Duke fans, welcome to the new-look Blue Devils.
No longer is Duke a team that relies on the success of one or two players. The Blue Devils now have a plethora of options and showed last night that they could key on their depth to win games.
In the first half against Columbia, Duke took fewer shots, 22, than it put up against any other opponent in the opening period last season. On those attempts, the Blue Devils converted 16 times.
The high field goal percentage was not due to the stroke of one hot hand. Instead, it was the result of a versatile offense.
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"That's the thing about our team," junior guard DeMarcus Nelson said. "We always have five guys that can pass the ball and five guys on the court who can score the ball. So, our offense is very balanced. We had a lot of guys in double figures. There wasn't one dominant scorer because different players were getting some baskets in spurts. That's how our offense works."
Each time down the floor, Columbia was unsure where the ball would go. Unlike last season, when most teams could predict that Redick would be the first option, the Lions had to be aware of both the post players down low and the shooters on the outside.
In the first half, Duke scored 22 of its 46 points in the paint, and most of those did not come from sophomore forward Josh McRoberts. With Columbia focusing on the big man, space opened up down low for freshmen Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas to take advantage of mismatches. The two combined for 12 points, and each made two trips to the foul line in the first half.
Last season, Duke struggled to find second and third post options whenever McRoberts or Shelden Williams had an off night. Now, Duke has a number of options. If the opposing team comes at them with a tall lineup, the Blue Devils can counter with McRoberts and Zoubek. And if defenses try to go small and quick, Duke can put Thomas in the game.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said before the second half got started, he was waiting to see whether Columbia would go small or big. The Lions went big and paid dearly as Krzyzewski started Zoubek, who put up 13 of his 18 points in the second half.
While Zoubek stole the show inside in the second half, freshman Jon Scheyer took center stage in the first half and showed that the Blue Devils have multiple options outside as well. Scheyer missed only once in five attempts from beyond the arc in the opening half, closing with 12 points at the intermission.
The biggest questions entering the opening game were whether sophomore guard Greg Paulus would play, and how Scheyer would perform.
Although Paulus started and was on the floor for 19 minutes, Scheyer demonstrated that he can be more than a backup point guard who only comes in for short periods when Paulus needs a rest.
When teams focus on the big men down low like Columbia did at times, Scheyer will have opportunities to fire his outside shot. Krzyzewski said even though Scheyer did make four threes, he thought the freshman guard had more chances and encouraged Scheyer to shoot more.
In blowouts like Sunday's, Duke will have the chance to develop its young team and go deep into its bench. Although the play of Paulus, McRoberts and Nelson may have been overshadowed by a few of the upstarts, without the trio's guidance and steady play, the inexperienced freshmen would not have blossomed like they did.
"I was particularly pleased with our three veterans-Josh, DeMarcus and Greg," Krzyzewski said. "I didn't think they forced anything.. They kind of wanted their teammates to get involved."
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