Duke basketball: Grading each Blue Devil through three games
By Matt Giles
Grading Duke basketball junior Joey Baker through three games
The only thing better about Joey Baker’s shooting numbers than those of Wendell Moore thus far is the fewer number of attempts. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound wing — another former four-star from North Carolina — is 2-for-10 from the field, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, across his 38 minutes of playing time this season.
Like Moore, Baker has also offered little in terms of either dirty work or in facilitating scores. His combined box scores contain all of five rebounds and one assist.
Sure, Baker finished a confident drive to the hoop off a long rebound against Coppin State. Sure, late in the game against Bellarmine, he finally drilled the type of silky swish from the corner that many fans expected to see a ton more of this season, after watching him hit 39.7 percent of his 3-point attempts across his first two years in Durham.
Yet overall, the 20-year-old “Bullzeye” has appeared tentative and ineffective on the offensive end. Defensively, though vocal and passionate, Baker has looked lost on more than one occasion; plus, he’s been a bit reckless, racking up nine fouls, equating to a horrendous clip of 9.5 fouls per 40 minutes.
With several freshmen to come here at or near his position, Baker could be on the verge of landing in detention…
The grade for Joey Baker through three games: 74 (C)