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Duke Basketball: The Real Future of the Blue Devils

By Kevin Connelly

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Mike Krzyzewski and Duke Basketball have made their living with one and done’s recently, however, Coach K is still able to recruit his four-year guys to keep veteran leadership in the program.

It would take too long to name all of the one and done’s at Duke in the past couple of years, and you know who I’m talking about, but in those recruiting classes are the diamond in the roughs that aren’t one and done’s.

Much has been made at Coach K only recruiting one and done’s, but that isn’t really the case if you dive into the recent recruiting class for Duke.

Starting with the 2014 recruiting class, Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, and Grayson Allen.

Three players opted for the NBA after one season at Duke, while obviously, Allen stayed for all four years.

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2015 was a strange year for Duke on the recruiting trail, primarily because I believe Coach K assumed Tyus Jones would stay for one more season.

2015 brought in Brandon Ingram, Chase Jeter, Derryck Thorton, and Luke Kennard. Ingram was the only player that went one and done, but with Thorton transferring and Jeter transferring a year after Thorton, Kennard was the one Duke fans thought would stick around.

Kennard had a breakout sophomore year, which sent him to the NBA Draft.

Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson, Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier came to Durham in the 2016 recruiting class and at the start of the year everyone was considered one and done besides DeLaurier.

Giles, Tatum, and Jackson left for the NBA, leaving Bolden and DeLaurier at Duke.

Duke saw possibly their best recruiting class this past season with Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Trevon Duval, Gary Trent Jr., Jordan Tucker, Jordan Goldwire, and Alex O’Connell.

Bagley, Carter, Duval, and Trent all declared for the NBA Draft, while Tucker transferred halfway through the season. O’Connell and Goldwire are still with the Blue Devils.

This brings us to the future of Duke basketball.

Yes, the Duke has the No. 1 recruiting class coming in again next year with R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones, and they will grab the headlines, and rightfully so, but it is  the likes of O’Connell, Bolden, DeLaurier, and Goldwire that will be the deciding factor for the Blue Devils.

I hate to break this news to everyone, but the four freshmen will only be at Duke next season, barring injury or other some unforeseen circumstance, which leaves the program in the hands of the upperclassmen.

Like Grayson Allen, these four Blue Devils will have to lead this young group through the ups and downs of the season.

Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier will be juniors, both have won an ACC Championship, lost in the Round of 32, and lost in the Elite 8. That experience will be critical to a Duke team where their key contributors won’t know what to expect.

Bolden was one of the most improved players on the Duke roster last season, but he will need to continue to improve as it looks like he may be the starting center for the Blue Devils next season.

DeLaurier also made great strides in his game, but as a hustle and defensive player, if DeLaurier develops an offensive game, he can take the Blue Devils to another level.

As for the rising sophomores Alex O’Connell and Jordan Goldwire, they need to become playmakers in their second stint with the Blue Devils.

O’Connell played very well at the beginning of last season, and frankly any time he entered the game he made a positive impact for the Blue Devils. I believe next season will be a break out year for O’Connell and he will be a Grayson Allen-esque player for Duke in the years to come.

As for Goldwire, he received little to no playing time in the second half of the season, but early he showed flashes of having the ability to be the experienced point guard for Duke, which is vital in winning a National Championship.

Yes, Coach K will continue to bring one and done’s to Duke as that is now what college basketball has become, but he also looks for that player he knows will stay for a few years so he continues to have that leadership presence on his roster.

Duke will rely heavily on their star freshman next year and for years after, but it is the players that Coach K brings into Duke that are the factors if Duke will determine if the Blue Devils will be cutting down the nets.

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