Duke basketball: The preseason ranking these Blue Devils deserve

The Duke basketball team should start where the last bunch should’ve ended.

An undefeated March, via home wins by double digits over Tobacco Road foes NC State and North Carolina, declared all systems go at just right the time (or so we thought at the time, prior to the nixing of the postseason). Yet despite the pair of crisp outings that ultimately capped off the 2019-20 Duke basketball season, the Blue Devils fell a spot to No. 11 in the final AP Poll.

While that’s now in the past, the 2020-21 collection in Durham deserves to begin its campaign in the same position, coincidentally, as its predecessor sat before its undeserved punishment from the voters. Yup, No. 10, no higher, no lower, feels spot-on for a program returning only 30.3 percent of its scoring yet welcoming six of the top 60 on the 247Sports 2020 Composite.

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However, given that Mike Krzyzewski is coaching his 41st group of Blue Devils and has guided his share of contenders with similarly constructed rosters, it’s no big surprise the William Hill SportsBook, per David Cobb of CBS Sports, has Duke as a co-favorite alongside Villanova and Gonzaga with 10-1 odds to snip nets in April (maybe May or June this go-round).

And it’s understandable the Blue Devils sit a few notches higher than 10 on most sites’ preseason rankings. Besides, the rookies — point guard Jeremy Roach, combo guard DJ Steward, small forward Jalen Johnson, power forward Henry Coleman, power forward Jaemyn Brakefield, and center Mark Williams — won’t be on their own.

Joining them and grad transfer Patrick Tape, a reasonably polished big man who averaged 11.3 points and 5.9 boards in 2018-19 for Columbia, are four returning contributors who each exhibit a fair degree of promise for 2020-21.

Sophomore forwards Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore have some star potential after finishing No. 4 and No. 5 in points, respectively, on the 2019-20 team. Junior forward Joey Baker is a proven 3-point shooter and energy-booster. And senior guard Jordan Goldwire is sure to be, if nothing else, a feared defender in the ACC.

Reasons to curb Duke basketball optimism a smidge

On the flip side, none of the names jump off the page as top Naismith candidates. Plus, they each carry question marks, which Ball Durham will examine in the coming weeks while hoping for positive answers to the season’s scheduling questions.

Coach K’s résumé. The influx of gifted Dukies. The solid handful of Blue Devils with experience at the college level. The lack of indisputable All-Americans. The abundance of specific individual uncertainties. Add it all up. The output should be a No. 10 preseason ranking.

Yes, No. 10 is high enough to adequately respect the level of talent in Durham and to give said talent a suitable swagger. It’d also be just low enough for the unit to fly under the radar, at least in Duke basketball terms. Just right, for right now.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball news and views.