With Jalen Johnson’s thunderous dunk in a blowout of Clemson, Duke may have found its swagger
Not since Syracuse’s Marek Dolezaj decided it would be prudent to stand in Zion Williamson’s way and attempt to take a charge has a decision made at that end of Cameron Indoor Stadium turned out so disastrously.
Duke’s Jalen Johnson had three quarters of the court as open runway Saturday, with only Clemson’s PJ Hall anywhere close to his way. Hall, retreating, had to decide: contest or concede? He chose poorly.
Hall got just enough in the way for Johnson to throw down a monstrous dunk, landing on top of a crumpled Hall with a fierce scream. It was, in a moment, everything Duke hasn’t been often enough this year: The power of the dunk, the aggression of the finish, the sound of Johnson’s celebration without any fans to drown out his voice.
It was as much if not far more raw emotion than the freshman has shown, publicly, at any point this season, and the kind of SportsCenter Top 10 highlight that Duke has typically generated on a weekly basis in the past. There was a sense, even if just in that moment, of potential fulfilled -- that while Duke may yet have a long way to go, this is what it will look like if the Blue Devils get there.
Johnson might as well have been screaming that to the world in the aftermath.
“This is definitely our launching pad,” teammate DJ Steward said about the win, but the sentiment applied to the dunk as well.
It was more than just the dunk. The 79-53 final score against Clemson was an apt representation of Duke’s dominance over a team that at one point had been ranked as high as No. 12, before an 11-day COVID pause sent Clemson into a tailspin. The Tigers have lost four of their past five games by an average of 24.5 points, with a home win over Louisville in the middle. Whatever the Tigers had been doing right in December, they’re no longer doing it right now.
Duke, too, has been trending in a different direction, but it took everything the Blue Devils had to get past Georgia Tech at home in the final moments on Tuesday. Duke left no doubt Saturday, dominating the slow-paced early moments before Johnson’s dunk and free throw made it 12-5. The lead only grew from there.
The Blue Devils face a long and uphill road to the NCAA tournament, with no margin for error and much work to do. But they have stumbled and staggered through the first two months of the season, losing both of their challenging nonconference games before the three-game ACC losing streak against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh and Louisville -- and Michigan State in particular hasn’t exactly flattered Duke with its performance since then. (The NIT semifinals may resemble the Champions Classic, with only Kansas a lock to make the bigger show at this point.)
Duke hadn’t won any of its five ACC wins by more than 11 points. The Blue Devils led by that much halfway through the first half. All of the pieces Duke has been hoping would fall into place -- or has been trying to wedge into place -- fit neatly for once. Five players scored in double figures. Mark Williams showed flashes of his post skills, threatening to add a new dimension to Duke’s offense. Jordan Goldwire, back in the starting lineup and posting a quietly effective and versatile six rebounds, five assists, two steals and no turnovers.
“These other teams are good,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Against Louisville, we took a little bit more of a step up. We played well enough to be deserving of winning. It wasn’t like you messed up, you just missed. We’re not this outstanding team. We’re a good team with great kids who are trying to get through this whole thing without the experience of a fall and nonconference and exhibitions. A younger team is going to take longer during this time, and they may never develop, because you could lose confidence.”
There was confidence to spare Saturday, during and after. The Blue Devils needed something like this, an authoritative win to offer reinforcement that they’re on the right track and a dunk like Johnson’s to bring back the swagger.
“Oh my God, it was crazy,” Steward said. “I knew he was going to dunk it. I didn’t know the other player was going to jump. It was crazy from the sideline. I was going nuts. The whole bench was going nuts.”
Clemson got in the way Saturday, but that was all the Tigers could do.
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
