Duke Basketball got a much-needed boost in the frontcourt with Joey Baker coming aboard. However, could him moving in cause someone else to leave?
Although the entire starting lineup has already either graduated or declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, Duke Basketball was in great shape to reload.
They had already secured the commitments of RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson, three of the top recruits in the 2018 class. Each of them brings unique talent to the Blue Devils, with supreme athleticism and versatility.
Thing is though, each of the three is listed at 6’7. Small ball is in these days, but assuming all of them are on the court, that would provide an opening for opposing teams to take advantage of. There’s no replacing the size and strength of both Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. So Duke decided to go all-in with “positionless” basketball.
Earlier this off-season, 2019 five-star forward Joey Baker had committed to the Blue Devils. He was supposed to play in the 2019-20 season, but a surprising announcement from him to reclassify to play next year gives Duke even more depth to play with.
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That could be bad news for the two veteran bigs on the bench – Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden. Both averaged around 13 minutes a game and got a couple of starts, but probably want more minutes, as they themselves were once highly touted prospects. Each of them has the size that the incoming freshman forwards doesn’t have, but not necessarily the talent.
With both becoming juniors, this would be the optimal time to transfer, as they’ll have two years left at their new school after sitting out a year. They could nearly triple their amount of minutes, and average way more than a few points a game in a new home. That’s what former five-star Kentucky forward Sacha Killeya-Jones did, leaving the Wildcats for NC State.
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I’m not trying to push these guys out of Duke, but just observing the hundreds of transfers already this off-season it seems like it could be a possibility. Maybe the coaching staff has discussed potential roles and minutes for the veterans in an effort to keep them around? Either way, be on the lookout for a transfer situation at Duke, with either Bolden or DeLaurier possibly being on the move.