March Madness: Players to Watch

March 13, 2022
Sport

When the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Banchero committed to Duke in August 2020 out of O’Dea High School in Seattle, it was seen as a major recruiting coup for Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff. Banchero had also considered Kentucky, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Arizona and Washington.

“I’m kind a stretch, do-it-all 4, and I can play the 3 too,” Banchero said at the time, referring to the power forward and small forward positions. “I can kind of do whatever, play on the wing or play inside, but if it was up to me I would prefer kind of in the midrange, 16-17 feet out, and just kind of operate from there.”

Banchero’s words proved prophetic as he has a been a key reason the Blue Devils spent time ranked No. 1 this season and are among a handful of teams with a legitimate chance to win the N.C.A.A. championship. A mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses because he can shoot from the midrange, dominate down low and pass out of double-teams, he was averaging 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists heading into this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. He, as much as anyone, will determine how far Krzyzewski’s final ride at Duke coach goes.

Still, Duke must figure out where its best player wants the ball at the end of games — in that midrange area — and get it to him there so he can make plays. He can’t afford to go missing or float to the perimeter at critical times.

“There’s not a person in America that can guard that dude one-on-one,” the ESPN analyst and former Notre Dame star LaPhonso Ellis said on air. “For Duke to make a Final Four, for them to win a national championship, Paolo Banchero has to be dominant like he was in the” first half of the March 5 North Carolina game, when he finished with 23 points and five rebounds.