Jayda Adams
- Year: Sophomore
- Height: 6-foot
- Position: Guard
- Last year's stat line: 1.8 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 13.1 MPG
Game Breakdown: Adams’ energy and defensive quickness consistently add a spark to the Blue Devils, facilitating fast break plays. She is an agile guard who is capable of making good decisions in transition and has an emerging mid-range game. Last season, Adams’ entrances into games immediately yielded defensive pay-outs for the Blue Devils, as her fresh-legs and enthusiasm contributed to defensive intensity from Duke. Also, Adams is not afraid to pull the trigger from beyond the arc, forcing defenders to move to the perimeter to cover her. This consistently leaves players open in the paint that Adams can feed the ball to with a second pass. Though her three-pointer was not falling towards the beginning of the season, and she finished with only a 26.8 percent completion rate, her perimeter power emerged towards the end of the season. She drained five three-pointers over her final eight contests, including one each against 18th-ranked Georgia and top-ranked Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.
Role on the team: Though the Blue Devils return a healthy Haley Gorecki and the guard duo of Kyra Lambert and Mikayla Boykin are sure to join her sometime during the season, Adams will most likely still have a strong opportunity to earn minutes as a fourth-option guard. Senior Faith Suggs will compete with Adams for minutes this season, but Adams’ intensity on defense and fearless style of play might turn her into the X-Factor for Duke. Adams has also emerged as a leader on the floor, and her minutes this season will be vital to help lead a relatively inexperienced Blue Devil team.
Projected stats: 3.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.8 SPG
Stay tuned to the Blue Zone for our continuing player previews with freshman Uchenna Nwoke tomorrow. Previous players previewed include Sofia Roma.
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