Duke Basketball made the Elite Eight in 2018, but they now have a completely revamped lineup. How will the Blue Devils fare with 5 new starters including 4 elite freshmen?
Last season, Duke put together an extremely talented roster which was ranked as the number one team heading into the preseason. The Blue Devils eventually relinquished the top spot, but they were highly ranked all season and ended up reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. This roster was so talented that all five starters from 17-18 are now in the NBA and four of them were selected in the draft.
Even the best programs that lose this much talent take a step back. Look at Arizona, who also lost all five starters and is now seen as a potential bubble team. However, Duke and Kentucky are the exceptions. These teams simply reload, no questions asked, no matter how much talent departs from the program. Speaking of reloading, Duke added four 5-star freshmen and three of them are ranked in the top five.
Surprisingly, this unprecedentedly talented recruiting class has not led to any first place love in preseason rankings. I’ve found 24 preseason rankings and not a single person has ranked Duke number one. Kansas, Gonzaga, and Kentucky are the only teams to receive a first-place vote. Duke is clearly very young, but this immensely talented lineup was not enough for even one person to bite the apple? The Blue Devils had four freshmen in the starting lineup last season and were the top-ranked team in the preseason.
Perhaps its the loss of Grayson Allen that scaring away first-place votes. The senior guard certainly had a memorable four-year stint at Duke due to his strong play and on-court outbursts. Allen is a skilled combo guard who can shoot from the perimeter can and use his impressive athleticism to attack the rim.
Maybe it’s losing a dominant frontcourt like Wendell Carter and Marvin Bagley who could both play inside and out and rebound at a high level. Carter could stretch the defense with his jumper while Bagley likes to put the ball on the floor and both could dominate the paint.
It could be the loss of Gary Trent as Duke’s current projected lineup lacks a knockdown shooter like Trent was last season. Or it could be that the Blue Devils have a freshman PG after they saw how Trevon Duval was a mess in his only collegiate season.
Even though Duke is not seen as the best team, they are unanimously picked to be really good and should be ranked in the top five. This article will analyze Duke’s starters, reserves, and non-conference schedule. It will conclude with key questions and a prediction for where the Blue Devils will finish both in the ACC and nationally.