Coach K: "If It Was an ACC Game, Tre Jones Would Have Played"

PG suffering from slight sprain in his foot

After praising his team’s performance in the 29-point win over Wofford, Coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out that Duke was missing a key player.

“And doing it with Tre [Jones] being out,” he said. “Tre, if this was an ACC game, Tre would’ve played. He’s got a real slight sprain, and it’s better with this break to get well. He’ll be back, and he’ll play right away. We’re not hiding anything or anything like that. He’s fitted now for a different orthotic and that kind of stuff. It’s all good. It’s the toll of the season. It can get to you.”

Without their floor leader, Duke had to work together more, which required communication.

“This was the best game that they talked the game,” Krzyzewski said. “They weren’t just thinking the game, individually – they were talking, especially on the defensive end. (Wofford’s) offense is very well conceived for their personnel. We couldn’t run their offense, nearly as well as they run it. It’s a little bit unconventional for our league – although Virginia Tech runs it very similar. I guess they know each other. So, having played against Virginia Tech I think helped us. Against Virginia Tech, they was beating us at halftime, and then we went small, and we played really well. Tonight, we didn’t go small, but we practiced better. We had a better game plan. We only had an hour of practice for Virginia Tech, because we got back from Michigan State so late.”

Duke was able to speed up the usually deliberate Terriers and shut down Wofford’s shooters.

“We made them work harder on offense,” Krzyzewski said. “They didn’t have the looks or the places where they normally take their shots.”