In helping build one of the top five winningest programs in the history of men’s college basketball, Mike Krzykewski has had no shortage of talented teams at Duke in his four decades as the Blue Devils’ head coach.
This one, though, has a distinct characteristic to it, Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.
“I think they’re big, they’re long and extremely physical,” Brownell said. “Aggressive. They’re very athletic.”
In other words, Clemson (11-8, 3-5 ACC) will face another tall task tonight at 7 when No. 9 Duke hosts the Tigers at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Quite literally, it may be the tallest the Tigers have gotten from the Blue Devils (15-3, 5-2) in recent memory.
And one of Duke’s prized freshmen may be the biggest matchup problem of them all.
One of the nation’s top recruits in the 2021 recruiting cycle, Paolo Banchero was immediately inserted into the Blue Devils’ starting five and hasn’t disappointed during what will almost certainly be his only season of college ball. The only question at this point seems to be whether or not Banchero will be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
His stiffest competition for that distinction will likely be fellow freshmen phenoms Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) and Jabari Smith Jr. (Auburn), but Banchero is firmly in the mix given how he’s performed so far this season. Yahoo Sports draft analyst Krysten Peek has the Orlando Magic taking Banchero first overall in her latest mock draft.
At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Banchero leads Duke and ranks fifth in the ACC in scoring (17.9 points per game), though that’s far from the only elite facet of his game. He’s also averaging 7.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists while being versatile enough at his size to play virtually any position on the floor.
Banchero often brings the ball up and serves as the Blue Devils’ de-facto point guard. He’s just as comfortable finding teammates for open shots as he is creating his own, averaging four assists per game in January. He finished three assists shy of a triple-double in the Blue Devils’ overtime loss at Florida State earlier this month.
But Banchero is far from the only big body Duke can throw at the opposition, which has Brownell just as concerned about how his team is going to score over the Blue Devils’ trees. Sophomore center Mark Williams is the tallest of them all at 7-1 and 245 pounds whilo Theo John, a Marquette transfer, gives Duke a 6-9, 242-pound big off the bench.
Duke has another 7-footer if needed in freshman Stanley Borden, though he’s only played in one game so far.
“I do think it makes it more challenging to plan to go inside against them in some ways,” Brownll said. “You’re not going to have as much success as you would against other teams in some ways, and then other times I think your kids make plays within the game, and then all of a sudden you’re in front of Mark Williams and you’re not used to shooting over a guy like that.
“Guys are going into the basket, you get bumped, you don’t make a shot, you fall down and now Duke’s on a 5 on 4 and you’re in trouble. So I just think they’re are a lot of things that happen within the course of the game where their size, physicality and shot blocking cause problems and, a lot of times, can lead to good offense.”
It makes for the stiffest test yet for Clemson as a whole but particularly on the interior, where forwards PJ Hall, Hunter Tyson and Naz Bohannon like to operate. Hall, at 6-10 and 242 pounds, is Clemson’s best bet to match up with Duke on the inside while Tyson goes 6-8 and 215 pounds.
Hall, the Tigers’ leading scorer (14.8 points per game), has reached double figures in all but one game this season. Tyson had six points and two rebounds in the Tigers’ rout of Pittsburgh over the weekend, though he’s still feeling the effects of a recent ankle injury and not operating at full strength. Meanwhile, Hall continues to deal with a foot injury that’s going to limit his practice time for the rest of the season, Brownell said.
“We’ve got to be careful with him, but I’m optimistic he’ll be fine tomorrow and ready to go,” Brownell said of Hall.
Duke leads the ACC in blocked shots and ranks second in field-goal percentage defense thanks in large part to its ability to protect the rim. That’s going to make Clemson’s ability to knock down perimeter shots all the more important if it has any realistic shot of pulling its first Quadrant 1 win of the season out of Cameron Indoor, a place the Tigers have won just four times ever.
But Brownell said he may try to better match Duke’s size with more of his own. Freshman center Ben Middlebrooks played nine minutes against Pittsburgh – the second-most he’s logged all season – something Brownell said could become more frequent for the 6-10, 232-pounder going forward.
“Just in terms of sheer size and physicality, we’re going to need that, especially (Tuesday) night against Mark Williams and Banchero. They’re big, strong, physical dudes, and we’re going to need some guys that can match that strength.”
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