DURHAM — Party time, Cameron style, is back.
While much ado will be made of Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour at varied arenas, there are 18 dates clearly most prized. First of those and last home opener on Friday night ended Duke 82, Army 56.
From the World’s Most Famous Arena three nights earlier with an impressive win over No. 10 Kentucky, No. 9 Duke entertained 9,314 in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time since beating Carolina here March 7, 2020 — five days before COVID-19 shut down America. Freshman Paolo Banchero had a double-double before the 16-minute mark of the second half, and Charlotte junior Wendell Moore’s triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists led everybody in everything else.
“He can play better than that. I know that, and he knows that, too,” the 42nd-year mentor one win away from 1,100 said of Banchero.
As for Moore, “Wendell had a helluva game.”
Duke was Duke, and the coach’s alma mater and his first coaching stop of five seasons when nobody could spell his name was not going to stop the blue and white. Prepared and relentless, the Black Knights were tough, often better-conditioned just before the every-four-minutes timeouts, and stayed within striking distance of a dozen or less for better than three-quarters of the contest.
Army played a man-to-man defense that successfully invited Duke to dribble too much and move less than they practice.
“More so than it being my alma mater, on veterans weekend, it is so appropriate,” Krzyzewski said of Duke’s four-team Veterans Day Weekend Showcase. “Those kids really displayed a high level of passion and commitment. I didn’t get caught up in playing Army. I love Army. I love that I went there and everything, but when I coach, I don’t look at who I’m coaching against. I just want to beat the other team. And I’m fairly good at that.”
The Blue Devils, who missed the NCAA Tournament in the spring for the first time in more than a quarter century, are easily in the talk of the nation’s best. Banchero executes in a manner justifying the discussion of No. 1 NBA draft pick, 6-foot-4 freshman Trevor Keels’ 221 pounds glides the court with great force, and Moore is the vastly improved seasoned veteran.
Sophomore Jeremy Roach has a long-range touch. Before the season reaches March, a rotation will shake out that either eliminates or includes Theo John, Mark Williams, A.J. Griffin, Joey Baker and Bates Jones.
“We played against a team that played so hard, and was so determined,” the head coach said after moving to 41-1 in home openers. “For our guys to recognize that’s how everybody is going to come … there’s a lot to learn. Overall, we played very good defense. Forced 21 turnovers and gave up 56 points, that’s good. I did not think we were strong with the ball.
“We didn’t have the verve that I would like. You can say we got back at 4:30 in the morning, and from a big game, and you’re right. But we have to handle that. We had moments where we did handle that.”
This was nonconference, against a team from a league that shouldn’t be more than a pesky annoyance. Duke led 10-0, but never got that full step away until well into the second half.
“We got up 10-0, and they weren’t phased,” Banchero said of Army.
The Blue Devils came to understand the environs, both the matchup and the venue.
“It was electric,” Banchero said of Cameron. “They really helped us get after it, especially in the second half.”
Duke will have points of emphasis against Campbell on Saturday night. They’ll try to get a third win in five days, No. 1,100 for Coach K at Duke no less, then rest up and tackle Gardner-Webb and Lafayette next Tuesday and Friday.
“The ‘repedity’ of high-level performance is hard to teach,” Krzyzewski said.
Six games in 14 days to open a season will help. Not leaving Cameron until Thanksgiving weekend to play No. 1 Gonzaga will be nice.
Sure, there’s much work to do. And Moore and Banchero assured the Devils would have preferred to win with more authority.
But Krzyzewski, the sage veteran, was right.
“This was a good night for us,” he said.
Nine thousand in Cameron always is.
Leave a Reply