Duke came into this game, just like their last game with a last minute scratch in sophomore Mark Mitchell. Mitchell tweaked his ankle this week and was held out for precaution. With the outcome never really a factor the Blue Devils soldiered on with Ryan Young taking Mitchell’s spot in the starting lineup against the Dartmouth Big Green. Dartmouth, a team that employs the 5 out offense coupled with their ability to execute back cuts with efficiency, was the exact team to schedule to test the Blue Devils defensively.
Unable to play their switching defense for a lot of the game with Mark Mitchell being out, the Blue Devils showed their youth at times surrendering several backdoor cut layups and left a few open shooters. Duke’s main objective according to Coach Scheyer was to take away what the Big Green wanted to do the most – which was shoot 3-pointers, the result was always going to be giving up some looks in the lane – no matter how hard it was to watch from a fan perspective. Obviously in the first game of the season perfection isn’t expected but there were some things to note – defensively there is a lot to clean up and that was and is to be expected and secondly the rebounding. The Blue Devils drew even in the rebounding column with Dartmouth in the first half but were able to force 7 first half Big Green turnovers. Obviously having Mark Mitchell helps in both categories but Duke will have to learn to play without Mitchell on the floor.
The last 5 minutes of the first half Duke really saw the Blue Devils pick it up on both ends of the floor after which Duke pushed their lead to 21 utilizing a 17-2 run to cap the half.
The second half saw the Blue Devils mix up their lineups quite a bit as Jon Scheyer tested the efficacy of different groups. At times the Blue Devils had 4 guards on the floor along with Kyle Filipowski and a few lineups sans Proctor and Filipowski. Eventually Coach Scheyer would pull his starters and main bench guys. Duke still beat the Big Green handily despite not being able to out-rebound Dartmouth ending the game in a tie in that category. Duke surrendered 10 offensive boards that lead to 8 second chance points for Dartmouth while only scoring 4 themselves. Duke did win several important stats by a wide margin including fast break points which they won 16 -1, points in the paint (52-24) and bench points (29 – 6).
The man of the match for the Blue Devils was Kyle Filipowski who scored a game high 25 points and pulled down a game high 7 rebounds. Filipowski played 27 minutes and went 10-12 from the field and 1-2 from 3-point range. Freshman Caleb Foster, in his Duke debut, scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting, hitting 1 of 3 of his 3-point attempts. Senior guard Jeremy Roach scored 14 and seemed like he hit a big bucket whenever it seemed the Duke offense was in a rut – which wasn’t much of the game. Roach was 7-11 from the field with 3 assists. Tyrese Proctor, Jaylen Blakes and freshman Jared McCain all scored 8 apiece in the opener with Proctor adding a game high 8 assists in the 92-54 victory.
Overall the Blue Devils shot a whopping 64.3% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc while giving up just 34.6% from the field and 23.5% from the 3-point line.
Next up for the Blue Devils is another date in Cameron with the high powered Arizona Wildcats.
DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening Statement:
“It was great to get that first win under our belt. The very first thing for me walking out there today, we’re playing on a Monday night. It’s nine o’clock. And just to see our crowd show up, the students, the fans, just to see how we showed out was an incredible thing for us I never want to take for granted. I thought the environment was great. It really helped set the tone. I thought our team was ready to play. Mark [Mitchell] couldn’t play right before the game. He sprained his ankle. He’s day-to-day, I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. But having a guy like Ryan [Young] that can just fill in and step up right away is a big luxury to have. It put Flip [Kyle Filipowski] in a different position. I thought the experience for those two guards, Jared [McCain] and Caleb [Foster], were really good. Jared, I know had the foul trouble, but I thought he had a look, I thought he was in a great space before those fouls happened. So really, really happy overall. Obviously, there’s a lot to clean up, a lot we can do better. But we knew at Dartmouth, they shoot a lot of threes. Those two kids, [Ryan] Cornish and [Dusan] Neskovic can really shoot the ball. Overall, we do a good job and Neskovic had some tough shots. Cornish, I thought Jeremy [Roach] did a great job on him—a great collective effort. And for us, it’s back to work, learning from it, how to build, and get ready for Friday.”
