Duke basketball Player of the Week: Week 17

Jabari Parker

Statline: Wednesday vs. Wake Forest: 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 10 rebounds, one block, one assist in 30 minutes.

The good: At least we know Parker is consistent with 18.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as his season average. With the Blue Devils playing in their first contest in eight days after an arduous lineup that included an emotional victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium against then-No. 1 Syracuse, Duke had no answers against an unranked Wake Forest squad Wednesday night. As many have come to expect, Parker got his usual stat line, leading the team in both points and rebounds, and was the team's most efficient shooter going 63.6 percent from the floor. No one player really stood up in the Wake Forest game, but Parker has shown he's consistent night after night for close to a double-double.

The bad: Parker just keeps leaving us wanting more from him. Even when he has these great scoring nights, there are still moments and blemishes that remind fans that he is still a young player developing his game. He had two turnovers in the contest and hit only 5-of-7 free throw attempts. However, its hard to fault Parker when the rest of the team is not stepping up to put in effort on a consistent basis. Rarely does it feel like his effort is waning, only that there are moments when he can better take care of the ball on offense or protect the rim when Duke goes to a smaller lineup.

The bottom line: This may be the beginning of the end for Parker in a Duke jersey, and he appears primed to continue his consistent presence as a leading scorer and rebounder for this Blue Devil squad. Parker will bring his game and even on off nights, will still find ways to contribute, but it is really going to come down to players like Quinn Cook and Amile Jefferson to step up so that Parker has room to operate and the weight of the teams success does not rest squarely on his shoulders.

Honorable mention: Marshall Plumlee seems to have finally woken up and is playing the gritty basketball we've only seen in short bursts thus far. Plumlee grabbed seven rebounds, six of which were offensive, and notched six points in 17 minutes of play against Wake Forest. He had more minutes that frontcourt starter Amile Jefferson, who had only two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes. Plumlee also earned the start in the second half in Jefferson's stead. If Plumlee keeps playing at a high level and can provide that presence Duke has missed in the paint for the majority of the season come NCAA tournament time, signs will point to a deep run.