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Duke Basketball: Blue Devils 2019-20 season preview

By Matthew Travis

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Zion Williamson #1, RJ Barrett #5 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils huddle up against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Zion Williamson #1, RJ Barrett #5 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils huddle up against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Duke basketball made the 2019 Elite Eight for the second straight season before being upset by Michigan State. With a brand new team, how will the 2019-20 Blue Devils stack up?

The 2018-19 Duke basketball team was one of the most talked-about teams in college basketball history. With the top-three recruits and another player ranked in the top-15, the attention was well deserved.

Unfortunately, even with three top-10 picks on the same team, the Blue Devils failed to make the Final Four as they were bounced in the Elite Eight at the hands of Michigan State. So if the Blue Devils couldn’t win with one of the most stacked teams ever, how can they win it without that?

The 2019-20 Blue Devils have some big shoes to fill, but with point guard Tre Jones returning for his sophomore year, Duke has a chance to be very competitive. But the question is how competitive?

In addition to Jones the Blue Devils have four freshmen who were ranked in the top-35 in the Class of 2019 by ESPN. Those four players are Vernon Carey jr., Wendell Moore, Matthew Hurt and Cassius Stanley.

Other players returning to Duke for another year are Alex O’Connell, Javin DeLaurier, Jordan Goldwire, Joey Baker and Jack White. What this means is that Duke will be getting key minutes from players who aren’t freshmen for what feels like the first time in a long time.

But once again, just how good can this team be? It feels like a team that should easily win the ACC with teams like Virginia not being as strong as they have in years past. But with some teams falling off, others rise and that comes in the form of Louisville and Florida State.

Nonetheless, Duke has a very good chance to win the ACC and they will likely be the favorite to do so once the season starts. So with that being said let’s take a look at what this years Duke Blue Devil team is capable of.

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