The best Duke basketball starting lineup without Jalen Johnson
By Matt Giles
The ideal Duke basketball starter at the one for now: Jeremy Roach
Freshman Jeremy Roach was one of the few bright spots from Duke basketball’s 83-68 home drubbing last week at the hands of Illinois. The former five-star recruit out of Leesburg, Va., notched career-highs with 13 points and seven assists across 31 minutes on Coach K Court.
And by not turning the ball over a single time, Roach joined an elite list of six former Blue Devil freshmen to have dished out at least seven dimes in a game without committing a turnover: Johnny Dawkins, Jason Williams, Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones, Tre Jones, and RJ Barrett.
No, Roach has not fully arrived like several of the above names did early on as Duke rookies. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound point guard still exhibits limitations, particularly in terms of shooting. He’s knocked down only 41.7 percent of his attempts from the field, including only 25.0 percent from beyond the arc, and is currently sitting at a dismal 58.3 percent from the foul line.
Nevertheless, as a willing defender and a true floor general who is showing considerable signs of improvement as of late, there’s seemingly no legitimate reason not to give Roach his second start of the season on Wednesday night.