How Duke basketball plans to elevate its game as Blue Devils prep for March
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Scheyer used January to learn how players responded and tweak lineups.
- Duke emphasized defensive intensity and efficient offense as games slow down.
- Team is working on defense, spacing and better shot selection for March.
Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer has said January would be the month for learning more about his team and February the month for the Blue Devils to elevate their game.
As January ended, the Blue Devils were 20-1 overall and 9-0 in the ACC. They had beaten the likes of Kansas, Florida, Michigan State, Arkansas and Texas and their one loss was by a point to Texas Tech.
What had been gained?
“You learn are your guys ready to respond and take your coaching, especially when you’re winning,” Scheyer said. “We’d come into a locker room after we’ve won and were pretty critical and honest in areas we need to address.”
Scheyer had tinkered some with the starting lineups and substitution rotations and freshman Cameron Boozer had proven game after game that he could handle much that was thrown at him and be consistently productive.
The Blue Devils also had learned that more games likely would be won by their defense and not the numbers put up by Boozer or anyone else. That also came away feeling a somewhat slower pace offensively might be best.
“We’re not playing crazy fast right now but we’re playing efficient basketball,” Scheyer said. “You have to let your team guide you a little bit in how you have to play.
“I think fast always sounds great. That always sounds really good. But it hasn’t been how our team is built and that’s OK. We’re one of the few teams in the country to have great efficiency in offense and defense.”
February began with an easy win against Boston College. Then came the game in Chapel Hill, where the Devils led nearly wire to wire before Seth Trimble’s 3-pointer in the final second gave UNC the win.
The Devils headed to Pittsburgh for what Scheyer called a “workmanlike” win over the struggling Panthers. They then went toe to toe Saturday in a defensive slugfest with No. 20 Clemson and broke away in the second half for a 67-54 win.
Countering teams’ plans for Boozer
The Tigers used Carter Welling, a 6-11, 240-pound junior and 6-10 Nick Davidson and others to surround Boozer down low. Boozer tumbled to the floor a few times but ended the game with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
“They’re a physical team and for me made it tough and a long game,” Boozer said. “For me, it was about keeping my head in the game and keep making winning plays and eventually the ball is going to find me.”
For Duke, it was just the kind of game the Devils likely will encounter in March, when the NCAA tournament cranks up. Boozer will be the target of every team’s defense. Each possession could be a war. The Devils will use good offensive spacing, passing and shot selection while maintaining their defensive intensity.
In the recent KenPom.com rankings, Duke entered Saturday’s game ninth nationally in offensive efficiency and third in defensive efficiency. That can carry a team a long way.
“As you get into February and get into March you play lower-possession games,” Scheyer said. “So our team is learning the identity of how to hit the paint in multiple different ways and protecting the paint on defense.”
Areas for Duke improvement
Where can the Devils elevate their game? Depends on who you ask.
“There are a lot of things we need to improve on,” Boozer said. “We’re working on that every day and we’ll continue to grow.”
That was Boozer being a bit coy. As for Isaiah Evans, he had a deeper take.
“I think we can have a better defensive ceiling, for sure,” the sophomore guard said Saturday. “I think when we’re on, just locked in, five guys on a string, I think it’s hard to beat.
“I think we use every game as an opportunity to find our more about ourselves. How many kills can we get, that’s three (defensive stops) in a row, how can we sustain a lead, how can we turn good shots into great shots. It’s everything building on our resume.”
That March resume. If January is about learning and February about elevating, March is only about winning.
