Grading each Duke basketball player’s performance in season opener

Grading the play of Duke basketball junior Joey Baker

The stat line of Joey Baker vs. Coppin State: In 15 minutes on the court, the junior wing finished with two points, four rebounds, one assist, zero steals, zero blocks, two turnovers, and two fouls while shooting 1-for-4 from the field, including an 0-for-3 mark from beyond the arc.

The evaluation of Joey Baker vs. Coppin State: Like one or two of his teammates to come here, the 2020-21 version of Joey Baker thus far looks exactly the same as the 2019-20 version. Actually, through one game, the new Baker appears less valuable than the old, given that the renowned one-dimensional sharpshooter came up empty on all of his shots from downtown against Coppin State.

And Baker, who drew a starting nod on Saturday, certainly didn’t play like a guy who has a starting job on lock. His only legit highlight of the day came four minutes into the game when the 6-foot-6, 200-pound veteran grabbed a long offensive rebound and then proceeded to aggressively attack the basket for an easy layup. Other than that, offensively, he mostly stood in the corner.

Defensively, Baker acted as a leader, directing his fellow Blue Devils where to be. However, he had little impact outside of that and occasionally found himself out of position, perhaps because of that.

The final grade for Joey Baker vs. Coppin State: 70 (C-)