Zion, Barrett get the headlines, but don’t sleep on Duke’s Cam Reddish

Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett get the headlines but don’t forget about fellow freshman Cam Reddish who makes the Blue Devils click.

If you wanted to build the perfect player for the modern basketball age, it’s more likely than not that you would end up with someone who looks like Duke freshmen Cam Reddish. The Duke freshman is a 6-foot-8 point-forward with a 7-foot-1 wingspan who is one of the best perimeter shooters in the freshmen class.

If Reddish had chosen any other school in the country he’d be guaranteed to be the best player on that team. However, Reddish enters his first — and likely only — year at Duke as the third option. With R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson around, it’s unlikely that we’ll get to see Reddish operate in the same way he did in high school and AAU that made him a consensus five-star recruit.

But, Reddish is used to playing alongside top talent. At Westtown School, Reddish ran the show alongside Mo Bamba, and with Team Final he teamed up with five-star wing Louis King in EYBL competition.

On the negative side, one longstanding knock against the Pennsylvania native is that he often went through the motions at times. Whenever Reddish walks onto the court he looks like he should be the best player in the gym and there were times when he didn’t live up to those standards.

In terms of sheer talent, Reddish’s ability is unmatched by any freshman in college this year. Reddish can operate as a scorer, a facilitator, and provides the physical attributes to guard spots one through four–in an EYBL game, Reddish split his time defending Marvin Bagley III and the opposing team’s point guard.

Reddish’s ability to operate as the man or as part of the team is a strength that should make every NBA team attracted to him when he decides to toss his hat into the 2019 NBA Draft.

The comparison that often comes up when projecting what Reddish can be at the next level is Paul George. Both players possess the size and length to score over just about any defender and if Reddish puts it together defensively he could become one of the better two-way players in the NBA down the road. On the other hand, even if the defense doesn’t reach George-level, he still projects to be a Tracy McGrady type of offensive superstar.

Under the tutelage of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the elite trio of freshmen have the best chance of succeeding as both a team and individuals. Coach K’s experience with Team USA has given him first-hand knowledge of how to best run an offense conducive of highlighting each player’s strengths.

We saw this in the Blue Devil’s opening night blowout victory of the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Barrett’s 33-point and Williamson’s 28-point performances stole headlines, but Reddish’s 22 points in 24 minutes helped exemplify just how potent Reddish can be as the third option.

Getting the most out of Reddish is the key to his current and future in basketball. There aren’t many players that have the combination of skill and size as he does. If everything clicks, there’s a real chance that he finishes his career as the best player from this historically great recruiting class.