Duke basketball needs continued aggressive play from Tyrese Proctor

We’ve become accustomed to seeing Duke basketball sophomore point guard Tyrese Proctor undress the defense with his slick ball-handling and flashy moves, but one constant criticism is his aggressiveness at attacking the rim.

Jon Scheyer has put much more responsibility on Proctor this season, empowering him to be more aggressive on offense and to hunt his shot, which benefits Duke. He’s averaging 12.5 points per game while attempting 8.8 field goals per contest, which third most on the team.

Bottom line, Duke needs Tyrese Proctor to be more aggressive.

So far this season, he has looked elite as a pick-and-roll passer, a mid-range shooter, and a decision-maker in transition. He had his best scoring output and a career-high 22 points against La Salle, where he looked dominant.

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His defense has been phenomenal and Duke will need more of this play from him if they are to reach their full potential.

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Tyrese Proctor is nearly automatic from the free throw line, shooting a scorching 86.7-percent, so it’s mind-boggling that he doesn’t attack the basket more in an attempt to get fouled.

Shooting 2.5 free throws per game only adds to his lack of aggressiveness at the rim, especially when he plays a team-high 31.8 minutes.

With Scheyer known to be an adaptive coach, it’s possible he could try and post-up Proctor which would allow him to utilize his positional size to get to the charity stripe more.

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When evaluating players, especially young prospects like Tyrese Proctor, coaches want to see progression in their development and this adjustment should be the next step in the evolution of the star point guard.

Ultimately, Proctor will need a slight shift in mindset and show that he can be elite in the area of question.

Everyone knows the youngster works hard and wants to be great. Let’s hope he flips the switch soon, which would only benefit Duke.