Will our bench be used

[porkpa]

Assuming that at least one of DeLaurier and Bolden return, we will likely have the deepest bench a Duke team has ever had.
My question relates to whether or not it will be utilized.
Granting that Coach K is the greatest basketball coach ever. If he has an achilles heel, it has arguably been the fact that lots of talent have sat or the bench with little or no playing time.

[JetpackJesus]

Assuming that at least one of DeLaurier and Bolden return, we will likely have the deepest bench a Duke team has ever had.
My question relates to whether or not it will be utilized.
Granting that Coach K is the greatest basketball coach ever. If he has an achilles heel, it has arguably been the fact that lots of talent have sat or the bench with little or no playing time.

Duke has 13 scholarship players and some non-scholarship players. I suspect most of the guys will need somewhere to sit during games. So the bench/chairs will be utilized.

Kidding aside, I assume K goes 7-8 deep because, well, K goes 7-8 deep. He has 1k+ more wins and 5 more Natty's than me, so in conclusion, 9F!

[porkpa]

Unfortunately IMO, you are probably correct.

[Troublemaker]

Not past 8 players. Hope for 8, as that's realistic. 8 is also a very good bench when you have 3 non-starters contributing consistently. (The idea that 8 is not deep would be silly [not that it was necessarily pushed here]; comb through box scores from the NCAA tournament.)

[YmoBeThere]

Do bonfires still happen? I remember burning a few benches during my days on Crowell Quad.

[MarkD83]

is not so much whether Coach K will play 7-9 players, but who we have on the bench for the inevitable injury. I hate to say it but injuries have been a big part of seasonal "success" for Duke in the past 8-10 years.

With that being said and after reading assessments on this board, Duke has a lot of bodies at all positions. Tre and Jordan at the point; Cassius, Boogie; Alex in the backcourt; Jack; Matthew; Wendell; Joey at the wing; Vernon; Javin and Marques near the basket.

They each do bring different skill levels but I don't see Duke relying on a core 3 players for 90% of the scoring or on 2-3 players for defense.

Tre at the point is perhaps the only position where an injury would be very damaging (I said this in April so that the weauxf gods would forget this by October).

[elvis14]

No. Next question...

[kcduke75]

No. Next question...

My next question is why do people use the word UTILIZE?

It is USED way too often (get it?) and makes a little vomit come up in my throat because it appears to be Dicky V's favorite word.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Nope!

With all of our players, should be a really, really fun off-season with minute speculation.

Tre Jones. That's all I really know at this point... (get it)

[DavidBenAkiva]

Not past 8 players. Hope for 8, as that's realistic. 8 is also a very good bench when you have 3 non-starters contributing consistently. (The idea that 8 is not deep would be silly [not that it was necessarily pushed here]; comb through box scores from the NCAA tournament.)

Did we not just finish a season with a 9 player rotation? Some of that was due to injuries, but there were 9 guys that played 33+ games and at least 8.5 minutes. I don't expect that to be the norm, but this idea that Coach K is so rigid that he only plays 7 or 8 guys is silly. Hell, UVA only played 7 or 8 guys all year. Most every team plays somewhere between 7 and 9 players.

As I look at this roster - assuming Bolden and DeLaurier return - there are natural tiers that appear to me.

Tier 1: Definite Starters
Tre Jones, Wendell Moore, Matthew Hurt, and Vernon Carey, Jr.

Jones is an obvious starter and will get 35+ minutes a game. I think Moore and Hurt will get 30+ minutes a game as well as they are highly-rated 5-star prospects that play positions of need for Duke. Vernon Carey, Jr. is also an obvious starter as a low-post scorer and occasional jump shooter that will average something like 25-30 minutes a game due to foul trouble or conditioning.

