October might not be the greatest month for sports. Then again, it might be. There’s actually a period late in the month when the NFL, MLB--the World Series, no less--NBA, NHL, MLS and NWSL are all playing. The WNBA will have crowned its season earlier in the month.
Not a fan of the pros?
Well, Duke currently has nationally ranked teams in football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey.
Still haven’t hit the sweet spot?
Okay, who are we kidding? Duke’s men’s basketball team started practice last week and that included a media availability Friday. I’m going to be rolling out stuff from that event over the next few weeks.
But here are some highlights.
Duke is openly embracing its national title aspirations. No, aw shucks, we’ll see what happens. The 2024 Final Four will be held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Phoenix and it seems Duke has a photograph or two of the arena strategically placed in the complex.
“We want to leave this place better than we found it and obviously we want to get six this year,” Jeremy Roach said.
Jon Scheyer doesn’t downplay that narrative but says balance is key.
“It’s important that you have a clear view of where you want to go together but know there’s many, many steps that need to be taken in order for that to become a reality. For us, we’re not running from it, we don’t shy away from it, we talk about it to the team often. But the thing we talk about the most is what we have to do today to get better.”
Cutting down the nets in Phoenix is a realistic goal. This is a not a perfect team. We’re not talking 1968 UCLA. But no one else is perfect either. Duke has talent oozing out of its collective pores, next-level talent, lottery-pick talent.
Duke returns eight recruited players from last season. Six of them-Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, Ryan Young and Jaylen Blakes--were rotation players last season. Christian Reeves and Jaden Schutt are developmental players who could factor in this season.
Several of these returnees looked the NBA straight in the eye and said “later.”
Others looked the transfer portal in the eye and said “we’re fine where we are.”
This is the kind of returning talent Duke hasn’t had lately and just these eight returnees could compete at a high level.
So, in one sense, Duke is experienced in ways it hasn’t been for awhile.
But then we add one of the nation’s top two or three freshman classes, Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, Sean Stewart and T.J. Power and we’re talking 12 ACC-level players.
But only grad-student Young, senior Roach and junior Blakes are upperclassmen. Five sophomores and four freshmen, well, perhaps that constitutes a young team.
And 12 is a lot of players looking to see the floor.
Is that going to be a problem? Nobody has a 12-player rotation.
Well, it is a meritocracy.
“Every coach that is putting together a roster is trying to envision what a lineup will look like, what will roles be,” Scheyer said. “But at the end of the day the roles will be created by what they do every single day.”
Scheyer added that injuries and illness will inevitably create opportunities.
Speaking of health. Injuries are a part of the game and that’s no secret to a fan base that remembers Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson and Ryan Kelly and Amile Jefferson and so many other significant players losing significant time to significant injuries at significant points of the season.
But even by that standard, last season was a challenge, a season that began with top recruit Dariq Whitehead sidelined with a foot injury and ended with defensive ace Mark Mitchell sidelined with a knee injury and many of the rest dealing with some sort of malady in between.
Surgery and/or rehab was the order of the day for a sizeable portion of the roster over the summer and Duke currently is pretty darn healthy, knock on wood, favorite rabbit’s foot and all that.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t some rust to be dealt with. But it’s a long season.
Back to that Tennessee game. You might want to forget it. But Duke hasn’t. The word “punked” came up more than once and no one disputed the premise.
Duke vows that it won’t happen again.
“I’ve used that Tennessee game many times with our guys and they’re going to continue to hear about it,” Scheyer said.
Roach was asked what stood out from that game and how Duke would address it.
“Just the physicality of it. They just outmanned us. Building on that by being stronger. Not as many fouls called in practice.”
Certainly, Scheyer has lots of options, not just in players but in style.
I think we can reasonably expect Filipowski, Proctor, Roach and Mitchell to be the cornerstones of the team.
Duke can go big and start Young or Stewart or 7-1 Christian Reeves, which would keep Filipowski at the 4 and Mitchell at the 3.
Or Duke could go small, moving Filipowski to the 5, Mitchell to the 4 and play three guards. Foster and Schutt are 6-5, which should work. But the 6-3 McCain is generating the biggest buzz.
Or Duke could play the 6-9 Power at the 3. His size suggests a post player but his game is more Mike Dunleavy than Carlos Boozer. Big and small at the same time.
Scheyer says Duke is going to run but every coach says that every preseason. Scheyer said that last season and Duke ended up ninth in the ACC in scoring, at 72.0 points per game.
But Proctor is firmly ensconced at point, Roach is comfortable off the ball, Mitchell can guard anybody. Add Foster, McCain, Blakes and Schutt and Duke has the perimeter pieces necessary to run opponents into the hard surface of whatever court they’re playing on.
And the newcomers can shoot.
“We have a lot of guards that can get downhill,” Roach said. “We get up on guys on the defensive end. When we get up and down, we’re really running.”
“We can run three guards,” Proctor said. “We can run four guards on the court at once. Being versatile, being able to space the floor, being able to have shooters all around. We’re going to be quicker on defense and that’s going to translate to transition opportunities on offense.”
“No matter what, you win with great guards,” Scheyer said. “We have a great backcourt that I think can compare with anybody in the country. Still need to figure out how to play together. But all of them are unselfish, they know how to play, they’re tough and our ability to shoot the ball is different than last year’s team.”
This team could not only be really good but it also could be really fun to watch.
And Phoenix beckons.
I don't believe in superstition.
Knock on wood. :)
Duke is loaded so a sixth national title is a possibility but whether the team cuts down the nets or not I’m going to enjoy the ride.
The returning experience could be a difference maker.