Four years ago, Kobe Bryant said he would have picked Duke if he went to college. Exactly one year prior to Duke's win against Georgia Tech Tuesday, Bryant died in a helicopter crash.
His absence still stings for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his players.
“In Beijing, in one of the eating rooms, where my two granddaughters were, Kobe came up and kissed them on the hand,” Krzyzewski, who coached Bryant at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Team USA, remembered out loud at his postgame press conference Tuesday night. “He called them each a princess. He had that way.
“You start crying, really.”
Still, some of the Black Mamba’s spirit was alive and well in Cameron Indoor Stadium, with many Blue Devils wearing Bryant’s shoes and other Kobe-themed attire in their game against the Yellow Jackets.
Furthermore, one Duke player took on Kobe’s crunch-time role to power the team to its first win in over two weeks.
“[Kobe] was the Jordan for these young guys,” Krzyzewski said. “He was idolized.”
Clearly, players on both sides idolized Bryant and his tendency for off-balance shots with time winding down. Georgia Tech guard Bubba Parham knocked down an incredible fadeaway 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to bring Georgia Tech within one point of Duke with under five minutes left in the game.
It was one of those shots that you just have to yell “Kobe” after.
“They had two 3-pointers,” Krzyzewski said. “One bounced up 15 feet in the air. Parham threw that thing in there at the end of the shot clock.”
Beyond making ridiculous shots, Kobe was also known for stepping up in the clutch. On a team that had faltered in the waning moments of its last three games, Duke freshman forward Jalen Johnson channeled Bryant on Tuesday.
The Blue Devils trailed Georgia Tech by one point with under four minutes left to play. Then, Johnson converted an and-one layup. Forty seconds later, he did it again.
Two minutes later, Johnson’s free throw gave Duke the lead for good.
“In other games, we didn’t quite execute all the way through, but tonight we did,” Johnson said. “I think this is the start of something good.”
Tuesday marked Johnson’s third full game back since recovering from a foot injury. His clutch buckets down the stretch finished off an all-round solid performance for the Milwaukee native, who recorded 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
“With Jalen, it’s not only that he didn’t play—he didn’t practice for over a month,” Krzyzewski said. “For him to be advancing like he is, it’s really encouraging. He made those two plays in the last two minutes after contact. That’s a big sign.”
“Jalen’s a great player,” senior point guard Jordan Goldwire added. “He just took the reads and made smart plays. When he is attacking the rim like that, it’s big for us.”
Johnson’s play helped stave off Duke’s first four-game losing streak since 2007. He wasn't the only one who impressed Tuesday, though. Freshman guard DJ Steward put up 19 points, and sophomore forward Matthew Hurt registered 17 points of his own.
Even freshman center Mark Williams contributed with a career-high six points in addition to six rebounds. Despite the close finish, it may have been the Blue Devils’ best win of the season.
“Maybe we’re building a team,” Krzyzewski said.
Kobe Bryant never played for Duke. But there were certainly shades of Bryant sprinkled throughout Tuesday's victory, with the Blue Devils showing that even as a young squad, they can dominate when it counts. That ability will be tested against an up-and-down Clemson team Saturday.
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