Birthday Bash

Player of the Week

Jahill Okafor, Duke

If you thought Jahill Okafor was a handful before, you haven’t seen him hopped-up on vanilla icing and sprinkles. The now 19-year-old star celebrated his birthday in style, smashing the Elon Phoenix to the effect of 25 points and 20 rebounds. This was only the second time in ACC history a freshman put together a 20-20 game (Joe Smith in 1993). Okafor has long been revered for the rare combination of size and skill he possesses at such a young age. He’s listed at 6’11", 270 lbs with wide shoulders; long arms (around 7’6" wingspan); and huge, magnet hands that catch anything thrown in his vicinity. He has a remarkably soft touch around the rim, with a nice Al Jefferson-hook-push-hybrid shot that takes full advantage of it. Like any great post scorer, his footwork is tight and allows him to quickly counter a defensive commitment (which he’ll bait with pump fakes). As Elon learned first-hand, there simply isn’t much a single defender can do against Okafor at this level. Teams can double-team him, but unlike many young scorers, he is remarkably patient and a willing passer. All things considered, the ACC is going to have a tough time trying to contain him over the next few months. Setting career-highs in points, rebounds, and blocks (3) is certainly not a bad way to spend your birthday; it’s more than enough in this case to be crowned the ACC Player of the Week.

Hot

Zach Auguste, Notre Dame

There’s been a lot of attention directed toward senior Jerian Grant this season, and while you probably wouldn’t argue that it isn’t deserved, it has been overshadowing another top performer for the Fighting Irish in Zach Auguste. Auguste has averaged 22.5 points (on 66.7% shooting) and 7.5 rebounds in just 24.0 minutes over his last two games. The 6’10" center is a great fit offensively with the rest of the starting unit. Surrounded by excellent shooters, he gets plenty of space to operate around the rim. Though he doesn’t necessarily have the kind of skill-set that warrants a double-team, he utilizes his athleticism well, and the rest of the team feeds off his ability to score around the rim. The Fighting Irish may not have the size of other teams in the ACC, but Auguste is starting to establish himself as one of the top bigs in the league and a potential draft prospect.

Montay Brandon, Florida State

Florida State is unlikely to be a very competitive team this season, but guard Montay Brandon is starting to look like an impact player. Known as a good athlete and a competitive defender, Brandon is averaging 20.3 points over his last three games on 61.5% shooting. He was particularly effective against North Florida, putting up career-highs in both points (24) and assists (8). It’s no coincidence that Brandon is starting to break out now. The Seminoles’ top scorer, Aaron Thomas, was recently declared ineligible for the remainder of the 2014-2015 season. The team needed somebody to fill that void, and it looks like Brandon is willing to step up for Leonard Hamilton. Now if only they had some shooting…

Cold

Tadric Jackson, Georgia Tech

I never feel good about picking on freshmen (especially one playing less than 14 minutes per game), but Jackson has been ice-cold nearly all season. He did play pretty well in a game against Marquette earlier in the season, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes, but outside of that one game he’s shot 1/24 from deep. That hasn’t seemed to discourage him, however. He attempts a triple once every four minutes he’s in the game, the highest shooting rate in the ACC. Yep, not a great start to the kid’s collegiate career. Now, this cold streak isn’t a reason to write him off as a player. He’s still an excellent athlete with good scoring instincts and defensive potential. Perhaps Jackson should stop trying to shoot himself out of this slump, and focus on helping the team in other ways for a while.

Top Shooters

1. The Fighting Irish, Notre Dame – I’m totally cheating here, but something has to be said about how good the Fighting Irish have been shooting as a team. They lead the nation in field goal percentage, shooting at a 56% clip. This is particularly impressive when you consider that they operate largely from the perimeter (they’ve attempted more threes than any other ACC team this season). The aforementioned Auguste is a big part of the team’s overall efficiency, as is Jerian Grant, but multi-sport athlete, Pat Connaughton, is probably the best pure perimeter shooter on the squad, shooting 44% on 5.4 attempts per game. Also contributing are VJ Beachem (56% 3PT% on 3.9 attempts), Demetrius Jackson (40%, 3.2), and Steve Vasturia (45%, 3.5).

2. Quinn Cook, Duke – Cook has had to adjust his game a bit for the sake of Duke’s strong recruiting class; playing off the ball more than he has in his previous two seasons. Doing so has helped him become one of the most efficient shooters in the country. Thanks in part to the attention Okafor demands and the playmaking ability of Tyus Jones, Cook is shooting 50% from the field, 41% from outside (on 6.4 attempts per game, no less) and 93% from the stripe.

3. Ralston Turner, NC State – Turner exploded against Tennessee on Wednesday, scoring 33 points (the highest point total scored by an ACC player this season) on 9/18 shooting. All but one of the Junior guard’s 18 attempts were from behind the arc. On the season, Turner leads the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.7) and is shooting 42% from outside. He’s also making 91% of his free-throw attempts.

4. Manu Lecomte, Miami – Despite being one of two sub-6′ guards in Miami’s starting unit, Lecomte has proven to be an extremely effective shooter. Playing alongside Angel Rodriguez (a great shooter in his own right), the sophomore has managed to shoot over 55% from the field, and over 51% behind the arc.

5. Justin Anderson, Virigina – I spoke of Anderson and his absurd shooting numbers last week, and nothing’s changed since. His 59% three-point shooting may not be the best indicator of his true shooting ability (nine games played isn’t the best sample size to judge), but he’s certainly a much improved shooter and one of the best overall players in the conference.

Notes

North Carolina was defeated by Kentucky last week, 84-70, but remains a ranked team (#24 currently)… Michael Young, Tyler Roberson, Montrezl Harrell all had 17 rebound games last week… NC State lost a close game against Wofford due to the would-be game-winning shot by Trevor Lacey being waived off… Amile Jefferson has shot at least 50% from the field in every game he’s played in this season… Marcus Paige, conversly, has not shot over 50% in a game this season… Notre Dame’s depth just took a temporary hit, with VJ Beachem expected to miss a month with a foot injury…