Quinn Cook impressed the coaching staff with his performance against Kentucky. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY
Duke vs. Florida Gulf Coast
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU/ WKIX-102.9 FM
Projected starting lineups:
No. 9 Duke (2-0)
G Tyler Thornton, Jr., 7.5 ppg 2.5 apg
G Seth Curry 19.0 ppg, Sr., 1.0 apg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 19.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg
Florida Gulf Coast (2-1)
G Brett Comer, So., 4.3 ppg, 5.0 apg
G Bernard Thompson, So., 15.0 ppg, 4.3 ppg
G Sherwood Brown, Sr., 14.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg
F Eric McKnight, R-So., 8.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
F Chase Fieler, Jr., 6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Player to watch
Quinn Cook, junior, Duke
Just over a month ago, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “Quinn will start out being our point guard and Tyler backing him up.” At that point, practices hadn’t officially begun, but by the time the season came, it was Tyler Thornton, not Cook, who was starting for Duke.
Mason Plumlee said after the win over Kentucky that the coaching staff had let Cook know they weren’t pleased with his performance in Duke’s two exhibition games. Cook recorded three assists and six turnovers in the first exhibition against Western Washington, and then he turned in one assist and three turnovers against Winston-Salem State.
Tuesday against Kentucky, though, Cook gave Duke 30 solid minutes off the bench, sparking the offense and dishing out three assists compared with two turnovers. After the game, Krzyzewski spoke highly of the sophomore.
I thought he really played with assertiveness. He played really good defensively,” he said. “He’s had a great week at practice, and he has to keep building on it.”
A strong performance against Florida Gulf Coast would be a nice follow up to his game against the Wildcats.
Observations
***For all my thoughts after the Kentucky game (I think I went into detail on every player expect Rasheed Sulaimon), check out the Kentucky postgame post.
***Duke has won 95 straight non-conference home games, which is tied for the longest streak in school history. Duke’s last loss in Cameron to a non-conference opponent was an 83-82 decision to St. John’s on Feb. 26, 2000.
The Blue Devils last won 95 straight non-conference home games from Feb. 2, 1983 – Dec. 2 1995. Illinois snapped that streak with a 75-65 win over Duke.
Duke’s current streak is also the longest active streak in the nation.
