There is still not much of an identity to this Duke Basketball team but one thing is for sure, nearly every game they've played this years has not lacked for entertainment.
Monday's opening game against Tennessee had many expecting a bit of an easy game as the Volunteers look to erase the memory of former coach Bruce Pearls, successful, by NCAA violation plagued tenure.
The game was certainly not easy but it like others showed glimpses of what Duke fans want to see more of and glimpses of things they just as soon live the rest of their lives and never see again as the Blue Devils kept its record in Maui perfect (13-0) with the 77-67 victory.
The Blue Devils were led again in scoring by freshman Austin Rivers, but it was Ryan Kelly, the White Raven, whose all around game really helped propel Duke past a very game and motivated Volunteer squad.
Rivers scored 18, and Kelly and Seth Curry chipped in 17 apiece. Duke used their size advantage early attacking the basket but it was their guards shooting that finally heated up and gave them the edge in the game.
Kelly showed his versatility inside and outside and he regularly forced his man to guard him on the perimeter and more than once Kelly put the ball on the floor to get a shot or a foul.
Mason Plumlee played well again in spurts but only scored 8 points though he did add 13 rebounds.
Duke at times looked sloppy on offense and weren't playing very well on defense, yet you got the feeling they could have or should have been leading the game by a comfortable margin. When Duke did turn it on they were able to extend the lead before the Volunteers would take advantage of one of the Blue Devils' many mistakes.
Whether it was missed free throws (9) turnovers (13) or fouls (18) Tennessee was able to keep the Blue Devils within arms length most of the game.
The Blue Devils also played a much shorter bench than you'd expect in an opening round game against an unranked opponent.
Sophomore Josh Hairston saw two minutes of action in the first half but none in the second. But more surprising was that Quinn Cook, who played eight, solid minutes in the first half, and played effectively on defense saw just about 20 seconds of action in the second half.
Granted Cook may still be working his way back into game shape, I have to wonder how long before he becomes a more consistent player.
It was a rough game for Tyler Thornton who was in foul trouble the entire game and eventually fouled out late in the game.
Overall only seven Duke players played double digit minutes against Tennessee and the Blue Devils only got seven bench points.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Blue Devils who are scheduled to tip around 7 p.m. in a rematch of last year's second round NCAA Tournament match up with Michigan who essentially dominated the much more athletic and higher ranked Memphis Tigers in the early game.
Many expected to see a Duke-Memphis match up but it would be very unwise to overlook a disciplined and skilled Michigan team whose famed 1-3-1 zone gave the Tigers fits and could do the same tomorrow night.
We will take a closer look at that game and how Duke matches up later. For now it is easy to see that this team is no where close to a finished product and perhaps this tournament will begin to help them answer some of those questions that they and we as fans have about this year's Blue Devils.
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