Duke came into the game versus Winston-Salem State wanting to work on defense after giving up 87 point to Division 2’s Western Washington, and for a half they did just that. Limiting the Rams to just 13 points at the half and turning them over 19 times for the game. Even with the constant line-up shuffling Duke was able to take WSSU out of the game pretty early. While not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination Duke did what it needed to and worked on things it needed to work on.
One bright spot for Duke fans was getting to Seth Curry in real game action. Curry only shot 1-9 from the field for four points but it was good to see him get some extended minutes, although when Curry hit the deck a couple of times it was hard not to wince. Coaches said that his tolerance for pain will determine just how much he will play going forward. He will most likely work behind freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, who had another solid outing scoring 12 points on 6 of 13 shooting. Sulaimon continues to impress, rarely looking like a freshman on the court. He seems to get to the lane with relative ease and can finish with a variety of short jump shots and floaters. It’s been hammered home in the media that Duke does not have the prototypical slasher that can get to the lane and knife through the defense but stay tuned to Sulaimons development because at 6’4 he may be that player. His athleticism is underrated as is his offensive game. That may end up being the role for him on offense but we’ll have to see how he does against stiffer competition.
The player of the game for Duke would have to be Mason Plumlee. Plumlee went 7-7 from the floor and scored a team high 19 points in the contest. He also had 10 rebounds an assist a steal and two blocks (granted against a smaller than average lineup).
What just may haunt the Devils this season is the 3 point shot. Duke was 1 of 17 from 3 and most of the shots were in rhythm shots. Duke didn’t try to force the 3 but clearly this is a team that will have to find other ways to score and will have to utilize its size on the wings and mid-range game. While there are capable shooters it would probably serve Dukes offend better to feed Mason Plumlee and run the offense through the big man.
Overall it was not a thing of beauty, and while the result was never in question, there are clearly a lot of things to shore up before the next game. Duke will need a much more fluid offense, the action looked a bit choppy at times also a sustained defensive effort. As good as the first half was defensively, Duke lacked the energy and fire on defense that Coach K teams are known for.
Official Basketball Box Score
Winston-Salem State vs Duke
11-1-12 7:00 pm at Durham, N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
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VISITORS: Winston-Salem State
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 Stephon Platt....... f 3-7 0-0 0-3 2 0 2 4 6 0 1 0 1 17
22 Wykevin Bazemore.... f 4-7 0-0 3-4 8 9 17 2 11 0 5 1 0 33
02 Marcus Wells........ g 2-11 0-1 0-1 1 0 1 3 4 3 2 0 2 37
11 Justin Glover....... g 3-13 1-5 2-4 2 6 8 3 9 1 5 1 0 35
24 Kimani Hunt......... g 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 6 6 3 3 0 1 1 0 22
00 Marquez Jones....... 0-2 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4
01 Torez Young......... 0-1 0-0 2-2 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 5
05 Chris Witherspoon... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
13 Michel-Ofik Nzege... 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 6
14 Tyre Desmore........ 1-4 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 14
15 Samuel Walcott...... 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3
33 Joe Thompson........ 2-6 0-0 1-4 1 0 1 4 5 0 2 0 2 8
44 Wakefield Ellison... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 11
Wssu Team........... 1 1 2
Totals.............. 17-58 2-11 9-22 19 25 44 25 45 4 19 3 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 5-30 16.7% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 29.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-5 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 18.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 40.9% 7
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HOME TEAM: Duke
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 7-7 0-0 5-9 4 6 10 1 19 1 0 2 1 33
12 Alex Murphy......... f 1-6 0-2 0-0 2 3 5 3 2 1 2 0 2 14
34 Ryan Kelly.......... f 0-7 0-2 5-5 4 4 8 3 5 3 0 2 2 29
02 Quinn Cook.......... g 4-9 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 9 1 3 0 0 25
14 Rasheed Sulaimon.... g 6-13 0-5 0-1 0 3 3 4 12 2 2 0 0 31
03 Tyler Thornton...... 0-0 0-0 4-4 0 2 2 4 4 1 1 0 2 14
15 Josh Hairston....... 0-3 0-0 1-2 2 4 6 2 1 1 0 1 0 15
21 Amile Jefferson..... 6-10 0-0 1-1 3 2 5 1 13 0 0 1 0 22
30 Seth Curry.......... 1-9 0-4 2-2 0 1 1 1 4 1 1 0 2 17
TEAM................ 3 2 5
Totals.............. 25-64 1-17 18-24 18 28 46 21 69 11 9 6 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-38 42.1% 2nd Half: 9-26 34.6% Game: 39.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-9 11.1% 2nd Half: 0-8 0.0% Game: 5.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 15-19 78.9% Game: 75.0% 2
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Officials:
Technical fouls: Winston-Salem State-None. Duke-None.
Attendance: 9314
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Winston-Salem State........... 13 32 - 45
Duke.......................... 36 33 - 69
Points in the paint-WSSU 18,DU 46. Points off turnovers-WSSU 4,DU 29.
2nd chance points-WSSU 14,DU 13. Fast break points-WSSU 0,DU 10.
Bench points-WSSU 12,DU 22. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-WSSU 2nd-01:44, DU 2nd-00:52.
Largest lead-WSSU None, DU by 28 2nd-06:14.
