Duke Basketball: Departure of Boogie Ellis shouldn’t have huge effect

Duke Basketball seeing elite 2019 prospect Boogie Ellis move on is a minor blip, but don’t expect a significant drop-off for the Blue Devils.

In recent years, the Duke Basketball squad has secured either the No. 1, or at a minimum one of the top-few, recruiting classes across the country. What’s more, the Blue Devils, despite not reaching the Final Four since winning the NCAA championship in 2015, are seemingly always in contention for an Atlantic Coast Conference title along with a deep run in March Madness.

I’m sure that an abundance of Duke fanatics are disappointed with how the past two Big Dances transpired for the Blue Devils, however, Duke really needed just one or two breaks to advance to the national semi-finals in both 2018 and 2019. Looking ahead to the next term, at this juncture, even with the news that Boogie Ellis, a consensus top-40 player in the 2019 class, has de-committed from the Blue Devils, I would still anticipate Duke remaining squarely in the hunt for a Final Four journey roughly 11 months from now.

Don’t get me wrong, as the decision by Ellis, a 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Mission Bay High School in San Diego, to reopen his recruitment is a blow to the Blue Devils. Anytime a program loses someone who is rated four or five stars, that stings, and maybe expectations get lowered a tad. But if there’s a team that, by and large, can withstand such an unfortunate development, it’s Duke, which reloads stanza after stanza.

Following word of Ellis’ revealing, I didn’t witness the primary recruiting services dropping the Blue Devils from their No. 1 slot in the 2019 class rankings. That’s because arriving this fall on the Duke campus are five-star center Vernon Carey Jr., five-star power forward Matthew Hurt, five-star small forward Wendell Moore, and four-star guard Cassius Stanley. Each of these prospects is placed among the top-35 guys nationally in the class of 2019.

This represents a stellar foundation for the Blue Devils’ 2019-20 roster. Then, add in point guard Tre Jones, who will return for his sophomore campaign, an absolutely enormous occurrence for Duke.

Depending on how everything shakes out as it pertains to the upcoming NBA Draft, or possible transfers, the Blue Devils will also bring back to their line-up key reserves such as guard Alex O’Connell, forwards Jack White and Javin DeLaurier, and center Marques Bolden, as well as guard Jordan Goldwire and forward Joey Baker.

I’m counting 11 players here, which means that Duke could certainly have solid depth at every position. The bevy of media organizations are anointing the Blue Devils as a top-five unit in their pre-season prognostications, and the exit of Ellis shouldn’t amount to more than a glitch for Duke’s 2019-20 outlook.