There were no winners and there were no losers, but there were plenty of impressive returns and promising debuts as the men's basketball team opened its season.
Finishing the annual Blue-White scrimmage in a 31-31 tie proved that the Blue Devil coaching staff knows how to divide its squad up fairly evenly for contests in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The action on the floor, however, showed the public for the first time just how deep Duke could be this year.
"I think we're going to be a good team," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "A lot will depend on if I don't make as many mistakes in how we substitute and use all of our guys. I've got to learn how to do that starting next Saturday [when Duke takes on the Upstate All-Stars, an AAU team from New York]."
Eleven of the 12 players who suited up played significant minutes for the Blue Devils, including all three freshmen-Chris Carrawell, Michael Chappell and Nate James. For the freshmen, it was their first chance to show their wares for the Cameron faithful.
Carrawell only scored four points in the 20-minute scrimmage, but he was perhaps the most impressive of the trio. After his team, the Blue squad, fell behind 13-0, Carrawell was instrumental in its comeback. He finished with the most rebounds on either team, eight, and he also impressed everyone with his savvy away from the ball.
"[Carrawell] was the most active," Krzyzewski said. "He does a lot of things away from the ball, and then all of a sudden he has the ball.... He's got excellent court sense, and he's an easy guy to play with."
Krzyzewski was also enthused with how Chappell and James fared in their Cameron debuts. The freshmen, themselves, were noticeably nervous as the game approached, but they relaxed and seemed to enjoy being on the Cameron floor as the game went on.
"We were pretty nervous before the game," said Carrawell of himself, Chappell and James. "It was real fun. It was Duke. It was real fun for the three freshmen because we're all new to this. It was a great atmosphere."
Two other Blue Devils made return debuts of a sort. Junior Roshown McLeod, who sat out last season after transferring from St. John's, played in his second Blue-White game. McLeod led all scorers with 10 points, including eight that he scored as the Blue team rallied with a 17-6 run to end the game. He displayed an impressive inside and outside game, nailing a three-pointer and also taking the ball down low on occasion.
"It felt great to get out there in front of the crowd again," McLeod said. "This is a wonderful place to play in. I tried to generate some energy off the crowd."
The crowd saved its loudest cheers for sophomore Trajan Langdon, who is returning from last season's injury redshirt. He received the longest ovation in the pregame introductions, and, more impressively for Duke, he played the entire 20-minute game without any noticeable effects lingering from his knee injury other than a thick-looking brace.
Langdon only scored two points, but he was the primary ball-handler for the White team. Krzyzewski hopes to work Langdon for stretches of four minutes or so at a time, when the Blue Devils start their exhibition season next Saturday.
"It was fun out there," Langdon said. "I kind of wanted to do better than I did. But I can only be satisfied with the way I played out there. I felt good out there, and that's all I can ask for right now
Assuming he stays healthy, Langdon is one of three players that Krzyzewski sees as highly-probable starters, along with seniors Jeff Capel and Greg Newton. As for the other two spots, Krzyzewski was unconcerned about the lack of a set starting unit. He noted that the extra competition for starting roles could only be beneficial for Duke.
The Blue Devils provided a glimpse of what they can become on Saturday, but they were still limited because the teams could not substitute enough to keep everyone rested. Krzyzewski hopes to push the ball up the floor more in next Saturday's game, and to be able to play more full-court defense.
"We have to rely on our depth," Krzyzewski said. "We have to learn how to use on our depth, but that won't happen until we start playing next Saturday."
For now, Duke was pleased with its opening act.
"We were excited to play tonight," Krzyzewski said. "We had a nice crowd, the students were great, the band was there-it was just a good setting for us."
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