MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—Duke Canada Tour 2018 continued Friday at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, where top recruits R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson built on a dominant performance against Ryerson Wednesday. Here are five observations from the Blue Devils' 96-60 victory against Toronto.
Player of the game: R.J. Barrett
The 6-foot-7 forward continued to shine in his hometown, leading the Blue Devils in scoring for the second consecutive game. Barrett poured in 35 points and nine rebounds against Toronto, and averaged 34.5 points and seven boards per contest in front of his family and friends this week.
"Coming back here to Canada in the summer is always great. That’s why I love coming back here," Barrett said. "It was fun. I still get to see my family, but tomorrow we’re on a plane and going to Montreal and that’s one more game, so that’s what we’re focusing on right now."
Freshmen carry the load again
Barrett and Williamson once again took charge from the get-go Friday, scoring 21 of the Blue Devils' 23 first-quarter points en route to nearly outscoring Toronto with 59 combined points. The duo added a few highlights into the mix with monster slams, and classmate Joey Baker was the team's third double-figure scorer with 11 second-half points.
"Both he and Zion were placed in a position these two games to shoot it a lot," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "When we get our full complement of players, they’ll still shoot the ball a lot, but they won’t shoot it as much as they did in these two games. They needed to shoot like they did, and then the other guys need to play off them, get offensive boards."
Where’s Bolden?
Thought by many to be the Blue Devils' expected starting center this season after a strong end to last season, Bolden was nowhere to be found during the Blue Devils’ first two games in Canada. Between the two games, the DeSoto, Texas, native did not score in 29 minutes on the floor. He did not play in the entire second half Friday.
"I think I saw what you saw," Krzyzewski said. "I have to see more than what you saw because I’m just seeing what you saw."
Interior defense
Duke shut down Toronto on the interior Friday, outscoring the Varsity Blues 44-30 in the paint. The Blue Devils enjoyed emphatic blocks from Barrett and Williamson, and redshirt junior Justin Robinson added a chase-down block off the backboard to keep the Varsity Blues at bay in the paint. Toronto shot just 31.0 percent from the field on 2-point attempts.
"We had a really athletic group in there that could switch 1 through 5," Krzyzewski said. "The last 25 minutes of the game, we played really, really well and that was the reason for the differential in scoring. But what they were trying to do against us was well-done and when we were able to switch 1 through 5, it was very difficult for them to run that. But I’m proud of my guys."
Going big
With Alex O’Connell out of the starting lineup due to an orbital bone fracture, head coach Mike Krzyzewski opted for the 6-foot-8 Jack White rather than sophomore point guard Jordan Goldwire. This move underlined the Blue Devils’ size advantage and dominance throughout the contest with all five starters at least 6-foot-7. Duke outrebounded the Varsity Blues 53-31.
"We played two different teams," Krzyzewski said. "Ryerson is more athletic and plays a little bit more of a conventional, really good system.... Toronto does what they need to do with their talent, which is spread you. They get shuffle cuts off the high post, not play with a post, and they look for threes and they keep their spacing well."
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.