Duke basketball’s best small-ball lineup next season
By Matt Giles
Best power forward for a Duke basketball small-ball lineup: AJ Griffin
Five-star freshman AJ Griffin may stand only 6-foot-7, but his chiseled frame and obvious aggression on the basketball court should equate to an ability to fill in at the four-spot when the circumstances call for it.
Griffin, who has drawn comparisons to a 2015 Duke basketball national champ in Justise Winslow, is best known as a vicious slasher. That said, judging from his highlights at Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.), he also appears to boast a decent amount of skilled post moves. And he enjoys what is perhaps an underestimated shooting stroke from deep.
Most importantly here, if Griffin was to play a significant amount of power forward for the Blue Devils next season, he would probably be significantly faster than pretty much every foe he faced at the position.
Also, there’s something to be said for the emphatic, momentum-changing finishes in transition that he’s likely to put on full display at Duke, particularly when he teams up with this next fella in a frontcourt role…