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Duke Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Blue Devils

By Matthew Travis

Feb 25, 2020; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts after a call in the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2020; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts after a call in the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke Basketball
Duke Basketball Jaylen Blakes  Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Duke Basketball enters the 2021-22 season in very unfamiliar territory for a multitude of reasons, for one, they enter the season coming off a year where they didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, the first time they missed the tournament since 1995, and they also enter a season, which will be the last they’re coached by Mike Krzyzewski.

However, luckily for the Blue Devils, they enter the season in familiar territory as well. Duke enters the 2021-22 season with a top-five recruiting class for the eighth consecutive season. The Blue Devils have three five-stars in second-ranked recruit overall, Paolo Banchero, 17th and 22nd ranked recruits AJ Griffin, and Trevor Keels, and 17th ranked point guard Jaylen Blakes.

In addition to Duke’s star-studded recruiting class, they also retain some key players such as Mark Williams, Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore, and Joey Baker, and they also added a big transfer in Theo John out of Marquette.

All that being said, the Blue Devils have all of the pieces to not only make the NCAA Tournament after missing it last year, but they also have the right pieces to be a legitimate threat to be a National Championship contender as well.

The Blue Devils will be without star freshman AJ Griffin to start the season who suffered a sprained knee in October. Griffin shouldn’t miss too much time but will miss Duke’s season opener in the Champion’s Classic against Kentucky. Once Griffin comes back, Duke will get a big boost, but they’ll be forced to figure things out in his absence.

Duke enters the season as the ninth-ranked team in the nation, and they’re also the top-ranked team in the ACC. That being said, Duke is one of the best teams in the nation, and they should most definitely be in contention to win their first ACC Regular Season title since 2010, and they should also be in contention to win another ACC Tournament Title as well.

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