Ryan Kelly wasted no time making his presence felt on both ends of the court Friday night.
Within the first 20 seconds of Duke’s contest against Colgate, Kelly had already converted an alley-oop dunk from freshman Kyrie Irving and drawn a charge on the Raiders’ Yaw Gyawu.
The Blue Devils’ 110-58 drubbing of Colgate marked Kelly’s second career start, as well as a breakout performance from the sophomore.
“I just knew that I had to bring energy from the start,” Kelly said. “I knew that if I brought energy to the team, good things would happen, and they did tonight.”
Kelly’s stat line showed his impressive effort. He matched his career highs with nine points, five rebounds and two steals. He added two blocks and shot a career-best 3-of-4 from the field. But the box score didn’t completely demonstrate Kelly’s impact. He also played physical defense while limiting his fouls in a game in which both Plumlee brothers fouled out.
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