Firm defense and a willingness to share the ball.
That's what makes this team different and more dynamic than the teams Duke fans have seen in the past couple of years. Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils dished out 30 assists and held Presbyterian to just 44 points and a 34.6 percent clip from the field.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski was not hesitant to point out that his team has been out to prove something on the defensive end of the court.
"We can play defense," Krzyzewski said. "We haven’t been able to play defense the way I would like for a while. We were not a very good defensive team last year. The year before we were pretty good, but in a different way. We have made a real commitment to getting back to our roots. I think that is the vision I have for this team and we have the athletic ability and depth to do it."
Duke held the Blue Hose to just 19 points in the first half and 44 points total, the lowest it had allowed since holding Clemson to 40 points in a blowout victory Jan. 8, 2012. It isn't always accurate to make comparisons across seasons, but look back at last season's opener, when Davidson scored 77 points on 41.9 percent shooting from the field.
Defense plagued the Blue Devils throughout last season, as they gave up 67.4 points per game and allowed 78 points in last year's NCAA tournament loss to Mercer in March.
But one could tell that the top priority Friday night was defending the basket. A full-court press stifled Presbyterian early and generated a handful of the 17 turnovers Duke forced during the course of the game. That mark registered well above the last season's team average of 12.1 turnovers per game.
The Blue Devils are confident on the defensive end, and a big reason why is that every scholarship player is ready to step in and defend at any point during the game, with little drop-off. This allows anyone who is tired to get some rest during the game and keep fresh bodies on the court.
"One of our mantras is 'Don’t pace,'" guard Rasheed Sulaimon. "As soon as you get too tired, you have someone who can sub in and there won’t be a let-up. We are just trying to get after that and build championship habits. We feel like we have 10 guys who can go. We feel like we have some really strong defenders. So we feel like we are going to really get after guys."
So far, this is what separates this year's Blue Devils from recent versions. They seem to truly understand the importance of the brand of defense that Krzyzewski wants to play.
Duke has lots of players who can put up points—especially the four freshmen, who all scored in double digits Friday. But even one of the team's newest members understands that scoring points and winning games starts on defense.
"We want to play with a great energy on defense," guard Tyus Jones said. "[We need] to be locked in on the defensive end and get on the boards and let that translate to our offense."
The other difference on display Friday: assists. The Blue Devils had 16 helpers against Davidson in 2013, which set the tone for an average of 14.5 assists per game last season. This year's team always seemed to be looking for the extra pass against the Blue Hose, and when all was said and done, 10 players combined to put together a striking 30-assist performance that was only 14 shy of how many points Presbyterian put on the scoreboard.
Everyone was involved in the unselfishness. Whether it was center Jahlil Okafor looking to kick the ball out to his arsenal of 3-point shooters or walk-on Sean Kelly finding Marshall Plumlee for a trey in the games' waning seconds, an extra pass was always being made.
"We passed up some good shots for some great shots," Krzyzewski said.
Duke has plenty of star-power and plenty of NBA draft prospects. But the Blue Devils seem focused on winning a championship, which means building chemistry off the court in order to play seamlessly on the court, despite the fact that there isn't exactly a wealth of experience on the roster.
"This team is probably one of the closest teams I have been on," Sulaimon said. "On and off the court. We always hang out with each other, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we really try to do our best to help each other out. If someone is down, pick each other up; if someone is hitting shots, keep going to them."
The defense is there. The chemistry is there. The unselfishness is there. And the talent is there.
These are four scary qualities, and if the Blue Devils can continue to mix them together in order to win games, they could be primed for a run to the Final Four.
"I like playing the style we’re playing," Krzyzewski said. "They know that and they like playing it."
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