For a second straight night, the Blue Devils reached 100 points, and the highly-touted freshmen combined for 50-plus on their own.
But it was senior Quinn Cook whose scoring performance earned a milestone.
As he extended Duke’s lead past 20 points for the first time Saturday against Fairfield by downing his third 3-pointer of the night, the captain became the 64th Blue Devil to hit 1,000 career points.
Cook didn't realize he had reached the mark until he returned to the bench a few minutes later. There, former Duke guard and fellow 1,000-point club member Nolan Smith let him know from the stands that he had reached the milestone.
“It’s great. It’s a blessing,” Cook said. “Just to be here four years, it’s a blessing.”
The seasoned guard added four more points to close out the blowout contest, finishing the night with 17, but his impact through the first two games of his final campaign has gone far beyond the scoring column.
In Duke’s two exhibition games, head coach Mike Krzyzewski opted to bring Cook off the bench with freshman Tyus Jones and sophomore Matt Jones in the starting backcourt.
With Tyus Jones coming in as the No. 1 point guard in his class, Cook knew his role on the team would be different this year, and he said before the season that he was ready for it.
Then, for the regular season opener against Presbyterian Friday night, Cook moved back into the starting lineup, replacing Matt Jones, and the Washington, D.C., native did so seamlessly.
Posting a stat line of 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, Cook knocked down four 3-pointers and helped power the offense to 30 assists—three short of tying the single-game program record.
Against Fairfield, Cook tallied four more helpers, including an in-bounds alley-oop pass to freshman Justise Winslow to beat the first-half buzzer. With just one turnover on the season, Cook has only improved his program-best assist-to-turnover ratio.
“It’s a point guard’s dream,” Cook said of Winslow and fellow high-flying freshmen Jahlil Okafor and Grayson Allen. “Myself and Tyus, we have a lot of fun with those guys because those guys are athletic, and they can run, and if you put it out there, they can go get it.”
With a three-freshman starting lineup that features Okafor, Winslow and Tyus Jones, Cook has taken a larger leadership role and emphasized his desire to help Jones adjust to the college game and become a better player.
“He’s doing such a great job of leading. His personality is so good right now with these young guys,” Krzyzewski said. “They love him and he’s given them positive stuff.”
Where Cook may have the biggest impact, however, is in helping the rookies understand what it will take to become a championship contender. In addition to recognizing the talent around him, Cook is also acutely aware of how much each game matters in his final season, and his attitude will prove important as he guides the young Blue Devil squad.
When asked about the transition from playing the first two games to preparing for Duke’s Tuesday night matchup against No. 18 Michigan State in Indianapolis, the captain turned to his NCAA tournament experiences—where he has twice been knocked out in the round of 64.
“It’s kind of like the NCAA tournament. The first game you play a 15-seed, 14-seed—a team like [Fairfield],” Cook said. “So you know you’ve got to bring it. We’ve got a big game on Tuesday, and I think we’re going to be ready.”
Cook also noted the added motivation that comes from playing in Indianapolis, where his deepest postseason run came to an end two seasons ago with a loss to Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Cook knows he has one shot left at a title, and so far, he has shown just how potent Duke can be with him and Tyus Jones running the backcourt.
“It’s my senior year,” Cook said. “I want it to be special.”
With one game in the Duke record books already under his belt, the floor general will see how many more he can add before his time in Durham concludes.
And like his mentor and friend Smith, he will see if another No. 2 can turn past experience into national title glory.
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