Reaction to Duke’s scrimmage

Duke Basketball posted a 15 minute video of a team scrimmage, providing a sneak peek as to what the team is looking like in July. Spoiler alert: they’re good.

Six observations:

Paolo Banchero

There are not enough good things that can be said about Banchero. He has all the making of a truly special player. As a scorer, he was getting it done in several ways throught the scrimmage. He showed off a variety of midrange and paint finishes, providing a glimpse into his seemingly bottomless bag of tricks offensively. He even showed off his smooth outside shot with a three pointer.

As if his scoring was not enough, Banchero was dishing out assists all over the place. He truly has a point guard’s skill set wrapped up in a six-foot-ten, 250 pound frame. His ability to pass is going to add to the nightmare fuel opponents have when attempting to gameplan against him.

Mark Williams made three

Mark Williams looked every bit of the force he proved to be over the course of his Freshmen year and then some. Perhaps the most exciting part of what Williams showed in the scrimmage was the three pointer he made. Williams has already proven to have a nice jump shot, converting all three of his midrange attempts last season. If he adds a reliable three point shot to his game it only adds to the type of player he can be.

Trevor Keels initiating offense

This was subtle, but there was a possession at the beginning of the clip where Keels was bringing the ball up the floor and initiating the offense. The possession ended with Keels driving and making a nice lob pass to Mark Williams for the dunk. It was just one possession, but Keels, thought of as more of a scorer, showed some playmaking chops. It will be interesting to see if that is something that continues throughought the offseason and into games next season.

Joey Baker’s shooting

Paolo Banchero may be the best thing that has happened to Joey Baker at Duke. Twice in the scrimmage, Banchero set Baker up with a good look from three and Baker converted both three point attempts. Banchero finding Baker for open threes is not something unique to this scrimmage, it is something that will happen repeatedly all season. If Baker can knock down these shots, it helps to space the floor even more, leaving room for guys like Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin to carve up the defense off the dribble.

Jeremy Roach improvements

An area Jeremy Roach struggled last season was finishing around the rim. The drive Roach made at the 7:00 mark in which he finished the layup over Mark Williams was encouraging to see. If he can finish over Williams, he can finish over anybody. The three he made at the 9:20 mark looked like a very confident attempt. He caught the ball behind the three point line, took a a couple jab steps, and let if fly. Just a 31% three point shooter last season, plays like this are great to see.

At the 13:00 minute mark, the defensive play he made against AJ Griffin was impressive. Despite an extreme disadvantage in size, Roach held his ground and blocked AJ Griffin’s attempt. Overall, there were a lot of things to like about what Roach did in the scrimmage.

Jaylen Blakes

Blakes is by far Duke’s least talked about Freshman. Ranked outside the top 100, he has flown under the radar when it comes to Duke’s 2021 Freshmen class. But none of that matters on the court. Sharing the floor with several former five-star prospects, Blakes certainly looked comfortable.

He had a pair of strong drives where he finished at the rim. On the layup at the 8:35 mark, the way he finished through contact was impressive. It is evident that his size will help make the transition to the college game easier. Weighing in at 208 pounds and with a six-foot-eight wingspan, Blakes is not the size of a traditional Freshman point guard and he will be able to use that to his advantage.

There is certainly more that coud be talked about from this scrimmage. Not mentioned above, Wendell Moore and AJ Griffin also made their share of plays.

This Duke team has a chance to be very good. If the scrimmage is any indication, there is much to be excited about.

Here is the full scrimmage video: