With 22 ‘crazy’ turnovers, Duke has plenty to clean up after win over Coppin State
The Cameron Crazies were absent from Duke’s basketball opener Saturday but that didn’t stop Mike Krzyzewski from seeing something he deemed, well, crazy.
The No. 9-ranked Blue Devils won in their first game against an outside opponent, toppling Coppin State 81-71.
That, thanks to superior performances from freshmen DJ Steward (24 points) and Jalen Johnson (19 points, 19 rebounds), was the good news.
The troubling thing that had Krzyzewski concerned was the 22 turnovers the Blue Devils committed.
Yes, Coppin State played a small lineup utilizing five guards to pressure Duke and hope enough 3-pointers fell to create an upset.
The shooting plan didn’t quite work enough as the Eagles finished 10 of 35 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc.
But Duke helped keep the game closer than it could have been with sloppy play that led to, as Krzyzewski said, some ‘crazy’ turnovers.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys who need to develop,” Krzyzewski said. “We have good talent, but it’s not developed talent. And when you make those ... a kid knows, when they make, you know, mistakes that are just crazy, that that affects you because you’re like, `Why am I doing that?’ I mean, obviously he’s not doing it on purpose.”
No fans, no enthusiastic atmosphere
The coronavirus pandemic made Saturday’s opener a game at Cameron like no one had ever seen or experienced. Duke had sold out its previous 472 games, dating back to Nov. 26, 1990, prior to Saturday’s fan-less game.
Duke’s players for decades have said they feed off the energy generated by the raucous student section. But when things went stale for the Blue Devils on Saturday, like when they produced seven turnovers and six points in the first four minutes after halftime to fritter away a portion of what had been a 17-point lead, it was up to the players and coaches themselves to turn things around.
“You have to provide the atmosphere with your enthusiasm to talk,” Krzyzewski said. “And we did not talk very well. Not to the other team, but to one another. I think once you start making a few mistakes, you’ve drawn within. And you’re thinking about that.”
For as good as Johnson was in his debut, he turned the ball over seven times. That was more than twice as many as any of his teammates. Senior guard Jordan Goldwire had three, as did sophomore forward Wendell Moore and freshman guard Jeremy Roach.
Krzyzewski and the players weren’t happy with their inability to be consistently strong with the ball.
“We just have to be stronger and more under control,” Moore said. “Playing a team like that, they have a lot of older guys who have played a lot of college basketball at multiple different schools. They are coming in here hungry, trying to take something that’s ours, especially on our home floor. So the biggest thing for us is to be strong because teams know we are you and are going to try to attack that.”
But Coppin State’s age and strength were only part of the story. The Blue Devils simply threw the ball away at other times.
“It’s tough to explain some of those turnovers,” Krzyzewski said. “You know, it’s just tough to explain where you throw it across the half court, the side of the court, you throw it out of bounds? Like, why would you even be looking there? Or you leave your feet not knowing what to do. So I don’t know if there were some jitters or whatever.”
Sloppy play won’t work against Michigan State
Duke shot well enough to win easily, hitting 53 percent of shots overall and 33.3 percent of 3-point shots. Even though turnovers provided Coppin State with fastbreak opportunities, the Blue Devils limited the Eagles to 32.9 percent shooting.
So it goes in the books as a double-digit win for Duke.
But the type of sloppy play the Blue Devils displayed won’t be good enough on Tuesday night, when No. 13 Michigan State comes to Cameron. Duke will also have to be better on Dec. 8 when it faces No. 8 Illinois.
And that’s before ACC play starts on Dec. 16 at Notre Dame. But there’s time. The season has only just begun.
“We’ll work on it,” Krzyzewski said. “You’re not gonna win many games, and turn it over 22 times.”