Stock up, stock down from Duke’s bounce-back win over Winthrop

Matthew Hurt

With several players struggling on offense in the first half, Matthew Hurt carried the Blue Devils and shouldered much of the scoring load for Duke.

The freshman from Minnesota led the way with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

It has been a struggle for Matthew Hurt to get going this season but if Friday night is any indication, the freshman has been working hard and it’s paying off.

What remains to be seen is if Hurt’s play will translate to better competition and he doesn’t have to wait long to get that opportunity when Duke faces Michigan State on Tuesday night.

Joey Baker

Joey Baker has skyrocketed up the depth chart in Durham.

From not playing the Champions Classic to playing starter-like minutes on Friday night and setting a career-high in points.

Baker was the second-leading scorer on the team with his 16 points, but more impressively Baker showed his unlimited range and sparkplug ability on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

With Cassius Stanley sidelined, Joey Baker should see even more minutes as Duke will need to try and space the floor with shooters and even then the two are healthy, Baker is the superior shooter to Stanley while Stanley is far superior to Baker in terms of explosiveness and athletic ability.

Jordan Goldwire

Jordan Goldwire became the forgotten man of the Duke team.

The defensive role player hasn’t seen much action since the Blue Devils have been very good defensively but shaky offensively this season, but that has changed in the past week.

Like Joey Baker, Jordan Goldwire saw a bump in minutes after Cassius Stanley’s injury and the junior guard delivered big time on the defensive end.

In 19 minutes, Goldwire racked up five steals to go along with his six points, one rebound, one assist, and two blocks. Goldwire was 2-of-3 from the floor and made both of his free throw attempts.

With Stanley out and the Blue Devils defense looking surprisingly shaky, I’d expect to see Goldwire more often, paired with Tre Jones in the backcourt to provide a dominant defensive presence.