Duke is almost entirely through a brutal non-conference slate and they remain undefeated. Duke had an incredible week with a home win against Florida and a road win against Michigan State to move to 10-0. Now, they will likely be third in the nation and just have Texas Tech left as a ranked opponent prior to ACC play.
With all of these huge wins by the Blue Devils, it is time to discuss three key components to their success.
3 Cheers for the Duke Blue Devils
1. Cameron Boozer
Hello, National Player of the Year. Cameron Boozer has been as good as anyone could have imagined. Not only does he lead his team in every statistical category but he also has carried his team to wins that seem hopeless. It is rare that a freshman can be such a steady presence. Boozer has had some slow starts in big games but his second halves are things of legend.
Most recently, Boozer had two points in the first half against Michigan State. He finished the game with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists. One of the big things that has become clear is Boozer will be the primary ball-handler in must-score situations. We saw that against the Spartans when Boozer had a huge assist to Caleb Foster and another great pass that led to three Isaiah Evans free throws.
Cameron Boozer has been the best player in the country thus far. He started out shooting poorly from the field but that has quickly changed. Those odd thoughts that he cannot play against length or high major talent have quickly been squashed too.
2. Jon Scheyer
Quite frankly, cannot say enough good things about Jon Scheyer. There is one very simple stat that I think says quite a bit about Scheyer and why this group is 10-0. It became incredibly obvious in the Michigan State game. Duke had 74 possessions in the game, 68 of which were halfcourt possessions. Florida was 70 out of 75 halfcourt possessions and Arkansas was 71 out of 80. Long story short, Duke has slowed it down and run an organized and effective offense when they had to have buckets.
Looking at the second half against Michigan State, Duke ran an offensive set every single possession but one. Down the stretch, the ball was in Cameron Boozer’s hand and he initiated in numerous ways. The main go-to play that Scheyer is using is similar to one from last year. He will have Boozer handle with Isaiah Evans coming to set a true screen or a ghost screen. This is the same action that Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel utilized last year.
Boozer and Evans is a slightly better duo for this because Boozer has to be defended by a big and Evans is a brutal player for a big to switch onto. It means that this ghost action cannot be switched which puts a strain on the defense to stop the ball. That means two players go to Boozer and Evans is wide open. That play led to the game winner against Florida and the game-sealing free throws against Michigan State.
Scheyer also has done great utilizing flares and different staggered screens. He has a great passing team and an excellent shooting team and using these actions can put great strain on a defense.
Also, the switch to a flat 3-2 zone against the Spartans must be discussed. It could not have been any better of a time to go to such a zone given Michigan State using a lineup with 4 non-shooters at any time. Michigan State had absolutely no answer and that is exactly why Duke was able to pull away.
3. Depth on Depth on Depth
Each game, it seems that someone else makes a huge impact. Michigan State and Florida saw Nik Khamenia and Isaiah Evans save the day. Caleb Foster had a huge second half against the Spartans and was great against Florida. Patrick Ngongba had really nice games against Arkansas and Florida. Dame Sarr has shown huge flashes in certain moments.
Long story short, Scheyer knows Cameron Boozer is going to bring it each and every time. He then knows that someone else is going to come along for the ride but it is unclear who that will be each game. Isaiah Evans is the guy that will be the big shot taker (and maker). Khamenia, Ngongba, Sarr, and Maliq Brown will be the guys to make the hustle plays that make all the difference.
Lastly, how good has Caleb Foster been lately? He is rebounding. He is attacking the rim when it is needed. Foster is also absolutely clamping the best opposing guards.
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