Duke basketball: 3 studs, 3 duds from home weekend sweep

Duke basketball duds in its weekend sweep over Army and Campbell: 

Mark Williams

The lackluster beginning of the year for sophomore center Mark Williams continued against two inferior opponents.

Williams played 22 minutes against Army and posted just six points and four rebounds on 3-of-7 shooting and only logged six minutes against Campbell, in which he did not score and only pulled down one rebound.

The struggles of the Virginia native seem to be highlighted after the conclusion to his freshman year, in which he was so brilliant, and the hype surrounded him entering his second season in Durham.

A poor outing against a veteran frontcourt of Kentucky was somewhat justifiable for Mark Williams, but the poor play continuing against Army and Campbell could lead to something bigger for the Duke center.

It is still early, but that could be cause for concern for the 7-footer.

Theo John

While it was a good weekend for the Duke basketball team, it was not a good weekend for the Blue Devil frontcourt.

Coupled with the struggles of Mark Wiliams, Theo John also had his troubles against Army and Campbell.

John, who played well against the Wildcats, was held scoreless across the two games while pulling in a combined four rebounds in 25 minutes.

Duke will clearly need much better production from its frontcourt as the season progresses and the potent forwards of Gonzaga and Ohio State await.

AJ Griffin

AJ Griffin was clearly set back with his preseason knee injury, but this weekend felt like a prime opportunity to get the freshman forward on the court for an extended period of time.

Griffin only played ten minutes against Army, scoring two points on 1-of-4 shooting, while logging just six minutes in the second game of the back-to-back against Campbell with three points.

Perhaps the injury stunted the development of the White Plains, New York native more than the Blue Devils let on as he continues to work back into the rotation this season. This could be the week, against Gardner-Webb and Lafayette, that AJ Griffin shows what made him a consensus five-star recruit.