The Duke Blue Devils officially announced on Thursday afternoon that junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon has been dismissed from the team.
What does the move mean for the Blue Devils going forward?
Duke was already struggling with getting the play of their bench and their best bench player is no longer on the team. Even though Sulaimon was not performing as well as many expected, he was still the best option for Duke off the bench. The Blue Devils are down to only eight scholarship players and have limited options to try to replace Sulaimon.
Dec 18, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Rasheed Sulaimon (14) brings the ball up court during the second half against the Connecticut Huskies at the Izod Center. Duke Blue Devils defeats the Connecticut Huskies 66-56. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
On the season Sulaimon has appeared in every game and was averaging 7.5 points, 2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The numbers aren’t staggering, but Sulaimon was a solid defensive player and had the ability to create his own shot.
One of the more underrated aspects of Sulaimon’s game was his ability to play the point and create opportunities for his teammates. Now that he is gone the Blue Devils are left with freshman Grayson Allen and sophomore Matt Jones to fill the role.
Duke has two options to implement going forward. Neither option makes Duke a better team, but they really don’t have a choice anymore. The Blue Devils either have to insert Allen into the lineup or shorten their bench.
Allen has not been a factor in any games for the Blue Devils this season. The most significant minutes Allen has played were early in the season in blowout victories over mediocre opponents. Through the 20 games the Blue Devils have played this season, Allen has appeared in 16 of those games.
Although Allen has played in 16 out of the 20 games, he has note played more than 10 minutes in a game since November 30. Allen just simply hasn’t played any minutes in an important game, but he will probably be forced to play more minutes.
The player who will now play a more pivotal role is Matt Jones. Jones is arguably the Blue Devils best defender, but his offensive game hasn’t lived up to expectations to this point. Jones was known as a sharp-shooter coming out of high school and the Blue Devils will need him to knock down shots.
Jones has been averaging 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 17 minutes of play. Duke needs Jones to step up and become a major contributor or else they will be in trouble.
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The other option the Blue Devils have is to shorten their bench. Coach K has been known to keep a short bench, but this is a different team. He is starting three freshman and Justise Winslow has been inconsistent as of late. Coach K will rely heavily on Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook and Winslow to rise to the challenge.
Jones, Cook and Winslow will be forced to play more minutes per game and are going to be relied upon to up their scoring averages. Winslow is going to face the most pressure to increase his performance. Jones and Cook have been playing well, but Winslow has been hit-or-miss. If Duke wishes to make a deep run in the tournament Winslow will have to play at an extremely high level. There is no longer a player off the bench who can replace Winslow on either end of the court.
The next few months for Duke are going to be interesting. Will the young Devils rise to the occasion or will the dismissal of Sulaimon be the end of Duke’s championship aspirations?
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