USA TODAY International Edition
Duke freshmen poised in comebacks
PORTLAND, Ore. – Mike Krzyzewski talks regularly to his doctor. That’s how it works when you’re 70 and still working, especially if that work is sometimes stressful.
Stressful. That’s the word senior guard Grayson Allen used to describe Duke’s weekend in the PK80 Invitational, a men’s basketball tournament in which the top-ranked Blue Devils came back three times, pulling out victories against Portland State, Texas and No. 7 Florida after trailing by as much as eight, 16 and 17, respectively.
Those are the type of games that might cause one’s blood pressure to rise. But Krzyzewski, a Hall of Famer who has won five national titles, isn’t worried about his health just yet.
“Your blood pressure is a lot higher when you don’t have good players,” Krzyzewski said. “We have a very talented player” — he motioned to where McDonald’s All-American Marvin Bagley III sat — “and I believe in my guys.”
It’s easy to see why, after Duke’s did-that-really-happen comeback win Sunday over Florida in the championship game of the Motion bracket in a 16team extravaganza that featured five Top 25 teams. This Duke group oozes talent and moxie. Often on a young team, you’ll find players looking at each other wondering who is going to hit the big shot or make the game-winning play. Underclassmen are trading turns being the hero for Duke.
The night belonged mostly to Bagley, the newcomer whom Krzyzewski calls “the most unique kid I’ve ever coached,” a 6-11 forward who can guard all five positions.
Bagley was terrific inside (30 points on 10-for-20 shooting, 9-for-10 from the line and 15 rebounds), and Florida had no answer for him. Allen (14 points, seven assists and two steals) pointed out that type of double-double is usually loud and in your face. Bagley’s, by contrast, was “simple and beautiful,” a clinic in composure as Duke weathered multiple Florida runs.
But the play of the night might have belonged to fellow freshman Gary Trent Jr., who stormed into the lane with 1:58 left and ripped a defensive rebound away from multiple Florida upperclassmen. That possession led to another Bagley bucket inside to cut Duke’s deficit to one and was followed by two free throws from Trent to give Duke the lead 85-84. The Blue Devils would not trail again. Trent finished his spectacular late-game stretch with a steal, which led to two more free throws for an 87-84 lead. Florida bungled its last look, and the three-point attempt that Egor Koulechov threw up while falling down barely drew iron.
Trent, a 6-6, 209-pound guard, shrugged off his late-game heroics. “We needed the ball, and we needed stops,” he said. “So I was going to do whatever I needed to do.”
Duke starts four freshmen alongside Allen, the only senior on the roster. This is a team with a lot to learn and a lot of room for improvement. If the Blue Devils are scary now, they’ll be a nightmare come March. Krzyzewski said what’s impressive to him isn’t that Duke has been coming back with so many young guys — it’s that they’ve been doing it without much practice time. Sunday night’s game marked Duke’s ninth in 20 days, which means the Blue Devils haven’t had many days in empty gyms doing drill work.
Asked if he thinks Duke is able to come back from big deficits because freshmen don’t really know any better, Bagley instead attributed it to heart. Trent agreed. And multiple players pointed to Krzyzewski’s demeanor in every huddle, when he’s continually projecting total confidence in his guys.
“We’re so composed (on the court) because he keeps telling us, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ no matter what we’re down,” Trent said. “He’s been doing this a long time, so he’s always poised.”
Krzyzewki said that no matter the outcome Sunday night he wasn’t about to panic. It’s only late November, and he’s aware his team will look very different come March. What it’ll look like exactly, he isn’t sure. “I don’t have a vision right now,” he said.