If any Duke fans feared that they'd have to experience a drought of highlight reel dunks following Zion Williamson's departure, their prayers were certainly answered once Cassius Stanley arrived on campus.
The 6-foot-6, 193-pound shooting guard has all of the length and explosive athleticism to deliver thunderous slams at will. Ranked as the No. 35 high school player in the country for the 2019 recruiting class by 247 Sports, Stanley appears to have all of the tools — the athleticism, the shooting accuracy, the mechanics — to be successful at the professional level if he's able to fine-tune his skills and add some extra muscle.
When he's not sending Cameron Indoor Stadium into a frenzy with his jams, Stanley has proven that he has the potential to become a knockdown shooter.
Stanley nailed 18 of his first 22 shots in a Blue Devils uniform and hasn't looked back since. The Los Angeles native is hitting more than 50 percent of his attempts from the field and is converting on 35.2 percent of his 3-pointers.
The first-year had his breakout performance against Colorado State in Duke's second game of the season, dropping 19 points and snatching seven rebounds in just 25 minutes. Stanley also shot 8-11 from the field that game and glided through the air for an impressive dunk.
Stanley seemed nearly unstoppable through the team's first seven games before a left hamstring injury on Nov. 29 slowed him down. The first-year missed most of Duke's game against Winthrop, sat out the following game against Michigan State and returned to the floor for about seven minutes against Virginia Tech on Dec. 6.
Coming off of his injury, there was a bit of a lull for the shooting guard throughout December, as he totaled just 20 points in Duke's four games that month.
But with the new year came a newfound tenacity from Stanley.
