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Duke Basketball: Analyzing starting lineups early in 2019-20 season

By Matthew Travis

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Cassius Stanley #2 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a call in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City.Duke Blue Devils defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 68-66. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Cassius Stanley #2 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a call in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City.Duke Blue Devils defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 68-66. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Through four games, Duke Basketball has used three different starting lineups, all of which however have been rather similar. The question is though, which of the three is the best option for the Blue Devils?

Duke Basketball has started the season with a 4-0 record and they are now the number one ranked team in the nation. Through those four games, the Blue Devils have used three different starting lineups, in all three of these lineups Tre Jones, Cassius Stanley and Vernon Carey have started with Matthew Hurt and Alex O’Connell starting in three of the four games.

Through these four games, Duke has given up an average of 59.5 points while scoring an average of 84 points. Granted the Blue Devils have played a couple teams that might not be very good with their lone big game being against Kansas, but still, pretty good numbers nonetheless.

So with all this being said let’s take a look at the three different starting lineups Duke has used so far this season:

11/5/19 vs. Kansas:

11/8/19 vs. Colorado State

11/12/19 vs. Central Arkansas:

  • Tre Jones
  • Cassius Stanley
  • Alex O’Connell
  • Jack White
  • Vernon Carey jr.

11/15/19 Georgia State:

  • Tre Jones
  • Cassius Stanley
  • Alex O’Connell
  • Matthew Hurt
  • Vernon Carey jr.

Out of these four the lineup that seems the most bizarre to me is the one where Jack White got the start over Matthew Hurt. In my mind, Matthew Hurt is better in every single category than Jack White is and because of this, I’m just confused why White got the start.

In the 18 minutes White played against Central Arkansas he totaled only three points, with three rebounds, one assist and three fouls. In the three games Hurt has started he has averaged eight points, 4.3 rebounds, zero assists and only 1.3 fouls.

Aside from assists, Hurt averages more in every single category than White does when he starts. Not only that, but not to disrespect Jack White but I simply do not think right now, he is talented enough to be starting on the number one team in the nation.

Is White a good basketball player? Yes, I think he is very good, but in my mind, you shouldn’t have Matthew Hurt who was the 11th ranked player in the Class of 2019, come off the bench in order to start Jack White.

Now to the other starting lineup, the game against Kansas where Jordan Goldwire got the start rather than Alex O’Connell. This is a lineup that I actually like a lot, aside from maybe starting Joey Baker or Wendell Moore over Alex O’Connell at the 2.5/3, I think this is the best starting lineup Duke has.

Jordan Goldwire provides something to the starting lineup that Jack White cannot and honestly something that nobody on this team besides Tre Jones, can provide stellar defense. Goldwire might not be a great offensive player, but he has the ability to lock down anybody in the nation and he is also a great passer.

It is for this reason that Goldwire got the start against Kansas and it is also for this reason that he only got 13 minutes while Alex O’Connell got 25 minutes off the bench.

I think starting Goldwire but taking him out a couple of minutes in is a great idea because you establish that defensive presence and then by taking him out, you get a better offensive player in Alex O’Connell.

I like the idea of starting Goldwire as long as he only plays about 15 minutes per game because you can only take a hit on the offensive end for so long.

All this being said, I think Duke’s best possible starting lineup has yet to see the court. In my opinion, the following starting lineup would be the best use of Duke’s talent:

  • Tre Jones
  • Cassius Stanley
  • Joey Baker
  • Matthew Hurt
  • Vernon Carey jr.

Joey Baker was great off the bench in his 15 minutes against Georgia State with eight points on 3-6 shooting and 2-5 from three. Baker provides three-point shooting when he is on the court which out of the current starters, Matthew Hurt is the only one with this ability at the moment.

Baker has a higher three-point percentage so far this season than O’Connell does while taking less than half the amount of threes in 45 minutes compared to O’Connell’s 79.

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Baker is a very talented player and I think right now he is not being used in the correct way. I think if Baker were to start, we could see a lot of improvement not only out of him but out of Duke as a whole.

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