Tier 2: Potential Starters
Jack White, Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden, Alex O'Connell, Cassius Stanley

After Tier 1, the most interesting question of the offseason will be about who fills that last starting spot. I think the clubhouse leader will be Jack White. This will be a controversial take on this board, no doubt. But he gives the team positional flexibility to switch on defense with Moore and Hurt. He is an excellent rebounder that can help Hurt and Carey on the glass. And he has the potential of being a good 3-point shooter. If White doesn't work out, I think Javin is the guy. He can switch onto most wings in college or play up. He provides shot blocking and can be a real glue guy alongside Carey or Hurt. After that, it's possible Bolden starts, but I think bench big playing 15-20 minutes a game is more likely. We could see AOC or Stanely also grab that 5th starting spot and I expect each to start at least 1 game this season. One or both could surprise with their development this offseason. O'Connell needs to improve his assertiveness and defensive awareness. We'll see what Stanley brings to the table.

Tier 3: Deep Bench
Joey Baker, Jordan Goldwire, Boogie Ellis, Justin Robinson

I waffled on where to put Baker. I think his best basketball is ahead of him. We might see some glimpses of it this next season. More likely, 2020-21 will start to show us the real Joey Buckets. We have seen Goldwire perform well in spots and I do expect to see him most games as relief for Jones during the first half or if the team wants to press. Unless and until he finds a reliable outside shot, though, I don't see him getting more than 5-10 minutes a game max. Ellis is another interesting option as he seems to have a needed skill - shooting - and at a position - guard - that Duke could use that skill. I have a hunch, though, that he will not see the floor much as a freshman. He could become a starting guard in time. Hopefully he surprises. And Robinson will be a 5th-year senior and could see some garbage time as a replacement for Hurt and White. I hope to see him play a lot as that means there will be many blowouts. Robinson will be the human victory cigar next season.

Tier 4: Walk-Ons
Mike Buckmire, Keenan Worthington, Michael Savarino

It's great to have you here, boys!

[Lord Ash]

Probably not. K seems all-in on the "ride your best horses as much as possible" approach.

[Matches]

I've always been of the mind that, given a total of 200 minutes in most college bball games, there really aren't enough minutes for more than about 8 guys to get significant PT. I'm aware that some teams play 10-11 guys regularly but those tend to be teams without stars. At Duke I feel like we're always going to want at least 30-35 minutes each out of our top three guys or so, which only leaves about 100 for the rest of the team.

And really, don't we want to have our best players on the floor as much as possible?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Did we not just finish a season with a 9 player rotation? Some of that was due to injuries, but there were 9 guys that played 33+ games and at least 8.5 minutes. I don't expect that to be the norm, but this idea that Coach K is so rigid that he only plays 7 or 8 guys is silly. Hell, UVA only played 7 or 8 guys all year. Most every team plays somewhere between 7 and 9 players.

As I look at this roster - assuming Bolden and DeLaurier return - there are natural tiers that appear to me.

Tier 1: Definite Starters
Tre Jones, Wendell Moore, Matthew Hurt, and Vernon Carey, Jr.

Jones is an obvious starter and will get 35+ minutes a game. I think Moore and Hurt will get 30+ minutes a game as well as they are highly-rated 5-star prospects that play positions of need for Duke. Vernon Carey, Jr. is also an obvious starter as a low-post scorer and occasional jump shooter that will average something like 25-30 minutes a game due to foul trouble or conditioning.

Tier 2: Potential Starters
Jack White, Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden, Alex O'Connell, Cassius Stanley

After Tier 1, the most interesting question of the offseason will be about who fills that last starting spot. I think the clubhouse leader will be Jack White. This will be a controversial take on this board, no doubt. But he gives the team positional flexibility to switch on defense with Moore and Hurt. He is an excellent rebounder that can help Hurt and Carey on the glass. And he has the potential of being a good 3-point shooter. If White doesn't work out, I think Javin is the guy. He can switch onto most wings in college or play up. He provides shot blocking and can be a real glue guy alongside Carey or Hurt. After that, it's possible Bolden starts, but I think bench big playing 15-20 minutes a game is more likely. We could see AOC or Stanely also grab that 5th starting spot and I expect each to start at least 1 game this season. One or both could surprise with their development this offseason. O'Connell needs to improve his assertiveness and defensive awareness. We'll see what Stanley brings to the table.

