Duke Basketball: 2022-23 season preview and outlook for Blue Devils

We will just get this out of the way at the beginning: it’s going to be very strange to see Duke Basketball playing basketball without Mike Krzyzewski roaming the sidelines. Former player and longtime assistant Jon Scheyer succeeds the legend and will lead the Blue Devils starting with this season. It is virtually impossible for Scheyer to step into those shoes and continue the success at Duke, but there’s certainly reason to have faith in the young coach.

Last season was not quite the storybook ending that Coach K was expecting. The Blue Devils had a fantastic season, winning 32 games and marching to their first Final Four in seven seasons. However, Duke’s dream was dashed by rival North Carolina, who upended them in their first-ever matchup in the NCAA Tournament; a Final Four matchup for the ages. Duke had a stupendous season bidding farewell to Coach K, but it came up just short at the end.

This is Scheyer’s program now, and Coach K’s absence isn’t the only thing that’s going to look different next season. Almost the entirety of last season’s production is gone, including top draft pick Paolo Banchero, who had a phenomenal freshman year for the Blue Devils. Duke also watched AJ Griffin, Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore, and Mark Williams all get selected in the NBA Draft. There’s basically just one piece from last year’s Final Four run back on campus, but Scheyer got busy filling those holes.

We’ll take a deep look at all of these new pieces on the Duke roster because Scheyer was active on the recruiting trail and with a few hits in the transfer portal. Duke’s roster is unrecognizable after last year’s Final Four run but that doesn’t necessarily mean that level of success can’t be achieved this season. The biggest early concern in Durham is how the program will transition with Scheyer calling the shots now, even if he’s put together a star-studded lineup this year.

We’re going to proceed with that closer look at the Blue Devils program, with special attention to the roster, the schedule, and where this team could be headed in Scheyer’s first season at the helm. Duke is going to demand national attention, as they always do, but how will all of these new pieces meld together under a first-time head coach? We’ll just have to wait and see how they fare in the ACC and on the national stage.