Paolo closes with 21 points and 9 assists, his first game since January 31st with at least 20 points. “I put too much pressure on myself: I realized that I always have to have fun on the pitch.” The Blue Devils give coach K an easy 97-72 in comparison with friend Jim Boeheim
Paolo Banchero has chosen the right stage to remind everyone why he is vying to be the first overall choice in the NBA Draft. In front of over 31,800 spectators (including over 8000 students), live on national TV, the future blue brings out his best game of the month, and helps Duke to take the victory at Syracuse with 21 points and 9 assists. The final 97-72 speaks of a game without history, in which coach Mike Krzyzewski reached 1195 career victories against his first rival, that Jim Boeheim coach of Syracuse with whom he boasts a friendship lasting over 30 years and with whom he has shared the bench of Team USA for three editions of the Olympics.
Banchero show
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It was from January 31st that the future blue did not exceed 20 points. At the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, the historic New York state school that only won the title when his star was called Carmelo Anthony, Banchero was about to break that quota in the first 15 ‘of the game. The first quarter of an hour was a show, by him and by Duke. Paolo was at 18 points and 6 assists when he slipped the 48-18 away with 5 ‘to play, in a game start in which coach K’s team entered almost every shot attempted, while Syracuse was struggling to rearrange ideas . Placed in the center of the attack of the Blue Devils, with the ball that often passed between his hands, Banchero as well as his offensive talent showed his ability, his ability to understand when it is time to create for himself and when serve others. Paolo found a special feeling with Mark Williams, a center who finished with 28 points, a new high in his life in college, and 12 assists. Although he was not as unreachable in the second half as he was in the first, Banchero played an excellent game, ending the bad month of February in the right way and preparing for the gear change that March Madness requires. “In recent weeks I think I have put a lot of pressure on myself, thinking too much especially in attack – says Paolo -. I understood that I have to play free and have fun on the pitch, that when I do it I always play at a higher level: I have decided to start doing it again ”.
Talent
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How far Duke will go in the tournament that closes the Atlantic Coast Conference (from 8 to 12 March in Brooklyn) and how much then in the Big Dance that assigns the title will pass through Banchero’s hands and talent. But Paolo doesn’t preach in the desert: Duke is such a solid team that the whole quintet, from Williams to AJ Griffin (20 points), from Keels to Moore, are in the smell of choice on the first round of the Draft: the last trained class from coach K, who will retire at the end of the season, is likely to be almost as legendary as he is given that only Kentucky in the 2010 Draft had 5 players called on the first round of the Draft.
Banchero’s statistics
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21 points (3/9 of two, 4/7 of three, 3/6 free throws), 1 rebound, 9 assists, 1 block in 34 ‘
February 27, 2022 (change February 27, 2022 | 08:26)
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