Duke Basketball: Blue Devil magic magnifies magnificence

The world has marveled at a few Duke basketball freshmen’s otherworldly abilities since November, but their winning ways in late March defy any reasonable explanations and suggest their wizardry will continue into April.

Casual observers call it luck. Obsessive critics fabricate evidence to support calling it unfair. But the correct descriptor for the ride the Duke basketball team is on at the moment is clear as day to true believers:

Magic.

It’s a genre of tricks that not even the magicians themselves could explain — even if they were willing to reveal their secrets. See, these Blue Devils are escape artists whose powers lie not in deceiving the eye; rather, their primary method to survive two straight near upsets and advance their quest to cut nets on April 8 in Minneapolis is obviously telekinesis.

The inexplicable artform, which Duke seems to wait to implement until opponents’ final possession, was again on full display during the closing seconds of a 75-73 Sweet Sixteen win over ACC foe Virginia Tech in the nation’s capital on Friday night.

With 29 seconds remaining to begin their final possession, the No. 4-seed Hokies only needed two points to force overtime against the No. 1-seed Blue Devils.

First, though, they twice went for the jugular with 3-point attempts. Both were misses — without a single Duke player having to hold each of his forefingers and middle fingers to both his temples — but neither resulted in a change of possession. Instead, Virginia Tech had 1.1 seconds left and the ball out of bounds on the baseline for one last crack at either knocking off or tying college basketball’s No. 1 villain.

The Hokies’ Justin Robinson opted for the latter by lobbing the ball to a few feet in front of the rim to a midair Ahmed Hill, who had circled around a screen in the paint to break free from Blue Devil freshman Zion Williamson.

Didn’t matter.

Similar to Sunday night — when No. 9-seed UCF trailed by one with one possession left and had two at-the-basket attempts to thwart Duke’s title dreams before the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend — Hill’s attempt was off by roughly an inch.

Some Duke fans credit the basketball gods. But this fan knows all credit belongs to the three freshmen who put the Blue Devils in a position to win with their shared magnificence — and finalized the victory with their shared sorcery.

That last part may sound farfetched. Maybe it is.

But only those who have been paying full attention this season fully understand that one common accusation Williamson faces is fully accurate: He’s not from this planet.

And it’s now fully apparent that he has taught the mystical ways of his homeworld to fellow freshmen Tre Jones and R.J. Barrett.

Not only did the winning spirits of the trio force Hill’s miss — at least that’s the explanation this writer is sticking with — but they displayed their winning ways well before that final possession, combining for all but 12 of Duke’s points (fellow freshman Cam Reddish sat out the game due to his nursing a knee injury that he suffered in practice this week; his status moving forward remains a question).

Let’s start with Williamson. Quite simply, Zion went all Zion against the Hokies. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound gift to basketball, who scored 23 points and currently holds the program record for postseason scoring average (26.8) among those who played in at least five career games between the ACC Tournament and Big Dance, wielded his invisible wand before initiating this fastbreak:

And he magically soared to put the exclamation mark on this one:

Oops, almost forgot the unfathomable height he reached for a first-half swat:

Now, let’s reminisce on the artistry of Jones.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Apple Valley, Minn., put on a magic show of his own by dishing out eight assists with zero turnovers and channeling the clutch marksmanship from deep of older brother Tyus on his way to scoring a career-high 22 points while connecting on a career-high five 3-pointers (he needed only seven 3-point attempts; he entered the game shooting just 23.2 percent from beyond the arc for the season).

Two of his highlights are included in the Zion highlights above. Here’s one more, though, for good measure:

Next, it’s time to give proper props to the Maple Mamba.

Barrett didn’t have a magical first half. However, the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Canadian southpaw dug into his bag of tricks in the second half and finished with 18 points and 11 assists, joining Bobby Hurley as the only Blue Devils to have ever accumulated a double-double with points and assists in an NCAA Tournament game.

Also worth noting, Barrett moved to within two points of tying Jason Williams’ point total from the 2000-01 title season (841) for the second most in program history (barring a display of unprecedented magic, J.J. Redick’s 964 from the 2005-06 season should remain safe for at least another year).

Here’s an example of the winning grit Barrett put forth:

Finally, let’s reflect on the freshmen as a whole.

First, though, it’s worth mentioning that if Duke had lost, the somberness of today would surely keep Duke fans from yet giving a hoot about looking back at their mesmerizing statistical accomplishments this season.

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But the freshmen didn’t allow the team to lose, thereby giving coach Mike Krzyzewski the nod over UNC’s late coach, Dean Smith, for the most Elite Eight appearances by a coach in NCAA history with 16.

And the fact that Duke’s season continues means the Blue Devils can now build on their new program record for blocked shots in a season (six against the Hokies pushed their total to 248 and past the 245 from the 1998-99 squad). Meanwhile, the freshmen, astonishingly, surpassed the season point total of the 1985-86 seniors (2,333) and are within striking distance — with 2,375 and counting — of topping the 2001-02 juniors (2,454) for the most by any class in program history.

As mere freshmen, that feat would be nothing short of magical.

And with a spectacle like the one against Virginia Tech, they could certainly exceed that mark when the Blue Devils face No. 2-seed Michigan State at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

Yet if they don’t score enough, they can always magically escape and see another game by telekinetically messing with the Spartans’ shots — now that they can no longer hide that they have that power.

In short, #SI6HTS have never been brighter due to a mesmerizing trio of freshmen who appear poised to pull pieces of nets out of their hats on April 8.