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Duke Basketball: Duke Blue Devils 2015-16 Season Preview

By James Fitzgerald

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Duke Blue Devils

2014-2015 Record: 35-4 (15-3, ACC)
Postseason: NCAA Tournament – Defeated Wisconsin for the National Title 68-63

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The Duke Blue Devils put together a nice mix of veteran players with a highly touted crop of one-and-done ball players to win the 2015 NCAA Championship.

Players like Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon were able to mesh their games with newcomers Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Matt Jones and Justise Winslow in order to help Coach K take home his fifth career national championship.

Going into the 2015-16 season, Duke will be defending their title with a new cast of characters made up with the No.2 recruiting class according to 247sports.

There is no reason to believe that this unit won’t be able to equal the accomplishments of last year’s club given the talent that is coming into Durham.

But when you have a bunch of talented freshmen that will inherit a target on their back because of the success the previous team had, things may be a tad bit difficult.

 Newcomers

G – Brennan Beeser (Latin School/Chicago, IL)
C – Brandon Ingram (#3 247Sports Composite)
G – Chase Jeter (#16 247Sports Composite)
G – Luke Kennard (#22 247Sports Composite)
G – Sean Obi (transfer from Rice)
G – Justin Robinson (San Antonio Christian Academy/San Antonio, TX)
F – Derryck Thornton (#14 247Sports Composite)
F – Antonio Vrankovic (#5 JUCO 247Sports Composite)

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 17 vs Kentucky – Of course a potential National Championship contest is a key non-conference matchup. Kentucky is seen as having the No.1 recruiting class in nation according to 247sports though others have their class ranked as No.2.

Regardless, we know that both Duke and Kentucky have two of the best recruiting classes in the land and it will be on full display as part of the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago, Ill.

Mike Krzyzewski vs John Calipari is always going to be must see TV and a victory for either coach’s squad is going to be a huge confidence booster from this game going forward.

Dec. 2 vs Indiana –  This is going to be a very intriguing game for the Big Ten/ACC challenge with Tom Crean leading his Indiana Hoosiers into Durham.

The Hoosiers backcourt of James Blackmon Jr. and Yogi Ferrell is going to be a solid test for Derryck Thornton, Grayson Allen and the rest of Duke’s backcourt players.

Duke’s home court advantage in this matchup is going have an effect on Indiana, but with the Hoosiers having an experienced backcourt, they just might be able to have the poise that will be needed to pull of the upset.

Key Players

Grayson Allen – It is not wrong to have high expectations for Grayson Allen heading into the 2015-16 season. Allen came up huge in the National Title game last season going 5 of 8 from the field including 4 of 6 from three-point range in finishing with 16 points.

That experience should garner him getting a starting nod at the two-guard this season and also should giver him the confidence that he is capable of balling in big stage situations which every game for Duke should have the feeling of this season.

Chase Jeter – Jeter is going to be depended on to be interior presence that Jahlil Okafor was for Coach K last season. The 6-foot-10, 240 pound freshman forward is comfortable playing with his back to the basket and should get a whole lot of minutes as the main post scorer.

He comes in as the No.16 recruit of the 2015 freshman recruiting class and will have a huge roll in determining how far this season’s edition of Duke Basketball will go.

Brandon Ingram- Ingram can be viewed as the replacement for Justise Winslow going into this season. The 6-foot-9, 195 pound swingman is seen as a potential top five NBA lottery pick and was ranked third among incoming freshmen for 2015.

He has length and the ability to get buckets from outside and inside. He is going to be depended on to be the all-around perimeter scoring threat for the Blue Devils and will live up to the hype that preceded him before stepping on the Durham campus.

Duke Blue Devils
Duke Blue Devils /

Duke Blue Devils

Season Outlook

The thing that could ultimately keep the Duke Blue Devils from winning back-to-back championships is the fact that this year’s squad is not as physical as last year’s championship team.

Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor were men on the Duke frontline and they were able to use their imposing size to muscle a lot of their competition around.

You don’t get the impression that Brandon Ingram or Chase Jeter will be able to impose their physical will on players in quite the same way.

They are extremely talented and skilled however and can use those skills to make up for what they lack in strength.

Duke successfully defending their championship is not out of the realm of possibility, but really it is highly unlikely.