DURHAM – Duke looked impressive winning two games without Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire starting in his place, but, wow, did the Blue Devils show talent, balance and depth with Jones returning to the lineup and Goldwire back to coming off the bench.
The No. 2-ranked Blue Devils (12-1, 2-0 ACC) scored 45 first-half points en route to an 88-49 rout of Boston College (8-6, 2-1 ACC) on New Year’s Eve at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“The guys have had great energy and have been talking more,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They played like they practiced, which is neat if you practice well.”
Freshman forward Matthew Hurt had 20 points at halftime – one less than Boston College’s total – and finished with 25. But with 11 players scoring, freshman Wendell Moore was the only other player in double figures with 11. Duke hit 51.5 percent of its field goals (35-of-68) and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (12-of-28).
The combined totals from Jones and Goldwire of nine points, 11 assists and one turnover don’t sound overwhelming, but more important was how smoothly Jones (five points, 10 assists, one turnover) and Goldwire (four points, one assist, no turnovers) had the offense flowing when they were in and out of the game.
Jones played his first game in 25 days since the Blue Devils won Dec. 6 at Virginia Tech in their ACC opener. He suffered a foot sprain while the team had 13 days off before the Dec. 19 game against Wofford. Duke was off another nine days before the next game Dec. 28 against Brown.
“To see Tre play 24 minutes and play like he did was terrific,” Coach K said.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore’s 10 assists are his most in his career in an ACC game and topped only by 12 twice earlier this year against Michigan State and Stephen F. Austin.
“Early on, there definitely was some rust, just not being in a game for two weeks,” Jones said. “But it felt good just to get back going again. You can only do so much in workouts before it’s not really like a game anymore. After the first few minutes, I got my feet back under me and I felt good the rest of the game.”
Actually, he was on his game within the first minute when Vernon Carey converted a fast-break layup on a pass from Jones for a 5-2 lead with 18:59 left in the first half.
It started with Cassius Stanley grabbing a missed Boston College shot under the basket, flipping it to Jones on the move at the free throw line and Jones looking up to see Carey at the opposite free throw line. He hit him in stride with a touchdown pass Carey completed with a dunk.
The 1-2 punch of Jones and Goldwire represents the most depth the Blue Devils have had at point guard since the 2014-15 NCAA title season. Tyus Jones, Tre’s older brother, and Quinn Cook kept the offense rolling when one or the other was out of the game.
Cook was the returning starting point guard, but he willingly took a secondary role to Tyus Jones, a one-and-done recruit now in his fifth NBA season. They started games together, but Duke had the flexibility to give Tyus Jones a breather with Cook’s experience. Cook is now in his third NBA season after some time in what is now called the NBA G-League.
The Jones-Goldwire combination, not to mention having freshmen guard/forward Wendell Moore also able to step in at the point, was highlighted by the return of Boston College point guard Derryck Thornton to Cameron.
It wasn’t a triumphant return.
Thornton was held to six points and one assist. He entered the game averaging 13.8 points and 1.8 assists. On one drive in the lane, Goldwire stole the ball out of Thornton’s hands as pulled up the ball for a shot.
As the one-sided game at Duke unfolded, Thornton saw how good it can be at Duke. Did he wonder how his career would have turned out if he hadn’t decided the grass was greener somewhere else?
Thornton began his career as a freshman in 2015-16, succeeding Tyus Jones and Cook at the point. He started 20 of 36 games, averaging 7.1 points and 2.6 assists in 26. 0 minutes. But with his inconsistent play and Duke having signed 5-star point guard Frank Jackson, that prompted Thornton to transfer to USC.
After sitting out a year as a transfer, in 2017-18 he started one of 25 games with 3.8 points and 1.2 assists in 14.2 minutes. The next year, 2018-19, he scored 7.7 points with 4.3 assists and 27.8 minutes.
Thornton’s transfer left Duke without point guard depth behind Jackson in 2016-17 that Jones is enjoying with Goldwire supporting him. It was more of the same for Duke in the 2017-18 when Tevon Duvall was the freshman point guard before he declared for the NBA without getting drafted. The Blue Devils were forced to move Grayson Allen from his natural position of shooting guard.
Last year Jones steadied the position as a true freshman, but he missed two games with a shoulder injury and required hip surgery after the season. He also didn’t have Goldwire playing behind him at the level the junior has reached this season. It’s improvement Jones appreciated while he watched the last two games from the bench nursing his sprained foot.
“Jordan stepped up and played huge for us in those couple of game,” Jones said. “I feel he’ll continue to have that role for us in order to continue to win.”
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Tom Shanahan, Author: Raye of Light http://tinyurl.com/knsqtqu
— Book on Michigan State’s leading role in the integration of college football. It explains Duffy Daugherty’s untold pioneering role and debunks myths that steered recognition away from him to Bear Bryant.
http://shanahan.report/a/the-case-for-duffy-and-medal-of-freedom
Don’t believe the myths at Duffy Daugherty’s expense about Bear Bryant’s motivation to play the 1970 USC-Alabama game or myths about the Charlie Thornhill-for-Joe Namath trade. Bear Bryant knew nothing about black talent in the South while he dragged his feet on segregation.
http://www.shanahan.report/a/forty-four-underground-railroad-legacy-facts
http://shanahan.report/a/myths-that-grew-out-of-1970-alabama-game-with-usc
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