'Big 3' on scoring spree for Duke

By Aaron Beard

Associated Press

DURHAM — Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler really couldn't ask for much more.

The Duke trio has found the setup that every college basketball player dreams of: plenty of shots, lots of points and abundant minutes. The formula has carried No. 8 Duke to the top of the ACC heading into Wednesday's trip to rival North Carolina, and the Blue Devils' hopes of making a strong push in March could hinge on how well their "Big Three" holds up.

"We ideally would like to have balanced scoring, but it's not really how it is," Singler said. "The responsibility that Jon, Nolan and myself has, we don't necessarily look at it as pressure because we have each other to help each other out."

So far, Scheyer, Smith and Singler are each averaging better than 16 points per game. They entered Saturday's win at Boston College as the nation's top scoring trio.

All three are ranked among the ACC scoring leaders — Scheyer and Smith rank second and third, respectively — while they account for about two-thirds of the Blue Devils' scoring output and shot attempts.

Scheyer, a senior, leads Duke (19-4, 7-2 ACC) at just under 19 points per game and leads the league by shooting 91 percent at the foul line. Smith is averaging about 18 points, while Singler is averaging about 17 points. No other Blue Devils player averages more than seven points.

They could be in line for a big performance against the Tar Heels (13-10, 2-6). UNC has struggled to defend the perimeter all season and is limping through its worst stretch under coach Roy Williams.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has been content to rely on the trio to lead the offense, saying there's a significant gap between the "Big Three" and the rest of the team in experience and scoring ability.

"If only two of them were scoring, I'd be disappointed," Krzyzewski joked. "The way we have set up our team, those three guys have to be put in prominent positions to score and they've come through pretty well in doing that. That's the nature of our team. If we had a fourth really big scorer, then I'd try to figure that out."

The biggest concern, however, might be the amount of mileage each player is picking up while hoisting all those shots. Scheyer leads the ACC at more than 36 minutes played per game, while Singler is third and Smith is fourth at 35 minutes each.

Singler — who seemed to wear down late in his freshman year — has logged 40 minutes in five games, while Scheyer and Smith have done it three times each. In the 66-63 win at BC, Scheyer and Smith played 40 minutes and Singler played 39.

Yet Krzyzewski said he's not worried about them wearing down, saying he is careful with limiting their workload in practices and that players want to stay on the court in games.

"This is it for me," Scheyer said. "I'm taking care of my body every day. I feel great. I can't remember I felt tired in a game in terms of being winded where I needed to come out."