Duke Basketball: Complete Roster, Season Preview for 2014-15 Blue Devils
It’s time for the Duke basketball program to put that stunning loss to Mercer behind it and make a charge at the national title.
Gone are Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood, but Mike Krzyzewski responded by bringing in an absolutely stacked recruiting class to join the returning veterans. Anything short of a Final Four will be a major disappointment for the Blue Devils, which is exactly the way it should be every year in Durham.
Duke has outside weapons and inside muscle and will be a serious problem for a deep and daunting ACC. Enjoy the ride, though, because if some of Krzyzewski’s players live up to the hype, they are going to be donning NBA uniforms sooner rather than later.
If you are looking for an outlook on the season or simply for a way to get to know the new freshmen, you have come to the right place.
Read on for a complete season preview for the 2014-15 Duke Blue Devils.
Key Newcomers
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Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor isn’t just the key newcomer for Duke—he is the key newcomer for the entire country.
The big man could be the No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft, but for now he will grab every rebound in sight and demonstrate his smooth low-post moves for the Cameron Crazies. He is a walking double-double and the key for the entire Duke season.
Tyus Jones
Tyus Jones may only be a freshman, but he is the best point guard on the Duke roster and the perfect player to lead a team with so much talent.
Jones is more than capable of scoring on his own, but he is a pass-first distributor who will find a way to keep all of the Blue Devils’ weapons happy. That is much easier said than done, and he is the perfect man for the job.
Justise Winslow
Justise Winslow has freakish athleticism, which will help him score plenty of points as a slasher, but his primary role will be defensive stopper.
Considering how poor Duke was on the defensive side last year, that is a breath of fresh air for the program. The Blue Devils need someone who can lock down the opposition’s best player.
Key Returners
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Rasheed Sulaimon
Rasheed Sulaimon had somewhat of an up-and-down 2013-14 season, but he was one of Duke’s best players down the stretch.
Sulaimon may benefit from Okafor’s presence down low more than any other Blue Devil because he will be the one spotting up from three-point range whenever the double-teams come the big man’s way. Look for Sulaimon to drain them.
Amile Jefferson
If it wasn’t for Amile Jefferson, Duke would have been a mess on the interior last year.
That pressure to carry the team from the paint and on the boards is gone now that Okafor is in Durham, but Jefferson is still a potentially elite rebounder and shot-blocker. This may be the year that he takes that next step and becomes a special player.
Quinn Cook
Quinn Cook may lose his starting point guard job to Jones, but his veteran leadership and scoring ability will be critical for a Duke team that is going to get the opposition’s best shot every night.
Cook is versatile enough to play off the ball as well, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him on the floor for stretches at the same time as Jones.
Roster and Projected Rotation
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The entire 2014-15 Duke roster can be found here, courtesy of the athletic department’s official website. Here is a look at my projected rotation.
Starting Lineup
PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Rasheed Sulaimon
SF: Justise Winslow
PF: Amile Jefferson
C: Jahlil Okafor
Key Bench Players
Quinn Cook (guard), Marshall Plumlee (center), Semi Ojeleye (forward), Grayson Allen (guard) and Matt Jones (guard)
Krzyzewski has a tendency to shrink his rotation as the season progresses, but he could realistically go 10 deep if he really wanted to this year. There are plenty of options on the wing, from Sulaimon, Cook and Winslow to potential important bench pieces like Semi Ojeleye, so look for an uptempo style at times in 2014-15.
Duke is going to need Okafor to live up to the hype, though, because there isn’t a lot of frontcourt depth on the roster.
Biggest X-Factors
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Will the Freshmen Live Up to the Hype?
For as much talent as the Duke freshmen bring to the table, they are still only a year removed from the senior prom and pop quizzes in chemistry class.
There will be plenty of pressure on their young shoulders, and the only chance Duke has to compete for a national championship is if they deliver on expectations. They should be able to, but it will be a question mark until we actually see it play out.
Will the Backcourt Rotation Cause Any Problems?
Cook is a senior and Sulaimon is a veteran, so it will be interesting to see how they handle a freshman taking the majority of the point guard duties.
As long as everyone puts the team ahead of individual statistics (which should be the case with Krzyzewski in charge), playing time won’t be a problem. Still, it will be intriguing to see how deep Krzyzewski goes in the backcourt with the likes of Matt Jones, Ojeleye and Allen as options as well.
Will the Rebounding Improve?
The short answer to this question is yes because Okafor will make sure of it, but Duke was a very disappointing 193rd in the country a season ago in total rebounding.
A repeat effort like that would be a major problem, which is why Okafor is so important this season. An Okafor and Jefferson combination should take care of many of the rebounding issues from a season ago.
Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios
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Best-Case Scenario
The best-case scenario for the Duke Blue Devils is fairly straightforward. When you add an absolutely stacked recruiting class to a solid mix of veterans and throw in arguably the nation’s top coach, the national championship should be the expectation.
In this best-case scenario, the freshmen will live up to the hype immediately with no transition period. Okafor will take home National Player of the Year and, since we are living in a hypothetically perfect Duke world, would decide he wants to come back for a run at another title.
The defense is much better with Winslow on the outside and Okafor protecting the rim, and the Blue Devils march to ACC and national championships.
Worst-Case Scenario
Barring injury, this Duke team is too talented to miss out on the NCAA tournament, even in a hypothetical worst-case scenario.
In this situation, the freshmen struggle to adapt to the college game, and the Blue Devils drop early contests against Wisconsin and Michigan State. There isn’t a lot of confidence heading into ACC play, especially since the rebounding and perimeter defense (outside of Winslow) are still concerns, and Duke falls to fifth in the league.
Krzyzewski guides the Blue Devils to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament, but they trip up against an athletic team that pushes the tempo and beats Okafor down the floor to the rim.
The cherry on top is the fact that Marcus Paige and the North Carolina Tar Heels win the national championship.
2014-15 Prediction
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The reality for the 2014-15 Duke Blue Devils will be much closer to the best-case scenario than the worst-case one.
While Parker and Hood were excellent players in their own right last year, Duke took care of its two biggest weaknesses from 2013-14. The defense will be significantly better this season with Winslow on the outside, Sulaimon assuming a larger role, Tyus Jones playing more than Cook and Jefferson and Okafor down low to protect the rim.
The rebounding will also be much improved with that big-man combination, and Plumlee can even help out off the bench.
Duke has all the pieces to win an ACC crown, and that is exactly what it will do. There will be some losses thrown in there based on the strength of the conference, but the Blue Devils will find themselves on top of the regular-season standings by season’s end. They will use that No. 1 seed to win the league title.
An ACC championship will get the Blue Devils a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and they will parlay that into a Final Four appearance. However, the magic ends there, as Kentucky knocks Duke out in a nail-biter in the national semifinals.
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