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Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker make for a new-look Duke offense in romp over Davidson

rodney hood jabari parker

Jabari Parker (AP) and Rodney Hood (GoDuke.com)

In what has become a nice non-conference game between these two North Carolina schools since the Stephen Curry days at Davidson, Duke had little problem with the Wildcats in the season opener for both teams winning 111-77.

The Duke offense was clicking on all cylinders, and seemingly everything they threw up found the bottom of the net. The hot shooting and 100+ points aside though, make no mistake about it, Duke has a new look this season.

Last year it was the brute physicality of Mason Plumlee in the paint and the shooting prowess of Seth Curry on the outside. The 2012-13 Blue Devils were one of the most efficient and top offensive teams in the country, but they operated primarily in the half-court.

With Rodney Hood eligible after sitting out last season after transferring from Mississippi State and the addition of freshman phenom Jabari Parker, Duke will have no reservations of getting out in the open floor and running. Hood and Parker both stand at 6-foot-8, but move like nimble guards.

Coach K always has one of the top offensive teams in the country, but it has been some time since he’s had a squad that can get up and down the floor like this. One can point to guards like Kyrie Irving and Austin Rivers on recent Duke teams who were some of the quickest in the country, but what makes the 2013-14 Blue Devil team move are their forwards. The guards will always be quick, but the forwards on recent Duke teams have forced the pace of play to slow, especially last year with Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly -- both very talented players, but not the most fleet of foot guys.

ESPN color commentator Doris Burke, who called the Duke vs. Davidson game tonight, made a very astute observation when she stated that both Hood and Parker were “positionless.” The two have the ability to play in the paint comfortably, but can also step outside on the perimeter -- total nightmare for opposing defenses. Their handle and shooting is as good as most shooting guards.

While Hood and Parker were no doubt the focal points of the night, Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon combined for 41 points on 13-18 shooting. In fact, as a team, Duke shot a blistering 70.4% from the field (38-54).

A shooting performance like that is an aberration and won’t continue -- Davidson is hardly a defense-first team, which was the case even last year when they nearly upset Marquette in the NCAA Tournament -- but we saw a glimpse of what Hood and Parker will do for the offense. Scoring points in transition will become much more commonplace this season, and ample scoring opportunities will be made available for a guy like Amile Jefferson, along with the preceding two players (Quinn and Sulaimon).

Duke’s next game comes against Andrew Wiggins and Kansas next Tuesday in Chicago. We’ll find out much more in this game just how different and fast-paced Duke’s offense is this season.

Follow @KLDoyle11