Duke basketball fell to #19 Kentucky 77-72 after looking utterly dominant in its first two games of the season. The Blue Devils looked like one of the most complete squads college basketball had to offer on both sides of the floor, but some of that diminished against SEC competition.
Here are the biggest things fans should be watching for as Duke looks to bounce back against Wofford tomorrow.
Can this team actually shoot?
Duke came into the season looking like one of the best three point shooting teams in the country. The shooting depth on paper looked spectacular: from high recruits that could shoot the lights out like Kon Knueppel and Darren Harris, or transfers like Mason Gillis who shot 46% from three last year at Purdue, or veteran guards like Tyrese Proctor or Caleb Foster who have shown ability to hit threes. It looked like the shooting depth Duke had would be arguably the best in the country, and it continued to look that way through the first two games of the season. Duke shot 11-of-29 (37.9%) from three against Maine and six different guys hit one from beyond the arc. Against Army, the Blue Devils shot a ridiculous 17-of-38 from three (44.7%) and nine different guys hit a three. It looked like Duke had their lead shooter that was going to be one of the best shooters in the country in Knueppel, who went 7-of-14 from three point range over the first two games of the season, and then anywhere from five to seven guys that could hit a three point shot whenever needed. But, the shooting rhythm disappeared against Kentucky. Duke went an abysmal 4-of-24 (17.6%) and all four of those threes were hit by Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, and Proctor. The rest of the team went 0-of-6 from three. Foster went 0-of-5 and Knueppel went just 1-of-8. And the Blue Devils got quality looks from three, especially in the second half when the team went 1-of-12. The shots just weren't falling. Having a good three point shooting night as a team tomorrow will be a big sigh of relief for fans that this team can actually be as good as advertised in terms of shooting.
Can Duke's veterans lead the team?
When I say veterans, I'm mainly talking about the guys that have been in the program before this year. Proctor and Foster are the starting guard duo that were supposed to lead the offense. Both guys were also poised by experts around the sport to each take a massive leap forward with their games. They were good in Duke's first two games of the season, but completely disappeared against the Wildcats on Tuesday night, specifically in the second half. Proctor actually looked phenomenal in the first half against Kentucky. He played off the ball well and created his own shot on a number of occasions. Proctor finished with 10 first half points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three. Then in the second half, he was a total non-factor. Proctor only took two shots the entire second half, finishing the game with ten points. Foster was a non-scorer the entire game going 2-of-10 from the field and finishing with four points. Granted, no one else besides Flagg was able to make shots down the stretch for Duke, but it's concerning when the veteran guards are hardly even trying to get shots up. It's well known that Flagg is the offensive catalyst, but it looked like he had to do everything himself down the stretch. Guys looked gassed and unable to keep up with the fast-paced Kentucky team. Closing out games starts with veterans, and it's really difficult to be an elite college basketball team if your leader is a 17-year old freshman, regardless of how talented he is.