For weeks analysts, fans and even the Duke coaches have been talking about the Blue Devils getting Ryan Kelly back and re-integrating him back into the lineup.
Duke has Ryan Kelly back but so far it isn’t Kelly who needs to step up their game.
The thought was that with Kelly back, Duke would surge back to the top of the college basketball world. It appears that Kelly, whose return was a 36-point effort that has elevated itself to legendary status, was just a game too late. The Blue Devils dropped a game on the road to Virginia prior to his successful return against Miami and when the polls came out the Blue Devils stayed put at No. 3 in the AP poll.
Gonzaga instead jumped to the top spot and the Blue Devils dropped a spot in the coaches poll to No. 4. It is hard to argue that if Duke hadn’t lost to Virginia that they would have if fact ended up back where they were when Kelly first got hurt.
Right now ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lundardi doesn’t have the Blue Devils on one of is four top lines, not that that means anything but if his guess turns out to come to fruition then Duke has some work to do to earn that No. 1 seed come the NCAA Tournament. That will start in the ACC Tournament where Duke will most likely be the No. 2 seed.
There is still an outside shot of the Blue Devils earning a tie for the ACC Regular season title. Miami who had a comfortable 3 game lead over Duke before the Blue Devils beat them last weekend and then dropped a second straight game against Georgia Tech. That leaves their lead in the ACC race at one game and if they do the unthinkable and drop a third straight game against Clemson and Duke can beat North Carolina the two teams will finish tied for first.
But that is all a hypothetical situation that the Blue Devils can ill afford to focus on. While Kelly’s return is a most welcome one– he has averaged more than his season average in his two games back– the entire team isn’t necessarily operating on all cylinders.
That should be the primary focus for Duke and the coaching staff. With a hot North Carolina team awaiting Duke hasn’t been flawless even with Kelly. Mason Plumlee, once a national player of the year candidate isn’t even close to the same player. Rasheed Sulaimon has been a bit inconsistent of late and Seth Curry has had a few shaky games.
The Blue Devils’ defense has been down right awful at times allowing opposing guards to penetrate the lane and finish with almost no resistance. Plumlee has been often criticized for his lack of aggressiveness on the boards and the defensive end. His offensive game has also regressed even despite Kelly’s return.
Plumlee’s herky-jerky movements and indecisive nature when he gets the ball has returned and he has become a shell of his early season self. Man Duke fans were hoping Kelly’s return would help but two games in there is hardly a change.
Mike Krzyzewski has also shortened his bench significantly, had been expanding it in Kelly’s absence. Amile Jefferson and Alex Murphy who were at least good for 5-10 if not more minutes per game while Kelly was out didn’t even see he court against Miami and played only spot duty in a late blow out victory over Virginia Tech. Kelly who many expected to ease back into action has come back in at full force and the Duke bench has become a two man rotation of Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton.
One has to think that Jefferson at the very least needs to find a way into the lineup for more minutes going forward.
Duke has a lot of question marks despite all the hoopla over Kelly’s return. They are clearly a better, more versatile team, but at this point there are still a lot more ifs that certainties.
At this time of the year team who are serious contenders for the national championship are hitting their stride and peaking. So, far it is far to soon to tell if Duke is moving upward and that is something they will continue to have to prove when they take on North Carolina on Saturday night.
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