Duke Basketball: Impact of veterans going forward for 2020-21 season

As should have been expected, Duke basketball was a mix of good and bad in their return to action. What’s important is what it means for the rest of the season.

As the saying goes for everyone, including Coach K and Duke basketball, a win is a win; be it good, bad or ugly. The Blue Devils checked all three boxes in their ten-point victory over an experienced and game Coppin State squad that was ready to play for forty minutes.

The first takeaway should be that the advantageous environment provided by Duke basketball’s notorious Cameron Crazies is real and is gone for this season.

How you interpret what that actually means, is well, up to you; but the energy and excitement that usually accompanies any home game, much less a season opener, was noticeably absent and can only help the visitors and hurt Duke basketball going forward.

In reverse, it should be said that Duke basketball would have it easier on the road without full arenas of rabid fans yelling all sorts of stuff while hoping for a night of court-storming and after-hours mayhem they may have never forgotten, or fully remembered either.

But in one of the best Blue Devil blusters to ever come from a player over the years, RJ Barrett’s infamous, “That’s why we wear black because it’s their funeral.” remark tells of the spark and us-against-them feel that Duke basketball elicits from the opposing fan bases.

Stars are expected to be stars and perform at home or on the road anyway; the most interesting thing maybe how the new COVID-induced environments affect role players or those whose expectations are high, but also more uncertain than the projected lottery pick.

First, let’s recap before getting into the veteran Duke basketball players and what the season may have in store, HOPEFULLY, over the next few months.