Cassius Stanley
Cassius Stanley is a walking, or running, highlight reel.
He’s no Zion Williamson, but he gave Duke fans a flashback to who dawned the No. 1 Duke uniform last year.
However, Stanley is making a name for himself and No. 2 on the Blue Devils certainly dropped some jaws with his hops on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles native gave Duke the spark they needed with three monstrous dunks and rattling the rim.
Stanley finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting while grabbing three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in just 27 minutes of action.
In the preseason, we wrote that Cassius Stanley would have to be a spark plug for this Duke team and he has done that and much more this season.
Look for more dunks and winning plays from the freshman from Los Angeles this year.
Tre Jones
Wednesday night was Tre Jones’ 20th birthday and what better present was there to pick up a road victory.
Not only was it a road victory, but Duke rode its sophomore point guard to close out the victory who scored five of the last seven points for the Blue Devils.
Jones ended the night with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals on 5-of-7 shooting and making his lone 3-point attempt.
The only facet of the game in which Tre Jones struggled was from the free throw line where he made just five of his ten attempts. Other than that, it was a marvelous game from the sophomore captain.
It’s no secret that Duke will go as far as Tre Jones will take them, so get used to seeing the ball in No. 3’s hands much more as conference play rolls along.
Alex O’Connell
This season has been a struggle for Alex O’Connell, but the junior was moved to the bench on Wednesday night and he delivered.
O’Connell had nine points in the victory on 4-of-6 shooting and 1-of-2 from 3-point range and looked much more confident and comfortable on the court.
The highlight of Alex O’Connell’s night came in the first half on a breakaway which he punctuated with a one-handed slam which got Jordan Goldwire to leap from the free throw line as he watched his fellow junior.
With Wendell Moore sidelined, O’Connell was able to provide that scoring punch that Duke so desperately needed.
Jordan Goldwire
This edition of ‘Stock Up’ gets a bonus player and its the aforementioned Jordan Goldwire.
Goldwire played 37 minutes, second on the team behind Tre Jones, and if you solely look at the box score, you’d be very confused as to why Jordan Goldwire would make the list.
The junior guard finished the night with two points, two assists, and two steals but it was his defensive pressure that was outstanding throughout the victory.
As Alex O’Connell provided the scoring punch to offset the missing Wendell Moore, Jordan Goldwire provided the extra defensive intensity that Moore brings on a night-in-and-night-out basis.
Look for more Jordan Goldwire as the season continues to create the best defensive backcourt in the country alongside Tre Jones.