Luke Kennard
The statline:
Monday vs. Tennessee State: 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting, three rebounds and one assist in 39 minutes.
Wednesday vs. Elon: 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting, seven rebounds, one block and one steal in 36 minutes.
The good: Kennard continued to be consistent in Duke’s last two nonconference games in order to retain the Blue Zone’s player of the week honors once again. The Franklin, Ohio, native converted on 70.0 percent of his shots against Tennessee State, igniting an offense that shot just 37.3 percent for the game. Wednesday against Elon, Kennard led the team once again with 21 points. The sophomore guard has now scored at least 20 points in five of Duke’s last six games and is converting on more than 56 percent of his shot attempts during that span.
With the recent suspension to Grayson Allen, Kennard will be depended on even more as conference play begins. After being very streaky his freshman season, Kennard will need to remain consistent as freshmen Harry Giles, Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum continue to adapt to the college game.
The bad: Like much of Duke’s offense, Kennard had a subpar night from the field against Elon. Kennard’s 7-for-17 effort was well below his 52.0 percent conversion rate on the season. This was a rare inefficient night for Kennard, and he will look to rebound Saturday against Virginia Tech.
The bottom line: Kennard has made the most of his opportunity to start due to early-season injuries to the freshmen big men, and he will likely continue to be the Blue Devils' go-to scorer during Allen's suspension. The 6-foot-6 guard has emerged as a leader and a consistent threat on the court for Duke as the team begins ACC play this week.
Honorable mention: Amile Jefferson struggled to put the ball in the basket against Tennessee State with five points on 2-of-7 shooting and an ugly 1-of-8 mark from the free-throw line. But Jefferson continued to dominate the glass with a career-high 18 rebounds, including seven offensive boards in Monday's victory. Jefferson was much more efficient Wednesday, scoring 13 points on 2-for-3 shooting with seven rebounds against Elon. The Philadelphia native converted on 9-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe, well better than his 58.7 percent free-throw percentage on the season.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.