Five Duke basketball players highlight the formula for success

Five promising individual performances have restored Duke basketball hopes.

Every Duke basketball game in conference play has been close this year. Tuesday night’s 75-68 home win over Georgia Tech (7-5, 3-3 ACC) was certainly no exception. Thanks in large part to the five players highlighted in this article, Duke (6-5, 4-3 ACC) was able to find the right formula for success to finally come out victorious in a close game.

The Blue Devils darted out to a 10-point lead early in the second half, but they slowly watched their lead vanish. Yet every time Georgia Tech came knocking, Duke was right there to answer. The young team showed toughness and resiliency.

It is not going to be easy for the Blue Devils the rest of the way, but if they continue to play how they did against the Yellow Jackets, then they can certainly get the season turned in the right direction.

Now, 3-point shooting has been a struggle for Duke the entire season. As a team, the Blue Devils are hitting just 33.1 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. The biggest issue, though, has been the volume of 3-point shots. Last week, they put up 28 in the loss to Pitt and 25 in the loss to Louisville, making only eight each time.

On Tuesday, however, the Blue Devils seemed set on settling for fewer 3-point shots, finishing 5-for-16 from deep while finding more shots from mid-range and around the basket.

Speaking of improvement around the basket, let’s look at the tallest of the five key performers who ensured the team found its winning formula…

Duke basketball formula for success: Mark Williams

Freshman big man Mark Williams gave Duke a nice boost in the first half. The 7-footer did not appear at all in the team’s previous two games, and he hadn’t scored since the win at Notre Dame over a month ago. He played just 13 minutes versus Georgia Tech but scored six points and pulled down six rebounds.

Overall, Williams did a good job of running the floor, getting deep post position, and using his size to take advantage of smaller defenders. He also was able to alter some shots around the rim.

Williams provides Duke with something it otherwise does not have. He can be a lob threat and a guy who can give you a few buckets in the low post.

The issue is Williams is unable to play extended minutes because of knee tendinitis. Plus, he does not seem to have the lateral quickness to defend on the perimeter. When he was in the game, Georgia Tech often isolated him on the perimeter with ball screens. Even though he was staying home on those screens, he was unable to keep the lightning-quick Jose Alvarado in front of him.

Let’s now take a look at another winning performer…

Duke basketball formula for success: DJ Steward

Freshman guard DJ Steward also had one of his best games in a Duke basketball jersey. He was aggressive early in the first half and was able to open up his shot, connecting on two massive 3-pointers in the final minutes of the first half to stretch the lead from two to eight points right before halftime.

And Steward carried this momentum forward, knocking down another transition three early in the second half. He finished with a team-high 19 points, making all six of his free throws and going 3-for-6 from downtown, to go along with five rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, and zero turnovers across 38 minutes on the floor.

Steward is one of Duke’s better shooters, but he has to continue to be aggressive early in games. He has to force the defense to respect his drives, which will allow him to get cleaner looks from the outside.

Duke basketball formula for success: Jalen Johnson

Of course, what ensured the Blue Devils would beat the Yellow Jackets was the assertiveness of Jalen Johnson. Bouncing back after a rough performance against Louisville, the freshman forward had his fingerprints all over this one, totaling 18 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

Johnson made winning plays and had timely buckets for Duke when Georgia Tech was making its run. He was able to get out in transition, where he has shown to be an excellent playmaker. He had multiple plays where he was able to either go coast to coast for a bucket or push the ball up the court himself and find an open teammate.

Two and-ones from Johnson late in the game helped seal the victory.

Johnson has to continue to be aggressive and relentlessly attack the basket. Since he often plays at the five-spot, he certainly has the ability to beat most of his defenders off the dribble. His touch and athleticism will allow him to be a consistent finisher at the rim.

Also, he has to continue to get to the foul line. Free throws margin has been a problem for Duke this year. If Johnson continues to attack the basket, then he can play a huge role in helping turn that around for the Blue Devils.

Duke basketball formula for success: Jordan Goldwire

In what became the first Duke basketball victory of the season against a team that now has a winning record, the unsung hero for the Blue Devils was Jordan Goldwire. The senior guard lost his spot in the starting rotation, but he certainly did enough on Tuesday to earn it back.

Goldwire had seven assists compared to just one turnover. He did an outstanding job of running the offense and controlling the pace of the game. Adding in 11 points, he was aggressive in transition and found ways to get both himself and his teammates some easy baskets.

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Finally, Goldwire made the play of the game when he knocked the ball away from Jose Alvarado, which led to free throws on the other end to help seal the game.

Duke basketball formula for success: Matthew Hurt

As I mentioned earlier, every Duke game this season has come down to the wire. The Blue Devils had chances to win each game during their three-game skid. But foul trouble has made it difficult for the team to close out games and earn victories.

Jalen Johnson was having a magnificent game against Pitt before fouling out in the final minutes. Matthew Hurt was carrying Duke against Louisville before fouling out in the final minutes.

Having both Hurt and Johnson in the game is what allowed the Blue Devils to close out the game against Georgia Tech.

Hurt, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, hit a tough fadeaway from the corner to give Duke a two-point lead with 2:13 to play. He was also able to hit free throws to secure the win.

The following tweet from the official Duke basketball stats account sums up the most consistent producer on the team and All-ACC candidate:

This squad is still a ways away from being a threat to win the ACC Tournament. But the latest win did show the formula for how Duke can continue to have success.

The Blue Devils have to be in attack mode, getting closer to the basket and settling for fewer outside shots.

At the same time, they have to keep opponents off the foul line. Before drastically improving in this regard against Georgia Tech, Duke had been prone to fouling and giving opponents chances to earn easy points.

Most importantly, Johnson and Hurt have to be on the floor in the closing minutes of a game. They both made key plays late Tuesday night to help pull out the much-needed win.

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