Jahlil Okafor may be collecting all the accolades—AP Preseason Player of the Year and first team All-American, just to name two—but there are three other reasons why Duke’s freshman class was ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2014.
After stumbling out of the gate, the Blue Devils recovered to knock off defending Division II champion Central Missouri 87-47 Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Okafor contributed another efficient effort with 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, but it was the performances of his fellow classmates—Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen—that really stood out.
Winslow was the star of the day, hitting six-of-12 shots from the field en route to a game-high 17 points, including multiple dunks that sent a buzz through the crowd. The Houston native—who head coach Mike Krzyzewski praised for his ability to score without letting the air out of the ball—has led Duke in scoring in both exhibition contests and has shot 50 percent or better in both games. Winslow also picked up six rebounds and played aggressive defense, using his athletic frame to his advantage from his position on the wing.
But his most important contributions came in a quick 90-second stretch in the first half. The Blue Devils had crawled their way out of an early hole, turning an initial 13-7 deficit into a slim 14-13 lead. Then Winslow took over, scoring back-to-back buckets and drawing a key charge on the ensuing defensive possession that energized Duke players and fans alike as the team continued on what was ultimately a 17-0 run.
“The charge, I think that was a big momentum shift, got the crowd into it and really swung the momentum in our direction,” Winslow said. “I just try to make winning plays that give us the best chance going forward.”
Jones—the No. 4 overall recruit in his class and the top-rated point guard—made his presence felt as well, displaying a calm and poise beyond his years as he racked up six assists and committed just one turnover after dishing out 11 dimes with one turnover Tuesday against Livingstone. The floor general filled out the rest of the stat sheet as well, chipping in eight points, five steals and three rebounds.
Jones’ knack for shadowing the ball and playing aggressive perimeter defense was a huge factor in Duke’s ability to apply full-court pressure, as it did against the Mules. His tendencies to distribute for his teammates and play solid defense have been well-documented, but Krzyzewski was most pleased that Jones called his own number a few times on offense after failing to attempt a field goal against Livingstone.
“[Tyus] is being a little more aggressive with his shot, which is really good,” Krzyzewski said. “Assists, he had 17 assists and two turnovers in two games. He's a guy you like to play with because he's a pass-first point guard. Guys are going to drop off him and he's got to be able to hit that location or that second or third-pass three that you're going to get. When he does that—and he will because he's good—then we'll take a jump and get better.”
Coming off the bench, Allen was quiet at first but went off after intermission, scoring eight points in just nine second-half minutes to reach double digits for the second straight game. The shooting guard came to Durham accompanied by plenty of excitement regarding his athleticism and shooting prowess, and he put both on display against Central Missouri.
With 10 minutes left to play and the Blue Devils up by 27, Allen completed an acrobatic alley-oop from junior Rasheed Sulaimon. Although he didn’t get up as high as he wanted to, Allen was able to hang in the air long enough to get the ball over the rim and finish the highlight-reel play. When the Mules switched to a zone defense with just a few minutes left, Allen made them pay again, burying back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite corners.
“When they went into that zone, we knew we were going to pick it apart and swing it around,” Allen said. “I was the one to luckily get the open shots, and I was able to knock them down. And that dunk, I barely got my feet under me. I barely squeaked it in. I got lucky, but I would’ve wanted to dunk it a little harder.”
The beauty of Duke’s heralded freshman class is that they all have different skill-sets and complement each other perfectly. With Jones and Okafor on the pick-and-roll, Winslow slashing in the lane and Allen spotting up on the outside, the four newest Blue Devils all have something valuable to add to this year’s squad.
The task of having to replace top-tier talents Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood is a large burden to place on the shoulders of one player, even if those are the broad shoulders of Okafor. But as they showed Saturday, each of these four freshmen are capable of playing at an elite level, and together they are confident they can drive this year’s team.
“They lost a lot of guys last year, so with four guys coming in they kind of need us to be able to contribute,” Allen said. “For us to be able to step up and be [productive] is obviously huge. I know we were labeled the No. 1 recruiting class and all that, and [we are looking forward to] just the pride of backing that up and becoming Duke basketball.”
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