Vernon Carey: I Feel Like the Game Is Slowing Down For Me

Freshman center had his best ACC game of the season

Duke freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. had his first double-double of the ACC season Tuesday against Pitt, with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He also played a season-high 35 minutes in the game.

“I’ve been working on my conditioning, lately,” he said, “just being more efficient around the rim and being aggressive.”

Carey, who had played 25 minutes or fewer in six of the previous seven games, said he was willing to take on the increased workload if the team needs it.

“If the coaches need me to do that, I’ll do that,” he said. “I felt like I did pretty well with it (Tuesday).”

Despite Carey’s heroics against the Panthers, there were some tense moments when Pitt cut the Duke lead to three late in the second half.

“We just needed to get a stop,” Carey said of the coaches’ advice during a late timeout, “because if they scored, it would be tied up or a one-point game. Just getting stops, really, and executing on offense when we got the stop.”

Carey said he’s getting more comfortable each game he plays.

“We’re maturing and developing,” he said. “So we’ve just got to keep on. It’s getting more comfortable, with me being more patient in the post. I feel like it’s definitely slowing down a bit.”

Carey had 17 shots, his second highest total of the season. He can look forward to that workload going forward.

“That was our game plan, to look inside early and just kind of play through me,” he said. “That was our game plan coming in. I feel like we did a pretty good job of that.”