Duke Basketball Season Breakdown Part Two: Backcourt Offers Leadership

This represents the second in a series of three previews breaking down the Duke Basketball season. This series represents a collaboration between members of the Duke Basketball Page and looks at the Blue Devil's frontcourt, backcourt, and bench.

Other Duke Basketball Preview: Frontcourt    

On a team full of highly touted recruits and young versatile big men, the guards at Duke this season will be the leaders for the team. Led by Senior PG Jon Scheyer and Juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, the Duke back court is one of the most experienced in the ACC.

Although there are only four guards on scholarship for Duke this season, adding to the other three the late addition of 2010-commit Andre Dawkins, Coach K will ask each one of the upperclassmen to step up as leaders on this Duke team.

You may remember that critics of Duke teams the past few seasons have stated that they all lacked one thing—size and depth in the post. This year, however, Duke is stacked with experienced and young post players that are all ready to contribute.

With this addition of size in the frontcourt, Coach K has moved the most experienced post player from the past two seasons, Kyle Singler, to the backcourt. Although it sounds like a major change to the lineup, Singler has the versatility and quickness to make the transition quite nicely.

Singler has been one of the top performers in the ACC the past two seasons, earning the ACC Rookie of the Year award his freshman campaign. He has the ability to drive the ball to the hoop, lead the team on a fast break, and even step back and drain the three.

Singler's versatility, along with the departures of some of the top talent from the conference just one year ago, has helped shape him into one of the top candidates for the ACC Player of the Year award this upcoming season. If anything, expect Singler to be a lock as a First-team All-ACC performer if he plays at the top of his game.

Making the transition from shooting guard to point guard late last season, Jon Scheyer has excelled in his new role on the team. Many people blamed Scheyer's inconsistency for the loss to Villanova last year in the NCAA Round of 16, accusations that were entirely unnecessary. 

Yes, Scheyer did have an off-night on the grandest of stages, but then again, what top players haven't felt the pressure that the NCAA Tournament offers? If you look at the statistics, Scheyer was one of the most balanced point guards in the ACC once he made the transition from shooting guard last year.

For Scheyer, this season is the final in what has been a great career at Duke. This is the year in which Scheyer must go out and prove the doubters wrong, show the conference that he is one of the top players out there, and that he must not be dealt with lightly.

During his freshman campaign, Duke was upset by Virginia Commonwealth in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. His sophomore year ended in a defeat to West Virginia in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. And last year, Villanova got the best of Scheyer and Duke in the NCAA Round of 16.

How far can Duke go in the tournament this year? How far can Coach K push his team through the post season? What can Scheyer do to change the way that Duke is viewed in the NCAA tournament?

Easily put, Scheyer must lead Duke to wins as point guard: Wins during the regular season and postseason alike. Duke should be one of the top teams in the country this upcoming season, and with Scheyer at the point, the sky's the limit.

Nolan Smith started out last season strong as Duke's point guard, that is until it got to conference play. The tougher competition, especially with all of the talented point guards that the ACC consisted of last year, got to Smith early on in, and he never recovered.

With the likes of Ty Lawson, Toney Douglas, and Tyrese Rice now in the NBA, and with the lack of experience throughout the conference at the point guard position, Nolan Smith is poised to have a breakout junior campaign.

There is no doubt in my mind that Scheyer will begin the year as point guard, but if Smith plays the way he did in the exhibition game against Pfeiffer College (16 points, Duke's second leading scorer) he may take command of the point guard position later on in the season.

Kyrie Irving's commitment to Duke for next season could now also change things for Smith. Irving would almost certainly start at point guard next season, so if Smith wants to make any noise at point guard, this year would be his best chance to do so.

Andre Dawkins is the final guard on roster for Duke. Keep in mind, however, that Seth Curry (Stephen Curry's younger brother) transferred to Duke during the offseason from Liberty and will be a huge contributor to the team next year.

Andre Dawkins is one of the most athletic players that Duke will throw out at opponents this year. With quickness and versatility, as well as possessing a sweet shooting stroke, Dawkins is almost certain to get playing time early, and most likely a lot of it. He has the potential to be a star for Duke in the following years, maybe even this season.

The four eligible back court players this year for Duke (Singler, Scheyer, Smith, and Dawkins) will be one of the most experienced backcourts in the country. Although there is not a lot of depth to the back court, they are a group of players that will be consistent performers and bring their A-game to the court every night.

Duke has the size and versatility in the post to compliment the great guard players on roster for the first time in quite some while. Hopefully that factor will translate to wins, conference titles, and possibly even a Final Four appearance? 

Projected Starters: Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler

Scheyer has been a consistent performer during his three years at Duke. Look for more of the same during his senior year. Singler has also been a very talented player, and going into his junior year, is expected to make some noise in the ACC. Smith, on the other hand, is hoping to have a break-out year for Coach K and Duke.

Key Bench Player/Wild Card: Andre Dawkins

Since Duke only has four guards on roster, Dawkins is the only one that is not a starter. Look for Dawkins to receive playing time early, and be a major impact player for Duke later on in the season. He was ranked the No. 2 shooting guard in the Class of 2010, a class consisting of very strong players.

We haven't really seen enough of Dawkins up to this point, which is why I also labeled him as a Wild Card. He has the potential to be a key player on this Duke team, but he will have to work for everything he hopes to achieve under Coach K.