Duke Basketball: Impact of veterans going forward for 2020-21 season
The Freshman Factors
Speaking of said lottery pick, after Duke basketball missed out in the last NBA Draft, Jalen Johnson looks to continue the recent tradition of superstar wings coming out of Durham. With his smooth performance and dominating presence, he may have sent out the first shot in the race for number one with that opening performance.
A triple-double or two could be in store after his 19-pt 19-reb 5-ast showing that could have been even greater with two perfect passes that should have garnered a couple more assists.
Despite seven turnovers, he showed his full potential in every facet of the game. Most impressively may be the way he handled his first Duke basketball contest: cool, calm, and collected by not forcing shots while displaying some range with a one-footed fade away to start, transition drives for scores and kicks, multiple put-backs with intuition and hustle on defense while closing hard on corner shooters, rotating to the help-side and getting on the floor for the ball.
Off defensive rebounds, he is always looking to push and had an exquisite one-handed rifle assist while soaring out-of-bounds directly into the shooting stroke of DJ Steward for a big 3-pointer during the second half back-and-forth that was reminiscent of LeBron James. He is the most talented player in the ACC and oozes potential with a strong, commanding, and confident game made for the next level.
With his multifaceted skillset and the love he already displays for Duke basketball’s Brotherhood, he seems poised to be a fan favorite of this team for years to come…despite this being the only one we will get to see him in Duke blue.
DJ Steward also looked primed to perform for Duke basketball this season. He didn’t force shots and on a night when every other Duke basketball player seemed willing to give the ball away, Steward only had one turnover that he immediately rectified by hustling back and breaking up the lay-up attempt for the Eagles with a steal.
In another memorable sequence after Coppin State cut it to seven in the second half, DJ bailed out Duke’s offense off a shot-fake and drive for an acrobatic floater in the lane. As they were running back down the court, he pointed out the defensive assignments to Joey Baker, eventually got the defensive rebound, of which he had six more and nine total, and led the fast-break; snapping off a perfect pass to Baker who missed the wide-open three.
The game didn’t look too big for him and he seems like he expects the shots to go in which could prove vital to a Duke basketball squad that doesn’t have as many reliable scoring options as they do positionally or on the defensive end. Johnson and Steward will have to produce and they looked more than ready to do so.