In its ACC opener Jan. 2 against Miami, Duke managed a 74-63 victory against a Hurricanes team that staged a strong second half performance. Although the Blue Devils were a more talented team, they struggled to put away Miami in the game’s latter stages. Some thought that head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s use of only a seven-man rotation might be to blame.
Just a week later, Maryland came to town looking to make a statement in the two teams’ heated rivalry series. Not only did the Blue Devils pull out a 71-64 win over the Terrapins, they also took advantage of an opportunity to expand their rotation to eight men in a tightly contested contest, when rotations typically become tighter.
The expanded rotation had an unexpected beneficiary: freshman guard Tyler Thornton.
“I don’t go into the game expecting anyone to play a certain amount of minutes, except Nolan and Kyle,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I’m more instinctive about subbing and [being] reactionary. At that moment, I felt like we needed a spark.”
The moment that Krzyzewski referred to came early in the second half when Maryland took a 38-32 lead after a Sean Mosley tip-in. That was when Krzyzewski reacted to the Maryland run and went small, inserting both Thornton and Seth Curry into the game, giving Duke a three-guard lineup.
The lineup alteration worked wonders. Over the next five-and-a-half minutes, Duke went on an 11-0 run. Thornton was a defensive catalyst during that stretch, swiping several of his team-high four steals. And Curry took over for the Blue Devils on the offensive end, as he poured in six of those 11 points and Thornton added two.
“We had a little lull there, and Maryland made a nice little run,” Curry said. “Then Coach decided to get the energy back and made some subs. Tyler and I provided some energy, I was able to knock down some shots and the crowd was back into it.”
As Duke pulled away down the stretch, both Curry and Thornton continued to see time, even subbing in for each other as Krzyzewski incorporated an offense-for-defense strategy. And the team’s stars were quick to point out the impact that the guards made off the bench.
“Those guys came in and made some big plays,” Smith said. “Tyler’s defense was the difference tonight.”
While Thornton’s defense may have helped the game’s outcome, Curry demonstrated a previously unseen offensive game. Having spent much of his time this year toeing the 3-point line, Curry showed a new willingness to put the ball on the floor and get into the midrange.
“On the scouting report, I’m known as a shooter,” Curry said. “Coach is always telling me to use the shot fake. I was able to do that, get free and get some good looks.”
As important as a consistent scoring punch from Curry off the bench would be for this team, the impact that Thornton could have as the eighth man in the rotation is much deeper than meets the eye, especially as Kyrie Irving continues to sit out with his toe injury.
“Coach has told me time and time again that my defense is going to be important for this team,” Thornton said. “It’s going to relieve pressure for Nolan so he doesn’t have to bring the ball up against pressure and then pick up the ball coming back on defense.”
But before the eight-man rotation becomes the expectation, the backcourt duo will have to prove that their performance against Maryland was more than just an aberration, something that Thornton and anyone associated with Duke basketball certainly hope is the case.
“This is not the end: I’m going to keep moving and keep improving,” Thornton said.
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