Mike Krzyzewski likes what he sees with Seth Curry. In fact, the junior guard may be Duke’s go-to guy this season, not incoming freshman Austin Rivers.
That doesn’t mean Rivers, the top 2011 recruit according to Rivals.com, won’t be the Devils’ leading scorer or a significant player. As the Fay Observer’s Dan Wiederer notes, Duke’s coach says Rivers to slow down and not be overly reckless and assertive. He’s a talented scorer, but taking on every defender is never a good idea.
During Duke’s recent trip to China and Dubai, it was apparent Rivers was making things too hard. Curry didn’t have that problem.
“On any team, you’d hope there would be some level of separation at least initially,” Krzyzewski Wednesday. “Like Nolan (Smith) and Kyle (Singler) were separated from our team (last year) and then Kyrie (Irving) was there. And then people have to catch up. If you’re always together, you might have a socialistic type of team. But you’re not going to win. There has to be somebody who the other guys chase and who you can count on all the time. And Seth really did that.”
That’s a promising sign for Duke. Rivers may still be the first scoring option, but the less he has to run the offense, the better. That’s not his strength. If Curry can fill that role until Quinn Cook is healthy, it gives Coach K more options during the season.
And if Curry turns into the new version of Nolan Smith – a natural two-guard who could run the show when needed thanks to smarts and experience – that’s the ultimate goal. And somewhat of a scary thought, given how scary Curry is as a scorer...
Related stories:
- Coach K says Rivers must learn to be “complete player”
- Ex-Duke players on China trip might beat current team
- “Kyle Gets Buckets 2.0” a sequel that’s worthy of summer
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