Duke will be counting on Rasheed Sulaimon for both lockdown defense and dribble-drive ability on offense. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY
Note: click here for links to our Duke-specific season preview content. Also, click here to read Tuesday's story about Seth Curry's injury status. As noted below, Curry is projected to start.
Georgia State at Duke
When: 7 p..m
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU/102.9 FM
Projected Starting lineups:
Georgia State (0-0):
G Devonta White, Jr., 12.9 ppg, 2.9 apg
G R.J. Hunter, Fr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
F Manny Atkins, R-Jr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg (sat out the 2011-12 season after transferring from Virginia Tech)
F Markus Crider, Fr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
C James Vincent, Sr., 3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Duke (0-0)
G Quinn Cook, So., 4.4 ppg, 1.9 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 13.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 11.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg
Player to watch:
Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., Duke
While Rasheed Sulaimon was inserted into the starting lineup due to Seth Curry’s right shin injury, Sulaimon is staying even though Curry is back (in place of Alex Murphy).
“He’s so athletic and he is our best guy at penetrating and breaking down defense,” Mason Plumlee said of Sulaimon. “Personally, I’ve just encouraged him to be aggressive. I know there’s a lot of emphasis on getting the ball to me and Ryan, and he’s done a good job of that, but at the same time, he’s a scorer and a slasher.”
Sulaimon scored 20 points (6-of-9 from the floor) in Duke’s first exhibition game versus Western Washington. Against Winston-Salem State, Sulaimon took a team-high 13 shots from the floor, making six en route to scoring 12 points.
"It's kind of easy for freshmen to just take the back seat to the older guys, and you always try to look for them because you always want to make your older guys happy," Sulaimon said. "But talking to Coach and listening to Mason and Ryan (Kelly), those guys are telling me to be more aggressive and look for my shot.
Observations:
*Duke has spent the week preparing for Georgia State’s zone defense, which will put a premium on getting the ball down low to Mason Plumlee, already a main focus for Duke
*The Blue Devils will be looking to get off to a better start than they did last season, as they held on to defeat Belmont 77-76 in the opening game.
*Duke has won 94 straight non-conference home games, the longest current streak in the nation and is one victory shy of matching the school record (last season, Duke came within one win of matching the school record for consecutive home victories (45) before losing to Florida State on a Michael Snaer buzzer-beating 3-pointer).
