Luke Kennard
The statline:
Saturday vs. Virginia Tech: 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal in 38 minutes
The good: For the fourth week in a row, Kennard showed he can lead the Blue Devils on a consistent basis. With Grayson Allen suspended indefinitely after his latest tripping incident and freshmen big men Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden still adapting to play at the college level, Kennard has thrived as the team's go-to scoring option.
Saturday against Virginia Tech, the Franklin, Ohio, native represented one of the few bright spots for Duke in the 89-75 loss. Kennard led the Blue Devils with 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, on a day when Duke’s offensive struggles continued.
The Blue Devils shot a measly 41.8 percent from the field Saturday, well below their average of 47.7 percent for the season. In its last three games, Duke has converted less than 40 percent of its shot attempts and shot just 30.0 percent from 3-point range. As conference play continues, the Blue Devils will need others to step up and support Kennard in order to get back on track against tougher competition.
The bad: With Allen suspended, Kennard was the main ball-handler for the majority of the game, but the sophomore failed to move the ball and had only one assist in the game. Duke had just eight assists in the loss on a day when ball movement on offense was nonexistent. Kennard will need to facilitate the offense better moving forward.
The bottom line: Although Kennard has emerged as a national player of the year candidate, the rest of Duke’s offense has disappeared. Kennard has scored more than 37 percent of the Blue Devils’ points during the last three games, an unsustainable rate against the elite guards of the ACC. The Blue Devils will need more offensive production across the board to get back to playing like a top-five team.
Honorable mention: Tatum has continued to impress during his first few games. Saturday against the Hokies, the St. Louis native finished with 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting, and he also grabbed seven boards. Through six games, Tatum is averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, and he will be relied on more and more to produce and grow as Duke begins to face tougher competition.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.