Duke basketball: Three chief concerns from updated roster measurements

Chief concerns from updated Duke basketball roster: Bigs not quite so big

According to the updated roster measurements, the 2020-21 Duke basketball team will be the first since the 2013-14 version with only one player standing at least 6-foot-10. Though Columbia listed Patrick Tape at 6-foot-10, his new program is only showing 6-foot-9; albeit, his weight is up from 220 to 233 pounds.

The group will also be the first since 2011-12 without a single Blue Devil more than 245 pounds. And if not for 7-footer Mark Williams bumping up 13 pounds from his signing day in November to his current 243-pound listing, these Dukies wouldn’t include anyone more than 240 pounds; Henry Coleman, despite self-reporting a 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame, comes in at 6-7, 229.

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Undoubtedly, 2011-12 and 2013-14 don’t exactly spark the brightest of March Madness memories for Duke basketball fans. Both those squads flamed out in the Big Dance’s Round of 64 against big-time Cinderellas Lehigh and Mercer, a No. 15 and 14 seed, respectively.

Granted, there were plenty of reasons other than a lack of size for those embarrassingly disappointing endings. Nevertheless, one could easily argue that the similarities in sizes of the biggest bigs — between the present day and the two NCAA Tournament disasters — are at least worth keeping an eye on as a possible bad omen.