Jahlil Okafor gives the Duke Blue Devils a very different look this year. They run their offense from the inside-out, and as we’ve seen through the first few games, they’re light years more efficient. There’s a dramatic difference between points per possession when Okafor touches it, versus times that he does not. He is the best true post player, a real inside presence that Coach K. has had since Elton Brand.
He’s not a big that will be buried in the corner to shoot baseline jumpers like Jabari Parker sometimes was last season.
Jahlil Okafor is a totally different kind of Duke player. He can play in the low lost like Carlos Boozer. Both Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Bilas have already compared the Whitney Young high school product to both Brand and Boozer. And Brand came out in 1999, so technically the headline is not hyperbole.
Okafor boasts a 7’4″ wingspan and a 85% Field goal (25-30) on the very young season.
Yes, he needs to defend better, but his passing skills are amazing. When he’s doubled, Okafor can get the ball out to one of the other eight fellow McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster. He’s an old school center who can bang bodies in the block.
As Jay Bilas put it: “whenever he gets the ball within 8 feet of the rim, the ball just dives right in.”
Here’s Bilas and Seth Greenberg on conference call with the national media. The podcast is below. They discuss some of the recent Duke big men and how Krzyzewski will run his sets this season. It’s all about Jahlil Okafor:
The jewel of Coach K’s #1 ranked 2014 class, Okafor is the best in-coming freshman in the country. Lacking a physical presence and skilled low post threat, Duke was forced to play small most of last season. They also had major issues defending; and it’s not hard to figure out why a low-major sent them home early from the NCAA Tournament. With Okafor’s addition, all that seems to have changed. Jahlil’s presence allows Marshall Plumlee (yes, there are Plumlees still out there, still playing ball for Duke) to be in a reserve role where he can provide energy and a rebounding; and most importantly, a defensive presence in the middle.
Ja’s presence also allows Amile Jefferson to slide back to his natural forward position after he was forced to play some center last season.
“Ja has the chance to be the best one (Duke bigs),” said Krzyzewski about Jahlil Okafor, comparing him to Boozer and Brand.
“Ja’s the biggest one, and he can pass the best of the three, You can get it to him and he draws attention. He just has to learn what he can do,” Coach K. continued.
Of all the one-and-dones, Jahlil Okafor is the “one-est and done-est” by far.
In fact, the rhyming slogans about tanking for the #1 pick (in the vein of “Suck for Luck”) have already begun.
“Fall on the Floor for Okafor”
“Don’t score for Okafor”
“Tyus (Jones) told me he heard one that said ‘Lose some more for Ja Okafor,’ I don’t have a favorite one, but they’re all pretty funny,” said Okafor about the NBA tanking catch-phrases constructed from his name.
“I’ve been watching him since the eighth grade,” Michigan State Spartans coach Tom Izzo said after losing to Jahlil Okafor and Duke.
“He had three or four baskets in a row early and only had three or four or five after that. I wasn’t disappointed in that; I was just impressed with him.”
(Related: you got to hear Izzo size up the Big Ten race in a manner that only he can. And Izzo gives hilarious answers explaining all the non-basketball related injuries his team has suffered)
“I’ve been playing basketball my entire life, some of it is god-given, some of it is from me just playing since I was a little kid,” said Okafor about how he’s developed the skill set that he already has at such a young age.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2