The Duke basketball squad appears to have what it takes to win a title. Size, length, and shooting are all there, but the Blue Devils’ extreme lack of experience may prove to be their undoing come springtime.
Cedric Coward, a transfer from Washington State, decided to stay in the NBA Draft rather than play for Duke, thus Jon Scheyer turned to Dame Sarr, a gifted international prospect, to take his place.
While Coward did not have much experience playing high-level Division I basketball, he still knew the physical and mental grind it takes to get through a season. It would’ve been a valuable trait to add to this team in addition to his physical tools.
The Blue Devils capped off its roster by adding another rookie, Sebastian Wilkins, as he reclassified from 2026 into 2025 to join the team this offseason and suddenly it marked five freshmen in the program when most teams around the country are trying to older rosters out of the transfer portal.
Each three players are projected to be selected in the Top 10 while its trusty veterans like Tyrese Proctor and Sion James have also left the program.
Not only has the biggest talents from a season ago left a void but so has its leaders.
It puts a whopping amount of pressure on the shoulders of junior Caleb Foster, who rode an incredible rollercoaster last season of being a starter at the beginning of the year to finding himself completely out of the rotation by early February only to return to the lineup as a rotational piece off the bench in the postseason.
Its returning sophomores are talented yet inexperienced with the exception of Isaiah Evans, who saw playing time in a handful of big moments last season but only averaged 13.7 minutes per game and just 4.5 minutes in the NCAA Tournament after the Round of 64.
It was a similar story for Pat Ngongba, who showed promise in extended minutes at the end of the season but logged 10.6 minutes per contest after dealing with a continuing foot injury in the early part of the season while sharpshooter Darren Harris was rarely heard from in his rookie season.
Prized incoming freshman Cameron Boozer looked poised to be one of the best players in the country next season but can his other rookie teammates, Cayden Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia, Sarr, or Wilkins fill the shoes of the players that came before them.
There will be five freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors, and three seniors on the team — which includes the return of Maliq Brown who was ineffective at the end of last season following two shoulder dislocations in four weeks.
However, Jon Scheyer thinks very highly of his team, putting the Blue Devils through a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, and it could be for the best to allow this group to go through early season growing pains in order to be fully prepare to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Leave a Comment