With Thanksgiving here, it is apparent that the season of giving is upon us. But for Duke, that day came long before—when it kicked off the regular season.
Ever since the Blue Devils started the season with a 30-assist performance against Presbyterian, it was clear this team was different than last year. Led by pass-first point guard Tyus Jones, Duke has proved it believes in the old moniker, "sharing is caring," and it was never more apparent than in Wednesday night's 93-54 win against Furman.
Led by big men Amile Jefferson—who posted his first double-double of the season—and Jahlil Okafor—who notched a career high with 24 points—Duke spread the rock around all night, keeping the Paladins scrambling on defense. Jones continued to put his pass-first nature on display, dishing out seven assists and only taking two shots, and the Blue Devils continued to prove that in an age of one-and-dones, the idea of the team is still very much alive.
"They’re very unselfish guys," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It’s the first game that Jah [Okafor] had over 20. That doesn’t mean that he’s been playing poorly, it means they’ve really been sharing the ball. I think that’s a good thing. That’s a very good thing. I hope we can keep doing it where we’re that unselfish.”
Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook best exemplify this selfless attitude, not just by what they do on the court, but by what they do when they are not playing.
Cook—the team's lone four-year player—entered the season knowing he would have to share time with Jones. But instead of viewing the new role as a step down, he used his full summer in Durham to work out—Krzyzewski called him one of the strongest players on the team—and fine-tune several facets of his game. So far this year, the one skill that has everybody's attention—his scoring.
The Washington, D.C., native entered the season with a career average of 9.2 points per game. Through six games, he ranks second on the team with 16.0 points per contest and is shooting 45.5 percent from downtown. Cook has made three or more 3-pointers in every game this season.
"Since last spring we’ve been talking about working more on his 3-point shots, where he could lead but he didn’t have anyone pressuring him with the ball," Krzyzewski said. "He could actually be even a smarter player—not that he’s been not a smart player before—but smarter.... We’ve talked about it a lot and he’s embraced it. It’s perfect for him."
Sulaimon entered college in 2012 and set the scene ablaze, with many labeling him as the next great explosive guard. But after a bout with inconsistency in 2013-14 that left him frustrated and on the bench and the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation coming in, he had to re-evaluate his role on the team.
Luckily for both him and Duke, he has accepted his role as the sixth man with open arms. A clear maturation has taken place, and because of this, the Blue Devils now have one of the most explosive scorers and lock-down perimeter defenders in the ACC ready to come off the bench and give the second unit a boost it has lacked in the past.
"The first and second unit spend a number of time playing with each other—practice and games—so while we're on the bench, we're constantly talking about what we can improve on, what we just did and also just seeing how the flow of the game is going," Sulaimon said.
With Sulaimon and Cook filling out specific roles, the squad has benefited on both ends of the court. The unselfishness allows more players to see the court and work in their specific skill sets. And the points have been flowing in as a result.
The Blue Devils are averaging 90.0 points per game this season, but unlike seasons past, there hasn't been just one player doing the bulk of the scoring.
Three players sit in a bunch at the top of the stat sheet, as Okafor is averaging 17.2 points per game followed by Cook with 16.0 and Justise Winslow with 14.0. When one adds those nightly double-digit performances to the five other Duke players averaging at least 5.0 points per game and considers the fact that 10 Blue Devils are playing at least 10 minutes per game, it is easy to see why the offense has flourished against every squad it has faced thus far.
On a team boasting nine McDonald's All-Americans, it is not often that a group featuring four rookies can mesh so seamlessly.Because of their past postseason experiences, Duke's veterans are enjoying playing on a squad with more chemistry and immense talent.
“It’s hard to come by," Amile Jefferson said. "When you have a group this talented, you expect guys to take the first shot or everyone to be playing for the stats."
That has not been the case so far for the Blue Devils. One of the main reasons is because of the attention given to the preseason National Player of the Year, Okafor. The 6-foot-11 center's willingness to pass out of double teams and play at his own pace makes the game much easier for his teammates, an observation also reflected in the stat sheets.
In six games this season, three different Blue Devils have led the squad in scoring and seven have hit double digits.
It is early in the season, but that's not to say Duke has not proved its spread-the-ball-around mentality against quality competition, as evidenced by the 15.5 assist average in wins against Stanford and then-No. 19 Michigan State. Entering Wednesday's game, the Blue Devils ranked 19th in the nation in assists per game at 19.4. Both the average and ranking were no doubt helped following the 24 helpers dished out against the Paladins.
And as long as Duke continues to spread the love and the Blue Devil arsenal of scorers don't all go cold at once, this season of giving could turn into a season of celebration in Durham four months from now.
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