Duke basketball's hosts Virginia Tech for Curry, Kelly and Plumlee's farewell to Cameron

The Devils took down the Florida State Seminoles, previously undefeated in the ACC, Saturday at Indoor Cameron Stadium
The Devils took down the Florida State Seminoles, previously undefeated in the ACC, Saturday at Indoor Cameron Stadium

Ryan Kelly’s dazzling 36-point performance Saturday night against Miami had all the makings of a Hollywood script—a senior coming back from nearly two months without playing to put forth the best performance of his career.

“I’ve seen some exceptional performances from players over the last 33 years. But nobody had a performance like Ryan, considering the fact that he was out for 51 days, really practiced part of one practice,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday during his weekly teleconference. “It’s one of a kind.”

But Kelly and fellow seniors Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee will get to write one final chapter to their Cameron Indoor Stadium careers at 7 p.m. tonight, as No. 3 Duke welcomes Virginia Tech on senior night. It will also be the final home game for senior Todd Zafirovski, a former walk-on who has played just 16 career games.

The Hokies (13-16, 4-12 in the ACC) sit at the bottom of the conference standings, but come to town looking to play spoiler against the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-4), some of who will be battling the emotions of playing their final game on Coach K Court.

“[Senior night] can be a very emotional game,” associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “These seniors have a chance to do something that not all seniors have an opportunity to do, which is to go undefeated at home.”

Although Duke lost three games at home last year, the Blue Devils’ four seniors were a part of teams that went undefeated in their first two seasons in Durham.

Standing in their way will senior guard, Erick Green, who leads the nation in scoring with 25.0 points per game. At 6-foot-3, Green can score from anywhere on the floor and has great vision to distribute to his teammates.

The teams last met in Blacksburg, Va. Feb. 21, when Duke put the game out of reach in the first half and ultimately won 88-56. Curry led the charge, netting 22 points and hitting five 3-pointers. Duke shot 12-for-17 from beyond the arc for the game.

Green matched Curry point for point, also finishing with 22 on 8-of-14 shooting. Most of Green’s points came off pick-and-roll action.

“I tried to attack the basket, tried to create my shot, and tried to get to the foul line, because that always helps,” Green said.

Wojciechowski said the Blue Devils know they won’t be able to shut down Green, but rather to contain his open looks and keep him off the charity stripe.

“He’s not a guy you’re going to shut out,” Wojciechowski said. “You can’t expect to guard him with only one guy. It’s got to be a team awareness.”

Kelly’s return to the lineup will substantially affect the game plan of both teams. “[Having Kelly back] opens things up for drives with Cook and Sulaimon and Curry. That opens things up for Plumlee inside, also,” Virginia Tech head coach James Johnson said in his weekly teleconference Monday.

Green is well aware of the challenges Kelly poses for Virginia Tech.

“We’ve got to contain him, make sure he doesn’t get so hot again. He’s a great scorer, and a key part of their team, so we’ve got to try to frustrate him, get him out of his rhythm,” Green said.

At 6-foot-11, Kelly’s defensive presence will also impact Green’s looks offensively.

“He’ll hedge out on you. He’s a big body, so you’ve got to try to attack the basket, draw a foul on him,” Green said. “I’ve got to try to get around him, get past him, I mean I got some speed on him, but he’s got that size and that length.”

Although it didn’t show Saturday night, Krzyzewski noted that reintegrating Kelly into the offense will require a transition phase. He added that Kelly’s foot was not problematic the day after the Miami game.

Wojciechowski said Kelly easily fits within the offense, opening up quality looks for himself and for others, which should shorten the readjustment period.

“I don’t know that Ryan is going to go for 36 every night—but if he did that’d be great,” Wojciechowski said.

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