LONDON -- In it's first action against someone other than itself Saturday, Duke put out an expected starting lineup of returnees at the Crystal Palace in suburban London.

But don't expect forwards Nick Horvath and Casey Sanders, who joined Chris Duhon, Daniel Ewing and Dahntay Jones in the starting five, to be a lock for the starting lineup, or be the focal points of any frontcourt offense. It may have been just one scrimmage against a collection of "B" level players from the London Towers and a rag tag crew from Racing Basket Antwerpen, but it was clear in just a few possessions that 6-foot-9 freshman Shelden Williams has a post presence that Sanders and Horvath don't possess.

And 6-10 classmate Shavlik Randolph understands the nuances of the game more than most freshmen -- making him that much more effective facing or underneath the basket.

Williams took a fundamentally sound post-entry pass from freshman backup point Sean Dockery, got position in the low post, sealed off his defender, spun and converted a layup. On the next trip down court, Williams hit a fadeaway jumper. Williams also had an up-and-under move from one side of the baseline to the other after getting a drive-and-dish pass from Dockery that was a little too late as Williams was heading toward the basket.

"Our young guys did a nice job," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It's Oct. 12 and we found out that they're not afraid. Shav showed us his basketball smarts by the way he played defense and Shelden gave us a post presence. Sean had to run the team because Chris wasn't playing well."

Duke, wearing their blue practice gear, played two 10-minute quarters against the London Towers, who were minus six of their top players because they had their first home game in the British Basketball League Saturday night. Krzyzewski used a variety of lineups, including one that had four freshmen on the court. Everyone got almost equal run. There was plenty of erratic play, especially defensively on the break. Krzyzewski had to implore the Blue Devils to "shoot it!" after they made one-to-many passes and ended up with a turnover.

When the game got tight in one of the quarters, Krzyzewski ordered his freshmen to start pressing and trapping in the halfcourt. Randolph was a free safety in the middle and picked off a pass, which resulted in a Williams' layup off a J.J. Redick pass. Randolph buried a 3-pointer as the Blue Devils showed plenty of spirit to take a 12-12 game and turn it into a 21-14 lead. The score was reset at the end of each 10-minute quarter.

The third quarter against the team from Belgium didn't get off to a good start when Antwerpen's Vincent Krieger took an inadvertent elbow above his right eye. It opened a gash that wouldn't stop bleeding. A subplot developed during the game as Duke's team doctors were willing to stitch Krieger but didn't have any anesthesia. The Belgian and Basketball Travelers' staff, the promoters, thought Duke had done the deed and then were befuddled when a team manager emerged an hour later from the locker room and said Krieger was still waiting for a stitch.

While the game was going on, a Belgian team rep and injured star forward Pieter Loridon were livid and yelled at the promoters that if it had been a Duke player then the ambulance would have been called. Finally, nearly an hour after the cut opened, Krieger got into a cab and headed to the hospital.

Krieger's injury situation was a sideline to what was a very intense scrimmage. Krzyzewski was yelling at the officials, the NCAA's Mike Wood and Britian's Richard Stokes, when calls weren't made, prompting Wood to respond, "I don't need help, that's it."

Krzyzewski got on his players when they were sloppy, but the team didn't lack energy. Despite landing at 7 a.m. without much sleep, the Blue Devils gave a good effort, diving for loose balls and only committing some fatigue fouls late in the fifth quarter.

"There are a lot of things for us to work on, but the thing we can't work on back home is playing somebody else," Krzyzewski said. Krzyzewski would like to play four 10-minute "games" Sunday against Racing Basket and London Towers. But he understands that fans paid to see the games and want an outcome. But Krzyzewski was able to get in plenty of combinations Saturday, handle some game-ending situations and see if the players would rally around tight endings.

Jones was the team's catalyst, cheering his teammates on and trying to rally them defensively by pushing the tempo and taking gambles in the passing lanes.

"That's important, for us to be leaders," Jones said.

And Jones said he was impressed that the freshmen showed no jitters. What Krzyzewski learned was that Williams can score in the post; Randolph is simply a player; Redick can knock down 3s (he was short at times but that's understandable after just getting off a red eye flight); Dockery can spell Duhon; Michael Thompson is a capable 10-minute backup if need be; and Lee Melchionni isn't the fleetest of foot, but he could be service as a versatile swing player.

"We've had no sleep so far," Jones said. "But we're here for business. This is a business trip."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.