Since Greg Paulus’ junior year in 2008, Duke has been searching for a true point guard. The team thought it had found its answer last season in Kyrie Irving, but the position was thrown back into flux after his infamous toe injury and subsequent departure for the NBA.
In fact, during the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons, the Blue Devils used three different point guards over the course of their schedule, and this year has proven no different. Seth Curry started the season as Duke’s floor general, but the junior returned to his more natural position off the ball after the Blue Devils’ 85-63 thumping at the hands of Ohio State at the end of November. Tyler Thornton then took over the role to add a stronger defensive presence to the starting lineup, but gradually saw the more offensive-minded Quinn Cook eat away at his minutes. And after Duke’s loss to Temple last week, the freshman Cook took over the starting role in an 81-74 victory over Georgia Tech.
“After the Temple loss we looked at it as a new beginning to our season,” Cook said. “I was nervous going in, but as soon as they threw the ball up I was good. All the butterflies went away.”
Cook stepped right into a hostile environment in the Blue Devils’ ACC opener and delivered, scoring 10 points and dishing five assists in 27 minutes. And after that solid first performance he will have the opportunity to cement his starting role today, as No. 8 Duke (13-2, 1-0 in the ACC) faces its first true conference challenge in the form of No. 16 Virginia (14-1, 1-0) at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Cook’s quick ascent to the starting lineup is not altogether surprising—the Washington D.C. native was ranked as the No. 8 point guard in the class of 2011 by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. He has made significant progress in college, though, having to overcome a nagging knee injury that kept the freshman from participating in the Blue Devils’ exhibition games in China and Dubai over the summer.
Although Cook asserts that his knee is “100 percent” now, he admits that he faced challenges acclimating himself to his new team.
“That was definitely a bit of a struggle, having my confidence in myself first and then having my teammates and the coaching staff believe in me,” Cook said.
But after playing sparingly in the Maui Invitational, Cook showed promise in Duke’s games over the winter break, scoring 14 points against UNC-Greensboro and 16 against Western Michigan. In his next game against Pennsylvania, Cook showed his passing abilities by dishing out nine assists.
But as his playing time increased—Cook has averaged just over 20 minutes per game in his last five outings—Thornton’s minutes saw a decline. But rather than instilling a rivalry between the two, the former AAU teammates have only become closer as they face similar challenges being Blue Devil point guards.
“He’s always been my big brother,” Cook said of Thornton. “He’s been there for me from day one when I was struggling. He’s been building me up, keeping my confidence going. And as I got it going he’s still been there, giving me little hints here and there.”
Regardless of who starts, though, the pair complement each other well. Thornton is more advanced defensively, whereas Cook has a superior ability to push the basketball in transition. The freshman’s creativity with the ball was on display against the Yellow Jackets, as was his ability to get post players like Miles and Mason Plumlee more involved in the offense.
Cook also has the ear of another friend who just happens to be a former Duke guard—Nolan Smith, who now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers after being an All-American in his senior season as a Blue Devil. The pair have been close friends since Cook was six years old and continue to talk on a daily basis.
“He was telling me to stay hungry, stay motivated,” Cook said of Smith’s advice on his first start. “He was proud of me after the game.”
Cook may face his most challenging test of the year in the Cavaliers, a team that has allowed more than 58 points only once this season. As one of the slowest teams in the country last year, they will try to keep Cook and the Blue Devils out of transition. Additionally, Virginia dismantled a Michigan team earlier this season that gave Duke fits both in Maui this year and in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
But if Cook continues to develop as he has in his new starting role, the Blue Devils’ search for a true point guard may finally be over.
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