Last year’s Duke team was built around Cooper Flagg and saw Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Sion James emerge as significantly better than expected players.
All four are gone along with fifth Blue Devil starter Tyrese Proctor.
What’s striking though is that Jon Scheyer has managed to keep Duke near the top of the sport after the retirement of G.O.A.T. Mike Krzyzewski. The transition has been brilliant.
Duke is expected to be a top team again, despite losing all five starters. It’s kind of pointless
this early, but Joe Lunardi projects Duke as the #1 seed in the West next March. That doesn't happen very often to teams that lose every starter, much less one with three Top Ten picks.
That Lunardi has high expectations for the Blue Devils obviously suggests a high level of talent again. Two of the guys who are drawing a lot of attention are Isaiah Evans and Nik Khamenia.
Evans had some issues last season. He was quite thin, which is one thing, and not strong, which compounds the problem. His defense took a while to get up to speed too, and his lack of strength was also an issue there. Finally, Evans has a gorgeous shot and is capable of erupting at any time as Auburn learned early last season when he hit 18 points in the first half. We tend to forget, but Duke was struggling before he caught fire.
He emerged as an outstanding sixth man/microwave, able to come off the bench and light a team up.
This article looks at what he needs to do to step up. We know about weight and defense, but improved versatility is also an excellent suggestion for his future. Strength would certainly help to diversify his game.
As for Khamenia, he too needs to bulk up but his frame should be easier to work with. His passing ability will be a huge asset for this team and like Evans, he possesses a good shot.
It could be early to say this, but after watching video of Team USA in Switzerland this July, we thought he could probably get his shot off more quickly. That’s easily fixable though.
More from dukebasketballreport.com:
- Recruiting: Javin DeLaurier Chooses Duke
- TJ Douglas Kicked Off Football Team
- ACC Football Roundup - Down To Four Undefeateds
- Homer Simpson: Duke/State Fan?
- DBR Podcast 30: Laura Keeley Returns
- ACC Preview #5 - The Florida State Seminoles
- Football Season Has Potential, But Turnovers Could Be A Fatal Flaw For Duke
