Duke Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the top team
Duke basketball is once again the preseason favorites to win the National Championship. Will this new crop of future stars take the Blue Devils all the way?
For some, the biggest question wasn’t whether the Blue Devils would win the title last year, but rather how many losses would they take on the way there. There were serious conversations about if that team was the greatest collection of talent ever, even more than Kentucky in 2014-15 with Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker leading the way.
It was hard to argue, as coach Mike Krzyzewski assembled a roster filled with senior leaders, elite returning scorers, and a bevy of potential one-and-dones. Unfortunately, we had to wait for everyone to get healthy as Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden missed most of the non-conference nursing various injuries. On the court, Grayson Allen struggled to lead the team, with some emotional on-court outbursts making the news.
After finishing tied for third in the regular season of the ACC, Duke finally got things going in the conference tournament, becoming the first team to win four games in four days for the title. There was a mad rush for everyone to get back on the bandwagon as the Blue Devils went in as a No. 2 seed with all sorts of momentum.
Shocking Upset
But that momentum came to a screeching halt in the second round against South Carolina. Now I personally may be in the minority but I didn’t personally view it as a major upset. Duke certainly had much more talent, but in my opinion, the Gamecocks were one of just a few teams who could match up with Duke.
South Carolina’s strength was on the wings with guys like Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell that could guard Duke’s wings. Combine that with Duke lacking a true point guard, and Duke went home early. But I do believe that if the Blue Devils played a more finesse team like Michigan in round two, they would’ve gone a long way. It was just a bad matchup for them at the time.
After licking their wounds, Duke had a ton of reloading to do. Not only did senior leaders Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones graduate, but sophomore shooter Luke Kennard left to the NBA after a big year. Tatum, Giles and Frank Jackson exited after one year, and reserve big man Chase Jeter transferred to Arizona after an injury-plagued tenure.
But the staff has recruited future stars to replace the old stars, with another No. 1 ranked recruiting class. The starting lineup could look plenty of different ways, but here’s the likeliest of options.