The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it’s time to take another 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
Grayson Allen: In his first seven ACC games, Allen was held scoreless five times, scored five total points and did not leave the bench twice. But the touted Jacksonville, Fla., recruit has stayed with it and has seemed to figure it out in recent games, scoring in six of the last seven contests, including Saturday's 10-point, two-rebound performance against Clemson. The 6-foot-4 wing knocked down a 3-pointer, showed more of a knack for getting by defenders as he has recently and finally punched home an alley-oop in ACC play during the contest.
With only seven scholarship players with Jahlil Okafor out with a sprained ankle, Duke had essentially no choice but to play Allen, but the true freshman has made the most of his opportunity and now looks poised for a bigger role next year as a sophomore. Any boost he can provide in the remaining games this year as the Blue Devils try to get re-energized for the postseason could also be huge with starting guards Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook playing huge minutes in conference play and Okafor's status unknown going forward.
Tobacco Road sportsmanship: It's very easy to get caught up in the feelings of hatred between fans in the Duke-North Carolina rivalry, but Wednesday night illustrated another reason the rivalry is so great—respect. Coaches and players from both teams huddled together during a moment of silence before doing battle on the hardwood for the 239th time to honor legendary Tar Heel coach Dean Smith Wednesday night, and both sides seemed to be engrossed in the moment. Thanks to Smith's work and the work of Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, each program understands the greatness of the other, which only adds to the drama, as we saw Wednesday night.
Bear Market—Trending Down
Odds of any Duke freshman starter staying at Duke: The odds were never great to begin with, and although many fans keep latching on to any statement about how the players love Duke, the way Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Okafor are playing would make any of the trio returning to school next year quite surprising unless the Blue Devils' season takes an unexpected turn. Everyone has expected Okafor to turn pro from day one, but there were questions about Winslow and Jones. Unfortunately for Duke fans, Winslow's 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame and explosiveness in transition make him exactly the type of swingman many NBA teams dream of. Although the Houston native had a rough patch early in ACC play, he has been on a tear of late and is also projected to be a lottery pick.
Especially recently, many have pointed to Jones' status as a late first round pick in many mock drafts as a reason the Apple Valley, Minn., native should stay in school. But many of the issues NBA executives have with the 6-foot-1 point guard have to do with his size, not his ability or play this year. The fact is Jones is always going to be on the smaller end for NBA point guards, whether or not he chooses to leave early or not, and after the myriad of clutch shots and magical moments he has accumulated this year, he too will likely be shooting up draft boards ahead of June's draft.
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