While National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky took the battle, Jahlil Okafor won the war.
Kaminsky dominated Okafor much of the night, but Duke did just enough to win the 2015 national championship in a thriller.
Kaminsky set the tone early, drawing Okafor out from the basket and controlling him with speed and footwork on the offensive end. Kaminsky knocked down shots from the outside, but more importantly, he used his footwork and post moves to get Okafor in foul trouble. Kaminsky, who scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, also consistently beat Okafor off the dribble after he drew him to the perimeter.
While Okafor was looked at as one of the top players in the nation all season long, and rightfully so, he has not been the strongest defender this season. The same trend held true on Monday night against Kaminsky and the Badgers.
When Okafor was able to get Kaminsky in the post with his back to the basket, he was able to use some power moves at the beginning of the game. However, after picking up a charge call early as well, his aggressiveness went away. When Okafor was relegated to the bench with foul troubles for the game’s first 25 to 28 minutes, Wisconsin went on a run to get back into the game, feeling that momentum.
Okafor was also taken out of his game by Kaminsky at the offensive end, as he missed several layups and short shots. Okafor, who finished with 10 points and only three rebounds, did not score from midway through the first half until crunch time. With Okafor’s uneven performance, Wisconsin rarely had to bring Kaminsky any help with double-teams. Duke won in spite of Okafor, not because of him. The big man scored only 4 of Duke’s 37 second-half points. Those points were valuable because they came late in the game, but like most of Okafor’s 10 points, they came on broken plays as opposed to post-up moves against Kaminsky.
Despite Kaminsky’s dominance, there were times when he was way too passive on Monday night. He was looking to get his teammates involved rather than showing a true killer instinct in the first half and down the stretch. With Okafor being out of place on the perimeter, it was a bit surprising that Duke did not go to a zone more often. However, the strategy paid off in the long run, and the Blue Devils took home the fifth title for Coach K.
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The results of Monday night will not play into the upcoming NBA draft, however. Okafor will not fall out of the top two picks, in competition with Karl-Anthony Towns for the top pick. Kaminsky will likely find himself selected at the bottom of the lottery, if not just outside of it.
However, on Monday night, Duke did something it had not done most of the season: stay in the game most of the way despite Okafor. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, he reappeared just in the “knick” of time with four late points… no pun intended.
