Duke Basketball 2011-12: How Many Freshman Records Will Austin Rivers Set?

Depending on who you ask, Austin Rivers will be the best freshman in college basketball this season.

He will be one of the most watched players in the country when Duke plays their first game at home against Belmont on November 11th.

Rivers has a full arsenal of amazing offensive weapons from which to draw. But how good is he? 

How good will he do in his first year compared to other Duke players of the past? 

Let's look at some of the Blue Devils' individual freshman records that Austin Rivers has a chance of setting during the 2011-12 season.

Freshman Season Scoring, Total Points

In the 1977-78 season, Eugene Banks scored 581 points during his freshman season.

Duke plays 31 games before the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament.

Let's say that between the two tourneys that the Blue Devils will play no less than five games. If that pans out, then Rivers would have to score at least 16.1 ppg to break Banks' season mark.

This could be one record that goes down this year in Durham.

Freshman Season Scoring Average

Johnny Dawkins played in 28 games as a freshman and scored 506 points, making his average 18.1 ppg.

This would be slightly more difficult than the cumulative points mark, but it's is still doable. 

Double Figure Scoring Games

Luol Deng (pictured) and Gene Banks each had 31 double-figure scoring games as freshmen.

That means that Deng scored at least 10 points in 84 percent of his freshman games (31 of 37) and Banks did it in 91 percent of his outings. 

Though it seems like scoring double figures for a player of Rivers' caliber is nothing, funny things happen.

Sometimes a player has a very good game and puts up a line of scoring nine points, handing out 10 assists and pulling down seven rebounds.

Single Game Scoring

J.J. Redick dropped 34 on Virginia in one of his first ACC games his freshman season.

That's a bunch of points no matter what year you are.

While Rivers is fully capable of scoring 34 or more, he may not surpass this one. 

Duke has several players on this year's roster (such as Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and even Ryan Kelly) who are all able to go off at any moment, so the possibility of putting up 34 or more is slight.

Three-Point Shooting Percentage

One of Austin Rivers' strengths is his three-point shooting. He can light it up.

Daniel Ewing connected on 32 of 70 three-point attempts as a freshman.

That's an eye-popping 45.7 percent.

As good as Rivers is at shooting from beyond the arc, Duke's opponents will be keeping a close eye on him and game-planning to stop him.

If Rivers beats this record, it will be great for the Blue Devils.

Three-Point Field Goals Made in a Game

Four different players—Trajan Langdon (pictured), Taylor King, J.J. Redick and Kyle Singler—each hit six shots from downtown in a game their freshmen year.

I think that Rivers will tie this at least once and then beat it.

Watch. He's going to shoot a lot of threes...and make a lot of threes. 

Minutes Played in a Season/Minutes Played Per Game

Bobby Hurley was one tough customer from the moment he walked on the court at Cameron.

He ran the show from Day 1, and rarely came out of any game that he played.

Hurley has the Blue Devils' freshman record for minutes played with 1,268 minutes (33.37 minutes per game).

Tommy Amaker actually has the freshmen record for average minutes per game with 36.3.

Both of these are a ton of time for anyone to be playing, especially a freshmen guard.

Even though I expect Rivers to play a good share of every game, I don't know if he will top either of these.  

Outlook

Austin Rivers may not break a single one of these freshmen records this season, and he could still be an All-ACC or All-American selection.

But his first season's legacy will not be based on how many awards he is given or how many marks he sets.

It will be on how the Blue Devils do as a team.

Regardless, I can't wait for the games to begin.