Duke Basketball: 5 Most Disappointing Blue Devils This Season

Despite being ranked seventh in the nation the Duke Blue Devils have had a slightly disappointing season. Losing to Ohio State in embarrassing fashion is part, but what is more disappointing is the play of these five players.

Duke is absolutely loaded this season but they could still use these players' contributions. Some of these players have the potential to be stars but a combination of a lack of playing time and bad luck has landed them on this list.

While they could rebound next season and play to their potential, this season they are huge disappointments.

5. Josh Hairston

Josh Hairston is a sophomore this season. He was rumored to be a very talented freshman, reminding some people of a smaller Shelden Williams.

Hairston did not do much last year, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. This year we expected a huge improvement from Hairston, and while he has doubled his stats that's not enough.

Considering Hairston was a Top 20 recruit in the 2010 class and he is averaging less than three points per game we can easily call him a disappointment. He was the second-best recruit for the Blue Devils behind only Kyrie Irving who was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Hairston doesn't show up in big games because he isn't getting playing time. He played only one minute against Washington, one minute against Michigan and didn't play at all against Kansas.

Hairston was a heralded recruit but has not done much, and he is a huge disappointment.

4. Miles Plumlee

Senior Miles Plumlee is the oldest of the three brothers. He is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound beast who has not done much this year.

Plumlee is the only contributing senior on the team and he has not done much. He began the year as a starter for Mike Krzyzewski and Duke but has lost that role. He is now coming off the bench and averaging less than seven points and five rebounds per game.

I had high hopes for Plumlee in my preseason predictions for Duke, but he has disappointed. Most experts thought that this would be the year he finally stepped up but he is riding the pine for the majority of games.

3. Alex Murphy

Oh, Alex Murphy.

Deciding to come out of high school a year early to join a team that already had four recruits ahead of him and about a dozen contributing players was a horrible idea.

Murphy should be a senior in high school, dominating the game. Instead he came out early to get a jump on everyone else but is now red-shirtting. He is essentially wasting a year of play.

2. Michael Gbinije

Michael Gbinije was the No. 29 overall recruit in the 2011 class and was the second-best commit for Duke. He has done next to nothing this season, however, and his talent appears to be wasted.

In 7.3 minutes per game he is averaging only 1.3 points and 0.8 rebounds. Perhaps Gbinije isn't earning playing time in practice because he has only scored eight points all season. He hasn't even played in four games this season and in three of the six games he has played in he has played less than three minutes.

The expectations for Gbinije were so high yet he has become a non-factor and his name is not even known by most fans.

1. Marshall Plumlee

Rumored to be the best of the three brothers, Marshall Plumlee is the most disappointing player for the Blue Devils this season.

Marshall is a seven-foot monster who was ranked No. 35 in the class. He has the potential to be a great player down the road but this season he has done nothing for the team.

Marshall came to the team and did not earn playing time. Perhaps it is because he is too skinny for his height and cannot hang with college big men inside, but he is red-shirtting, and has been a huge let-down for Duke fans.