Just nine days from the start of the 2011 season, Duke’s rotation is finally starting to come into focus, after the team’s last exhibition game against Bellarmine showed little continuity.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski used his final exhibition contest, an 80-66 victory over Division-II opponent Shaw, to showcase a substitution pattern more indicative of what Duke fans will see in the regular season. And while it didn’t necessarily show up on the scoreboard, Krzyzewski seemed encouraged by what he saw from his young team.
“We left a lot of points on the floor with our free-throw shooting and inside play,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought we played better than the score.”
As he did Saturday night, junior Seth Curry spearheaded Duke’s offensive attack, scoring 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 26 minutes of play. But somewhat surprisingly, it was Tyler Thornton who started at the point for the Blue Devils, a move which, according to Krzyzewski, was intended to instill a renewed defensive intensity.
Thornton and freshman Quinn Cook saw extended action at the point throughout the game, though, moving Curry to his alternate role off the ball. While Curry transitioned smoothly between the two positions, both he and Krzyzewski emphasized his primary task this season will be running the point.
“Seth’s got to be our point guard,” Krzyzewski said. “I want Seth bringing it up most of the time. Seth can do that. He’ll be more effective doing that.” Indeed, neither Thornton nor Cook was particularly impressive on the offensive end, as neither scored a basket in a combined 29 minutes of play.
With Curry set to play most of the minutes at point guard, Duke’s preferences elsewhere also became clearer Wednesday. Freshmen Alex Murphy and Michael Gbinije saw their exposure shrink significantly from the contest against Bellarmine. After starting Saturday, Murphy played only the last three minutes of the game, in which he made an open 3-pointer from the corner. Gbinije saw early action after Krzyzewski made a wholesale substitution at the first media timeout, but failed to score in his nine total minutes of action. The 6-foot-6 wing, though, did show off his athleticism with a highlight-caliber block on a Shaw fast break late in the second half.
In the team’s anticipated three-guard lineup, Austin Rivers and Andre Dawkins took most of the playing time vacated by Murphy and Gbinije, seeing a majority of the minutes at the off-guard positions. Rivers played the most of any Blue Devil, scoring 12 points on an efficient 5-for-8 shooting in 30 minutes, and Dawkins provided a spark in the first half with three 3-point baskets in a span of just over two minutes. Both also displayed a renewed commitment on defense, which they had not consistently showed for much of the preseason.
Rivers in particular stepped up his defensive game in the second half—after Bears guard Antonio Smith had 10 points in the first half, he was limited to just three in the second thanks largely to Rivers’ on-ball pressure.
“Austin, for a freshman, wanting to play defense when he’s supposed to be this great scorer—I thought it was a really big half for Austin,” Krzyzewski said of Rivers’ second-half performance.
Unlike on the perimeter, though, Duke’s rotation in the frontcourt had already appeared set after the Bellarmine game, and appeared even more consistent against the Bears. Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly saw a majority of the minutes in the paint, with Josh Hairston providing an occasional energy boost off the bench.
And for the second straight exhibition contest, the Blue Devils were successful inside, with Mason Plumlee scoring 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Kelly adding 15 points of his own. Miles Plumlee showed off an improved array of post moves, though his touch failed him, as he finished 4-for-10 from the field.
But for Duke, this game was more about finding an identity than it was about the statline.
“With a new team with new roles, that’s what guys have to figure out,” Kelly said. “It’s getting better every day. It got better today. If we keep making steps forward, that’s all we can ask.”
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