NEW YORK—It’s official: Duke has its star player, and his name is Grayson Allen.
Allen posted a career-high 30 points Friday in a win against Virginia Commonwealth at the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden, then returned to The World's Most Famous Arena Sunday to score 32 points en route to an 86-84 win against Georgetown and tournament MVP honors.
“Really, his stat line is one of the sensational stat lines, as someone who’s been doing this for 41 years,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “To score 32 points is one thing, but to do it with 12 shots is absolutely incredible. He was so deserving of the MVP for this, there wasn’t someone in second or third.”
Allen's weekend fireworks were the product of some tough love from Krzyzewski following No. 5 Duke's first loss of the season.
Against No. 2 Kentucky Nov. 17, the Blue Devil underclassmen showed their youth. Allen and freshmen Brandon Ingram and Luke Kennard combined to shoot 3-of-22 from the floor, forcing tri-captains Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones and Marshall Plumlee to pick up the slack against the Wildcats’ length.
Plumlee and Jefferson did not play poorly in New York, but their 22 combined points in the two games were overshadowed by Allen, who stole both shows. The Jacksonville, Fla., native drilled nine of his 14 3-point attempts, but did not settle for perimeter shots, attacking the rim with reckless abandon. The ears-pinned-back style earned Allen 18 trips to the foul line, where he converted all but one.
Allen has been Jekyll-and-Hyde during his young career. He dominated against Wisconsin in the 2015 national championship, lit up Wake Forest last year for 27 points and poured in 54 points in Duke's first two games of the year. But he struggled against Kentucky and even in Duke's first preseason game against Florida Southern. Against the Moccasins, he shot 3-of-9 and did not attack the hoop with authority.
The inconsistency led to Krzyzewski removing Allen from the starting lineup for Friday’s game against the Rams.
"I just [told] him, 'You’re not starting.' You think I wrote a note and put it on his pillow?" Krzyzewski said. "When we got back from Kentucky, the next day I met with half my team individually and just told them, 'This is what I think.' With Grayson, I told him I was disappointed. 'You didn't make an adjustment, you're not going to start...You don't have to be great, you have to be consistent.'"
Krzyzewski’s words sparked Allen’s big weekend performance. But freshman point guard Derryck Thornton also impressed alongside Allen in the backcourt, making his first career start in the New York limelight in Allen's place Friday.
Thornton was a question mark going into the season, having been away from the team over the summer to finish up his high school coursework. But he has come out firing on all cylinders this season, and was again a key figure in Duke's win Sunday. He finished with 14 points, dished out two assists and committed just two turnovers.
Thornton’s success should take some pressure off Allen, as the tandem is developing chemistry in the backcourt. With Thornton able to facilitate the offense and get his own shot off the dribble, Allen can be Duke's playmaker. On one sequence Friday night, Allen grabbed a defensive rebound, broke loose, faked Virginia Commonwealth's Doug Brooks right with an in-and-out move and then sidestepped left for a bucket and the foul.
“We’re always looking to push the ball on the break,” Allen said Friday night. “I got that look from Tyus [Jones] last year—he did that a lot, got me a lot with it in practice.”
Allen’s poise with the ball was again evident Sunday. He fed Marshall Plumlee for a two-handed jam in the second half, a momentum-shifting play that gave the Blue Devils a 61-54 lead. But he also was nearly perfect from downtown, finishing 5-of-6 on the day.
Matt Jones also pitched in, knocking down two big 3-pointers in a second-half comeback for the second straight game. Freshman guard Luke Kennard did not shoot the ball well, finishing the weekend 2-of-9 from the field. But what he lacked in shooting, he made up for in hustle. He nabbed five rebounds for the weekend and made three trips to the free-throw line Sunday.
The beauty of it all for Duke is that as Krzyzewski continues to try out different freshmen in new spots to help them adjust to the college game, he now has a rock to lean on.
"As much as possible," Krzyzewski said on how much he hoped to rely on Allen. "I’ve leaned on my great players my whole career."
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