Grades for each Duke basketball player thru 6 games

6. Duke basketball forward AJ Griffin

• 5.3 points per game
• 2.5 rebounds per game
• 0.5 assists per game
• 0.7 steals per game
• 0.5 blocks per game
• 0.3 turnovers per game
• 13-for-27 from the field (48.1 percent)
• 6-for-15 beyond the arc (40.0 percent)
• 0-for-0 from the foul line
• 12.5 minutes per game

As AJ Griffin keeps bouncing completely back from an early-October knee injury, one would think the 6-foot-6, 220-pound five-star rookie out of New York would see a gradual increase in usage from one game to the next. That wasn’t the case, though, last time out, as he for some reason played only 11 minutes after posting a career-high 18 points in 21 minutes the previous outing.

Yet as of late, it has become apparent that Griffin’s toolbox should be considerably handy as soon as his knee and confidence reach total capacity. With that in mind, in time or maybe even as soon as the Gonzaga game, the 18-year-old hammer should become more aggressive in driving the lane and either delivering momentum-changing dunks or earning timely trips to the charity stripe.

Grade: 84 (B)