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Duke basketball could have major problem with playing time at specific positions

The Blue Devils will have to play position-less basketball in order to be successful next season
ByKevin Connelly|
Jun 25, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Duke basketball players Cameron Boozer (12) and Nikolas Khamenia during the Section 7 high school boys tournament at State Farm Stadium.
Jun 25, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Duke basketball players Cameron Boozer (12) and Nikolas Khamenia during the Section 7 high school boys tournament at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There will be no shortage of talent when the Duke basketball team takes the floor this winter inside Cameron Indoor Stadium but there are several things the Blue Devils need to work out this summer, including finding the right positions for its players.

In an ideal setting, Duke has a handful of players who are most comfortable at power forward – headlined by its top ranked recruit Cameron Boozer. Boozer is expected to fill a large portion of the void that was left by the departure of Cooper Flagg after he put together one of the best seasons by a freshman in college basketball history.

However, recent practices at USA Basketball U19 World Cup tryouts show that Blue Devil 5-star freshman Nikolas Khamenia also thrives at power forward, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, and could be the starter at the position when the team travels internationally this summer.

While Khamenia has positional versatility, all of a sudden Duke has a logjam of wings who will be looking to get substantial amounts of playing time this season.

Assuming Khamenia slides to small forward so Boozer could play the four, it could mean Isaiah Evans, who largely played small forward in his time on the court last season, gets more time as a shooting guard.

While the restructuring of positions creates an advantage for Duke on the backboards and defensively due to its height, it then creates a void for highly sought after international prospect Dame Sarr.

Sarr is not a natural point guard and assumed to get the bulk of his minutes at shooting guard or small forward this season.

The two positions that appear to have a stranglehold on them are at center with Patrick Ngongba II and a potential for a rotating duo at point guard with Caleb Foster and Cayden Boozer.

The good news is that there is plenty of time for Jon Scheyer to get everything sorted out with his Blue Devils as Duke tries to return to the Final Four and win the National Championship for the first time since 2015.

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