Stocks are soaring within the Duke basketball program following its season-opening victory.
Another Duke basketball season has officially begun, so that means it is time for another edition of ‘Stock Up, Stock Down’.
The Blue Devils needed to knock off a lot of rust in their 81-71 victory over Coppin State on Saturday afternoon, and the 2020 season already hit Duke in a negative way as its first scheduled game was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Gardner-Webb program.
However, before the schedule gets turned up in difficulty, Duke had the chance to finally play another opponent and get the feel for what playing inside Cameron Indoor Stadium would be like in the 2020-21 campaign with no Cameron Crazies or home-court advantage.
The absence of fans clearly showed as it would have been difficult to envision Coppin State mounting its comeback in the second half if there were 9,314 screaming fans inside Cameron.
Despite the lack of spectators, Duke still has a number of things to work on before it faces No. 13 Michigan State in the Champions Classic in Durham on Tuesday evening, most notably protecting the basketball and valuing each possession.
Duke basketball needs to take opening night results seriously
Mike Krzyzewski cannot just toss out the results of Saturday’s victory and chalk up the box score to nerves, rust, or first-game jitters.
Duke had some young players thrive and veteran players struggle, and that needs to be taken into consideration when game-planning for the Spartans, who are coming off of a thrashing of Notre Dame.
The stocks of players will continue to fluctuate all season long, but it was encouraging to see the following players take a step in the right direction and produce for the Blue Devils at such a young point in the season.
Duke basketball players who saw their stock rise
Jalen Johnson
This goes without saying, right?
Jalen Johnson joins only a select few of Duke standouts who had stellar freshman debuts with 19 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks.
Not to mention, the wing was also perfect shooting the ball, making all eight of his field goal attempts, his only 3-pointer, and both free throws.
The one issue with Johnson’s performance on Saturday was the seven turnovers, one less than the entire Coppin State team.
Also, when Jalen Johnson is rolling like that, he either has to demand the ball more or Krzyzewski has to draw up more plays for him because eight shots were just not enough for the freshman phenom.
All in all, a stellar debut for the Wisconsin native.
DJ Steward
Another freshman who makes an appearance on the ‘Stock Up’ list that should go without saying.
DJ Steward led the Blue Devils in scoring with 24 points, but it seems as if that is not being talked about as much because of Johnson’s 19-point, 19-rebound performance.
Coming off the bench, Steward was magnificent and took the game into his own hands in the second half.
The Chicago native ended with his 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-9 from 3-point territory, in addition to nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see if Mike Krzyzewski keeps DJ Steward coming off the bench or inserts him in the starting lineup following his magnificent debut.
The latter seems like a safe bet ahead of Tuesday night.
Matthew Hurt
We finally welcome a veteran to the ‘Stock Up’ list as Matthew Hurt demonstrated much more aggression to begin his sophomore campaign.
Hurt, who was one of the four veterans to start, was clearly the best returning player on Saturday afternoon with his 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
An issue for Hurt, who shot 5-of-11 from the field, was foul trouble after being whistled for four fouls in his 29 minutes, something that also plagued the Minnesota native as a freshman.
Matthew Hurt is also going to have to create better spacing on the floor with Jalen Johnson and the guards who are on the court, as Duke will certainly play a lot of small-ball this season with Hurt at the center position.
Aspects of the Duke basketball game which saw stocks fall
Turnovers
Twenty-two turnovers. 22.
Unacceptable no matter who you are playing.
Whether it’s Coppin State, Kentucky, or Virginia, you simply cannot turn the ball over 22 times in 40 minutes and expect to win the game.
Subsequently, Duke only forced Coppin State into eight turnovers. That’s a minus-14 turnover differential against Coppin State at home. That cannot happen, no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it.
The turnovers were unacceptable, regardless of the fact that it was the first game of the season for Duke, because it was the first game of the season for Coppin State, too.
Coppin State turned those 22 turnovers into 28 points while Duke put 10 points on the board off of its eight turnovers forced.
Patrick Tape
The first-ever graduate transfer under Mike Krzyzewski finds himself on the ‘Stock Down’ list after failing to enter Saturday’s game.
Granted, Coppin State plays a very small lineup and Duke had the players to adjust to the different lineups head coach Juan Dixon put on the floor, but Mark Williams, Henry Coleman, and Jaemyn Brakefield all got some, albeit limited, minutes.
Patrick Tape has not played since March 4, 2019, and his wait to return to the court will be a little longer.
Perhaps there are minutes available for him on Tuesday against Michigan State as the Spartans do have a taller, more physical frontcourt.
Joey Baker
The love-hate relationship with Joey Baker continues for the Blue Devils as the junior wing always gives 110 percent when he’s on the floor, but sometimes his energy does not match his production.
Baker was an opening night starter alongside the four other returnees for Duke, but the North Carolina native was only able to connect on one shot attempt, a layup in the first half.
Those two points were the only ones of the game for Baker as he went 1-of-4 from the floor, missing all three of his 3-point attempts.
Joey Baker has never been a consistent starter, so perhaps he will come off the bench on Tuesday in favor of DJ Steward and both will feel more comfortable in their roles.
As a reserve, Baker would fill the role of a volume shooter off the bench for Duke.
The catch in that position? Joey Baker would have to start hitting the 3-point ball much more consistently.