Tier 3: Deep Bench
Joey Baker, Jordan Goldwire, Boogie Ellis, Justin Robinson

I waffled on where to put Baker. I think his best basketball is ahead of him. We might see some glimpses of it this next season. More likely, 2020-21 will start to show us the real Joey Buckets. We have seen Goldwire perform well in spots and I do expect to see him most games as relief for Jones during the first half or if the team wants to press. Unless and until he finds a reliable outside shot, though, I don't see him getting more than 5-10 minutes a game max. Ellis is another interesting option as he seems to have a needed skill - shooting - and at a position - guard - that Duke could use that skill. I have a hunch, though, that he will not see the floor much as a freshman. He could become a starting guard in time. Hopefully he surprises. And Robinson will be a 5th-year senior and could see some garbage time as a replacement for Hurt and White. I hope to see him play a lot as that means there will be many blowouts. Robinson will be the human victory cigar next season.

Tier 4: Walk-Ons
Mike Buckmire, Keenan Worthington, Michael Savarino

It's great to have you here, boys!

Well, I certainly hope Baker's best basketball is ahead of him. If it isn't, I suppose burning the redshirt was irrelevant.

[fuse]

A great unanswerable question due to lack of information.

The premise that we’ll likely see a 7-8 player rotation has the weight of historical data.

I don’t think next year’s team will rival 1999 (although I will heartily enjoy it if they do), when K has had the talent, he has platooned.

[Kedsy]

Did we not just finish a season with a 9 player rotation?

No, we didn't. Though I suppose it depends on how you define "rotation."

Here's a list of our end-of-season close games (under 20 points) and how many guys played 10+ minutes in those games:

UNC (last regular season game) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
Syracuse (ACCT) -- 7 guys with 10+ minutes;
UNC (ACCT) -- 7 guys with 10+ minutes;
FSU (ACCT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
UCF (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
VaTech (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
MSU (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes.

That doesn't at all look like a 9-player rotation.

[kAzE]

It's a long season. Coach K will go deep into the bench early in the year. There will be garbage time minutes. Guys will inevitably get nicked up, and other players will have to step up. All of the guys on the team will get minutes.

When it's postseason time, we'll go 7-8 deep.

[DavidBenAkiva]

No, we didn't. Though I suppose it depends on how you define "rotation."

Here's a list of our end-of-season close games (under 20 points) and how many guys played 10+ minutes in those games:

UNC (last regular season game) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
Syracuse (ACCT) -- 7 guys with 10+ minutes;
UNC (ACCT) -- 7 guys with 10+ minutes;
FSU (ACCT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
UCF (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
VaTech (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes;
MSU (NCAAT) -- 6 guys with 10+ minutes.

That doesn't at all look like a 9-player rotation.

10 is such an arbitrary number. The fact is, 9 guys played 8.5 minutes per game and all of those guys played 33 or more games in the season.

[Matches]

10 is such an arbitrary number. The fact is, 9 guys played 8.5 minutes per game and all of those guys played 33 or more games in the season.

Sure, but we weren't going that deep in individual games. In any given (competitive) game we were usually playing 6-7 guys.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Assuming that at least one of DeLaurier and Bolden return, we will likely have the deepest bench a Duke team has ever had.
My question relates to whether or not it will be utilized.
.

The chairs will be utilized for sure...

[AtlDuke72]

Assuming that at least one of DeLaurier and Bolden return, we will likely have the deepest bench a Duke team has ever had.
My question relates to whether or not it will be utilized.
Granting that Coach K is the greatest basketball coach ever. If he has an achilles heel, it has arguably been the fact that lots of talent have sat or the bench with little or no playing time.

This question is like pollen - it happens every Spring.