Duke Basketball: What Will Rasheed Sulaimon's Role Be in 2014-15?

A group of freshmen can have all the talent in the world, but there is a major difference between high school basketball or the Amateur Athletic Union circuit and playing on the road in the ACC with Duke on the front of your jersey.

The Blue Devils always get the opposition's best game, as well as the best game from the hostile crowd, which means head coach Mike Krzyzewski is going to need some veterans to provide leadership for his young bunch in 2014-15.

There are a few candidates on this roster, including Quinn Cook and Amile Jefferson, who can do just that, but Rasheed Sulaimon should fit the bill nicely.

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Sulaimon may have struggled early last year to find a consistent role with Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood dominating the basketball, but he gradually became more comfortable and effective as the season progressed.

He tailored his game to those of his teammates and the situation—like a leader would—and saw an increase in minutes and production.

The Blue Devils have a potentially elite combination at point guard and center in Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, which means Sulaimon has an opportunity to be the main perimeter threat on this year’s team.

“If Rasheed played the whole year the way he played the second half—he had a good year, but he’s capable of having an outstanding year," Krzyzewski told Luke DeCock of The News & Observer. "If he does that at the beginning, he has an outstanding year, so it’s not like he isn’t capable of doing that.”

So Sulaimon will be the starting shooting guard after an impressive second half of last year, correct?

Not necessarily.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman suggested that Sulaimon may come off the bench but have every opportunity to play his way into the starting rotation, especially with his defense:

While he may ultimately be the sixth man, Sulaimon has a couple of things working in his favor when it comes to splitting time with Cook.

Sulaimon was the better outside shooter last year—Sulaimon shot 41 percent from three-point range, while Cook shot 37.1 percent—which is critical because perimeter shooting will be very important for whoever is playing in that second backcourt spot alongside Jones.

Okafor will draw plenty of double-teams all year and will likely have to kick the ball out to open shooters, Jones is a terrific facilitator who will set up the shooting guards and small forwards for open looks on a consistent basis, and Justise Winslow will attract extra defensive attention because of his athleticism and ability to slash the lane.

Sulaimon and/or Cook will have the opportunity to drift around on the outside and get a number of open looks from behind the arc. Sulaimon may be better suited to actually knock them down.

Sulaimon was also a much better defender than Cook last year. As we mentioned, Sulaimon turned things around in the second half of the season, but Duke as a whole was also much better down the stretch than it was in early ACC play.

That is largely because Sulaimon made what was a porous perimeter defense much more formidable when he saw increased playing time at point guard.

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Cook simply struggled to keep anyone in front of him off the dribble, which was a major problem in the stunning NCAA tournament loss to Mercer.

This season, Winslow will likely guard the opponent’s best perimeter player as Duke’s defensive specialist, but improving the defense is going to be more than a one-man job. The Blue Devils will score plenty of points with so much talent, but they need to stop people if they want to accomplish their goals of an ACC title and a run to the Final Four.

Sulaimon also brings value to this team because of his versatility.

He has collegiate experience playing point guard, shooting guard and small forward, which means he can fill in for Jones at times or assume Winslow’s role when Winslow needs a breather or is in foul trouble.

More versatile players give Krzyzewski the option to go small and athletic when the team needs a boost or bigger to help in the rebounding department—an area that Duke struggled in last year.

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Ultimately, Sulaimon is not going to be a primary cog in this offense with guys like Okafor, Jones and Winslow dominating the ball.

Still, his versatility, experience in meaningful games, ability to get hot from downtown at a moment’s notice and improved defense will afford him every opportunity to earn a starting role or at least a spot as the sixth man.

There will be games, especially on the road, when the Blue Devils simply need one of the upperclassmen to step up, and Sulaimon is a prime candidate to do so on multiple occasions.

His leadership will be invaluable as this freshman-laden squad sets voyage into the ACC.

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