Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Duke set for ACC after long time away
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s talented freshmen haven’t waited this long to play a game since they spent all summer looking forward to making their college debuts. That break turned out well for them — Duke 118, Kentucky 84 — and now the No. 1 Blue Devils are looking for similar results when they return to the court after their 15-day break between games. “We all kind of had withdrawal from being together as a group,” team captain Jack White said Friday. Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and the other ballyhooed Duke freshmen get to check off another first — their Atlantic Coast Conference opener against visiting Clemson today in the Blue Devils’ first game since reclaiming the top ranking. They feel a nonconference schedule that included neutral-site victories over the then-No. 2 Wildcats and No. 12 Texas Tech — plus a tight loss to No. 3 Gonzaga — prepared them for the rigor of a conference that has four teams in the top 10 and two more in the top 25. That total doesn’t include Clemson, which began the season ranked but dropped out while losing three of four a month ago. “Our record’s 0-0 again,” point guard Tre Jones said. “None of these games in the past have really meant anything to these ACC games. The ACC’s a different beast.” A lot has happened since the Blue Devils beat Texas Tech 69-58 on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden. While they broke for a week for the holidays, they
ascended back to No. 1 after Kansas fell from the top spot. They returned to campus Dec. 28 and spent the past week on the practice court. “We don’t feel rust at all,” Jones said. Recently, the beginning of conference play has been a harsh wake-up call for Duke — which hasn’t won its ACC opener since the 2015-2016 season. Last year’s group, led by Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter. lost its ACC opener and opened league play 1-2 before getting back on track. And the 2014-2015 team led by eventual firstround picks Jahlil Okafor and Tre Jones’ older brother Tyus dropped two of its first four ACC games before rebounding to claim the school’s fifth and most recent national championship. “It’s a little bit different, in terms of the quality of teams we play, every [conference] game is top-notch,” White said. “It’s just a different level in the ACC. I think they’ll be ready for that rigorous schedule, going back to class, and then balancing the travel and playing and everything like that.” White, a junior who has seen two other one-anddone classes pass through Cameron Indoor Stadium, said the current group has shown “maturity and togetherness and toughness” that’s particularly uncommon, and those qualities should help them handle the two-month grind of conference play perhaps better than its predecessors. “There’s a lot of attention brought to us freshmen, for sure, but as far as the team goes, it’s a credit for sure to our captains. … They’ve made it seem like none of us are a class,” Jones said. “We’re all the same across the board. … Our main objective is to win, no matter who gets the attention.”