Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
After Duke Loses to Notre Dame, Okafor’s College Career is Drawing to a Close
By JACK LeGWINGREENSBORO, N.C. — Jahlil Okafor’s college career will come to a close sometime in the coming days.
Whether it ends in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — the way Duke went out last year — or with a national championship — the way Duke finished up in 2010 — remains to be seen.
But this much is certain: the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft won’t end his college career with an ACC Tournament title after No. 11 ranked Notre Dame upset No. 2-Duke 74-64 in the semifinals Friday night here at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Notre Dame, which has now beaten Okafor and the Blue Devils twice this season, advanced to its first conference tournament final under coach Mike Brey and will meet North Carolina in Saturday night’s final.
Notre Dame advanced despite a brilliant effort by Okafor, who scored 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
“For March Madness and the postseason, it’s the same thing, just try to be dominant and get my teammates going, and try to help them out a little bit,” Okafor said of what lies ahead.
Duke is currently projected as a No. 1 seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but Okafor’s performance in the tourney will be key for Duke to be able to get tough wins over good teams.
Okafor led a near-comeback after Duke trailed by 17 early in the second half.
“I’m just trying to play better than I have in the last couple weeks,” Okafor said. “Me and Coach [K] talked before the game, and he told me that I wasn’t playing as well as I needed to.”
Okafor said he felt like his teammates had stepped up and he hadn’t put forth the same production.
“I’m just trying to play better for my teammates,” Okafor said. “The past couple of weeks, they’ve been playing really well, and we’ve been winning. I feel like I’ve been letting my teammates down, I was just trying to play with a lot of heart tonight and trying to get my teammates going.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
By JACK LeGWIN
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jahlil Okafor’s college career will come to a close sometime in the coming days.
Whether it ends in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — the way Duke went out last year — or with a national championship — the way Duke finished up in 2010 — remains to be seen.
But this much is certain: the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft won’t end his college career with an ACC Tournament title after No. 11 ranked Notre Dame upset No. 2-Duke 74-64 in the semifinals Friday night here at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Notre Dame, which has now beaten Okafor and the Blue Devils twice this season, advanced to its first conference tournament final under coach Mike Brey and will meet North Carolina in Saturday night’s final.
Notre Dame advanced despite a brilliant effort by Okafor, who scored 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
“For March Madness and the postseason, it’s the same thing, just try to be dominant and get my teammates going, and try to help them out a little bit,” Okafor said of what lies ahead.
Duke is currently projected as a No. 1 seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but Okafor’s performance in the tourney will be key for Duke to be able to get tough wins over good teams.
Okafor led a near-comeback after Duke trailed by 17 early in the second half.
“I’m just trying to play better than I have in the last couple weeks,” Okafor said. “Me and Coach [K] talked before the game, and he told me that I wasn’t playing as well as I needed to.”
Okafor said he felt like his teammates had stepped up and he hadn’t put forth the same production.
“I’m just trying to play better for my teammates,” Okafor said. “The past couple of weeks, they’ve been playing really well, and we’ve been winning. I feel like I’ve been letting my teammates down, I was just trying to play with a lot of heart tonight and trying to get my teammates going.”
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