Some bold things could happen for the Duke basketball program in the 2020-21 season.
Unfortunately, the Duke basketball team will not be tipping off the 2020-21 season as scheduled, but to fill the time between now and Saturday afternoon, here are some bold predictions to hold you over.
The Blue Devils were slated to open their season at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Gardner-Webb, but COVID positive tests forced the Runnin’ Bulldogs to postpone the game with Duke.
No date has been announced for a potential meeting between the two schools as Gardner-Webb will be shut down for at least 14 days, in accordance with NCAA guidelines.
However, Mike Krzyzewski once again has a Preseason Top-10 squad, which will be a team like he has never had before.
It’s very strange where the Blue Devils return freshmen from a season ago, but it’s even more strange when both of those freshmen received significant minutes and did not play a single minute in the postseason.
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That’s 2020 for you, and that’s what Duke is facing entering the upcoming campaign.
Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt highlight the Blue Devils’ roster as the only holdovers from last season’s freshman crop, but Duke fans are also thrilled to see senior Jordan Goldwire and junior Joey Baker take the floor once more, in a season that will not count against their eligibility.
All this without mentioning another Top-3 recruiting class that features six freshmen, headlined by five-star prospect Jalen Johnson.
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Johnson is joined by fellow five-stars Jeremy Roach, DJ Steward, and Mark Williams in addition to four-star recruits Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman.
Duke also has a player on its roster that has never suited up for the Blue Devils in Columbia graduate transfer Patrick Tape, the first graduate transfer under Mike Krzyzewski.
So, without any further discussion, here are your five bold predictions for the 2020-21 Duke basketball season.
Bold Prediction No. 1 for Duke basketball: The Blue Devils will have two First-Team All-Americans
Seeing a Duke basketball player as an All-American is no strange feat, but we will up the ante here and say the Blue Devils have two First-Team All-Americans.
A Mike Krzyzewski-led team was able to produce a pair of consensus First-Team All-Americans in 2019 when the Blue Devils saw National Player of the Year Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett get the prestigious honor.
However, this year it will be the two sophomores, Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore, who are named as First-Team All-Americans in 2020-21.
Hurt will be a vastly improved scorer and rebounder, given the muscle he added in the offseason, and Moore will be much more confident in his playmaking and defensive abilities, carrying the Blue Devils to another outstanding season.
Despite only being sophomores, which constitutes “upperclassmen” in college basketball, Duke will have two of the best on its squad entering the season.
Bold Prediction No. 2 for Duke basketball: The Blue Devils will have the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year
Again, not that bold given the recent history of the Duke basketball program.
However, we’ll try and spice it up by saying that the Blue Devils will have the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year, but it will be two different players.
Duke did this last season with Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr., and the historic program will do it again with Matthew Hurt and Jalen Johnson.
Hurt’s weight will translate into much more production on the court, and Johnson will live up to the hype, streaking down court for the highlight reel dunks that Cameron Indoor Stadium has become accustomed to seeing.
Johnson will carry the chip on his shoulder that saw him fall in the final recruiting rankings because of issues surrounding where he would play his final season of high school basketball.
Duke is going to have the firepower to score — and score a lot — but its defense will determine its success in the 2020-21 season.
Bold Prediction No. 3 for Duke basketball: Jalen Johnson will record multiple triple-doubles
Alright, now we are getting bold.
Not only can we see Jalen Johnson recording one triple-double this season for Duke, but the star freshman will record at least two triple-doubles on the season.
Last year, we predicted point guard Tre Jones to record one triple-double, and the Minnesota native flirted with the statistic on multiple occasions but was ever able to reach the feat like his freshman teammate RJ Barrett was.
However, in the scrimmages that have been posted to YouTube by the Blue Devils, Johnson’s scoring, rebounding, and passing have been on display just about every possession, and the forward is always around the ball, affecting the game in a positive way.
Recording one triple-double in this shortened 2020-21 season would be impressive enough, but multiple triple-doubles, that’s just insane.
Bold Prediction No. 4 for Duke basketball: Jordan Goldwire will shoot at least 40 percent from 3-point range.
The defensive stalwart for the Blue Devils has worked on his offensive game entering his senior season, and that hard work will pay off for Duke basketball point guard Jordan Goldwire.
Goldwire is the lone senior on the team and is showing a lot of Quinn Cook in his personality and mentality ahead of the season.
In his three seasons in Durham, the Georgia native is shooting a combined 27.2 percent from 3-point territory, but his shooting from beyond the arc has been improving, especially in the intrasquad scrimmages this preseason.
As a junior, Goldwire shot 35.4 percent from 3-point range, the best of his Blue Devil career, but averaged only 1.5 attempts from 3-point territory per game.
With Duke’s spacing and the perception that Jordan Goldwire isn’t a scoring threat, he will take advantage of opposing defenses and shoot the best he ever has in his basketball career.
Bold Prediction No. 5 for Duke basketball: Mike Krzyzewski will meet one of his disciples in the Final Four
So this bold prediction is loaded because not only does it have the Blue Devils in the Final Four, but it also somewhat limits the teams they could play.
If Duke was to face a team in the Final Four that has a head coach who was a former assistant or player under Mike Krzyzewski, Bobby Hurley‘s Arizona State is probably the safest bet.
The Sun Devils enter the 2020-21 season at No. 18 in the Associated Press Top-25 and should be the team to beat in the Pac-12.
Duke vs. Arizona State in the Final Four.
A ratings bonanza for a national powerhouse that America loves to root against and a head coach America loves to root against.
Here’s hoping for a safe, healthy, and complete 2020-21 college basketball season!