Coming off a Northwest Missouri State win that showcased a concerning amount of rust, the Blue Devils entered their second exhibition game with a chip on their shoulder.
Although Duke was playing far from daunting competition, the Blue Devils showcased a physical offense with weapons up and down the roster—perfect for a team looking to contend with the nation's best early in the season.
No. 4 Duke dominated Fort Valley State 126-57 in the Blue Devils' final game of the preseason. Led by a breakout shooting performance from Joey Baker and the establishment of freshmen Vernon Carey Jr. and Matthew Hurt as major offensive threats, the Blue Devils showed off a competent offense to start the season.
"It was awesome. I’ve seen [Baker] work so hard through his time here, I’ve seen him get down on himself and I’ve seen him be confident," senior captain Jack White said. "Just to see him in a good place tonight and seeing his mom in the crowd and seeing the smile on her face, I know how hard he has worked and the adversity and the challenges. I couldn’t be happier for him. A young kid who sat a lot last year, had his redshirt taken away, now coming in this year with a more aggressive mindset, it’s great to see him put that into a game."
Outside of the usual suspects, the player of the night surely goes to Baker. With a lineup starving for production from long range, Baker showcased a stroke that may be invaluable for Duke down the line. The Fayetteville, N.C., native was absolutely cooking from beyond the arc, going 5-for-6 from downtown in the first half and 6-for-8 overall. Although Baker looked lost at times in Duke's offensive rotation last year, the sophomore looked at home picking up catch-and-shoot threes from the corner. If the Blue Devils want to give their more dominant interior players a chance to shine, shooters like the 6-foot-7 forward must find a way to stay in the rotation and hit shots.
And luckily for Duke, Baker wasn't the only one to find production from outside.
Hurt, seemingly the only offensive constant through the preseason, continued to be a matchup nightmare, scoring in the paint and spreading the floor with his trademark smooth stroke. Coupled with treys from the likes of White, freshman forward Wendell Moore and junior shooting guard Alex O'Connell, Duke showed that it has the potential to make room for its traditional slashers.
"You can put up as many shots as you want but seeing them go in during a real game definitely builds confidence," Baker said. "Hopefully it’ll carry over to next week."
The Blue Devils can also take solace that freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. seems to have moved on from a muddled performance just a few nights earlier and looks even more locked in as the Blue Devils' go-to big man. Carey dominated the glass all evening thanks in no small part to having a frame that towered over the Wildcats, grabbing eight boards and scoring 11 points, all of which came from the interior.
Though Moore and freshman Cassius Stanley had slower starts to the contest, both accelerated to pace Hurt and Carey in scoring. As a pair of elite slashing wings with a nose for defense, the two round out a freshman class that projects to be absolutely lethal at cuts and drives.
Although this year's squad is far from perfect and lacks the blatant star power of years past to cover-up early-season errors, tonight's showing against Fort Valley State at least showed that Duke has the pieces in play to have a dominant offense. The question is getting them to smoothly fit together.
"We shared [the offensive load] better," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Look, it’s our second game. We don’t even have the same lineup in practice all the time. We just have to get to know one another. It’s not like a set starting five. The group we started played together for at least two days. But they’re not going to be out there for eight minutes straight. So, Wendell’s got to get in there, Javin [DeLaurier] and Jack. We’ll get some type of rotation going, where everyone when they come in feels like they’re a really good player and they can play with one another."
The Blue Devils will get a real test Nov. 5 when they open the regular season against No. 3 Kansas at Madison Square Garden for the Champions Classic.
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