Rodney Hood
Statline: Saturday v. Notre Dame: 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting with three rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes.
Tuesday v. Georgia Tech: 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes.
The good: Hood slid a long way in the past few weeks, averaging just 12.8 points in a five-game span. This week, Hood was back on his game, swooping to the hoop for easy buckets and stepping back from beyond the arc to knock down 10-of-17 attempts from distance. He had just 10 triples in the seven previous games combined. Against Georgia Tech, Hood was also a force on the glass, ripping down six boards. He did all of this while playing all but three minutes in the two games.
The bad: It's really hard to find what Hood did poorly this week. For one, his turnover to effectively end the Notre Dame game was disappointing, but he was borderline heroic with the exception of that single act of folly. Hood will never be the best defensive player on the roster, but wasn't a real liability on the court.
The bottom line: Rodney Hood is as talented as any player in the ACC, and even though Jabari Parker is the star of this Duke team, Hood has the ability to take over a game and give opponents fits. He will have to be on his game in order for the Blue Devils to compete with the elites of the ACC.
Honorable mention: Amile Jefferson had a big week on the boards, averaging 9.5 bounds per game to go with his 5.0 points while rejoining the starting lineup. Rasheed Sulaimon, who similarly rejoined the starting five, scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds against Georgia Tech.
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