Duke basketball: Predicting starting lineup for the Blue Devils

Duke basketball season is approaching and many are wondering what the starting lineup will be. 

From the looks of it, John Scheyer will have a ton of flexibility with the Duke basketball squad for this upcoming season.

The Blue Devils are coming off of a 27-9 (14-6 ACC) record, finishing third place in the race for the regular season title.

While many star players from last season opted to return, Duke lost two of its stars who instead declared for the NBA Draft.

Senior guard Jeremy Roach originally threw his name into the draft, however, he later opted to return for his senior season as a Blue Devil.

Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, two key players on both ends of the floor, began their professional careers in the NBA as Lively was drafted No. 12 overall and Whitehead was the 22nd pick.

In ESPN’s ‘Way-Too-Early Top 25’ rankings, Duke sits at No. 2 as the Kansas Jayhawks assumed the top spot in the poll.

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Not to mention, with Jeremy Roach’s decision to return for the upcoming season, Scheyer has several great guard options on his roster, and it’s difficult to predict who will be deployed at the forward spot.

However, it seems likely that Duke will start Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski.

While a three-guard starting lineup is likely, it is possible to see graduate center Ryan Young in the mix at some point.

Regardless, Duke has a very solid rotation with many stars from last season returning.

Coming off the bench, the Blue Devils will have both Jaylen Blakes and Jaden Schutt, who are likely to see the floor. In this scenario, Duke will also have 4-star recruits Caleb Foster and Sean Stewart coming off the bench.

Duke basketball players get advice on starting lineup

Recently, legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski visited the Duke in practice.

When referencing the starting lineup he said, “Don’t assume who is going be good. Don’t assume who is gonna start. Don’t assume whether you’re that guy coming back, or you’re a new guy.”

https://twitter.com/dukembb/status/1684021161280278528?s=61&t=Npx5wKNCUWneiB8wK1troA

While we don’t know exactly what Jon Scheyer’s starting lineup looks like yet, Krzyzewski’s words are sure to leave a positive impact.

It will be interesting to see what the coaching staff has in store for this upcoming season.