NCAA Basketball: Way-too-early top 25 power rankings for 2022-23 season

2021-22 season record: 32-6 (16-4 in ACC)

Even though Hall of Fame Head coach Mike Krzyzewski will be leaving after this season, don’t expect the Blue Devils to have much of a drop-off. Coach Jon Scheyer was the main recruiter for this upcoming No. 1 overall 2022 class, including a trio of guys ranked in the top-5 according to 247sportsComposite.

Centers Dereck Lively and Kyle Filipowski, as well as power forward Mark Mitchell, will be the replacements for Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams in the frontcourt, while 6’5 wing Dariq Whitehead could very well be the team’s leading scorer, as well as the replacement for AJ Griffin and technically Wendell Moore at the small forward position. And four-star commit Jaden Schutt adds shooting in the class and should see some playing time as a freshman as well.

There’s a lot of talent coming in but right now, even more is coming out. All expectations are that Banchero, Williams, Griffin, and Moore are definitely gone, while backup center Theo John has no more eligibility. Freshman guard Trevor Keels has had his ups and downs but he’s a projected 1st round pick so the odds of him coming back are slim.

That leaves point guard Jeremy Roach, who has been fantastic in the NCAA Tournament and back as the starter. He’s not a projected draft pick but his play could be having scouts giving him a second look. But Duke needs him to come back, as they don’t have any other ball-handlers currently on the projected 2022-23 roster.

There’s a lot of talent for the Blue Devils to work with but considering how young they are and that they’ll be having a brand new coach, placing them towards the end of the top-10 is fair, until we see which transfers they end up taking to fill out the roster and add some depth.