Nakeie Montgomery rang in May with a three-goal, two-assist effort as second-seeded Duke edged Richmond in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
That’s the same Montgomery who as a freshman delivered six goals during the regular season, then promptly scored eight times in the first three rounds of the tournament to help the Blue Devils reach the national title game.
There was an out-of-nowhere element to Montgomery’s work last year. Not so in 2019, even if a hamstring ailment slowed him early on. Nonetheless, Mr. Postseason seems like a fair way to describe a man who has saved some stellar performances for the end of the last two seasons.
“It’s not that I play the games in the regular season kind of like I’m trying to get through the two hours, but I’m trying to figure it out as well,” Montgomery said. “There’s definitely something more and you can probably ask my teammates how I am in practice during these weeks. It’s something where I just demand so much more out of myself and my teammates. We all just demand more out of each other.”
It is the time of year Duke typically emerges with its best play. The second-seeded Blue Devils (12-4) face seventh-seeded Notre Dame (9-6) in Saturday’s quarterfinals in Hempstead, N.Y., aiming for their second consecutive trip to Memorial Day weekend and their 10th in the last 13 seasons.
Montgomery experienced only one of those, and he hasn’t forgotten Duke’s 13-11 title game loss to Yale a season ago. He didn’t think he played as well as he could have against the Bulldogs, a showing that gnawed at him throughout an offseason dedicated to getting better in any way possible.
The sophomore quickly rattled off a list of priorities. Improve his left hand. Improve his right hand. Develop his footwork, his dodging, his shooting, his all-around play. Become a more dangerous figure in the clearing game. Try to become more of a leader.
“I never want that feeling again,” said Montgomery, who has 20 goals on the year. “The agony of defeat, it’ll change you. It’ll make you work harder and not take things for granted. I just worked harder. I shot more over the summer, ran more, worked out more. I just want to give the seniors this year the very best version of me that I could possibly give them.”
He would do it largely from Duke’s starting midfield line, hardly a surprising placement for anyone who watched the tournament last May. He would be paired at times this season with Brad Smith, a senior who has a team-high 27 assists to go with 25 goals.
Smith acknowledges the obvious: Montgomery’s athleticism is an exceptional asset. But his evolution into a more complete player was a product of offseason work.
“He must have been doing something right,” Smith said. “When he came back, he was a whole new player. It was just so easy to tell the first time he walked on the field. Even shooting, not even on goal, it was easy to see he had been working on his craft. That’s how you tell who really wants to be great and who’s just along for the ride --- it’s those breaks, and who comes back in better shape or whose stick skills have improved.”
There was the matter of settling in early in the season. The hamstring injury cost him two games, but he provided a two-goal showing at Richmond and then a four-goal burst against Loyola in early March.
While the scoring is welcome, Montgomery’s most significant growth is arguably tied to a rapidly improved understanding of what’s happening on the field.
“You never want to say an injury is a good thing, but I definitely learned a lot sitting out those weeks,” Montgomery said. “It’s just that as the season goes on, you learn every day, week by week. I got zoned earlier in the season and didn’t do too well at first. But you practice it more and see it more, and you see different types of zones and things like that. As the season goes on, you’re going to get better.”
Coach John Danowski believes Montgomery has become more comfortable having the ball in his stick and has gotten better at protecting the ball. Neither is especially surprising for a Dallas product who invested his summers and falls in high school in football.
Still, Montgomery’s growth as a passer is noticeable. He had four assists in Duke’s first meeting with Notre Dame --- double the entire total of his freshman season.
Last week marked his fourth multi-assist game of the season, and he ranks third on the team with 12 for the season. His table-setting only amplifies his strong dodging ability.
And then there’s the calendar, something Montgomery is acutely aware of.
“He sounds like a coach,” Danowski said. “He sounds like a senior. He’s watching other people during practice, and he’s the first to say something to somebody if they’re doing something incorrectly. I have noticed that this year, and maybe not last year. He is all-in about being successful and for the team’s success, and not only his own.”
There’s a good chance Montgomery is far from finished.
“He’s a clutch individual,” Smith said. “I’ve seen it in the past week and a half in practice. He’s just focused and dialed to a new level, and it’s kind of ‘no messing around’ at this point. He came here like so many of us to win a championship and he’s focused on that. He’s got a new level of focus. He thrives in that sort of high-pressure environment when everyone is watching. That’s where he does his best work, and it’s great for us. He definitely turns it up at this time of year.”