Experienced reserves, a rarity on the one-and-done era, help No. 4 Duke
Mike Krzyzewski frequently refers to this Duke basketball team as an old-school version.
Its roster isn’t filled with guys projected to be NBA Draft lottery picks as soon as they are eligible to enter that league. So the roster of good to very good players has to play together, both while passing the ball on offense and communicating effectively on defense, to be at its best.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils weren’t at their best for long stretches of a rare game that started in the AM at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke persevered through a day when it shot poorly from behind the 3-point line to pull away late from Brown by a 75-50 score that’s a deceptively large margin.
No, the Blue Devils never appeared in danger of losing. Brown (5-6) only led for one minute and 27 seconds. The Bears’ last lead — 17-14 — came with 10:20 remaining in the first half, which means on Saturday it was still before noon, since this game began at 11:30 a.m.
So a repeat of the loss to Stephen F. Austin, which ended a 19-year streak of wins at home over nonconference teams, wasn’t going to happen.
But another streak that stretches way back to those old-school days Krzyzewski keeps mentioning was in jeopardy on Saturday.
Duke (11-1) missed its first 13 3-point shots. Since the Blue Devils have made at least one 3-pointer in every game since a Dec. 30, 1989, win at Hawaii, it’s noteworthy when the Blue Devils go keep into the second half of a game without making a 3-pointer.
Alex O’Connell ended the suspense, finally, on Saturday with a 3-pointer with 6:41 to play. Those points boosted Duke’s lead to 58-46 and the Blue Devils maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
O’Connell was the only Duke player to hit a 3-pointer in the game as the Blue Devils shot 2 of 16 on them. That poor shooting on jump shots is a reason why Duke had trouble pulling away from the Bears.
Another is the lack of cohesion the Blue Devils displayed for most of the game’s first 25 minutes.
“We did not talk well and communicate,” Krzyzewski said. “So we didn’t play well.”
Tre Jones’ absence for a second consecutive game is a major factor. The sophomore point guard still isn’t 100 percent healthy after suffering what the team is calling a mild sprain to his left foot in practice earlier this month.
Jones is expected to be in practice as Duke prepares for Tuesday night’s ACC game with Boston College and his return can’t come soon enough.
Duke scored 1.1 points per possession against Brown, it’s worst offensive efficiency since logging a 0.99 against Stephen F. Austin. The Blue Devils are 10th in the country at 1.12 points per possession so it’s clear something is misfiring.
Krzyzewski was so miffed at his team Saturday he stomped his feet while calling a first-half timeout before angrily removing his sport coat.
“It shouldn’t be on coach to try and get us fired up that early in the game,” said Duke senior forward Javin DeLaurier, a team captain. “Or the jacket has to come off. We all know what that means. Say what you want about it being an early morning game, we have to be more prepared.”
Krzyzewski’s antics didn’t trigger his team immediately. The veteran coach said the Blue Devils didn’t play closer to their best until the game’s final 15 minutes. After leading 35-29 at halftime, Duke finally pushed its lead to 52-40 — its largest of the game up to that point — on O’Connell’s jumper with 11:58 to play.
“The last 15 minutes,” Krzyzewski said, “we started talking and we played really well. That’s just gonna happen. Thank goodness we were able to do it while the game was still going on.”
Things got more comfortable from there and Krzyzewski credited O’Connell and fellow guard Goldwire for making it happen.
Those two juniors remain from a one-and-done filled class that included lottery picks Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter. Freshmen Gary Trent and Trevon Duval also left Duke for professional basketball after the 2017-18 season.
Krzyzewski was certainly glad to have O’Connell and Goldwire on Saturday to provide a veteran presence on the court when the Blue Devils needed it in the second half.
Goldwire, in particular, has extra pressure on him due to Jones’ injury as he’s become Duke’s starting point guard. Krzyzewski saw the game’s pace leading to Goldwire mistakes at times Saturday before he settled down and ran the offense well.
“He’s continued to become a better player and understands his role,” Krzyzewski said. “He got sped up a couple times today but it’s so good that he was able to turn that around. It’s kind of like Alex (O’Connell) … they were juniors today.”
O’Connell scored 14 points with 12 in the second half. Goldwire only scored four points but had five assists with two steals. He turned the ball over three times but only one came in the game’s final 15 minutes.
The expectation is for Jones to be back for Tuesday’s game with Boston College. But the positive experience Goldwire and O’Connell received on Saturday should help Duke as the season rolls on, even if they play as reserves.
They personify this old-school kind of team Krzyzewski keeps talking about. They’re two veteran players without NBA skills who are finding ways to contribute to a solid college basketball team.
On Saturday, they were enough to help Duke win the final nonconference game of its regular-season schedule, no matter how unsightly it was at times.
This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 3:17 PM.