Duke basketball: Answer to who stays and goes becomes clearer

It is still unclear at this point exactly who will stay and who will go for Duke basketball before next season, but more answers and hints continue rising to the surface.

I think we all can agree Vernon Carey Jr. will be headed to the NBA. The Duke basketball freshman center is certainly NBA-ready and is a potential lottery pick. Plus, with the big men coming in and the graduate transfers head coach Mike Krzyzewski is eyeing, all indications are there is no chance he stays.

However, this leaves us all questioning who else could head to the draft or the transfer portal. Well, Krzyzewski erased any hope of sophomore point guard Tre Jones coming back during his chat with 247Sports insider Evan Daniels on Friday afternoon:

“Obviously, Tre Jones we know is going to go, whenever he announces.”

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Fortunately, the Blue Devils will welcome his replacement in Jeremy Roach, the No. 2 point guard on the Top247 for the 2020 class. He’ll join five other heralded newcomers.

That brings us to Cassius Stanley. The freshman shooting guard has been a light in this dark time for Duke basketball fans as he has been entertaining the Crazies on Twitter during this coronavirus outbreak.

ALSO READ: Plea for Cassius Stanley to tweet much more often

Sophomore small forward Joey Baker went on social media to get the Duke basketball fans going crazy by commenting, “Cash said he’s coming back.” That may have been a funny poke to trigger Stanley or maybe a foreshadow that Cassius wants to announce himself…who knows. Either way, with the freshmen coming in for 2020, Stanley staying for his sophomore season would give Duke a solid chance of hanging up another banner in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

As we already saw on Instagram, Baker and freshman small forward Wendell Moore both hinted at their returns to Duke next season. We’re still waiting on a similar hint from freshman power forward Matthew Hurt. As for junior guards Alex O’Connell and Jordan Goldwire, the assumption is they’ll return for their senior years in Durham…again, though, who knows what could happen.

ALSO READ: Predicting Duke’s top scorer next season

In conclusion, Duke has a lot to look forward to this upcoming season whether the question marks stay another season or head elsewhere. All we can do now is wait at this point, but one thing is for sure: the Blue Devils will be ready and hungry when college basketball starts back up.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more updates, analyses, and opinions regarding all things Duke basketball: past, present, future, and in the NBA.