Duke basketball’s best small-ball lineup next season
By Matt Giles
Best small forward for a Duke basketball small-ball lineup: Wendell Moore
Any great lineup needs strong leadership. And rising junior Wendell Moore, who is likely to be a 2021-22 captain, should be able to provide exactly that.
Granted, Moore has been unable to sustain any pure prowess on either end of the floor across his two years as a Blue Devil. He’s averaged only 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals for his career while committing 2.2 turnovers in 25.8 minutes per game. Also, it’s important to point out that the Charlotte native has made only 28.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
On the other hand, though, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound small forward has been clutch at times — replay the last-second Dean Dome heroics from his freshman campaign — while also proving to at least be functional in a wide variety of roles, including as a secondary ballhandler.
Yes, there’s no question that Moore’s experience — not to mention the former four-star prep’s potential as a lockdown defender — would serve this particular lineup well. But so too would his top-notch length and overall athleticism, assuming he’s able to cut down on the careless mistakes and hone his shooting stroke a bit during the offseason…