KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Guarding Duke’s perimeter play is challenging enough. With Monday night’s contest against Marquette as an indicator, the addition of strong post play could make the Blue Devils lethal.
For the first time this season it was Duke’s post game—not its perimeter play—that spurred the Blue Devil offense. And if Mason Plumlee continues to have games like he did in Kansas City, opposing coaches might have to try to find a new antidote to Duke’s attack.
“I don’t know if you can pick a poison because everyone is poisonous,” Marquette head coach Buzz Williams said.
The added potency of Plumlee’s attack came at the perfect time for Duke. On a night when the Blue Devils committed an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers, Plumlee balanced those lost possessions with additional ones gained from his six offensive rebounds. He also provided a new offensive threat when the Blue Devils needed to slow down the offense.
The final line: 25 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, three assists.
“Plumlee is good off the bounce. Plumlee can hold his position. Plumlee gets deep catches,” Williams said. “He just wore us out.”
Plumlee appeared to be the focus of Duke’s offense from the opening tip, surprising given the attention showered on the team’s deep perimeter corps. The Blue Devils’ first basket was scored on a Plumlee bucket from the post on a play that was designed to get him the ball. He scored a few minutes later off a strong putback in the paint. And Duke went right back to Plumlee after the first media timeout; its faith was rewarded with another basket in the paint.
Some may write off Plumlee’s career day as a symptom of Marquette’s lack of height—the Golden Eagles have just one player taller than 6-foot-8 and normally play at least three players around the perimeter. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski discounted the seeming lack of competition for Plumlee, though, calling the Golden Eagles “strong” down low.
But it was Plumlee’s performance beyond the statistics that truly showed his improvement over last season. The freshman Mason Plumlee didn’t have the confidence, the body control or the strength to score putbacks with contact—the sophomore forward had two and-one’s against Marquette. Freshman Plumlee didn’t have the experience to consistently dominate the post without turning the ball over or picking up ill-advised offensive fouls—sophomore Plumlee was the focus of Duke’s offense on this night.
“Of course as a player you always want the ball,” Plumlee said. “I just wanted to stay within the plays and take the opportunities that come my way. My teammates did a good job of hitting me.”
Without a resurgent Plumlee, the Blue Devils’ turnovers might have doomed them against a feisty Marquette team. Kyle Singler’s and Seth Curry’s cold shooting night could have made scoring a chore. But with Plumlee, Duke had the consistent offensive threat in the post it has lacked this year.
And if Plumlee continues to progress in this fashion as the season continues, he could prove to be one poison too many for opposing teams.
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