Duke vs VCU: Player Ratings and Recap

Here are player ratings for the Duke vs VCU semifinal game of the 2k Sports Classic. You can find player ratings for the first semifinal between Georgetown and Wisconsin below this one. Tomorrow Duke will play Georgetown in the 2k Sports Classic final, and I will have player ratings posted for that game Sunday night. 

This year I am recapping games in a similar fashion that soccer matches are recapped. Following a game, each player receives a rating 1-10 based upon their performance. Over the course of time you can see how they are playing in stretches, and how the team overall is performing based upon the form of their players. I think this is an effective way to evaluate basketball games. Especially when, at the end of the season, it is not always the most talented team that wins, or the team that had the most victories during the season, but the team that is experiencing the greatest of run of form. 

5 Duke 79 vs Virginia Commonwealth 71

Duke

C Marshall Plumlee: 5

Plumlee played much fewer minutes than he did earlier in the week against Kentucky. Duke employed a smaller lineup for most of the game. So, Plumlee ended up with only 21 minutes. He scored only four points this game, on two field goals, and scored no points from the time there was 12 minutes remaining in the first half onward. Plumlee also finished the game with three rebounds, two steals, and a block. Plumlee has seen a lot of time thus far this season; he has averaged over 26 minutes a game. However, there will be games when Duke's style of play does not work with the 7-footer. This was one of those games.

F Amile Jefferson: 6

This was Jefferson's worst scoring game of the season thus far. He scored only six points, but only took three shots, making two of them. He shot 2-7 from the FT line as well. Instead, Jefferson looked like last year's version of himself, doing everything he can to help his team win, and playing good defense. He grabbed seven rebounds, with four coming on the offensive end. He also blocked three shots.

F Brandon Ingram: 2

Brandon Ingram has looked extremely raw in the two games I have seen him in. He has not shot the ball well, and in this game he went 2-7 from the field, missing all three of his 3pt attempts. He has missed from far, and has also struggled finishing when he drives to the basket. He also had two turnovers in this game, which is technically an improvement upon the four he had against Kentucky. However, the turnovers he had this game were unnecessary. He drove into traffic, and lost the ball for one, and the other came when he had a lazy pass picked off. The most frustrating thing from Ingram in this game though was his failure to make free throws down the stretch. He took six free throws in the final minute of the game, and missed the first four of the game—when the game was still up in the air. Finally, he missed the final two, but at that time the outcome of the game was decided. Ridiculous.

G Matt Jones: 5.5

Matt Jones had his worst shooting game of the season. He shot 4-11 from the field, and 2-6 from beyond the arc. He still managed to score 10 points; he has scored in double digits each of the first four games this season. Jones had more rebounds this game, six, than he had in the previous three games. That could be because he had to play a more forward role as Duke played a smaller lineup. Jones turned the ball over four times this game, and a couple were silly mistakes. He had a lazy pass picked off on the perimeter, and he traveled before driving to the basket. Jones had three assists this game as well.

G Derryck Thornton: 7.5

Thronton started his first game for Duke against VCU. He made the most of the opportunity, scoring 19 points, a career high. He did so shooting an excellent 7-11 from the field, and making two of his three attempts from outside. Thornton is best when he is driving to the basket. He looked very quick and agile against VCU, maneuvering around multiple defenders, and finishing at the basket. Thornton is also a good defense. He was a big reason JeQuan Lewis had four turnovers, and only scored six points. Thornton had two steals of his own. He needs to limit his number of mistakes. He turned the ball over three times, and also got into foul trouble early in the game. But, this was a very positive performance from Thornton. Duke looked like a better team with a natural point guard in the lineup.

G Grayson Allen: 9.5

Grayson Allen came off the bench in this game. Perhaps it was punishment for being absolutely dreadful against Kentucky, or maybe Coach K thought it would light a fire under him. Allen did not stay on the bench long though. Allen came in on the first whistle, and played 37 minutes. Allen scored a season high 30 points. He did so shooting 9-15, and making 50% of his 3pt attempts (4-8). He also shot 8-9 from the free throw line. Allen was constantly in attack mode this game. He took the ball to the basket at every opportunity. It was nice to see Allen show a varied attack this game. He was able to score, while driving to the basket, taking pull-up jump shots from mid-range, shooting off the dribble, catching and shooting, and hitting threes. He did it all, getting to showcase all the different aspects of his game he did not get to against Kentucky. Allen even grabbed six rebounds, showing some nice springs on his feet as he got a couple rebounds in traffic. Allen also finished the game with three assists, but also turned the ball over three times.

