It’s clear that the Duke basketball team has the potential to make the Final Four, but the Blue Devils will need everything clicking in order to make a deep March Madness run.
Recently, the biggest concern for the team has been the play of sophomore Isaiah Evans and his struggles from 3-point range.
The lethal shooter has shown the ability to invigorate the team with his scoring, but from January 14 through February 7 he was 11-for-43 (25.5-percent) from 3-point territory. It didn’t significantly impact the Blue Devils from winning during that stretch, landing victories in six of seven games during the period, but the team didn’t feel as explosive.
Cameron Boozer, Pat Ngongba, and Caleb Foster led the way for Duke, but Evans has returned in a major way since. After being benched to begin the second half in a win over Pittsburgh, Isaiah Evans is 12-for-21 from distance in the last thre games.
It’s the most 3-pointers he has made in a three-game stretch since he made 14 triples against Florida State, Louisville, and SMU from January 3 through January 6.
If Evans can continue to play at this level, he immediately takes Duke to not only a Final Four team but a legit National Championship contender.
“He has been very vocal,” Jon Scheyer said about Isaiah Evans after the Blue Devils victory over Syracuse on Monday night.
“Isaiah has also really embraced the other aspects to his game, besides just shooting and scoring, which he can obviously really do. I love to see his engagement on defense. He's got a great voice in the locker room. He is really a great teammate where he is cheering for his guys on the court.”
This season, Evans is averaging 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game – all increases from his freshman season.
“I'm just proud of his growth,” Scheyer added. “I think he has grown in every way since he's been here. I think that really has shown, especially the last two games, what he's done and consistency in the way he's playing. I'm really proud of him.”
Duke will be looking for Isaiah Evans to make a major impact against No. 1 Michigan on Saturday night in Washington D.C.