Nikolas Khamenia quote reveals rare freshman mentality that led to career game vs. Louisville

The performance that the Duke Blue Devils put on against the Louisville Cardinals was as perfect as possible, and the 31-point victory over the top-25 team was a highlight for almost every play on the roster.

That included freshman guard Nikolas Khamenia, who had started in just four games but had played in all 19 of Duke's games leading into the ACC matchup.

Khamenia scored a season-high 14 points against the Cardinals, alongside two rebounds and a steal, while clocking in for just 15 minutes. Afterward, he talked about what he keeps in mind while playing a supporting role for the Blue Devils.

“I show up with the same mentality to help my team, whatever it may be, whether it’s screening, rebounding, guarding. Scoring will come,” Khamenia said.

Nikolas Khamenia has arrived for the Blue Devils

Well, against Louisville, who was ranked 20th nationally when they came to Durham, Khamenia's scoring arrived. Even head coach Jon Scheyer had to applaud the young guard's effort, with most of his points not coming until the second half.

“Nik is on the journey, not even like most freshmen. He’s still in rare air in terms of making an impact on one of the best teams in the country,” Scheyer said. “But you’re going to go through your moments of ups and downs. And I think he’s figuring out how to be really successful in college and how to adjust to certain areas, but also how to have that belief in yourself still.”

Over the first 20 games, Khamenia has averaged 5.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per appearance. Those numbers would be astonishing for a freshman at pretty much any other program, but for a team like Duke, there are seemingly always freshmen in charge.

This season, freshman forward Cameron Boozer has led the team to all 19 of its victories, literally leading the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game. The only column where he isn't first on the stat sheet is in blocks, which is led by sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II.