Best left-handed Duke basketball players of the past decade
The best Duke basketball lefties of the past decade: Justise Winslow
434. . . . Justise Winslow. 4. player
No matter who you are a fan of, it is hard not to root for Justise Winslow. He plays extremely hard, competes on both ends of the floor, and has a nice combination of both flash and finesse. He also had a really cool name. From an outsider’s view, Winslow seemed like a guy that was extremely well-liked by his teammates. He always brought energy, enthusiasm, and a strong competitive spirit every time he stepped on the court.
Winslow was the fourth and final player to commit and round out Duke’s top-rated recruiting class back in 2014 alongside Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, and Grayson Allen. It was a class that had a lot of expectations, and Winslow certainly did his part in helping Duke reach and exceed that expectation.
Justise Winslow had a very well-rounded and balanced game. There was not one particular facet of the game that he particularly excelled in, but he also had no glaring weaknesses. Winslow was able to channel that into his role with Duke and quickly became the do-it-all guy for the Blue Devils.
Whether it was defending the opposing team’s best scorer, grabbing rebounds in traffic, forcing turnovers, making a key play late in the game, or scoring a clutch bucket, Winslow showed that he had every tool at his disposal. Winslow got off to a great start to open the 2014-15 season. He scored in double-digits in each of the Blue Devils’ first five games, all games that Duke won in dominating fashion.
Winslow was never a dominant scorer, as he scored over 20 points only four times the entire year. However, Winslow was consistent and reliable as a scorer. He averaged over 12 points per game and shot just below 49 percent from the field. But Duke had other guys who could fill it up offensively.
Winslow truly made his mark on the defensive end. What made Winslow such a fun guy to watch was his Lebron James-style chase-down blocks.
Perhaps his most memorable one came in an early-season matchup with Stanford. Many so-called experts thought that Stanford would be able to push the Blue Devils and give them a real test. Duke ended up blowing out the Cardinal, and Justise Winslow had an incredible chase-down block where he jumped over Stanford’s Chasson Randle and swatted his shot out of bounds. Winslow also had an incredible chase-down block in the Sweet 16 on Utah’s Delon Wright.
Throughout the season, Winslow made some incredibly athletic plays. Whether it was flying down the lane for a monstrous slam, coming out of nowhere for a putback, or soaring above the rim to reject a shot, Winslow consistently showed off his world-class athleticism.
Despite some amazing moments, not every moment of Winslow’s one season in Durham was spectacular. During a January stretch, Winslow struggled to find consistency, which impacted his playing time. Winslow hardly played in an incredible comeback victory against St. John’s to give Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski his 1,000th victory. Also, during a tough home loss against Miami, Winslow scored just two points on 1-for-6 from the field.
It was right around the time when Rasheed Sulaimon got kicked off the team that Winslow hit his stride again and took his game to a whole new level. After that game against St. John’s, Winslow picked up his production and scored in double-digits every game for the rest of the season. Teams were figuring out how to defend Jahlil Okafor, which put the onus on Winslow to pick up the scoring and be a reliable offensive counterpart to Okafor.
Winslow played his best basketball of the year during March. When the NCAA Tournament started, Winslow’s play elevated immensely, which raised the level of play by the entire team. His big breakout game came in the Sweet 16 against Utah, a team that had three future first-round picks. He scored 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting while also pulling down 10 boards. He was clearly the best player on the floor that night and came up big late to help Duke secure the victory.
Winslow kept the momentum going in the Elite Eight against Gonzaga, scoring 16 points with more late-game heroics. He then went off in the Final Four against Michigan State. Winslow scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds while shutting down MSU’s Brendon Dawson. He then scored 11 points and had nine rebounds, in addition to some key defensive stops, to beat Wisconsin and secure Duke’s fifth national title.
Justise Winslow was certainly the X-factor for Duke during its championship season. If Winslow hadn’t upped his game and accepted a bigger offensive role, it’s very likely Duke would still only have four national championships. Winslow understood that he needed to play like the future lottery pick he was in order to help Duke make the type of run it did. He stepped up during the biggest and most meaningful games, and for that, he will forever be a Duke basketball legend.