Duke basketball Player of the Week: Week 13

Jahlil Okafor

Statline: Monday at Florida State: 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, four rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes; Saturday at Syracuse: 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 13 rebounds and one block in 34 minutes.

The good: In his first year as a Blue Devil, Okafor is making history. With his 13 points against Florida State Monday, the 6-foot-11 center registered at least 10 points for the 24th straight game, the longest double-digit streak in the history of Duke’s basketball program.

Five days later, the Chicago native used a big second half to put up more eye-popping numbers in front of 35,446 spectators at the Carrier Dome. The freshman center delivered a team-high 23 points and his ninth double-double of the season as the Blue Devils topped Syracuse 80-72 for Duke’s fifth straight win. Okafor had a decent first half against the Orange but it was his 16 points and seven rebounds in the second 20 minutes of the game—eight of them coming on four dunks—that demonstrated why he is currently a leading candidate for National Player of the Year.

The bad: The big man was almost flawless this week. Although Okafor had a perfect field goal percentage against the Seminoles, he needed some time to break out against Florida State's trio of 7-footers, as he only made one field goal in the first half.

Against Syracuse, the 6-foot-11 rookie did a great job on both ends of the court, totaling four offensive rebounds and putting the clamps on 6-foot-9 Rakeem Christmas—the Orange's leading scorer. But Okafor also committed a team-high four turnovers on Valentine’s Day and picked up his fourth foul with 6:40 remaining.

The bottom line: Okafor is putting up extraordinary numbers this season. He’s leading the team in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest. The freshman is more than a scorer, though—his 1.5 blocks and 1.3 assists per game demonstrate that the center influences every aspect of the game.