The Blue Devils have grown used to losing players to injury this year, but after a dominant 110-57 win against Georgia Tech with all their major contributors finally healthy, they are now preparing to lose their head coach.
When news of Grayson Allen's indefinite suspension came down two weeks ago, there was a general consensus that the preseason All-American would likely miss multiple games as a result of his third tripping incident in less than a year. But Wednesday night, the junior was back in uniform for Duke.
After three uninspiring performances in a row, culminating with a blowout loss to Virginia Tech last Saturday, Duke had one last chance to send its head coach off in style before Mike Krzyzewski walks into back surgery this Friday.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that he will undergo lower-back surgery Friday and miss about four weeks to recover—meaning Wednesday's contest will be his last for quite a while.
The Blue Devils have had to deal with plenty of adversity with injuries and a suspension to All-American Grayson Allen, and things won't get any easier entering the second week of ACC play.
The sequence was part of an afternoon of defensive breakdowns for the No. 5 Blue Devils, who had no answer for Virginia Tech's ball movement and spacing.
Duke encountered early adversity this year when freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden suffered injuries before the Blue Devils’ season-opener, joining Harry Giles on the sideline for eight games.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski hinted that further action could be taken against Grayson Allen following Wednesday's trip against Elon, and he wasted no time punishing his All-American further after benching him to start the second half. Krzyzewski announced that Allen is suspended indefinitely in a statement Thursday morning—his postgame reaction to the trip and Allen's reaction Wednesday can be viewed here.
The No. 5 Blue Devils wrapped up a 72-61 win against Elon at the Greensboro Coliseum, but very few were focused on Duke's 10-game winning streak or freshman Harry Giles' first points as a Blue Devil following the contest. Late in the first half, junior guard Grayson Allen tripped Elon guard Steven Santa Ana on the right baseline, leading to a deadball technical foul and emotional outburst from the All-American.
At first glance, Wednesday's game against Elon appeared to present a chance for the Blue Devils to stay fresh between final exams and a lengthy break for Christmas with ACC play approaching. Instead, Duke will head into that break with a lot more questions than answers.
Harry Giles did not produce any highlights in his four minutes on the floor Monday, but for him, just finishing the game healthy was an improvement on his last season opener.
Following the Blue Devils' eight-day exam break ahead of Monday's game at Tennessee State, one question is on everybody's mind.
Duke started the game on a 20-3 run thanks to 12 early points from its junior All-American, turning that early advantage into an easy win.
With just three games remaining on its nonconference slate, No. 5 Duke will look to extend its seven-game winning streak when it travels to Las Vegas to battle UNLV Saturday at 5:15 p.m
Even if Giles can get back on the court against Tennessee State or Elon—a big if considering his slow recovery process—not every player will be reaping the rewards of the holiday gift.
After showing glimpses of his potential in his season debut Saturday against Maine, the five-star freshman made it clear Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in front of an electric crowd and plenty of NBA scouts that he has arrived.
The fifth-ranked Blue Devils overcame a slow start to top No. 21 Florida led by Luke Kennard, Amile Jefferson and Jayson Tatum.
With a matchup against a Florida team starting three players 6-foot-8 or taller and injury questions still surrounding Duke, the burning question for Blue Devil fans is how head coach Mike Krzyzewski will distribute minutes.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski became close friends with Valvano that year as Valvano underwent treatment at Duke Hospital. and published a touching letter to his late friend through Dear World ahead of Tuesday's game.
With guards Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson resting and Tatum and Bolden back in the fold, all of a sudden, the Blue Devils were using three players taller than 6-foot-8 for the duration of Saturday's game.
