Duke basketball what-if: Tre Jones left after last season

What might the current Duke basketball record and outlook be without the maestro who is arguably the nation’s top point guard?

No doubt some NBA franchise would have either drafted or snatched up Tre Jones had he left the Duke basketball program after last season. No doubt, however, he’d be in the G League at the moment. So to answer the what-if through his lens, everyday life would likely include toxic peers and taste as bland as tofu.

No five-star treatment. No games on ESPN. Small crowds. Individual rows on box scores mattering matter more than the win/loss column. Blurry future.

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Instead, Jones is a sophomore co-captain for a young group of potential-rich Blue Devils who appear to thoroughly enjoy the process of finding both their individual and collective identities. And the team’s unity has become even more apparent ever since the upset loss in overtime to Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 26 that snapped the program’s 150-game streak of non-conference home wins.

The upset could have driven the squad apart. Duke could have been a hot mess right now. Without just the right floor leader — no doubt Jones is exactly that — rather than an 8-1 record and a No. 10 ranking, chances are the Blue Devils would have been out of the top 25 altogether by now with at least three losses and a few freshmen with one foot out the door.

Though junior combo guard Jordan Goldwire would surely be seeing more action had Jones left — and would consistently provide a boost defensively — the starting point guard would probably be Boogie Ellis, a former four-star recruit who decommitted a few weeks after Jones opted to return and openly admitted the decisions were related.

Yes, the full-time starter for Memphis is a slick defender with 17 steals through his team’s 7-1 start. As for the other end of the court, Ellis is averaging 10.1 points and has a flamethrower for an outside jumper.

That said, Ellis doesn’t always find the “ON” switch to his 3-point shot, and the Blue Devils probably wouldn’t have much of a shot to overcome such inconsistency from their floor general’s top weapon.

Following a 6-for-9 performance from downtown in just his second college game, Ellis missed all but two of his next 15 attempts from beyond the arc across the next four games; now, including 2-for-3 marks in each of his past two outings, he sits at 38.2 percent from deep for the season.

Also, for the season, Ellis has shown an ability to protect the ball, averaging less than one turnover per game. But his average of 1.4 assists suggests he struggles in terms of creating for others; as a result, even recently with backcourt teammate Lester Quinones out with a broken hand, Ellis has rarely served as the Tigers’ primary ballhandler.

Therefore, one obvious potential consequence of Duke having Ellis in place of Jones would be freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. not benefiting from nearly as many perfect passes when he rolls to the basket. The 6-foot-10, 270-pound behemoth wouldn’t likely be averaging 19.2 points and would likely have no choice but to express loads of frustration in every game as a result.

Though no one here is calling Ellis selfish, all Duke basketball fans should now require no time to agree the better man for the job in Durham this season is Jones. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound 19-year-old from Minnesota just aced his most recent performance review with a 40-minute, 20-point, 12-assist, three-steal effort in an 87-75 victory at No. 11 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

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Jones is averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 dimes, 3.7 boards, 2.2 steals, and 3.6 turnovers (his game’s one boo-boo of late) while hitting a respectable 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts (a welcomed improvement from his 26.2 clip last season).

So, in short, what’s the most likely answer to the what-if this article poses?

Minus Jones, entering its first conference game — at Virginia Tech (6-2, 1-0 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. (ACCN) — the Duke basketball team would look like a sad bunch with little hope, suffering withdrawal from wins and jonesing for more of the good stuff only Jones could deliver.

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