ACC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
The Blue Devils could make the case every year that they have the most talent on paper than any other team in college basketball. But part of making predictions is having some known quantities and that’s the big difference between the No. 2 and 1 spot. That, and the fact that head coach Jon Scheyer is in his first full year as a head coach and could have some growing pains.
That also could happen with this underclassmen-heavy roster, although the team did land a trio of transfers this offseason. One is Harvard wing Kale Catchings, along with Northwestern forward Ryan Young. The most notable pickup was former Illinois guard Jacob Grandison, a 6’6 veteran sharpshooter that made 41% of his three-point shots and addresses a potential shooting concern throughout the roster.
The lone returning upperclassmen on the roster may be their most important one in Jeremy Roach. The junior point guard has had his role be up and down at Duke, coming off the bench half of the time. But he was fantastic in the NCAA Tournament offensively and played a major role in Duke’s Final Four run. But without Wendell Moore to provide most of the facilitating, Roach will need to be both a double-digit scorer and leading passer as well, while consistent on a game-to-game basis.
Of course, Duke’s winning and losing will come down to how good this new freshmen class is. And it’s loaded again, with four 5-star prospects. Big men Dereck Lively and Kyle Filipowski are ranked in the top-5 overall and could be two of the best frontcourt players in the country, while Mark Mitchell is a 6’8 athletic forward. Dariq Whitehead is hurt right now with a foot injury but should be back in November and could be a leading scorer by season’s end. And add combo guard Tyrese Proctor and shooting guard Jaden Schutt and there’s backcourt depth as well.
If Lively and Whitehead are as good as advertised and Roach plays consistently, the Blue Devils can definitely win the ACC. But those are “ifs”, whereas the No. 1 team has a group that has already proven that they can win.