Duke basketball opens exhibition slate with Bowie State

Last year, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Quinn Cook as the team’s starting point guard—only to start Tyler Thornton as the floor general in the season opener against Georgia State. Heading into Saturday’s exhibition game against Bowie State, the Blue Devil starting lineup again remains a mystery.

Although Krzyzewski indicated at the team’s open practice Sept. 28 that redshirt sophomore Rodney Hood, sophomore Amile Jefferson and freshman Jabari Parker were tentative starters, the guard spots are a question mark. Cook and Thornton are again scrapping for the point guard spot, though Cook appears to have the edge, and graduate student Andre Dawkins, sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon and freshman Matt Jones are competing for the shooting guard role.

Duke assistant coach Jeff Capel said that last week’s Countdown to Craziness scrimmage gave the coaching staff an opportunity to evaluate players in more realistic game situations. Regardless of who starts, all five guards are likely to see plenty of minutes.

“You see guys in practice, but with [Countdown] you can answer, ‘How are guys when the lights are on, when there’s TV involved, when there’s a full gym?’" Capel said. “We feel like we have a team with interchangeable parts and quality depth. In an exhibition game you can finally see that show up.”

Gatling, a 6-foot-1 point guard, is the team’s leading returning scorer, averaging 9.0 points per contest and distributing 98 assists last season. He’ll have his hands full Saturday handling the pressure defense of Cook and Thornton.

Capel emphasized that this year’s team will seek to use its length and athleticism to pressure the basketball and disrupt passing lanes. However, Duke’s pressure might not equate to the swarming Louisville pressure that the Blue Devils faced twice last season and will adjust to the situation.

“It’s been a while since a Duke team has applied that kind of pressure for a 40-minute game,” Capel said.

Such defensive tenacity could be key Saturday. The Bulldogs struggled with turnovers last season—averaging 16 per game—and had more turnovers than assists as a team.

Length and athleticism also play into another area of concern for the Blue Devils—rebounding. While the Bulldogs enjoyed with a slim advantage on the glass last season, Duke had a -0.2 rebounding margin per contest, even with 6-foot-10 Mason Plumlee and 6-foot-11 forward Ryan Kelly down low. Team rebounding will be critical for Duke from all positions. The perimeter trio of Thornton, Cook and Sulaimon combined for 9.5 rebounds per game last season, a number that must improve this year to prevent opponents from dominating the offensive glass.

“One of the things you always want to do is win the rebounding battle,” Capel said. “Last year we had a dynamic rebounder in Mason, but we don’t have that size this year.... We need guys to have a hunger and desire to rebound the ball, and we need to rebound collectively as a group.”

One player who should have a bigger impact on the glass this season is Jefferson, who spent the summer getting bigger and stronger. In Friday night’s scrimmage, the Philadelphia native was an active force at both ends of the floor, complementing the games of Hood and Parker, who play less with their back to the basket.

“I think the work he put in on his body over the summer has given him even more confidence,” Capel said. “He’s not just a post guy. He’s a basketball player. We think he’s a guy who can take people off the dribble as well.”