One aspect of Duke’s play last season that largely eluded notice was its ability to convert passes into baskets. In Jon Scheyer’s first season running the Duke program, only Virginia and Virginia Tech (the Hokies marginally) were more efficient in that regard than the Blue Devils (.562).
That’s a telling sign of poise and teamwork, especially impressive under a new coach.
Such effective passing was consistent with Duke’s practice under retired head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Since 2010 Coach K’s teams shared the ball at escalating rates – four of his five best squads at converting passes into scores came as his coaching career reached its conclusion.