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Duke Basketball Player Review: Alex O’Connell’s inconsistencies hurt him

By Kevin Connelly

Duke basketball guard Alex O'Connell (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Duke basketball guard Alex O'Connell (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Alex O’Connell’s inconsistencies followed him into his junior season with the Duke basketball team as they resulted in a transfer from the Georgia native.

The story is old now, but Alex O’Connell will be transferring from the Duke basketball program, so let’s take a look back and see why O’Connell was unable to carve out a significant role with the Blue Devils.

Alex O’Connell had all the offensive potential in the world. He was an extremely underrated athlete who could jump with just about anyone and had the ability to knock down perimeter jumpers.

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Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t consistent in his shooting abilities, and his skills as a defender were extremely below average. Couple that with a weak frame and no real ball-handling abilities and that’s the main reason why he didn’t see as much playing time as he would’ve liked.

However, there were some great moments this year that he provided like his 11 points that he scored in a win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, a venue where he always seemed to shine with his ability to space the floor and spread out a defense, which he did in Duke’s amazing comeback win over North Carolina in the Dean Dome with six points on two made 3-pointers.

The 6-foot-6 guard played in 29 games for the Blue Devils but did not see any action in the final two games of the regular season against North Carolina State and the Tar Heels.

ALSO READ: Alex O’Connell shockingly enters the transfer portal

O’Connell averaged 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 40.5 percent shooting from the floor and 27.3 percent from 3-point range.

Since he announced his intentions to transfer, the Roswell, Georgia native has already heard from Georgetown, Georgia, Dayton, Xavier, Memphis, and Cincinnati, according to Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers.

ALSO READ: An early look at the promising 2020-21 Blue Devils

Alex O’Connell will leave Duke as an ACC Champion, and he came within five total points of reaching two Final Fours.

GRADE: C+

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