If you could pick one ex-Duke player from 2015-2018 to be on this team...

[1991 duke law]

A shooter. Luke would be fine irrespective as to the defensive liability. But first and foremost a shooter.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I would have said Kennard, but folks here convinced me his D wouldn’t work well with this team. So I’m going with Quinn, the best example of a 3&D guy (and I know Quinn was so much more than that at Duke).

During his senior season, Quinn hit 40% of his 3s. And we know Quinn plays well with a T. Jones

[kAzE]

I'll go with a player who nobody has mentioned yet and that's Justise Winslow. A kid who came to Duke with the rep of being a defensive stud, but showed us he could do it all.

Totally agree that Justise would be great on this team, but I definitely mentioned him a few posts up

I would have said Kennard, but folks here convinced me his D wouldn’t work well with this team. So I’m going with Quinn, the best example of a 3&D guy (and I know Quinn was so much more than that at Duke).

During his senior season, Quinn hit 40% of his 3s. And we know Quinn plays well with a T. Jones

We're on the same page. This team needs a 3&D role player (and I honestly think adding another star offensive player would hurt more than help). Jack and Jordan provide the D, but not the 3. Alex provides the 3, but not the D.

Quinn was the 2nd guy I thought of, and he's absolutely one of the best shooters from this 4 year stretch to play for Duke. Only reason I prefer Matt Jones over Quinn is because Matt's bigger, which gives him more versatility on D, and he literally never needs the ball on offense. I want the ball in Tre/Zion/RJ's hands as much as possible, and still have a few touches left for Cam to stay involved as well, so a pure 3&D guy like Matt seems like the best chemistry fit.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Tyus Jones

[Acymetric]

Biggest challenge with this exercise is that if you don't choose a center you have to send one of our four freshmen to the bench (unless our fantasy player is a super-sub off the bench).

[MChambers]

Biggest challenge with this exercise is that if you don't choose a center you have to send one of our four freshmen to the bench (unless our fantasy player is a super-sub off the bench).

I figured you could play Bagley at the 5, with Zion at the 4 (if Duke played positions). Bagley's not a great defender, but I think he'd be better playing the "5", if you will.

[niveklaen]

The Winslow/Quinn choice is interesting. While Quinn was a passable defender as senior, Winslow was a great defender and could sub in for any of Zion, RJ, or Cam without missing a beat on offense or defense (or start ahead of Cam...) (or imagine the death lineup with the 4 frosh and Winslow together...) But Quinn was also a quality pg who could give Tre a breather - something that we lack right now - while I think that Winslow was a better player, quinn fills a bigger weakness. at some point in the tourney, Tre will pick up 3 quick fouls and Quinn solves that problem

[lotusland]

Quin, Luke or Grayson. Grayson was the better defender of the three and if he were allowed to play off the ball his shooting his shooting would be more consistent than it was last year so I’ll go with GA.

[Steven43]

I worry that Kennard's defense would detract from this team's best skill.

Yeah, maybe. But Kennard was a great player and a lights-out shooter from anywhere on the court. His defense was okay. More than made up for by his offense. Duke needs a reliable outside shooter. That’s Luke Kennard. And I want to hear the crowd scream Luuuuuke again!

[Steven43]

Grayson Allen or Tyus Jones. Both can shoot 3s, drive to the basket, and find open teammates.

And hit free throws.

[Devilwin]

After a few beers, I thought hard on this one, and chose Matt Jones, because he was a decent three point shooter, great defender, and his jumper looked really funny...

[ns7]

And hit free throws.

You could put Tyus in Tre's role and put Tre in JG's role against UNC.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

After a few beers, I thought hard on this one, and chose Matt Jones, because he was a decent three point shooter, great defender, and his jumper looked really funny...

nah, this team needs more than a decent 3 point shooter....they need Grayson or Tyus or Quin. I say Quin.

[flyingdutchdevil]

It’s Quinn, folks. Not Quin

[ncexnyc]

After a few beers, I thought hard on this one, and chose Matt Jones, because he was a decent three point shooter, great defender, and his jumper looked really funny...

And don't forget his old man lay-ups.

[Devilwin]

nah, this team needs more than a decent 3 point shooter...they need Grayson or Tyus or Quin. I say Quin.

I agree, was trying to make a joke about his weird shot..lol

[Steven43]

Tyus Jones

Love Tyus, but wouldn’t he simply push Tre out of the starting lineup? Luke replaces Cam in the starting lineup. But Cam wouid still get at least 15 minutes per game and be a valuable contributor.

[kAzE]

nah, this team needs more than a decent 3 point shooter...they need Grayson or Tyus or Quin. I say Quin.

I still disagree, this team does not want another ball handler. There’s only 1 ball and we already have 4 guys who need it. Cam is already not getting enough touches. I’ll take Matt over those 3 guys. His defense was always criminally underrated. I guess that hasn’t changed.

Plus, we need more veteran leadership and facial hair on this squad. Uncle Matty provides both.

[BigZ]

It’s Tatum and it ain’t close

[kAzE]

It’s Tatum and it ain’t close

Nah, basketball isn’t about throwing a bunch of guys who have the most talent together. The pieces need to fit. The Celtics this year are a great example of a team who has too many guys who need the ball to mesh well together. You need guys who are willing to do the dirty work, guys who are okay with not getting many touches or shots.

This team would obviously be better with Tatum on it, but I think that marginalizes Cam way too much. There’s dimishing returns on scorers. Scoring is not the biggest need of this team.

This team has 3 offensive stars already. Maybe 4 if you count Tre. It needs a glue guy who can hit shots and defend.