Duke Basketball: Evaluating possible starting lineups early into 2020-21
Duke Basketball began ts season Saturday with an interesting starting five, what are some other starting lineups they could possibly use this season?
Duke basketball began their season on Saturday in an 81-71 win over Coppin State. The starting lineup Coach K rolled out on Saturday was anything but expected as we saw Jordan Goldwire, Jalen Johnson, Wendell Moore, Joey Baker, and Matthew Hurt on the court for the jump ball.
A starting lineup that consisted of one guard and four forwards, with only one freshman and interestingly enough, the only four returners that are on scholarship. This was not at all what many, including myself, expected coming into the season.
Personally, I thought the starting lineup would consist of Jeremy Roach, DJ Steward, Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, and Mark Williams. I thought there was a chance that either Wendell Moore and/or Jordan Goldwire cracked the starting five, but I didn’t think there was any chance that Joey Baker would.
Based on the minutes Williams played on Saturday (only four) I wouldn’t expect him to start any time soon, and wouldn’t expect him to get much playing time either. So that being said, let’s look at a couple of different starting lineups we could see Duke use moving forward.
- G: Jeremy Roach, Freshman
- G: DJ Steward, Freshman
- F: Jalen Johnson, Freshman
- F: Matthew Hurt, Sophomore
- F: Wendell Moore, Sophomore
In this scenario, Goldwire and Williams would likely get the most bench minutes with Baker, Brakefield, Coleman, and Tape potentially getting some as well. Based on the starting lineup used Saturday, I think this is a very real possibility for Tuesday’s game against Michigan State.
DJ Steward showed he deserves to start as he went for 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block off the bench. That being said, Baker will be the one moving to the bench, but I could also see Roach moving up to take Goldwire’s spot.
Goldwire went for only two points on 1-5 shooting with one rebound, four assists, two steals, a block, and three turnovers as well. Roach played 29 minutes and went for six points on 2-5 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three turnovers.
However, I could also see Coach K keeping Jordan Goldwire in the starting five simply because of his defensive ability. If that’s the case, here is what the starting lineup would likely look like:
- G: Jordan Goldwire, Senior
- G: DJ Steward, Freshman
- F: Jalen Johnson, Freshman
- F: Matthew Hurt, Sophomore
- F: Wendell Moore, Sophomore
In this scenario, Roach and Williams would likely get the most bench minutes with Baker, Brakefield, Coleman, and Tape potentially getting some as well. I think this scenario is a little more unlikely than the one with Roach in the starting lineup but still possible.
Next. Duke rotation predictions for 2020-21. dark
Because we didn’t see Tape at all, and only saw Williams for four minutes on Saturday, I wouldn’t expect to see either of them cracking the starting lineup anytime soon and because of that, these are likely the only two possible starting lineups for Duke, at least in the near future.