Duke Basketball Has Eyes On A Sixth National Title

There are two current seniors on the roster for the Duke Blue Devils, while there are seven freshmen. Here are a few questions fans may want to ponder. Are Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram proving they’ve elevated their play enough to move on and be taken near the top of the upcoming draft? If not, would they stay? You’d have to believe that Ingram would leave and move on to the greener pastures of the professional level, wouldn’t you? Both are extremely talented and the two best players on the current roster.

Many were excited about the arrival of Chase Jeter as well and should have been; but so far he’s averaging less than 10 points and isn’t on the floor more than 20 minutes per game. His inconsistency at the free-throw line leads many to believe he hasn’t convinced his coaches that he needs to be on the floor in pressure situations. That being said, as a Blue Devil fan, what’s being witnessed is the maturation of a very talented young squad and some of its core may be around longer than expected. Jeter will get better as the season rolls on, but he still may be returning next year.

The program got yet another shot in the arm on November 19 when they added four of the top recruits to the continuing story of basketball excellence and the legend that is coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils sport the No. 2 ranked recruiting class and all four of the players added rank among the top 40 players in the country. Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson and Javin DeLaurier will wear Duke blue next year. Giles, Tatum and Jackson all ranked in the top 15 of available prospects, with Giles and Tatum both ranked No. 1 at their positions.

It would be overzealous to state the Blue Devils will repeat. It isn’t overzealous to state that they have the potential to go deep in the this year’s tournament. They’ve reloaded again, and they’ll be looking for a sixth trophy come next year.