Duke Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Blue Devils

Key Questions and Prediction

1. Does Duke have enough experience?

The main question that is brought up when discussing Duke is in regards to their experience, or lack thereof. Teams that have been this freshmen centric have often disappointed compared to the high preseason expectations that are placed upon them. At least last season, Duke had an upperclassman who was one of their top scorers and playmakers in Grayson Allen. This season, all the creation will need to come from the freshmen. Duke will rely on a few experienced players like Javin DeLaurier, but they are more complimentary pieces.

While this is all accurate, I do not buy this reasoning as to why Duke cannot potentially win the National Championship. These strict rules regarding who can’t win in the tournament get proven wrong time and time again. A 16 seed beat a 1 seed, Villanova won a national championship, Gonzaga made a final four all in the last two years and these were things people said could not be done. In a single elimination high variance tournament, it would be unwise to rule anyone out. Duke would be better if they had more proven veterans to mix with the freshmen, but that does not mean they cannot win it all.

2. Can the bench provide competent minutes?

Another key concern relates to bench production. One of Duke’s main weaknesses last year was its bench and there have not been any major additions to inject more talent into the reserve unit. Players who were used sporadically last season will have to step into bigger and more consistent roles this season. Alex O’Connell looks like the most promising reserve as he is a former top 100 recruit who shot the ball extremely well last season. Former five-star recruit Marques Bolden will likely be the first frontcourt player off the bench and it will be fascinating to see how he looks in year three. Jack White could be another meaningful piece off the bench who can hit perimeter shots. These three players could realistically play competent minutes and be adequate replacements off the bench.

3. Who emerges as a perimeter threat?

Duke’s bench has multiple quality shooters, but the starters will have to hit perimeter shots as well. Reddish is probably the best shooter in the starting five, but Barrett is also a capable outside shooter and Williamson and Jones can hit shots although they are not great shooters. This gives Alex O’Connell a perfect opportunity to play a huge role as he nearly hit 50% of his three-pointers last season. I expect Duke to be fine in this area as their starters’ talent and bench shooters should be enough to resolve these issues.

Duke is poised for a big season yet again. I have the Blue Devils finishing second nationally (behind Kentucky) and winning the ACC. While Duke has not landed any 2019 recruits just yet, they remain in the mix for multiple highly ranked prospects and could always turn to the transfer market in the Spring. Duke is one of the last programs you should be worrying about.