White beat Blue, 44-39, during the Duke basketball team’s preseason scrimmage on Friday night, but how did each member of the squad perform on a 100-point scale?
The following individual grades from the Blue-White Scrimmage on Friday night are based on the performances of each Duke basketball player compared to what was expected from each entering the game. We’ll start with those from the winning White team and continue with those from the Blue team on the next slide.
Zion Williamson
14 points, 7-of-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers
If this was a dunk contest, Williamson would have scored “100.” His throwdowns — to no one’s surprise — came with so much force, which will surely help to demoralize future opponents. Despite his rim-shaking highlights, though, the freshman sensation missed all of his shots from the outside, leaving him something to work on.
Grade: 95
Javin DeLaurier
10 points, 4-of-6 shooting, 2-of-4 from three, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
One of the best surprises from the scrimmage came in the form of DeLaurier’s stroke from beyond the arc. Although the sample size was small, his shot looked far improved from last season, which could be an asset in the future to a team whose weakness is likely to be perimeter shooting.
Grade: 91
Tre Jones
8 points, 4-of-8 shooting, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover
Jones did a solid job of directing the offense in his debut in a Duke jersey after missing the Blue Devil’s three-game Canada Tour in August due to injury. However, the freshman point guard did have a couple of moments where he did not pay enough attention to surrounding defenders, indicating he has room for improvement with his court awareness.
Grade: 90
Joey Baker
6 points, 2-of-2 shooting (both from beyond the arc), 2 assists, 1 turnover
Another nice surprise for the Blue Devils was the outside shooting of Baker. While the freshman didn’t contribute much other than his two threes during his 11 minutes of play off the bench, he gave Duke basketball fans reason to be hopeful that — when his teammates find him open — his shot can be relied upon in the future.
Grade: 85
Alex O’Connell
4 points, 2-of-6 shooting, 0-of-4 from three, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
The Blue Devils will definitely need some of O’Connell’s threes to drop in the future. But that didn’t happen on Friday night. Despite his cold hand, though, the sophomore guard crashed the boards effectively and had some nifty passes while not making many mistakes during his 19 minutes on the floor.
Grade: 82
Antonio Vrankovic
2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist
Vrankovic had an active start to the game, including a tip-in, a block, and an assist in the first three minutes. After that, though, he did not contribute much to the action despite playing 16 minutes.
Grade: 78
R.J. Barrett
23 points, 9-of-19 shooting, 2-of-6 from three, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Barrett often ran the point and always looked willing to put his Blue squad on his shoulders as he directed a comeback that came up five points short. Had the freshman guard been a bit more selective with his shots and found his open teammates more often — and come away with a win — he would have received a perfect score.
Grade: 95
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Cam Reddish
13 points, 5-of-12 shooting, 2-of-6 from three, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers
Although Reddish had a nice debut performance in a Duke jersey — he also missed the Canada Tour in August due to injury — he took several ill-advised shots, including an off-balance three early in the contest. He did, however, play through a fractured rib and displayed some of the smooth moves that made him such a highly regarded recruit in high school.
Grade: 92
Marques Bolden
3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers
Bolden still didn’t contribute as much as Duke basketball fans would like to see. That being said, the junior center showed a bit more hustle — snagging six rebounds in 19 minutes of action — than he often did in his previous two seasons and during the Canada Tour. Hopefully, he can find a way to become more of a playmaker and less of a spectator during the upcoming regular season.
Grade: 83
Justin Robinson
0 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover
Like his dad did during his college days at Navy, Robinson seems to grow more than an inch every year. The redshirt junior also showed growth in his activity level on the glass. However, he left plenty to be desired on the offensive end, taking only take one shot, a blocked three-point attempt that should have never left his hands.
Grade: 80
Jack White
0 points, 0-for-1 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
White is known for doing the dirty work behind the scenes — work that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet. And that was certainly the case on Friday night. Although the junior forward didn’t make any mistakes, it would have been nice to see him more involved in the offense (tough to do, though, when Barrett takes so many of the shots).
Grade: 78
Jordan Goldwire
0 points, 0-for-1 shooting, 1 rebound
As expected, Goldwire played gritty defense during his 11 minutes of action. The sophomore guard almost came away with a steal from Jones after sneaking up on the freshman and poking the ball out his hands. Beyond that, though, he had little impact on the game.
Grade: 78