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DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel noted that the coaching staff left the seat normally occupied by head coach Mike Krzyzewski open “as a sign of respect” until he returns from back surgery. Truthfully, nobody on Duke’s staff can be Krzyzewski. That’s exactly why Capel, after Saturday's 70-58 victory over Miami, should no longer try to be. Krzyzewski is expected to need four weeks of recovery, which would put him back on the sideline for the Blue Devils’ Feb. 9 game against North Carolina. Until then, it would be best for Duke if Capel coaches the next four games like he has been the head coach all along. Krzyzewski set things the way he’d like them on Jan. 4 in Duke’s 110-57 win over Georgia Tech. He placed Grayson Allen at point guard and inserted freshman forward Harry Giles into the starting lineup for the first time. Capel stuck to Krzyzewski’s plan, but having lost two straight and trailing 36-25 to Miami at halftime, it was time for a new one. The Blue Devils shot a season-low 28 percent from the field in the first half and looked out of sync. “In the flow of the game, I go with what I feel,” Capel said. “That’s one of the things coach has told me repeatedly, last year when we played Georgia Tech in the situation where he couldn’t be there and then this year: to trust my instincts. That’s something I don’t really have a problem doing when we’re in these games.” Duke tried a little bit of zone defense in the first half. It didn’t seem to work, as Miami’s Davon Reed made his first four 3-point attempts. Capel’s instincts led him to sit Luke Kennard, Allen and Giles to start the second half. Frank Jackson, Matt Jones and Marques Bolden started alongside Jayson Tatum and Amile Jefferson instead. It was an unlikely trio to ask to save the game, but it was the move that turned everything in the Blue Devils’ favor. • Jackson had scored in double figures in each of Duke’s first eight games of the season, but he had cooled off tremendously. The freshman guard entered the game having managed double figures in just two of Duke's past nine games. Jackson finished with 10 points, four assists and no turnovers. “That first half, we kind of had our heads down. We weren’t talking to each other. We weren’t together,” Jackson said. “We understood it was all-in or we lose again, and I know everyone in this locker room is sick of losing.” • Bolden had not played more than 10 minutes in a game that wasn’t a Duke blowout. Even in the first half against Miami, he looked confused about where he was supposed to line up on offense and gave up a turnover when the ball was simply ripped out of his hands. In the second half, Bolden was strong with a follow dunk on offense, and he handled every pick-and-roll situation he faced. He finished with season highs with eight points and 23 minutes. “That was his best game in a Duke uniform,” Capel said. “He’s a really talented kid who hasn’t played well this year. But I tell you what, he worked his butt off this week.”  • Jones had been the odd man out when Duke changed from a four-guard lineup back to using two post players in the starting lineup. The senior guard scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
“For him to sacrifice once again with Amile coming back and to come off the bench, he’s the guy I thought that really gave us energy,” Capel said. Jones had started the past two games only because Jefferson was out with a bruised right foot. It’s not like that lineup had a lot of time to jell this week. Jefferson barely participated in practice Thursday and then played sparingly Friday. It was as fresh a combination to the players as it was to those watching. “We have eight guys who can start at any point, and we have eight guys that are starters or at least see themselves that way,” said Jefferson, who played 34 minutes in his first game back. “That should be the beauty of our team. Once heart, effort and defense becomes who we are, we’ll skyrocket. We’ll get better really fast.” Duke has used seven starting lineups this season because of multiple injuries. It had never started one that didn’t include leading scorer Luke Kennard. But in the second half, both Kennard (20.2 points per game) and Allen (15.7 points per game) didn’t check in until 13:12 remained in the game. By then, the Blue Devils had gone on a 22-1 run to wrestle control of the game. “That’s what it looks like when we come together out there. That’s what we play like,” Allen said. “... That was a big moment for our team.” Capel was noncommittal on whether he’d shake up the starting lineup as Duke prepares for a quick turnaround to face North Carolina State on Monday. “It was a big win for us -- every one of them is. That’s the way our program is,” Capel said. “... Tonight was huge. We’ve lost two in a row, we’re at home, we had an amazing crowd, and we preformed that way, especially in the second half. We were worthy of winning.”
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