NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

NCAA Basketball power rankings – Duke Blue Devils

Losing All-ACC stars Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones to the NBA Draft was expected. But it was the other key rotation players who didn’t graduate whose decisions were going to be key this offseason. In the end, both Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore Jr. elected to stay, while the team’s other double-digit scorer, Cassius Stanley, has moved on.

As usual, all eyes on going to be on the newcomers for the Blue Devils. Ranked 3rd overall, there are four freshmen given a five-star rating. Guards Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward will lead the backcourt, while Jalen Johnson is capable of leading the team in scoring from the wings. The frontcourt freshmen features 7’0 center Mark Williams and four-star forwards Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman. Columbia grad transfer center Patrick Tape will add both depth and experience inside for Duke.

The additional returns of both Joey Baker and Jordan Goldwire are underrated, as they’ll add shooting and defense that Coach K can rely on for periods of time. The big difference between Duke and Kentucky is the experience the Blue Devils will have compared to their SEC counterpart. In the end, it’ll all come down to how the freshmen perform that’ll determine this program’s ceiling.