Duke basketball 2013-14 player preview: Semi Ojeleye

Leading up to Duke basketball’s first game of the season Nov. 8 against Davidson, The Blue Zone will preview all the expected contributors on this 2013-2014 squad, beginning with the freshmen Monday and ending with the seniors and grad students Friday.

Semi Ojeleye

Generic Script

• Year: Freshman
• Height: 6-foot-7
• Position: Forward
• Last year's key statistics: N/A

Game breakdown: Throughout the course of Duke's offseason, Ojeleye has made one thing painfully obvious—he can jump. Really, really high. Whether it be his incredible vertical ieap test over the summer, his acrobatic endeavors in the dunk contest at Countdown to Craziness or a highlight-reel alley-oop in practice last week, the Ottawa, Kan. native has put his freakish athleticism on full display.

The Duke coaching staff is now tasked with turning that raw athletic ability into a basketball weapon, but won't have to worry about helping the freshman to bulk up. Though his minutes may be limited this year, expect Ojeleye to be a rebounding force when he's in the game. We knew he could shoot from the outside in high school, but so far he hasn't attempted shots very far removed from the key. He also did a good deal of ball-handling in high school, which hasn't been the case so far in Durham. Right now, Ojeleye seems to be playing as more a true forward, learning to play with his back to the basket, while fellow forwards Parker and Hood have been handling the ball considerably more.

Simply put, Ojeleye's game is predicated on being active. Against Bowie State he snagged six rebounds—two offensive—in just 11 minutes. Much like Amile Jefferson did last season, Ojeleye could provide energy and quality minutes in spurts for the Blue Devils this season.

Youtube Player

Role on the team: Ojeleye is likely to be the victim of the log-jam that is this this year's Blue Devil rotation. With such a deep bench, we probably won't be seeing a lot of Ojeleye this season. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has placed his trust in Rodney Hood, Amile Jefferson and Jabari Parker as the starting frontcourt, and senior Josh Hairston will eat up a lot of minutes off the bench. Ojeleye therefore appears to be competing with redshirt sophomores Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee to be the last forward in the rotation.

NBA comparison: With steady improvement in his game, it's possible that Ojeleye could develop into Duke's version of Kenneth Faried. Both have the ability to jump out of the gym and sky for rebounds, despite being undersized at the forward position. Where they may differ is that Faried was never much of an outside threat while at Morehead State. Right now, it's unclear whether Ojeleye will eventually add the longer-range jumper to his collegiate game or if he'll remain a post threat. For now, with his action coming in the paint, Ojeleye most resembles a poor man's Faried.

Projected stat-line: 2.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.5 BPG, 0.5 SPG

Check back later today for the preview of Rasheed Sulaimon.

Players we've already previewed: Jabari Parker, Matt Jones