Duke Basketball: Biggest Ups and Downs of the Offseason

It has been a busy offseason for Duke basketball. Most teams’ summers are usually quiet, with the biggest news often coming in recruiting or players dominating summer leagues. While Duke has been in the news with a couple of early commitments, there have been many other newsworthy moments in the Devils’ offseason. From coaching changes to controversies, all has not been quiet on the Duke front this summer.

Here are the stories from Duke’s offseason.

Wojo Takes Head Coaching Job at Marquette

This is both an up and a down for Duke.

On one hand, assistant Steve Wojciechowski taking the head coaching job at Marquette puts another branch on Coach K’s tree of disciples. Having so many of his former assistants now serving as head coaches is further proof that Coach K is one of the greatest coaches and leaders in college basketball history. The move also adds Wojo to the long list of potential successors when Krzyzewski retires. There are already a lot of candidates, but Wojo could add his name to the list if he is able to maintain a winning tradition at Marquette.

However, the loss will hurt Duke’s coaching staff. The team has now lost assistant coaches in consecutive years in Wojo and Chris Collins. Jeff Capel is now the No. 1 assistant, and he has plenty of experience. But Jon Scheyer is next in line after Capel, and it seems like Scheyer just graduated (2010). Coach K doles out a lot of responsibility to his assistants, so it will be important that all the assistants quickly acclimate to their new roles. Fortunately, they were able to gain valuable experience leading the team this summer while Coach K was in Spain with Team USA.

Coach K leads Team USA to FIBA World Cup Title

While Capel and Scheyer took their turns running the team, Coach K was busy leading Team USA to its fourth straight international basketball tournament title. Most of the top superstars in the NBA stayed home this summer, but Coach K employed his patented three-guard lineup, and Team USA dominated on its way to gold.

It was great to see Kyrie Irving and Mason Plumlee playing for Team USA. Irving won tournament MVP honors, and while Plumlee was often one of the last players off the bench, he got some great experience that will help him going forward in his pro career.

But as with anything remotely involving Duke basketball, the success brought on the detractors. Coach K was already receiving some criticism for choosing Plumlee for the team, but the main bomb was the article accusing Coach K of taking advantage of his USA gig and using it to benefit Duke’s recruiting. Coach K briskly fired back by claiming that winners always have an advantage, and it seems like the controversy is passing. Coach K is used to winning despite tons of dissenters, and his experience in Spain was no different.

Chase Jeter Commits Early

After landing Jabari Parker in 2013, followed by the top recruiting class of 2014, Duke showed no signs of slowing down in recruiting. The Devils received a commitment from shooting guard Luke Kennard back in March, and Chase Jeter became the second member of the class this summer.

Jeter is a 6’10” power forward who was been steadily rising in the recruiting ranks over the past few months. He is currently the ninth best prospect in the class of 2015, according to ESPN. Jeter is the type of athletic big man Duke often covets, and he should be able to contribute immediately next season.

Jeter’s commitment also cemented Duke as a top-10 team heading into the 2015 season. It is a little silly to look ahead a season with a new one just weeks away, but Duke’s journey into the world of one-and-dones necessitates it. With star players leaving campus every year, Duke has to bring in replacements in each class to stay relevant. Duke lost Parker but has Jahlil Okafor to take his spot, and after his likely departure, the team will need Jeter to be able to step in and be a force from the moment he reaches campus.