Duke Countdown to Craziness 2014: Midnight Madness Recap and Twitter Reaction

If the entire Duke basketball team plays the way the White team did on Saturday night in the Countdown to Craziness scrimmage, the program might add to its national championship haul. 

The White team won both halves of play and top recruit Jahlil Okafor was the star. The 6'10" freshman had double-digit scoring in both periods. Duke M. Basketball provided first-half stats:

"

1st 12-minute session in the books. White comes away with the win. pic.twitter.com/86RLuTLQr5

— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) October 26, 2014"

Okafor led all scorers overall and quickly proved that the hype was real surrounding his mature low-post game.

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

After scoring 12 points in the first session, he topped off his night with 15 in the second half. He's not known as a huge leaper, but after shining so brightly in the scrimmage, you had to wonder whether Okafor would get into the event's dunk contest. Blue Devil Nation was impressed, and Duke Basketball felt "everyone in attendance" was impressed by Okafor's performance: 

Let's not get carried away.

The finals came down to Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee. These young men have the hops to buck a common stereotype. Adam Rowe of 247Sports.com highlighted the matchup:

Though Allen landed a 360 during his run, he had some issues completing dunks in the final, and that gave Plumlee the title, as Duke M. Basketball tweeted:

"

Allen unable to finish on three attempts. Plumlee earns the dunk contest title to cap off the 2014 #Countdown2Craziness

— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) October 26, 2014"

Close Call

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

While the scrimmage was all fun and games for the most part, there was one moment of concern. Justise Winslow went down with an injury, but it turned out to be a cramp. Stephen Wiseman of The Herald-Sun and Duke Basketball provided insight on Winslow's injury:

Winslow is expected to be a major part of Duke's success this year. Along with Okafor and point guard Tyus Jones, the 6'8" freshman small forward is listed as a potential lottery selection by Draft Express.

The injury was obviously very minor because Winslow participated in the dunk contest. Still, the collective hearts of Duke nation had to skip a beat when Winslow went down. No team wants to lose a key player, but it would be especially tough to see a guy go down for an extended period in a scrimmage.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski had to feel confident that Winslow was fine as he allowed him to compete in the dunking exhibition. 

Expectations are High

Clearly, Larry Winters enjoyed Countdown to Craziness:

Between the playmaking of Jones, the athleticism of Allen, Plumlee and Winslow, as well as the post presence of Okafor and the leadership of Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke looks every bit as stacked as its No. 3 preseason ranking in the USA Today poll would suggest.

If the team stays healthy and matures, it will be among the sport's best teams all year.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. Basketball is awesome.