Sion James set the tone on the first possession.
When the graduate guard from Tulane confidently knocked down an opening triple and glared at the courtside fans, it was clear he came to Madison Square Garden ready to play. Just under two minutes later, he had another chance and buried it.
In a 110-67 record-shattering domination of Illinois, there was a lot that went right for Duke. Many of those good things can be boiled down to James’ contribution to this roster. In a stacked starting lineup, his heroics are often under-discussed, but he is a key cog in Duke basketball’s well-oiled machine.
“It was incredible,” James said of the environment. “I saw a lot of blue out there, which was always nice … especially as we were rolling and scoring the ball. It was an unbelievable atmosphere.”
Just like in Duke’s offensive clinic against Stanford, James recorded six assists. He had no turnovers Saturday evening, part of a growing trend of the Blue Devils' conference-best 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Individually, James is third in the conference with a remarkable 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, trailing only N.C. State’s Michael O’Connell and Notre Dame’s Matt Allocco.
“Obviously, you can look at his assist-to-turnover ratio, not just in this game, but throughout the whole season, especially the last couple months of play,” Scheyer said. “He makes everybody better, and that's the biggest thing.”
James was inserted into the starting lineup against Auburn, and while it took him some time to adjust to starting guard duties, he has flourished in conference play.
Even in Duke’s point-guard-by-committee approach, James frequently brings the ball up the court and calls out the plays. He is gaining a better understanding of the flow of the game, knowing when to push the pace — as evidenced by a perfect fast-break pass to Khaman Maluach for a lay-in — or when to slow it down.
“[He has this] ability to play fast and get downhill, but then play under control, to see the floor and just make simple, really good passes,” Scheyer said.
But James got his own, too. Both of those initial 3-point attempts were on passes from Flagg, showcasing the trust between the teammates four years apart. James is quietly shooting 40.8% from deep this season, and with the weak-side openings that frequently occur on Flagg double-teams, James can make a living finding the cracks in the defense; he specializes in catch-and-shoot triples.
That, combined with a 52.8% field-goal percentage and an 80.6% clip from the line, earns James the third-highest ACC mark in true shooting percentage in conference play, according to KenPom. He has scored double figures in five of the last eight games and at least eight points in every contest dating back to Duke’s North Carolina victory. James nearly had the dunk of the evening on a committed drive on top of 7-foot-1 Tomislav Ivišić — and even when he missed it, his aggressiveness was on full display.
That was all on the offensive side. He was also tasked with guarding highly-touted NBA draft prospect Kasparas Jakucionis and was in his grill all evening. Jakucionis had to work for everything he got, only scoring six points in the first half when James was the primary defender.
Granted, this game definitely could have had a different feel had Illinois not shot an abysmal 7.7% from 3-point range. But the point stands: James’ tenacity is infectious.
The Sugar Hill, Ga., native’s toughness on defense is clear, and it sets a perfect example for those around him. All of this was without Duke’s defensive centerpiece, Maliq Brown. During his first injury absence, Duke played two lackluster games against Wake Forest and N.C. State and had an up-and-down first half against Boston College. For his second absence, James knew something would have to change.
“The big thing for us is to do it together. You can't understate how much of an impact Maliq makes … but we just know that we’ve got to do it by committee,” James said of the defense. “I think everyone's really improved on that end, really bought in.”
Finally, his mentorship. James’ eyes lit up when discussing Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II’s performances Saturday evening, immediately mentioning them as factors in Duke’s defensive success.
Earlier this month, statistician Evan Miyakawa listed James as one of the nation’s top “glue guys,” as defined by players “who have a much bigger impact on their team's performance than their individual stats would indicate.” It’s an apt description of James’ role; as Scheyer said, he lifts his teammates up and makes them better.
Veteran backcourts win in March, and with No. 14 on the court, Duke is well positioned in the final stretch of the season.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.