Mason Plumlee is Beginning to Dominate Down Low for the Duke Blue Devils

During the past off-season for Duke basketball, most of the attention from the media was placed on 2010 Duke-commit Andre Dawkins, who had decided to finish high school early and enroll at Duke University a season ahead of schedule.

There were also many local reporters that focused their attention on Ryan Kelly, a 6-foot-9 versatile forward out of Ravenscroft High in Raleigh, NC. Kelly, a local basketball star who many believed would excel at a university close to home, won the McDonald's High School All-American Game Three-Point contest before his college career began.

Although he played basketball near the Duke campus (Attended Christ School, located in Asheville, NC), Mason Plumlee's recruiting process was overshadowed by his two other classmates. True, he was a high-profile athlete; however, the other two recruits had the local media swarming when they each made their decisions public.

Plumlee, a highly-touted recruit that the Blue Devil staff had long followed in high school, was on Coach Mike Krzyzewski's wish list once he watched video tape of the 6-foot-10 forward.

Mason's family, located in Warsaw, Indiana, made several trips to North Carolina to speak with the Duke staff about their son. Following several visits and talking with the young forward, Mason verbally committed to Duke University as a junior.

The Duke staff knew that Mason was going to make an impact on the program once he stepped foot on campus, but it was going to take time for Plumlee to mature and grow before he could truly contribute to the team's success.

The maturing process took a dramatic turn early in the season when Mason  fractured his left wrist after falling hard in practice one day. Although the injury didn't require surgery, it meant that Mason would be forced to sit out the first few weeks of the season until his wrist fully recovered.

That recovery period lasted four weeks, and caused the talented freshman to miss the first six games of the regular season. Mason, who had averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in Duke’s two preseason exhibition games, returned to the court against Wisconsin on December 2.

In the game against the Badgers, Mason tried to adjust to the faster-paced, up-tempo style of play that college had to offer. As a freshman, Plumlee had never played a regular season college basketball game up to this point.  

In 10 minutes of action, Mason collected two rebounds and missed his only shot-attempt (A three-pointer from the top of the key) as a reserve off the bench.

In the next four contests against St. John's, Gardner-Webb, Gonzaga, and Long Beach St., Mason again struggled to find his offensive game. During that span, Plumlee averaged a mere four points, two rebounds, and two assists in 12 minutes on the court.

These stats were far below the numbers he put up before his wrist injury in the two preseason exhibition games of the season. Whether the injury was still bothering him or if he was still adjusting to the college game to this day remains a mystery.

Regardless, after Mason's lack-luster performance against Long Beach St. made the Blue Devil faithful question their freshman forward's ability, Plumlee has been making a difference on both the offensive and defensive side for Duke.

In the Blue Devils' last four contests against Penn, Clemson, Iowa State, and Georgia Tech, Mason has averaged 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block in 20 minutes of play each game.

These numbers aren't staggering, nor are they phenomenal, but they show how much hardwork Mason is putting in after practice has finished or extra time during the week to try and improve his game.

At this point in the season, Duke has shown that they have a trio of scoring threats in Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler. If Mason can continue to mature and improve as the season progresses, he has the possibility of adding his name to the scoring threats for Duke to give them a legitimate quadruple-attack.

If Mason continues to learn and becomes a force down low, it will be very difficult to shut down Duke in the later stages of the season for any team. Mason Plumlee is the key for the Blue Devils this season: He will determine if Duke can diminish their "March Meltdowns" from the past few seasons and lead the Blue Devils back into the Final Four.