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
- Chris Collins: Don't look now, but Chris Collins' Northwestern club is more than holding its own in the Big Ten. In their last five games the Wildcats have beaten Indiana in Bloomington, outlasted Purdue in two overtimes, knocked off then-No. 14 Wisconsin on the road, and defeated Minnesota in Minnesota. Although Collins' team is just 12-11 on the season, they are 5-5 in the conference, where there are just three teams with conference records better than .500. With trips to Michigan State and Ohio State still on the horizon, Collins and the Wildcats have a few more opportunities to make noise before teams are chosen for the Big Dance.
- Rasheed Sulaimon: Say hello to the new starting point guard... at least for now. Sulaimon was trending down last week after a dismal 2-for-15 shooting week, but that all changed after back-to-back stellar performances against Syracuse and Wake Forest. Through the two games Sulaimon shot 10-for-18, averaging 17.5 points and 5.5 assists, shooting 60.0 percent from beyond the arc. 'Sheed seems to finally be coming around after his last two games, which can only mean good things for the Blue Devils.
- Tyler Thornton: Sulaimon's partner in the backcourt was almost as valuable as the sophomore in his two games. Against Syracuse, Thornton single-handedly kept Duke in the game by knocking down three straight triples late in the second half. It was his senior leadership and defensive intensity that kept the Blue Devils ahead of the Demon Deacons on Tuesday. The senior guard recorded three steals and doled out five assists in his start. If Thornton can continue to do the little things while knocking down his open shots, he can be a big benefit to this team down the stretch.
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Justise Winslow: No offense to Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones or Jahlil Okafor, but Justise Winslow has far and away the best Twitter game of the incoming class. I mean, have you seen his live-Tweeting of Duke basketball games? He talks about the managers, his own coaching, Todd Zafirovski, and sometimes even Tweets in spanish. His Tweet game is good even when it's not about Duke. Just yesterday Winslow commented on doghouses, Paul George and Johnny Football. Bottom line: follow Winslow on Twitter for a good time.
- Quinn Cook: I don't know if it's his nagging injuries or just general ineffectiveness, but Quinn Cook just isn't right. The junior guard got off to a nice start this season—and is still averaging a career-best 12.0 points—but has been ice cold of late. Cook hasn't had a double-digit scoring game since Jan. 18, when he managed just 10 points. He's shooting a dismal 34.0 percent in conference play, though it's only that high because of his 7-for-14 performance against Notre Dame to start the season. You know things are going poorly when Coach K gives you a bear hug on the sidelines after you finally make a shot. However well Sulaimon has played of late, Cook is still an integral part of the team, and the sooner he calibrates his shot the better for Duke.
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Oklahoma State: Remember when Oklahoma State was the No. 6 team in the nation? Yea me either. The Cowboys have hit a rough patch here in conference play, losing four of their last five, including back-to-back losses at home. The losses aren't that bad individually—there's no shame in losing to three ranked teams—but a top-10 team should be able to take home a win against a top team in its conference. With four more ranked opponents on the schedule the chance for redemption is there for Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys need to step up their game to regain some of the respectability they lost through the last few games.
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Kyrie Irving: There's trouble in paradise... or at least in Cleveland. Wednesday night Irving, Luol Deng, Tristan Thompson and Jarrett Jack were all benched in the Cavaliers' bizzarre 119-108 loss to the exceptionally shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers. Amid rumors that Irving is plotting his escape from Ohio, a benching for the fourth quarter can't be good for the All-Star guard or the psyche of Cavaliers fans still smarting from The Decision. On a more positive note, with only eight players dressed, six players healthy, and four players not fouled out, Ryan Kelly poured in a career-high 26 points for the Lakers, while playing a game-high 42 minutes.
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