Head coach
Tenure at Duke
Career coaching record: 957-297
Starters F Amile Jefferson, F Jabari Parker, F Rodney Hood, G Rasheed Sulaimon, G Quinn Cook
Bench: Tyler Thornton, Josh Hairston, Andre Dawkins
Outlook: Despite losing their top three scorers from a season ago, the Blue Devils have one of the deepest rosters in the country, highlighted by freshman forward Jabari Parker and redshirt sophomore forward Rodney Hood. Parker, a 6-foot-8, 235 pound Chicago product, can do it all on the basketball court. His versatility gives this Duke team another dimension, allowing the Blue Devils to play much more quickly and freely on the offensive end. Very few players in the country can complement Parker as well as Hood, a 6-foot-8, 215 pound transfer from Mississippi State. A lefty with a beautiful shooting stroke, Hood is an incredibly smooth, efficient operator on the offensive end, capable of putting up points in bunches within the flow of any game. Parker and Hood will be expected to use their immense talent to consistently set the tone on both sides of the ball.
For Duke to meet expectations this season, three returners will have to redefine their roles and play off of Parker and Hood—junior point guard Quinn Cook, sophomore guard Rasheed Sulaimon and sophomore forward Amile Jefferson. Cook, a starter last season, has the unique opportunity to be a true floor general this season with so many talented offensive players to feed the ball to. His ability to manage the pace of games, organize the team in its halfcourt sets and knock down open jump shots will be crucial. Sulaimon, an inconsistent freshman starter a season ago, showed flashes of explosiveness and brilliance on both sides of the ball but will have to improve his consistency. Finally, Jefferson, the team’s starting center, could allow the Blue Devils to present a matchup nightmare for opponents if he is able to hold his own down low as an undersized frontcourt player. His ability to defend, rebound and finish around the hoop will be huge when Duke faces teams with strong post players.
Other expected contributors for the Blue Devils are senior guard Tyler Thornton, graduate student Andre Dawkins, freshman guard Matt Jones, senior forward Josh Hairston and freshman forward Semi Ojeleye. A co-captain with Hood, Thornton is one of the best defenders on the team and is expected to start at the outset of the season, but Sulaimon should ultimately emerge as the starter. Together with Dawkins and Jones, Coach K has a trio of very capable guards off the bench. Hairston and Ojeleye are undersized post players like Jefferson—if Duke wants to speed up the tempo of the game on both ends, they too will have to show that they can defend opposing big men. The Blue Devils have a chance to be the best offensive team in the country, but they must show some grittiness on the defensive end to allow that to happen.
One thing that needs to go right: Duke's players need to show that they can collectively defend and rebound against bigger, more physical teams.
One thing that could go wrong: With a lack of a true post player, if the Blue Devils can't get into the lane off the dribble and are struggling to shoot from the perimeter, they could struggle to score in the halfcourt.
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