After two consecutive losses, perhaps a little reminder about the talent on the Blue Devil roster can help the team's confidence as it prepares for No. 6 Louisville.
Duke freshmen standouts Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones were on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 List, which was unveiled Wednesday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Cardinals also had two of their stars receive the honor, with big man Montrezl Harrell and guard Terry Rozier getting the nod.
Gonzaga was the only other team with two players on the list, as Kevin Pangos and Kyle Wiltjer made up the third guard-forward tandem from the same team to be eligible for the award the annually recognizes the best player in the country.
Notre Dame's Jerian Grant and Virginia's Justin Anderson rounded out the ACC honorees, giving the league six on the list. The Preseason ACC Player of the Year, North Carolina guard Marcus Paige, was left off the list and has been battling injuries, but players can still be added to the final list of candidates March 7.
Jones and Okafor helped Duke win its first 14 games of the season and notch wins against Michigan State, Stanford, Temple, Connecticut and a road win at then-No. 2 Wisconsin. Okafor leads the ACC in scoring at 18.9 points per game and is second in the nation in field goal percentage, firing at a 66.8 percent clip.
Jones has struggled mightily in 2015 and in the Blue Devils' last two games, but was huge against the Spartans, Badgers and Huskies, establishing himself as a big-game player very early in his career. The duo will look to get Duke back on track against Louisville Saturday and would likely trade the individual accolades to get the sour taste out of their mouths following back-to-back defeats.
Okafor was also named to the Sporting News Midseason All-America Team Wednesday, earning first-team honors along with Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky, Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein, Utah's Delon Wright and Anderson.
Keep up with the Blue Zone for all your Duke basketball news and coverage before and after every game as the season wears on.
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