With less than 13 minutes left in Duke's exhibition win over Concordia Thursday, and the game's result far from in doubt, the Stingers' Chris Blackwood made a routine jump shot to bring his team within 44.
After the bucket, Josh McRoberts immediately inbounded the ball to fellow freshman Greg Paulus, who sprinted down the right sideline before firing a crosscourt pass to a wide-open J.J. Redick. Redick, like so many times over the course of his career, proceeded to bury the three-pointer.
Redick's trifecta put the Blue Devils up 92-47, but more importantly the shot came on a secondary break, which Duke ran after a made basket-a break that last year's shorthanded squad was rarely, if ever, able to run. The play showcased the Blue Devils' ability to get up and down the court, utilizing the team's new depth-ten players saw double-digit minutes of action.
"I think this team can be an explosive team," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "If we can keep our veterans fresh during the ballgame, we're going to hit shots late in each half, and we're going to play defense throughout the ballgame really hard."
Seniors Redick and Lee Melchionni each scored 21 points as the Blue Devils rolled 123-66 in the first of their two exhibition matchups before the start of the regular season. The win showed off a balanced Duke offense, as six players scored in double figures.
The Blue Devils forced Concordia into a fast-paced game as they applied full-court pressure throughout the first half. The Stingers could not keep up, committing 19 first-half turnovers as Duke turned a once-competitive 13-8 contest into a 44-14 rout in just nine minutes.
"We didn't have the depth that we have this year and on top of that we were hurt a lot, so it was harder to play as aggressively as we did tonight," sophomore DeMarcus Nelson said of last season's team. "You have to be in great shape to do it, and that's something that we stress, but we definitely have the talent, and we definitely have the bodies, and it is going to be exciting to play that way this year."
Duke forced 30 turnovers in the game and scored 38 points off of Concordia's miscues. The Blue Devils also avoided the temptation to go one-on-one against the Stinger defenders but rather maintained an active offensive attack, tallying 25 assists.
Duke began the game by pounding the ball inside against the smaller Concordia front line, drawing 16 first-half fouls. Shelden Williams shook off a slow start to put up 19 points and 16 rebounds to go along with five blocks. Williams displayed a turnaround jumper and baseline spin move that were not part of his standard repertoire last season, and he even attempted a three-pointer, albeit unsuccessful.
Krzyzewski said Williams' ability to hit deep jumpers will force defenses to guard him farther out.
While Williams quickly rebounded from a rusty start, freshman jitters hindered Paulus for the entire first period. However, Paulus showed his phenomenal passing ability while leading the Blue Devil attack in the second half. The freshman dished two nifty interior passes to set up baskets by Melchionni and Eric Boateng. He also led the break, threading a lengthy pass to a wide-open DeMarcus Nelson shortly after finding Redick for his three.
"I brought him over early in the second half when he got in and before I said anything, he said 'Coach, I feel comfortable now,'" Krzyzewski said.
The Blue Devils' 123 points were the most points they have scored in any game during the previous seven seasons. The exciting tone was set early, when Nelson lofted an alley-oop pass to McRoberts, who slammed it in.
"Our guys were ready, they played hard the whole game and I think we got over some of the nervousness of being young," Krzyzewski said. "I thought we did a good job tonight, and we learned a lot."
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