Stock Watch: Rebounding on the rise

The bell has rung and the Blue Zone stock exchange is back in business. Each week The Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the Duke basketball world.

Bull Market—Trending Up

• Rebounding: Much has been made of Duke's inability to rebound this season. But Monday against Gardner-Webb the Blue Devils dominated the boards, winning the battle on the glass 37-22. Much of that success can be attributed to the long forward Amile Jefferson, who corralled 10 boards in 12 minutes of action. Jefferson was highly-touted coming into the season in part due to his rebounding, and he's starting to show his prowess in that area. For what it's worth, Duke also outrebounded Michigan in its previous game.
  
• Madison Square Garden: Thursday night the Blue Devils will play their third game at Madison Square Garden of the season. A frequent visitor to The World's Most Famous Arena, Duke surprisingly had no games in New York a season ago. With momentum growing for a potential move of the ACC tournament to MSG, the Blue Devils' familiarity with the court could prove beneficial in the long run.
  
• Johnny Dawkins: The former Duke star and associate head coach got a huge win for his Stanford Cardinal this week, defeating No. 10 Connecticut on the road. Dawkins' seat was a little hot coming into the season, but wins like those are going to help him keep his job. With a neutral site game against Michigan this weekend, Dawkins and Stanford have another chance to make a statement, and potentially see their name in the AP Poll conversation.
  
• K.J. McDaniels: For those who haven't seen McDaniels this season, he has been the engine that keeps Clemson moving this year, and that engine has propelled them to an 8-2 record. The Tigers' only losses this season have come to Massachusetts and on the road at Arkansas. McDaniels has made a giant leap from his sophomore to his junior year, raising his scoring average by nearly seven full points. Thus far this season McDaniels is averaging 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.

• Rodney Hood: After a sensational start to the season, the redshirt sophomore has been regressing to the mean of late. In four of his last five games he has shot worse than 50 percent from the floor and he is averaging just 14.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting in his last four contests. Those are fine numbers for any player, but expectations for Hood were through the roof after the first few weeks of the season. Either expectations were too high, or Hood is fighting through a three-week slump.
  
• Josh Hairston: I mentioned how the Duke rebounding has been trending up, but that's with next to no help from Josh Hairston. Hairston is starting at center and playing more minutes than he has ever played in his career, yet he is averaging a paltry 1.8 rebounds per game this season. Playing 21 minutes per game in Duke's past four contests, Hairston has just two rebounds per game. At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, Hairston has the bulk to battle on the boards—he just hasn't won any battles this season. The Blue Devils need him to be more of a force on the glass, or more minutes need to go to guys who can come up with boards.
  
• North Carolina: What the heck do we do with the Tar Heels now? They beat then-No. 11 Kentucky, get back the suspended Leslie McDonald and... lose to another unranked opponent at home. Texas came into Chapel Hill and defeated North Carolina 86-83. This year, the Tar Heels are 4-0 against ranked teams and 4-3 against unranked teams. At this point, looking at their schedule, the Tar Heels' only guaranteed victories the rest of the way are against Syracuse and Duke, as they only come to play against elite competition. Hosting Davidson this weekend, North Carolina has a chance to get back on track at home quickly.