Duke basketball roster shows throwback to one long ago

Eye-popping similarities exist between this Duke basketball squad and the one from the year ‘Dirty Dancing’ debuted, but will the current Blue Devils have enough moves to dance deeper into March?

The 2019-20 Duke basketball roster is without the top three scorers from last season. The same was true for the 1986-87 Blue Devils. And for both teams, the starting point guard represents the top returning scorer.

Overall, 27 percent of the scoring from last season returns for this season. As for the season 33 years ago, you guessed it, 27 percent.

Another near match is the average height of each team’s 10 best players: 78.6 inches for the current one and 78.4 inches for that past one. Moving on to the percentage of returning minutes: 45 and 44 percent, respectively. Returning steals? 48 and 49 percent, respectively.

Need more evidence that the 40th campaign of head coach Mike Krzyzewski is a throwback to his seventh? Just look at the breakdown of classes among the top 10 guys for each squad: two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen this season; two seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen for that season from yesteryear.

Plus, consider this: both seasons coincide with the introduction of a new 3-point line. The 1986-87 season was the first one with a permanent one at all, and the current season comes with one 16.75 inches farther from the basket than the one from last season.

Now, what about the type of players? Let’s start with the floor generals. Current sophomore Tre Jones and then-senior Tommy Amaker are both tremendous on-ball defenders; furthermore, both are more facilitators than scorers on the other end. In terms of which one makes for the better overall player, older fans would side with Amaker while younger folks would choose Jones.

Next, the skills of current freshman forward Matthew Hurt are in line with those of then-sophomore forward Danny Ferry; in fact, though lofty, Ferry is probably the best Duke basketball comparison for Hurt.

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Speaking of first-year Blue Devils, the combined talents, size, and athleticism of the two freshmen wings this season, Wendell Moore and Cassius Stanley, should bring to mind the pair who arrived in the fall of 1986, Robert Brickey and the now-late Phil Henderson (the latter only played eight games that year before an academic suspension ended his season).

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As for the remaining current freshman, center Vernon Carey Jr., he should be significantly more effective than then-freshman center Alaa Abdelnaby, albeit they are roughly the same size, give or take a few pounds, with similar athleticism. Making up for that talent disparity, though, is the fact that then-sophomore backup point guard Quin Snyder would be a more preferred option than current junior reserve guard Jordan Goldwire.

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And while current senior center Javin DeLaurier has more to his game than did then-senior center Martin Nessley, the same could be said about then-junior forward Billy King over current senior forward Jack White. All in all, these two comparisons are a wash. Plus, all these comparisons support the notion that both squads specialize in defense.

So from the top 10 guys for each team — i.e., those who ought to be or were regular contributors — we’re now left with then-sophomore forward John “Onion” Smith and then-junior guard Kevin Strickland facing off against current sophomore forward Joey Baker and current junior guard Alex O’Connell. Considering Baker is still unproven and O’Connell has had his share of boneheaded moments, Strickland and Smith hold the advantage. But based on potential, Baker and O’Connell have the edge.

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So can we assume these Blue Devils will also lose nine games — two to UNC — and reach the Sweet 16? While that wouldn’t be awful — well, the UNC losses would be — it’s a realistic expectation.

Of course, these Duke basketball players have an older, wiser coach than those from Generation X. Maybe that will be the difference.

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