Will Duke’s Youth Be Their Demise?
The First Four of the NCAA Tournament is already underway, but the real fun starts on Thursday when the round of 64 begins. Between Selection Sunday and the beginning of the tournament every team is analyzed from top to bottom to see their weaknesses and how early they may exit the tournament. Duke doesn’t start their journey until Friday night, but just like every other team, and maybe more-so, people want to know Duke’s weaknesses and who might be able to beat them.
When it comes to pure talent there may be only one or two teams that can say they have as much as Duke, but the NCAA Tournament isn’t just about talent. Other key factors are will-to-win and experience. We know that under Mike Krzyzewski the Blue Devils always have the will to win, so experience is where Duke may be the weakest.
Three of Duke’s four best players this season are freshmen, and although one of them, Jahlil Okafor, may be the best player in the country, he has never been in an environment like the NCAA tournament where the pressure ratchets up a few notches. Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow are the other two ultra talented freshmen that are key for Duke, and with Okafor they make up 3/5 of the starting lineup.
Typically come tournament time it is not the most talented team that wins, it’s the team that has been through it and is playing the best basketball coming in. With the exception of the 2011-2012 Kentucky team that featured Anthony Davis, teams with freshmen best players typically don’t win the whole thing. Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse team also comes to mind, but Duke is putting a lot of weight on the shoulders of players that were in high school a year ago.
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The good news for Duke is that they do have some experience on the roster, including Quinn Cook who has been huge all season. Cook is a senior and a leader that will be relied upon heavily as Duke makes their run. Him, Marshall Plumlee, and Amile Jefferson are the only players on the team that have ever won a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Two of the last three years Duke has been upset in the first round. The other year Duke made it to the Elite Eight where they lost to eventual champion, Louisville. There will be pressure on this team to make it deep into the tournament due to the University’s shortcomings in March in recent years.
Duke always gets everyone’s best shot throughout the year, and when opponents see the letters D-U-K-E, on the opposing jersey it just makes them want to win that much more. The Duke players know pressure, and so far this year, even though they are a young team, they have handled it extremely well. The question is, when the pressure is increased in the NCAA Tournament, will Duke’s young team be able to handle it. The answer to that question may determine just how far this years Duke Blue Devils can go.