DURHAM — Alex O’Connell got the step in front of Nahiem Alleyne from the right wing.
In an instant, he was off the baseline and airborne — a poster worthy two-hand slam over John Ojiako at the rim.
Duke’s 88-64 whipping of Virginia Tech was an emphatic answer to a humbling defeat at N.C. State on Tuesday. The play by O’Connell was a microcosm of the evening, showing just how quick things can happen for these Blue Devils, and just how versatile can be their response. This one was never in doubt; the Blue Devils led by 30 about 12 minutes from the finish.
“That was nasty,” sophomore floor general Tre Jones said of O’Connell.
A photo from the far baseline shows fans with jaws dropped. It was that good; Cameron was that loud in the aftermath.
Duke was in the midst of a sizzling shooting performance in a first half that ended 51-25. The Devils rained in 8 of 15 from 3-point range, the area where O’Connell usually sparks his team.
“That just shows how athletic he is,” Jones continued. “It showed how different he can be. He’s not just a shooter, a scorer — he’s athletic.”
Practice must be some kind of a show.
“He’s always dunking, going between the legs, 360 or something. I see it a lot,” Jones said.
O’Connell is one of five reserves who have made it to the last week of February still getting time. That’s saying something on a Mike Krzyzewski bench.
The coach likes this squad in particular because he says it’s more old school. There’s flash among freshmen but there’s also veteran savvy in O’Connell, the 6-foot-6 junior from Georgia, junior guard Jordan Goldwire, 6-10 senior Javin DeLaurier and 6-7 senior Jack White.
“Oh, man,” freshman Cassius Stanley said of the dunk. “I knew that was coming. I saw he turned the corner, and I thought they were going to take a charge, but they didn’t.”
The 6-foot-6 skywalker from Los Angeles knows a thing or two about playing at the rim, too. So does 270-pound freshman and probable NBA lottery pick Vernon Carey.
“His activeness on the offensive end is great,” Carey said. “He’s always cutting or slashing.”
Krzyzewski said the team had some inward thinking to do after the 22-point blowout from the Wolfpack. He likes what he saw, how his players took ownership of the defeat.
No long chewing out sessions were necessary, just some film time and the voices of the assistant coaches.
Duke didn’t look “comatose” — Krzyzewski’s word — on Saturday night at the Indoor Stadium. They were active and rising above.
None finer than O’Connell off the baseline.
Alex O’Connell dunks over Virginia Tech forward John Ojiako (21) during the first half Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium, part of a barrage of plays that led to a 26-point halftime lead. Duke coasted to an 88-64 win.
Alex O’Connell had what teammates and fans would call a poster dunk over John Ojiako on Saturday night, but they were not surprised. Teammate Tre Jones says O’Connell is ‘always dunking, going between the legs, 360 or something’ in practices.