Amile Jefferson’s injury created a major rebounding void for Duke, but freshman Brandon Ingram responded with his best performance on the boards of his young career.
Jefferson averaged 10.3 rebounds per contest before suffering a non-surgical fracture in his foot during practice, leaving many wondering how the Blue Devils would replace his consistent activity on the glass. The answer, at least during Tuesday's 99-65 win against Georgia Southern, was Ingram. The swingman shifted to the power forward position after playing mostly on the wing to begin the year and hauled in 14 boards to go along with his 26 points—both career-highs.
“We knew we had to pick up the slack…. [The keys were] talking and defensively getting on the boards, just listening to my guys, all the captains and Coach K,” Ingram said.
The Kinston, N.C., native nearly matched Duke’s highest single-game rebounding output of the season—Jefferson had 15 against then-No. 2 Kentucky Nov. 17—and turned in only the third double-double this year by a Blue Devil not named Jefferson. Eight of Ingram's boards came on the offensive end, which helped Duke finish the game with a 27-11 advantage in second-chance points.
“Brandon did a great job tonight, especially pursuing the ball, rebounding,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He obviously made a couple spectacular plays at the bucket, but the best thing he did was rebound. His pursuit of the ball was fantastic. That’s what Amile has been doing.”
Ingram's set the tone for an evening of relentless ball pursuit just more than two minutes into the first half. Freshman Luke Kennard misfired on a 3-pointer off the back rim, and Ingram tracked a long rebound across the floor before grabbing it and swinging the ball to Grayson Allen. The sophomore guard missed another attempt from deep, but Ingram was there under the basket for the rebound yet again. Ingram then went up for a shot himself and almost got it to fall even as he was hammered by Eagle guard Ike Smith.
Moments like this will go a long way toward answering questions about Ingram’s lanky frame entering this season and his ability to handle the physicality of the college game. He stands at a slender 6-foot-9 and 190 pounds—significantly smaller than most power forwards Duke will face in ACC play—but against Georgia Southern, which lacked a player taller than 6-foot-8, he used his athleticism to thrive in the post.
“We’re trying some things at the four where there are some positives because that four position, we have a scorer there,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re the ones who invented [the stretch four]. We’ve been doing that for almost 30 years.”
Ingram stayed out of foul trouble while crashing the boards aggressively throughout the game, only picking up one foul in 31 minutes on the court. This allowed a Blue Devil team severely lacking in depth without Jefferson to stick with a seven-man rotation and keep its best players on the floor.
It remains to be seen whether this dominance will translate to games against tougher competition, but Duke will be tested on the boards Saturday against Utah, which boasts a skilled 7-footer in star forward Jakob Poeltl. Ingram’s performance Tuesday should give him confidence heading into the matchup, but the Blue Devils will need rebounding contributions from other players as they continue to adapt to playing without Jefferson. Duke's starting backcourt delivered 18 rebounds Tuesday, another promising sign that must continue if Krzyzewski's squad wants to continue to protect the basket.
Freshman center Chase Jeter figured to be thrust into a more prominent role with Jefferson out, but did not make the most of his 17 minutes Thursday. Jeter scored two points and only had three rebounds, placing much of the burden to replace Jefferson’s production on Ingram. If Ingram continues to play with energy and attack the glass like he did Tuesday, though, Duke may be able to weather the storm with its captain watching from the sideline.
“It’s pretty impressive to see a guy that athletic, that long, that quick, to be able to move his feet like that and get into position and make the plays that he made,” graduate student Marshall Plumlee said. “It’s a really good feeling to know that even though we lost one of our biggest strengths, we have a lot of other big strengths on the team.”
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