Jahlil Okafor
Statline: Thursday vs. N.C. State: 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 19 minutes. Friday vs. No. 11 Notre Dame: 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 35 minutes.
The good: Before ACC tournament play began, Jahlil Okafor became the first freshman ever to be named ACC Player of the Year with 44 votes, 30 more than runner-up Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant. The Chicago native, who averages 17.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest, was also unanimously selected ACC Freshman of the Year.
Despite Duke’s 74-64 upset loss against the eventual ACC champion Fighting Irish Friday in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, the 6-foot-11 center scored a game-high 28 points—keeping the Blue Devils in the game in the first half and dominating against single coverage throughout the contest. The Chicago native finished 13-of-18 from the field against an undersized Notre Dame front line.
In Duke’s dominant 77-53 victory against N.C. State for the ACC quarterfinals one day earlier, the Blue Devils’ points were more evenly distributed. Six players scored in the double figures as Duke avenged its first lost of the season, an 87-75 defeat at Reynolds Stadium Jan. 11. Okafor registered a decent performance Friday night, notching 10 points and adding four rebounds in 19 minutes against the Wolfpack.
The bad: If Okafor has struggled with one particular issue throughout the season, it has been free throws. Senior Quinn Cook shoots at 89.1 percent from the line and freshman Tyus Jones is converting at an 88.4 percent clip from the charity stripe. Compared to that—and considering how frequently he goes to the line—the big man’s 51.1 percent rate this season looks just poor.
In Duke’s thrilling overtime victory against then-No. 15 North Carolina 92-90 Feb. 18, Okafor missed all his six throws from the line–four during regulation and two in the extra period. Almost one month later, the freshman center only converted two out of eight free throws against the Fighting Irish. With 1:48 to play in the second half, Okafor missed two crucial free throws that would have reduced Notre Dame’s lead to just two points and perhaps could have helped the Blue Devils make their comeback a reality.
The bottom line: If the Blue Devils can match the team spirit and intensity they showed against N.C. State Thursday night and continue delivering standout performances such as Okafor’s against Notre Dame the day after, they can dream of the Final Four. Duke needs its freshman center’s best throughout March Madness and he looked to be up to the task Friday.
However, Duke’s opponents, aware of the big man’s low percentage from the charity stripe, will surely foul him with no mercy when necessary. If he doesn’t put up better numbers at knocking down free throws—especially in crunch time—those opponents will be the ones moving on in the tournament, and not the Blue Devils.
Honorable mention: Justise Winslow, averaging 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest, had a slow start against the Fighting Irish—as he was held scoreless and committed three turnovers in the first twenty minutes. After the third one, Notre Dame extended its lead to 16 points, a deficit Duke wouldn’t recover from.
But the 6-foot-6 swingman ended the contest with his fifth double-double of the season, as he totaled 11 rebounds in 30 minutes and delivered 11 points in the second half. With 14:17 to play, Winslow reduced the Fighting Irish’s lead to 10 points as he finished a two-handed dunk in transition and added one point from the line after a foul by Bonzie Colson. Seven minutes later, the swingman scored a layup cutting the Duke deficit to seven. But Okafor’s missed free throws with 1:48 left, and three missed 3-pointers in the last 22 seconds transformed hope of a comeback into a loss. Against the Wolfpack, Winslow registered his 13th straight game scoring in double figures, as he delivered 11 points, and added six rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes.
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