With 11 games of evidence, here’s how the Duke basketball players stack up.
By picking up a 75-68 win at home against Georgia Tech (7-5, 3-3 ACC) on Tuesday night, the Duke basketball team averted an overall losing record for the fourth time this season. In doing so, the Blue Devils (6-5, 4-3 ACC) notched their first victory over an opponent with an overall winning record versus Division I competition and thereby inched closer toward an NCAA Tournament bid.
Obviously, such absolute mediocrity is out of the ordinary for the perennial powerhouse in Durham. After all, across the first 40 campaigns with Mike Krzyzewski on the Duke basketball throne, the Blue Devils have failed to reach the Big Dance only four times (and not once since 1995).
Despite the latest successful showing, the issues are abundant and often glaring. Yet it’s also abundantly clear that there is too much talent on the roster to excuse an absence from March Madness. Problem is, of course, much of said talent has fallen short of expectations.
On the other hand, of the 11 guys who have played at least one full minute, a few have been pleasant surprises.
So let’s rank all 11 by grading them individually on a 100-point scale, factoring in how each has fared in comparison to preseason projections. We’ll start with the biggest disappointment…