The Duke Blue Devils just wrapped up week three of their season and sit at 7-0 ranked number 5 in the country. So far, they have the two good wins over Texas and Kansas and then blowouts of bad teams. Next up is the meat of the nonconference schedule across the holiday season. Let’s look at the good, the okay, and the ugly so far.
The Good, the Okay, and the Ugly for Duke
The Good
Isaiah Evans is starting to remember the high school Isaiah Evans was. People can point to a lot of different possible X Factors for the Blue Devils. However, Isaiah Evans being a threat to lead this group in scoring is my personal X Factor. If Evans is a 20 point per game player, Duke has the best one-two punch in the nation. Evans is a lethal scorer. At Duke, he has settled into just being a shooter but over the last few games his drive rate has increased significantly and he is hunting shots.
Many may recall Evans having 50 point games in high school and dominating the North Carolina high school scene on a team without much help. That version of Isaiah Evans means that he will be cutting down nets in March and April. Scheyer has to be thrilled that he is starting to see it take shape again. Evans is one of the best spot up shooters in the country. However, as the numbers for jumpers off the dribble and shots at the rim rise, Duke looks even better.
The other thing that must be mentioned for Evans is he is defending incredibly well. His progress into a legit two way player has been a joy to watch.
The Okay
The freshmen have gotten comfortable fairly quickly. Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr have been quite consistent and playing well. Cameron Boozer has not lived up to his level of expectations yet but he still is producing at a high level and breaking freshmen records. Nik Khamenia hit four threes against Niagara which may get him going as well.
All-in-all, Duke has seen good but inconsistent play from their freshmen. You can see why all of them are highly rated but you are also quickly reminded that they are young. This freshmen class will be tested quickly over the next two weeks and we will learn a lot about them.
Cam Boozer can become much more efficient and dominate on the low post. Dame Sarr can become a more consistent shooter. Cayden Boozer can continue to evolve as a defender and use his playmaking abilities on offense. The positives are that you can so clearly see the vision of how good these guys can be. Duke is a team built to peak in March just the way Scheyer designed it.
The Ugly
First half behavior has been ugly. Duke was losing at the half to Tennessee in an exhibition. They were losing to Texas at the half. Up by 19 at the half against Army. Up 8 on Kansas at the half but let them stay in the game early after building an early lead. The starts are just not up to the standard of Duke. Scheyer has taken note as well.
The Blue Devils are a wildly talented team and always get everyone’s best shot. They cannot afford to start games slowly and allow inferior opponents to hang around like they did with Kansas. Luckily, the second halves have been massive. However, relying on just 20 minutes of game action as opposed to 40 can get a little hairy. Let’s see how they look as the meat of their schedule arrives and the talent on the court is significantly higher.
Part of this is the lack of effort on the glass. Consistently, Duke gives up offensive rebounds to teams that are significantly smaller and have no business controlling the glass the way they do. Offensive boards lead to extra opportunities and that is one easy way for a bad team to beat a good team.
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