6. Duke Blue Devils
A devastating shot by UConn in the final seconds of the Elite Eight stunned the Blue Devils and ended their season earlier than expected. Duke has been built on impressive blue chip prospects and elite talent across their recent history, but Cameron Boozer is gone and a few holes needed to be filled in the offseason. Judging by this ranking, you can tell that Jon Scheyer and his staff really stepped up once again.
We can’t talk too much about Duke’s immediate future without mentioning John Blackwell and what he’ll mean to next year’s team. The former Wisconsin star guard averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in a major role for the Badgers but the former All-Big Ten weapon is lacing up for the Blue Devils. He has every opportunity to match that level of production and Duke is clearly exciting to hand one of the nation’s best transfers the keys to the offense.
Blackwell isn’t the only notable addition, as Scheyer and company also lured former Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski. With Patrick Ngongba II and a few other returning faces, Duke didn’t exactly need to sell out to replenish the roster, but Scharnowski becomes an important piece in this frontcourt and should see important minutes. The other name to know is former Loyola-Maryland guard Jacob Theodosiou after he averaged more than 13 points a game for the Greyhounds.
When you throw in the pair of 5-star recruits entering the fold, it’s easy to get very excited about this Duke roster with what they’ll have on the court. Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr both also return and the starting five for these Blue Devils should be loaded with talent this season. They clearly need Blackwell to remain a high-octane scorer and producer and he more than earns the Blue Devils the notoriety and inclusion today.
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