Duke Basketball: Ranking Blue Devils' 5 Most Indispensable Players in 2014-15

Another season, another loaded roster for coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils. One of college basketball's most storied programs now has a storied group of talent, tying the all-time record with nine former McDonald's All-Americans.

A team with that much talent should be bulletproof, right? Anyone goes down and it's next man up?

Eh, not so fast, mon ami.

Certain players on any team play roles that no one else can emulate. Some skill sets—or simply some bodies—are harder to replace than others. These five players would leave the largest holes in Duke's lineup should something happen to them during the 2014-15 season.

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5. Marshall Plumlee

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Yes, Duke can scarcely afford to lose a guy who averaged 1.3 points per game last season.

Marshall Plumlee's 7'0" frame is the only thing standing between McDonald's All-American Jahlil Okafor and a crippling workload. Plumlee, Okafor and Amile Jefferson are the only likely post players on the Duke roster, and injuries to any of them would make the Blue Devils smaller than blue Smurfs.

Those looking for signs of life out of Plumlee can point to the fact that he averaged nearly three rebounds per game last season in conference play, fourth-most on the team. He averaged six in a four-game span during late February and early March.

Plumlee is unlikely to ever live up to the hype inherent in selection to the McDonald's All-American team, but he can still become a highly effective role player. Health willing, that evolution should continue this season.

4. Amile Jefferson

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Amile Jefferson is essential to Duke's cause for the same reason Marshall Plumlee is. Duke hasn't recruited nearly as many talented bigs as it has guards and wings, so Jefferson's length and instincts on the glass are irreplaceable.

Ken Pomeroy ranked Jefferson 18th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage last year, a skill that greatly aided Duke's ability to pull points out of possessions that threatened to come up empty. Plumlee, Okafor and Jefferson are the three best candidates to go get those caroms barring breakout seasons from unproven athletes like Semi Ojeleye.

Jefferson still doesn't quite appear built for all the dirty work that he does, but few players in the country outwork him for a rebound or a putback. His work ethic is one that the touted freshman will do well to emulate, but he'll need to stay on the court to show it off.

3. Quinn Cook

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Being the only senior on the Duke roster carries both a blessing and a curse. Quinn Cook has three years of winning experience for younger players to draw upon.

Of course, he's also the only man who was on the court during NCAA tournament losses to both Lehigh and Mercer. The motivation to win something—anything—still burns bright, as Cook told Steve Wiseman of The (Durham, North Carolina) Herald-Sun:

"

That's been my fuel all summer. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. One win away from the Final Four. One win away from the ACC championship. We haven't won an ACC regular-season title and obviously haven't won an NCAA title. We've lost in the first round twice.

"

Cook's career coincides with Duke's first three-year span without either an ACC regular-season or tournament title since Mike Krzyzewski's first five seasons in Durham (1980-85). Associate head coach Jeff Capel and assistant Nate James were in grade school. Newest assistant Jon Scheyer wasn't even conceived yet.

Lest anyone get too full of themselves during early-season success, he may need a reminder of the true goals of Duke basketball. Cook's presence as the voice of reason will be essential.

2. Justise Winslow

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

According to Pomeroy, only three ACC teams posted worse defensive efficiency ratings than Duke last season. Two of them—Notre Dame and Boston College—were never in the NCAA tournament discussion, but the Irish still pulled off an early conference win over the Blue Devils.

Enter Texas native Justise Winslow, a rangy wing who may prove capable of defending all five positions on the court. His skills on the defensive end—which have been compared to no less a pest than the former Ron Artest by no less an authority than longtime Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy—are the key to Duke's ability to pressure opposing offenses and generate turnovers.

Winslow's size and quickness will even allow him to keep up with opposing point guards, giving them much more to worry about than either Quinn Cook or Tyus Jones. He may be overlooked behind the offensive potential of Okafor and Jones, but defense is where Duke needs the most help, and Winslow's the most qualified player on the roster to provide it.

1. Jahlil Okafor

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Without incoming center Jahlil Okafor, this Duke season could completely unravel. A goose will walk across every Blue Devil fan's grave when they read these next few words, but here they are: starting center Marshall Plumlee.

Scared yet?

Last season saw Amile Jefferson spend a great deal of time in the low post, but he was frequently joined by do-it-all talent Jabari Parker. Without Okafor, who's left to provide inside scoring? Winslow? Ojeleye? Jefferson himself, a truly foul foul shooter?

Coach K would march straight past the three-guard look and occasionally trot out a four-guard lineup in an effort to bomb opponents into submission from outside the arc. However, deadly shooters Rodney Hood, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton aren't walking back through that door.

Much like Winslow's defense, Okafor's size is something that Duke sorely lacked last year and can't replace this season. The new franchise center may need to be handled with kid gloves whenever Krzyzewski can afford to spare him.

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