EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –– The highly anticipated Jahlil Okafor-Amida Brimah matchup never materialized as Duke handled UConn, 66-56, Thursday night at the IZOD Center.
Okafor, the presumed No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, went for 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in the win. His night included a spin move on UConn’s Philip Nolan, a dunk and a staredown, as well as several nifty one-handed passes over the top out of the double-team.
Projected as the No. 10 pick in the 2016 Draft by DraftExpress.com, the 7-foot Brimah got into early foul trouble and was a complete non-factor in the game, finishing with no points and one rebound before fouling out. Brimah was coming off a 40-point, 12-rebound performance against Coppin State.
“Obviously, Okafor’s the best player in college basketball, it’s not even close,” one of the 39 NBA personnel in the building told SNY.tv. “And Brimah’s a long ways away. He’s really raw. Physically, he’s got a long ways to go. And then he has no offensive game, and he’s just a shot-blocker. He’s got a long ways to go as a player so they’re not even in the same class as players.”
The scout has seen Brimah multiple times this season and said he wasn’t bothered by the fact that the UConn big man was saddled with foul trouble.
“He is what he is,” the scout said. “He’s a shot-blocking center who physically has to get a lot stronger, gain some weight and he’s gotta find an offensive game. He’s got a long ways to go as a player. He’s not ready.”
In the Duke locker room, Okafor said he watched film on the entire UConn team and wasn’t particularly keyed up for the Brimah matchup despite the hype.
“We won so that feels good, so it wasn’t any individual battle or anything like that,” Okafor said. “But he had a great game the game before that.”
For his part, Brimah was frustrated by the early fouls, including a blocking foul 12 seconds into the game that sent him to the bench.
“I’m not going to use that as an excuse, but it definitely took me out of my game,” Brimah said. “But what can you say? It happened.
“I thought they made some bad calls and that affected my game.”
As for Okafor’s ability to pass out of the double-team, Brimah wasn’t overly impressed.
“I mean, everybody can do that when you get double-teamed,” he said.
He added of Okafor: “He’s a good player, but I thought we did what we had to do against him.”
UConn coach Kevin Ollie said Brimah must get stronger and smarter as a player going forward, but didn’t feel like Okafor dominated his big man inside.
“I don’t see where Jahlil did anything,” Ollie said. “We was doubling him every time, Kentan [Facey] did a great job doubling him…It wasn’t like Jahlil was just taking him to the basket and beating him down. He’s gotta understand and be tough, he’s gotta get stronger. He’s gotta be mentally tough and play with his hands up. That’s why we keep telling him to get stronger and be smarter.
“[Brimah’s] gotta keep growing and he’s going to be a special player when it’s all said and done.”
Speaking of special players, Okafor fits the bill.
Hence the plan for NBA teams to “Lose some more for Okafor.”
“He’s rare, I mean he’s a special player, a special kid,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Okafor. “He’ll be a great pro and hopefully he’ll be a great college player for the remainder of the year.”
