Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones Dazzle at Jordan Brand Classic
By Marc Pruitt
Losing Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood to the NBA may not have much of an impact on just how good the Duke Blue Devils may be next season.
With the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, and Justise Winslow bringing their skills to Cameron Indoor Stadium next season, the Crazies should have plenty to be excited about.
The highly-touted class had their skills on full display Friday in the Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with Okafor demonstrating a dominant performance by scoring 29 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the floor and pulling down nine rebounds to take home MVP honors for the East team in a 158-147 win.
Okafor, Jones, and Winslow are all top-10 recruits, while Allen has established himself as one of the top shooters–and dunkers, as evidenced by his performance in the McDonald’s All-American game– in this year’s class.
Okafor, a 6-10, 270-pound post player and the No. 1 overall recruit, will give the Blue Devils their first back-to-the-basket post presence and scoring threat since Shelden Williams.
It was the second MVP honor of the spring for Okafor, who also was named the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game.
Jones, who is the top-rated point guard in this year’s class of incoming freshmen, recorded the game’s only double-double and flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 10 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds for the East team.
Winslow scored 13 points and had three steals for the West team.
The addition of these four recruits to returning players Rasheed Sulaimon, Amile Jefferson, Quinn Cook, and Marshall Plumlee should give Coach Mike Krzyzewski plenty of weapons during the difficult ACC season, especially with Rick Pitino and Louisville entering conference play in 2014-15.
And the Blue Devils may not be done bringing in marquee names. The No. 2 overall prospect in this year’s freshman class, 7-0 centerMyles Turner, plans to announce his college decision on April 30. Duke is among the eight teams still in the mix.
Also, coveted transfer Sean Obi, a 6-9 forward who spent his freshman season at Rice, is considering Duke as a future landing spot.
Obi averaged 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds last season for the Owls.