Duke Basketball: What's Justise Winslow's Ceiling in 2014-15?

Jahlil Okafor is the dominant inside presence, while Tyus Jones is the floor leader. But there's a third star freshman for Duke who's just waiting in the wings for his chance to shine.

He got that on Wednesday night, rising to the occasion to score a career-high 20 points at Wake Forest to help keep the Blue Devils unbeaten.

On a night when Okafor had his first subpar outing, while Jones continued his offensive woes, it was the 6'6" wing Winslow who stepped up and pushed Duke past its pesky, undermanned opponent.

Given a chance to be the star, and not just one of the gang, Winslow played like the 5-star forward who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 13 player in the 2014 recruiting class.

"They found me when I was open, and I just tried to stay aggressive throughout the whole game," Winslow told GoDuke.com.

It wasn't Winslow's first big scoring game, as he came in averaging 12.2 points per contest. But this was his most aggressive effort, taking 17 shots (making seven) while going 3-for-8 on three-pointers, and came as he shuffled back and forth between his normal 3 spot and at the 4 to help make up for Okafor's lack of touches inside.

He also contributed seven rebounds, his third straight game with that tally.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski praised the play of Winslow and others for being able to handle the hostile environment at Wake, the Blue Devils' first ACC road game.

Duke had dropped four of its previous five conference road openers, yet Winslow more than anyone didn't seem fazed despite the team being unable to replicate what to expect in practice.

"There's a sense of urgency with every ACC game that you can't manufacture. You have to experience it," Krzyzewski told GoDuke.com.

Being able to seamlessly transition between those positions, while not letting up on any part of his game, could be a key to Duke continuing to remain perfect and for Winslow to keep climbing.

And it begs the question, how high can Winslow soar?

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

"As he continues to see more minutes at the 4, it becomes more and more apparent just how valuable he is to this year's squad with his versatility and explosiveness," wrote Amrith Ramkumar of the Duke Chronicle.

The roles of Okafor, Jones and 2-guard Quinn Cook are clearly defined, while Winslow is showing he can be trusted in multiple ways either as a complement to power forward Amile Jefferson or as a supplement when Duke brings in Rasheed Sulaimon.

With the Devils continuing to stick to a six- or seven-man rotation, Winslow's ability to diversify his game and responsibilities will be a huge asset—especially when others around him struggle with an opponent keying on limiting their strengths.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.