This is the 2nd installment in a series of 5 questions the Duke Blue Devils need answers to as they seek the school’s 5th National Championship. Here is the first. Ben Johnston is a friend, a Duke fan, and clearly very knowledgeable about the team he cheers for. Watch for his contributions as the site moves forward and thanks, as always, for reading!
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Thin To Begin
A year ago Duke’s backcourt looked like a liability. Having lost captain Greg Paulus to graduation, leading scorer Gerald Henderson to the NBA Draft, and breakout rookie Elliot Williams to transfer, Duke entered the 2009-2010 season with three scholarship guards on its roster. The team was so desperate for backcourt help that 2010 recruit Andre Dawkins reclassified over the summer to join the Devils at the start of the 2009 season, and Coach K convinced walk-on Jordan Davidson to make use of a previous redshirt season to join the team for a fifth season.
We all know how that story ended: Duke controlled the tempo on offense and defense, relying on a calculated, motion-based half-court attack featuring deft perimeter shooting with a sizable frontcourt that offered second chance opportunities and yielded few. That formula won them a championship. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Wrong. This season Coach K will throw away last year’s playbook and revamp the Blue Devil’s offensive and defensive schemes in light of virtually unprecedented backcourt depth that features 5 players capable of starting.
Duke fans are already familiar with senior captain Nolan Smith, whose markedly improved play was a major part of Duke’s championship run a year ago, as well as Andre Dawkins, a sharpshooting wing guard with NBA level athleticism. It is two newcomers to the backcourt , however, that will have the Crazies going bananas this winter in Cameron.
The New Guys
When it comes to Kyrie Irving, superlatives and hype are hard to avoid. He is undoubtedly the best PG at Duke since the Jason Williams/Chris Duhon era. He was a consensus top 5 recruit (#2 according to Scout). His high school coach said he would be the best PG to ever come out of the state of New Jersey, a state that previously sent two All-American PGs to Duke in Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley. Coach K has said he will completely change the Blue Devil offense because of Kyrie’s speed and ability in the open court. He also compared Kyrie to Chris Paul.
No, Kyrie has not played a minute of college basketball, which makes all this hype seem speculative. But of this much you can be sure: Kyrie Irving is the total package. He has freaky quickness to complement his ball-handling skills. Coach K said his squad is having trouble practicing double teams because Kyrie is so good at splitting them. As the leading set-up man for the Team USA team that took home gold at the U18 championships this summer, Kyrie showed tremendous court-vision leading the team in assists while maintaining a 2:1 assist to turn-over ratio throughout the tournament. He is also an excellent scorer, shoots a high percentage from 3 (adjusting to the college 3 point line should be no problem) and has an array of finishing moves in the lane — a place on the court he can access at will. Oh yea, he can play above the rim as well. Kyrie will fuel the Blue Devil offense by attacking the rim, drawing defenders and finding open players. And with a multitude of weapons surrounding him Kyrie will certainly rack up hefty assist totals, but don’t be surprised if he also has games where he looks more like Allen Iverson than Chris Paul.
(One more thing you can be sure of: Kyrie won’t be around for long. DraftExpress projects him as #3 pick in the 2011 draft, while NBAdraft.net has him at #4. While an NBA lockout may ultimately affect how many years the high school class of 2010 is forced to stay in college, Kyrie looks poised to lead his class into the draft whenever it takes place.)
Red-shirt sophomore Seth Curry, the younger brother of former Davidson All-American and current Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry, flew under the radar as a high school recruit, much like his older brother. And they have more than that in common. Also like Steph, Seth made major college coaches regret not recruiting him by leading the country’s freshmen in scoring at Liberty where he averaged better than 20ppg. Their games are also similar: both are combo guards, both can score in a variety of ways, and, like their father Dell, both have ridiculous range on their jumpers. While referring to Seth and his backcourt counter-part Andre Dawkins, SI’s Seth Davis recently remarked that “Dawkins and Curry aren’t shooters. They’re snipers. Don’t give ‘em the chance to spread the floor and fire.”
Unlike his brother, however, Seth chose to transfer from Liberty after his freshman season to join the Blue Devils. After sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, Seth figures to be a major part of the Blue Devil’s scheme this season. While the backcourt starters are locked in with Kyrie and Nolan Smith, Seth will play significant minutes as a 6th man (think Jon Scheyer as a sophomore) subbing in for either starter and playing both on and off the ball. Expect Seth to play with a chip on his shoulder and to bring a serious punch off the bench after watching from the sideline as Duke won its fourth National Title last year.
Not To Be Forgotten
Less heralded than newcomers Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry is the All-Met PG from Washington, D.C., Tyler Thornton. Known as a leader and a defender, Tyler was also the floor-general for the well-known DC Assault AAU team, a team whose alumni include current Dukie Nolan Smith and recent 5-star commit Quinn Cook. With the plethora of guards on the Duke roster, Tyler’s minutes may be limited during his first year at Duke, but Krzyzewski’s propensity to play defensive-minded players, combined with Tyler’s recent improvement in his three-point shot may earn him time sooner than some may think.
What It All Means
Overall, with five players capable of contributing in the backcourt, Duke will run a fast paced offense that pushes the ball in transition. Duke will also up its intensity on the defensive end, picking up full and ¾ court pressure the majority of possessions. This will mean more substitutions to keep players fresh and more shots for the team as a whole.
In terms of roles, with Kyrie leading the attack at the point, Duke fans can expect Nolan Smith’s primary role to be that of a wing guard, a role in which he excelled last year. He will also likely spend some time spelling Kyrie at the point, a duty he will share with Seth Curry. With this bevy of guards, Duke will also employ a three-guard line-up with some frequency, shifting All-American forward Kyle Singler into the Power Forward position, where he can use his ball-handling and shooting skills to create mismatches on the perimeter.
