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Duke Basketball: Halftime report as Blue Devils roll in preseason

By Kevin Connelly

DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 04: Associate head coach Jeff Capel walks behind head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils as they leave the floor after the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 4, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 110-57. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 04: Associate head coach Jeff Capel walks behind head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils as they leave the floor after the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 4, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 110-57. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Basketball season is unofficially, officially back as the Blue Devils were back on the court once again for a preseason game against Virginia Union.

There was a bit of a surprise before the game even started as Marques Bolden started in place of Javin DeLaurier.

Bolden got two starts over DeLaurier in Canada, but just a few weeks ago, Mike Krzyzewski said that DeLaurier would be in the starting five if the season started that day, along with Tre Jones, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Zion Williamson.

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Those four freshman started tonights game as he Blue Devils lead 52-36.

As for the game, the Blue Devils got off to a sloppy start in the first half, but that is expected in the teams first scrimmage of the season.

R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson were very impressive in the first half as they came out with a sense of urgency on the offensive side of the ball.

One thing that truly positively stood out was how fast Duke plays in transition offense as they were flying up and down the court. Expect to see this a lot from the Blue Devils this season.

However, on defense it didn’t seem like the Blue Devils were engaged at all as they were very lackadaisical getting back on defense.

The biggest questions coming into the season for Duke were would they be able to make the three point ball and how efficient would this team be on defense.

While we might have an answer that they can be capable of making the deep ball, the Blue Devils need to focus and lock in on the defensive end.

Going into the second half, look to Duke to amp up the pressure on defense, possibly using some full court pressure and traps in the half court. The Blue Devils should create enough separation for Virginia Union to try and work on some different things and lineup combinations.

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