Duke basketball Player of the Week: Week 14

Jabari Parker

Statline: Saturday at Boston College: 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 5-of-10 from the free throw line, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Wednesday at North Carolina: Postponed. Game rescheduled for Feb. 20.

The good: Parker had a stellar night in Chestnut Hill, Mass., scoring a career-high 29 points and collecting a career-high 16 rebounds. The Blue Devils have had issues this season with size—or lack thereof—but this time it was the Eagles who were severely undersized and Parker took advantage of several favorable matchups throughout the game. Once junior forward Ryan Anderson was hobbled by a knee injury, there simply wasn’t anyone on the floor who could guard Parker effectively.

Parker is peaking at just the right time for the Blue Devils as conference play nears its end and both the ACC and NCAA tournaments loom closer. This is his second straight game topping 20 points but, more importantly, Parker has really developed on the glass over the course of the season. He and forward Amile Jefferson have both—at least for now—shown that they have overcome the rebounding woes they experienced against Notre Dame and Clemson back in early January. Parker has looked great defensively as well, becoming more aggressive and confident on that side of the ball. Look for Parker to continue his dominance defensively and on the glass as the Blue Devils face what is probably the toughest stretch they will face until the NCAA tournament.

The bad: The lone blemish on an otherwise spotless statline for Parker was that he only tallied only one assist. Though it’s hard to tell someone who is having a career day shooting the ball not to shoot every time he has the opportunity, this has been a weak point in Parker’s game. Assists have not been a huge part of what Parker does, but it shouldn’t worry anyone if he continues to be a force in every other aspect of his game.

The bottom line: Despite fouling out in the loss to Syracuse, since the Clemson game Parker has stepped up and started playing basketball on another level. Parker’s performance against Boston College is arguably his greatest day in a Blue Devil uniform thus far. Duke is going to need him to continue to play at this high level if it wants to make a run at an ACC or national title this season.