Midway through the season the Wooden Award list has been cut from 50 players down to 25.
Two Duke Blue Devil’s made the Top 25 list, and both are freshman. Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones are the only two Duke players on the list. It comes as no surprise to see Okafor on the list because he has been dominant through the first half of the season.
Dec 15, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) shoots a free throw in their game against the Elon Phoenix at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Okafor is the best big man in college basketball and his play has backed that claim up. Through 16 games Okafor is averaging 18.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocks. Okafor’s leads the ACC in points with 18.9, offensive rebounds with 4.13 and field goal percentage.
He is also extremely efficient. Okafor is shooting 66.8 percent from the field, which also is tops in the ACC. Through 16 games Okafor has recorded five double-doubles. Okafor also has six games where has scored 20 or more points and has scored 10 or more points in every single game.
Jahlil Okafor has been the best player for the Blue Devils who started out the season 14-0 and 2-0 in ACC play before losing two straight games. Opposing teams are forced to double and sometimes even triple team Okafor just to get the ball out of his hands. There is no denying that Okafor will be on the short list of candidates for the Wooden Award at the end of the season.
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Tyus Jones being on the Top 25 list does come as a bit of a surprise. Jones is going to be a great point guard. Jones is going to be a special player to watch. But at this moment he hasn’t performed at an elite level on a consistent basis.
Jones started the season off playing terrific basketball but has seen his performance decline in the past five games. Through the first 11 games Jones was averaging 11.2 points and 5.5 assists. He was playing spectacular and was running Duke’s offense perfectly.
Jones’ three biggest games came against three elite programs. In his first big game at Duke Jones scored 17 points versus Michigan State. When Duke traveled to then No. 2 Wisconsin Jones displayed how talented and how good he could be. Tyus Jones led Duke to a 80-70 victory at Wisconsin and made a number of big plays.
Versus Wisconsin Jones scored 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. Under the bright lights Jones was electric. The next big game for Duke came versus UConn. Okafor was held in check and only scored 12 points. Jones took the game over. He scored 21 points, recorded six rebounds and dished out three assists.
Dec 31, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Tyus Jones (5) drives past Wofford Terriers forward Lee Skinner (34) in their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
After the first 11 games of the season Jones has seemingly disappeared. In his past five games he is averaging just 5.2 points and 3.6 assists. ACC play has started and Jones has gone missing. If the Blue Devils want to have success this season then Jones must start to play better on both ends of the court.
Even though Jones’ play has taken a step back he is still young and has plenty of room for growth. Tyus Jones just needs to get back to what he was doing in the first 11 games where his play was spectacular. If he doesn’t improve his play he will not make the final list for the Wooden Award and Duke will continue to struggle.
It is good to see two Blue Devils make the top 25 list for the Wooden Award and they will be fun to watch for the rest of the season. #GoDuke #DukeNation