INDIANAPOLIS—About halfway through this season, Amile Jefferson got into a bit of a funk, one that cost him his starting spot in the rotation as head coach Mike Krzyzewski opted to go small with Justise Winslow shifting to the power forward position to give Jahlil Okafor more room to operate in the post.
Duke won 12 of its next 13 games with the reconfigured lineup to reach Monday's national championship game. But with 9:18 remaining, a Frank Kaminsky spin move and an official's whistle dramatically altered that rotation, thrusting Jefferson back into the throng at a pivotal moment in the Blue Devils' quest for a fifth national title.
The fourth foul on Okafor put Duke behind 54-50 after the ensuing free throw by Kaminsky, relegating the freshman to the bench for the next 5:56. The Chicago native had struggled to defend the AP Player of the Year all night, but Jefferson was more than up to the task, providing the gritty defensive effort that the Blue Devils needed as their freshmen took care of the rest on the offensive end.
"For me, it was just about making positive plays," Jefferson said. "When I'm out there, I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help our guys. Today it was being strong on the defensive end, trying to make a play at all times."
Jefferson finished with two points, but his seven rebounds, three blocks and defense on Kaminsky while Okafor sat on the bench in foul trouble helped Duke surge back against the Badgers after being down nine with 13:25 left in the game.
Wisconsin came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders, scoring on eight of its first 10 possessions. As a nimble 7-footer able to handle the ball and step outside the arc, Kaminsky got Okafor in bad situations, getting the freshman to fall for pump fakes and driving the lane, then spinning to create separation and absorb the contact as Okafor went to block his shot. The AP Player of the Year finished with 21 points and hit two triples.
Jefferson's two points will not make a blip on the radar next to Tyus Jones' 23, but the captain helped kickstart the freshman's second-half spurt with a block on what appeared to be an open layup for Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes. Duke pushed downcourt, and Jones wound up with an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit to one.
"He was just nonstop working hard on defense, giving us emotion, energy," Okafor said. "He was doing things the entire game, blocking shots. He was everywhere tonight."
At 6-foot-9 with more agility and a long wingspan, Jefferson was able to stay with Kaminsky, altering his shots and then preventing him from crashing the glass. Wisconsin had eight offensive rebounds in the first half that led to 11 second-chance points—after intermission, it got just three for two points.
Kaminsky missed four of his last six shots.
"Amile is a better defender against Kaminsky than Jah is. Kaminsky is more like [former Duke star Christian] Laettner—they’re not centers, they’re players," Krzyzewski said. "So that’s difficult for a guy like Jah to defend. Amile defended him well."
With their best player on the bench, the Blue Devils got plenty of scoring from Jones and Grayson Allen to ward off a knockout punch from the Badgers. When Okafor came back in with 3:22 left, he delivered one of his own.
After Kaminsky used his array of footwork to get two and-ones against Okafor, the 6-foot-11 center returned the favor by spinning baseline and getting a bucket to fall even as his counterpart wrapped him up with both arms. Okafor missed the ensuing free throw, but his basket extended the Duke lead to 61-58 with 3:14 left.
"I remember seeing 3:22 on the clock before I got in," Okafor said. "My teammates kept me composed on the bench when I was on the bench and the way they were playing, it made it easy for me to sit over there and cheer them on."
Just more than a minute later, he struck again, collecting a missed layup by classmate Justise Winslow and following it up to grow the Blue Devil advantage to five.
Krzyzewski said after the game that he did not have a message for Okafor before sending him back onto the court after the extended rest, though he noted that his trio of assistant coaches probably did. Things had not come as easily for the freshman offensively against the length of Kaminsky on the inside, but he made the plays when he needed to.
"I think the foul trouble got to him and Justise, and we didn’t play well at the start of the second half," Krzyzewski said. "They’re young guys—they’re pro prospects and all that but they’re young guys—and learning how to play hard, strong and tough when you have that foul trouble is something you learn. Thank goodness he came in and got it."
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