Ranking each Duke basketball player in the Blue-White games
By Matt Giles
Countdown to Craziness highlighted Duke basketball’s power and flaws alike.
As the feature event of the program’s annual Countdown to Craziness celebration on Friday night, the 2021-22 Duke basketball squad played two 12-minute scrimmages — Blue-White style. On top of filling Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time since a Senior Night win over UNC in March 2020, the real action allowed fans to witness what the Blue Devils are working with this year.
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True, it was also one of many “Mike Krzyzewski lasts” on the calendar as the 42nd-year Duke head coach gears up for his retirement in the spring. But there will be plenty of time in the coming months to focus on the Hall of Famer’s legacy and the heightened emotions pervading his final season at the helm.
No, now is the time to assess the artillery heading into this historically significant campaign, which tips off on Nov. 9 against Kentucky at the Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden. And since the Blue-White affairs included at least one minute of playing time for every roster piece except freshman forward AJ Griffin (knee sprain), let’s grade the 13 individuals while ranking their efforts.
We’ll begin with the three guys who saw only a bit more than a minute of mop-up duty at the end and therefore must receive “incomplete” marks here.