Duke basketball: Three chief concerns from updated roster measurements

Chief concerns from updated Duke basketball roster: Shrinking wings?

Who knew Duke basketball players could shrink, vertically speaking. Apparently, that’s the case for Wendell Moore and Joey Baker — unless, of course, the program fudged the numbers a bit last season. Per the updated roster, Moore has shrunk by an inch since his freshman year to 6-foot-5, and Baker also zapped an inch from his height, now standing only 6-foot-6.

Also, combined, they dropped four pounds; albeit, Moore actually gained three to 216 while Baker lost seven to his current 201 pounds. All in all, however, the changes for Moore and Baker aren’t all that concerning when considering Duke fans already know what they should expect to see when the returning sophomore and junior take the floor.

The same can’t be said to the same extent for rookie DJ Steward, who now appears on the roster at only 6-foot-2 and 163 pounds after registering a 6-foot-3, 175-pound reading last fall when he officially signed up to be a Blue Devil (some sites even listed the high-scoring Chicago prep at 6-foot-4).

Furthermore, Jeremy Roach, the freshman point guard who will likely have the task of somehow replacing Tre Jones, is evidently only a 6-foot-1, 175-pound floor general, a smidge shy of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound advertisement in high school.

Taking into account the game’s vast rewards for length on the perimeter, including simpler steals on defense and cleaner looks on offense — not to mention Mike Krzyzewski’s penchant for switching to zone in recent years, which relies on lengthy specimens roaming the wing — these “lost inches” could result in one of Duke’s primary weaknesses.