If the Blue Devils want to keep winning, this guy might have to switch out another guard in the rotation.
After defeating North Carolina State (9-11, 2-7 ACC) 74-64 at home on Tuesday, Duke basketball ended a 14-game losing run and improved to 18-2 overall and 10-0 in ACC play.
The Blue Devils’ recent games have been a little more stressful than the start of conference play, but rookie sensation Cooper Flagg has managed to maintain his stellar play, averaging 25.6 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over the last six games.
Duke dominated the remainder of the ACC after winning its first eight games by an average of 23 points. However, Duke scored 63 and 74 points in their last two games, defeating Wake Forest by 7 and NC State by 10.
The backcourt has been the source of some of the primary scoring problems. The Blue Devil guards have all been in slumps, with the exception of Sion James, Flagg, and fellow freshman Kon Knuepp.
Tyrese Proctor, a junior, has struggled to score in the last five games after putting up his greatest numbers to date in the season’s first fifteen games. Proctor scored 20 points on 7 of 12 shots against Boston College, but he has only scored 13 points overall in Duke’s last four games, including a scoreless performance against Miami, while shooting 4-of-28 (14.3%) from the field.
Proctor is still an experienced vet and a dependable piece, though. He can help win without necessarily scoring, but it’s likely that his scoring will increase again as the season progresses. He contributes defense and passing.
Caleb Foster is another backcourt player who has perhaps been the biggest flop of any Blue Devil this season. And it may be time to replace him with Isaiah Evans on a permanent basis.
As a sophomore, Foster has struggled to contribute anything to Duke’s offense this season, averaging 5.6 points and 1.6 assists on 38.8% field goal and 30% three-point shooting.
He has scored 20 points in Duke’s seven games since January 1st, four of which have been scoreless, and his playing time has been decreasing since the start of the new year.
He’s 7-of-20 (35%) from the field during that time, but he made all of those baskets in two games. In the other five, he failed to make a single shot. Evans is the other Blue Devil reserve guard who hasn’t played much lately, though it’s unclear why.
Evans began to receive regular minutes following Duke’s victory over #1 Auburn, where he scored 18 points on 6-of-6 three-point shooting in the first half, solidifying his status as one of the top shooters in the ACC, if not the country.
Evans has received very steady time since that December 5th game. Evans has played double-digit minutes in eight games since December 5th, averaging 8.7 points on 19 of 41 (36.3%) three-point attempts. He hasn’t scored a point in the four games in which he has played less than ten minutes.
He has played less than 10 minutes in two of Duke’s most recent games, one against Wake Forest and the other against NC State. Evans has only played seven minutes in Duke’s two subsequent games and has not scored a single point after scoring 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 4-of-9 shooting from three in 21 minutes of playing against Boston College.
Evans has performed exceptionally well whenever he has had the chance to shine. He is a dynamic individual with strong perimeter defensive instincts and explosive three-point shooting skills. However, his very existence is sufficient to establish him as a threat and relieve some of the perimeter pressure on Flagg, Proctor, or Knueppel.
He’s 7-of-20 (35%) from the field during that time, but he made all of those baskets in two games. In the other five, he failed to make a single shot. Evans is the other Blue Devil reserve guard who hasn’t played much lately, though it’s unclear why. Evans began to receive regular minutes following Duke’s victory over #1 Auburn, where he scored 18 points on 6-of-6 three-point shooting in the first half, solidifying his status as one of the top shooters in the ACC, if not the country. Evans has received very steady time since that December 5th game.
Evans has played double-digit minutes in eight games since December 5th, averagingIn the other five, he failed to make a single shot. Evans is the other Blue Devil reserve guard who hasn’t played much lately, though it’s unclear why. Evans began to receive regular minutes following Duke’s victory over #1 Auburn, where he scored 18 points on 6-of-6 three-point shooting in the first half, solidifying his status as one of the top shooters in the ACC, if not the country.
Evans has received very steady time since that December 5th game. Evans has played in double figures in eight games since December 5th, scoring 8.7 points on 19 of 41 (46.3%) three-point attempts. In the four games that he hasn’t played as much as foster, on the other hand, has struggled this season and has been nearly unplayable.
These games are getting much closer than they should be, even if the Blue Devils are still stacking victories in a poor ACC. Against a Wolfpack club that is 2-7 in the ACC, the nation’s #2 team has no business falling behind double digits and needing to rally in the second half at home.
For this reason, a change must be made. The future of head coach Jon Scheyer’s rotational changes is uncertain, but it seems crucial to make the change now, especially with North Carolina (13-9, 6-4 ACC) at Cameron Indoor on Saturday (6:30pm ET, ESPN).
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