Duke Basketball: Takeaways from dominant 30-point home win over Miami

Impact of Cassius Stanley

There is still a lot season left for Duke guard Cassius Stanley to impress NBA scouts but as of now, many, many questions about his game and how it translates to the next level remain. And while we may not know a ton about how the 20-year old’s game would translate to the NBA, one thing that we do know is that his athleticism will translate as Stanley can absolutely fly.

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Stanley’s ridiculous one-handed alley-oop slam off an inbounds feed for Tre Jones can be found literally anywhere sports highlights are located. His presence in Sportcenter’s Top-10 feels guaranteed on a weekly basis.

Now in terms of pure on-court contributions and not emotions, Stanley was still important though not overwhelmingly so. His on-ball defense was solid and he scored nine points while collecting two assists. But Stanley did need 10 shots to get his buckets, went 1-for-4 from the 3-point line, and committed three turnovers. With Wendell Moore out for some time, you can take the bad with good even more so with Stanley.

His individual defense is going to be vital in Duke’s toughest matchups and it will be interesting to see just how far the jump shot comes along by the end of the season. But for now, we can sit back and enjoy Stanley for what he is: unequivocally the most exciting college basketball player in the nation.

For every four or five missed Stanley shots, there is at least one jaw-dropping display of athleticism that makes it all worth it.