricanes. He hasn’t been shy about filling up other columns on the stat sheet either, adding a combined 10 rebounds, seven assists and six steals across the two games, while turning the ball over just three times in 74 minutes of play.
His production last night was especially valuable given its timing. After Smith left the game, Curry stepped up to score four of the Blue Devils’ next six points as they turned a two-point deficit into a Duke lead.
“If you have an MVP for the game, you give it to Curry,” Krzyzewski said.
As the clock ticked past 10 minutes, Miami point guard Durand Scott tried to evade Curry’s defensive pressure by backing Curry down just across halfcourt. Curry reached around behind Scott, cleanly tipped the ball away, and got his body between his opponent and the ball, drawing a frustration foul from a pursuing Scott.
The play exemplified Curry’s recent contributions to the team, as a pesky defender (he’s tied with Smith for the team lead in steals despite playing nearly 250 less minutes), a reliably smart player (he leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio) and a deadly shooter (he’s shot 57 percent from the floor over the last three games, including 53 percent from beyond the arc). He has made open and contested shots alike, and shown a new willingness to attack the rim off the bounce while shouldering a significant portion of the point guard duties.
So what’s changed? Krzyzewski said additional experience has been critical for Curry. He cited the other two transfer students that he’s coached at Duke, Roshown McLeod and Dahntay Jones.
“[McLeod and Jones] ended up being pros, but their first years it took them a long time to get the feel of competition again, and Seth has done it quicker,” Krzyzewski said.
Curry credits his approach to the game.
“I think it’s just my mindset, to be honest. Just coming in being aggressive, not trying to leave it all on Nolan and Kyle, trying to come in and be that other option for us,” Curry said. “A lot of times before, I would catch it and if I didn’t have a shot, I was just looking to give it up. Now I’m able to make plays off the dribble.”
Asked if he or Nolan views himself as a point guard, though, Curry was quick to define his role.
“We’re just guards out there,” he said.
That’s a reminder that his and Kelly’s points count just as much as Singler’s or Smith’s. Given the expectations already placed on the two famous seniors, they may even count that much more.
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