Duke basketball 2013-14 player preview: Andre Dawkins

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• Year: Graduate Student
• Height: 6-foot-4
• Position: Shooting Guard
• Last year's key statistics: 8.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 39.2 3P% (2011-12 season)

Game Breakdown: Dawkins has gone through a lot over the past few years, but based on practices and scrimmages, it doesn’t appear he’s missed a beat. What you get from Dawkins is a dependable 3-point shooter with the ability to run the floor. Over the course of his career, Dawkins has averaged nearly 56 made threes per season, shooting an impressive 40 percent from the field in the process. Dawkins’ shooting ability is a great offensive weapon, but his involvement in the offense in the past has been pigeonholed to 3-point shooting. The graduate s has averaged only 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists over the course of his career. Defensively, Dawkins’ athleticism allows him to stay with his man, but he has been criticized for his sometimes lacking intensity on the defensive end. With Dawkins it’s simple: if he’s open behind the arc, get him the ball.

Role on the team: Dawkins is part of a slew of talented guards, most notably Rasheed Sulaimon and Matt Jones, that will rotate in and out of the starting lineup. While Dawkins has played in a half court offense his entire Duke career, he’ll have to do more than just stand in the corner this season with a fast-paced offensive attack. The Blue Devils will be off to the races in transition far more, so inevitably Dawkins will have to adjust.

Having said that, there’s a reason Dawkins is at Duke: the man is dynamite from behind the 3-point line. The pace of the offense will lead to a good amount of open looks from deep, and Dawkins will certainly be a team leader in that department. The biggest critique of Dawkins’ game in the past has been his defense, so he’ll need to improve to help this team. However, Dawkins’ shooting ability makes him an immediate spark plug, whether it’s as a starter or a bench player.

NBA comparison: Dawkins’ style of play is similar to current New Orleans Pelicans guard Anthony Morrow. Morrow has had a roller coaster career, but teams around the league acknowledge that he has a silky stroke from 3-point land. His career 3-point shooting percentage is 42.4 percent, and in limited minutes he still manages to knock down one or two threes per game. Morrow is a spark off the bench, and while Dawkins could start this season, the striking resemblance in game between the two is uncanny.