Duke Basketball: Alex O’Connell in prime position to prove consistency

As the Duke basketball team’s search for a consistent spot-up shooter continues, the guy with the hot hand from the last game has an ideal opportunity to keep the swishes coming for a second consecutive game.

While the absence of Zion Williamson is painful for Duke basketball fans to endure, they may soon look back and realize the emergence of Alex O’Connell may not have happened without it.

Williamson, the 6-foot-7, 280-pound freshman sensation whose unprecedented game has swept the nation this season, will sit out for a second consecutive game while rehabbing a Grade 1 knee sprain that he suffered on the Blue Devils’ first possession of an 88-72 home loss to UNC last Wednesday.

So when No. 3 Duke (24-3; 12-2 in ACC) plays at No. 20 Virginia Tech (21-6; 10-5 in ACC) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (on ESPN), there will be no Zion 360s. There will be no Zion blocks that make balls cry out for their mommies. There will be no Zion smile — at least not on the court — that has the ability to make babies stop crying instantly.

What there will likely be is a sophomore guard once again starting in his place and with the chance to once again make fans wonder if they’re watching a distant cousin of former Duke basketball sharpshooter J.J. Redick — albeit O’Connell has far more hops but far less star power.

At Syracuse on Saturday, against the Orange’s 2-3 zone, O’Connell had a career-high 20 points, anchored by a 5-for-8 clip from deep that provided the Blue Devils a much-needed boost on their way to a 75-65 victory. At Virginia Tech, the 6-foot-6, 185-pound native of Roswell, Ga., should again see a style of defense that best allows him to show off his specialty: spot-up outside shooting.

The Hokies, who typically employ a matchup zone on defense, have allowed 240 made 3-pointers this season (ranks 292nd among 353 NCAA Division I teams). Meanwhile, their defense has only allowed 335 made 2-pointers (ranks 1st in the nation).

In other words, O’Connell should notice what will seem to be an acre between himself and the closest defender when he catches the ball on the perimeter.

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Hopefully, his performance from the last game spills over to this game. And if that is the case, then maybe once he again sees an aggressive man-to-man defense — a nightmare for him in the past — his growth in confidence will lead him to figure out how to find open shots.

O’Connell is averaging just 4.6 points this season; however, his 38.3 percentage beyond the arc is the best mark of any Blue Devil in the regular rotation. As a team, Duke is shooting just 30.6 percent from downtown (ranks 331st in the nation — ouch — and is on pace to be the worst mark, by far, of any Duke team in history).

O’Connell has not once this season made a 3-pointer that did not come off an assist, according to Hoop-Math.com. That stat suggests he does not possess the ability to create his shot off the dribble. Even without that stat, any working set of eyeballs can see that he typically dribbles around aimlessly for a few seconds and then passes when there is a skilled defender in his face.

No problem. The team has plenty of others who excel at finding open space off the dribble.

All the Blue Devils need from O’Connell — other than the elimination of his occasional brain farts that often led to his quick exits during past games — is for him to be the one guy they can count on to hit wide-open 3-pointers.

If he can do that, he should still see plenty of minutes — and possibly even keeping his spot in the starting lineup — once Zion returns.