The Duke Blue Devils are 5-0 after a hard-fought win against Tennessee in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. Mike Krzyzewski now has a historic 905 wins and counting.
But for Krzyzewski’s star freshman, Austin Rivers, things are still a work in progress. Rivers led all Duke scorers with 18 points Monday in Maui. But it was an inefficient 18. He shot 6-for-15 from the field, made critical turnovers and passed on wide-open jump shots for contested shots at the basket.
Four games into his career, he sometimes looks like the star he was billed to be. Other times like a former high school stud who suddenly finds himself in over his head at the next level.
Rivers’ inconsistency was on display for a huge contingent of NBA GMs and scouts to see. He started the game by missing five of his first six shots. He drove wildly into the teeth of the defense. He looked to shoot every time he touched the ball.
And just as quickly, as scouts started to shake their heads and jot down derogatory notes in their iPads, Rivers exploded. First it was a pair of 3-pointers toward the end of the first half. Later, in the second half, he hit a couple of beautiful floaters in the lane.
— Reported by Chad Ford of ESPN.com
InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: It’s too early to really judge Rivers or any other freshman one way or another. It’s certainly fine to start to form an opinion, but we will learn a lot more in the coming weeks and months.