On the backcourt and Jaylen’s performance:
“I thought what Jaylen [Blakes], what he did was huge for us. We had kind of stalled out a little bit there in the middle of the first half. And then Jaylen had the steal, and the and one, the three from the corner, which is icing on the cake. But I just love the energy that he brought. Jaylen’s built such a trust level with me knowing on defense, what he’s going to do, the energy that he brings. And then for Caleb, I thought he had some really nice plays. I thought he, once he settled in, he’s a guy that can really get in our paint. He can create for others. He can create for himself. And the thing with Caleb and Jared, they’re not afraid at all. They’ve been battle tested and playing in this environment, I thought they were really ready to go.”
On playing a different type of team to start the season:
“Seeing different defenses is important. I would expect it’s not the last time we’re playing against zone defense. And they’re different too because, look, they shoot a lot of threes, generally, and tonight they only took 18. They can take 30 threes in a game. And now did they get layups? Yes, but you’re trying to take away the thing they do best, and that’s shooting threes, so to hold them to four for the night, negative assist-to-turnover ratio, I was really, I was really happy overall with our defense. There’re some communication things we need to clean up. And then offensively, when we share it to move, I think we’re tough to guard. Our guys can create shots on their own too. So, it’s giving them the freedom to do that, while also moving the defense and working for the best shot at the same time.”
On getting as many positives as possible out of the game:
“I would say no matter who you play, but like, there’s a ton of respect. We didn’t talk about anybody else besides Dartmouth. We’re going to do the same thing heading into Friday with Arizona. We know they’re a high-power team and really good, of course, but for us, it’s about growing and maxing out who we can be as a team. And so for tonight, I don’t think we played a 40-minute game. I thought we played close to it. There’s some lulls. And again, there’s plenty we have to clean up and do better but then the goal is for Friday to get close to that. And then for next Tuesday to get closer and then from then on. Just keep making strides throughout the entire season. But I did think overall, we were ready. I thought the end of the first half was great. And I know for these guys sometimes there’s only so much you can say. Experiencing it is the best thing. And so now that we experienced that, I think we have a lot to learn from, a lot we can grow from there.”
SOPHOMORE GUARD TYRESE PROCTOR
On what his second season opener was like tonight:
“It’s fun. I just don’t overthink it, stay confident, and just play what’s in front of me. That’s why I had eight assists tonight, just reading, trying to set the tempo, set the pace for this team, and just leading the young guys.”
On the strong finish to the first half that Duke had:
“It started with our defense. We want to win the first four and win the last four of each half. I thought we did that in the first half and that sort of set us up for the second half.” “I think we’re really dynamic this year, very deep. Our backcourt is probably the best in the country, and I think we set the tone as guards, just trying to push the pace and control the tempo. Then we got guys coming in fresh off the bench with new legs.”
On Duke’s upcoming games against Arizona and Michigan State:
“It’s going to be a big test for us, obviously, Arizona and then Michigan State, but we’re really locked in on Arizona now and we’ve just got to defend home court. We’ve only played three games as a team and with such a new group, obviously, having our core back from last year does give us some familiarity on the court and [will help Duke] just get a win under our belt.”
SOPHOMORE CENTER KYLE FILIPOWSKI
“I think we’ve already found more of a rhythm for our offense this year compared to last year, just with always keeping the ball moving, no matter who has it or if the play gets broken up or something. Just keeping it moving, keeping the defense on their heels, we’re just going to find something eventually. We’re going to see a lot of different defenses this year, so we’ve got to be prepared for whatever’s coming at us.”
When asked about the play in the first half when he finished strong through contact and then flexed to the crowd:
“I think it’s definitely a sign of a more in-tune player I am this year. I’ve been working a lot in the offseason and preseason, and I just feel like this is my year to really rise to the occasion with the potential I have.”
On his fast start to the second half, scoring 10 of Duke’s first 14 points:
“I was definitely trying to have that chip on my shoulder, but it just kind of came naturally, too. Running the court, some guys just weren’t picking me up on defense for some reason, and I didn’t have an issue with it. It was just going my way in the beginning of the second half.”
When asked how his surgically repaired hips felt tonight:
“They felt incredible. I wasn’t thinking about them once the whole game until I sat out the final stretch. I didn’t have any pain or thoughts about my hips holding me back. It was just poetry for me.”
On Duke’s upcoming games against Arizona and Michigan State:
“We’re getting right into it this year. I think playing Dartmouth was good, just for exposure for the freshman but the rest of getting used to playing together in a real game, because it’s coming quick. We’ve got two top-ten teams, and that’s the type of games we want to play in because we’re going for a national championship. We’ve got to beat the best to be the best. We just have a lot to prove and we’ve got to win the game.”
