Duke basketball assistant projects veteran starting five

The initial Duke basketball starters may be a relatively experienced bunch.

Up to 11 Duke basketball players could make cases for starting gigs this season: freshman guards Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward; freshman forwards Jalen Johnson, Henry Coleman, and Jaeymn Brakefield; freshman center Mark Williams; sophomore forwards Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt; junior wing Joey Baker; senior guard Jordan Goldwire; and senior big man Patrick Tapé.

Last season, across his 40th campaign in Durham, head coach Mike Krzyzewski rolled out 14 different starting lineups, giving at least one start apiece to 11 different Blue Devils.

With that in mind and all the talented names above, it’s conceivable for 11 to again be the total number of starters by season’s end.

Yet per a Thursday tweet from Brendan Marks of The Athletic, 12th-year Duke assistant Nate James has noted separation among the 11 and named the five who would be on the court for tipoff if the first game was today (rather than Nov. 25 at home against Gardner-Webb).

Those five are Jeremy Roach, Jordan Goldwire, Wendell Moore, Jalen Johnson, and Matthew Hurt.

Advantages and disadvantages of this Duke basketball starting five

Since sophomores are essentially veterans these days in a one-and-done program like Duke, this proposed quintet appears to be an experience-heavy choice, with Roach and Johnson as the only two rookies. This, of course, isn’t much of a surprise given 1) it’s just November, and 2) there aren’t as many surefire starters among the newbies as there have been in recent years.

One might also refer to the collection as the small-ball five. After all, it has no true center, no player taller than 6-foot-9, and an average height of only 6-foot-5.

Also, it seems the lineup is the optimal choice if a primary goal is to set the tone early in games with lockdown perimeter defense, with Moore and Goldwire each seeming like a candidate to win ACC Defensive Player of Year. What it lacks on defense, however, is a full-time rim protector like 7-footer Mark Williams or a dirty-work specialist down low like Henry Coleman and Patrick Tapé.

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In terms of offense, by leaving off DJ Steward and Joey Baker, the lineup looks a little light in the 3-point department, as Hurt is the group’s lone proven prolific marksman from deep. That said, James listed to Marks six guys, including four projected starters, who have stood out in practices and scrimmages as reliable from downtown: Steward, Roach, Hurt, Goldwire, Moore, and Baker.

All in all, Roach, Goldwire, Moore, Johnson, and Hurt together sound like a solid starting five for a squad that will start the season at No. 9 in the AP Top 25.

Of course, a dozen or so other possible starting combinations from the uber-deep 2020-21 Duke basketball roster wouldn’t be half bad either.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on the upcoming season plus other news and views relating to all things Duke basketball.