Duke Basketball: 5 Burning Questions for Blue Devils in 2015-16

Duke will begin the defense of its national championship in less than two weeks, opening with home games on back-to-back nights ahead of its first major showdown of 2015-16 against Kentucky at the Champions Classic in Chicago. That clash will be the initial chance to get a real sense of what this Blue Devils team is made of, and until then, there are many questions fans are wondering about.

What else is on the mind of Duke Nation heading into this season? Check out our list of the most burning questions, with some insight into how and when they might be answered.

How Good Are the Freshmen?

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Duke lost three freshmen to the NBA draft and graduated a fourth member of last season's starting lineup, a major exodus of talent that will completely alter how this team looks in 2015-16. Or will it?

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff signed six freshmen to help replace that departed talent, and several will either start or be key contributors this season. Just how well that group of newcomers performs will play a major role in how the upcoming season plays out, much as it did last year with Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow pacing the team.

Based on recruiting ratings alone, the new players are a great lot.

Four of the six were 5-star prospects ranked among the top 21 players in the 2016 class, per 247Sports, led by No. 3 overall player Brandon Ingram. He was the only freshman who started in Duke's exhibition opener against Florida Southern on Oct. 30, but Derryck Thornton ended up leading all scorers with 22 points off the bench, while Luke Kennard added 14 points.

It's likely that at least two of the freshmen will start, depending on how the starting lineup is formulated for each game, while those top four should all receive significant minutes.

How Will Point Guard Be Handled?

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Before Duke landed Derryck Thornton in May, it had no idea what was going to be the situation at point guard for this season. The only true point guards on last year's team either graduated (Quinn Cook) or turned pro early (Tyus Jones).

Thornton's addition was key for this year's plans, though he might not be able to do it alone. In anticipation of this, the Blue Devils have spent the preseason tinkering with other options at the top to run the offense.

In the Florida Southern exhibition, junior Matt Jones started at the 1, but Adam Rowe of 247Sports noted that he shared that job early with sophomore Grayson Allen and freshman Brandon Ingram. Thornton came off the bench to score 22 points but seemed to be in there more as a scorer than a facilitator, as he had only two assists compared to four each for Allen and Jones and six from senior forward Amile Jefferson.

If Thornton's better suited to be an offensive weapon, this will lead to some shuffling of the playing rotation to ensure there's a capable man running the offense. This could lead to Jones being a starter or playing lots of minutes at the 1, as well as having Allen handle that spot in order to let Thornton and freshman Luke Kennard handle the 2.

Can Sean Obi Play at This Level?

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Sean Obi spent last season on Duke's roster but also the bench, having to sit out the season following his transfer from Rice. The year off was required, per NCAA transfer rules, but it also allowed the 6'9", 265-pound power forward to get acclimated to a tougher brand of basketball than he faced in Conference USA in 2013-14.

Getting to practice every day against Jahlil Okafor helped with this.

Obi headed into the preseason as a potential starter at the 5 or, at the very least, part of the mix in the frontcourt. However, against Florida Southern, he logged only nine minutes and was the last of 10 scholarship players who participated in the 112-68 victory. Obi went scoreless with six rebounds and one assist, taking just one shot.

That might end up being what Obi is in there for, though: to clean up on the boards and use his wide frame to bang around and deal with opponents' big men. With Duke also having senior Marshall Plumlee and freshman Chase Jeter, as well as enough guards and wings to regularly go with a smaller lineup, the chances of Obi being a major contributor, at least early on, have been reduced.

How Deep Will the Rotation Be?

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It's hard to take too much from an exhibition against a completely overmatched opponent that comes two weeks before the regular-season opener, but it's all we have to work on at this point. And if that game is any indication, Duke will try to go much deeper than last season simply because it can.

In 2014-15, the Blue Devils only had six players (who were with the team the entire season) who averaged more than 10 minutes per game, with two more in the nine-minute range. Against Florida Southern, eight players logged at least 12 minutes.

There are 10 scholarship players on the roster, and all saw action in the opener.

The rotation will certainly thin out, with the Nov. 17 game against Kentucky providing a far clearer picture than the Nov. 13-14 games against Siena and Bryant will, but for now, it's pretty evident that Mike Krzyzewski has more to work with from an overall standpoint and thus can spread out the minutes a little more.

Can the Blue Devils Repeat?

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It's the most common question that any defending national champion faces, regardless of the sport: Can it do it again?

It hasn't happened in college basketball since Florida won back-to-back national titles in 2006-07, and in most years, the previous winner doesn't even come close. Starting with that 2008 Gators team, no defending champion has gone past the Sweet 16 (including 2010 champ Duke in 2011) in the next NCAA tournament, and four didn't even make the NCAA field.

It's hard to imagine Duke will suffer like that considering the talent it retained as well as brought in, though to make an assumption that a sixth title will happen is a bit short-sighted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.