NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team backcourts for 2023-24 season
1. Duke Blue Devils
Like Kentucky, Duke is expected to lose a lot of production, both inside and outside. That did happen this offseason, as guard/wing Dariq Whitehead went on to be a 1st-round pick in the NBA Draft, while Jacob Grandison ran out of eligibility. However, to the team’s pleasant surprise, that’s all who left for the team.
Tyrese Proctor (9.4 ppg and 3.3 apg) was a standout freshman guard down the stretch for the Blue Devils and has become a national consensus breakout candidate. But just as important was the return of Jeremy Roach, who was second on the team with 13.6 ppg and 3.1 apg. The veteran guard becomes the rare senior starter for the team and a capable big scorer, having back-to-back 23-point games in the month of March.
What’s going to help the Blue Devils’ depth are the arrivals of Caleb Foster and Jared McCain. Both are five-star prospects and McDonald’s All-Americans that should have large roles in the rotation. Depending on where they place forwards Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell, one of those star recruits could start to form a lethal three-guard lineup.
dark. Next. Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2023-24
The fact that former top-100 prospects and talented guards such as Jaden Schutt and Jaylen Blakes might be buried down the depth chart is a testament to how much elite depth Duke has. And now that they’re not fully relying on true freshmen either, it makes sense why this team is getting national championship hype for the 2023-24 campaign.