Duke Over Kentucky@Keep Insurance Agency Classic

Well, you’re probably wondering who the hell the Keep Insurance Agency is! Simply put, I hate the endless commercials that make viewing a college game like running a marathon. So here and going forward, we will be giving no free advertising to corporate conglomerates (State Farm in this instance) in sponsored games and instead be pumping up my local Westchester, NY competitors. Pays to be No. 1 in Yelp. The Keep Insurance Agency in Valhalla, NY is a No. 1 Yelper!

What a shocker in the second game of this classic, with Duke’s youngsters rolling, 118-84, over a Kentucky squad that played with the passion of a mannequin. Most points given up by a John Calipari coached Kentucky team ever. Plenty of pre-season hype for Duke’s freshmen class (ESPN No. 1, 2, 3 and 17 rated recruits nationally), and OMG (to the fourth power), they were scary good against the ‘Cats. Blue Devil freshmen RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones combined for 89 points, making it look like a layup line against the second-ranked ‘Cats. I’m not exactly standing out on a limb when I say this should be the best freshmen class since Michigan’s Fab 5 in the 90s. Did the Fab 5 ever combine for 89 in any game, much less debuting against the second-ranked team in the country? Do we dare remove the nickname the Fearsome Foursome (rev up the Google engines) from the gridiron and move it onto the hardwood?

In what was surely not a coincidence, the scoring totals of Duke’s four freshmen fell in line with their recruiting ranks: No. 1 Barrett, 33; No. 2 Williamson, 28; No. 3 Reddish, 22; and No. 17 Jones, 6.

Slicing through Kentucky’s defense for a bunch of left-handed finishes in transition and the halfcourt, Barrett looked unstoppable at the rim, and also found a way to knock down 4-of-7 three-pointers. You might have thought Barrett played selfish, needing 26 shots (he made half of them) to score 33, but how bad could it have been considering he had 6 assists and only 2 turnovers. Barrett might be good enough to lead the country in scoring.

Now for Williamson. ESPN commentator Jay Bilas set the stage in the pre-game show, telling us he had never seen a player (combining size with athleticism) like him before. As I watched the 6-7, 275-pound Williamson (who has a 45 inch vertical!)  unleash his amazing skill set, I found myself racking my brain for comparisons to challenge Bilas. But only one player came to mind, my old friend and NBA Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley. It’s my hunch we saw only a glimpse of what Williamson can do in the future. Can’t wait for Coach K to roll Mount Zion into the post. Might have a better chance of crossing the border and moving the Egyptian Pyramids than getting him out of the lane.

As for the two less feared of the foursome, Reddish quietly scored 22 (in what would have been the freshman story-line any other night), and Jones scored 6, with solid play at the point.

So how good is Duke with the Fearsome Foursome? Definitely talented enough to win it all if they stay healthy. Consider this eye-opening stat in its win over the ‘Cats: 22 assists and just 4 turnovers. Those are numbers you would expect a national power to chalk up against a Division II team, not Kentucky. Coach K’s biggest challenge might be finding a way to keep all his young stars happy. Which means if this becomes an issue, role players will take on significant importance. Aussie Jack White, a little-used big man for Duke last season, made a strong audition in the opener. White scored 9 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, including 6 on the offensive end that consistently broke Kentucky’s spirit.

So how many things went wrong for Kentucky in this disaster? I’m sure Coach Cal and his staff can come up with at least 118 reasons, maybe even more, breaking this one down while requesting FEMA assistance. From this former coach’s vantage point, I thought Kentucky’s effort guarding the arc early in the game really set the tone for this blowout. I have always believed that defending the arc (especially early in a game to knock down confidence) is one of the most important factors in determining success and failure, and Kentucky’s poor effort defending the 3-point line in the first four minutes gave Duke’s young team a lot of confidence. Looked like the Blue Devils were shooting over a student manager when they knocked down 4 of their first 5 attempts to take a 14-8 lead. Of course, all of this was very uncharacteristic for a Calipari-coached team — his teams usually Duke it out with the best. My hunch here is the Wildcats will play very hard in the next couple of weeks and find a way back into the national picture.

Overtime Couch Talk:

Nice to see Dick Vitale handling the ESPN commentary for his 40th season during Kansas’ 92-87 win over Michigan State in the classic opener. Say what you want about Dicky V, there is no doubting he is a walking encyclopedia of college basketball knowledge. Which, by the way, is no accident. During my second year as an assistant coach at Tulane in the early 90s, we were playing at Memphis early in the season and Vitale called me on the phone for background information for his broadcast. First off, he was smart enough not to bother anybody important (I was the last assistant) on the staff. Dicky V could not have been more gracious as he peppered me with questions for a half hour. The next night the Hall of Famer was kind enough to give me a shout out on the air.

A few brief thoughts on Kansas’ opening-night victory. The Jayhawks looked like they were worthy of their No. 1 ranking. Memphis transfer Dedric Lawson will be a great player for the Jayhawks, and 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike looks like he has made great strides with his inside game since last year. The makings of a great front line. But Azubuike must learn to make free throws or it will be a constant headache for Coach Bill Self. Azubuike shot 77 percent from the field last year but made just 45 percent of his free throws. He made his free throws early against Michigan State, then struggled down the stretch. If Azubuike continues to become more dominant in the post but struggles from the foul line, opponents will surely opt for the Hack a Shaq strategy late in games. Might force Self to make the painful choice of talking Azubuike out like he did in the closing seconds of the Michigan State game.

Was nice to see native New Yorkers Norm Roberts and Fred Quartlebaum flanking Self as assistant coaches on the Kansas bench. Roberts, the former St. John’s head coach, and Quartlebaum, his assistant with the Redmen, are two of the nicer guys in college basketball. 

Next Game Up: Michigan vs. Villanova next Wednesday, look for post on Thursday!