So Who’s Duke’s Dynamic Duo?

It’s an age-old question in sports, really. Who do you need to stop in order to win? Who controls the team? Golden State has the Splash Brothers (Kevin Durant fits in that duo questionably… and Draymond tries to force his way in). The Heat had Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh. The Thunder had Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant (shots fired).  And Cleveland has Lebron James and Kyrie Irving (don’t even try to tell me Kevin Love belongs in this list… that’s just disgraceful). Side noting from the main point- what’s up with Kevins though? Kevin Durant and Kevin Love both stirred up controversy in a short list, not to mention in the NBA every day. Must be in the name-. So who’s Duke’s perfect pair?

Gruke

 The obvious one that comes to mind is Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen.  The classic pairing of assists and passing ability with shooting and spirit. She writes, he rocks. Both are lethal when they’re on. Both are incredible three point shoots. Both show leadership ability. Combining their stats, they probably outperform any other pairing in most categories. So what could be wrong?

Grayson and Luke never have good games together. If Grayson’s shooting is on, than Luke’s shooting is off. If Luke is making baskets right off the bat, than Grayson doesn’t get any  worthwhile looks. The universe will not let us see what happens when both players are in beast mode at the same time. Like dividing by zero, the world would probably end if it was ever achieved. So sorry, Luke and Grayson will never be the dynamic duo of Duke. But hey, they’ll always have Plane Rides and Phone Pool.

Gramile

Grayson Allen and Amile Jefferson are both strong players, veterans, and National Champions. They even started off the season as captains together. Amile rebounds like no one’s business, and Grayson can always spot him down low for an easy 2. If either of them weren’t around this season, than the team would not be as prosperous and hungry as it is now. Not to mention, off the court Amile has shown to have a real soft spot for the mischievous-yet-lovable Grayson.

However, Grayson and Amile have not shown the dominance required in order to be Duke’s Dynamic Duo. With Amile’s injury last year, he went off the radar. The public, press, and even fans seem to forget about him every other game. His impact is always downplayed, which ruins his shot at being named MVP. Grayson has also taken a hiatus; a forced one, that is. With all of his controversy, overexposer, and hate no one will ever have the audacity to give Grayson his deserved recognition. He will always be downplayed. So together, with underexposer and overexposer, Amile and Grayson will never be accepted by the public. No one would grant them that right. But don’t worry, Amile and Grayson, we see you!

Lason

Luke Kennard and Jason Tatum have both made it clear that they are playing to win. No mercy. No holding back. On the perimeter, no one rolls their eyes or hold their breath if Luke or Jason take a shot, regardless of how open they are. Their teammates don’t even crash the boards when they shoot! Tatum has an undeniable dominance with his playing. He doesn’t have the “Freshman Fear” seen in Frank Jackson, Harry Giles, or Marques Bolden. He can dribble, drive, pass, and shoot with ease. In fact, and I hope I can say this without jinxing it, I think he’s playing like the glorious freshman from two years ago. They were leaders and commanded the team like seasoned pros. He’s more dominant than Brandon Ingram was last year. And Luke, well Luke’s really taken off. Instead of having a few remarkable games like last year, Luke is having MOSTLY remarkable games with a few rocky ones. He’s come out of his shell and now has some confidence. Luke isn’t scared to shoot anymore, and is now the best left-handed threat in the NCAA.

Let’s not forget their age, though. Jason Tatum is a freshman. Sure, he’s having a better adjustment than most newcomers in college ball, however, that does not make up for inexperience. A couple of games ago he went like 0-12 behind the three point line. He was too naive and new to the game to know what to do when his magic touch wasn’t working. Jason has trouble adjusting and shaking things off. Luke is a sophomore. Despite what every sophomore will tell you, the youngsters do not know everything. Luke still has to learn a lot about the game and himself. He also needs even more confidence than he has now. Sure, Luke has grown a ton since last season, but he still has much more to discover. They may be amazing players, but Luke and Jason do not have what it takes to take a team on their back.

Mrayson

Aahhh, the timeless duo of Grayson Allen and Matt Jones. If those two together don’t put a smile on your face, than clearly you’re no OG Duke fan. The two have an undeniably adorable friendship that warms all the Cameron Crazies hearts. Any video on Duke Basketball’s YouTube channel starring them gets hella views. Grayson is a superstar. His dunks are insane, his shooting range is phenomenal, his athleticism is unobtainable, and his heart is admirable. How could Grayson not be considered a leader? And Matt, he’s a special player. Matt probably should have struggled more than he did in his years at Duke. He doesn’t really shoot outside of the three point line (I’m not even kidding), he’s not dynamic, he lacks the speed and vertical all the youngsters have, he’s fragile, and there’s always younger talent coming in and taking his position. Remember, he was originally a SHOOTING GUARD. When’s the last time you actually saw Matt play shooting guard? Like never. In fact, I’d argue Matt’s the only player in college basketball that goes out their for extended periods of time and plays absolutely no position. He’s a guard, that’s as specific as you can go. Coach K’s literally like: okay we’ll put out a point guard, a shooting guard, a small forward, a power forward, and a Matt. But Matt’s survived his four years at Duke as a starter, a player, and a favorite. His defense is timeless. Matt’s the only person that can earn a steal, no one else has the defensive talent to knock the ball away without fouling or the ball basically being passed straight to them. He can also make big threes. His footwork and form is efficient, he only misses when he doesn’t have enough time to properly align or when he rushes. Matt started when Duke won the 2015 National Championship. He’s a special, special kid that impacts the team. I’d say Matt and Grayson shape the team more than anyone. And what the heck, throw Amile in there too. No one can deny they’ll ball their eyes out when Amile isn’t there to peace out to Bull City.

