Duke's Jahlil Okafor Shows off Passing and Post Moves in Win over UConn

Jahlil Okafor didn’t destroy UConn Thursday night. He picked them apart.

Duke’s lottery-bound freshman had a night that would bring a single joyous tear to Phil Jackson’s eye, dropping 12 points and snagging eight rebounds in a 66-56 win over the Huskies at the IZOD Center.

It was Okafor’s second-lowest scoring night of the season, but a review of the stat sheet doesn’t explain the carnage the freshman inflicted on Connecticut’s overmatched defense. 

Let’s start with the highlight-reel smut that was his baseline turn-and-burn on UConn’s Phillip Nolan. SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell uploaded a Vine of the move. Okafor grabbed an entry pass, saw the one-on-one matchup and took profane advantage of Nolan.

A less sexy but equally devastating part of Okafor’s arsenal continues to be his court vision. The 6’11” freshman routinely dropped balls into mismatches in the post against UConn, but his crowning moment came on a dish to Quinn Cook on the wing in the second half.

Okafor drove the lane and side-armed a Madison Bumgarner fastball into Cook’s waiting hands. 

Crabdribbles.com founder Scott Rafferty posted a Vine of the play.

Kyrie Irving, sitting courtside, gave the sequence a standing ovation.

This is how Okafor beats you—post play and awareness. He’s not a planet-devouring clean-up monster, a la Montrezl Harrell, but he hurts you by inciting double-teams and finding the open man. 

Thus, we have the Okafor Catch-22. Double-teams leave open shooters, one-on-one situations end with scorched earth in the paint. Pick your poison, college basketball. Okafor will be gone in a few months, but until then, he is your problem.

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