Quinn Cook The Key For Duke?
The highly-regarded point guard prospect, Quinn Cook, played sparingly as a backup last season (11 minutes per game), stuck in a crowded guard-rotation, including NBA-bound Austin Rivers. But even with Rivers, Duke's offense looked stagnant too often last season when Rivers would attempt to single-handedly break down the defense, resulting in turnovers and too many forced shots. It will be up to Cook to rejuvenate the offense, spark the defense and lead the Blue Devils back to the NCAA Tournament's elite level.
The 6'1" Cook, was the team's most efficient offensive guard with an offensive rating of 118.5, nearly 15 points better than Rivers and most players make their biggest jump in terms of improvements between their freshman and sophomore years, so things are looking up for the Blue Devils. His move into the starting point guard will allow Seth Curry to move to his more natural scoring-based role off-the-ball, while Andre Dawkins will come in and spell Curry as a reserve. Cook's strongest asset is his speed and quickness, something he used to dominate the high school scene, but showed it sparingly as a freshman where he often kept the ball within the confines of the halfcourt offense. A key development with him will be added confidence, which, along with added experience, should enable him read the defense, break things off and create for his perimeter shooters as he sees fit. Cook's quickness is a huge advantage on the defensive end. Duke was right in the middle of the pack in the national rankings in terms of opponents' two-point field-goal percentage and Cook should bring the poise and aggressiveness to pressure opposing guards, keeping them from the lane and getting easy looks or drop-offs for high percentage shots for their respective big men.
By President Corey Ruff - 5 - 7 - 12
