DURHAM, N.C. — For a Duke team searching to find consistency on the offense end, Wendell Moore simply returning to last season’s level would go a long way toward helping the Blue Devils.
In five games played this season, Moore has made just 21.9% of his shots from the field, around half the 41.6% he shot at last season.
“It’s really one of those times where it feels like every shot I take it doesn’t go in,” Moore said Thursday in a Zoom interview with reporters. “It feels like, really, that the game is moving faster than me now. So right now I’m doing whatever I can to help our team better, leading the guys on the floor. My game will come back around.”
The No. 20 Blue Devils (3-2, 1-0 ACC) could use that help from Moore sooner rather than later, especially with a game at No. 18 Florida State set for Saturday night.
Last season as a part-time starter, the 6-foot-6 swingman from Charlotte contributed 7.4 points per game. He helped with offensive rebounds, grabbing 1.6 per game, while playing 24 minutes per outing.
He did struggle turning the ball over, doing so 2.4 times per game. Per advance statistics from KenPom, 27.6 of the Duke possessions Moore ended resulted in a turnover, rather than a made or missed shot or a free-throw attempt. That was the worst such turnover rate on last year’s Blue Devils.
This season, his turnover rate is only slightly better at 26.9%. The rest of his game on offense has plummeted.
He’s made just 1 of 9 3-pointers (11%). According to Synergy Sports, that one made 3-pointer came on a play where Moore was a spot-up shooter. But that make was rare for him. In 12 such spot-up plays, Moore has made just 1 of 11 shots while turning the ball over on the remaining possessions.
He’s also struggled as the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations, going 0 for 7 from the field with one turnover in eight such possessions.
Other than missing six games with a broken hand last January, Moore said this is the toughest stretch of basketball he’s experienced.
“Personally, this is one of the first times I’ve dealt with this big of an adversity besides my injury,” Moore said. “But this is a time that we are all fighting through together. I know my teammates have my back. They still believe in me. I’m just doing everything I can to make them proud.”
As a team, the Blue Devils have averaged 73.8 points per game this season, making 45.6% of their shots from the field. Duke is tied for 148th nationally in scoring offense and is No. 128 in field goal percentage.
The Blue Devils need those numbers to improve if they are to compete for the ACC championship this season.
It doesn’t help that freshman forward Jalen Johnson, a projected NBA draft lottery pick who was voted to the preseason all-ACC team, is sidelined with a foot injury. He missed Duke’s 75-65 win over Notre Dame on Dec. 16 and hasn’t practiced since the Blue Devils returned to campus from holiday break Dec. 23, leaving his availability for the Florida State game unlikely.
Without Johnson at Notre Dame, Duke played one of its better offensive games of the season. The Blue Devils shot 51.7%, including a season-best 53.3% on 3-pointers.
Senior guard Jordan Goldwire said the Blue Devils did a better job sharing the ball and playing together on offense. They’ve worked to build off that since returning to campus.
“We had this break and we came back and have to get back to the basics,” Goldwire said. “We have to screen to get guys open, working to get good shots. It’s just something we are working on: Everybody getting extra shots and hitting those shots and having the confidence to take them.”
That includes Moore, of course. Though just a sophomore, he’s one of the team’s most experienced players along with Goldwire and classmate Matthew Hurt.
“For me, it’s all about fighting through that adversity,” Moore said. “All players hit that wall at some point in their career. This just happens to be my wall. I just have to find a way to get over it, really not just focusing on me but focusing more on what I can do to lead our team better.”
