Duke Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from Blue Devils' Season so Far

Most teams would be pleased, if not relieved, with an overtime victory on the road in conference play.

Duke is not most teams.

The Blue Devils couldn’t have felt great about their struggles to finally pull away from a pesky Virginia Tech squad during Wednesday’s game, especially because the Hokies are now 2-13 in conference play. While a win is a win, there is legitimate reason for concern moving forward if that is how Duke is going to play on the defensive end in March.

That is not to suggest it was all bad news. After all, if this season has shown us anything, it is that the Blue Devils are one of the best teams in the country and could challenge for a Final Four spot or more. One off game doesn’t change that notion. 

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the Duke season as March Madness approaches.

The Freshmen Will Determine How the Season Unfolds

There was a time when freshmen carrying the load would have been unthinkable at Duke, where veterans almost always earned their minutes over the course of years of dedication. Of course, there was also a time when freshmen didn’t arrive on campus with NBA skill sets already in place.

Three freshmen in particular will determine how this season unfolds for the Blue Devils, and one of the potential outcomes is a national championship.

The stats are one thing—Jahlil Okafor is a walking double-double at 18.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, Tyus Jones leads the team in assists at 5.7 a night and Justise Winslow does a little bit of everything with 12 points and 5.7 rebounds per game—but it is how the freshmen fit together that makes this Duke squad so intriguing come March. 

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Okafor is the bully down low who is nearly impossible to stop in one-on-one situations. Jones is the pass-first point guard who is more than happy to put the big man in position to score and drill the occasional three when opponents double Okafor. Winslow is the elite defender who holds his team together on that end and does some of the dirty work on the boards.

If you were starting a three-man team, you would probably take a dominant big man, facilitating point guard and athletic wing who can score and defend. That is exactly what the Blue Devils have in their three main freshmen. 

Now the question is how far they will take Mike Krzyzewski the rest of the season.

Don’t Forget About Quinn Cook

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It is easy to get caught up in the production of the freshmen, and rightfully so.

However, no player on the Blue Devils has made more critical shots this season than senior Quinn Cook, which is only fitting on a young team in need of some senior leadership. Cook proved his crunch-time mettle again Wednesday when he drilled the most important shot of the game from the corner to put Duke up four down the stretch of overtime. 

That inspired this reaction from Rob Dauster of NBC Sports:

Cook’s 15.9 points per game are second on the team behind Okafor, but it is when he scores those points that makes him so valuable. Time and again, he has drilled monumental three-pointers this season (including a few in the nail-biter over North Carolina), and it is hard to make the case for anyone else on the roster as the best go-to option at the end of the game.

Krzyzewski commented on his senior guard, via Nick Martin of The Chronicle:

"

I don’t know if there’s a more valuable player on any team. Just performance-wise, he’s been outstanding. But leadership-wise, he’s been even better. I don’t think any of us—not that we didn’t expect him to be good—but when two areas are outstanding, you just can’t expect that. He’s had a fabulous year, not just a good year. Our guys believe in him, and he’s been like a rock. 

"

That sounds like a coach who is ready to trust Cook in March.

Defense Is Still a Concern

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There is no other way around this—if Duke is going to lose in the tournament, it is because of its lackluster defense.

It is 165th in the country in points allowed per game and 81st in the nation in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive-efficiency rankings. Outside of Winslow, nobody on the roster can consistently stop dribble penetration, and that often forces the defense to collapse, which opens up wide-open threes.

That is exactly how Virginia Tech attacked the Blue Devils Wednesday and almost pulled off the upset. 

ESPN’s Jay Williams correctly criticized the perimeter defense, but ESPN’s Jeff Borzello noted that the guards aren’t the only concern:

Okafor is arguably the most unstoppable offensive player in the country, but he is not the rim protector many Duke fans were hoping for this season, especially after last year’s defensive struggles. Of course, it doesn’t help that Jones and Cook often fail to keep ball-handlers away from the rim, which throws the entire defense off balance.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Krzyzewski has even switched to zone a number of times this season (including down the stretch of the Virginia Tech game) because the man-to-man defense just can’t keep up with opposing offenses. Winslow can only defend one player at a time, and it is impossible to trust anyone else on that end. 

The Blue Devils need to drastically improve their defense if they hope to win the national title.

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