Busting Brackets
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Duke Basketball: 10 biggest storylines heading into 2020-21 season

By Tristan Freeman

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 21: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils talks to his teammates in the huddle against the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 21, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 21: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils talks to his teammates in the huddle against the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 21, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 10: Patrick Tape #3 of the Columbia Lions (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 10: Patrick Tape #3 of the Columbia Lions (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

4. How the frontcourt will work out next season

Duke hasn’t had to worry much about a go-to guy in the post in the past several seasons, having at least one All-American caliber talent on the roster. That doesn’t look to be the case with this bunch, including in terms of overall depth. Although they may have been considered “busts” compared to their respective rankings out of high school, not having either Marques Bolden or now Javin Delaurier coming off the bench will be noticeable for the team.

The lack of depth and experience is why the team went out and landed Columbia grad transfer center Patrick Tape. He averaged 11 ppg two years ago but missed all of last season with an injury. But the senior center was brought in solely to soak up 10-15 mpg off the bench at the center spot and provide some veteran leadership. Considering that he reneged on the commitment to the Blue Devils and the team still pursued Tape showed how concerned they were with landing a capable frontcourt piece willing to come off the bench.

The lone five-star frontcourt freshman is Mark Williams, a 7’0 big man with a great tenacity on defense and should be a shot-blocking star. His offense could still use some work but the rest of the roster should make up for any scoring shortcomings he has. Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman are four-star prospects that project to be multi-year players. Brakefield is better offensively at the moment while Coleman is a little better all-around. If Hurt stumbles, one of these two will look to take his minutes and potentially start.

Overall, this will be a group project in terms of how much production comes out of the frontcourt. There won’t be a 20-10 All-ACC star from this group but there are five (6 if you include Moore sliding over to the PF spot) capable rotation frontcourt players Duke has to work with. Sometimes, 40 minutes of quality play inside can wear opponents more than one dominant individual. That’ll have to be the strategy for Duke to use inside.

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