It would be foolish to overreact too much to Duke's stunning collapse in Sunday's Elite Eight loss to UConn. After all, the Blue Devils are 70-7 over the last two seasons. No matter how excruciating the 2025 and 2026 NCAA tournament losses, they've been a product of bad luck as much as anything else.
That's the way it is in the NCAA Tournament. It only takes a bad bounce or two to end your season. No matter how good you are.
There's been a lot of talk in the aftermath of Duke's stunning defeat that Jon Scheyer may need to change his roster-building philosophy. In this era, relying on freshmen and sophomores to lead the charge might not be the way. Not in the Transfer Portal era when 22 and 23-year-olds are frequently sticking around.
The younger the roster, the more likely collapses like we've seen out of Duke in the last two tournaments are likely to happen.
Speaking with Josh Graham on Westwood One Sports Night, Scheyer gave the first indication that he's going to be more aggressive in the Transfer Portal during this cycle.
"I haven't shied away from the fact that we may have to go into the Transfer Portal and that's okay," Scheyer said. "I don't think every year is going to be like it was last year, where you just have freshmen, and you're returning players. I think most of the time you're going to have to bring in a couple new guys."
Duke might be a lot more aggressive in the Transfer Portal this go around
We could be having a totally different conversation if Duke's top Transfer Portal signee from last year actually made it to campus. The Blue Devils landed Washington State transfer wing Cedric Coward a year ago, but Coward went through the draft process, blew up, and found himself selected in the lottery by the Memphis Grizzlies.
He probably would have made a difference for Duke this year.
Duke was quiet in the portal otherwise, instead doubling down on their current roster. Scheyer might not have the same choice this year.
Cameron Boozer is going to turn pro. It's inevitable. Patrick Ngongba, Isaiah Evans, and even Dame Sarr would test the draft waters, too. While Duke has the No. 1 recruiting class coming in, there's probably not a Boozer or Cooper Flagg in this class, with due respect to Cameron Williams and Deron Rippey.
The strategy is likely to blend the top freshmen with some veteran, proven players in the portal. Duke has the resources - and the brand - to attract the top talent in the country, whether that's in high school or the portal.
Look for Scheyer to be more aggressive in pursuing some of the top players this cycle, even if he's not prepared to reinvent the wheel.