On Wednesday night, Duke showed the full breadth of both its foibles and its powers, all of its thorny problems and its mammoth potential. In the final game before Coach Mike Krzyzewski undergoes back surgery scheduled for Friday, the Blue Devils welcomed back tripping recidivist Grayson Allen after a laughable, one-game suspension. They had just lost badly at Virginia Tech, their second defeat of a season they were expected to dominate. For the first week of January, Duke had become well acquainted with turmoil.

The Blue Devils found a release, at least temporarily, in basketball. They wiped Georgia Tech off the Cameron Indoor Stadium floor, a 110-57 shellacking in which the offensive capacity of a team with Allen, Luke Kennard, Matt Jones, Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles was realized. Georgia Tech is expected to be an ACC bottom feeder, but the Yellow Jackets also beat North Carolina over the weekend. Duke showed it has enough talent – we didn’t even mention Frank Jackson or Amile Jefferson – to surmount its issues.

Duke guard Grayson Allen, left, received just a one-game suspension from his coach, Mike Krzyzewski, right, who is about to depart the team to undergo back surgery, leaving much unsettled for the eighth-ranked Blue Devils. Associated Press/ Alex Brandon

But those issues are stacked high, starting with Allen’s sudden return. Krzyzewski suspended Allen indefinitely two weeks ago, after he tripped an Elon player. The discipline came about 10 months after Allen tripped two players – one from Louisville, the other from Florida State – and received no punishment, from either Duke or the ACC.

When Krzyzewski did not suspend Allen last season, he enabled Allen to repeat the behavior. A one-game suspension will not send a strong enough message. It’s weak. Krzyzewski either doesn’t understand, or doesn’t care about how the world outside his program views Allen.

“I think it’s appropriate, and I think the things that we’ve done are appropriate,” Krzyzewski told ESPN’s Jay Bilas, a former player, after the game. “There are things that you see or the public see, and there are things that you all don’t see and shouldn’t see or shouldn’t be talked about, and they’re called teachings. You don’t need to teach out in the public all the time.”

Krzyzewski struck the same I-know-best tone after the Elon game. But he lost the right to the high ground after he failed to act last year. Whatever he thought he had taught Allen demonstrably did not work. What makes him think a piddling one-game suspension will do the trick this time?

Maybe those behind-the-scenes lessons are spectacular. But it does Allen himself the greatest disservice to be coddled in public. Because he fits the most-reviled stereotype in college sports – the great, white Duke star – Allen is never going to be loved. Krzyzewski could have at least decreased the target on his back by forcing him to serve time appropriate for his misdeeds. It’s hard to say what that is, but it’s certainly more than one lousy game.

Krzyzewski may have been motivated to bring Allen back before his back surgery, to not leave a loose thread for top assistant and interim head coach Jeff Capel to sew back into place. It’s a good instinct, but the timing should not have overridden Allen’s punishment. Krzyzewski could have orchestrated Allen’s return during his recovery, and made clear the choice was his, not Capel’s.

Allen may be back, but Duke will soon have to adjust to life without Krzyzewski. Capel has ample experience as a head coach and understands the tenets of Duke’s program as well as anybody. The absence of the best coach of his era remains a loss, especially because of the uncertainty of his return.

In announcing his back surgery last week, Krzyzewski said he expects to return in four weeks. But recovery from back surgery tends to be unpredictable, and issues can linger – or, in bad cases, worsen – for long periods. Steve Kerr expected to recover quickly from summer back surgery last year, and he couldn’t coach the Golden State Warriors for the start of last season.

Krzyzewski dismissed any notion the operation could keep him out all season. But he is a 70-year-old undergoing a difficult procedure. Until he’s back on the bench, it’s fair to wonder how long he’ll be gone.

“I won’t be in a hurry to come back, until I’m ready,” Krzyzewski said. “I made that mistake in my younger days. I’m too old to renew that mistake.”

It was only one game, but Krzyzewski appeared to leave the Blue Devils in as good shape as possible, given the issues they’ve faced. Krzyzewski said he postponed his surgery for a week “to move to this point, where we could get this moving the right way.”

He moved Allen to point guard and Giles, injured at the start of the season, into the starting lineup. He established a stable eight-man rotation, which now includes previously injured star freshmen Giles, Jackson and Tatum. With his role stabilized, Allen had 15 points and seven assists with only one turnover.

“What he did was wrong,” Krzyzewski told Bilas. “He was punished for it. I think it’s time to move on, and I think the new role he has will be a good one for him. Hopefully he keeps getting seven assists and one turnover. I like where that might be going.”

Krzyzewski called the Georgia Tech beatdown “the end of us patch-working our team.” That sounded good and seemed appropriate Wednesday night. But for Duke, with a coach going under the knife and a star under the microscope, it might be that kind of season.

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