Duke’s Grayson Allen bounces back in 2K Classic

After an outstanding NCAA title game, many analysts expected a breakout season for Duke’s Grayson Allen — and for good reason. Those expectations were tempered by his poor performance against Kentucky in the Champions Classic, however, when he scored just six points on 2-for-11 shooting while committing four turnovers. The Wildcats’ Isaiah Briscoe hounded him for much of the game, raising questions about Allen’s ability to be a primary ball-handler for the Blue Devils.

Allen, though, bounced back with two impressive performances during the 2K Classic. Against two KenPom top 50 opponents, VCU and Georgetown, the sophomore scored 62 points on 27 shots while knocking down nine of his 14 3-point attempts. Against the Hoyas in particular, Allen played off the ball with more regularity, allowing him to hide some of his weaker attributes.

It also gave us a sense of what Allen can contribute right now.

Allen found success running through screens off the ball which helped create space for him to shoot from deep, where he made converted five of his six attempts. Here, for example, you can see Allen come over the wing, run off a pin-down, before rubbing off another screen while getting a hand-off. He had plenty of space to get away a clean look and made the Hoyas pay.

He also found some success floating around the 3-point line, working as a spot-up shooter while his teammates worked to break down the defense before kicking it out.

These examples highlight one of Allen’s best attributes — his nice shooting stroke. Allen has connected on 41 percent of his 80 3-point attempts since becoming a Blue Devil and his 87 percent free throw percentage suggests that won’t be a fluke over time.

At this point, Allen may be best positioned as an off-ball guard in the NBA. But if he can develop his ball-handling, he will become a much more versatile option going forward.