Jon Scheyer has built a loaded roster for Duke's 2026-27 campaign. He struck a nice balance between retention, the Transfer Portal, and the high school recruiting class. Duke has veteran guard play with John Blackwell and Caleb Foster that will be pivotal in March.
Joining those two in the starting lineup will be returning starters Dame Sarr and Patrick Ngongba II, both of whom project to take another leap with another offseason under their belts. The one potential question mark in the starting lineup is at power forward, where Scheyer will be relying on a true freshman starter.
That battle will likely come down to 5-stars Cameron Williams and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. Williams has been the projected starter for a while, but Boumtje Boumtje's masterful summer has elevated his profile to the point that he's going to push Williams for the spot.
Both will play significant roles regardless of which one is in the starting lineup. But On3's Jamie Shaw pointed out a red flag with Williams recently that could cause Duke issues and/or serve to lessen his role as a freshman:
"I am intrigued to see how it looks at Duke this season," Shaw wrote. "He did a lot of his work away from the basket in high school, shooting over the top of most players he stepped on the floor with. He played a little upright, oftentimes losing leverage, and he was an inconsistent rebounder and poor defender."
Cameron Williams will need to play defense at a high level to have a big role for Duke
Playing defense is a non-negotiable for Scheyer. In each of his four seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils, Duke has ranked 16th or better in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric. They've been Top 5 in each of the last two seasons, including a No. 2 finish last season.
Duke hangs their hat on that end of the floor, and Williams will need to commit himself to defense in order to crack the starting lineup and play a significant role.
The good news for both Williams and Duke is that all the tools are there. He has excellent positional size at both the three and the four, and he has the length to be a really impactful defender. He'll bother wings and bigs alike with his size, length, and athleticism.
It might be asking too much of him to play any minutes at the five, however. Based on Shaw's comments, Williams will likely split his time between the four and the three, instead. Boumtje Boumtje has the size and strength to play some minutes at the five behind Ngongba, and it's just another reason why Scheyer's addition of Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski is so impactful.
Duke needed a veteran big capable of eating some minutes and showing the youngsters the expectation from an effort standpoint on defense. Williams is a skilled offensive player who can score from all three levels, but his ceiling as a player and as an NBA prospect will be determined by what he can do defensively.
He came to the right place to get the coaching that will unlock every bit of his ability.
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