Duke Basketball: Blue Devils Most Likely to Make All-ACC Team
For a team that went on to win the national title, Duke wasn't particularly well represented on the All-ACC Team this past season.
The Blue Devils had three players named to the 15-person team, but only one—center Jahlil Okafor—made the first squad, while standout forward Justise Winslow was shut out altogether. The other Duke players to make it were Quinn Cook (second team) and Tyus Jones (third team).
That quartet has moved on, though, so if Duke gets any players on the 2015-16 team, they'll be making it for the first time. Several players seem capable of garnering such an honor, but which ones have the best chance?
Here's our look at the Duke players most likely to be named to the All-ACC Team this season, ranked based on their chances to beat out the rest of the field, as well as their main competition for those spots.
5. Grayson Allen
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If Grayson Allen plays all season like he did during the Final Four, he actually could have a chance at being an All-American. But it might be harder to get onto the all-conference team because of the overabundance of talent at the shooting guard spot in the ACC.
Not even counting the fact he might end up splitting time with freshman Luke Kennard at the 2, Allen has Virginia senior Malcolm Brogdon to contend with. Brogdon is the only returning member of the 2014-15 All-ACC first team, and he's expected to have another huge season and therefore would be the favorite to repeat in that spot.
There are also plenty of newcomers to the conference who figure to be in the mix for honors at the 2, including former Coppin State guard Sterling Smith (now at Pittsburgh), Louisville freshman Donovan Mitchell and the Florida State freshman duo of Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley.
Allen will get consideration if he's able to perform on a consistent basis, but it will take a big year for him to beat out the field. The late-season effort was a bright sign, but it remains to be seen if he can play like that over the length of a season.
4. Sean Obi
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After sitting out the 2014-15 season following his transfer from Rice, Sean Obi's debut for Duke is one that brings with it plenty of intrigue. He was a standout player for the Owls as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, but that came against Conference USA competition.
The ACC is a major step up in opposition, though most teams in the league don't have someone of Obi's size (6'9", 270 lbs), and that could enable him to excel.
Duke has a more balanced frontcourt than it did last year, when it was Jahlil Okafor and that was it. Because of this, Obi might not play too many minutes if the Blue Devils use Chase Jeter at the 5 or also give minutes to 6'11" freshman Antonio Vrankovic.
If Obi emerges as a true inside force, though, he doesn't have much competition for the center spot in the league. Okafor and others have moved on, so his top challenges will include North Carolina's Kennedy Meeks and Virginia's Mike Tobey.
3. Chase Jeter
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At 6'10" and 239 pounds, Chase Jeter slots in as a perfect power forward in Duke's lineup despite the fact he'll be taller than likely starting center Sean Obi. But Jeter plays more than just as a post option, as he has the game to stretch the floor and create from all over.
Those are ingredients that should make Jeter a strong All-ACC candidate, assuming he isn't upstaged by others on his own team.
Because Jeter's skill set is similar to Brandon Ingram and also has some attributes that Obi will bring to the court, it might be hard for him to stand out from the crowd. And though he's proven to this point to be a capable scorer, his role at the outset could be more on the defensive end and in crashing the boards.
More offensive-minded 4s in the ACC such as North Carolina's Brice Johnson or Notre Dame's Zach Auguste will be Jeter's main competition for all-conference honors.
2. Derryck Thornton
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The last piece of Duke's stellar recruiting class, Derryck Thornton reclassified from the class of 2016 in order to step into the spot that Tyus Jones handled so well for the Blue Devils last year. Jones ended up making the third team of the All-ACC team, stuck behind a long list of strong point guards in the league, but Thornton doesn't face as much competition.
Assuming Thornton lives up to the hype, which includes the possibility of being Duke's second straight one-and-done at the point, this is very likely to include a prominent spot on the all-conference team.
Thornton won't have to score as much as Jones did in 2014-15 to get recognized, but the more he's able to contribute, the better. It will actually help his cause, since his main challengers include some of the top returning scorers from a year ago. North Carolina's Marcus Paige and Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes, among others, will be in the hunt for the first-team point guard spot.
1. Brandon Ingram
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He might not seem that imposing at 6'9" and 195 pounds, more like someone who hasn't yet grown into his body. But all of that goes out the door once Brandon Ingram gets his motor running, and Duke fans are likely to see that as he should become the go-to scorer on the 2015-16 team.
And as a result, he's the best shot Duke has to land someone on the All-ACC first team, even though he's playing a small forward spot that is loaded in the conference.
Ingram could be this year's Justise Winslow, which is ironic in that Winslow did not make the all-conference team last season. But Winslow was on a team that had several other key scoring options, and he had to fight for his opportunities, while Ingram will be the driving force on offense because of his versatile game that works all over the court.
Pittsburgh's Jamel Artis returns after making the third team last year, while North Carolina's Justin Jackson could be primed for a big sophomore year. There's also Louisville's Damion Lee, the Drexel transfer who is going to be called on to be one of the Cardinals' main scorers.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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