G Luke Kennard: 3

It may be nerves at this point, because Luke Kennard continues to shoot the ball terribly. For the season, he has shot 34.6% from the field, and 14.3% from 3pt range. Coming into his freshman year, Kennard was considered one of the best pure shooters in the class, and a great all-around scorer. This game Kennard went 0-4 from the field, and missed three from deep. His only two points came from the line. Despite his offensive struggles, Kennard continues to play plenty of minutes. He came off the bench to play 20 minutes last night.

Team Rating: 5.25

Duke struggled against VCU for much of the game. They were losing at half, and needed till the final minutes of the game to close the Rams out. Duke received a bounce back performance from Grayson Allen, who looked like the team's new star. Derryck Thornton was also impressive this game, and looks to be a solid starter for the Blue Devils going forward. However, the rest of the team took a step back. Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones only slightly so. The two veterans are usually rocks for the team, however, they need to be able to step up and be more consistent scorers when some of the freshmen struggle like they did in this game. Duke is not getting the production from Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, and Chase Jeter (who did not even play in this game) that they thought they would, and that's holding them back right now. Ingram especially needs to get right for Duke to be a top-ten team. He will be important against Georgetown Sunday, because Georgetown has several skilled forwards who are too big for Duke to play a four guard lineup against, like they did against VCU.

VCU

F Mo Alie-Cox: 6

Alie-Cox was an offensive force early in the game, but he cooled off later. He scored 15 points total, shooting 6-9 from the field. He only grabbed two rebounds though, and both came on the offensive end. He also turned the ball over three times.

F Justin Tillman: 6

Tillman may not have been a threat on offense. He scored three points on 1-5 shooting. But, he can really rebound the ball. He finished the game with eight rebounds, despite playing only 16 minutes. That's one rebound every two minutes. Three of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

G Melvin Johnson: 7.5

Johnson is VCU's best scorer. He scored 20 this game, shooting 7-13, and 4-6 from beyond the arc. Johnson is mostly a catch and shoot player; he does not excel at creating his own shot. He is not a great defender, and doesn't rebound. Although he also does not turn the ball over.

G Jordan Burgess: 5.5

Burgess is VCU's combo guard/forward. He is good at pulling down rebounds despite being only 6-5. He had seven rebounds this game. He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting, and missed all of his three attempts. He also turned the ball over three times.

G JeQuan Lewis: 5.5

Lewis is VCU's point guard. He is at his best when driving to the basket, and does a good job finding teammates in a position to score while he is doing so. Derryck Thornton did a good job of limiting his scoring this game though, and forced four turnovers from him. Lewis only had six points this game, but had six assists, and two steals.

F Ahmad Hamdy-Mohamed: 7

Hamdy-Mohamed proved to be VCU's most effective player after Johnson. He scored 10 points, shooting 5-8, while also grabbing three rebounds inside. Due to his effectiveness, and size—he's listed at 6'9, it is a wonder why VCU only played him 12 mintes.

G Korey Billbury: 6

Billbury played more minutes than any other VCU reserve player, 23. He proved to be one of VCU's most effective player. He kept an upbeat tempo, and was constantly pressuring whether on offense or defense. He scored eight points, shooting 4-10, and also had three rebounds, three assists, and most memorably, two steals. However, due to his aggressive style, Billbury also turned the ball over twice and fouled four times. Billbury is a good reserve player, who should be an asset for VCU this season.

G Torey Burston: N/A

Did not play enough minutes to qualify.

G Doug Brooks: 3

Brooks had the unfortunate job of coming off the bench, and defending Grayson Allen. He did not do so effectively. He also was unable to score on the offensive end in 14 minutes, though he did have two assists.

G Jonathan Williams: 2

Williams came off the bench to guard Derryck Thornton, which he struggled doing.

F Michael Gilmore: N/A

Did not play enough minutes to qualify

Team Rating: 5.85

What do I mean VCU has a higher team rating than Duke even though they won? Well, Duke looked pretty bad in victory, while VCU, unranked, looked pretty good this game. VCU has some nice potential offensively, with Alie-Cox inside, Melvin Johnson outside, with JeQuan Lewis penetrating with the ball. They also have a couple of nice bench pieces in Billbury and Hamdy-Mohamed who have good motors and can contribute on both ends of the floor. VCU actually did a really nice job of preventing Dukes' frontcourt from dominating them. Plumlee, Jefferson, and Ingram should have been able to destroy VCU with their size, but they didn't. On the other hand though, VCU absolutely could not keep up with Grayson Allen and Derryck Thornton, allowing them to shoot a combined 16-26. VCU will get to face a struggling Wisconsin team Sunday. Unfortunately, I think Wisconsin is a bad matchup for them.