By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- With top-ranked prospect Harrison Barnes sporting Duke gear while sitting behind the Blue Devils' bench, some in attendance for Saturday night's exhibition game against Pfeiffer had the program's possible future on their minds.

On the Cameron Indoor Stadium floor itself, Duke fans got a glimpse of their immediate future.

While fans worked on convincing Barnes to be a Duke freshman next year -- they serenaded him with chants of "This is home!" -- current freshmen Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Andre Dawkins combined for 48 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the Blue Devils' 128-70 victory over the Division II Falcons in their exhibition opener.

"Our freshmen, all three of them, did a great job," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Mason has a double-double, but when he learns to play with physicality -- and that's the biggest adjustment for a big guy -- he could have a real monster game.

"Ryan is just a poised player, a really good player. As well as he shoots the ball, he had five assists and no turnovers. Andre can be a very explosive player.

"They're three very good freshmen."

Plumlee scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against an admittedly undersized Pfeiffer team, whose tallest available player stood at 6-6. Duke outrebounded Pfeiffer 65-24, with Miles Plumlee (11 points, 14 rebounds) and Brian Zoubek (14 points, 13 rebounds) adding double-doubles.

Mason Plumlee hit just one shot in the Blue-White scrimmage on Oct. 16, and he missed his first four right at the rim Saturday before announcing his arrival.

"It was a rough start for me individually, but I feel like I came back stronger at the end," Plumlee said. "I was real frustrated, but you've just got to play through it. You just can't let it keep happening."

Kelly made his presence immediately known, coming up with a blocked shot followed by a layup at the other end and then scoring on an alley-oop the next time down as Duke built a 25-9 lead.

"I just went out there and played my game," Kelly said. "I didn't need to do anything special, just play hard. Some days, shots fall, and today they were [falling] pretty well.

"But I have a lot to do, and we have a lot more to do. It was a good first performance, but we're going to get a lot better."

Dawkins, who would have been in high school like Barnes this year except that he decided to accelerate his matriculation over the summer, drained 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

"It's our first game, and one thing I like about all of them is that they're not afraid or tentative," senior Jon Scheyer said. "They all went out aggressive and had really good efforts."

Scheyer was the quietest among Duke's most established players with seven points, but he dished out a game-high eight assists. Kyle Singler led all Duke scorers with 21 points -- hitting 6 of 9 shots, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers -- and Nolan Smith added 16. Sophomore Olek Czyz, with 11 points, gave Duke eight scorers in double digits against a Pfeiffer team not shy about pushing the tempo.

While it was a start of a new chapter for Duke's freshmen, it was a chance for the veterans to turn a page.

"Our last game was against Villanova, so before the game we were like, 'Let's come out and show them what this year is going to be like,' " Scheyer said, referencing the lopsided loss to the Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. "We got off to a really good start and then took off from there.

"It was a fun beginning."

The Blue Devils, who will play their final exhibition Nov. 3 against Findlay, played without senior Lance Thomas. Krzyzewski said that Thomas had been sick for several days but felt much better Saturday and would return to team activities Monday after Duke takes today off.