Why Wendell Moore’s historic night was just what Duke needed in Cameron opener
For all the pageantry of Mike Krzyzewski’s first home game of his final season coming against the only school that means more to him than Duke, his Blue Devils lacked something Friday night.
Krzyzewski used one of his favorite words, saying, “We didn’t have the verve that I would like.”
In the end, Duke beat Army West Point, 82-56, a final margin that belied how competitive the Black Knights were against the No. 9 Blue Devils.
Paolo Banchero played a big role in Duke pulling away as he contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds. Another freshman, Trevor Keels, was rock solid defensively with six steals in addition to the 10 points he scored.
But the player who lifted Duke the most on what was a blah night for long stretches was the team’s most experienced player.
Wendell Moore produced just the fifth triple-double in the long, illustrious history of Duke basketball by scoring 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and collecting 10 assists.
“I thought Wendell, really, had a helluva game,” Krzyzewski said.
It’s only the third time one of Krzyzewski’s players at Duke pulled off a triple-double. Shelden Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 blocked shots against Maryland in January 2006. In February 2019, RJ Barrett had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against N.C. State.
Now Moore joins the exclusive club, doing so on a night when his team, coming off a 79-71 win over No. 10 Kentucky on Tuesday night, didn’t play with the same fire.
“Obviously, it felt really good,” Moore said of his accomplishment. “I wish we could have won in a more dominant fashion than we did. Army’s a great team. They came out here and gave us a good fight. At the end of the day a win may be a win, but we want to have great performances.”
Moore certainly turned in a great personal performance to lift Duke on a night when the Blue Devils as a whole weren’t always great.
The 6-6 junior from Charlotte made 7-of-13 shots and only turned the ball over once in his 34 minutes and 53 seconds of play. He also had two steals.
No one expects triple-doubles to happen on a regular basis, of course, but this is what Duke’s coaches and Moore himself felt the Blue Devils needed from him — stuffing the stat sheet in different areas while playing solid, if not spectacular, basketball.
“From day one this year he’s been really good,” Krzyzewski said. “You don’t get to see him every day. He’s just a really good basketball player. He’s our leader. He’ll do anything that we need to have done.”
On Tuesday night against Kentucky, while Keels and Banchero combined for 47 points, Moore contributed 12 points with four rebounds and three assists. Far from a triple-double but still the extra things the Blue Devils needed to beat a fellow top-10 team.
He did all that despite needing intravenous fluids to combat cramping during the second half.
His recovery plan between that game and Friday worked.
“A lot of fluids,” Moore said. “A lot of stretching. Really just getting a lot of fluids and food really, doing everything I can to recover.”
A team captain along with senior Joey Baker, Moore is showing so far the confidence his teammates heaped on him this offseason is warranted. His two strong games show he can be a better player than the one who averaged 7.4 points as a freshman and 9.7 as a sophomore.
“It all starts with my teammates,” Moore said. “They’ve instilled so much confidence in me during this preseason. I feel like I can do anything with them behind me.”