I had a plan for a column this week. Really, I did. But in the aftermath of Duke's historic victory over North Carolina Wednesday night, it would be criminal for me to use this space to discuss anything else.
Even 36 hours after the win, no amount of superlatives or hyperbole seem to do justice to the Blue Devils' comeback punctuated by Austin River's buzzer-beating three. But in the grand scheme of things, the win was just one regular season victory, even if it tastes all the sweeter for the Duke faithful.
The real question now is, what can the Blue Devils learn from the victory going forward? I'm glad you asked—without further ado, the five lessons Duke needs to learn from their victory in Chapel Hill in order to build on the momentum.
Tyler Thornton is Duke's best option at the point, like it or not.
Just like the Republican primary season has been a search for anyone but Mitt Romney, it seems like this season Duke fans have been looking for any option at the point except Thornton. The sophomore isn't exciting, explosive or a stat-sheet filler. But the Seth Curry experiment at the point has seemingly failed—Curry seems much more comfortable on the wing than bringing the ball up the court, and while Quinn Cook is undoubtedly more offensively talented than Thornton, he continues to be a defensive liability. North Carolina's Kendall Marshall, a point guard known for his passing and not his driving ability, repeatedly took Cook to the hole on Wednesday for easy layups, something that can't happen in a rivalry game. Thornton, meanwhile, is still the Blue Devils' best defender and has shown a knack for making clutch shots. But more importantly, he provides a leadership and calming influence that has been lacking on the floor for much of this season.
Mason Plumlee is not NBA ready yet.
Mason had a good, but not great, game against the Tar Heels, scoring just eight points but hauling in 14 rebounds. But he yet again showed an inability to defend elite post players, a flaw exposed by Miami's Reggie Johnson last Sunday. While Mason has all the athleticism to be an NBA player, his defensive fundamentals and tendency to get lost on box-outs mean he could certainly use another year of Mike Krzyzewski's tutelage before heading to the professional level.
Ryan Kelly is still most effective as a stretch forward.
Kelly made great strides this past off-season in his post game, but those skills have only showed against overmatched opponents. Kelly creates matchup problems for any team, however, with his ability to not only shoot the 3-point shot, but also create his own mid-range jumpers off the dribble. Kelly could end up becoming an Austin Daye-like player—one who plays as a power forward in college simply because of his height, but moves to the small forward at the next level in order to match his game. Until then, though, Kelly provides the most value to Duke playing on the perimeter, a fact he showed with 15 points against North Carolina.
Duke needs Seth Curry if it is going to compete at a national level.
Curry's recent shooting woes have been overshadowed by the team's overall struggles, but they've been there nonetheless. Before he rediscovered his shooting touch in the Miami loss, the redshirt junior had scored more than 14 points in a game just twice this calendar year. But Curry broke out against Miami and continued his solid play with 15 points on 50-percent shooting against the Tar Heels, including that clutch 3-pointer in the game-winning run from past-NBA range. While Curry doesn't look like he'll ever be the 20-30 point scorer his brother was, the Blue Devils need their captain to be a consistent scorer that can take the pressure off players like Rivers and Mason Plumlee when their shots aren't falling, while also being a calming influence on the floor.
Austin Rivers can carry the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Like many who follow Duke, I've been frustrated with Rivers seemingly enigmatic performances all season. But Wednesday was the first night that Rivers truly combined his freakish natural abilities with a true understanding of the game. He scored his 29 points efficiently, on 9-of-16 shooting, while also notching five rebounds and containing Harrison Barnes for most of the first half defensively. More importantly, though, Rivers rarely forced his way into the lane as he did early in the season, instead deferring to his teammates when the rim wasn't available instead of turning the ball over. When Rivers plays within himself like he did last night, he can be the best player on the floor in any game. And with his game-winner, perhaps he has finally stepped up to claim the role vacated by Nolan Smith last season as Duke's go-to scorer in clutch situations.
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