Duke Basketball: Biggest keys for Blue Devils in final month of 2019-20

Alex O’Connell

O”Connell has sometimes been known more for his hairstyles than his play and a lot of that has to do with the inconsistency that he plays with.  He has seen action in 25 games this season.  In twelve of those he had more than seven points and averaged 9.8.  In another twelve he had less than four while scoring only 1.1 per game in 8.4 minutes.  He averages 13.1 minutes per game for the year.

Alex is feast or famine, hot or cold, invigorating or frustrating.  Actually, replace the ors with ands and you have O’Connell and his career at Duke in a nutshell.  The talent is there.  The confidence is there.  Sometimes the decision-making and effort when shots aren’t falling is what is questionable at times.

When he is on though, watch out.  O’Connell can score in bunches and is Duke’s best version of a microwave scorer off the bench.  He was known as a shooter but has seen his shooting averages dip this year despite his increased scoring per game.  O’Connell is only hitting 28% of his threes, 58% of his frees, throws that is, and is shooting 41% overall.

He has hit 50% of his threes and overall shots during his last three games and has been playing with more consistency as well.  O’Connell is a player whose offense affects the other parts of his game.  When his shots aren’t falling, he sees little playing time, but when he is rolling, he can fill up a stat sheet in a hurry.

Alex has scored in double figures five times this year.  During those games, he averages 12-pts 4-reb 2-ast 2-stl.  On the season, he goes for 5.5-pts 2.4-reb .8-ast .8-stl.  When O’Connell is scoring, he is doing everything else at a higher level as well.

The key for O’Connell is to play under control and not force shots. He also has to gain the ability to not let his offense affect his defensive effort.  He needs to get involved early upon his entrance to a game, but he has to do it within the flow of Duke’s regular offense.  He is a plus athlete who likes to get out in passing lanes, although he sometimes gambles too much and earns the stink eye from Coach K and a seat next to him on the bench