Duke Basketball: Super-Early Grades for Blue Devils Starters

Five games are in the books for Duke, not enough to be certain of how the 2015-16 season will go, but an adequate sample size to start assessing its performance.

From a team standpoint, the results have been mostly good—save for the double-digit loss to Kentucky in the Champions Classic—with this past weekend's solid wins against VCU and Georgetown in the 2K Classic particularly promising. Duke took what went wrong against Kentucky and addressed those issues, resulting in better performances in its last two games.

How about from an individual standpoint?

The Blue Devils have stared six different players so far this season, with three players in the lineup every game and three others rotating at a pair of the guard spots. We've taken a look at their play through the first five games, assigning a grade to each based on their effort as well as their expectations coming into 2015-16.

Grayson Allen

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Which is the real Grayson Allen, the one that has established a career high in four of the five games this season or the one that began 0-of-9 against Kentucky and had only six points?

It's both, actually. Since getting shut down by the Wildcats, Allen has adjusted his approach from being less reliant on just driving the ball and hoping to get to the rim to mixing in shots from all over. And the results have been great, in the form of the first back-to-back 30-point games for a Duke player since 2006.

That was J.J. Redick, who ended up being the Naismith Player of the Year that season.

The most impressive thing about Allen's performance the last two games is that the first one, against VCU, came after he was pulled from the starting lineup and had to come off the bench, ultimately finishing 9-of-15 with 30 points. This lit a fire under the sophomore guard, and he was back as a starter on Sunday against Georgetown, finishing with 32.

For the year, Allen leads Duke in scoring (24.4 points per game) while shooting 52.2 percent overall and 53.6 percent from outside.

Grade: A

Brandon Ingram

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Recruiting rankings for high school players are based on how they looked against competition that was of the same age range, but not necessarily always the same skill level. Brandon Ingram dominated at the prep level and thus ended up third overall in the 2015 class (per 247Sports composite).

But so far the 6'9" freshman forward has looked anything but a superstar, and his struggles led to losing his starting spot Sunday after being in the lineup for the first four games of his Duke career.

Ingram ended up with five points in a career-low 16 minutes, shooting 2-of-7 for his third straight game of single-digit scoring after going for 15 and 21 points in the Blue Devils' openers.

"I think he's been knocked back with the level of physicality and attention and competitiveness," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan. "He's got to grow from that. He's not even close to playing where he should be playing, and he knows it. That's the learning curve."

A very long player who should be able to be a factor on defense, to this point Ingram has looked disinterested in contributing on that end of the court. This has contributed to Duke's opponents shooting 46.9 percent.

Grade: C

Amile Jefferson

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Amile Jefferson has started every game at the 4, the position he held for most of last season before Duke opted to go with three guards and move Justise Winslow to the frontcourt. The Blue Devils are deep in the backcourt again and on Sunday started three guards, but Jefferson has earned the right to hold on to his spot after a solid first 10 days of his senior year.

The 6'9" forward is averaging 12.0 points and a team-best 10.6 rebounds per game, with double-doubles in Duke's first three games. His production dipped over the weekend, and on Sunday he fouled out with eight points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.

Jefferson wasn't expected to be a full-time answer up front this season, but with Brandon Ingram showing very little ability to play inside and Chase Jeter coming along slower than expected, he's had to be more involved. His offensive rebounding kept Duke from getting blown out early against Kentucky, and he has 29 offensive boards this season, but his game isn't well-rounded enough to be more than a glue guy.

He's handling that role well, though, and for the time being it's getting the job done.

Grade: B+

Matt Jones

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If not for Grayson Allen, Matt Jones would be the unquestioned MVP for Duke through the first 10 days of the season. Not just for his numbers—which have been very good—but for his ability to provide leadership that is much-needed on a team so young in the backcourt and so thin in the frontcourt.

Jones, a 6'5" junior guard, is the only perimeter player to start every game in 2015-16. He's been the Blue Devils' most consistent on the outside, averaging 13.2 points with at least 10 in every game, and he's second to Allen in three-point shooting at 48.3 percent.

But what Jones is able to contribute statistically is just gravy on top of the guidance he's giving to Allen and freshman guards Luke Kennard and Derryck Thornton. He's also the first one to get on freshman forward Brandon Ingram when he struggles and is also serving as a leader to senior big men Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee because he's spent more time in the starting lineup than they have over the years.

With Mike Krzyzewski showing the willingness to mix and match his starters and who is on the court together throughout the game, Jones has been the one constant.

Grade: A-

Marshall Plumlee

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You're right, it does seem like Duke always has a Plumlee on the team. But this season, Marshall Plumlee's senior year, will mark the end of the run for a family that has had three brothers on the Blue Devils.

He's the least-heralded of the trio, yet what Plumlee has done so far this year has made him no less valuable than Miles and Mason before him.

The 7-footer has started all five games at center, the first five starts of his career, and the future Army member is making the most of his opportunity by giving the Blue Devils valuable minutes down low as a rebounder and defender. The 6.4 points per game has been gravy.

The long-term plan is to have freshman Chase Jeter get more time inside, but since he hasn't reached the point of averaging more than nine minutes per game, the job belongs to Plumlee. However, he'll need to avoid being such a foul magnet, as he fouled out in 24 minutes against Georgetown on Sunday.

Grade: B

Derryck Thornton

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The only true point guard on Duke's roster, Derryck Thornton came off the bench in the first three games before the lineup shuffling began. He started against both VCU and Georgetown, scoring a career-best 19 points on Friday with another 14 on Sunday.

He was 10-of-17 from the field in those starts combined and got to the line 15 times after attempting only 2 foul shots in the first three games. The distribution and ball-handling numbers—3.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers per game—are still coming around, though, as the 6'2" freshman becomes more comfortable running the offense.

With Grayson Allen and Matt Jones there to back him up at the point, Thornton hasn't been forced to take on everything all at once. But expect him to become more comfortable with each appearance, and with Duke at home for the next five games he'll have several chances to thrive in a cozy environment.

Grade: B

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.