Duke was sluggish for virtually the entire game and walked away with a 10 point victory. While the game was closer than expected, this is no sign for concern. This game was very typical for a season opener. Cohesiveness is still developing and the game was expectedly sloppy at times. However, there were some positives for Duke to build on.
Jalen Johnson laid the foundation for what could be a National Player of the Year campaign. The Freshman was sensational from the opening tip. He was all over the floor, impacting the game in a number of different ways. If this game is any indication, Johnson is going to clearly be the best player on the team this season. Duke has seen some special seasons from Freshman in recent years and Johnson could be next in line.
DJ Steward was equally impressive. Coming off the bench, he scored an eye opening 24 points on 10/18 from the field in 33 minutes. He added 9 rebounds as well. His 24 points were the 4th most in a Freshman debut in Duke history behind RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Marvin Bagley. Pretty good company to be keeping. Steward showed that he is a special offensive player. He could end up being the go to option on the offensive end of the floor this season. Moving forward, it is likely he will enter the starting lineup.
It was encouraging to see both Jordan Goldwire and Jeremey Roach end up with 4 assists a piece. That is exactly the type of distribution you hope to see from the two point guards. Both made solid passes that did not end up assists as well so both could have higher totals in that department. Regardless, it was encouraging to see this type of play from Duke’s point guards.
Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt both turned in solid yet unspectacular performances. If Duke is going to truly contend this year, they will need more from the two returning Sophomores. While they can be better, both had good moments in the game. It was great to see Wendell Moore attempt two threes and convert one and Matthew Hurt flashed some aggressiveness that was nice to see.
It was a disappointing performance from Joey Baker. He struggled defensively and shot 0/3 from three. He will certainly need to be better from outside to earn playing time. Duke saw very little from Mark Williams, Jaemyn Brakefield, and Henry Coleman, and no minutes from Patrick Tape. As Coach K looks to tinker with the lineup, it will be interesting to see if any of these players see more playing time in Duke’s next game.
Duke never quite pulled away in the way one would have expected against Coppin State. Coach K will certainly want to see a lot of improvements in the teams next game against Michigan State and we could also see a change or two to the starting lineup. There is plenty for the team to work on moving forward, but there are plenty of reason to be optimistic about this team’s outlook.