Some Duke basketball freshmen overtook veterans in the latest season development for the Blue Devils.
It has not been the best of starts for the Duke basketball program as the Blue Devils sit at 2-2 through four games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
In that campaign, the Blue Devils lost to No. 13 Stanford and No. 1 UConn before defeating Army and Columbia and went on to reach the Sweet 16, so not all is lost with Mike Krzyzewski‘s team at the moment, but there needs to be some serious improvement.
Duke has fallen to No. 8 Michigan State and No. 6 Illinois, two veteran teams, but its wins over Coppin State and Bellarmine were as unimpressive as the defeats.
Most recently, the Illini walked out of Durham with an 83-68 victory over the Blue Devils on Tuesday night.
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Sophomores Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore were supposed to take that next leap and become stars in their second seasons with the Blue Devils, and Hurt has made the jump, adding muscle in the offseason and becoming a more efficient and reliable scorer.
As for Moore, he is in the midst of a brutal three-game stretch where nothing can go his way. His defense has fallen off from a season ago, and not one thing has gone right for the North Carolina native in terms of shooting from the perimeter and driving to the basket.
Duke basketball freshmen starting to emerge
Following the sensational debut performance from Jalen Johnson, the Duke freshmen have been hot-and-cold throughout the young season, and Coach K needs someone to emerge alongside Hurt to rely on this season.
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Michigan State and Illinois walked into Cameron Indoor Stadium and were more physical than Duke and took advantage of the absence of fans in Durham, something the Blue Devils have desperately missed in the 2020-21 campaign.
Following another loss, we dive into another edition of ‘Stock Up, Stock Down’.
Duke basketball players who improved its stock against Illinois
DJ Steward
Following his season-opening debut, DJ Steward struggled to hit his shots and looked overmatched on defense.
As Duke tried to mount a comeback against Illinois, Steward started to hit some midrange shots and then work out to the perimeter.
The Chicago native ended the night with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point territory.
Five turnovers will be an area of improvement for Steward, and he found himself passing up open shots in the second half when Duke needed the freshman to hit some momentum-changing shots.
After being reinserted into the starting lineup, perhaps Steward has become more comfortable and will be able to consistently stretch the defense more with a reliable outside shot.
Jeremy Roach
Jeremy Roach found himself on the ‘Stock Down’ list following Duke’s loss to Michigan State, but the freshman point guard was able to elevate his game for the veteran-led Illini.
Coming off the bench, Roach finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and seven assists on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, missing his lone 3-point attempt.
Perhaps Mike Krzyzewski was speaking about Roach following the loss to the Spartans when the Hall of Famer said most of his guys had not been in games like that yet.
As bad as Roach was in last week’s defeat, he was good on Tuesday, although not enough to change the result of the game.
Jeremy Roach joined a group of Johnny Dawkins, Jason Williams, Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones (twice), Tre Jones (twice), and RJ Barrett as Duke freshmen with at least seven assists and no turnovers in a game.
More will be needed from Jeremy Roach in his freshman season if Duke wants to have a positive response from its .500 start to the year.
Jordan Goldwire
It was tough trying to find a third person to place on the ‘Stock Up’ list following Tuesday’s game, but it’s Jordan Goldwire who gets the nod over Matthew Hurt.
Hurt led the Blue Devils in scoring with 19 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting, but he missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
However, despite a putrid offensive night, Goldwire was a star in the first half defending National Player of the Year candidate Ayo Dosunmu.
As Illinois jumped out to a 21-8 lead, Dosunmu had not scored for the Illini because Goldwire would not leave his side and give him room to breathe.
The junior guard was able to finish with eight points at halftime, four of which came from the free throw line.
A player as great as Ayo Dosunmu was able to get more room in the second half to operate as Duke tried to speed up the game and create turnovers, finishing with a team-high 18 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists on 6-of-11 shooting, missing both of his attempts from 3-point range.
Six of Dosunmu’s 18 points came from the free throw line.
If Duke wants to be successful, Jordan Goldwire has to be a complementary piece on the offensive end, not a player who ends the night with nine field goal attempts.
Goldwire ended with five points, two rebounds, four assists, and four steals on 2-of-9 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point shots.
Jordan Goldwire is a defensive stalwart, not an offensive weapon, and that’s how Duke has to view him going forward.
Duke basketball players who hurt their stocks against Illinois
Wendell Moore
At this point, you are just starting to feel bad for Wendell Moore.
The sophomore forward is clearly in one of the biggest slumps of his basketball career, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
For lack of a better term, he was benched on Tuesday night against Illinois as he came off the bench and only saw the court for seven minutes, going scoreless and gathering one rebound.
Moore missed all three shots he attempted in the defeat.
In his last three games, the Charlotte, North Carolina native has played 57 minutes, scoring six points on 1-of-19 shooting.
Wendell Moore needs to break out of his rut and start playing like the player Duke envisioned at the beginning of the season if the team wants to get its season trending in a positive direction.
Jalen Johnson
Foul trouble forced Jalen Johnson to the bench in Duke’s loss to Michigan State, and victories over Bellarmine and Tuesday provided Jalen Johnson with an opportunity to show the nation what he can truly do.
The freshman forward did not answer the call and was overmatched by the veteran, physical forwards Illinois threw at him.
In 23 minutes of action, Johnson was only able to muster seven points, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks on 3-of-10 shooting, 1-of-3 from 3-point range, and missing both of his attempts from the free throw line.
Jalen Johnson needs to be the best player for Duke on a nightly basis, and since the season-opening victory over Coppin State, that has not been the case. The results have shown for the Blue Devils.
Mark Williams
A seldom-played five-star recruit, Mark Williams finally saw extended playing time against Bellarmine and was entering the showdown against Illinois to introduce himself to the college basketball world.
Williams was in the starting lineup for the second straight game and would battle the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Kofi Cockburn.
Cockburn is a mass of a man and a beast in the paint, standing at 7-foot, 285 pounds.
Mark Williams, listed at 7-foot, 243 pounds, was not able to match the physicality of the sophomore, and Krzyzewski limited his center to just seven minutes on the floor with two points and one rebound.
Cockburn missed multiple chances at the rim, with and without Williams guarding him, to finish with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks on 4-of-9 shooting.
Granted, Mark Williams cannot be blamed for surrendering nearly 40 pounds to Cockburn, but Duke needs a paint force, offensively and defensively, to emerge ahead of ACC play.