The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it's time for another taking a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. 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 world of Duke athletics.
Bull Market—Trending Up
Justise Winslow: Jahlil Okafor will get all the attention and was named ACC Player of the Week for the first time this season, but Winslow's play in Duke's three games last week added a new dimension to this year Blue Devil squad. The Houston native saw the most time at the four that he has all season and showed how Duke can adjust to different personnel groups.
Winslow stuffed the stat sheet, racking up 38 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals in the three contests. The swingman also shot better than 50 percent and showed the tenacity as a defender and rebounder necessary to make playing him with three guards and Okafor a legitimate possibility. After struggling in between a torrid start to the season and Duke's holiday break, the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward appears to have figured out how to play off his defense.
Winslow also throw down massive highlight dunks against Boston College Saturday and got back to flashing the open-court explosiveness that makes him one of the most athletic players in the country (start video at 1:30).
Marshall Plumlee: The 7-foot center still has a bad reputation with many fans, but is quietly having a strong redshirt junior campaign off the bench. In just 10.1 minutes per game, the Warsaw, Ind., native is averaging 3.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, exactly the type of numbers this Duke team needs from him. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has lauded the big man for his efforts off the bench all season and actually experimented with a bigger lineup featuring Plumlee and dominant center Jahlil Okafor.
After going scoreless against Elon and Connecticut, Plumlee had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks—all of which came against the Eagles—in the three games last week and could see big minutes down the road against teams with longer frontlines. His play Saturday was also part of one of the best efforts from Duke's bench all season.
Bear Market—Trending Down
Health of Duke's NBA Players: He returned from an injury last week, but Kyrie Irving was out again in Cleveland's loss to Philadelphia with a back issue. Utah's Rodney Hood and Chicago's Mike Dunleavy are now also battling minor injuries and Lakers forward Ryan Kelly just returned after missing significant time early in his second season. When these injuries are combined with Jabari Parker's torn ACL, it again seems like former Blue Devils are having bad luck staying on the court in the NBA.
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