Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Updated 2020-21 power rankings after NBA Draft deadline

By Tristan Freeman

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats walks the sidelines in the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats walks the sidelines in the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 07: The Duke Blue Devils mascot (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 07: The Duke Blue Devils mascot (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

434. . . . Blue Devils . 7. team

The Blue Devils didn’t have to worry about late draft decisions, as all of their players made their moves in March. That included the expected departures of both Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr., while Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore Jr. opted to come back for another season. The big decision came from Cassius Stanley, who did remain in the NBA Draft.

So things have been more or less the same for Duke in the past couple of months. Columbia transfer big man Patrick Tape is still with the program after the little saga he had for a week. Add returning upperclassmen Joey Baker and Jordan Goldwire, you have half a roster filled with freshmen and the other half not in their first seasons.

As usual, how good the Blue Devils will be for the upcoming NCAA Basketball season will depend on how good the top-3 overall recruiting class will be. That’s particularly true for the starting backcourt duo of Jeremy Roach and D.J. Steward. Both are five-star guards with great athleticism and scoring potential but aren’t the greatest shooters from deep. Wing Jalen Johnson has superstar potential and is most likely to lead the team in scoring but will share the duties with Moore as the small forward.

As for the frontcourt, it’ll be a collective effort to replace Carey’s production. There isn’t a top-5 overall big man prospect for Duke this time around but top-40 recruits Mark Williams, Henry Coleman Jr., and Jaemyn Brakefield all will be good rotation pieces. If one of them can break out into a star, the Blue Devils will once again be just fine.

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