The offseason in sports is always a tumultuous time, especially in College Basketball, with so many variables existing and overlapping. So many factors consistently work against teams being “whole” at this time of year. The Blue Devils are no strangers to this process, going well into the month May and the mantra is always to have a plan, a backup plan and a backup for your backup plan.
The NBA Draft
Generally, Duke is well aware of where their players are in terms of draft potential well before they get to Durham, but sometimes a surprise rears its head. That hasn’t really happened this season. The offseason in terms of guys entering and staying in the draft from the current roster has played out as expected with Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Tyrese Proctor being the only losses to the pros that had eligibility remaining. Each was expected to go, no surprises there.
The Transfer Portal
The “first it giveth, then it taketh away” factor for every team is the transfer portal. Obviously, player movement is important and kids should be allowed to seek the best possible situations – be it monetarily or fit on the floor. It holds coaches to a standard that only players had been held to previously. It requires coaches, who want to keep their teams’ continuity as intact as possible, to have honest conversations with their athletes as the power dynamic shifts to the athletes more and more.
Duke has been extremely lucky this offseason to be able to keep the guys that were assumed to be in Durham next season in Durham next season. Despite being courted by many teams with huge paydays offered, Duke was able to keep some big pieces of their backcourt, starting with Caleb Foster. By all accounts, Foster didn’t have the year he wanted this past season individually and definitely could have seen his dip in playing time as the impetus to move on – it says a lot about him and his trust in the process and the staff that he remained at Duke. Isaiah Evans is another player that didn’t play as much as he may have wanted but made an instant impact when he did. His development was happening in real time this season, and we all watched his growth. Evans was courted consistently and heavily by other squads but chose to remain and looks to be a major focal point in Duke’s next iteration. Duke also retained Darren Harris, who played sparingly this season but coming off of a great senior year in high school, he is expected to make a significant jump this season. The Blue Devils also retained 2 of their 3 front court players in Maliq Brown, who is coming off of shoulder surgery after being a major factor this season especially on the defensive side of the ball and also Patrick Ngongba, a player who showed incredible flashes this season.
Despite the call from many fans, and it’s not just at Duke, for teams to stack talent upon talent regardless of fit, culture matters, relationships also matter. While it’s hard for a lot of fans to grasp that concept that the most talented team isn’t often the best team and that roster building requires a lot more than just who has the best stats, the way players interact, trust and relate to each other is important as well.
The Blue Devils have, despite not losing any players to the portal, been able to acquire some pieces through that same portal with varying degrees of likelihood that they actually end up in Durham. A couple of players who look to be incredible culture fits for the Blue Devils are Princeton’s Jack Scott, a tough gritty guard who can take over a leadership role on this team; and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, a 6’11 senior from Rice who red-shirted this past season and could provide some spot minutes at the center position with his physical tools. Neither Scott nor Ufochukwu are thought to be players that will see significant minutes, they do provide some experience and bodies to push this roster to be competitive. The addition, if you can call it that, of Cedric Coward was a no-brainer to take a chance on, even with his first round buzz. Jon Scheyer’s staff took a chance on accepting his commitment with the full knowledge that he could, and possible was likely to stick in the draft – and so far that seems to be the direction Coward is going. Coward has been praised Duke’s staff for being open and honest, and the lines of communication have remained open. If you’ve been following this staff, then you know that was all part of the calculus that Coward could go pro, this was accounted for in who they reached out to and when they reached out to them. Another piece of this process that a good portion of fans cant grasp for whatever reason is the term “contingency” – Duke always has a pivot. Obviously having Coward would raise the ceiling of a young team, Jon Scheyer is smart enough to know that you have to plan for the worst, and hope for the best during the offseason.
International Prospects
International recruiting is still an area where Duke has only dipped their proverbial. Tyrese Proctor was a very strong example of being able to get talent in places outside typical high school avenues, and Jon Scheyer got 3 productive years and a plethora of success from Proctor’s 3 years in Durham. This past season the single year Duke got from Khaman Maluach provided just what the doctor ordered on defense and as a lob threat, Maluach channeled that one year into a probably first round opportunity.
Currently, the Blue Devils have been a major player for international prospect Dame Sarr, a 6’7 Italian wing that could be another big piece to this year’s team should Duke win his recruitment. Sarr could visit Duke within the next few days and as mentioned before, Duke is definitely a player in his recruitment. Duke definitely has a proof of concept for that road and has a lot to offer and sell to the 18-year-old, who saw his stock rise significantly after a strong showing at the Nike Hoops Summit. Should Duke lose out there, other options will arise, not all of which are public. I always stop short of saying that a player will or won’t commit, but Duke is in good shape with Sarr as of today.
High School
Duke, having lost Shelton Henderson to Jai Lucas and Miami has entertained visits from 2 high school prospects. Braydon Hawthorne and Sebastian Wilkins both visited Duke in the last couple of weeks. Hawthorne is a long and lanky wing / forward who was previously committed to West Virginia and whose stock is rising in the class. Wilkins, also a guy with rising stock, is a power forward out of New Hampshire. Duke is definitely looking to add another piece, even if they were to get an assurance from Coward or a commitment from Sarr – especially in the front court which makes me think of the two that Wilkins, should he decide to reclassify, would be the more likely of the two to end up in Durham. Duke isn’t thought to be the leader in either case, but there’s always a chance when Jon Scheyer is the recruiter.
The process of roster building in College Basketball is going to be a process that goes longer and longer and one that fans are going to have to get used to just as staffs have to adjust to it. With so many avenues to both lose and gain players, the positive of it all is that in addition to more freedom for players who ultimately this is all for and about, it provides us fans with something to talk about well into May, June and possible beyond. Makes our time without the sport feel like it’s a little less.
