Duke basketball: Former Blue Devils form promising duo

Two former Duke basketball stars have the chance to elevate the New Orleans Pelicans into the national spotlight.

The New Orleans Pelicans have two of the most promising NBA talents in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, former Duke basketball players who are part of what is an exciting future for the franchise.

Their Christmas Day game against the Miami Heat confirmed what many already knew, especially those who saw them at Duke; the Pelicans have two perennial NBA All-Stars in the Western Conference.

The road is long though. New Orleans is a football-crazed city, among more expletive things. If there is any chance of changing the identity of a deep-rooted city, landing Williamson and Ingram only helps the cause.

Both pop off the screen with raw talent, albeit in different ways. Their glimpses of stardom speak to their capabilities of transforming a once forgotten basketball market.

From Durham to the Big Easy: How Ingram and Williamson arrived in the Bayou, once basketball exile, but now flowing with optimism

Both top-two picks of their respective drafts, they arrived on the Bayou in different circumstances.

Ingram, part of the 2016 draft class, was a trade piece in the deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the gem the Pelicans sought, but he had yet to be worthy of the second overall selection.

Williamson also arrived prior to the 2019-20 season, with much more publicity of course. He spent years in the spotlight, capped as an amateur with an all-time great season at Duke, one in which he collected every major individual accolade.

After Williamson’s injury last year, Ingram took off and produced his best season, earning a nod to the NBA All-Star game. Still, the future in New Orleans depends on their production as a pair. With respectable surrounding players, this is the first chance for fans to see them together, and Christmas Day offered promising signs.

Ingram scored 28 points, adding a couple of rebounds and three assists to begin validation for his recent payday (five years, $158 million).

Ingram’s running mate, Williamson, collected 32 points and 14 rebounds, an impressive showing for the eager former top pick who played only 24 games in his rookie campaign.

Despite the loss to battle-tested Miami, it is clear New Orleans has a good thing going.

The team is in a deep Western Conference, so hold any unrealistic expectations, as the goal should be to nurture, develop, and surround the Duke basketball duo with quality. Blue Devil legend and current Pelicans guard JJ Redick should help facilitate their growth as a veteran who has the wherewithal to mentor New Orleans’ star pupils.

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Diametrical opposites, each possesses traits and abilities that make them unique, and two of the best young assets in the NBA

Expect Williamson and Ingram to perform at a high level this year. Each provides the unit with length, athleticism, and already impressive chemistry given their inexperience together. Currently, there is not another combination from a single school that is as promising, much less a program like Duke that never sees former lottery picks join forces early in their careers.

So far, both have shown worthiness of their draft selection, with Ingram posting career-highs in most categories last season and Williamson being the immovable object many expected. Yin and yang is cliché, but that is what they are on the floor. One operates with effortless motion and smooth scoring, while the other overpowers and bullies his way to a double-double.

They are the ultimate poster boys for Duke basketball’s ‘Brotherhood’ mantra, one that cannot be represented any better than it is in New Orleans

There are roster deficiencies for New Orleans, sure, but the hardest part is done. They have two elite talents under contract together. Now they must show what made them top-two picks, but harmoniously, making Duke basketball fans fantasize of Williamson-Ingram playoff performances.

No college program is prouder of its former players but simultaneously starved at the prospect of their spot on top of the NBA food chain.

It is a Duke showcase, one that lasts and could result in these Blue Devils being at the center of the basketball world one day. That is, after all, why they chose Duke.

The New Orleans Pelicans (1-1) host the San Antonio Spurs (2-0) at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball news and views.