Duke basketball’s best small-ball lineup next season
By Matt Giles
Which 2021-22 Duke basketball quintet could dominate without a true center?
There is little doubt that sophomore Mark Williams will be a full-time member of the 2021-22 Duke basketball starting lineup. However, the 7-foot-1, 245-pound big man won’t likely see much more than 30 minutes in any given contest. No, foul trouble and utter exhaustion are likely to prevent too heavy of a night-in, night-out workload for the potential 2022 first-round pick.
And as of this moment, no other bonafide center is set to be on the roster, which will be head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 42nd and last bunch of Duke Blue Devils before completely handing over the program’s reins to 33-year-old associate head coach Jon Scheyer after the season.
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So with all of that in mind, it sure does seem at this point as if Coach K and his gang will often need to rely on combinations that don’t feature an absolutely towering presence.
No worries. After all, given the cast of relatively strong guards and wings in addition to the fairly deep collection of versatile forwards, the Duke basketball staff will have plenty of options when it comes to forming such a lineup.
On that note, let’s name five players who should be able to shine together on a consistent basis next season despite this group’s lack of a legit five-man. Without further ado, we’ll begin here with a look at the proposed point guard in this scenario…