For the first time in recent memory, the Blue Devils are going to to be big. Really big.
Duke fans fretted over the team’s lack of guard depth this summer upon the departures of Gerald Henderson and Elliot Williams, but the team’s glutton of players 6-foot-8 and taller gives the Blue Devils a size advantage that head coach Mike Krzyzewski says he has rarely had in his 30-year tenure.
Senior guard Jon Scheyer is looking forward to leading such a unique group.
“Our whole lineup, when you look at it, can really create mismatches,” senior guard Jon Scheyer said. “Going into this year, that’s something we really need to exploit.”
The Blue Devils haven’t had a solid post presence since Shelden Williams, and have consequently run a perimeter-based offense with a lot of movement in the past three years. Although conventional wisdom suggests that a team loaded with post players would pound the ball inside and run a lot set plays—and Duke displayed an inside-outside attack in its two exhbition games—Krzyzewski still plans on utilizing the team’s athleticism as well as its size in a revamped motion offense, similar to what his teams ran back when Danny Ferry donned blue and white in the late 1980s.
“We’re not going to run as many plays,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ll advance the ball quicker than we did last year but do it more with the pass to try to get an early offense going. We’ll be a team that doesn’t break you down with the ball and create shots.”
Last year, particularly after Williams entered the starting lineup, the Blue Devils relied on wing playmakers to create scoring opportunities with the ball in their hands. Four players lined up around the perimeter while one post player manned the paint. This system often devolved into an isolation for Henderson, who was called upon to make something happen late in the shot clock.
This season, Duke will still have motion on offense, but a lot more movement off the ball with no singular option to turn to with the clock winding down. The Blue Devils will have two big men inside—rotating seniors Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek, the Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly—and three perimeter players, taking advantage of the team’s size in setting screens to create open looks.
Duke is also trying to establish a high-low game with one big man stationed near the top of the key and another fighting for position on the block.
Getting the ball up the court quickly is still a priority for Duke. Despite featuring an oversized lineup, the Blue Devils believe that their big men are more agile than most, allowing them to run the floor and maintain a quick pace.
“One thing that isn’t addressed a lot about the big guys is that even though we’re a bigger team, we can really run,” Scheyer said. “With Miles and Mason [Plumlee] inside, they can really run the floor. They can jump [and] they’re long. So even though we’re bigger, we’re just as athletic.”
The additional size on offense will finally give Duke a rebounding presence, something the team has been sorely lacking in recent years. The Blue Devils ranked ninth in the ACC last season with 36.4 rebounds per game—the bulk of those coming on the defensive end—resulting in several one-and-done possessions. But now, the presence of two or more post players will give Duke multiple chances on the offensive end.
“In practice, it’s a war in there, everybody going after boards,” Zoubek said. “Everybody’s just hitting the boards and it’s a battle. I think were going to be able to pound guys into the court and on the glass all year long.”
For a team that has been criticized for being soft in the postseason of late, the Blue Devils could use more of that agressive mentality.
And a little size inside could be all that’s needed for that extra edge.
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