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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 guard Jaylen Blakes Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Basketball guard Jaylen Blakes Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Reserves

Forward – AJ Griffin, Freshman

He’s set to miss some time due to a sprained knee, but once he comes back AJ Griffin will be the first man off the bench for the Blue Devils. Griffin is the 17th ranked overall recruit in the Class of 2021, and he’s also the fifth-ranked small forward overall.

Griffin is electric on both ends of the floor and will be able to give Duke a huge boost as a whole. There’s a very good chance Griffin gets several opportunities to start at the three with Wendell Moore coming off the bench, but that will just be something we will have to watch for when Griffin returns.

Guard – Jaylen Blakes, Freshman

Another star freshman who will be coming off the bench and getting a solid amount of minutes for Duke will be Jaylen Blakes. Blakes is the 17th ranked point guard, and the 105th ranked player overall in the Class of 2021 according to 247 Sports.

Blakes is a very talented three-point shooter, is a very impressive ball-handler, has the ability to finish at the rim despite contact, and will do a great job of setting up plays for Duke this season. I would fully expect Blakes to be the first guard off the bench for the Blue Devils in 2021-22.

Forward – Joey Baker, Senior

Another player I would expect to get a decent amount of playing time coming off the bench is Duke’s lone senior for the 2021-22 season, Joey Baker. We’ve seen bits and pieces of Baker’s capability on the offensive end for Duke, but we have yet to see him consistently be a piece of Duke’s game plan.

Last season Baker only averaged 11.5 minutes per game, after averaging only 12.1 the season before, but I would expect that number to rise a little bit for the 2021-22 season. Baker has an impressive ability to shoot the three-point ball, and when he’s heating up, there aren’t many better shooters in the ACC.

Forward – Theo John, Graduate Student

The final player I would expect to see get some playing time off the bench for Duke this season is transfer Theo John. Last season with Marquette, John averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 57.2% from the field.

John is a very good rebounder, who could give the Blue Devils a huge boost off the bench this season if he’s used properly. With Mark Williams being the only center Duke has on the roster, I would expect Coach K to use some interesting lineups throughout the season, and one of the variations we could see is John being used at the five.

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