Duke Basketball: Freshmen sensations show why fans should buy the hype

The play of two freshmen during the Duke basketball team’s Canada Tour left those who watched with one prevailing message: it’s justified to be abnormally excited about the Blue Devils’ upcoming season.

If you are concerned that you may start losing sleep as a result of your newfound addiction to replaying the jaw-dropping dunks of Zion Williamson from his recent three-game debut in a Duke basketball jersey, just know this:

You are not alone.

If you are concerned that you may be losing your sanity because your mind keeps telling you that the game of R.J. Barrett really does deserve to draw comparisons to that of the likes of Kobe Bryant and — dare I say it — Michael Jordan, just know this:

You are not alone.

If you are concerned that your head may explode from trying to fathom just how awesome it will look when fellow five-star freshmen Tre Jones and Cam Reddish (both sat out of the Canada Tour due to lingering injuries) join Williamson and Barrett on the court for the first time when the season officially begins against Kentucky in Indianapolis on Nov. 6, again just know this:

You are not alone.

Finally, if you are concerned that this latest group of freshmen phenoms at Duke will end up selfishly obsessing over their own individual futures in the NBA and cause the Blue Devils to have to bow out before the end of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament — like a few recent classes predominantly filled with one-and-done players have — just know this:

You are not alone; however, the concerns are unnecessary and unwarranted when it comes to this group.

I know what you are thinking: That was supposed to be the case last year. And the same goes for the year before that. Not to mention the freshmen years of Austin Rivers and Jabari Parker (the pain and embarrassment may forever remain too fresh for this writer to be able to rehash the memories of Duke’s inexcusable upset losses in the first rounds of the Big Dance in 2012 and 2014).

Well, all I can say is that this group of diaper dandies really is different. This class is simply unlike any other group that Duke fans — or basketball fans in general, for that matter — have ever seen assembled.

More from Ball Durham

One key difference lies in the fact that one member of this group appears to be capable of doing things that are beyond anything anyone could have ever envisioned being done on a basketball court ever since James Naismith first invented the game.

Flyin’ Zion is so much more than just a YouTube sensation; Williamson may be a glimpse into what humans might look like several hundred years into the future.

In other words, his athleticism is far beyond his time. In fact, the way Williamson bounces his 285-pound frame all over the court — as if he is the only player with a trampoline under his feet — is just plain difficult to comprehend.

Did we really just watch a real person do the things that he did in Canada?

Another key difference lies in the fact that the 18-year-olds in this latest batch of freshmen seem to be addicted to smiling.

Not only did Williamson and Barrett keep wide grins on their faces during Duke’s three blowout wins in Canada, but they also seemed to find genuine joy from taking turns shining the spotlight on each other.

Alley-oops went both ways between the twosome.

And all of the alley-oops are best described as priceless works of art.

Also, both players ended the three early exhibition games averaging the exact same number of points per game (29.7). It’s almost as if that statistical coincidence wasn’t a coincidence at all. I have a hunch that it occurred as a result of both wanting to just share the attention with one another while doing whatever is necessary to help Duke win.

Barrett wasn’t even supposed to make his debut as a Dukie having to play point guard. Due to Jones being held out of the Canada Tour, though, the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Canada native accepted the daunting challenge to direct the Blue Devils as its floor general before fall classes have even begun for his freshman year.

And Barrett more than answered the call for him to be a leader.

He did it with an amount of poise and ease that shouldn’t be possible from an 18-year-old. But Barrett did deliver.

And Barrett might just take part in delivering another banner to Cameron Indoor Stadium. I am aware that is a bold statement to make; however, it’s as if the play of these two freshmen from this past week makes it seemingly impossible for me and other Duke fans to be able to think anything less is in the future for this team.

That being said, I do understand the walls that you may have put up to protect yourself from having to endure the pain from seeing another top-rated group of one-and-done hotshots leaving Durham without ever tasting a Final Four. After all, it has been more than three long years since the Blue Devils last put scissors to nets in April.

Yet barring a bunch of injuries to the Fearsome Freshmen Foursome, there is no need to worry about this team.

The guys like being around one another. Their shared willingness to laugh with each other — as well as at themselves — is evident in every off-court video I’ve watched of them this summer.

It’s called chemistry.

So just go find a trampoline and jump up and down as if you’re Williamson on a fast break (only you still won’t be able to jump anywhere near as high as he can); don’t worry, be happy, and start practicing how you will celebrate all of the victories that this squad has in store for all of us.

Correction: Almost a week ago, I foolishly claimed that a dunk in practice by Williamson was over-hyped. Now that I’ve seen the way his dunks struck fear in his opponents and acted as his mojo when leading Duke to dominate three opponents in Canada, I’m manning up and eating my own words. Zion should just keep being Zion, for I now have ever-present goosebumps from thinking of what all might be possible as he does exactly that.