NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest position battles to watch for 2023-24 season

7. Duke Blue Devils

Position battle: 6th-8th Man – Sean Stewart vs TJ Power vs Caleb Foster vs Jared McCain vs Jaden Schutt vs Christian Reeves vs Jaylen Blakes

When it comes to previous NBA Draft decisions, Duke was easily the biggest winner overall. They brought back three former five-star prospects (Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, and Tyrese Proctor), as well as veteran starting guard, Jeremy Roach. And with senior big man Ryan Young also back, the Blue Devils have both the talent and experience to compete for a national title next season.

With all of the talent returning, it’s notable that the No. 2 overall incoming recruiting class largely stayed intact. Only Mackenzie Mgbako left the team this offseason after the moves but there are still four other five-star prospects joining the team in guards Foster and McCain, as well as forwards, Power and Stewart.

That doesn’t even include the trio of returning rotation players back in Schutt and Reeves, as well as Blakes, who had some nice games for Duke last season. But if everyone is healthy, at least a few of these guys are going to be glued to the bench.

It’s extremely rare to see a five-star prospect be on the bench but just from a numbers standpoint, a couple of people are going to see limited minutes at best. Who, that remains to be seen.