College Basketball: 2016 Duke Blue Devils Season Preview

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

 

Duke Blue Devils Profile

Conference: ACC

2015-16 Record: 25-11, 11-7

Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

Postseason: Lost 82-68 to Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen

2015-16 Season Overview

Duke won the National Championship in 2015 then finished 25-11 last season which may seem like a down year for the Blue Devils but the majority of last year’ team returns for the 2016-17 season. Coach K brought in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, expect Duke to be back in the national title hunt again this year.

2016-17 Schedule Overview

The Blue Devils open the season on Nov. 11 by hosting Marist. In their third game of the year on Nov. 15, Duke travels to New York to take on the mighty Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic. Other notable non-conference games include hosting Michigan State on Nov. 29, playing the Florida Gators in New York on Dec. 6 and traveling to Las Vegas to play UNLV on Dec. 10.

Their conference schedule opens on Dec. 31 heading to Blacksburg to battle Virginia Tech. Other notable conference games include both games against North Carolina, Virginia, and Louisville.

Frontcourt

Duke is a very talented team but the frontcourt might be where they show a little weakness at the beginning of the season. Harry Giles, a 6’10”, freshman from Winston-Salem (NC), who was one of the top ranked players in the 2016 recruiting class, tore his ACL and had to miss his senior year of high school. Some other bad news for Duke came on Oct. 3 when news surfaced that he would miss the first six weeks of the season due to another knee injury.

Luckily the Blue Devils have other talented players that can step in and fill the void. One of the leaders of this year’s team will be 6’9” senior forward Amile Jefferson from Philadelphia (PA) who averaged 11.4 PPG and 10.3 RPG. Two other big men who will have an impact on this year’s team will 6’10” sophomore center Chase Jeter from Las Vegas and 6’11” freshman center Marques Bolden. Jeter didn’t play a lot last year but it’s now his turn to step up make plays for Duke.  Bolden is from DeSoto (TX) and is another piece of this highly talented recruiting class.

Backcourt

Junior guard Grayson Allen led the Blue Devils in scoring with 21.6 PPG and connected on 41.7 percent of his three pointers. Another leader of the team is co-captain 6’5” senior guard Matt Jones who averaged 10.4 PPG. Jones also shot 41 percent from the three point line.

Two freshmen who can shine in the backcourt will be Jayson Tatum from St. Louis (MO) and Frank Jackson from Alpine (UT). Tatum is 6’8” and can play both the forward and guard positions, which will be helpful as Coach K shifts the lineup to get as many as these stars on the court at once. Jackson is 6’3” and was named the co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game. One other guard who will log significant minutes will be 6’5” sophomore Luke Kennard who averaged 11.8 PPG and shot 88.9 percent from the free throw line.

Photo credit: cbssports.com; No. 3 Grayson Allen