Duke's Jayson Tatum is the best freshman in college basketball
NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum made his case for best freshman in the country with one play.
With under two minutes to play and Duke clinging to a one-point lead, Tatum took away an easy Notre Dame score with a swipe of his hands, snagged the block, turned around and saw only two Notre Dame players between him and the basket.
Tatum seized the moment, fought off the fatigue and stormed down the length of the court for the fast-break score.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knew his star freshman was a special player. But he didn’t know he could do that.
“When he went full court, I said, ‘What are you doing?’ What are you — YES! YOU DID IT! How the hell did you do that?’ ”
Krzyzewski was bewildered in the best way possible. And after almost four straight days of intense ACC play, Tatum wasn’t done yet. The freshman followed up his one-man show with an incredible pass to Matt Jones for a 3-pointer that pushed Duke’s lead to four with under a minute left in the game.
“When I drove, Matt called my name,” Tatum said, recalling the play, “and as soon as I passed it to him I knew it was going to be a bucket.”
Oh, and you thought Tatum was finished? Think again. Just 23 seconds later, Tatum finished off Notre Dame with a breakaway and-one dunk off an inbounds pass to wrap up Duke’s first ACC title since 2011.
Tatum finished the championship game with a team-leading 19 points and eight rebounds, and that was his “worst” performance of the ACC tournament.
“I think he’s the best freshman right now, and I’ve seen a bunch of them play,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. “He’s really long and big, and he’s got the ability to shoot the jump shot and put the ball on the floor.”
Tatum appreciated the title of “best freshman,” but doesn’t necessarily believe it.
“That’s pretty tough to say,” Tatum said, “You’ve got Markelle [Fultz], Josh [Jackson], Lonzo [Ball], Dennis [Smith Jr.], Harry [Giles] … If people mention me with those guys, I’m in good company. There’s a lot of great freshmen. I don’t know who’s the best.”
Just looking at Tatum’s ACC tournament play, it’s hard to argue he isn’t the best.
Throughout Duke’s incredible run through the conference tournament, Tatum averaged 23 points and 7.3 rebounds.
And during a year filled with adversity, Tatum has found a way to play well consistently, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds.
He’s Duke’s most dynamic playmaker, with the ability score from virtually everywhere on the court at any time of the game. Tatum can drive to the basket with ease, hit the midrange and outside jump shot and even take the ball the length of the court by himself.
Not only that, Tatum has that clutch factor that few in college basketball possess. In Duke’s 75-69 title win over Notre Dame, Tatum scored eight of Duke’s final 12 points, and had the crucial assist to Jones late in the game. In the Blue Devils’ comeback win over North Carolina in the semifinals, Tatum kept Duke in the game with 18 points in the first half.
“I think his demeanor is to be complimented for a young guy,” Brey said. “He’s got the poise of an older guy.”
Tatum has had an incredible year so far for Duke, but it was the two-minute span against Notre Dame that encapsulated his identity as not only a well-rounded freshman, but also a well-rounded basketball player. The block-and-score showed his dynamic playmaking ability on offense and defense. The pass to Jones showed his court awareness and unselfishness. And the breakaway score showed his poise under pressure in the waning moments of a game.
“I just tried to give everything I had in the last two minutes,” Tatum said. “We just wanted to be special. We wanted to overcome everything. We just wanted to show the world we are special team.”
There are many gifted freshman in this year’s class. But Tatum’s all-around excellence makes him stand out among the crowd.
