We suspect Bryson Howard’s chances at Duke are a little underrated. After all, look who else is in his class: Cameron Williams, Deron Lippi and Joaquim Boumje.
Howard received a lifelong basketball education from his father, Josh, who began his four-year basketball career at Wake Forest University, but he didn’t necessarily like Duke.
advertise
Fortunately, he seems to have gotten over this.
Young Bryson was certainly athletic, but he didn’t play in McDonald’s game, and he wasn’t universally regarded as an elite player. Our guess is that this is a serious mistake.
It’s not just a lifelong lesson he learned from his father, a very good NBA player. It has more to do with what we think we’re seeing in his mindset.
Because Howard is a dog.
He chased it defensively. When you pair him with Mrs. Sal, it’s an absolute nightmare for people. Throw in another perimeter defender — Foster, Boozer or Lippi — and you’ve got the most formidable trio you can find.
advertise
As a rookie, Sarr’s offense had many flaws, not the least of which was that he struggled to drive to the basket.
However, his on-ball defense is excellent. Sometimes, it’s breathtaking. There should be a better word, but we just can’t find it. But watching him chase the ball is beautiful.
Can you imagine if you looked out and you saw Sal on one side and Howard on the other, and those two just made it clear that they were going to drive your ball handler into oblivion? That would be fun.
We’re not sure who to compare Howard to, but it’s probably Justise Winslow. People may also compare Howard to Brian Davis, although we think he has a higher ceiling than Davis. But he will likely be that player no matter how long he stays at Duke.
advertise
Offensively, we haven’t seen as much of Howard as we would have liked. However, he has an NBA mentor in his family, so he won the lottery there. You may have noticed over the years that Duke likes to recruit players from basketball families. We saw it last year with the Boozer twins Nicholas Hamenya and Patrick Ngomba; last year we had Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel.
So while it’s too early to tell how playing time will be distributed next year, Jon Shaye has made it clear that defense comes first. On that basis, we’re pretty sure Howard will get playing time.
If the offensive game proves to be equally developed, Duke will have a monster on its hands.
Go to DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Leave us a message
