The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it's time for another taking a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. Each week The Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the world of Duke athletics.
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Basketball Recruiting: Harry Giles—the top overall recruit in the Class of 2016—committed to play for the Blue Devils next year on national television Friday afternoon. With the commitment, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff appear in good shape to bring home the nation's third consecutive top-ranked recruiting class as ranked by ESPN. Giles—a 6-foot-9 power forward—joins second-ranked recruit Jayson Tatum, five-star shooting guard Frank Jackson and 4-star forward Javin DeLaurier as players to already commit to the Blue Devils. Although most programs would be content with this loaded class, signing day remains month away and Duke remains in contention for several other top recruits.
Scoreline differences: Although both the men and women’s basketball teams have only played exhibition games so far, they have dominated on the scoreboard. The men’s team took on Florida Southern and Livingstone while the women's team played Pfeiffer and Saint Leo in early-season tuneups. The average score differential after these four games was 67 points in favor of Duke, with the women’s team towing the average up. Sophomore guard Rebecca Greenwell has led the women’s squad this preseason while freshman forward Brandon Ingram has been the most impressive player for the men’s team. Fans of the Blue Devils have been able to witness some dominant performances on the hardwood this past week, and with the regular season starting Friday, they will hope for more of the same this weekend.
Duke Wrestling: The wrestling team enjoyed a great start to the season as three Blue Devils captured first place in their respective weight classes at the Hokie Open, with seven others finishing in the top six. Senior Connor Hartmann started of his final season at Duke with his second straight Hokie Open title in the 197-pound division. Junior Connor Bass wrestled in the 157-pound bracket and defeated Chad Pyke of NC State 19-1 in a tech fall victory to grab top honors. After making the top six last year in the Hokie Open, redshirt junior Jake Faust brought home first place in the 165-pound class as he rounded out the gold medalists for the Duke squad this weekend.
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The Justise Winslow face: Just two weeks into the regular season, Miami Heat fans are already beginning to wonder one thing—why does Justise Winslow always look so serious? The former Blue Devil was targeted on social media this past week for his always-stern demeanor.
After watching Winslow extensively a year ago, Duke fans are well aware of the Houston native's never-changing face. We can only continue to hope that Winslow will be caught smiling on the court sometime this season.
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