Insider predicts Caleb Foster will not be in Duke basketball starting lineup

It's very difficult to envision a Duke basketball starting lineup without sophomore guard Caleb Foster -- assuming he is healthy -- but a major college basketball insider is predicting he comes off the bench for the Blue Devils.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein attended Duke's practice on Tuesday afternoon, the second official practice for the team, and shared his thoughts with the rest of the sport on social media.

One of the biggest takeaways was his omission of Caleb Foster from a prediction of the team's starting five, which included Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, Mason Gillis, and Khaman Maluach.

The Blue Devils only returned two players, Proctor and Foster, from last year's team which made a run to the Elite Eight. However, Foster's season was cut short in late February after a lingering ankle injury became too severe for the freshman to play through. He required surgery and was fully cleared to return to the court for summer workouts.

The North Carolina native started 15 games last year for the Blue Devils, averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per contest on 40.3-percent shooting from 3-point range.

Caleb Foster is slated to be the second true ball handler on the team next to Proctor, an area where Duke appears to be weak on paper, and given his leadership and experience it would be shocking to see him come off the bench.

Head coach Jon Scheyer has not named captains for the upcoming season but it feels likely that Foster, and Tyrese Proctor, would be pegged with the honor for this year.

It will not be long before we see who gets the initial nod in Duke's starting lineup when the Blue Devils play its first exhibition game against Lincoln (DII) on October 19 inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.