The 15 Duke basketball stars who could have starred in football

Duke basketball freshmen RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Tre Jones (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Duke basketball freshmen RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Tre Jones (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Duke basketball forward Justise Winslow (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Scouting Report. 15. player. Pick Analysis. 6-6, 225. INSIDE LINEBACKER. Justise Winslow. 434

Duke basketball stars who could’ve starred in football: LB Justise Winslow

Solid as a rock? Check. Intimidating demeanor? Yep. Toughness? You betcha. Enough speed to keep running backs within reach? Seems so. Justise Winslow, who cut down April nets at the end of his one season at Duke in 2015 and is now a budding star the Miami Heat recently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, might have been a yard-minimizing nightmare for offenses had his college days included football.

On the other hand, as is the case for several guys on this list, his height might have been a detriment to his defense by giving blockers a larger target to find with their hands and pads. Plus, recognizing that freshmen typically see more obstacles to playing time on the gridiron, I’m dinging the rankings of some one-and-done Blue Devils just a smidge here with the assumption they would have played only one year of college football as well.