Duke Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Blue Devils

Season Outlook

Duke has a lot to prove over the course of the 2020-21 season, by the time the 2021 NCAA Tournament rolls around, it will be six years since the Blue Devils’ last Final Four appearance, and their last National Championship as well. Duke fans, players, coaches, and students are eager for another ring and the Blue Devils have the opportunity to do it this season.

Duke will be one of the favorites to win the ACC this season, and they have a talented-enough team to win the big one as well. I believe Jalen Johnson will be the leader for the Blue Devils while Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward play huge roles as well.

Off the bench I expect Wendell Moore, Jordan Montgomery, and Patrick Tape all to play significant roles while Jaemyn Brakefield will be important as well. I fully expect Duke to contend for the ACC Tournament title, and potentially win their first ACC Regular Season Title since 2010 as well.

Duke has a talented enough roster to do just that, but they’re really going to need their freshmen to step into the roles left behind by their talented players who left Durham following the 2019-20 season. Aside from their freshmen, the Blue Devils also have some talented returning players including Matthew Hurt, Jordan Goldwire, Wendell Moore, and Joey Baker.

Duke has a very deep roster and it will be interesting to see how Coach K utilizes his talent. Coach K is typically known for playing only eight or nine players, but this season he has about 11 who could legitimately fight for minutes.

This will create a very interesting first couple of games as we will truly get a feel for how this Blue Devil team will look over the course of the season. It is for this reason that I wouldn’t expect Joey Baker or Henry Coleman to get too many minutes this season, but could potentially step into bigger roles in 2021-22.

Duke is a very talented team once again, and although they will likely enter the 2020-21 season towards the bottom of the top-10, I would expect them to move up rather quickly as non-conference play wraps up and conference play gets underway.