Not many positives in Duke basketball’s most recent loss

Duke basketball players who hurt their stock against Pittsburgh

Jeremy Roach

After a handful of promising games and growth on the court, Jeremy Roach just didn’t have it on Tuesday night for the Blue Devils.

The freshman point guard missed perimeter shots, shots at the rim, and everything in between against Pittsburgh.

Roach also fouled out in the closing minutes, ending his evening with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 38 minutes on 5-of-16 shooting from the field. He missed all seven of his 3-point attempts and went 1-of-4 from the free throw line, in addition to his four turnovers.

Hopefully, the poor performance is just a rare occurrence for Jeremy Roach as he looked like he was emerging as a reliable scoring threat for Duke in ACC play.

DJ Steward

Another freshman guard that has his peaks and valleys is DJ Steward, and the shooting guard is in the midst of another shooting slump.

After his 21-point outing against Wake Forest, Steward has struggled shooting from the floor. That continued on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh with only six points on 2-of-8 shooting, 2-of-7 from three-point range.

The Chicago native also added four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block in the loss.

With Jalen Johnson back in the fold, more defenses are going to focus on him and Matthew Hurt, allowing space for players like Steward and Roach to operate, and they must capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves.

Patrick Tape

It’s very clear that Mike Krzyzewski does not trust freshmen Mark Williams and Henry Coleman or does not think they are ready for ACC-level basketball.

With foul trouble on the roster on Tuesday night, Patrick Tape was given an opportunity to try and push himself into the rotation off the bench, but he could not convert any of his three chances at the rim. He also turned the ball over twice and picked up two fouls in his 10 minutes on the court.

None of Duke’s three additions to its frontcourt are filling the shoes of Vernon Carey Jr., Javin DeLaurier, or Jack White, and the three current Blue Devils could all find themselves on the outside of the rotation during the late stages of the regular season.