All the Duke basketball talent will need to bring A-game to battle Gonzaga.
Entering the heavyweight bout against No. 1 Gonzaga (7-0) in Las Vegas, the Duke basketball team looks as healthy and promising as anyone could ask for at this daunting stage of head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour. With a chance to perhaps assume No. 1 via such a weighted win, a colossal test awaits the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils (6-0) at 10:30 p.m. ET Friday.
No one knows, of course, whether they shall ace this test, yet the consensus is that it’ll require an early-campaign masterpiece as a collective unit. And for that to materialize on the court, Duke may need high-grade contributions from 8-10 guys before the night is over.
In advance, Ball Durham is judging the body of work this season from these individual Blue Devils.
First, note Duke’s four walk-ons and former walk-ons — Keenan Worthington, Michael Savarino, Spencer Hubbard, Stanley Borden — each receives an “incomplete” mark in light of the group’s mere mop-up duty thus far.
That leaves the 10-deep rotation of Blue Devils to have averaged more than six minutes per game. Since each has received sufficient playing time to grade, let’s get to it, from worst to best.