I don't really have anything to add, but I just realized we will have 9 freshmen on our roster (counting walk-ons and redshirt walk-ons).
Johnson
Steward
Roach
Williams
Brakefield
Coleman
Savarino
Worthington
Pierce
With decisions not known for neither Carey or Hurt and assuming that Carey declares for the draft and Hurt returns, is the roster finalized?
Will Duke pursue any other 2020 players, grad players, or reclassification players to next year's team?
Charles Bediako and Jonathan Kuminga are possible reclass players being recruited by Duke. Its my understanding that Kuminga has cooled on Duke as per Corey Evans and Evan Daniels, but his recruitment is far from over and it won't be known what his intentions are until July or August, much Like Bagley. Bediako, although there was speculation on he might reclass, he told Clint Jackson of Rivals, that he is not, bujlt again there is some that still think he might.
Looking at the roster, there are a lot of versatility in the players there and enough for Coach K to work with. If Duke had a chance to add another big guard in the mold of Cassius, but was a good 3pt shooter and a solid defender, then that might be interesting.
I don't really have anything to add, but I just realized we will have 9 freshmen on our roster (counting walk-ons and redshirt walk-ons).
Johnson
Steward
Roach
Williams
Brakefield
Coleman
Savarino
Worthington
Pierce
But of those 9 6 might see game time and 3 will most likely be the Duke scout team for practices.
I agree. I hope Pierce redshirts too for that seems to add to not only the team but to the player's development. Not that anyone expects much or anything from him while at Duke, but he is a good shooter so lots of use as a part of the scout team.
Worthington is a forward that when you look at his strengths, he does the same things as Johnson and Brakefield but he is no where in their class. Although some feel he has the highest ceiling of them all, again he would be a good part of the scout team.
Don't be fooled by how JRob got his rise to glory and remember that his role only got to be his role the last handful of games his SR (5th) year at Duke.
Just looking at the roster, I think Duke will have pieces to use in different situations and to create mismatches, which Coach K loves to do.
Matthew Hurt (if he returns), Jalen Johnson and Jaemyn Brakefield area all approximately the same size at 6-9 215-220. With Hurt the best shooter, Johnson the best play maker and Brakefield the best rebounder/defender. That's pretty versatile for K to use.
At the 5, I can see Duke going offensive for defense with Tapé trying to fulfill the scoring role and Williams the defensive role. Coleman adds some strength, with his ability to grab rebounds, his motor and his willingness to defend.
The wings with Moore and Baker are again more or less offense and defense but I think this is the area where Duke is missing a piece. Both Alex and Stanley were athletic ands each during their time at Duke were capable 3 point shooters and opportunistic scorers.
The guards of JGold, Steward and Roach will be solid but it would be good to have a more experienced scoring guard
Here's my first stab at it. I'm predicting a more typical 8-man rotation than what we saw this past season. If we play like this, I'll be happy and would expect to be very entertained by the product on the court.
mpg Starters mpg Rotation deep bench 25 Fr Roach 10 Sr Goldwire 35 Fr Steward 35 So Moore 20 Jr Baker Fr Brakefield 30 Fr Johnson Fr Coleman 30 So Hurt 15 Gr Tape Fr Williams
I generally avoid the minutes predictions, but I'm not sure how you can forecast 10 mpg for Goldwire when he average 24 this past season...
3pt shooting. He is the only freshman on next year's team with a reputation for shooting it deep. Roach isn't that good at shooting and Johnson is terrible at shooting (he may be as bad as freshman Tre Jones at the deep ball).
If we have Johnson, Roach, and Moore playing heavy minutes, we need Hurt and Steward to play lots of minutes and shoot the long ball. If not, defenses will just pack it in.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Yep. The list of players, otherwise fit to play, that lost significant minutes from one year to the next, is pretty darned small. Paulus, I suppose. And the guys who were playing the year before JD, Alarie, Bilas, etc. showed up.
Also, isn't Jordan Goldwire the only proven defender on the roster?
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I'm glad we have some depth at walk-on next year. This past year, we had rotation guys with starts under their belt closing blowouts along with Buckmire and JRob. Heck, even JRob ended up being a rotation player, too! It really wasn't fair to our opponents and made me scared for injuries.
I, too, hope for many blowout wins
Tent 1 Three-peat (2012-2014)
Well, JGold was a starter this past season, but I expect him to come off the bench next season. Maybe the 10 mpg should be more like 15 mpg, but I do expect a reduction in minutes unless he can beat out Roach.
To start with, I think DJ's the team's best shooter, followed by Joey, then Matthew, then a huge dropoff. If those three shooters combine for 85 minutes like what I have above, I'll be very pleased.
I think DJ complements his shooting with an underrated handle / shiftiness when driving. He's definitely not 1-dimensional and will threaten defenses with that driving ability, and he's pretty comfortable finishing with floaters or angles off the backboard.
I just think he's going to score a lot of points for us and will occupy defenders so they don't crowd Jalen and Wendell.
I don't see anyone, outside of maybe Johnson, playing 35 minutes a game. Not until February, anyway. Goldwire is going to get 15+ minutes
Jalen Johnson is 6'9 220 with 6'11.5" wingspan.
Matthew Hurt is 6'9 215 with 6'9" wingspan.
Jalen is more suited for the 5 than Matt.