Brandon Ingram Getting Stronger as Season Goes On, ACC Play Begins

By Chris Brown | Jan 7, 2016

Dec 15, 2015; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski (C) talks to guard Brandon Ingram (14) after leaving the game against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /

Amile Jefferson‘s injury helping Duke freshman Ingram improve on his greatest weakness.

Brandon Ingram was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school and although scouts knew he was a very talented and versatile scorer, his main weakness as a prospect was his lack of strength and if he could defend in the NCAA. Ingram was forced to address this after Amile Jefferson foot injury, but he has excelled in his new role as a power forward with Duke Basketball.

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ESPN’s C.L. Brown recently wrote a great piece on how Brandon Ingram’s Kinston, NC roots have helped him become stronger and tougher during his freshman NCAA season. Fellow Kinston-native and former basketball star Jerry Stackhouse, who excelled at UNC in the NBA, has known Ingram for a while and also coached his local AAU basketball team and quickly realized his talent but also noticed, “People just assumed he was soft because he was skinny and he quickly proved everybody wrong.”

After a very strong start to the season, Ingram really struggled in the Blue Devils’ Champions Classic match-up with Kentucky and many were unsure how he would respond after totaling only 4 points and 1 rebound. After underachieving performances in the 2K Classic, Ingram has now come back being able to dominate using his versatility to score in a variety of ways for the Blue Devils.

“Of course they would try to test me because I’m skinny, but it’s all about my heart, my mental toughness. The things that went down in my hometown helped me be ready.” – Brandon Ingram

Before the season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski noted that Ingram would be used at power forward in some situations, but no one could have projected that he would fill that role to this extent with Jefferson missing time due to injury. The highly touted freshman has excelled lately for Duke and will be vital to the team after playing all 40 minutes in the ACC opener at Boston College and 39 at Wake Forest.

Defensively, the entire team is still searching for their identity with the coaching staff still periodically switching between zone defenses and man-to-man, but Ingram has also shown improvements on that end of the floor including 4 blocks and 3 steals in last night’s win over Wake Forest.

Duke is now into ACC competition now and are currently 2-0 in the conference and 13-2 this season. The Blue Devils will need Ingram to continue dominating in conference play and this postseason, and the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week is currently averaging 21 points and 7 rebounds in ACC games. Duke Men’s Basketball will host their first ACC game this weekend as Virginia Tech comes to in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday at noon.

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