Duke had no problems on Saturday dispatching the Delaware Blue Hens with relative ease. Regardless of the final score (88-50) it was an important game for the Blue Devils in terms of attempting to build some depth going forward which at this point in the young season has been the only real knock on Duke. Contributing to the need for depth was the absence of Seth Curry in this game. Curry, recovering from a tweaked ankle, would sit this game for the Devils. Tyler Thornton notched the start in Currys place.
Mason Plumlee did his thing, solid and a load for the Blue Hens to contend with. Mason once again was a double-double machine. Scoring 18 points off of 6 of 9 shooting and pulling down 11 rebounds 10 of which were defensive. Mason also had 3 blocks and hit 6 of his 10 free throw attempts.
Ryan Kelly also had 18 points and continued to be a match-up nightmare for defenses. Kelly has become much more aggressive on the offensive end and seems to get better with each game. Kelly seems to be making much better decisions with his shot selection, choosing to pull up for mid-range and short jumpers rather than forcing the ball to the rim and picking up charges.
Rasheed Suliamon continued to show why he has been the freshmen of the year so far in college hoops. Sulaimon went 6 of 12 from the floor and scored 14 points he also added 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Sulaimon has been a breath of fresh air this year for Duke, he is fully capable of creating his own shot off the dribble and is a threat from beyond the arc as well. Its hard to imagine a ceiling for the freshman with a host of guards on the bench coaching him, he may just end up being Dukes best player by years end.
The surprise stat for me was the 10 assists from Tyler Thornton. Usually considered the less capable of Dukes point guards, Thornton proved that he as well as Quinn Cook can keep the offense moving for Duke. Cook also had a nice assist output with 6 to only 1 turnover.
It wasn’t long before the starters gave Coach K enough of a cushion to start shuffling lineups. Coach used Josh Hairston, Amile Jefferson and Alex Murphy liberally in this game. It paid off. With the game never in doubt and no true game pressure, the bench was able to flourish. Amile Jefferson showed why his recruitment out of high school was hotly contested by big name schools. Despite being a wiry, thin framed small forward, Jefferson got his body into the thick of things, hitting the deck and taking hits and finishing plays in the lane. Jefferson finished with 12 points and 6 boards and showed how he brings instant energy and emotion to the court every time he steps into the game.
Everyone in Duke nation was rooting for Alex Murphy, with message board topics being devoted to “why isnt murphy playing”, everyone was hoping beyond hope that Murphy would get minutes. Coach K obliged with 21 minutes for the redshirt freshman. Murphy made the most of it, finally getting his first points as a Blue Devil in the form of a layup. Later Murphy, feeling the confidence from getting his first shot to go down, knocked down a 3 pointer. Murphy finished with 10 points and most importantly pulled down 7 boards and a HUGE blocked shot that nearly tore the roof off of Cameron Indoor.
In his comments after the game Coach K downplayed the importance of building depth, stating that it’s much more important to develop the core starters and that those guys need the minutes.
Official Basketball Box Score
Delaware vs Duke
12/1/12 2:07 pm at Durham, N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
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VISITORS: Delaware 2-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Carl Baptiste....... f 1-5 0-0 0-0 3 6 9 4 2 0 1 0 2 26
44 Jamelle Hagins...... f 3-9 0-0 0-0 1 5 6 4 6 1 4 0 1 22
10 Devon Saddler....... g 8-22 1-3 6-9 4 5 9 1 23 1 4 0 1 38
12 Terrell Rogers...... g 1-10 0-3 2-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 27
13 Kyle Anderson....... g 3-10 1-8 0-0 0 1 1 2 7 1 1 1 1 34
01 Tom Allshouse....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
14 Brendan McNulty..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
15 Larry Savage........ 0-3 0-0 0-2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
21 Marvin King-Davis... 1-3 0-0 2-5 2 2 4 2 4 0 1 0 0 14
31 Will Townsville..... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11
32 Josh Brinkley....... 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 3 4 0 1 0 0 16
55 Tommy Williams...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 2 2 4
Totals.............. 18-65 2-14 12-20 14 26 40 17 50 3 15 1 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-29 24.1% 2nd Half: 11-36 30.6% Game: 27.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-6 16.7% 2nd Half: 1-8 12.5% Game: 14.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 8-13 61.5% Game: 60.0% 4,1
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HOME TEAM: Duke 8-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Mason Plumlee....... f 6-9 0-0 6-10 1 10 11 0 18 0 2 3 1 24
34 Ryan Kelly.......... f 8-13 2-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 18 0 0 1 2 24
02 Quinn Cook.......... g 3-7 2-5 0-0 0 2 2 2 8 6 1 1 2 27
03 Tyler Thornton...... g 1-4 1-4 0-0 1 5 6 4 3 10 3 0 3 33
14 Rasheed Sulaimon.... g 6-12 1-4 1-1 1 3 4 3 14 6 2 0 0 33
12 Alex Murphy......... 4-7 1-3 1-2 1 6 7 1 10 0 2 1 1 21
15 Josh Hairston....... 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 5 6 5 3 1 0 1 0 11
21 Amile Jefferson..... 5-9 0-0 2-4 3 3 6 2 12 0 1 0 0 21
52 Todd Zafirovski..... 1-2 0-0 0-2 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 6
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 35-67 7-20 11-21 10 37 47 19 88 23 11 8 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-31 51.6% 2nd Half: 19-36 52.8% Game: 52.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-13 23.1% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 35.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 7-11 63.6% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 52.4% 5
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Officials: Tim Nestor, Ray Natili, Dwayne Gladden
Technical fouls: Delaware-None. Duke-None.
Attendance: 9314
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Delaware...................... 19 31 - 50
Duke.......................... 42 46 - 88
DU - Hairston fouled out at 5:30 in 2nd
Points in the paint-DELAWARE 24,DU 40. Points off turnovers-DELAWARE 12,DU 17.
2nd chance points-DELAWARE 9,DU 8. Fast break points-DELAWARE 6,DU 9.
Bench points-DELAWARE 8,DU 27. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-DELAWARE 2nd-00:10, DU 2nd-01:24.
Largest lead-DELAWARE None, DU by 46 2nd-03:29.
