NCAA Basketball: Updated WTE 2022-23 power rankings after transfer deadline

8. Duke Blue Devils

2021-22 record: 32-7 (16-4 in ACC)

The NBA Draft speculation always involves the Blue Devils, who usually have 3-5 players with a key decision to make. That number was six this time, as all of the starters had to make the move. Starting forwards Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams were givens, as well as wing AJ Griffin. As for the guards, Wendell Moore and Trevor Keels decided to move on, while point guard Jeremy Roach opted to stay for one more year.

Roach had his ups and downs but was great in the NCAA Tournament, leading Duke to a Final Four appearance. He gives the team a veteran ball-handler to lead a roster that is young but very talented, led by the No. 1 overall recruiting class. According to 247sportsComposite, three of them are ranked in the top-5 overall, including bigs Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively, along with Dariq Whitehead. Mark Mitchell is another five-star recruit that should be part of the rotation next season.

Duke did add a couple of veterans on the bench to fill the Theo John role in Harvard wing Kale Catchings and Ryan Young, a 6’10 forward that averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg in 17 mpg off the bench. They’re good insurance in case some of these star freshmen struggle early on and in case of injuries.

The team probably needs another ball-handler/shooting guard in the backcourt to take the pressure off of Roach but right now, this is a roster with a fairly high ceiling once again in the beginning of the Jon Scheyer era. The question will be how low the floor is if some of the recruiting rankings turn out to not be as true.