Duke Basketball: Fans must show patience with incoming freshmen class

Duke Basketbal fans always have high and National Championship expectations, but fans need to show patience with this freshmen class.

Coming off a season with Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish, the tendency could be there for Duke Basketball fans to expect more than they should from the 2019-20 incoming freshmen.

While Duke is still bringing in a top freshmen class, fans must remember that Zion Williamson is a generational type athlete and R.J. Barrett very well may have been the second best player in the country, behind Williamson.

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Over the Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke, winning has become the expectation, not the hope and while that doesn’t change this year, don’t expect a 34-point victory on Opening Night at the Champions Classic this season against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Blue Devils will bring in prized freshmen Vernon Carey Jr., Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore, and Cassius Stanley, along with walk-ons Keenan Worthington and Michael Savarino.

Carey Jr. is the highest rated player, No. 6, according to 247 Sports’ Composite Rankings, although fans shouldn’t look that much into those rankings as Zion Williamson was the No. 5 ranked freshman coming into Durham according to the site.

Throughout college basketball, the hot topic to talk about is the freshmen that will be making their debuts in the fall, but for this Duke team it might be the veterans that are returning that will make the biggest impact in the beginning of the season.

Tre Jones is the headliner that returns to Durham for his sophomore year. Many had Jones as a Top-30 draft pick had he opted to go pro, but Jones’ desire to win a National Championship at Duke was too great to leave after just one season.

Both captains from last year, Javin DeLaurier and Jack White, also return for their senior seasons. Neither player will standout in the box score in terms of scoring, but the leadership, defensive, and rebounding skills will be heavily leaned upon throughout the season.

Alex O’Connell and Jordan Goldwire will be juniors and both bring something different to the court. O’Connell can be a lethal shooter and scorer while Goldwire is a bulldog defender, both showed glimpses of what they could do in spurts last season, but now it’s the consistency the Blue Devils will need to take that next step.

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Still one of the biggest question marks from last season was Joey Baker. Now a sophomore, Baker saw action in four games last season, none before February 23 after many thought he would be sitting out for the duration of the year as a redshirt season.

Depth could be the key for the Blue Devils this season and that would be a great thing, not having to rely on freshmen early in the season, allowing them to get acclaimed to the college game, before they take over before ACC play starts and Duke gets on a roll heading into the postseason.

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