CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With 15:42 to go in the second half and a 55-25 lead in hand, The Blue Devils did something they hadn’t done all season.
They substituted all five starters out at once.
Nolan Smith, Mason Plumlee, Kyle Singler, Seth Curry and Miles Plumlee, the members of the white team in practice, all left the floor. In their place came the blue team—Josh Hairston, Ryan Kelly, Tyler Thornton, Andre Dawkins and Kyrie Irving, who recently resumed practicing.
The reasoning behind the decision was twofold, according to head coach Mike Krzyzewski. It helped Duke avoid any letdown due to its large lead, and it helped get Kyrie Irving additional minutes in his first game back from his toe injury.
“We were fortunate we got [Irving] to play 20 minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “And the way the game went along, because we were playing very well, we were able to have him in with the unit he has been practicing with. So that gave him familiarity, he wasn’t worried about getting in Nolan’s way or anything like that.”
The decision to substitute five players at a time was made before the game, Ryan Kelly and Andre Dawkins both said. With Irving’s return, the Blue Devils have two full teams of players that were offered scholarships coming out of high school (Casey Peters was a former walk-on who earned a scholarship this year). With those numbers, Duke could afford to keep its starters on the bench in preparation for Sunday’s game.
It also helped the Blue Devils maintain a high level of play throughout their 87-45 victory against Hampton. The 42-point victory is the largest of the Tournament so far.
“You have a 17-point lead at halftime and held them to 22 points, and you can get sloppy,” Krzyzewski said of his team. “I just thought at the time…it would be better for us, for their minutes, to put them in an environment that they’ve been in in practice.”
The second unit took about four minutes to score its first points despite several good looks. Krzyzewski, though, was pleased by their rebounding and effort on defense.
The group stayed on the floor until the 9:30 mark and then reentered the game with 6:30 to go. In the game’s waning minutes, the newest member of the group took over the game. Irving blocked a ball, stole a ball and exploded for back-to-back 3-pointers to finish the game as Duke’s leading scorer with 14 points.
Hampton head coach Edward Joyner, Jr. complimented Duke’s depth after the game.
"[Duke's] going to be strong one through 13,” he said. "I'm going to be honest with you...there is no comparison from that second five to that first five. But, I can tell you that second five is probably a top three team in our league if they don't have a chance to win it. So, that's facing a different animal."
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