Duke Proves It Doesn't Need Jahlil Okafor to Lead the Way in Notre Dame Rout

The truth is, Duke’s been doing what it did to teams like Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon long before Jahlil Okafor was even born.


Go ahead and beat the Blue Devils once. Just hope you don’t have to return to Cameron Indoor Stadium any time soon.


Ten days was probably too soon for the Irish.

Gerry Broome/Associated Press


But as humbling as the 90-60 loss was for the No. 10-ranked Irish, there may have been a little dose of that for Duke’s fabulous freshman center, too. 
And that’s a good, healthy thing.


Okafor finished with a shiny, team-high 20 points, making nine of his 11 shots, but his team hardly needed him in the demolition. 


Okafor sat for most of the first half due to foul trouble.
 He picked up his third foul early in the second half. That still didn’t peel any face paint off Duke’s rowdy student section, even as its star played his fewest minutes all season. (Twenty-three ties the season opener against Presbyterian, according to Duke box scores.)

The framework for a blowout had been laid, even without a whole lot of impact from a guy the three-man CBS broadcast crew compared to Hakeem Olajuwon and Wilt Chamberlain within a couple of minutes of tipoff.


This was a game for the Blue Devils not projected as No. 1 draft picks. It was Duke’s nationally televised time to look ahead, rather than looking back at coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 1,000th win or the unusual Jan. 29 dismissal of Rasheed Sulaimon, the first player Coach K booted from the program in his 35 years at the helm.


Justise Winslow went wild, starting with Duke’s first two baskets and finished with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 Tyus Jones added 12 points and seven assists.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Duke's surrounding cast did some of its best work with Okafor on the bench. That's hardly a knock on the 6'11" freshman, who didn't go to Durham to be a benchwarmer or a decoy. But while he sat, his tenacious teammates more than made do. They could drive and kick or flat-out get to the rim, shooting 81 percent through the first half. Okafor didn't clog the middle, so Duke's guards filled the space with gumption.

The Blue Devils hit 12 of their first 14 shots, with only two coming from the big fella as he sat the final 12 minutes.

We know what Notre Dame is capable of, as evidenced by the narrow 77-73 home win against Duke on Jan. 28. Mike Brey's program is built on passing the ball and not coughing it up.


This was not that kind of day, though.

After Saturday's result, we know what No. 4 Duke is capable of with the soon-to-be pro sipping water.


CBS pointed out that Duke scored on 22 of its first 26 possessions, surging to a 43-13 lead with four minutes, 40 seconds left in the first half. Duke’s first six three-pointers went in. The hard drives to the rim were unstoppable. It was vintage Duke, with some vintage hot shooting in a payback game.


Matt Jones even came off the bench and kept making the Irish pay for leaving him open along the perimeter (3-of-5 from long range).

"

What a half for Matt Jones ... 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 3-for-4 from behind the arc #goduke

— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) February 7, 2015"

It was a mid-game shame for those casual college or NBA fans who may have tuned in for a nice afternoon, wondering what the fuss was about Okafor's supposed offensive dominance.
 He is second in the ACC, by Ken Pomeroy's numbers, in percentage of possessions used (28.4). (Okafor slipped to third by the end of Saturday's games.)

But he eventually showed himself. First, by his presence on the sideline when cameras panned toward him. He didn’t pout or appear anxious or, worst of all, disinterested. He took in the scenery in what may be the best year of his life before he has to start salvaging some hard-luck NBA franchise.


This is Duke, which may play a little zone defense these days but otherwise hasn’t changed much.
 Great players have come through before, and they will long after Okafor.
 His positive body language hinted that he knows he’s a part of something—not the whole deal.


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This is a really good sign. 
Okafor only had 10 points and nine rebounds in a hard-earned win at Virginia one week ago, but he helped produce a win.
 He wasn’t even the most talked-about Duke freshman for a while against Notre Dame. Grayson Allen came in, made a shot and had former Dukie Grant Hill (part of the CBS broadcast) raving about the guard's potential.


Eventually, it came back to Okafor. Early in the second half, everyone in Cameron Indoor (save Notre Dame’s bench) wanted to see the big guy contribute.
 His footwork and balance are so far beyond his years—and beyond anything Notre Dame could do to counter—that it was only a matter of time. But the beauty was in how seamlessly he bided his time.


Hill, Bill Raftery and Ian Eagle all quickly commented about him on the same possession, waiting for Duke to let the big dog eat early in the second half.
 One shot clock wound down, and nothing came of it. Duke earned a second chance, and still Okafor hovered around the foul line without a touch for about 55 seconds.


The shot clock wound down again, Duke’s crazies started the countdown and Okafor finally took a pass. He tried to flush a slam. It was amazing how close he came, considering how hard he was fouled away from the rim.


With Okafor, Duke will always be in contention. His defense has been criticized often, but he looked dialed in early with a blocked shot and some sound footwork. 
Before his foul trouble, he tipped in a miss that was waved off because of a foul call. 


Goodness, he just makes it look so easy.
 That's scary, considering he’s been rewarded with teammates who can show him he doesn’t have to do it all.