Mraymile

So there you have it. The captains (well i guess G isn’t a captain anymore but we don’t need to strike that nerve right now) take it.

There is no amount of drugs, alcohol, or overall stupidity that can explain why UNC would make up the word “Tarheel” to permanently label themselves and their team, never forget that.

Is Luke Kennard the New Grayson?

With all the young ages athletes that are leaving for the NBA draft in college basketball, it almost seems like teams are having to replace their star players each year. Underclassmen are constantly being required to take the lead and to live up to the legacies of their predecessors. However, Duke has been put in an interesting situation this year. After being carried last year by Grayson Allen, it seemed almost certain that G would be the undeniable star for the team this season. He was even projected to be the ACC player of the year. However, Duke’s season has not been going as projected, and sophomore Luke Kennard has been the one having a remarkable year. Every news site is reporting that Luke is Duke’s MVP. So what happened? Did Luke replace Grayson before Grayson even left?

The answer is no. Luke is not the new Grayson. I could give you some sappy lecture about how comparing two players is like comparing apples and oranges, or about how everyone is their own special self, but that’s not what this is about. Luke is not better than Grayson. Luke doesn’t carry Duke. And Grayson is not failing. So what’s happening?

This season, Luke Kennard has had 411 field goal attempts. Grayson has only had 299 attempts. Grayson also has the highest average assists per game on the team at 3.6 assists. Last season, with key players like Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Justise Winslow gone (and Amile Jefferson deemed out due to foot injury), Grayson was faced with the pressure of making up for all of the talent gone. The rest of his team was young and inexperienced. To be honest, Grayson was inexperienced too. He hadn’t played much in past the regular season, only truly stepping up in the Final Four and National Championship.  Nevertheless, he was given all the looks, drove to the hoop every time he got the ball, and led the team in most statistics. This year, Grayson feels less pressure to perform. Luke has stepped up and shown his unique ability to score. Grayson sees this and now favors passing over shooting the ball himself. Luke is getting far more shot attempts, so of course he has more points per game. And quite frankly, Luke can only play well when Grayson isn’t. Any time Grayson starts going off, Luke starts missing. It’s an unfortunate pattern, but if you watch the games as closely as I do than you’ve noticed it. Luke still doesn’t have it together enough to be the superstar.

Grayson has also been battling injuries all season long. He’s had a broken toe, dislocated finger, an ankle injury, and countless smaller issues. This affects everything in his game and has been holding him back drastically. Being healthy changes everything. If Grayson heals up for the NCAA tournament, than we can expect him to be a bigger part of the game. And then there’s the tripping incident. Oh yes, the three little controversial events that the media have blown out of proportion in order to ruin this poor kid’s career. They’ve labeled him as a dirty player, a punk, and an overall jerk that should be hated. How classy. However, I seem to remember Grayson spending the first half of his sophomore year having countless dirty plays happen to him.

He got elbows to the face, punches thrown at him, and he was able to average a 90% free throw percentage for the longest time due to all of his “trips” to the line for fouls and technicals. But he’s the villain. He’s the bad one. Not only did he miss a game due to his latest trip, but Grayson also lost confidence in himself. His outburst on the bench after the trip made it clear that the media’s hate has gotten to him. Grayson is shaken up, and all of the negative comments that have been made about him are weighing on him. Most college players don’t have to deal with an entire nation hoping that they fail. He’s too young to handle it. He doesn’t have the privilege of unlacing his shoes at the end of a game or practice, going home, and leaving his career in the gym. It follows him everywhere. Rude tweets, photos, and articles are posted on the daily. He can barely breathe without offending someone. So Grayson didn’t peak last year. He hasn’t lost his touch. He was never overrated, especially now. And no, Luke Kennard did not replace Grayson. No one can compare to G.

Justin Jackson looks like the love child or Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Obama, never forget that.

So Duke Lost to UNC. But Were We Really the Big Losers Last Night?

It’s true, last night the Tarheels beat Duke. Point one for Satan. However, was Duke really the big loser? Every time UNC plays Duke they expose themselves to the world. They’re no winners. When it comes down to it, UNC chokes every time they meet the Blue Devils. Remember how they lost to Duke earlier this year in Cameron Indoor? Yeah, they lost to the team that lost to NC State, and UNC destroyed NC State. UNC also lost to Virginia, a team that Duke beat pretty easily. It’s basically been proven that UNC can only barely scrape by when playing Duke. Their defense sucks, and Duke is almost always given the chance to counter back with a 2 or 3. That’s another thing, UNC can drive like nobody’s business, but when playing a team with range, they need to learn how to get more looks outside the perimeter. UNC is a pretty solid team, but every time they play Duke they prove to the world that they will never be good enough. UNC is not going to win the national championship. They’re too flawed. So I really feel like the took the L tonight. UNC U N Sucks.

The second loser that comes to mind is Notre Dame. This game really sucked for them. Along with having all of their players and fans bear an unfortunate resemblance to leprechauns, Notre Dame also has the unfortunance of being tied for 2nd in the ACC now. Second is the first to lose. They must really be beating themselves up right now. Remember when they went through that four game losing streak? Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia, UNC? I’m surprised anyone stuck around to watch them after that… And they didn’t just lose to Duke, they lost to Jeff Capel. Enough said. So maybe the Fighting Irish were the real losers of the game. And now all their poor fans have to go to work on Monday and stand there in front of everyone like they aren’t big losers.

Roy Williams has a dab video that actually makes you wonder if living in a world like this is actually worth it anymore, never forget that.