Duke opens season with 81-71 victory over Coppin State

Duke Basketball opened its 2020-21 season with an 81-71 victory over Coppin State in an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils were led by an electric performance from freshmen Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward, who combined for 43 points, 28 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

“Jalen did a heckuva job for us,” Mike Krzyzewski said. “You get two freshmen with 19 and 24 (points). I can’t remember when we had a guy with 19 rebounds. That’s a heckuva first time performance.”

Johnson was strong from the outset scoring nine of Duke’s first 19 points. He ended the first half with a flurry of points as well, scoring six of the Blue Devils last eight. Perhaps it was his dominance on the backboards, though, that opened more eyes.

The freshman grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half, giving him a double-double for the game by the time the teams took to the locker room at the midway point.

Johnson finished the game with 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting, while pulling down 19 rebounds, handing out five assists and blocking four shots. His 19 rebounds were the third most by a Duke freshman all-time. His 15 defensive rebounds were the most by a Duke freshman.

Though Johnson’s dominance in the first half garnered most of the attention, Steward stole the show in the second half, scoring 14 of his game-high 24 points in the final 20 minutes of action. Steward connected on 4-of-9 from 3-point range, while coming up just one rebound shy of a double-double of his own.

Steward showed an ability to not only shoot the three, but drive to the basket with confidence and success. The freshman has been saying since his recruitment that he’s not just a shooter, and that fact was on full display Saturday.

Duke sophomore Wendell Moore Jr. had high praise for his teammates.

“I’m not really surprised by their performances,” Moore said. “I’ve seen it for however many months we’ve been here - since August. DJ can really score the ball. He really showed that tonight. Being open in the right spot at all times. Ready to shoot the ball. He was aggressive in the lane.

“Jalen, that’s just Jalen being him. He’s grabbing the defensive board and go. Making plays for himself and for others. So those two are great additions to our team.”

Duke also had a strong performance from freshman Jeremy Roach.

Roach’s start to the game was not one that he will look to remember, as he turned the ball over just moments after touching it for the first time. But, he settled in and his leadership on the floor helped keep Duke grounded in a pressure-laden game.

After posting that first turnover in the first seconds of his college career, he turned the ball over just twice more in the following 28 minutes.

In 29 minutes of playing time, Roach finished with six points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

And Krzyzewski attributed Duke’s ability to hold off an older, more experienced Coppin State team to his and Steward’s poise and focus.

“Our two young guards (Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward) came and really helped us,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought Jeremy’s leadership - there’s a lot of game pressure on our team today. It’s such an unusual atmosphere. There’s no pressure on the other team. None.

“Especially for a young team at home there can be a lot of game pressure because you’re supposed to win. You’re supposed to win and supposed to win at home, except home isn’t like it has been.

“Obviously Jeremy helped with his leadership and DJ really came through.”

Matthew Hurt had a solid effort, scoring 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out one assist. Moore finished with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out two assists.

As one might expect following 266 days between games, the Blue Devils had to shake off some rust, particularly early in the contest. Add to the fact a prominent portion of the rotation is made up of freshmen, and the first game struggles are not that big of a surprise.

That said, Duke turned the ball over 22 times, resulting in 28 Coppin State points.

Roach and Steward, to Krzyzewski’s point, along with Hurt, were the outliers in taking care of the basketball, as the three combined for just five of the miscues.

The second half was of particular concern, as the Blue Devils turned the ball over 13 times in the final half, which allowed the visitors to cut a 17-point halftime deficit all the way to six points with 8:03 remaining in the game.

In an otherwise masterful performance, Johnson turned the ball over seven times. It was the one flaw to his effort.

“The biggest disappointment (with Johnson) for me was the turnovers,” Krzyzewski said. “I think the turnovers lent itself to not playing as well on the defense end at times.”

Johnson noted much of his struggles was just not being strong with the basketball.

“Just got to be stronger with the ball,” the freshman said. “Know the time and score. Definitely something I’m going to get better at.”

Though he struggled, he was clearly not the only one to have turnover issues. Moore turned the ball over three times, so too did Jordan Goldwire, who did add four assists and two steals on the positive side of his stat sheet.

Joey Baker turned the ball over twice in just 14 minutes of action.

It was really just a struggle all game long. Aside from the youth and inexperience, the turnover issue should’nt have been a thing.

“We had so many unforced turnovers,” Krzyzewski said. “They were like - how did that happen? They played good defense, but it’s a containment defense and so you shouldn’t turn it over as much against that defense. You get 22 turnovers in a game and go four for 10 from the free throw line - it’s a recipe for disaster.

“It’s tough to explain some of those turnovers. It’s just tough to explain where you throw it across the half court, the side of the court and you throw it out of bounds. Why would you even be looking there, ya know?”

With all of that, there were certainly some positives and areas of improvement. That’s to be expected from any season opener, and with any team, particularly when considering the unusual circumstances surrounding college sports this season.

From here, the young Blue Devils will learn and grow.

“We have a lot to do,” Krzyzewski noted. “Give [Coppin State] credit. They played well … There’s so much to learn from in the game.”