Coach K: Vernon Carey Had Literally Never Played Post Before
Coach Mike Krzyzewski singled out freshman center Vernon Carey as one of the top performers in the Blue-White scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness. Carey scored a game high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the victorious Blue Team.
Not bad for someone who never played inside the paint in high school and learned all the footwork and post moves he showed in the game since arriving at Duke this summer.
“He’s fifteen pounds lighter,” Coach K said in his post-game press conference. “He’s playing where he knows he can get the ball. Literally, he has not played at the post. So his footwork and all that, that comes about from his work with us and our staff since about the second week of July, so he wants to get good. I think the less weight, he’s been a good runner. Tonight was outstanding for him.”
Junior Alex O’Connell also had a strong game, scoring 11 to tie freshman Wendell Moore for the White Team lead. O’Connell hit 5-of-10 from the field and added five rebounds and two assists.
“He’s playing more like a junior,” Krzyzewski said. “Alex’s been giving us good practices. I’m not going to grade each guy though. We sound like parents out here, like ‘How’s my son doing?’. But Alex should be a key player for us. He was last year, against Virginia Tech in the Sweet Sixteen. He played 35 minutes up at Syracuse when we won a big game. So he should play like a kid who’s done something before.”
