Former Duke basketball great shares wise advice with current Blue Devils squad

Duke basketball legend Justise Winslow came back to Durham this past weekend and was obviously welcomed with open arms.

Winslow only played one season at Duke, but it's one that will never be forgotten as he was a starter on Duke's 2015 national championship team.

In his freshman season, the 6' 6" 225-pound wing averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 48.6% shooting from the field and 41.8% from three point range.

After winning it all with the Blue Devils, Winslow entered the 2015 NBA Draft and was selected 10th overall by the Miami Heat.

He's been a bit of a journeyman throughout his career and is currently on the Wisconsin Herd roster, G-League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. He hasn't played since early November.

Upon returning to Durham to work out with this year's Duke squad, Winslow had some advice for a young Duke team with legitimate potential to win a national championship.

"Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, you know, 'how important is it really?,' you know, the details, the small things, the winning plays. You know, how much are you really willing to sacrifice..If it means a lot to you, if it's something you really want to go after then, you know, you'll hold yourself to those standards and hold your teammates to those standards."

Not only is Winslow a proven winner, but the makeup of this Duke team resembles that of the 2015 championship-winning team well.

The 2015 starting lineup featured three freshmen most of the time in Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Winslow. The 2024 squad does the same with Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach. Both groups were experienced but built around talented freshmen.

Granted, the landscape of college basketball has changed quite a bit since 2015, and it's much harder to win led by freshman than it was ten years ago. But the makeup alone is very similar.

Winslow can relate a lot to the guys on this year's team, making his words that much more valuable as the 2024 Duke Blue Devils look to hang a 6th national championship banner and first since Winslow and Co. did so in 2015.