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Luke Kennard has emerged as an unlikely savior for injury-plagued Duke
As he walked back on defense late in Tuesday night’s 84-74 victory over Florida, Duke guard Luke Kennard could not resist mouthing off a little.
He flashed a cocky grin, shook his head back and forth and shouted, “Cmon man!”
Kennard has earned the right to talk trash given his contributions to a Duke team riddled with injuries. The 6-foot-6 sophomore has teamed with senior forward Amile Jefferson to carry the Blue Devils at a time when preseason All-American Grayson Allen has been hampered by an ailing toe and elite freshmen Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden are recovering from offseason injuries.
In 10 games this season, Kennard has averaged a team-high 20.4 points per game on ultra-efficient 52.2 percent shooting. Kennard has has scored in all sorts of ways too, from the spot-up 3-pointers that were his trademark as a freshman, to smooth mid-range pull-ups, to deft floaters in the lane.
What’s even more impressive about Kennard is his versatility. While he will never be mistaken for a lock-down defender, he rebounds well for a guard, he has tremendous feel for the game and he is a skilled passer with keen court vision.
All those skills were on display Tuesday night when Kennard torched Florida’s typically stingy defense for a game-high 29 points on only 16 shots. Every time the Gators surged to within seven or eight points during the second half, Kennard answered by running off screens for an uncontested 3-pointer or by attacking off the dribble for an acrobatic layup.
Kennard’s early-season brilliance has propelled preseason No. 1 Duke to a 9-1 start despite its litany of injuries. Not only have the Blue Devils recorded quality wins over Michigan State, Rhode Island and now Florida, their lone loss came by just two points against a Kansas team expected to challenge for the national title this season.
While Kennard has received plenty of help from fellow double-digit scorers Jefferson, Allen and freshman guard Frank Jackson, there’s no doubt he has been Duke’s MVP thus far. In fact, he is already beginning to surface near the top of lists of early-season national player of the year candidates, an honor he has definitely earned.
Such talk has to be pretty stunning for a guy who was not among the most heralded players entering the season on a star-studded Duke team.
Kennard was the lowest-ranked recruit of Duke’s four-man 2015 recruiting class, still a celebrated prospect but not one who generated much buzz. He produced seven scoring nights of more than 20 points during an erratic freshman season, however, his 32 percent 3-point shooting was too low for someone who took more than half his field goal attempts from behind the arc.
With starters Allen and Matt Jones returning and Tatum and Jackson expected to contribute immediately as freshmen, Kennard appeared to be in jeopardy of seeing his playing time either plateau or diminish this season. Only Duke’s injuries landed Kennard in the starting five to start the season.
A mere four weeks later, it’s difficult to imagine Kennard ceding much playing time even when the Blue Devils are fully healthy. Either Jackson or Jones are more likely to cede minutes to the freshmen because Kennard’s outside shooting, passing and creativity off the dribble are too difficult to replace.
Duke began the season as a clear favorite to win the national title thanks to its star-studded freshman class and a group of returners highlighted by Allen and Jefferson.
With Kennard taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity and elevating his game, it only makes the Blue Devils deeper and stronger.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
