Masked behind the clutch shooting of Andre Dawkins and his 24 points is something even more important to Duke’s championship hopes, the dominance of Miles Plumlee. Despite his pedestrian six points, Plumlee grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and helped carry Duke to a 73-66 victory over the Clemson Tigers.
“Miles Plumlee was a force for us today,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He was very physical.”
Plumlee’s impact off the bench helped Duke overcome a slow start as the athleticism of Devin Booker overwhelmed the Blue Devils. Booker had eight rebounds in the first half alone.
“They came out with more intensity and more fire to start the game,” forward Ryan Kelly said. “We weathered the storm today, but we can’t continue to do that. We have to be the team that throws the first punch.”
Coming out of halftime, however, the Blue Devils displayed a drastic change in attitude.
“We just had to go to the boards,” said Mason Plumlee, who finished the game with seven rebounds. “I think we were turning and looking and not hitting bodies. If you just jump with people it’s a 50-50 ball, but if you hit bodies and you have inside position you’re going to get the rebound.”
Miles’ efforts proved too much for the Tigers in the second half. The senior, who had averaged just three rebounds per game in his past three contests, dominated the glass—especially on the offensive side, where he finished with six boards.
“When I got in there I really wanted to make an impact on the game,” said Miles, who came in for Mason as part of a mass substitution. “I wanted to set the tone for the rest of the team and I came up with some boards.”
Miles’ outburst is reminiscent of another Duke player who exploded in the second half of his senior season to help carry Duke to an NCAA championship, Brian Zoubek.
Duke needs someone to help improve the Blue Devils’ rebounding. Despite Mason averaging nearly ten boards a game, 2nd in the ACC, the Blue Devils have consistently been outrebounded by their opponents, as their average of 35.3 rebounds per game places them just 157th in the country.
Duke especially needs another presence on the glass when Mason gets in foul trouble, as he did against Clemson when he picked up his fourth foul with almost 10 minutes remaining. This time Miles stepped in admirably, grabbing four crucial rebounds in just under five minutes. As Duke progresses into February and March, it may be Miles’ resurgence that dictates just how far this team can go.
“I’ve really felt like I’ve taken off,” Miles said. “I’m going to continue to play with my teammates and share energy, and the rest is going to take care of itself.”
With a young team, one normally wouldn’t expect the greatest transformation to come from the lone senior, but that just may be the case with Miles Plumlee.
“We’re in a huge stage of development for this team,” Miles said. “We’re not who we’re going to be at the end of the year. We just have to keep working.”
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