“This was a long, extended stretch of quick turnarounds, of learning about one team and the next day having to learn about another group – always being locked in, mentally as well as physically”, senior forward Amile Jefferson said.
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“This injury is unfortunate, to say the least, but Amile is strong in both person and character”, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. It was the first look at Duke without Amile Jefferson, who was, arguably Duke’s most valuable player over the season’s first nine games. That includes the obvious, like making better reads on where the ball should go offensively and executing plays more crisply, as well as working on the mental side of the game.
The easy answer was to lean hard on Ingram and Marshall Plumlee, who finished with a career-best 11 rebounds.
The best-case scenario for Duke would be plugging 6-foot-10 freshman Chase Jeter into Jefferson’s spot in the starting lineup, but the McDonald’s All-American hasn’t looked ready for extended minutes yet.
FSU (8-2) hit a season-high 10 3-pointers. Of his 93 rebounds, 43 were of the offensive variety, accounting for 34 percent of Duke’s offensive rebounds. He finished with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
“Obi, whose 6’9”, 250-pound frame spent all of last season practicing against Okafor while sitting out the year, has been a major bust.
The Blue Devils do have freshman Brandon Ingram, and that was more than enough to beat Georgia Southern on Tuesday night. The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils are poised for another home game in Durham, N.C. when they welcome the Georgia Southern Eagles to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Once the schedule turns over to ACC play in January, several more formidable frontcourts will pop up.
Georgia Southern: The Eagles were playing a ranked team for the first time since 2008, when then-No. The Hokies have a plus-9.6 margin, while Duke sits at plus-6.6 thanks to Jefferson.
In his absence, senior Nolan Smith took over the point guard duties while sophomores Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins increased their production to make the change a relatively painless one.
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Jefferson’s foot injury will bring back frustrating memories of foot injuries sustained by Ryan Kelly and Kyrie Irving – injuries without clear prognoses or timetables for return.
