Duke Basketball: Young Blue Devils Show Potential Despite Adversity

Past young Duke Basketball teams struggled after facing adversity, such as losing a player of Marvin Bagley’s caliber. However this team thrived in the moment.

Duke entered the 2017-18 college basketball season as the top-ranked team in the country based on talent, but was also very inexperienced. The team added eight new freshmen with four in the starting line-up. Grayson Allen is the only senior, and Antonio Vrankovic joins him as the only other upperclassman on scholarship. The Champions Classic matchup against #2 Michigan State in the biggest game of the year was a huge test for this young team to see how well they could play against a Final-Four contender.

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One of the main reasons the Blue Devils were named the top team is because of star freshman Marvin Bagley III. Bagley dominated early in the season posting two straight double-doubles and sweeping the first ACC weekly awards of the year.

The 6-11 forward started off great against the Spartans, recording 4 points and 6 rebounds early. As Duke was starting to pull ahead however, Bagley suffered an inadvertent poke in the eye from teammate Javin DeLaurier.

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In recent years, the Blue Devils have struggled in tough situations. The Blue Devils lost their Champions Classic game last year against Kansas without Harry Giles, Marques Bolden, and Jayson Tatum. They also struggled to open conference play while Amile Jefferson sat out with a foot injury in addition to dealing with integrating new players, Grayson Allen’s suspension, and Coach K’s leave of absence for back surgery. Two seasons ago, Duke initially struggled after Jefferson suffered a season-ending foot fracture. Even in 2015, the national title team suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in forever with a banged-up Justice Winslow.

This young team could have easily folded Tuesday night against Michigan State, and had a valid excuse after losing arguably their best player. Javin DeLaurier, Wendell Carter, Jr., and Gary Trent, Jr. also faced foul trouble throughout the game. However, this team was able to fight through these issues and earn a tough win over a great team. Duke got huge contributions from stars Grayson Allen and Trevon Duval. But, players such as DeLaurier, Jordan Goldwire, and Antonio Vrankovic also stepped up to make huge plays.

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Early reports suggest Bagley’s injury is not serious and he’s expected to return as soon as Friday. Hopefully no more injuries or adversity strike the Blue Devils this season, but if anything happens this team has the talent and depth to be able to overcome.

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